Authorities in Tunisia arrested a trade union leader Wednesday following the call for a general strike by the country’s road workers starting Feb. 12, amid mounting criticism and demonstrations against the country’s president, Kais Saied, who in July 2021 arrogated to himself all powers by dissolving the government and suspending parliament, subsequently dissolved.
The Tunisian General Union of Workers (UGTT), the country’s main trade union, has indicated in a statement published on its website that the detainee is the deputy secretary general of the Tunisian Roads Union — part of the UGTT –, Anis al Kaabi, with no details as yet on his whereabouts or the reasons for his arrest.
The secretary general of the UGTT, Nurredin Tabubi, has detailed that the union has hired the services of a lawyer to analyze the case of Al Kaabi, while stressing that the arrest of the trade unionist is «a blow to the work of the trade unions» and «a violation of the international agreements ratified by the Tunisian state».
Thus, he recalled that the Tunisian Constitution «stipulates respect for the freedoms of trade unions and the right to strike» and regretted «the panic and the negative effects on the family of Al Kaabi» because of the arrest. He therefore held the government «fully responsible for the repercussions». Tabubi also called for the «immediate» release of the detainee.
Tensions have been running high in recent weeks over the dispute between Saied and the unions over plans to cut spending to secure an aid package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The UGTT and three other organizations launched a National Salvation Initiative last week to address recent actions by the Tunisian president.
The African country held on Friday the second round of the legislative elections called by Saied, marked again by an abstention rate of close to 90 percent, after the first round of voting failed to reach nine percent, a historic low worldwide. However, the President called for a «different reading» and blamed the abstention on the fact that «over the last ten years Tunisians have seen that the Parliament has been transformed into an institution which abuses the State».
For his part, the leader of the opposition National Salvation Front, Ahmed Neyib Chebi, called on Sunday for the president to leave office after the «fiasco» of the second round of the parliamentary elections and said that this figure «shows that very few support Saied’s process».
Saied has pushed since July 2021 a series of measures to reform Tunisia’s political system, including a constitutional referendum, approved amid opposition boycott, which strengthens the powers of the presidency. The opposition has denounced an authoritarian drift of the president and has demanded his resignation.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)