“Amounting to high treason”: Controversy over the raising of the Turkish flag on a government building in Tunisia

A storm of intense criticism and widespread mockery has hit the Tunisian Railways Company after it made a grave mistake by raising the Turkish flag instead of the Tunisian national flag on one of its major branch buildings, citing the significant similarity between the two flags.

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As soon as a video of the “Turkish flag scandal” was shared on Facebook on Tuesday, Tunisians circulated the news accompanied by a wave of criticism and mockery towards the company, which is one of the oldest national companies in the country, founded in 1870, even before the French occupation. After independence in 1956, it became one of the largest companies in the country, according to the “24” news site.

The company attempted to contain the scandal with an official statement, saying that its employees confused the national flag with the Turkish flag, due to their similarity, even though the Tunisian flag has been officially in use in its current form for 196 years, compared to the Turkish flag, which has been used for only about 100 years, since the declaration of the republic in 1923.

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The Tunisian Railway Company issued a strong apology for the mistake, saying: “As part of the renewal of national flags raised on various buildings, a batch was ordered, but by mistake, a flag from a foreign country similar to Tunisia’s was included in the order. This error was only noticed after it was raised today over the central administration building in Tunis.”

The company announced the opening of an investigation to determine the circumstances of this incident, to assign responsibility, and to take the necessary administrative and disciplinary measures.

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It emphasized in its statement that “the raising of the national flag represents a supreme symbol of sovereignty and national unity, and under no circumstances can any action that undermines this symbolism be tolerated.”

Despite the company’s explanations, Tunisians expressed their outrage in comments on social media. Former presidential candidate Sami Jalouli wrote: “Raising the Turkish flag on a building of the National Railway Company of Tunisia should not pass easily; it is an act that amounts to high treason.”

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Journalist Sofiane Ben Farhat described the incident as “criminal and intentional,” ruling out the possibility of it being an accidental mistake. He wrote: “They are determined to commit all crimes to disgrace the nation, as usual… Their problem is not just with the authority or against the authority, it goes much deeper; they are against the entire nation.”

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has previously held controversial meetings with Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of the Ennahdha Islamic Movement and former speaker of the Tunisian parliament, which sparked ongoing debates in Tunisia between the movement and its opponents. Some political forces accuse Ennahdha of pushing Tunisia toward the Turkish sphere of influence, which supports it financially and logistically.