Tunisia: Kais Saied vows victory in reform battle
Tunisian President Kais Saied is determined to confront those he describes as traitors and collaborators, and to reform the situation in the country, doubting the intentions of the opposition forces that went out to demonstrate in the street in protest against his policies.
On Saturday, Kais Saied, who was supervising a procession celebrating the 59th anniversary of the withdrawal of French forces from Tunisia in the city of Bizerte in the north of the country in the presence of Prime Minister Najla Bouden and Defense Minister Imad Memish, said that he would only accept “victory,” referring to the efforts of the success of the measures taken by him on July 25, 2021 and beyond.
Kais Saied added, “With the presence of a number of the old resistance, we will accomplish… We will only accept success and victory,” he said, adding that “he would follow through with a speech to opposition forces”.
“He will bring glory to Tunisia and save the country from the clutches of those who are tampering and trying to tamper with the abilities of the people” he said.
“Tunisia will remain free and independent, and the people are the sovereign,” he said. “We are committed to our right to evacuate, and a new evacuation will take place until Tunisia gets rid of all those who want to strike its independence or be agents of the outside and traitors.”
It was not the first time that President Kais Saied has accused some powers of turning to foreign powers to put pressure on a ruling party after taking exceptional measures, a referendum on the constitution and early legislative elections.
The Tunisian president has repeatedly condemned the scourges of corruption and monopoly, which he accused of being behind the high prices and the scarcity of some basic materials, pointing out that he will work to confront them and some political forces that reject the process of political reform.
The dispersed Tunisian opposition organized two separate rallies in the capital to denounce the decisions of Kais Saied, led by the Islamist Ennahda party and the Free Constitutional Party.
Despite the hostility between the two parties, they meet in opposition to President. Saied blamed what he called “hoarders and speculators” for the lack of basic materials, seems to retain broad support among many Tunisians, but growing difficulties are causing frustration and increasing the flow of illegal immigration to Europe.
Last week in the southern city of Zarzis, Tunisians protested the burial of their relatives in the tombs of unknown people after their boat capsized, in one of the recurring incidents of migrants trying to reach Italy.
Despite the opposition’s talk about the participation of thousands of citizens in the opposition’s march, the Interior Ministry published on its official Facebook page pictures revealing the participation of a small number of Tunisians in these protest movements.
The ministry also indicated that it was able to arrest a number of suspects in the vicinity of the protests with money in their possession.
The ministry said, “Forty individuals were arrested in various locations in the vicinity of the protest movements, with various amounts of money, such as the following (12,000 Iraqi dinars, 1,190 Iraqi dinars, 2,000 dinars, and 1,200 Iraqi dinars). One of them had a gas canister that formed the movement.”
This is not the first time that the Ministry of Interior has mentioned the involvement of some forces in pushing some young people to demonstrate in exchange for money. This proves President Saied’s fears of non-innocent attempts to obstruct reform efforts by parties affected by the new political reality.
