Le Monde: The Decisions of Kais Saied May Engender the Scenario of 'Rabia Egypt Massacre' in Tunisia

The French newspaper Le Monde sheds light on the conservative Ennahda movement in Tunisia, which is currently standing as a guarantor of democracy in the face of President Kais Saied after his suspension of parliament activity.

In Ouardia, a quiet suburb south of Tunis, Mahmoud, a 63-year-old hairdresser, is resting in the shade of the trees.

Nothing expresses the concern of this sympathizer with the Islamist Ennahda party, despite the unprecedented situation Tunisia is going through after the coup of the president who granted himself executive power and suspended parliament for 30 days, on July 25, 2021.

 

Egyptian Scenario in Tunisia?

This change is testing Ennahda, the main party in the assembly, which has been in open conflict with the presidency for months, as he is facing a growing hostility from the population, according to Le Monde.

Saied dismissed the Prime Minister in charge of managing the Ministry of the Interior, Ibrahim Al-Bertajy, the Minister of Defense, Hasna Benslimane, the Minister in charge of the public service and the Acting Minister of Justice, and a number of other officials.

He took these measures on a day when many provinces witnessed popular protests, which demanded the overthrow of the entire ruling system and accused the opposition of failure, in light of political, economic and health crises.

Saied said that he took these decisions to "save the Tunisian state", but the majority of parties rejected them, and some considered them a "coup against the constitution", while others supported them, considering it a "correction of the path."

The main component in the Tunisian parliament, the Ennahda party (Islamist) criticized the measures and denounced the "coup against the revolution and the constitution."

However, more and more Tunisians hold the party responsible for the failures of governance during the country's democratic transition and for the economic and social crisis.

This is not the case with Mahmoud, who claims that he has always remained loyal to Ennahda, about which he says: "It is a strong party that has remained steadfast in the political scene after the revolution."

Mahmoud adds, "Those who want to challenge it must do so through the ballot boxes," expressing more confidence in the possibility of finding a solution "in the interest of the country."

At his side, Ali, a retired and longtime party activist who was a torture victim under the dictatorship of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (1989-2011), is even more concerned.

In reference to the confrontation in Egypt, in the summer of 2013, between supporters of the Islamist-oriented former president Mohamed Morsi and his opponents, Ali says: The army turned against Morsi, causing a massacre in Rabia al-Adawiya Square. Ali comments: "We don't know what will happen anymore, I hope we won't live a similar Rabia massacre"

Politician Salim Kharrat stresses, "Today, the violent confrontation of the two legitimacies, the Ennahda Party and the Presidency, is one of the biggest risks to continuing the transitional period."

Although life has resumed its course in Tunisia, the risk of escalation is under scrutiny by the international community.

 

Ennahda’s Political Survival

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian stressed the "need to maintain calm and the rule of law" and called for the "rapid appointment" of the head of government.

In a sensitive situation, Ennahda is looking for an exit strategy from the crisis.

Its leader and Parliament Speaker, Rached Ghannouchi, boycotted the sit-in he had started in front of the parliament's entrance. After denouncing the "coup" led by Kais Saied, the party plays the role of appeasement.

To avoid violence, he asked his supporters not to take to the streets.

"The Ennahda movement is trying to ensure its political survival and restore its international image, by pretending to be a guarantor of democratic institutions in the face of those who mock them," says Le Monde.

Consequently, Ennahda calls for a national dialogue and a mobilization of a front with various political formations to push Kais Saied to reverse his decisions.

Dialogue is a formula that was looming on the horizon for some time. It was proposed by the main union formation in the country, the Tunisian General Labor Union, and demanded it 6 months ago, but to no fruitful outputs.

The Ennahda party also requires its demand to restore parliamentary activity. However, in his confrontation with him, Kais Saied goes to rule alone.

Saied has not yet appointed a new prime minister, and prefers political meetings with security forces, social partners and associations

Stripped of its core strength of parliamentary legitimacy, the party has the largest number of seats, 52 out of 217, but Le Monde believes that "Ennahda must adapt".

In order to save the country, the movement said it was ready "to hold simultaneous early legislative and presidential elections, to ensure the protection of the democratic process and to prevent any delay from being an excuse to maintain an authoritarian regime."

However, the new elections are not in the party's interest given the growing discontent arousing among the population, especially with the triple health, economic and social crisis.

Between 2011 and 2019, the period in which it participated in nearly every government, Ennahda lost 1.5 million voters.

MP Sayeda Lounisi acknowledges this and says: "We have to be humble. There is no doubt that part of the Tunisian street is not on our side. We cannot pretend to be the victim."

 

Suspicions and 'Dictatorship'

The corruption allegations against the party have also tarnished its image, the newspaper says.

It announced the opening of an investigation into the campaign financing of 3 parties running for the 2019 legislative elections, including Ennahda, on July 14, 2021.

The investigation relates to “obtaining foreign funding for the 2019 election campaign and accepting anonymous funds to finance this election campaign.”

Tunisian public opinion had already moved, in mid-July, to see Ennahda pressure the prime minister to speed up compensation for the "victims of the dictatorship" through a special fund established through transitional justice.

Part of the population saw it as an attempt to seize state resources.

An Ennahda spokesperson, who asked not to be named, admitted, "It was about appeasing activists who have been demanding their compensation for years, but it was a real failure on our part."

In the same context, he continues, as the country stands on a state of bankruptcy, and is battling a new deadly wave of the Coronavirus, "this was not the right time”. Especially since people believed that we had already benefited from some form of compensation for the abuses of the dictatorship with our position in power all these years.”

A remarkably frequent obstructive situation has prevented the establishment of a constitutional court, a painful absence in the current crisis.

While the movement's representative, Samir Dilo, welcomed the "reassuring statements" of Kais Saied regarding rights and freedoms, another deputy, Noureddine Al-Buhairi, criticized "the perpetuation of the dictatorship."

Le Monde concludes by saying: "Rached Ghannouchi's controversial personality and his attachment to power raise tensions," as the newspaper put it.