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Tunisia- In the year 2023, Tunisia experienced profound developments that struck opposition figures after a massive arrest campaign launched by the regime against them and imprisoning them on charges of conspiring against state security and destabilizing the situation. Tunisians continued to suffer deteriorating living conditions and the loss of basic materials. The most prominent issue that overshadowed the events of the year was the irregular migration crisis.
In February 2023, the regime – led by the president – took effect Kais Saied– In the arrest of a group of politicians and businessmen on charges that carry life sentences, and he was among these detainees Rashid Ghannouchi Speaker of the dissolved parliament and leader Renaissance movement Islamist, who has been detained in Mornaguia prison since April 2023.
The arrest campaign did not exclude the rest of the symbols of progressive political movements on charges of conspiring against state security, although the detainees’ defense lawyers confirm that their files are devoid of any evidence, and they accuse the regime of fabricating charges against them to silence the voices of the opposition, while the president’s supporters confirm that the detainees were involved in suspicions of corruption and political crimes.
Protests
In response to the arrest campaign, protest movements by the opposition were frequent, especially by the National Salvation Front, of which the Islamic Renaissance Movement is the largest component. However, despite the repeated protests demanding the release of political detainees, some of whom went on hunger strikes, the regime did not back down one bit.
The issue of freedoms remained stagnant with the failure of organizations and parties’ demands to repeal Decree 54 on combating rumours, which the opposition considers to be a sword hanging over it, while calls from the Tunisian Journalists Syndicate for the release of a number of journalists, including Khalifa Al-Qasimi, who was sentenced to 5 years in prison, failed.
The year 2023 was not only marked by the arrest of politicians opposed to President Kais Saied after he announced exceptional measures on July 25, 2021, in which he delegated all powers to himself, abolished the previous constitution, and dissolved Parliament and the Supreme Judicial Council, but it was also marked by the cessation of the activity of the Ennahda Movement and the closure of its headquarters.
Renaissance ban
The ban step represented a turning point in the history of the Islamic Renaissance Movement, whose activities were secret during the era of the former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Before she became a difficult political figure in the country after the revolution, she won the elections, but her poor performance and the worsening crises during her reign paved the way for her removal from the scene, according to observers.
Tunisian President Kais Saied has always stressed in his speeches that he will never go backwards, and after drawing up a new constitution for the country that changed the political system from parliamentary to presidential or presidential, as some consider it, he proceeded to organize legislative elections in which he formed a new parliament during preparations for holding local elections on December 24. December 2023.
In the same vein as the weak participation in the referendum on President Saied’s constitution or the past legislative elections, observers expect that the local elections station will witness significant voter abstention as a result of the unbearable deterioration of living conditions, especially due to the loss of basic materials and the rise in prices.
Economic and security deterioration
In 2023, Tunisians became fed up with the disruption in the distribution of fuel, medicines, and basic goods supplied from abroad due to the fluctuation of foreign currency reserves, which created long queues in front of gas stations and in front of bakeries, whose activity was greatly affected due to the decline in grain production and the lack of supply from abroad.
The Russian-Ukrainian war affected the economic and living conditions in Tunisia, and the disruption of the agreement with the International Monetary Fund, on the other hand, caused a worsening of the financial conditions as a result of Saeed’s refusal to accept the Fund’s conditions for lifting government subsidies on goods and privatizing state companies.
The state has not yet succeeded, within the framework of the penal reconciliation decree with businessmen, in recovering sums stolen in corruption deals amounting to approximately 13.5 billion dinars ($4.4 billion), according to a statement by President Kais Saied, who appointed Ahmed Al-Hashani as the new prime minister to succeed Najla Boudin and charged him with reviewing assignments to government jobs.
On the security level, in May 2023, Tunisia witnessed an attack near a Jewish temple (synagogue) in Djerba Island It was carried out by a security man from the Tunisian Naval Guard, which led to the death of 5 people. The incident raised fears among Tunisians about the possibility of some extremist elements infiltrating the security services as sleeper cells.
The escape of five extremist elements accused of involvement in assassinations and “terrorist” attacks last November from the Mornaguia prison – the toughest and most heavily guarded prison – raised many fears and doubts among Tunisians towards state agencies, but security was able to save the situation after the arrest. on them.
Irregular migration
The issue of irregular migration is considered the most prominent event in the events of the year 2023 due to the increase in the number of irregular migrants coming from sub-Saharan Africa through Libya and Algeria towards Tunisia, a country that has turned into a transit area par excellence for migrants towards the European coasts, especially Italy, which is geographically close.
Because of their growing numbers in Tunisia, in February 2023, Kais Saied called for urgent measures to be taken to stop the flow of irregular African migrants, considering at the time that the increase in their numbers might lead to the outbreak of violence and crimes. His speech was widely criticized on the grounds that it offended migrants and exposed them to danger.
This coincided with the publication of video clips by irregular migrants from Africa showing them being subjected to serious attacks, in addition to widespread security arrest campaigns against them, while President Kais Saied sought to mitigate the severity of his speech, stressing the protection of migrants and respect for their rights, calling for an international solution to the crisis.
Tunisia signed andEuropean Union Last July, a strategic partnership agreement was reached to combat irregular migration in exchange for financial support, when the number of boats leaving Tunisia, located in North Africa, for Europe sharply increased, and Italy provided significant political support to Tunisia to sign this agreement.
Kais Saied faced criticism regarding the immigration file, as human rights organizations considered him a security guard for Europe’s borders, while President Saied stressed that he would not accept playing the role of guard in exchange for meager financial aid, calling at a conference in Italy last July for dealing with the irregular migration file according to an approach Inclusive.
In the context of exchanging financial aid for greater cooperation from the Tunisian authorities in combating irregular migration to Europe, the agreement remained subject to the commitment of both parties to implement their pledges, which are now facing mounting political challenges on both sides, although Italy is intensifying its efforts to persuade European partners to accelerate aid.
President Saied had rejected financial support announced by the European Union, claiming that the amount was small and inconsistent with the agreement signed last summer with the Union. This step may threaten to undermine the partnership agreement with the European Union on migration to combat human smugglers and tighten coastal control amid an increase in the number of migrants.
