© Reuters. Demonstrators hold placards during a protest against Tunisian President Kais Saied, on the anniversary of the 2011 uprising, in Tunis, January 14, 2023. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
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By Tarek Amara
TUNISIA (Reuters) – Thousands of protesters marched against Tunisian President Kais Saied’s near-total takeover in central Tunis on Saturday, demanding that he step down on the anniversary of a key date in the 2011 revolution that brought democracy. .
The central avenue Habib Bourguiba, the traditional site of large demonstrations, was packed with thousands of demonstrators waving Tunisian flags, according to a Reuters journalist there, amid chants of “the people demand the fall of the regime.”
A heavy police presence remained outside the Home Office building on the street, along with water cannons.
“Tunisia is going through the most dangerous moment in its history. Saied seized control of all authorities and hit democracy. The economy is collapsing. We will not stay silent,” said Said Anouar Ali, a 34-year-old protester.
Protesters pushed past the police and metal barricades to reach the avenue, defying initial efforts by the authorities to keep separate several parallel protests that had been called by different political parties and civil society organizations.
“We were in Bourguiba in January 2011 when Saied was not present… today Bourguiba is closing us down. We will reach him at all costs,” said Chaima Issa, an activist who took part in the 2011 revolution before the crowd pushed. through the barriers.
Another major opposition political party, aligned with the pre-revolution autocracy, held a separate rally in central Tunis after being banned from marching near the presidential palace in Carthage.
Saied shut down the elected parliament in 2021 and began to reshape the political system, but low turnout in December elections from a new, mostly powerless legislature revealed little public appetite for his changes.
Meanwhile, the economy is failing, basic goods are disappearing from shelves and the government has yet to secure an international bailout with state finances on the brink of bankruptcy.
Saied’s project is now opposed by the main political forces, including most parties and the union, with many calling it an anti-democratic coup.
Yet they have failed to mend the deep ideological and personal fissures that divided them for years instead of forming a united front.
Many parties still reject a role for the largest party, the Islamist Ennahda. The powerful UGTT union is seeking a national dialogue but will not invite any party that accuses Saied of being a coup plotter.
The protests come 12 years after the ouster of former autocrat Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, with most Tunisian parties and civil society groups considering January 14 as the anniversary of the revolution.
However, Saied unilaterally changed the official date of the anniversary, saying he regards January 14 as a time when the revolution went awry.
While there has not been a major crackdown on Saied’s opponents, and the police have allowed most protests against him, his handling of the demonstrations on January 14 last year was more forceful, leading to condemnation of human rights activists.
