Said in Tunisia takes action on economy and COVID-19 after disbanding government Reuters

Tarek Amara

Tunisia (Reuters)-The President of Tunisia said on Wednesday that he was addressing the severe economic and COVID-19 situation and that he was investigating widespread corruption after invoking emergency powers to seize control of the government on Sunday. The enemy is called a coup.

Said defended measures including the removal of the prime minister and the suspension of parliament on the grounds of the surge in the epidemic and poor governance, saying that he took actions to protect the country from corruption and conspiracy to incite civil unrest.

After years of economic difficulties and declining public services, Tunisia’s political paralysis prevented any unanimous response to the pandemic, and public anger has been growing.

France said on Wednesday that the most important thing is that Said quickly appoints a new prime minister and cabinet, while civil society groups, including strong trade unions, said he must develop a road map to get rid of the crisis within a month.

Ten years after the end of autocratic rule through popular uprisings, Tunisia’s democratic system is facing the most severe test so far, and Western countries that praise its political transformation have expressed their concerns.

Said said that his actions were in line with the Constitution, but the next step has not yet been formulated. The United States urges him to adhere to democratic principles. The presidential palace said he met with the security chief on Wednesday.

With the support of the army, Said’s actions included the suspension of Parliament for 30 days. Opponents, including the largest Islamic Baath Party in parliament, accused him of grabbing power.

On Wednesday, he changed the person in charge of the television station after two guests on a current affairs show said they were denied entry into the building.

After the police raided the Foreign Information Bureau, the United States on Monday urged Tunisia to maintain “a strict respect for freedom of speech,” but a reporter from the New York Times said on Wednesday that the police detained her for two hours while working in Tunisia.

Judicial investigation

Late Wednesday, the president released a video showing Said telling a union chief that “wrong economic choices” caused major financial problems.

Tunisia is seeking a loan agreement from the International Monetary Fund to fund its projected budget deficit and debt repayment.

In the video, Said called on traders to lower commodity prices and warned them not to speculate or hoard. He also targeted business figures accused of corruption, saying that 460 people had stolen 13.5 billion dinars ($4.8 billion) in public funds.

The judiciary earlier stated that it was investigating the Baath Party and the Heart of Tunisia, the two largest parties in the parliament, for allegedly accepting foreign funds during the 2019 election.

The judiciary, which is widely regarded as independent of politics in Tunisia, stated that its investigation began 10 days before the president took action.

Ennahda is a moderate Islamic political party. After its leader’s parliamentary spokesman Rached Ghannouchi accused Said of launching a coup, the party has become the focus of opposition to Said’s seizure of power and denied any irregularities.

Reporters could not be reached downtown Tunisia for comment.

Although Ennahda called on supporters to take to the streets to oppose Said’s actions on Sunday, he has since called for calm and seek national dialogue.

There were no signs of protests or other disturbances on Wednesday, despite stricter security in the centre of Tunisia. The army remained in the parliament, government and television buildings surrounded on Sunday.

Said reiterated a long-term ban on gatherings of more than three people in public, but there is no sign that the rule is being implemented because people can move and gather normally.

Said has also tightened some existing COVID-19 restrictions, including night curfews and inter-city travel bans.

The President said that on Wednesday he ordered the establishment of a pandemic response center to coordinate Tunisia’s response to the COVID-19 crisis.