The opponents of Tunisia President Kais Saied protested on the streets of Tunis on Thursday, accusing the Tunisian leader of using the judiciary and police to repress critics, while his supporters performed a parallel demonstration, highlighting a growing political division in the country.
The demonstration against Saied – the second protest of the opposition in a week – reflects the growing concern of human rights groups that the cradle of Arab spring is moving towards a one -man regime.
Protesters on the main avenue of the capital sang phrases such as “Saied, go away, you are a dictator” and “the people want the fall of the regime,” a slogan that refers to the 2011 revolt that overthrew former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
In the same street, Habib Bourguiba Avenue, Saied supporters gathered in their defense, shouting “not to foreign interference” and “The People Want Saied again.”
Shock police were mobilized in large numbers to separate the groups. There are no reports of confrontation.
The demonstrations occur after months of government repression against critics of Saied, including the detention last week of prominent lawyer Ahmed Souab, a staunch opponent of the president.
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The opposition accuses Saied of undermining the democracy gained in the 2011 revolution, since he took extra powers in 2021, when he closed the elected parliament and began to rule by decree, and assumed control of the judiciary.
They described their action as a blow, while Saied says it was a legal action necessary to end chaos and unbridled corruption.
The leaders of most Tunisia’s political parties are arrested, including Abir Moussi, leader of the Free Constitutional Party, and Rached Ghannouchi, leader of Ennahda – two of Saied’s most prominent opponents.
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The government states that there is democracy in Tunisia. Saied says he will not be a dictator, but insists that what he calls corrupt elite must be held responsible.
