Last updated: Monday July 29th, 2013 @ 6:30am Tunis – Mohamed Brahmi, a deputy who resigned from the “Echaab” party to found “Attayar Echaabi” was assassinated today morning while he was leaving his home. The deputy, originating from Sidi Bouzid, was shot dead by 5 bullets. Following is a LiveBlogging of the last four days.
Following a long suspense, the Ansar Charia rally planned for 19 May in Kairouan but banned by the interior ministry finally didn’t take place. But this did nothing to dent the commitment of Salafists to what they call their “Islamic revolution.”
Since the beginning of the month, the hunt for al-Qaida-linked militants in Mount Chaambi, a region near the Algerian border, has instilled widespread anxiety and fear among the population. At least 17 soldiers and police have been seriously injured while searching for militants during the past few days. And back in December an encounter with the group costed the life of a young national guardsman.
The new book of the President of Tunisia Marzouki, The Invention of Democracy: The Lessons of the Tunisian Experience (L’invention d’une démocratie, les leçons de l’expérience tunisienne), might have little chance to restore faith in the democracy project under the leadership of Troika.
Tunisia’s Finance Minister Elyes Fakhfakh said last week the government expects to sign a $1.8 billion loan deal with the International Monetary Fund by May. An IMF team arrived in Tunisia for talks on April 8 before another meeting in Washington later this month, Fakhfakh said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Middle East headquarters in Dubai.
“White smoke” appeared at the Bardo Palace with Tunisia’s new government winning a vote of confidence in the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) this past Wednesday. The creation of a new government came after the assassination of the Leftist opposition leader Chokri Belaid and the resignation of former Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali. The late PM promised to place “country first” by forming a government of technocrats, only to fail and cede his position to his Interior Minister.
In a country riddled with political problems, the occasion of International Women’s Day turned to yet another opportunity to protest against the government. Chants of ‘the people want the fall of the regime’ dominated a rally that was initially organized to support women’s rights in Tunisia.
Less than a week after the resignation of Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, Ennahda chose Ali Laarayedh to form a new mixed government of technocrats and politicians as the country deals with a major political crisis—the most crucial since the fall of the previous regime. A secret meeting of the Ennahda “Shura (Consultative) Council” convened on Thursday night to internally elect a new prime minister replacing Mr. Jebali who stepped down early last week after he failed to form an apolitical cabinet.
La semaine précédente s’était terminée sur une note tendue à l’ANC avec le départ des élus de l’opposition jeudi 7 février. La semaine du 11 au 16 démarre dans une atmosphère tout aussi délétère. L’opposition a boycotté les séances en réclamant la tenue d’une plénière extraordinaire sur la situation politique. Pendant ce temps, les élus de la majorité ont entamé les débats sur le chapitre des collectivités publiques.
The week promised to shake up considerably the political landscape in Tunisia. Contrary to the expectations of most observers, the long awaited cabinet reshuffle announcement was delayed due to the lack of consensus among the leading troika as announced Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali on Saturday. The new-born troika of the opposition (Nidaa Tounes, Republican Party al Massar) went almost unnoticed since the Popular Front (a unified political alliance of left-wing parties) seems to be still reluctant to join the new political and electoral front.
Sixty years ago on this date, December 5, 1952, Farhat Hached, legitimately considered the key founder and father of the independent Tunisian trade union movement was assassinated by agents of French colonialism. But the movement that he was so instrumental in creating and shaping, the Union General des Travailleurs Tunisien
The Justice Minister is in the process of restoring to power a number of figures of Tunisia’s defunct dictatorial regime, this time as members of the Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM). Among them is Mahmoud Ajroud, the judge who, in 2008, presided over a series of iniquitous trials in the Gafsa mining basin.
Ayoub Massoudi, a former top media advisor to Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, faces military trial over his televised declarations regarding the extradition of former Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmoudi from Tunisia to his country.
Although the administrative court has recognised the independence of the provisional body within Tunisia’s justice sector – a body which would replace the CMS (Supreme Council of Magistrates)
As the work of the constituent assembly progresses, the debate appears strained when it comes to the different forms of political system on offer. At stake are, most importantly, the role and mode of election of the Head of State. There has been talk of a modified parliamentary system, a mixed system and a semi-presidential system.
Ayoub Massoudi, the former first advisor to the President of the Republic, in charge of Information, revealed what was going on behind the scenes in the Troika (Ennahda, CPR and Ettaktol) yesterday evening in an appearance Attounisia.
The ninth conference of the Ennahda Movement in Tunisia represented a historic moment for a party that, since its inception, had only ever been able to conduct its affairs in secret.
“Criminals, drug traffickers, and Salafist extremists are the ones behind the unrest,” Ali Laraayedh, the Tunisian Minister of the Interior, told the Constituent Assembly on Tuesday. The minister was invited to speak to the assembly and answer its questions
