TUNIS (Parliament Politics Magazine): Hundreds of demonstrators marked the 11th anniversary of Tunisia’s revolution on Friday, including Rhida Bouziane.
During a demonstration last week, a Tunisian man died as a result of the wounds he sustained at the time of the security force’s assault on anti-government protesters.
The Citizens Against the Coup campaign reported on Facebook that 57 years old, Rhida Bouziane, was gravely injured on Friday and died as a direct result of “excessive violence inflicted on the demonstrator.”
In late July, President Kais Saied seized power in what his critics have dubbed a “coup against the constitution.” He has refuted the coup charges and pledged to protect the rights and freedoms gained in Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, which sparked the Arab Spring demonstrations across the region.
Hundreds of people marched in Tunisia on Friday, commemorating the Tunisian revolution’s 11th anniversary. The demonstration on Friday was also in protest of a legal prohibition on all indoor and outdoor meetings declared on Tuesday in order to prevent a COVID-19 wave.
On Wednesday, Samir Dilou, the former leader of the Ennahdha movement, which has the most seats in Tunisia’s suspended parliament, decried Bouziane’s death.
Dilou said, on 14 January, the deceased departed his home to attend the revolution’s commemoration. He bid farewell to his two daughters and son. They waited five days for him, but he never showed up. Today, they say their goodbyes before he’s laid to rest, Dilou explained.
The fact that he was in intensive care for five days was kept from the family by the authorities, according to the party, which labelled it “a murder.”
An independent anti-torture committee of Tunisia has launched its own “suspicious death investigation,” according to Lofti Ezzedine, a group official.
On Friday, a large police presence stopped protestors from converging on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, the main street in the heart of the capital and a frequent site of rallies, including during the 2011 Tunisian revolt. Water cannons and tear gas were used by police to disperse protests.
The government, according to Ennahdha and other protesting groups, imposed the restriction and reinstated the night curfew for political reasons instead of health concerns in order to prevent demonstrations.
Friday fell on the anniversary of Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, the day long-standing ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled to a North African nation.
Last year, however, Saied ruled that instead of occurring on the anniversary of Ben Ali’s exile, it would be celebrated on the December anniversary of a street vendor’s self-immolation, which sparked the rebellion.
A return to authoritarianism has been predicted by civil society organisations and Saied’s political opponents. Some Tunisians, however, who are fed up with the country’s inefficient and corrupt parliamentary system, have applauded his actions
The pandemic has wreaked havoc on Tunisia’s economy, there has been little progress in getting international support for the country’s precarious public finances, and the administration Saied established in September has proposed an unfavourable budget for 2022.
Tunisia’s president has begun drafting a new constitution, which he plans to put to a referendum in July.
Following an online public survey, the voting will take place. The end of 2022 is also projected to see parliamentary elections.
Tunisia’s nationwide consultation, which will contribute to the drafting of the new constitution, drew more than 50,000 people, according to authorities. The consultation period will end on March 20. Political, financial, economic, educational, health, cultural and social issues are all covered.
