On July 25, Tunisian President Kayes Sayyid fired Prime Minister Hitchem Mechichi and adjourned parliament. Speaker Rached Ghanucci, leader of the Ennahda party, the largest Muslim Brotherhood party in parliament, called the incident a coup. The “Heart of Tunisia”, “Attayar” and “Al Karama” groups are also calling it a coup. The secular “Free Desturian Party”, a supporter of former dictator Ben Ali, has not commented. On the other hand, the ‘Chaab’ party, which has 15 out of 216 seats in the parliament, has directly supported the president. People have taken to the streets for and against the president. In this context, discussions have begun on how successful Tunisia is in calling the Arab Spring a successful democracy.
A Reuters report says the international statement on the Tunisian incident depends on who is for or against Islamist groups. Western nations, including the United States, could not decide what to say about Tunisia. On July 26, the United States expressed concern over the Tunisian incident and called for stability. However, this incident was not a coup, he did not say anything about it. France, a former Tunisian colonial power, has called for the rule of law in Tunisia and called on all political parties to renounce violence. The EU also called on all parties to abide by the constitution and to refrain from violence. A spokesman for the German government told reporters that they did not want to call it a coup. They said they would talk to the Tunisian ambassador in Berlin. The Egyptian government called the Tunisian president’s decision a “war on brotherhood terrorists.” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan called the Tunisian Foreign Minister and hoped for security, stability and development in the country. Only Turkey has directly criticized the Tunisian president. Om Chelik, a spokesman for the ruling AK Party, called the Tunisian coup a coup in a Twitter message. Tunisia’s Ennahda Party has always had good relations with the AK Party; Many, including the Free Destroyer Party, see Turkey as trying to influence Tunisia. The talks have divided Tunisia since Turkey’s intervention in the war in Libya.
An article in G Zero Media by the US think tank Eurasia Group says that the Tunisian people think that the current politicians are as corrupt as the politicians in the previous dictator Ben Ali’s government. They have all failed to provide a better life for ordinary citizens as promised by democracy. Politicians have run the country through fragile coalitions because there are so many parties in parliament; Which has resulted in indecision in Parliament and economic stagnation in public life; And the people’s confidence in the whole political system has collapsed. The Tunisian people have been on the streets for the past year. The number of people on the streets was the highest in the last decade. The stagnant economy, growing inequality, inadequate public services and declining job opportunities were the main reasons for people’s dissatisfaction. Before the epidemic began, the youth unemployment rate in Tunisia was 36 percent! Very naturally the youth have led the movement. The situation has worsened since the Corona epidemic began. Tourism is an important part of the Tunisian economy, employing many people. It has completely collapsed due to the epidemic. Thousands of people from Tunisia are crossing the sea to Italy; The purpose is to find work in Europe. In 2020, the number of such immigrant candidates has increased fivefold.
In an interview with Vox magazine, Sarah Yorkis, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a US think tank, sought an explanation for the political turmoil in Tunisia. Tunisia’s dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s government collapsed during the Arab Spring in 2011, and a multi-party democracy emerged. The largest party in parliament is the Ennahda Party with only a quarter of the seats; Who basically carry the thought of the Muslim Brotherhood. Although they got the highest number of votes in the last decade, they had to go to the coalition to form the government. Opposing them is the Free Desturian Party, a group of supporters of former dictator Ben Ali, who favors Tunisia’s good relations with France. The party, led by Abir Musi, is completely secular and completely opposed to Islamic groups like Ennahda. There is also the ‘Al Karama Coalition’; Those are Islamic parties and they think that ‘Ennahda’ is not Islamic enough and ‘Ennahda’ is not worried enough about the existence of Islam in the state. President Qais Sayed is no longer part of any party. Although he was against Ennahda from the beginning, he is not a part of completely secular parties. In Tunisian politics, the rivalry between Islamic parties and completely secular parties is important. Initially, there was a tendency for the parties to form a coalition by compromise, but later the parliamentarians started fighting. That is why Islamist groups such as the extreme secular Free Destroyer and Al Karama, led by Abir Musi, have become important.
The geopolitical importance of Tunisia, located on the international maritime trade route along the Mediterranean coast, is considerable. Tunisia’s importance has grown since Turkey’s involvement in the Libyan war. Turkey’s conflict with France in particular has escalated. France, a former Tunisian colonial power, does not want to see Turkish influence here. That is why it is not a matter of concern for France to take the power of President Kais Sayed, but it does not want to see the supporters of ‘Ennahda’ on the streets. Here, however, the United States and the EU have simultaneously refrained from criticizing Sayyed, which is discouraging the development of relations between Ennahda and Turkey. Turkey’s intervention in Libya was accepted by the West, but not in Tunisia. After the Arab Spring, it was not Tunisia’s so-called ‘democratic success’, but geopolitical competition that controlled the country’s destiny. In other words, geographical security is now more important to Western countries than the implementation of the ideological thinking of Western democracies.
No comments:
Post a Comment