Recent political developments in Tunisia have once again turned the country into a new arena of competition and differences between Turkey and Qatar on the one hand and Saudi Arabia and the UAE on the other with ideological underpinnings.
In the wake of last Sunday’s protests in Tunisia, President Qais Saeed, in an emergency meeting with military and security commanders, decided to remove Prime Minister Hisham al-Mashishi and run the executive branch, suspend parliament and revoke the immunity of its members and announced the restoration of calm in Tunisia with the help of the new prime minister.
Tunisian Prime Minister Hisham al-Mashishi was suspended in response to protests against the “Corona virus” epidemic.
In a televised speech, Qais Saeed announced efforts to restore calm to Tunisia with the help of the new prime minister, and expressed the view that he had made these decisions to restore social peace to Tunisia and save the country.
The Tunisian president also warned that he would use force to confront the violence, saying that “I warn anyone who is concerned about the use of weapons and anyone who fires that the armed forces will retaliate.”
As of Sunday morning, all roads leading to the main streets of the Tunisian capital have been closed and a large number of security forces have been deployed on the main streets of the capital.
The President of Tunisia has also issued a decree banning overnight traffic for one month. According to this order, a one-month curfew will be imposed in Tunisia from 21:00 to 6:00.
Tunisian Prime Minister Hisham al-Mashishi, who was ousted by the president on Sunday with the help of the military, said in his first statement that he would hand over power to the person who will be the president’s cabinet.
Following the deployment of the army in the Tunisian capital, the army prevented Rashid al-Ghannouchi, the speaker of parliament and leader of the Al Nehza movement, from entering parliament. The suspended speaker of the Tunisian parliament called on the people to take to the streets to take matters into their own hands.
The Tunisian Al Nehza Movement also called on the Tunisian president to reverse his extraordinary recent decisions to suspend parliament and lift the immunity of its members and remove the government.
The movement said in a statement on Tuesday after an emergency meeting in its executive office: The Al Nehza movement considers these extraordinary actions of President Qais Saeed illegal and a coup against the constitution and the country’s institutions, especially in connection with the suspension of representation and the monopoly of all powers without any legal oversight, and calls for the resumption of the House of Representatives.
The Al Nehza movement called on Tunisian political and civil forces to “increase consultations on recent developments in order to safeguard democratic gains and return to the legal process and the normal process of state institutions as soon as possible.”
The movement also warned of the “danger of violent speech, accusations and the removal and dismantling of Tunisia’s national social structure and the problems and calamities that the country needs.”
Al-Ghannouchi, Speaker of the Tunisian Parliament, also stated: President Qais Saeed’s decisions do not serve democracy and party pluralism, and show a strong desire to control government institutions.
He added: A meeting was held in the office of the Ennahda movement and we decided to condemn the revolution (coup) and we invited President Saeed Qais to cancel these decisions.
“Disputes must be resolved through dialogue,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman Farhan Haq said Monday night in response to recent developments in Tunisia.
Farhan Haq also said that International organizations in Tunisia call on all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from any use of violence and to ensure that the situation in Tunisia remains calm.
The spokesman for the UN secretary-general, of course, declined to comment on whether the move was a coup in Tunisia.
White House spokesman Jen Saki told reporters: We are concerned about developments in Tunisia; Tunisian authorities, meanwhile, are working to stabilize the economy and counter the rising prevalence of Covid 19 and improve living standards for all.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement on Monday that Washington was closely monitoring developments in Tunisia.
The State Department spokesman stated that “we urge all parties in Tunisia to refrain from actions that could harm the democratic dialogue or lead to violence.”
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also spoke by telephone with the Tunisian president on Monday.
The State Department said in a statement that Blinken called on the Tunisian president to adhere to the principles of democracy and human rights, which are the foundation of the Tunisian government.
But in the meantime, the positions of Qatar and Turkey on the one hand and the positions of Saudi Arabia and the UAE and the type of reflection of the Tunisian developments in the media of these countries and their view of the decisions of the Tunisian president about Akhwan Al Muslimeen have become more important.
Perhaps the Arab Spring can be considered the serious beginning of the rivalries and disputes between the two camps in Qatar and Turkey, on the one hand, and the UAE and Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, over the rise of Islamist currents in the region.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia, which saw themselves in danger of spreading the Arab Spring, tried until the last moment to support the governments based in these countries and try to contain or divert the Arab revolutions.
It was in this connection that Saudi Arabia, in the shadow of the Arab Spring in Tunisia, made every effort to ensure the survival of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, but a widespread wave of protests eventually led to his ouster and his escape to Saudi Arabia.
The Arab Spring and the change in the political structure of Tunisia led to the widespread empowerment of the Islamist current in Tunisia and its political presence, which is symbolized by the Al Nehza movement.
On October 28, 2015, al-Ghannouchi denied the Akhwan Al Muslimeen’s description of terrorism and told Al Jazeera that if Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whom he described as the coup commander, traveled to Tunisia, he would not welcomed.
On May 26, 2016, Mohsen al-Sudani, a representative of the Ennahda movement, and Jalal al-Arghi, a leader of the movement, emphasized that the Ennahda movement was proud of its connection to the Muslim Brotherhood and had intellectual and cultural ties with the group.
The Tunisian Al Nehza movement now holds a majority in parliament, and the ousted prime minister is part of the movement, and Qais Saeed’s recent decisions have prompted the two camps to take a stand against the developments in Tunisia.
In this regard, the suspension of the parliament and the removal of the Tunisian Prime Minister by the President of this country have faced a widespread reaction from Ankara, and Turkish officials have called these actions a violation of the constitution and a coup.
In a Twitter message, Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Shentup called the suspension of parliament and the removal of Tunisia’s prime minister by President Qais Saeed “a violation of the constitution and a coup.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry also stated that it is deeply concerned about the suspension of the Tunisian parliament, which is the manifestation of the will of the people of this country.
Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin also wrote on his Twitter account: The democratic process in Tunisia has been suspended; we condemn actions that lack legitimacy and public support.
Numan Kurtulmus, deputy leader of the Turkish Justice and Development Party, was another Turkish political figure who spoke about the developments in Tunisia: Turkey strongly opposes the coup; we believe that the coup is a reactionary action that causes the countries to fall behind.
But perhaps the words of “Yasin Aqtai”, an adviser to the Turkish president, were more explicit. For the first time, he directly accused some Arab and Western powers of trying to “conspire against the will of the Tunisian people and support the coup.”
Aqtai added: It is natural for some infamous Arab regimes to support these coups and applaud those who carried them out, because they are authoritarian and dictatorial regimes that have been disgraced all over the world and are a poisonous dagger behind the people of the region.
The Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it follows the developments in the Tunisian political crisis and calls on all parties involved in the crisis to put the interests of the Tunisian people first, to exercise prudence and to avoid tensions.
“Riyadh emphasizes the security and stability and prosperity of Tunisia and the support of all to achieve this,” Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said in a telephone call with his Tunisian counterpart.
At the same time, Rashid al-Ghannouchi, the leader of the Al Nehza movement, accused the UAE media of being involved in what was happening in his country.
Al-Ghannouchi also accused the UAE media of being opposed to the Ennahda movement, saying: The media are behind the scenes leading to the coup in Tunisia and the attack on the headquarters of the Al Nehza movement.
In this regard, the Emirati newspaper Al-Ittihad wrote in a report on the removal of Hisham al-Mashishi, the movement’s prime minister, in his own words, “Akhwani of Al Nehza” and added: “The Tunisian president took part in a public celebration of the suspension of parliament and the removal of the government, and Tunisia rebelled against the Brotherhood, and the Tunisians took to the streets to celebrate the president’s decisions.”
The Saudi newspaper Al-Watan also wrote: “Qais Saeed took a series of exceptional decisions to stop the country’s confusion over the actions of the Ennahda Brotherhood movement, which dominates the legislature. Qais Saeed’s decisions received widespread popular support and thousands of Tunisians celebrated in the squares.”
In this regard, the Saudi newspaper “Al-Riyadh” wrote in an article: “In response to the protests, the Tunisian president ousted the prime minister and suspended parliament.”
But the Saudi newspaper Okaz, reported by media outlets close to the Saudi court, ran headlines such as “Tunisia’s anger burns.” Tunisia rebelled against the Akhwan. Ghannouchi’s approach was overthrown. “After the president’s decisions, the Tunisian people celebrated the end of the terrorist group.”
“Abd al-Rahman al-Rashed” also wrote in an article titled “The fall of the last fortress of the Akhwan” in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper: The doors seem to be closed to the Akhwan Al Muslimeen, even in its replacement capital, Istanbul, and it is no longer a city to welcome their fugitives. After Egypt and Sudan, this time it is Tunisia that announces the death of the Akhwan. Tunisia was the group’s first gate and most important achievement in the last decade, and today is its last collapsed fortress.