Thousands of Tunisians demonstrated against the government in the Tunisian capital, Tunis and other cities.
Not long after, Tunisian President Kais Saied appeared on state television, announcing that the country’s prime minister has been fired and parliament has been suspended with immediate effect. The parliamentarians lose their immunity.
‘This is quite a bit’
“A coup d’état, that’s quite something,” says correspondent Olaf Koens about what happened in Tunisia yesterday. Although it is still early to draw conclusions, Koens gets the impression that things are ‘going quite wrong’ in the country.
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“Tunisia is the country where things went quite well after the Arab Spring ten years ago,” explains Koens. “It went completely wrong in Libya, Egypt and Syria. Despite everything, you could be quite hopeful about Tunisia.”
Hardly vaccinated
However, things have also been restless in Tunisia lately. Start this year young people also took to the streets to protest against poverty, police brutality and a months-long lockdown.
“You see that poorer, perhaps also more unstable countries, have really taken a huge hit from the corona pandemic, especially if they don’t recover as quickly as we do,” explains Koens.
In Tunisia, for example, only 7 percent of the population is vaccinated. “There has been a lot of unrest about the way in which the vaccines were distributed, that was extremely chaotic. People want to be vaccinated, but it was simply too poorly organised,” says Koens.
Pictures of the unrest in Tunisia last night:
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National anthem on state television
The heavy riots that took place in Tunisia yesterday were the result of this. Still, Koens was surprised by President Saied’s suspension of parliament.
“Putting aside a parliament and the prime minister and lifting immunity and taking all the power to you yourself, those are bad signs. Tunisian state television is broadcasting folk songs. In my humble experience, that’s a very bad sign. That means often things go wrong.”
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‘Only success story’
Koens also sees that the army in Tunisia is currently being deployed, although for the time being soldiers are only patrolling the streets. “But that’s something to worry about. If only because Tunisia is the only success story we have.”
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