18/2/2023–|Last updated: 2/18/202311:22 PM (Makkah Al-Mukarramah)
Tunisian President Kais Saied said today, Saturday, that he had ordered the departure of a senior European trade union official after her participation in a protest organized by the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT).
A statement from the Tunisian presidency said that the president considers the Secretary-General of the European Federation of Trade Unions, Esther Lynch, “persona non grata.”
The statement said that Lynch must leave Tunisia within 24 hours after she participated in a rally and made statements in which she “blatantly interfered with Tunisian affairs.”
The presidency added that “there is no room for allowing any external party to attack the sovereignty of the state and its people,” as it put it.
Earlier today, Saturday, thousands of Labor Union supporters demonstrated in the southern governorate of Sfax and other cities in the country, denouncing the deteriorating economic and social situation and its “targeting” by President Saied.
Lynch participated in the Sfax demonstration, where she delivered a speech in which she said, “I came here to convey the voice of solidarity of 45 million trade unionists from Europe.”
The Labor Union suspended
In the first comment on Lynch’s expulsion, the prominent leader in the Labor Union, Sami Al-Tahri, said, “We condemn this shocking decision. It not only includes a confrontation against the Tunisian General Labor Union, but also with the international trade union movement.”
“The shameful decision damages the image of the revolutionary Tunisia, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate,” Tahri told Reuters.
He said Lynch was harassed tonight and even prevented from leaving the hotel for dinner, which he considered “shameful”.
