AA / Tunisie/Alaa Hammoudi
France estimated on Monday that the Tunisian police “showed unacceptable violence against journalists during Friday’s demonstrations against President Kaïs Saïed”.
This is what emerges from a statement published on the official website of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and consulted by the correspondent of the Anadolu Agency.
The demonstrations took place on Friday in response to calls from the “Citizens Against the Coup” initiative, the “Ennahdha” parties (53 seats out of 217 in Parliament whose prerogatives have been frozen), the Democratic Current ( 22 seats), Ettakatol, the Jomhouri Party and the Workers’ Party (all three without representatives in parliament), in rejection of the measures taken by Saïed since last July 25 and coinciding with the anniversary of the Tunisian revolution (January 14 2011).
“Many journalists, including French and international press correspondents, were victims of violence by security forces while covering the protests in Tunis on January 14, which is unacceptable,” the statement said.
And to add: “We reaffirm France’s attachment to freedom of the press and freedom of the media in Tunisia and everywhere in the world”.
On Saturday, 21 Tunisian organizations denounced what they called “the repressive approach of the police” which targeted protesters during Friday’s protests, blaming President Kais Saied and Interior Minister Taoufik Charfeddine .
These organizations and associations (all non-governmental) have signed a joint declaration. Among them, the Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, the organizations Bawsala and Lawyers Without Borders.
On Friday, Tunisia’s interior ministry said in a statement that security forces “showed the utmost restraint and gradually used water cannons to disperse protesters who deliberately stormed the barriers. and attacked the security forces.”
The ministry added that the dispersal of protesters was due “to the violation of a government decision to prevent any demonstrations in open and closed spaces during this period in order to prevent the acceleration of the spread of the coronavirus.”
*Translated from Arabic by Mourad Belhaj
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