Politics

Tunisia: Days after arrest of opposition leader, Ghannouchi, authorities shut party offices

Published

1 year ago

April 18, 2023

The administration in Tunisia has shut offices of the opposition party, the Islamo-conservative movement, Ennahdha, throughout the country.

The action comes a day after the arrest of the party’s leader, Rached Ghannouchi.

One of the leaders of the party, Riadh Chaibi told journalists that, “a police force came to the party’s main headquarters (in Tunis) and ordered everyone inside to get out before closing it.”

“The police have also closed other party offices across the country and banned all meetings in these premises,” he added.

Meanwhile, the European Union, which is a key partner of the troubled North African country, said it was following “with great concern the latest developments” in the country, “in particular the arrest yesterday evening (Monday) of Mr. Rached Ghannouchi as well as information concerning the closure of the headquarters of the Ennahdha party in Tunis”.

Brussels recalled “the importance of respecting the rights of the defense as well as the right to a fair trial”. And regarding the closure of Ennahdha’s premises, the European Union underlined “the fundamental principle of political pluralism”, considering that all these elements were “essential for any democracy” and constituted “the basis of the European Union’s partnership with Tunisia”.

Tunisia has benefited from the EU’s designation as a favored partner, which has assisted it in the democratic transition process that started following the 2011 revolution by offering it several aids and facilitating access to the single European market.

More than 20 opponents and figures, including ex-ministers, businessmen, and the owner of the most well-known radio station in the nation, Mosaque FM, have been detained by the authorities since the start of February.

Since the beginning of his sit-tight reign when he dismissed the government of Hichem Mechichi, President Saied has sacked the government, suspended parliament, and seized a string of powers in July 2021. He also moved to rule by decree before writing a new constitution that he passed last year.

Related Topics:Featured President Saied Tunisia

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Politics

Burkina Faso investigating reports of northern killings

Published

9 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A government spokesman has revealed that Burkina Faso is looking into reports that 223 people were killed by the Burkinabe army in two villages in the north in February.

The killing was first reported by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), causing a rift between the junta-led West African state and some foreign media that published the report. The HRW report released on Thursday said that the military had executed residents of Nodin and Soro, including at least 56 children, as part of a campaign against civilians suspected of working with jihadist terrorists. The report was based on interviews with witnesses, members of civil society, and other groups.

Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo, a spokesman for the government, said that HRW’s claims were “peremptory” and that the junta was not unwilling to look into the claimed crimes.

“An investigation has been launched into the killings in Nodin and Soro,” Ouedraogo said in a late-evening statement, quoting a statement from a regional prosecutor on March 1.

Since Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger’s militaries took over in a series of coups from 2020 to 2023, violence in the area has gotten worse. This is because of the ten-year fight with Islamist groups related to Al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Attacks on Burkina Faso got much worse in 2023, with more than 8,000 people killed, according to the U.S.-based crisis-monitoring group ACLED.

Politics

S’Africa lengthens troop deployment in Mozambique, Congo DR

Published

3 days ago

April 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a speech that South Africa’s military would keep sending troops to Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which are both in the middle of wars.

The extension will leave 1,198 members of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) in eastern Congo for an unknown amount of time. They are there as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force helping Congo fight rebel groups.

The statement also said that 1,495 members of the SANDF would keep working in Mozambique, where they have been since 2021 helping the government fight dangerous extremism in the north.

After two SANDF troops were killed and three were hurt by a mortar bomb in Congo in February, South Africa’s military operations abroad have been looked at more closely at home this year.

Meanwhile, the major opposition party in South Africa, the Democratic Alliance, said that Ramaphosa sent troops into a war zone without being ready.
Under the supervision of the UN, the SANDF has taken on many dangerous and difficult peacekeeping tasks over the years to help war-torn African countries stay stable and peaceful.

In 2003, South Africa was one of the first countries to send troops to Burundi to help the peace process. During the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) peacekeeping mission in 2000, the SANDF led attempts to stabilize the country’s politics, rebuild and improve infrastructure, and train DRC troops.