Tunisia Frozen parliament denounces "security attacks" against protesters

On Friday, the Tunisian parliament, whose powers were suspended, condemned the "blatant security attacks" that affected civil and political leaders and citizens who demonstrated to express their views civilly and peacefully, and demanded the parliament to release the "kidnapped" members of parliament.

The presidency of the Tunisian Parliament, whose powers have been suspended, denounced what it called "security attacks", which it described as "blatant", affecting political and civil leaders and citizens who participated in Friday's demonstrations.

The parliament’s presidency said in a statement that it “condemns the blatant attacks that affected political and civil leaders and citizens who came to express their views civilly and peacefully (in reference to Friday’s demonstrations to celebrate the anniversary of the revolution and a rejection of President Qais Saeed’s actions).”

The statement stressed that "peaceful demonstration and expression of opinion is a right guaranteed by the constitution, law and international conventions, and that the people who accomplished the January 14, 2011 revolution of freedom and dignity are able to defend and protect it and are ready to sacrifice more in order to complete the democratic transition and consolidate the rule of law and institutions."

He praised "the female citizens and citizens who contributed to the commemoration of this anniversary (the anniversary of the Tunisian revolution) to perpetuate the souls of the martyrs, in appreciation of the sacrifices of the wounded, and in fulfillment of the constitution."

The statement demanded "the release of the kidnapped, arrested and imprisoned, led by MPs Noureddine Al-Buhairi (Al-Nahda bloc), Saif Al-Din Makhlouf and Nidal Saudi (Al-Karama Coalition)."

And earlier on Friday, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement that it had used water to disperse the demonstrators who tried to reach Habib Bourguiba Street in the center of the capital, for “violating” a government decision to prevent demonstrations to prevent the spread of the Corona virus.

The ministry said that "about 1,200 people demonstrated in the side streets surrounding Habib Bourguiba Avenue in the capital, protesting the celebration of January 14."

The protests came on Friday in response to calls from the "Citizens Against the Coup" initiative, the "Ennahda", the "Democratic Current" (22 seats), the "Ettakatol", the "Republican" and the "Workers" (they have no representatives), rejecting the actions of President Kais Saied and coinciding with Anniversary of the Tunisian Revolution (January 14, 2011).

Tunisia has been experiencing a political crisis since last July 25, when it imposed exceptional measures, including freezing the competencies of Parliament, issuing legislation by presidential decrees, dismissing the prime minister and appointing new ones.

The majority of political and civil forces in Tunisia, including Ennahda, reject these measures, and consider them a "coup against the constitution", while other forces support them, seeing them as a "correction of the course of the 2011 revolution" that overthrew the rule of then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (1987-2011)