Workers' Party of Tunisia communique on the July 25th coup

TUNISIA: Communiqué of the Party of the Workers on July 25  

The rectification of the revolutionary process cannot be achieved through coups d'état or an autocratic regime  

The Party of the Workers has drawn attention to the dangers threatening our country, in particular that of coups d'état and the risks of being caught up in violence.  

1. The Party of the Workers considers that the announcements of the president's – which were foreseeable in the face of requests for interference by the military institution in the conflict between the factions in power – are a flagrant violation of the Constitution and the provisions of Article 80 [emergency powers] mentioned by Kaïs Saïd [The president of Tunisia, elected in October 2019; there has been unrest throughout 2021 and July 25th he dismissed the prime minister and suspended the legislature; since then other officials have been dismissed, the Tunisian Al Jazeera bureau was raided without a warrant and closed, and two legislators have been imprisoned].  

Politically, these exceptional anti-democratic measures reflect the clear will of the president to seize all powers: executive, legislative and judicial, opening the way to the re-establishment of a new autocratic system.  

2. This turn of events portends a new stage in which the already critical situation of the country will worsen even more, with the risk of falling into a spiral of violence and terrorism.  

3. The Party of the Workers affirms that the Tunisian people need an urgent and radical change, to get the country out of the general and deep crisis, resulting from the reactionary choices of the last decade. It renews its call to overthrow the entire system: government, presidency and parliament. To that end, it is necessary, first of all, to determine the responsibilities, especially that of Ennahda [Islamist party heading the legislature] who has dragged the country into an economic and financial disaster, exacerbating Tunisia's debt and dependence. Ennahdha has also promoted corruption, terrorism and political assassinations, and has undermined the pillars of Tunisian life.  

4. The Party of the Workers renews its conviction that the desired change cannot be achieved by supporting the coup of Kaïs Saïd or through any alliance with the Ennahdha movement. Only the Tunisian people can bring about this change, in order to build a people’s democracy, within the framework of a civil State, where power is in the hands of the people. It must be based on respect for the country's sovereignty over its wealth and political decisions, on social justice and on equality between citizens.  

5. The Party of the Workers calls on the Tunisian people to continue to express themselves peacefully and to reject the calls for confrontation by the factions in power, supported by regional and international powers defending their own interests. It calls for vigilance to be attentive to the real objectives of the supporters of the old regime, of the deep State, of the mafias and smugglers.  

6. The Party of the Workers calls on all democratic and progressive forces, parties, associations, personalities, to meet urgently to define the modalities of consultation, in order to develop a common vision to face these serious events that may lead the country into a spiral of violence and civil war, or fall back into an absolute autocratic regime, while the Tunisian people have made enormous sacrifices to get rid of it.  

Party of the Workers  

Tunisia, July 26, 2021