The leader of the Citizens Against the Putsch, Habib Bouajila, announced on Sunday that the Tunisian authorities intervened to prevent the movement from holding a rally in Hammamet in the northeast of the country.
According to Bouajila, the security services put pressure on the owner of a conference hall in the city to prevent the activists from organizing a political seminar which was to be held on Sunday. “The security services threatened to permanently close the hall if the owner allowed Citizens Against the Putsch to organize the meeting,” he explained.
Bouajila pointed out that members of the civil society campaign group planned to discuss some important political and economic issues. “The seminar was expected to bring together a number of high-profile political figures, such as Samira Chaouachi, deputy speaker of the suspended parliament, as well as the leader of the political wing of the Party of Hope, Ahmed Najib Chebbi.”
The Citizens Against Coup initiative was formed last September by independent activists from different ideological backgrounds who oppose President Kais Saied. The group presented a proposed roadmap to end the political crisis in Tunisia, which provided for the holding of early presidential and legislative elections in the second half of this year.
Tunisia has been in a political crisis since July last year, when Saied imposed his “exceptional” measures, including the suspension of parliament, the promulgation of laws by presidential decrees, the dismissal of the prime minister and the appointment of a new government. The majority of the country’s political forces reject these measures and consider them a coup against the constitution and democracy.
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