Tunisia President Saied extends state of emergency for another month
Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - Tunisian President Kais Saied decided on Monday to extend the state of emergency throughout Tunisia for one month from January 1, 2020, according to sources close to the presidency of the Republic.
The former and late President Béji Caïd Essebsi had decided on November 24, 2015, the establishment of a state of emergency in the country following the attack on a bus of the presidential guard in Tunis that killed 13 people and injured several others. It has been regularly extended since then.
Professor Kais Saied had expressed the view before his election as Head of State that the state of emergency had become a tool of governance in Tunisia, as is the case in several Arab countries.
"The political objectives of the extension of the state of emergency are to give the executive branch exceptional prerogatives with regard to rights and freedoms enabling it to put whoever it wants in forced residence, which is contrary to the Constitution," he said then.
According to observers, Tunisia is threatened by the situation of chaos prevailing in Libya and by the return of Tunisians who fought in Syria and Iraq.
-0- PANA YY/IN/BEH/MTA/AR 30Dec2019
