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Dozens of Tunisian civil society organisations,parties and political figures on Thursday voiced their “full support” for the powerful UGTT trade union, accusing President Kaid Saied of “targeting” it. The top UGTT official for highway workers, Anis Kaabi, was arrested on January 31 following a strike by toll barrier workers, in what the union has described as “a blow to union work and a violation of union rights”. In a joint statement Thursday, some 66 signatories expressed their “full support for the UGTT, which has been methodically targeted by the authorities which consider it to be the last obstacle in their way of seizing all powers”. They slammed “desperate attempts to criminalise union work”. Signatories included the Tunisian Communist Party, the Tunisian Association for Rights and Freedoms (ADL) and key figures such as philosopher and anthropologist Youssef Seddik and activist Bochra Belhaj Hmida.
They also accused authorities of seeking to “tighten the grip on anything related to public affairs”, adding such moves paved the way for “repression, tyranny and individual domination”. Since launching a dramatic power grab in July 2021, the Tunisian president has seized wide-ranging powers, with opponents accusing him of a slide towards authoritarianism in the birthplace of the Arab Spring uprisings. Just over 11 percent of Tunisians voted last month in the second round of legislative elections that were seen as the final pillar of Saied’s overhaul of the country’s post-revolution political system.
Following Kaabi’s arrest, UGTT chief Noureddine Taboubi had accused Saied of “trying to divert attention” from the election result and “the utter failure of his economic and social decisions.” Kaabi is set to face a court hearing on February 23 on charges of causing financial losses to a state-owned company after launching the toll barrier workers’ strike. The UGTT has announced that it will hold sit-ins over the next weeks to protest Saied’s policies, culminating in a rally in the capital on March 11.
