TUNIS (AFP) – The People’s Movement of slain Tunisian MP Mohamed Brahmi on Monday called for a weekend rally to mark 40 days since the opposition leader’s murder plunged the country into crisis.
Modern Ghana http://www.modernghana.com/news/340623/1/tunisia-opposition-calls-for-rally-to-mark-mps-mur.html
August 3 2013
Tunis –
Tunisia’s army pressed ahead on Saturday with operations against Islamists in a remote mountain range after a deadly ambush on its troops heightened a crisis sparked by a political assassination.
The authorities kept a tight lid on the overland and helicopter raids launched on Friday in the Mount Chaambi area near the border with Algeria where Islamist militants including veterans of a revolt in northern Mali are suspected to be hiding out.
Eight Tunisian soldiers were found in the area on Monday with their throats cut after being ambushed by militants.
The interior ministry, meanwhile, said a “religious extremist” was killed and another wounded in two separate incidents while handling explosives.
And police said a suspect package was found in Tunis warning security forces to withdraw from Mount Chaambi.
The coalition government led by moderate Islamic movement Ennahda has acknowledged that the country faces a growing threat of terrorism, although it has yet to issue a call for the public to remain vigilant.
On the political front, a compromise still eluded opponents and supporters of the government in their efforts to defuse a crisis triggered by the July 25 assassination of opposition figure Mohamed Brahmi that has been blamed on jihadists.
Opposition parties have called on the government to step down but failed to draw up a united stand on policy.
Ennahda insists on its legitimacy to govern based on the last elections in October 2011.
Both sides in the political stand-off staged daily demonstrations over the past week, with Ennahda sending out calls for a mass solidarity rally in the capital’s Kasbah Square from 9pm (20.00 GMT) on Saturday.
The government’s critics say it has failed to rein in radical Islamists, who have grown in influence and stand accused of a wave of attacks since the 2011 uprising which toppled long-time president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Since Brahmi’s death – the second political slaying after leftist leader Chokri Belaid was gunned down in February – around 60 politicians have pulled out of the National Constituent Assembly that is drawing up Tunisia’s long-delayed new constitution.
Tunisian authorities have pointed to links between the Chaambi militants, the assassins of Brahmi and Belaid and Tunisia’s main Salafist organisation Ansar al-Sharia, which denies the accusation. – Sapa-AFP
ioL http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/tunisia-presses-hunt-for-jihadists-1.1557120
July 31, 2013
By Tarek Amara
TUNIS: Tunisian Education Minister Salem Labyedh has resigned, the prime minister’s spokesman said on Wednesday, as pressure mounted on the Islamist-led government to step down.
publié le 26/07/2013
Le procureur de la République prenant le dossier en main, a considéré l’affaire du meurtre du député Mohamed Brahmi comme un acte terroriste.
Pour en savoir plus à Tuniscope http://www.tuniscope.com/index.php/article/28666/actualites/societe/brahmi-053401#.UfI0hm3lc19
publié le 26-07-2013
Catherine Ashton, haute représentante de l’Union Européenne pour les affaires étrangères a condamné fermement l’assassinat de Mohamed Brahmi en appelant les différentes factions politiques du pays à répondre pacifiquement à ce crime odieux.
Ashton a également appelé les autorités tunisiennes à faire le nécessaire pour mieux éclairer l’opinion publique sur les dessous de cette affaire et traduire les responsables de l’assassinat devant la justice
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The Tunisian authorities must deliver justice to stem a worrying tide of political violence, Amnesty International said after Mohamed Brahmi was shot dead outside his home in Tunis today. Brahmi was the leader of the Tunisian leftist opposition party the Popular Current (Courant Populaire, El Tayyar El Chaabi), a member of the National Constituent Assembly, and a critical voice against the current ruling party Ennahda.
His murder, which occurred on the anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Tunisia, comes just months after another opposition leader, Chokri Belaid, was shot dead in February – sending shockwaves through Tunisian society and prompting the resignation of the then-Prime Minister.
“The targeting of a member of the National Constituent Assembly is a blow to the rule of law in Tunisia,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Middle East and North Africa deputy director at Amnesty International. “A truly independent and impartial investigation into the killing must be immediately opened. Delivering justice for these two killings and other violent attacks against individuals must be an urgent priority in Tunisia.”
So far, little has been done by authorities to ensure that attacks against members of the opposition are thoroughly investigated and those responsible are brought to justice – fueling a climate of impunity and increasing political polarization. There is an ongoing judicial investigation into Belaid’s murder, with some suspects in custody, but no one has yet been tried for the crime.
“The Tunisian authorities have a duty to protect all individuals, including those who criticize the government or Tunisia’s leading Ennahda party, from violence, and to act against individuals and groups who commit acts of violence, regardless of their affiliation,” said Hadj Sahraoui. “As Tunisians take to the streets to protest Mohamed Brahmi’s killing, we urge the security forces to refrain from unnecessary or excessive use of force and to ensure that people can express their views peacefully and freely.”
The Tunisian authorities have failed to respond to Amnesty International’s request for clarification about the steps taken to dismantle groups linked to attacks against politicians or dissenting voices.
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million supporters, activists, and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth, and dignity are denied.
contact: Amnesty International http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/press-releases/justice-needed-in-tunisia-after-second-political-murder-this-year
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