6 Tunisian opposition parties unveil ‘Salvation Front’

By Yousri Wannas

TUNIS (AA) - Six Tunisian opposition parties on Friday unveiled a unified "Salvation Front" established with the aim of pressuring the government to find viable solutions to the country’s myriad problems.

The front includes the Free National Union, the Project of Tunisia Movement, the Nidaa Tounes Movement, the Tunisian Socialist Party, the Democratic National Action Party and the Al-Thawabett Party.

According to Nidaa Tounes member Khamis Kssila, the six-party front was "drawn up with the aim of pushing the government to overcome Tunisia’s most pressing problems and ease the social congestion from which the country is suffering."

In a Friday statement, Kssila described Tunisia’s current government as "unable" to solve the country’s problems.

He went on to say that the Salvation Front was open to "anyone from Tunisia’s moderate progressive current".

Tunisian Socialist Party Secretary-General Mohamed Kilani, for his part, said the choice of name -- the "Salvation Front" -- reflected the country’s "dangerous situation" and the "urgent need" for viable solutions.

The move comes shortly before Tunisia marks the sixth anniversary of a 2011 popular uprising that led to the ouster of autocratic President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali after more than two decades in power.