Tunisia ruled by supporters of dictatorship: Former president

By Gulsen Topcu

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – Tunisia’s former president said Sunday that the country is being ruled by "the enemies of the Arab Spring and all the supporters of dictatorship in the world.”

Moncef Marzouki issued a statement on his Facebook page after thousands of Tunisians demonstrated in the capital Tunis on Sunday against the seizure of power by the country’s current president, Kais Saied.

Accusing Saied of dividing the Tunisian people, Marzouki said he disregarded national sovereignty, which they have defended for a lifetime.

He praised Sunday’s demonstrations, calling them a “new victory against the coup.”

He noted that the social unrest that will end the power grab by Saied is getting stronger day by day.

On Sunday, demonstrators gathered on Hayreddin Pasha Street and marched towards Habib Bourguiba Avenue upon a call by a protest movement known as “Citizens Against Coup.”

On July 25, Saied ousted the government, suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority. While he insists that his "exceptional measures" are meant to "save" the country, critics accuse him of orchestrating a coup.

The majority of parties in Tunisia reject Saied’s power seizure, with some accusing him of orchestrating a coup against the constitution. Other parties, however, think Saied’s decisions are correct in light of the political, economic and health crises the North African country is facing.

Tunisia has been seen as the only country that succeeded in carrying out a democratic transition among Arab countries which witnessed popular revolutions toppling ruling regimes, including Egypt, Libya and Yemen.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz in Ankara