| 06 February 2013 | 13 Comments
 
 

Protesters near barbed wire this morning in front of the Interior Ministry as security forces look on

International organizations and Tunisian politicians condemned the assassination of opposition leader Chokri Belaid Wednesday morning, saying the dangerous detour on Tunisia’s path to democracy could lead to social unrest, or even civil war.

“Such a crime is an attempt to silence the voices of those who are calling for democracy and truth,” Lazhar Akremi, a spokesperson for Nidaa Tounes, told Tunisia Live. “By killing democratic leaders, it will be easier to seize the country.”

The Tunisian branch of Amnesty International called in a statement for Tunisian authorities to open an investigation into Belaid’s assassination in order to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators.

“There is no justification for this outrageous and cowardly act, and political violence has no place in Tunisia’s democratic transition,” according to a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Tunis.

Jean-Claude Mignon, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, expressed dismay over the assassination of Belaid.

“This act will not lessen the resolve of the Tunisian people to consolidate democracy and the rule of law,” he said in a press statement.

Politicians from both the ruling Ennahdha party and opposition parties denounced violent acts in Tunisia.

Ennahdha condemned the crime in an official statement and reported that security authorities are doing their best to identify the killers.

A demonstrator on Habib Bourguiba avenue holds a sign reading, “Today Chokri… Tomorrow who?”

“Belaid’s assassination is a criminal and terrorist act that will endanger the country,” according to a statement posted on Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali’s official Facebook page.

Ali Laarayedh, the Minister of Interior, told Tunisian radio Mosaique FM that two unknown middle-aged men were involved in Belaid’s assassination. He said that Belaid was shot in front of his El Menzah 6 home on the way to work by a man who then fled on the motorcycle of an accomplice.

Akremi described the assassination as a “political crime” perpetrated in order to frighten and terrorize those who oppose the government.

“We should resort to the International Criminal Court to deal with such crimes, instead of the national judiciary, which is in the hands of partisans,” he said.

Ridha Belhaj, another spokesperson for Nidaa Tounes, blamed Ennahdha for Belaid’s murder.

A protester mourns the death of Chokri Belaid today

The party “undertakes a political responsibility, for it was indulgent and very merciful with terrorists and violent perpetrators,” Belhaj explained.

He argued that Ennahdha has turned a blind eye to previous violence, encouraging people to commit such crimes.

Even some Ennahdha-affiliated members in the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) echoed similar views.

Politician Souad Abderrahim of Ennahdha blamed the government and particularly the Ministry of Interior for failing to seriously confront violence that is threatening the country.

Abderrahim told Tunisia Live that Kalthoum Badreddine, another NCA member affiliated with Ennahdha, and a deputy chairman of the legislation committee, has received recently a letter threatening her to not pass a bill that would bar politicians from the former regime from running for office.

As a reaction to the murder, Abderrahim mentioned that she has halted workshops of the committee that she is presiding over.

“I have suspended the workshop of the Rights and Freedom Committee until the cobwebs of terrorism can be decoded and dismantled,” she said.

Security forces fire tear gas to disperse protesters near the French Embassy in downtown Tunis

Meanwhile, members of the slain politician’s family also held Ennahdha, and specifically the party’s cofounder and leader Rached Ghannouchi, responsible for the assassination.

“Rached Ghannouchi better not come to my brother’s funeral,” Belaid’s brother, Abdel Majid, told Tunisia Live while joining thousands to protest on Habib Bourguiba Avenue in downtown Tunis.


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  1. Naoufel says:
    12 February 2013 at 01:38

    I just moved to holly springs i am tunisian and i want to meet tunisian people in the area i am in or arround please email me

    Reply
  2. April says:
    06 February 2013 at 23:24

    You have taken this God awful event, this murder of a hero, and turned it into a finger pointing opportunity. I have more respect for Belaid, Allah Yarhamou. For that reason, we are done.

    Reply
  3. Diana says:
    06 February 2013 at 18:14

    Very nice sentiments April but really the last thing Tunisia needs is yet another person wringing their hands in grief from 2000 miles away. We need people who stay here and build something, employ someone, try and make things better. The fact is Ennadha were voted in by large majorities in France, Switzerland, Canada, US etc etc. Why don’t you try to build some sort of opposition amongst Tunisian communities in the US? The opposition is there, trying to make its voice heard, it could do with a good Muslim such as yourself on their side.

    Reply
    • April Parker says:
      06 February 2013 at 19:09

      Dearest Diana…you should be so lucky there are people like me on the other side of the world, caring. I don’t think it matters where we are, the fact is that we are helping one another. I owned a business in Tunisia for the 2 years I was there, and taught many students not only at school where I worked, but spent my weekends volunteering from morning to night, so yes, I have done my share, and from here in the US, will continue to do so. There is opposition in every country, all over the world, adding to the social unjust in Tunisia, and we are also spead all over the world, trying to do what we can. Instead of trying to place blame or start an arugment from one Muslimah to another, why aren’t we thankful for one another? I don’t understand your frustrated attitude towards me…I believe you are angry for what happened as you have a right and so do I, but please take it out on the right person/party and in the right and productive way. I want for my brothers and sisters what I want for myself, inshallah, and we can all work together from no matter what point we are in on the globe to get there. Sometimes things can get done outside that can’t get done inside, you never know. May Allah bless you. Ameen.

      Reply
      • Diana says:
        06 February 2013 at 19:50

        I’m angry because you gave up when the country needed help the most like thousands and thousands of others who leave Tunisia every week since the revolution. Sorry to be harsh but this is the way I see it. Instead of wasting your energy on watching Tunisia on the news try and find a concrete way to help That was my point. I have nothing against you personally, and I am not sitting in judgement or trying to star an argument, I’m just trying to reach out to Tunisian expats all over the world to wake up and start defending their country in practical ways before half the country starves to death.

        Reply
        • April Parker says:
          06 February 2013 at 20:01

          I left to better my kids’ education, which I have every right to do. If I left them in their school in that situation to grow up, and I had it in me to do better and I knew it and didn’t, haram on me. Al-hamdouallah, we will always come back to Tunis…never have and never will have moved away permanently. But for their sake, they deserved more than what they were able to get. Providing for my family isn’t giving up. As previously stated, we can all do for our brothers and sisters no matter where we are, just as we do for our brothers and sisters in Palestine and other Muslim countries even though we aren’t physcially there. Staying informed with Tunisia isn’t a waste of my energy and I’m sorry that you see it that way. I am sorry for your perspective towards expats and those Tunisians who aren’t there because there are thousands of us all over the world who are doing what we can, just as you are doing what you can as well.

          Reply
          • Diana says:
            06 February 2013 at 21:14

            You say you are doing what you can. What exactly are you doing?

          • Diana says:
            06 February 2013 at 21:45

            You are a mother trying to do the best for your children, that is a worthy task and I respect you for it. However, you are also a human being who can help Tunisia in many practical ways so I urge you not to forget that.

  4. April Parker says:
    06 February 2013 at 17:20

    How Much More Can We Take?
    By: April Parker
    In 2011, I wrote an editorial piece for Tunisia Live, about how I met my Tunisian husband and fell in love with the people and ambiance of Tunisia. I also wrote about how I became a Muslim, and how I was hurting inside deep from the depths of my soul, because so many Tunisian people were ruining the symbolism of freedom that came forth from the Revolution in 2010.
    Today I sit in front of my computer in North Carolina, two years after I wrote that piece. I came back to North Carolina in December of 2012 so that my two children could attend school here and be educated under the American system. It’s a decision that was based on many factors that I know people all over Tunisia are dealing with every day, and was some of the hardest things I’ve ever had to consider in my life; but in the end, was based on the future of my children. For example, I was worried about the influence of teachers still slapping students on the hand with a ruler in my daughter’s school every day and how that affected how children view correct examples of behavior and behavioral response (when I asked any child at the school about it, they said it was normal, yet it is not normal, because it doesn’t happen everywhere in Tunisia, and it is also haram). I was concerned with the fact that too many public schools are not clean, nor are they equipped with proper teaching supplies, modern curriculum, and directors are not being more pro-active in researching best teaching practices and doing staff development to train teachers. It all boils down to the way we are all treated by the government. The lack of motivation amongst communities to improve things on their own, because we have all been repeatedly beaten down by the governmental system and are tired, deeply concerned me. I was scared my kids would grow up and have no opportunity. I was scared they wouldn’t be able to find a job or be self-sufficient.
    I just heard on Mosaique FM about the death of Chokri Belaid, Allah Yarhamou. If we haven’t had enough examples of having our basic liberties stripped right off our backs, this puts the topping on the cake. I cried all the way to school today and the first thing I blurted out in the car to my husband was, “Fi rouhi, ena Tunisie.” That means, in my soul, I am Tunisian. I am an American, but after living in Tunis for three years, and being there during the Revolution, during the governmental changes, and seeing how amazing Tunisian people are subhanallah, I am Tunisian. I cannot stand one second longer for the injustices of the government. I cannot stand for how they feel they have the green light to beat and kill people who speak their mind. I cannot stand for the fact that they did nothing to improve everyday life for Tunisians, yet continued taking away and making us feel like all we can do is stand in the streets and protest until tear gas is thrown at us and we all run back home. Look at the numerous journalists and musicians who have been threatened and even arrested for standing up for what is right. Look at Sami Fehri, may Allah protect him and his family, and bless him and his family. He has been sitting in jail for months for no substantial reason, and every time it looks like he may get to come home, it never happens. Today, Chokri Belaid, Allah Yarhamou, died because he had a differing opinion from that of the Nadha. What about your opinion? What about my opinion? What about standing up for what we both know is right in our hearts for all of our children and the future of Tunisia?
    Forget the time of Ben Ali, the time is now. If we thought that in two weeks, we could straighten Tunisia up and get rid of all the corruption, we had no clue what we were in for. In the Quran, it talks about how Allah subhana wa’taala said that there would be a time when people who looked exactly like exemplar Muslims would come about, talking the talk, walking the walk. The people of the time would believe them and many would be swayed by their words because they are supposedly spouting the words of Allah. Are the Nadha an example of these people? Even if you aren’t a Muslim, can you imagine any group, professing their belief in God and equal rights, beating, threatening, and killing so they can have control over a people? We have to be more pro-active. Even from here in North Carolina, there is more than I can do. Inchallah Allah subhana wa’talaa will give us all the knowledge to know better, the patience to gain understanding, the strength to fight back, and the will in our hearts to give our lives for the country that we all love so dearly. People are protesting downtown right now. They are saying that the current government won’t sit in their seats one day longer. I am with you Tunisia. Inchallah this prophecy will become a reality. My heart and soul is in Tunisia, and if there is anything I can do to show that, please email me, get in touch with me, let me know. I am tired of watching my family take these injustices and live without freedoms that people in other countries have every day. We can do more, we should do more, and inchallah we will. God Bless Tunisia, God Bless The Martyrs, God Bless The Children Of Tunisia!

    Reply
    • Alibaba says:
      07 February 2013 at 06:47

      I loved what you say my friend, the answer is Jesus, what took place in tunisia during the revolution which they call the arab spring, was all about the true nature of islam and that’s what they did,

      Reply

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