Decision to extend state of emergency stirs up controversy in Tunisia

The decision made by Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi to extend the state of emergency in the country for a further two months has stirred up mixed reactions among the Tunisian parliament.

Commenting on the decision, MP Ali Al-Arid, who represents the Ennahda bloc (part of the ruling coalition), told Anadolu Agency that in normal circumstances a state of emergency would be imposed for longer than one month.

“The circumstances in light of which the president and the National Security Council have taken [the] decision… are still in place given the existence of terrorist threats against Tunisia and the need to give the security [agencies] and military the flexibility to act in this war, and to give them the [legal] cover through the state of emergency law,” he said

“We wish that no state of emergency had been declared, but national security requirements entail this so I consider it normal to extend it,” he added.

Tunisian President Beiji Caid Essebsi imposed the state of emergency in the wake of June’s attack on a hotel in the coastal province of Sousse that killed 38 tourists, mostly British citizens.

Since the Sousse attack, security units in Tunisia have imposed a major crackdown and detained significant numbers of terror suspects, although the Interior Ministry has not yet announced the final figure.

MP Khansa bin Harrath of Neda’a Tunisia told Anadolu that the state of emergency has had positive results since it has allowed the security apparatus to carry out “pre-emptive operations against terrorist groups, which has led to citizens feeling safer.”

Harrath also noted that the government decided to extend the state of emergency after no terrorist operations took place during the period it was in place. She said that the government has the power to extend the state of emergency in light of the information available and in light of the need to maintain peace and security in the country.

She added that there is no substance behind the concerns and criticisms expressed by several MPs and political parties towards the current state of emergency.

Mohsen Hassan, the head of the head of the Free Patriotic Union, told Anadolu that the extension is necessary because “the security situation in the country has major ambiguities, the fight against terrorism is a national priority, and the situation no the border is not secure.”

Hassan called for general support for the security forces for their role in maintaining peace and stability in the country. “This can only be achieved through the state of emergency,” he asserted.

On the other hand, MP Samia Abbou of the Democratic Movement, an opposition party, told Anadolu that “a state of emergency is usually imposed for reasons related to disruption in running the state’s affairs so as to achieve stabilisation, but the imposition of the state of emergency today will disrupt the state’s affairs.”

She said that the state of emergency is a state of extreme alert that should be declared only when there are major threats. She also asserted that the extension of the state of emergency is “a prelude to breaching the constitution, because in a state of emergency the constitution’s provision and rights are freedoms are suspended.”

Abbou added that the current situation bears resemblance to that under Ben Ali’s era: “There are currently laws being passed [against] public opinion… [just] like what Ben Ali used to do in the past.”

“The emergency law was adopted in order to pass several laws like the Anti-Terror Law, which condemns union’s activities, threatens the media and the press and undermines the freedom of protest and freedom of expression, press and publication,” she said. Abbou also pointed to the Economic Reconciliation Law that she believes was passed to offer immunity to corrupt cronies who were involved in corruption and embezzlement of public funds.

On 4 July, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi declared a 30-day state of emergency across the country. In a televised speech, Essebsi said that the decision to declare such a state of emergency was reached after consultations with parliamentary speaker Mohammed Nasseer and Prime Minister Habib Essid. He warned that if another terrorist attack were to take place the state could collapse.

Human Rights Watch criticised the decision, commenting that the fact of “imposing a state of emergency does not give the Tunisian government the right to gut basic rights and freedoms.”

Militant groups in western Tunisia allegedly loyal to Daesh have launched a series of attacks in the country, the latest of which was the Sousse attack of 26 June. In March, three gunmen stored the Bardo Museum in Tunis, killing 22 civilians, mostly foreign tourists.

According to article 80 of the Tunisian constitution: “In the event of imminent danger threatening the nation’s institutions or the security or independence of the country, and hampering the normal functioning of the state, the President of the Republic may take any measures necessitated by the exceptional circumstances, after consultation with the Head of Government and the President of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People and informing the President of the Constitutional Court. The President shall announce the measures in a statement to the people.”