Former Tunisia official criticises foreign countries’ ambassadors

In his article published by Democratic Tunisia, former Tunisian official Dr Anwar Al-Gharbi questioned whether the limits stipulated by the Vienna Agreement are being respected by foreign ambassadors to his country.

Al-Gharbi also wondered why these diplomats offend and insult Tunisia without any comment by the state or Tunisian mass media, which sometimes report the offences as achievements.

“What will happen if our ambassador to Paris met with ministers from Macron’s government almost every day?” he asked. “What would happen if the Tunisian ambassador visited projects and spoke about programmes to promote the Arabic language in France? What would happen if the Tunisian ambassador met almost every day with ministers, politicians, activists and journalists and visited schools, fairs and markets without permission from the authorities? Can the Tunisia ambassador to Cairo meet state officials the same way the Egyptian ambassador is doing in Tunis?”

Al-Gharbi asserted that these ambassadors offend Tunisia with these actions, asking: “Why does the state of Tunisia allow them to do so?”

Al-Gharbi recalled when the Tunisian Foreign Ministry summoned the French ambassador to his country two times when Moncef Marzouki was president, and when the United Arab Emirates ambassador left Tunisia in protest against Marzouki’s criticism of disrespecting human rights in Egypt in a speech before the United Nations General Assembly.

“When he returned, we welcomed him and reminded him of the code of conduct of ambassadors and reiterated that he must respect it,” Al-Gharbi concluded.

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