Tunisian Parliament Questions Ghannouchi on Meeting with Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets with Tunisian Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi (L) in Istanbul, Turkey on January 11, 2020. (Turkish Presidency / Murat Cetinmuhurdar / Handout - Anadolu Agency)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets with Tunisian Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi (L) in Istanbul, Turkey on January 11, 2020. (Turkish Presidency / Murat Cetinmuhurdar / Handout - Anadolu Agency)
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Tunisian Parliament Questions Ghannouchi on Meeting with Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets with Tunisian Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi (L) in Istanbul, Turkey on January 11, 2020. (Turkish Presidency / Murat Cetinmuhurdar / Handout - Anadolu Agency)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets with Tunisian Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi (L) in Istanbul, Turkey on January 11, 2020. (Turkish Presidency / Murat Cetinmuhurdar / Handout - Anadolu Agency)

The Tunisian parliament’s absolute majority on Wednesday highly criticized Speaker Rached Ghannouchi over his surprise visit to Turkey last week.

During his visit on Saturday, he held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Some political parties and lawmakers voiced their rejection to the meeting, which came amid a debate in Tunisia, Libya, and other countries on the Turkish role in Libya and Ankara’s decision to send forces in support of Tripoli’s Government of National Accord led by Fayez al-Sarraj.

A total of 122 deputies voted in favor of grilling Ghannouchi, while only 20 objected.

Although he stressed that the parliament didn't cover the costs of his short visit to Turkey which he depicted as “personal and pre-scheduled” out of his position as the head of Tunisia's Ennahda movement, lawmakers called for his resignation as long as he is “holding onto” his party leadership.

But Ennahda officials snapped back, saying Mustapha Ben Jafar was speaker from 2011 to 2014 and at the same time head of the Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties (FDTL).

Some political parties and blocs took advantage of the criticism against Ghannouchi’s visit to exert pressure on Ennahda and limit its prospect of choosing a new candidate for the premiership.

Former Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui also slammed what he called the “parallel diplomacy” and visits carried out by Ghannouchi and figures from his circle to several capitals.

These meetings included the leaders of Algeria, Turkey, Malaysia, and Qatar.



Sistani Calls for Limiting Possession of Weapons to the Iraqi State

This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)
This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)
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Sistani Calls for Limiting Possession of Weapons to the Iraqi State

This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)
This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)

Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani announced seven factors that would achieve Iraq’s stability.

He made his remarks shortly after Israeli television reported that he was among a list of assassination targets alongside leader of the Houthis in Yemen Abdulmalek al-Houthi, Lebanon’s Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem, commander of Iran’s Quds Forces Esmail Qaani and Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Sistani received on Monday new representative of the United Nations secretary-general and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Dr. Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman.

A statement from Sistani’s office called on Iraqis to “derive lessons from the past and to work tirelessly to overcome setbacks and work on building a better future where everyone can live in security, stability and prosperity.”

Sistani has since 2015 been refusing to meet with Iraqi officials in protest over rampant corruption in the country and over how his recommendations have been ignored.

Overcoming corruption demands drafting a practical plan to run the country that relies on competency and integrity and that prevents foreign meddling in Iraq, he added.

It also called for imposing the rule of law and limiting the possession of weapons to the state, he stressed.

“The Iraqis have a long path ahead of them,” he said.

The Iraqi government had protested against the Israeli assassination target list, specifically Sistani’s inclusion in it, calling on the international community to condemn attempts to attack figures who enjoy influence and international respect.

Sistani also said he was “deeply pained by the ongoing tragedies in Lebanon and Gaza,” noting that it was “deeply unfortunate” that the international community and its institutions “have been incapable of imposing effective solutions” to end them or at least protect civilians from Israel’s assaults.

For his part, al-Hassan said he reached an agreement with Sistani to bolster Iraq’s regional and international standing.