Tunisia Opposition Urges President to Step in over Ghannouchi’s Stances on Libya

Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi. (Reuters)
Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi. (Reuters)
TT

Tunisia Opposition Urges President to Step in over Ghannouchi’s Stances on Libya

Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi. (Reuters)
Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi. (Reuters)

Seven Tunisian opposition parties called on President Kais Saied to respond to recent remarks by parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouci, in wake of accusations against Tunis that it was providing “logistic support to Turkey in its aggression against Libya.”

In a joint statement, they denounced a phone call between Ghannouchi and head of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj during which they discussed the developments in Libya. They said that the fact that parliament did not disclose the details of the talks only raises more questions and criticism.

The political parties: the Workers’ Party, the Tunisia Forward Movement, the Socialist Party, the National Democratic Socialist Party, Al Qotb and the Baath movement described Ghannouchi’s move as an attempt to “bypass state institutions and drag the country into the Libyan conflict, in support of the Muslim Brotherhood and their allies.”

The statement regretted the role Ghannouchi has played on behalf of the country’s parliament, accusing him of “behaving like a member of the international organization of the Muslim Brotherhood, through prioritizing the interests of Islamists at the expense of those of Tunisia and its people.”

Ghannouchi is head of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party.

They called on Saied to intervene in his capacity as president to tackle foreign policy and pursue relations that serve Tunisia’s national security.



Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
TT

Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.