Tunisia Opposition Stages Protest Demanding Ghannouchi Resignation

Tunisian parliament Speaker Rached al-Ghannouchi. (Reuters)
Tunisian parliament Speaker Rached al-Ghannouchi. (Reuters)
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Tunisia Opposition Stages Protest Demanding Ghannouchi Resignation

Tunisian parliament Speaker Rached al-Ghannouchi. (Reuters)
Tunisian parliament Speaker Rached al-Ghannouchi. (Reuters)

Tunisian opposition groups staged on Monday protests in the capital Tunis, demanding the resignation of parliament Speaker Rached al-Ghannouchi.

The protest, held in front of the parliament building, is part of series of movements that are demanding an overhaul of Tunisia's political system. The protests will culminate in a major rally on June 14, when curfew imposed over the novel coronavirus outbreak is lifted, and during which the opposition demands will be declared and put to a popular referendum.

Several other sit-ins were held throughout the country to voice their rejection of recent political and parliamentary developments.

The opposition has criticized Ghannouchi for his errors, the latest of which was his telephone call with head of the Libyan Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj.

Monday's sit-in took place two days before Ghannouchi, who also heads the moderate Islamist Ennahda movement, is set to be grilled at a parliamentary hearing.

Opposition political sources said Ennahda is wary of the protests, fearing that they would lead to a popular movement similar to the one that erupted in 2013 and saw it ousted from power.

One of the leaders of the protest movement, former MP Fatima al-Masadi declared that "all people are racing to oust the rotten political regime and change the current political system. Everyone is pointing in different directions, but they are united in one goal."

Another organizer of the rallies said that among the people's many demands is the dissolution of parliament. He added that none of the more than 200 Tunisian parties have met the demands of the revolution, but they have only compounded crises.

Several political parties, however, distanced themselves from the latest protests.

Despite the sharp differences between it and Ennahda, the Free Destourian Party announced that it was not involved in Monday's rallies.

A member of the Democratic Patriots' Unified Party said it too will not join the protests because they do not have defined goals.

Former member of the Nidaa Tounes movement, Khalid Shaukat, said the country does not need more political or ideological disputes, adding that it was "absurd to ruin our nations with our own hands."



6 Killed in Israeli Drone Strike in Lebanon Near Eastern Border with Syria

Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment. (AFP)
Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment. (AFP)
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6 Killed in Israeli Drone Strike in Lebanon Near Eastern Border with Syria

Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment. (AFP)
Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment. (AFP)

Six people were killed and two injured in Lebanon on Saturday in an Israeli drone strike in the area of Janata near the eastern border with Syria, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it struck “Hezbollah operatives” who “were operating in a strategic weapons manufacturing and storage site” belonging to the group.

Israel has continued to launch near-daily strikes on what it says are Hezbollah facilities in Lebanon since the implementation of a ceasefire agreement in late November that ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.

The ceasefire document stipulates that both Israel and Lebanon maintain the right to act in “self defense” but does not define what qualifies as self defense.

The original 60-day deadline for implementing the terms of the ceasefire agreement expired in late January, but Lebanon and Israel agreed to extend it until Feb. 18.