Tunisia Parties Announce National Conference to ‘Salvage’ the Country

Tunisians demonstrate in front of the Court of First Instance, demanding the release of those arrested during recent demonstrations in Tunis, Tunisia, 17 February 2021. EPA/MOHAMED MESSARA
Tunisians demonstrate in front of the Court of First Instance, demanding the release of those arrested during recent demonstrations in Tunis, Tunisia, 17 February 2021. EPA/MOHAMED MESSARA
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Tunisia Parties Announce National Conference to ‘Salvage’ the Country

Tunisians demonstrate in front of the Court of First Instance, demanding the release of those arrested during recent demonstrations in Tunis, Tunisia, 17 February 2021. EPA/MOHAMED MESSARA
Tunisians demonstrate in front of the Court of First Instance, demanding the release of those arrested during recent demonstrations in Tunis, Tunisia, 17 February 2021. EPA/MOHAMED MESSARA

General coordinator of the Tunisian opposition’s Soumoud Coalition Hussam Al-Hami has revealed plans to hold a “popular national conference” by July as an attempt to “salvage” the country.

The conference would follow local and regional conferences, in addition to economic, political and social workshops in cooperation with national organizations, associations and parties.

Its purpose is to come out with practical recommendations to resolve Tunisia’s crises.

The revelation was made during a meeting held by representatives of parties, associations and organizations in Tunis on Wednesday to discuss preparations for the conference and to present their initial visions on it.

Hami told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the conference would bring together all civil society components for proposals on Tunisia’s main issues, and to find solutions to the economic, social and political crises in the country.

He hoped that parties working on reform programs for years would consider the conference as an “opportunity” to press for their demands.

The session was attended by partisans and politicians, mostly from the left-wing, in addition to deputies, syndicate figures and representatives of associations.

In a related matter, head of Ennahda Movement's Shura Council Abdelkarim Harouni called for Prime Minister Hisham Al-Mashishi to chair a political dialogue among parties and organizations to overcome the political deadlock caused by the dispute between the two heads of the executive authority.

For his part, Mashishi approved a cabinet reshuffle that includes 11 portfolios to hinder any potential coalition between the president and the Tunisian General Labor Union.

A constitutional crisis erupted when the president rejected this amendment.



Protests in Libya Disrupt Oil Loadings at Two Major Ports

A view shows the oil port of Es Sider, Libya, March 16, 2017. Picture taken March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori/File Photo
A view shows the oil port of Es Sider, Libya, March 16, 2017. Picture taken March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori/File Photo
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Protests in Libya Disrupt Oil Loadings at Two Major Ports

A view shows the oil port of Es Sider, Libya, March 16, 2017. Picture taken March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori/File Photo
A view shows the oil port of Es Sider, Libya, March 16, 2017. Picture taken March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori/File Photo

Local protesters blocked crude oil loadings at the Es Sider and Ras Lanuf ports in Libya on Tuesday, five engineers and a shipping source told Reuters, putting about 450,000 barrels per day of exports at risk.

In a statement addressed to the country's state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC) dated Jan. 5, the protesters demanded the relocation of several oil company headquarters to the Oil Crescent region, calling for fair development of their coastal area to improve living conditions.

The company said on its official X account on Tuesday that its crude production had reached more than 1.4 million bpd, about 200,000 bpd short of its pre-civil war high. It was not immediately clear if the blockade had had an impact on production so far.

A loading program seen by Reuters showed that Es Sider was on track to export about 340,000 bpd of crude in January, with another 110,000 bpd slated to ship from Ras Lanuf.

Brent crude prices were up 41 cents at $77.49 a barrel by 1119 GMT, with analysts citing the Libya outage as one of the reasons for the rise.

Protests have previously disrupted oil operations in Libya, forcing the shutdown in August last year of about 700,000 bpd of production in a dispute over the position of the central bank governor.

The shutdowns lasted for more than a month, with production gradually resuming from early October.