Tunisian Opposition Proposes National Dialogue without the President

Demonstrators carry flags during a protest against Tunisian President Kais Saied's seizure of governing powers in Tunis (Reuters)
Demonstrators carry flags during a protest against Tunisian President Kais Saied's seizure of governing powers in Tunis (Reuters)
TT

Tunisian Opposition Proposes National Dialogue without the President

Demonstrators carry flags during a protest against Tunisian President Kais Saied's seizure of governing powers in Tunis (Reuters)
Demonstrators carry flags during a protest against Tunisian President Kais Saied's seizure of governing powers in Tunis (Reuters)

Opposition parties in Tunisia have proposed to launch a national dialogue without President Kais Saied.

The secretary-general of the Republican Party, Issam Chebbi, told the German News Agency (dpa) that parties discussing the proposal will announce it during a press conference on Thursday.

The initiative is led by social democratic parties, including the Democratic Current, the Democratic Forum for Labor and Freedoms, and the Republican Party.

Chebbi warned that the country is on the verge of collapse, saying: "We believe that the dialogue we have been calling for in the past year is the best solution to get out of the crisis."

Saied, who last year announced extraordinary measures to suspend the parliament and boost his constitutional powers, has so far avoided this demand despite foreign pressure.

The president launched a national consultation through an electronic platform in preparation for a popular referendum on political reforms.

Opposition parties and organizations said that the consultation could not substitute national dialogue.

Chebbi explained that Saied categorically rejected the dialogue.

"We do not want the country to be dependent on the will of one person, nor for dialogue to depend on the president. We are in the process of coordinating our efforts, and we will determine the necessary steps for an inclusive dialogue."

Meanwhile, Tunisia Press Agency (TAP) said authorities suspend flights of the national carrier, Tunisair, between Tunisia and Burkina Faso until further notice.

Four security sources and a diplomat from West Africa said army officials had ousted Burkina Faso President Roch Kabore and detained him in an army camp after heavy gunfire around his house on Sunday evening in the capital Ouagadougou.

The military coup also suspended the country's constitution, dissolved the government, and closed the national borders.



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.