Tunisia-Saied tells Blinken Tunisia readying to exit ‘exceptional situation’

During the call, the President of the Republic revealed the reasons that led him to fulfil Article 80 of the Constitution, maintaining this decision was compelled by the responsibility he bears after the Parliament had turned into an arena of dispute and bloodshed and its work was obstructed on many occasions due to physical and verbal violence, the Presidency said in a statement. He said that several inaccuracies that are baseless and have nothing to do with reality are being disseminated abroad; adding that a number of companies with suspicious source funds are utilised to offend Tunisia. He also indicated that the Constitution has not been suspended, it is rather the membership of Parliament members that have been suspended until the danger which is still prevailing in the country is over.

He emphasised that corruption was widespread in the state and in the Parliament, and when the immunity of members of the House of People’s Representatives was lifted, some of them were prosecuted and it was discovered that some of them had been condemned since 2018, besides other cases that have definitely nothing to do with freedoms or rights.

The President of the Republic accentuated the necessity for Tunisia’s partners to understand that the economic and social conditions are the primary problem. These are joined by the fabrication of crises and the propagation of lies and slander, as well as corruption and looting of the Tunisian people’s resources by those who pretend to be victims, while they are responsible for these deteriorating conditions. The phone call also dealt with the «age-long» Tunisian-US relations and ways to further expand them in light of the situation in the world and Tunisia.

Saied asked the US Secretary of State to extend to the US President, his wishes for a speedy recovery, following the illness he faced in the past few days.

The US Secretary of State expressed his country’s wish to see these reforms find their way to materialisation as soon as possible.

He highlighted the US continued support to Tunisia and its backing to the support it can receive from a number of countries and international organisations when the reform deadlines are set.

On its part ,the US State Department said that Blinken and Saied covered “recent developments in Tunisia, including the formation of the new government and steps to alleviate the economic situation”.

Blinken said in a tweet that he “encouraged a transparent and inclusive reform process to address Tunisia’s significant political, economic, and social challenges”.