The United States ambassador to Tunisia, Donald Blome, published via the official Facebook page of the embassy on Wednesday, July 3rd, photos of him and his wife walking around Habib Bourguiba Avenue and Charles de Gaulle Street where a terrorist attack took place on Thursday, June 27th.
In the photos, the ambassador was having a drink in a coffee shop with his wife. In the caption of the post, he expressed his deep appreciation towards the Tunisian Armed Forces for their efforts to preserve security in the country. This could be understood as a reassuring message from the representative of great world power. It conveys that one should not be afraid of walking around the capital because it is safe thanks to its security forces.
However, it was only two days ago that the US ambassador Donald Blome ordered the closing of the embassy due to “security reasons”. This has created uneasiness for Tunisians because it implied that the ambassador knew that the American embassy faced threats. Although the pictures of Donald Blome with his wife in the capital reassured many people, Tunisians were confused about the unprecedented closing of the embassy.
Furthermore, the embassy decided to cancel the US Independence Day celebrations. Also, the road next to the American embassy has remained closed since Friday, June 28th.
All these confusing contradictions about the behaviour of the ambassador leave many questions unanswered.
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