U.S. Secretary of State urges Tunisia to return to ‘democratic path’

In an interview given to Al Jazeera on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had urged Tunisia’s president to take action that would return the country “to the democratic path” after his seizure of governing powers on Sunday.

He pointed out that he was concerned that the steps “run counter to the constitution”.

Asked about the shut down of  Al Jazeera office in Tunisia, Mr Blinken affirmed that they stand resolutely for freedom of the press and for the ability of journalists to do their jobs, including in Tunisia..” we look to the Government of Tunisia to uphold and respect the rights of journalists, and that’s one of the things that we expect of them,” he said.

Questioned about his conversation with the Tunisian President Kais Saied, he said that Saied gave a “lengthy explanation” of why he acted.

“The intentions he expressed to me were to return Tunisia to that democratic path and to act in a way that was consistent with the constitution,” Blinken told the Qatar-based network on a visit to Kuwait.

“But of course we have to look at the actions that the president takes, that Tunisia takes,” he said.

“So our strong hope and expectation is that Tunisia will return to that democratic path, act consistent with the constitution, unfreeze the parliament, have a government in place to do the work of the people, to be responsive to their needs.”