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28 Jul 2021
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Explainer: What caused Tunisia’s President to sack PM, suspend Parliament?

July 28, 2021

On Sunday, Tunisia’s President Kais Saied announced he would sack the country’s Prime Minister and suspend Parliament following a series of widespread protests amid an economic crisis fueled by COVID-19.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The decision has triggered reactions from around the world, with many waiting to see what President Saied’s next steps for Tunisia will be.But what triggered the President to take these actions? Fractured government Since the 2010 Tunisia has been ruled by a parliament, albeit a fractured one. Opposing parties came together in a form of power-sharing with their own views and prejudices against the other, leading to clashes, sometimes physical, and governmental paralysis. The majority of Tunisia’s Parliament consists of: The Islamist Ennahda party, the Free Destourian Party (‘Destour’ translates to ‘Constitution’ in English), the Heart of Tunisia and the Democratic Current, among others. Ennahda became the Parliament’s largest party due to votes, which were arguably affected by the fact that it was one of the few established parties at the time of its latest formation – although turnout in 2019 for the parliamentary vote was low at just over 40 percent.The President, however, is not affiliated with any political party. It was in fact Saied’s independence which won over voters in the 2019 presidential election, Sarah Yerkes, a former State Department and Pentagon official and senior fellow in Carnegie’s Middle East Program who focuses on Tunisian politics, told online news media Vox. When asked about the heightened tensions in Tunisia’s parliament, Yerkes told Vox: “It’s always been there. The difference is the polarization — before, there was kind of a consensus government and all the parties put aside their differences. And now, people are literally beating each other up in the Parliament.”The Tunisian people have become increasingly disenfranchised with parliament, with numerous accounts of underhand political dealings and corruption rife in its 10 years of existence. Since 2011, the country has had nine governments. The lack of stability and widespread polarization in the midst of an economic crisis caused protests to break out across the country.Protests and the COVID-19 pandemic Then came the COVID-19 pandemic which worsened the country’s crisis. Tunisia’s GDP contracted by 8.6 percent in 2020 alone, according to the World Bank.The country’s coronavirus-related deaths kept increasing, eventually climbing to almost 18,000 – one of the biggest death rates per capita, with only 7 percent of its 11.7 million population vaccinated against the virus. The country was experiencing mass protests spurred by the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, COVID-19 deaths reached a record, passing 300 in a period of 24 hours, the BBC reported on Tuesday.In a move to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations, the government officially opened up vaccinations to everyone aged 18 and over. The announcement was met with stampedes and violent incidents, leading to the eventual sacking of the health minister, initiated by then-Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi. Protests broke out on July 25, Tunisia’s Republic Day, when protestors stormed the offices of the Islamist Ennahda party, and calling for Mechichi to quit and parliament to be dissolved.When President Saied announced that he would be suspending Tunisia’s parliament and dismissing Mechichi, people took the streets in celebration. Read more:What is Article 80 and how did Tunisia’s president use it to back his decisions?Kais Saeid is no coup leaderEU calls for quick return to ‘stability’ in Tunisia
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Explainer: What caused Tunisia’s President to sack PM, suspend Parliament?

28 Jul 2021
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New US sanctions announced against Syria, Assad regime

July 28, 2021

The United States has announced new sanctions targeting the Assad regime for human rights violations, Biden administration officials announced Wednesday.Wednesday’s move comes after several regional and international capitals appeared to be inching towards normalizing ties with the Syrian president and his government.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“Today the Treasury Department is taking action against the Assad regime and its human rights abuses, including torture in Syrian military prisons,” Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Andrea Gacki said.Gacki told reporters that five senior prison officials within the Syrian intelligence apparatus were being sanctioned.“Bashar al-Assad and his brutal regime continue to extend the conflict in Syria, and their brutal treatment to oppose the policies and murderous activities, such actions cannot continue,” she said.The Treasury Department also said it would sanction two Syrian “armed” groups. One of the groups, Ahrar al-Sharqiya, is widely seen as an offshoot of ISIS.“Ahrar al-Sharqiya has committed numerous crimes against civilians, particularly Syrian Kurds, including unlawful killings, abductions, torture, and seizures of private property,” Gacki said.Saraya al-Areen, a militia affiliated with the Syrian Arab Army, was sanctioned by the State Department.A Turkey-based al-Qaeda financial facilitator and Syria-based terrorist fundraiser and recruiter were also sanctioned.“These designations expose the continued efforts by al-Qaeda and Hay’et Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) to use the global formal financial system and highlight the need for continued vigilance against terrorist fundraising and recruitment on the internet,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.Eight individuals and 10 entities were sanctioned in total.Zehra Bell, the director for Iraq and Syria at the National Security Council, told reporters that the sanctions were part of a “broader US strategy for Syria.”“Today’s action is not a random event, but rather part of a carefully considered approach by this administration over the last several months to identify key priorities in Syria … and to make clear that the US values on human rights in Syria are extremely important,” Bell said.Read more: US warns allies of sanctions for those who engage with Syria’s Assad regime
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: New US sanctions announced against Syria, Assad regime