Day: November 21, 2021

Up to 200 protesters in Burkina Faso gathered on the outskirts of the capital, Ouagadougou, Sunday, aiming to block a French military convoy that has been trying to reach neighboring Niger from the nearby city of Kaya. French forces are in the region as part of a fight against Islamist militants. Many Burkinabe, however, are upset with France’s role and have directed their anger at French forces.

From Thursday through Saturday of last week, protesters in Kaya, 97 kilometers north of the capital, staged a blockade of the convoy.

An official from the French Defense Ministry told VOA on Sunday that the convoy was routine and the 32nd of its kind heading to Niamey, Niger, with supplies for troops.

Demonstrators said they believed the convoy was carrying weapons to arm terrorist groups which have spread throughout Burkina Faso, killing thousands of civilians and security forces over the last six years. Security has deteriorated rapidly in recent months, but there is no evidence to support the protesters' claim.

Saturday night, it was reported the convoy had left Kaya after protesters there forced it out, but it was not clear if it was headed to Ouagadougou.

Cell phone internet access has also been shut down since 10 p.m. local time Saturday, according to NetBlocks.org, a watchdog group that monitors internet shutdowns. This may indicate a government attempt to suppress further street protests.

Nonetheless, protesters had arranged wooden pallets and tires on the road leading from Kaya to the capital and were flying a Burkinabe flag. The atmosphere was tense with protesters demanding to know if journalists were working for French media outlets.

One protester, who refused to give his name, spoke to VOA.

He said, “We are ready to burn any French material passing by. We do not need France in this country anymore. That's our will.”

Another wanted to know where the jihadists’ weapons come from.

“From where do the jihadists get their weapons? It's from the French. That's why we have blocked the convoy in Kaya. They shot at us yesterday and three people were injured. We were there yesterday, and today we are back again to block the convoy.”

Meanwhile, the Reuters news agency reports France has asked Burkinabe President Roch Kabore to intervene to resolve the situation involving the convoy. According to Reuters, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told French television “manipulators" were behind the anti-French sentiment, but that he hoped for a solution.

On Saturday, Burkinabe security forces in Kaya used tear gas to disperse crowds gathered near a fenced compound where the convoy had been parked. French defense officials say French troops fired warning shots into the air when protesters tried to cut the fence. The French defense official says there is no way that French troops shot and injured three people and that the incident will not be investigated.Joe Penney, a co-founder of Sahelian.com, a news website focused on the Sahel region, says that it is not exactly uncommon for soldiers to shoot in the air to disperse a crowd, but added that very rarely does that end up with so many people injured.

"The fact that people were shot in the leg also raises questions for me and for me there should be a formal investigation,” Penney said.

There were no security forces at the protest earlier Sunday morning, but a Burkinabe government official told VOA that efforts were underway to reopen the roads. The spokesperson, however, did not address the issues surrounding internet access.

“Regarding the internet, I do not know if it is a question of technical problems or not,” the spokesperson said.

By Sunday evening, police had dispersed protesters with tear gas and traffic was beginning to move freely on the road again.

Source: Voice of America

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken encouraged Tunisia's leader to make reforms to respond to Tunisians' hopes for "democratic progress," the U.S. State Department said on Sunday, nearly four months after President Kais Saied seized political power.

Saied said last week he was working non-stop on a timetable for reforms to defuse growing criticism at home and abroad since he dismissed the cabinet, suspended parliament and took personal power in July.

Last week, thousands of Tunisians protested near parliament in the capital, demanding he reinstate the assembly, while major foreign donors whose financial assistance is needed to unlock an International Monetary Fund rescue package for the economy have urged him to return to a normal constitutional order.

"The Secretary encouraged a transparent and inclusive reform process to address Tunisia’s significant political, economic, and social challenges and to respond to the Tunisian people’s aspirations for continued democratic progress", the State Department said in a statement about a call between Blinken and Saied.

It added that Blinken and Saied discussed recent developments in Tunisia, including the formation of the new government and steps to alleviate the economic situation.

A Tunisia presidency statement said earlier that the United States would offer support to Tunisia once it has announced dates for political reform.

Saied seized nearly all powers in July in a move his critics called a coup, a decade after the Arab Spring's first and only successful pro-democracy uprising, before installing a new prime minister and announcing he would rule by decree.

Saied has defended his takeover as the only way to end governmental paralysis after years of political squabbling and economic stagnation, and he has promised to uphold rights and freedoms won in the 2011 revolution.

Source: Voice of America

A few days after Tunisia's president froze parliament and took on sweeping powers in July, a dozen men in unmarked vehicles and civilian clothes barged into politician Yassine Ayari's family home overnight and took him away in his pajamas.

"These men weren't wearing uniforms and they didn't have a warrant," Ayari told The Associated Press. "It was violent. My 4-year-old son still has nightmares about it."

A 40-year-old computer engineer-turned-corruption fighter, Ayari will stand trial again in a military court on Monday, accused of insulting the presidency and defaming the army. It is the latest in a series of trials that shine a light on Tunisia's use of military courts to push through convictions against civilians. Rights groups say the practice has accelerated since President Kais Saied's seizure of power in July and warn that its use further threatens hard-won freedoms amid Tunisia's democratic backsliding.

The charges Ayari faces relate to Facebook posts in which he criticized Saied, calling him a "pharaoh" and his measures a "military coup." Ayari intends to remain silent in court to protest the whole judicial process, according to his lawyer, Malek Ben Amor.

Amnesty International is warning of an "alarming increase" in Tunisian military courts targeting civilians. In the past three months, it says, 10 civilians have been investigated or prosecuted by military tribunals, while four civilians are facing trial for criticizing the president.

That's especially worrying because Tunisia was long considered the only democratic success story to emerge from the Arab Spring uprisings a decade ago and was long seen as a model for the region.

Most countries in the Middle East are now ruled by authoritarian governments, where military courts — ostensibly tasked with targeting threats to stability — are a tool for crushing dissent. Jordan and Egypt are among countries with a military court system, while Israel has established a separate military court system for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

An independent member of parliament, Ayari is known for criticizing Tunisia's army and government and for his corruption investigations. One led to the resignation of former Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh in 2020 after Ayari published documents proving the leader had a conflict of interest.

Ayari says he has been tried by a military tribunal nine times, leading to three sentences.

"There is no law in military courts, no independence," he said.

He is among the Tunisian legislators whose employment status was suspended after Saied dismissed the government and froze parliament on July 25.

"I have to figure out how I'm going to pay my bills. Now I'm asking my wife for 10 dinars ($3.50) to even go out and buy a pack of cigarettes," Ayari said.

The Tunisian president's surprise measures followed nationwide anti-government protests and rising frustrations with the North African nation's political elite, who are widely perceived as corrupt and inefficient in the face of Tunisia's growing coronavirus crisis and its economic and political woes.

Saied also revoked the immunity of lawmakers like Ayari, who was swiftly arrested. He was jailed in July for a 2018 charge of defaming the army in a Facebook post and sentenced to two months in prison.

Habib Bourguiba, Tunisia's leader after independence from French rule, established a military justice code that gave military courts the right to try civilians for crimes that included insulting "the flag or the army." Efforts to reform the military justice code since the 2011 revolution have stalled.

"Military courts are still under the undue control of the executive branch, as the president of the republic has exclusive control over the appointment of judges and prosecutors in these courts," read a recent Amnesty report.

Saied's critics say the army has become a political tool since July, noting that troops secured parliament when the government was dismissed, drawing comparisons with Egypt's military coup in 2013. Tunisia's army enjoys a high level of popularity and has traditionally played an apolitical role in the nation's affairs.

The president ordered the army to take charge of the nation's COVID-19 vaccination campaign, using their "image of strength and efficiency" to bolster his standing, political analyst Sharan Grewal said.

Saied is also "trying to get quick wins by using the military courts, which are in theory more reliable in the prosecution of certain members of parliament," he said.

In September, Saied partially suspended the country's 2014 constitution, giving himself the power to rule by decree. Saied has also taken aim at the country's judiciary, whose ranks he claims are filled with corrupt judges who must "be cleansed." Observers have called Tunisia's political crisis a step back in the country's democratic transition.

During his recent sentence, Ayari says he was filmed with video cameras in his cell and denied access to correspondence. Despite acute stomach ulcers, guards gave him cold food — contrary to medical advice. In protest, Ayari went on a two-week hunger strike.

Representatives of Tunisia's National Body for the Prevention of Torture shared a report with the AP that corroborates some of Ayari's claims, including rights violations and evidence of "humiliating and degrading" treatment that posed a risk to his health.

The Ministry of Justice didn't respond to the AP's requests for comment.

Ayari is now preparing for a possible new stint behind bars.

"I'm trying to eat as much as possible and sleep, because those two things are difficult to do in prison," Ayari says. "This whole thing is not easy for my children. It is bad for their education: How are they supposed to tell the difference between right and wrong, justice and injustice, when they see their father get taken to prison?"

Source: Voice of America