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The
protests in eight cities marked an escalation in the union's
confrontation with Saied and followed its criticism of the
recent arrests of several anti-government figures including
politicians, a journalist, two judges and a senior UGTT
official.
The coordinated arrests have raised fears of a wider crackdown
on dissent and prompted the U.N. Human Rights Office to call for
the detainees' immediate release.
In Saturday's demonstrations, thousands of protesters in the
southern city of Sfax carried national flags and banners with
slogans including "Stop the attack on union freedoms" and
"Cowardly Saied, the union is not afraid.".
Senior UGTT official Othman Jalouli told the crowd Saied's
government "wants to silence the voice of the union".
Protests also took pace in the cities of Jendouba, Tozeur,
Monastir, Bizerte, Kasserine, Kairouan and Nabeul.
More demonstrations are planned in other cities in the coming
days, concluding with a rally in the capital, Tunis, early next
month.
Addressing the Sfax protest, Esther Lynch, confederal secretary
of the European Trade Union Confederation, said she had come to
convey a message of support from 45 million European trade
unionists and called for the immediate release of detained union
officials.
Prior to the recent wave of arrests, police detained another
UGTT official over a strike by toll booth workers last month and
launched an investigation into 14 other transport union
officials over a different strike.
The UGTT, which has more than a million members and has brought
the country to a virtual standstill during strikes, has
denounced such measures, saying the government was trying to
stifle freedoms of expression in a bid to deflect attention from
the country's economic troubles.
Saied, who shut down parliament in 2021, seizing most powers and
moving to rule by decree before writing a new constitution, said
this week that authorities do not target freedoms, but seek to
hold everyone accountable equally.
In his first comments after the arrests, he accused "traitors"
of being responsible for price increases and food shortages and
wanted to fuel a social crisis.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Helen Popper)
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