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Tunisia protests planned over visit by Saudi crown prince
TUNIS, Nov 26, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Tunisian unions and civil society groups
called for protests on Monday against a planned visit by Saudi Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Tunisia’s presidency has said the de facto Saudi ruler will visit the
North African nation for several hours on Tuesday as part of a regional tour,
without providing details on the programme.
A demonstration is planned for Monday at 5 pm (1600 GMT) in the centre of
Tunis, organised by the National Union of Tunisian Journalists and several
NGOs and civil society organisations.
Other protests — organised by student bodies — are planned for Tuesday
morning in Tunis and the city of Sfax.
Saudi Arabia has faced intense global criticism over the killing of
insider-turned-critic Khashoggi in its Istanbul consulate on October 2.
He was reportedly dismembered in what Saudi Arabia said was a “rogue”
operation, but CIA analysis leaked to the US media pointed the finger at
Prince Mohammed.
“No to the desecration of Tunisia, country of the revolution” read a large
banner displayed over the weekend at the journalists’ union, depicting a man
in traditional Saudi dress holding a chainsaw with his back to the camera.
In an open letter to Tunisia’s presidency, the journalists’ union slammed
“the visit of the Saudi crown prince, which constitutes a danger for the
safety and the peace of the region and the world, and a real threat to
freedom of expression”.
His arrival, the union said, would be “a flagrant violation of the
principles of our revolution”.
Tunisia’s 2011 uprising deposed longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
and triggered the Arab Spring.
The Saudi crown prince is on his first foreign tour since the Khashoggi
affair erupted, taking in the UAE and Bahrain ahead of Tunisia.
Saudi Arabia has warned criticism of Prince Mohammed is a “red line”.
BSS/AFP/RY/1638 hrs