Protester’s death raises fears of more ‘unrest’

Tensions grow in south

TATAOUINE, Tunisia, May 23, (AFP): Tunisian officials warned Tuesday that tensions in the country’s south could escalate following a protester’s death after clashes with security forces at an oil and gas plant.

The young demonstrator died of wounds sustained Monday when he was “accidentally” run over by a national guard vehicle outside the El Kamour pumping station, the health and interior ministries said.

Protesters have been camping outside the El Kamour installation for around a month, blocking trucks from entering, to demand a share of resources and jobs in the sector.

National guard spokesman Khalifa Chibani on Tuesday warned of a further escalation.

“There is incitement on social media... calls for civil disobedience... and even a coup d’etat,” he told local radio Mosaique FM.

In a special sitting of Tunisia’s parliament, assembly president Mohamed Ennaceur said Tunisia was “passing through a delicate phase”.

Six years since the 2011 uprising that toppled veteran dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia’s neglected periphery has been rocked by protests over social and labour issues.

Security forces on Monday fired tear gas at protesters who were trying to storm the El Kamour facility in the desert region of Tataouine, local radio said.

Ben Ali

Hospitalized

The health ministry said 50 people were hospitalised after suffering from broken bones or the effects of tear gas during clashes with security forces in both El Kamour and Tataouine.

Authorities said around 20 members of the security forces were wounded.

Two protests were also held in the capital, with demonstrators echoing the rallying cry of Tataouine residents and chanting: “We won’t give up!”

Mosaique FM said fighting broke out overnight during a rally in Kebili, 230 kilometres (140 miles) northwest of Tataouine, in support of the El Kamour protesters.

A hundred or so people also demonstrated on Tuesday morning in the central town of Gafsa, an AFP reporter said.

President Beji Caid Essebsi vowed earlier this month that the army would protect key economic installations from disruption by protests.

The latest unrest came as parliament debates a controversial bill that would allow officials facing prosecution for alleged corruption to be amnestied in exchange for reimbursing embezzled funds.

The bill, backed by Essebsi, has prompted a backlash from civil society groups who say it would “whitewash the corrupt”.

Government spokesman Iyed Dahmani insisted Tuesday that Tunisia was a “democratic regime”.

“In all democracies, there is no other solution: apply the law and dialogue with the protesters,” he told Shems FM radio. But daily newspaper La Presse warned that “the anger of the protesters (could) multiply like a snowball.”

It said the government must tackle the issue, which “makes Tunisians feel that nothing has changed since January 14, 2011” -- the day Ben Ali fled the country he had dominated for more than two decades. “Otherwise, the worst is to be feared.” Protesters have been camping outside the desert installation in the Tataouine region for around a month, blocking trucks from entering, to demand a share of local resources and priority for jobs in the sector.

“The health ministry announces the accidental death of a young man, (run over) by the national guard. He was a protester,” it told AFP.

Interior ministry spokesman Yasser Mesbah later told reporters the man was hit by a national guard vehicle as it was reversing and died in hospital.

Security forces fired tear gas at demonstrators in El Kamour on Monday as they tried to storm the facility, local radio said, with another protest later reported in the city of Tataouine some 100 kilometres (60 miles) away.

Erected

Defence ministry spokesman Belhassen Oueslati said the protesters “used trucks to run down” barricades erected outside the installation.

The health ministry said 50 people were hospitalised after suffering from broken bones or the effects of tear gas during clashes with security forces both in El Kamour and Tataouine.

Mesbah said 13 policemen, six national guardsmen and a member of the civil protection unit were also wounded, with the latter in intensive care.

The demonstrator’s death came two days after soldiers fired warning shots in El Kamour to deter protesters.

It was the first escalation of unrest since President Beji Caid Essebsi said earlier this month the army would protect key economic installations from being disrupted by protests over social and labour issues.

Late Sunday, the defence ministry in a statement warned the army would use force against anyone who tried to enter these installations.

The statement warned “all citizens of legal proceedings in the case of clashes with military or security units” and of possible casualties in “the case of a gradual escalation of use of force”.

“One must understand that attempting to enter by force an installation protected by the army... is not a peaceful act... It requires a reaction,” Oueslati told Express FM radio earlier Monday. An AFP correspondent said clashes also erupted outside the Tataouine governor’s office Monday after residents staged a protest in support of the El Kamour sit-in.

“We only went out to protest after violence erupted in El Kamour,” one participant said, asking to remain anonymous.

“We have no problem with the army, who behave in a very civilised way,” the protester added.

Two protests were also held in the capital, with demonstrators echoing the rallying cry of Tataouine residents and chanting: “We won’t give up!”

“The people of Tataouine are demanding their right to have a share of resources, and Essebsi responds with force,” said Tunis protester Marwan.