Soldiers of the Tunisian army guard the entrance of the parliament building during a protest a day after Tunisian President Kais Saied fired the prime minister and suspended the parliament, July 26, 2021 (AP photo by Khaled Nasraoui).
Tunisia’s Democrats Need U.S. Support Now More Than Ever
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Tunisian President Kais Saied suspended parliament Sunday night and placed travel bans on opposition politicians. Reports quickly documented the usual authoritarian playbook: raids on journalists, threats to jail those who impugn the state, and a raft of edicts concentrating judicial, legislative and executive power in his own hands. Saied’s decisions effectively terminate a decade of democracy in Tunisia, but his coup could still be reversed, if enough Tunisian constituencies rally against renewed dictatorship—and if they receive international backing. ...