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February 27, 2023

Protesters in Tunisia Condemn President Saied's Racism Amid Ongoing Political Turmoil
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The African Union condemned recent racist comments by Tunisian President
Kais Saied after he called for an end to sub-Saharan migration to
Tunisia and claimed Black undocumented migrants were part of a plot to
alter Tunisia's demographics. Hundreds of people in the capital Tunis
took to the streets Saturday to demonstrate against hate speech and
anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies.

Nibras Mjanah: "The president incited people against each other. The
level of racism was much lower in the past, not like now. Now it is
normal for you to be assaulted for no reason, just because of your
color."

This comes amid ongoing protests against President Saied since he
dismissed the Tunisian government in 2021 and started consolidating
power. Last week security forces arrested prominent opposition figure
Jaouhar Ben M'barek as detentions of Saied's critics and political
opponents have been ramping up.


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