Bardo Square, which faces the parliament-National Constituent Assembly-in Tunis was packed with Tunisians screaming at each other about how their country should be governed. On July 26, everyone from clerics to teachers, parliamentarians and students either participated in a sit-in demanding the ouster of Tunisia’s Islamist-dominated government or stood opposite them and “defended the legitimacy of the elected government.”
Bardo Square, which faces the parliament-National Constituent Assembly-in Tunis was packed with Tunisians screaming at each other about how their country should be governed. On July 26, everyone from clerics to teachers, parliamentarians and students either participated in a sit-in demanding the ouster of Tunisia’s Islamist-dominated government or stood opposite them and “defended the legitimacy of the elected government.”
Ayoub, a student who from Manouba Governorate who participated in the sit-in said: “We have lost all confidence in the Constituent Assembly and the government. They have become instruments for humiliating us. How can we trust those who cheated so many times and their actions completely contradict their words and promises?”
Tunsian flags were carried by most of those present in the square to express their support for the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly and the overthrow of the troika government. Opposition forces claimed that the Ennahda Movement was behind the demonstrations because it had lost confidence in its ability to secure a peaceful transitional process, especially after the assassination of MP Mohamed Brahmi, according to Ayoub al-Zarari, one of the protesters.
Immediately after the Iftar (the meal that breaks the Ramadan fast), a large number of citizens began to arrive and join those in the square. “The high temperature during day time will not frustrate them and make them abandon their sit-in, nor will the repeated and sudden attacks by the security agents intimidate them,” said Aziz bin Mubarak, a senior technician in a major company. “From the moment we started our sit-in, attacks did not stop. The agents of the interior ministry attacked us twice, the first time was at 3:00 a.m. while most of us were sleeping and they continued to attack us with tear gas and batons. Even our MPs were beaten. We will not leave before they leave,” he said defiantly.
There were more than 70 MPs who withdrew from the Constituent Assembly after the July 25 kiling of Mohamed Brahmi, the second political assassination in six months, angered the nation. The participating MPs enjoyed no privileges whatsoever. They ate the same food the other protesters did and they drank from the same water. They even bore the brunt of the security forces attacks. Among those who were beaten were MP Numan al-Fahri and MP Mohamed Ali Nasri.
Oh, you coward communist
Their numbers were far fewer than those of their opponents, however, those calling for the government to stay in power were still heard loud and clear. The loud speakers they used made up for their small number. A number of bearded men sang religious songs through the loudspeakers as well as chanting slogans toward their opponents: “O communists, you are cowards. Islam can’t be dishonored.”
Abu Mounir, a businessman, was among the smaller crowd of government supporters. “Since last Sunday, I did not miss one day of the sit-in in support of legitimacy and I will not spare any effort to defend the Ennahda Movement and the religion of my fathers and grandfathers. Do they want the country to enter into a state of confusion and chaos?” he said pointing over to the other side of the square.
A bearded young man, carrying the al-Tawheed flag, (the flag of jihadi group Ansar al-Sharia) interrupted Abu Mounir: “Do not think that all the participants in the sit-in demanding the ousting of the government are convinced of struggle in order to achieve what they came for. Most of them came here to spend some time, nothing more and nothing less. We are here to protect our religion and to sacrifice our lives for it. We will not allow communists and secularists to apply their dark ideas.”
Enemies of Islam
“Down with Muslim Brotherhood government,” “O Ghannouchi, you are a butcher, you are killing innocent people,” were some of the slogans chanted by the opposition groups on one side of the square.
On the other side, the supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and Ghannouchi were loudly chanting counter slogans. However, they couldn’t silence the voices of opposition whose echoes were heard kilometers away from the premises of the National Constituent Assembly, the place where tens of thousands who opposed the rule of the Ennahda Movement were gathering.
Khaled Tarshuna, a physical education teacher carrying the al-Tawheed flag said:”They want to oust the government to make people do what God disapproves. “When they couldn’t derive the laws they wanted from Islam in the Constituent Assembly, they started to make use of the assassination of Mohamed Brahmi to launch a coup against legitimacy.”
