Riot police in Tunis, Tunisia. Photograph by Amine Ghrabi
Protests have erupted across Tunisia, following the assassination of Chokri Belaid, a leading member of the secular opposition, and a staunch opponent of the Islamist-led coalition government. His supporters and his mourners are either directly or indirectly accusing the Islamists for his murder.
Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali condemned the murder and described it as an “act of terrorism”, while President Moncef Marzouki cancelled his trip to Cairo where he was supposed to participate at the summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
France24 Observers published a video shot by Bel Fekih Amine, Belaid’s neighbor on its YouTube page. The video shows the crime scene a few minutes after Belaid was shot dead outside his home in the early hours of February 6, 2013.
Family Accuses Islamists
The police is still investigating, but Belaid’s family is pointing fingers at the Islamist party Ennahdha. @simonsayzzzzz, a journalist working for Agence France Presse tweeted [fr]:
Chokri Belaid’s brother: I accuse Rached Ghannouchi [President of Ennahdha] of assassinating my brother” #AFP #Tunisie
the sister of Chokri Belaid at the avenue [of Habib Bourguiba]has accused Ennahdha, the ministry of interior and their militias for killing her brother
Ennahdha denied such accusations. Sasa Petricic the Middle East Correspondent for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation tweeted:
#Tunisia ruling Islamist Ennahda party denies responsibility in killing of prominent secular opp leader #ChokriBelaid, despite differences
— Saša Petricic (@sasapetricic) February 6, 2013
“Assassinated for His Ideas”
Belaid was known for being a vocal critic of the government and Tunisian Islamists. Though, it is still not known who was behind his murder, Tunisian netizens seem to be confident that his anti-Islamist ideas cost him his life.
They were able to kill Chokri Belaid, but his ideas will live forever
RIP Chokri Belaid. A great man murdered for his ideas. May he not die in vain
Protests Erupt
As the news of Belaid’s murder spread like fire, protests have erupted in several regions of the country. AFP has also reported that the offices of Ennahdha and the government in several provinces of the country were attacked and vandalized.
The collective blog Nawaat reports:
@nawaat: thousands of protesers in Gafsa [south west of Tunisia]. Ennahdha office was ransacked, furniture and documents were burned
@nawaat: in Rdeyef [a town in Gafsa, south west of Tunisia], the teachers’ syndicate declared a general strike. Ennahdha’s office was ransacked and its furniture burned in the street.
@nawaat: In Sidi Bouzid, hundreds of protesers try to break into the police district office
Sasa Petricic tweeted:
Offices of #Tunisia governing party Ennahda attacked after opp’n leader #ChokriBelaid assassinated. Thousands protest in Tunis, SidiBouzid
— Saša Petricic (@sasapetricic) February 6, 2013
At Habib Bourguiba Avenue [Tunis], police used tear gas to disperse protesters, who gathered outside the headquarters of the Interior Ministry, chanting anti-government slogans and calling upon the Interior Minister to leave office. France 24 correspondent David Thomson tweeted [fr]:
tear gas at Habib Bourguiba avenue, protesters dispersed
He added in another tweet [fr]:
the situation degenerates into clashes between protesters and police
Privately-owned radio station Shems FM shared the following video showing the chaotic situation at Habib Bourguiba avenue.
The clashes led to the death of a police officer, announced the Interior Ministry on its official facebook page.
Written by Afef Abrougui
