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Habib M. Sayah 𐃏 Profile picture
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28 Jul, 4 tweets, 1 min read
The CEO of the state-owned TV had refused access to two talk show guests, a leader of the journalists' union and the VP of the Human Rights League. He claimed that he was obeying instructions from a general. Both the Presidency and the MoD denied having issued such instructions.
The CEO of the National TV had been appointed by Prime Minister Chahed and is believed to have ties to Ennahdha.

The two guests were eventually allowed into the studio and took part in a frank debate about the situation. This contradicts rumours that this was part of an attempt
to shut down all political discussions on state-owned TV.
Following this incident, the President of the Republic sacked the CEO of national TV. This was the first time a decree was published so quickly in the Official Gazette. 2 hours versus the usual n-days or weeks between signature and publication.

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More from @rhizomyx

Habib M. Sayah 𐃏 Profile picture
29 Jul
A lot of people have been referencing this thread to claim that most Twitter activity in relation to the events in #Tunisia is the work of Emirati, Egyptian and Saudi bots. This provides valuable data but it suffers from selection bias. Let me explain 🧵
Marc did a great job mapping and analysing Twitter disinformation and propaganda, inauthentic coordinated behaviour originating in the UAE-Egypt-KSA axis. The way this study is presented suggests that these countries are behind most disinfo/propaganda about Tunisia.
Marc himself acknowledges that the scope of this study was narrow and not "agnostic," and he is preparing a wider upcoming study which looks at Tunisia-related activity by diverse actors. But his data is being used by Ennahdha, and Qatari and Turkish actors to support a narrative
Read 37 tweets
Habib M. Sayah 𐃏 Profile picture
29 Jul
Well, I argue that before the 25th Tunisia didn't have a functioning parliament. The overwhelming majority of legislative activity consists of ratifications of international treaties, most of which are loan agreements. Most substantive pieces of legislation
and the underlying policies are drafted and/or initiated by international donors and international NGOs. Parliament has been unable to perform its monitoring mission and effectively check the executive.
Every single time Parliament launched an investigation into corruption, incidents, government abuse, policy failures the investigative committees were dead-born. Never investigated anything seriously, never published any conclusions.
Read 5 tweets
Habib M. Sayah 𐃏 Profile picture
28 Jul
I would take this with a grain of salt. This is a Qatari propaganda outlet that has repeatedly engaged in the spreading of disinformation about Tunisia in recent years. Without evidence, the article is relaying rumours which originated in pro-Qatar circles that Kais Saied
received support from 300 Egyptian security officers dispatched by Sisi. Those officers, according to the article, assaulted PM Mechichi in the Presidential Palace. I find it really hard to believe. Not the least because Mechichi is not the kind of guy who'd oppose any resistance
but also because I don't see why President Saied who commands the Tunisian Armed Forces, a sizeable, well-trained and equipped Presidential Guard, and has gained some moral authority over the Ministry of Interior would need 300 Egyptian thugs.
Read 9 tweets
Habib M. Sayah 𐃏 Profile picture
27 Jul
What happened in Tunisia is a coup insofar as it's an evidently unconstitutional - allegedly temporary but don't be naive - power grab. Unconstitutional primarily because Saied used Article 80 to suspended parliamentary activity for 30 days, while this article states that
parliament must be in permanent session. I cannot find any plausible interpretation that would validate the idea that parliament can be suspended and at the same time in permanent session. Saied is known for very loosely interpreting the law and the Constitution.
He can come up with compelling explanations that would persuade most laypeople but wouldn't fool any serious jurist.

But this isn't your grandpa's kind of coups. Didn't close the borders, didn't arrest political opponents who represent a threat to his scheme, and national
Read 26 tweets
Habib M. Sayah 𐃏 Profile picture
27 Jul
True. We didn't have that before 25 July and I'm afraid we won't have an independent judiciary any time soon. Nobody made any serious efforts to reform the judiciary after the 2011 revolution. Instead, political parties co-opted the most corrupt judges and empowered them.
Nidaa Tounes, Ennahdha, Tahya Tounes etc all had their networks of corrupt judges covering up the crimes of these political parties' leaders, which ranged from financial crimes to collusion with terrorist organisations. It was in nobody's interests to clean up the judiciary.
They picked the most corrupt judges from the old regime, and blackmailed them into submission on the basis of "kompromat". There has been no such thing as a fair trial in Tunisia. Not before 2011, not after. Any ordinary citizen who's faced the justice system knows that.
Read 8 tweets
Habib M. Sayah 𐃏 Profile picture
26 Jul
I just wish those who are - rightfully - pointing out that the President's decision is unconstitutional had actually respected the constitution they wrote. The Constitution required that they establish a Constitutional Court by May 2016.
But political parties, chiefly Ennahdha and Nidaa Tounes, deliberately obstructed the creation of the Constitutional Court, and thus the democratic transition. What happened yesterday was a constitutional coup. But the original coup was the failure to set up the Constitutional
Court in May 2016 which normalised disregard for the Constitution. Now we are in July 2021 and the only thing that could have prevented the current situation was, ironically, the existence of a Constitutional Court.
Read 6 tweets

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