Tunisian baqlawa smuggler. Heterodox. Suspicious of consensus, correlation, and monocausal explanations. Interested in security. @warstudies alumnus.
Aug 3, 2021 • 15 tweets • 4 min read
President Kais Saied is tackling a key issue all governments have failed to address: Phosphate production in #Tunisia. Social unrest is often blamed for shutdown of phosphate production and the role of corruption in disrupting phosphate production is often overlooked.
Before the revolution in 2011, #Tunisia was one of the world's top exporters of phosphate. The country's now importing phosphate.
Protests aimed at a fairer distribution of phosphate export revenue to the local population have indeed disrupted production. The revolution of 2011
As I stated earlier this is quite obviously a coup from my point of view. I won't blame anyone, foreign or Tunisian, for using this term. However, foreign occasional observers of Tunisia have had kneejerk reactions, relying on fetishist, inappropriate frameworks
to tell Tunisia's story. What's missing is often a genuine interest in understanding the context that led to them coup and what might be it's consequences, and what it might mean to diverse Tunisian actors with variegated interests and perspectives.
Jul 31, 2021 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
Huge red flag! State-owned TV just posted a new cringeworthy "patriotic song" about defeating the enemies of the people. Very reminiscent of old regime propaganda and aesthetics. But hey, state-owned TV never made its own revolution. Another sector that evaded reform.
Here's the link to the video. The usual technical amateurism of state-owned TV: mono sound, they forgot to include the track on the right channel. Some things never change. facebook.com/TVN.Tunisie/po…
Jul 29, 2021 • 37 tweets • 8 min read
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.
Jul 29, 2021 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
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.
Jul 28, 2021 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
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
Jul 28, 2021 • 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
Jul 27, 2021 • 26 tweets • 5 min read
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.
Jul 27, 2021 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
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.
Jul 26, 2021 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
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
Mar 3, 2020 • 24 tweets • 9 min read
Comment trouver des infos fiables sur le #Coronavirus ?
1/ Il est difficile de se fier aux autorités tunisiennes. L'absence de dispositif aux normes pour prévenir et gérer ce genre de crises, d'apres le Global Health Security Index (Johns Hopkins University)
jette le doute sur leur maitrise de la situation. (Voir
). Néanmoins, le Ministere de la Santé a fait preuve de beaucoup de transparence quant au nombre de cas détectés ET de cas suspects.
2/ Les journalistes tunisiens sont généralement incompétents
Feb 2, 2020 • 23 tweets • 4 min read
[THREAD]
1/ Same for any Tunisian of sound mind, especially given the revival of Turkish imperialist mindset. However, Turkey has very strong allies within our political system and state who have not hesitated to put Turkish interests above national interest.
2/ I'm talking about Ennahdha, who feel under the threat of geopolitical isolation (as a party, not as the Gov of Tunisia) since Sisi coup + Trump election, and even more since Qatar-GCC feud. Turkish AKP remains their most reliable external ally.
Jun 8, 2018 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
I like to think of Maltese as a Tunisian dialect. It's much closer to Tunisian than Lebanese though the common Phoenicians roots are obvious.
Maltese and Tunisian are so close that a Maltese kid on a bus in Valetta asked his mother how come we (a group of Tunisian tourists) spoke Maltese.
Jun 5, 2018 • 13 tweets • 2 min read
Ne pas avoir de famille politique dans son propre pays est frustrant.
1) Aucune force politique ne prône une politique étrangère réaliste et ne semble déterminée à défendre coûte que coûte les intérêts tunisiens en matière de coopération internationale. Aucun parti ne semble
Capable d'imaginer la possibilité de dire non ne serait-ce qu'occasionnellement. Tous cherchent l'approbation des puissances occidentales plutôt que de rééquilibrer le rapport.
2) Toutes les forces politiques, y compris celles qui se targuent d'être libérales, sont profondément
