Washington:
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday spoke by phone with Tunisian President Kais Saied to urge respect for democracy right after he sacked the government.
In his contact, the top rated US diplomat urged Saied to “maintain open dialogue with all political actors and the Tunisian people,” the State Department stated in a statement.
“He encouraged President Saied to adhere to the principles of democracy and human rights that are the basis of governance in Tunisia,” it stated.
Blinken also promised US assistance on Tunisia’s economy and fight against Covid-19, a important issue in protests that erupted about the nation and led Saied on Sunday to dismiss the prime minister and suspend parliament.
President Joe Biden’s administration, which considers democracy promotion a important priority, earlier voiced alarm more than the predicament in the birthplace of the Arab Spring.
“Tunisia must not squander its democratic gains. The United States will continue to stand on the side of Tunisia’s democracy,” State Department spokesman Ned Price stated.
Price stated the United States was “troubled” by the closing of media offices and urged “scrupulous respect for freedom of expression and other civil rights.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated it was also early to figure out whether or not Saied had carried out a coup, saying the State Department would carry out a legal evaluation.
Under domestic law, the United States is obligated to reduce off direct help to governments that came to energy by overthrowing elected leaders.
The law has sometimes led the State Department to go via bureaucratic contortions when it does not want to curb help, as when Egypt’s then military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi overthrew an elected Islamist government in 2013.
Tunisia had normally been cited as the greatest good results story of the Arab Spring, the tumult sparked across the area right after Mohamed Bouazizi, a university graduate who could only locate work as a fruit vendor, self-immolated in December 2010.
()