Libya: Leon’s Race against the Clock
After failing to convince the Tripoli-based GNC delegation to attend yet another dialogue round of talks in Morocco in late August, Leon found himself compelled to request a meeting with a larger group of the GNC parliamentarians in Istanbul ahead...
Why does the Algerian regime fear Rachad?
In a recent piece on the detention of Algerian human rights lawyer and opposition figure Rachid Mesli, Robert Fisk asked why Interpol is doing the work of Arab despots. Mesli is the subject of an arrest warrant by the Algerian...
Tensions over the Proposed Law for Economic Reconciliation
President Baji Caid Essebsi’s proposed law for economic and financial reconciliation has stirred up the political and civil society landscape in Tunisia. Maya Jeribi, secretary general of the Al Joumhouri party considered it a “law for reconciliation and corruption laundering”....
Social Consequences of the Security Approach
The Tunisian Labour Organisation (OTT) has called for a sit-in to protest at the ministry of religious affairs’ decision to sack Imams and close down mosques accused of operating outside its oversight. The decision was taken hastily in the wake...
Tebus and Tuaregs Threaten to Walk out of the Constitution Drafting Assembly
The proceedings of the work of the Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA) have long been overshadowed by the political deadlock between the GNC in Tripoli and the HoR in Tobruk which has lasted for over a year now against the backdrop...
Essebsi in the Footsteps of Bourguiba
President Beji Caid Essebsi triggered a debate when he declared, on August 13, that the Islamic veil should be banned in primary schools. The announcement was made on the occasion of the celebration of Tunisia’s national women’s day. According to...
Tunisia’s Patriot Act
The decision to declare a state of emergency in the aftermath of the Sousse Attack has plunged the country into a manifold debate among political, and civil societies, as well as the state elected and security institutions. While there is...
The Stalemate Persists
The boycott by the General National Congress of the initialling ceremony of the draft political dialogue agreement was not surprising. In a letter addressed by the Nouri Bousahmin, Speaker of the GNC, to the UNSMIL chief Bernardino Leon, the GNC...