Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for Tunisia
Newsline: Tunisia to appoint ambassador in Syria
Tunisian President Kais Saied said he wants to see Tunisia and Syria appoint ambassadors to their countries, the latest sign that full restoration of diplomatic relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government could be imminent. “A decision must be taken on this issue.”, Saied told foreign minister Nabil Ammar during a meeting, according to a video posted on Facebook by the president’s office. (https://neuters.de/world/africa/tunisian-president-says-he-wants-ambassador-syria-state-video-2023-03-10/) Tunisia cut off diplomatic relations with Syria nearly a decade ago to protest Assad’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in 2011 that developed into civil war in which hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed and millions sent fleeing. Since Saied took control of almost all powers in July 2021 in what his political opponents have described as a coup, Tunisia has sent signals it was open to changing its diplomatic stance with Syria. Tunisia reinstituted a limited diplomatic mission to Syria in 2017, in part to help track more than 3,000 Tunisian militants fighting in Syria.
Newsline: Tunisia strengthens diplomatic ties with Syria
Tunisian President Kais Saied has decided to strengthen diplomatic ties with Syria, the presidency said on Thursday, the clearest sign yet of Tunisia’s intention to fully restore relations days after a deadly earthquake that has devastated large parts of Syria. “The issue of the Syrian regime is an internal matter that concerns only the Syrians,” Saied said in statement following a meeting with his country’s foreign affairs minister. He added that “the ambassador is accredited to the state and not to the regime.” (https://neuters.de/world/tunisian-president-decides-strengthen-diplomatic-ties-with-syria-2023-02-09/) Tunisia cut off diplomatic relations with Syria nearly a decade ago. After that, Tunisia reinstituted a limited diplomatic mission to Syria in 2017, in part to help track more than 3,000 Tunisian militants fighting in Syria.
Newsline: Tunisian foreign minister dismissed
Tunisian President Kais Saied dismissed Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi, replacing him with the former ambassador to the European Union and Belgium Nabil Ammar. A statement from the presidency’s office announcing the change did not give any reason for Jerandi’s dismissal or Ammar’s appointment. (https://neuters.de/world/africa/tunisian-president-dismisses-foreign-affairs-minister-2023-02-07/) Jerandi tweeted on Tuesday that he had phoned his Syrian counterpart after Saied had tasked him with directing aid to Syria and Turkey in response to the earthquakes there. Jerandi was appointed foreign minister in 2020 and had previously served in the role from 2013-14.
Newsline: Blast near U.S. Embassy in Tunisia kills policeman
Two militants on a motorbike blew themselves up outside the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia on Friday, killing a policeman and injuring several others in the country’s most serious attack in months. The explosion took place near the embassy’s main gate, where a Reuters journalist saw a scorched, damaged motorbike and a damaged police vehicle lying amid debris as police gathered around and a helicopter whirled overhead. The Interior Ministry said two militants were killed carrying out the attack and five police officers were injured, while a civilian suffered minor injuries. State news agency TAP reported that one policeman was killed. (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tunisia-security-blast/blast-near-u-s-embassy-in-tunisia-kills-policeman-idUSKBN20T1BJ) Sirens could be heard on the major highway linking the Lac district, where the embassy is located, with Tunis and suburbs in the north. The U.S. Embassy in a tweet urged people to avoid the area. Roads around security installations were closed in some parts of the capital and some international institutions were put on lockdown or evacuated.
Newsline: Tunisia expels its ambassador to UN
Tunisia expelled its own ambassador at the United Nations, faulting him for not doing adequate consultation on a Security Council resolution he helped draft responding to the U.S. Middle East peace initiative. The official TAP news agency quoted the Tunisian president’s office as saying Moncef Baati was accused of “absence of coordination and consultation” with the foreign ministry and with representatives of Arab and Islamic countries at the United Nations. (https://www.africanews.com/2020/02/10/in-the-name-of-sovereignty-africa-expels-rogue-diplomats-from-western-powers/) Baati is a career diplomat who came out of retirement to take the U.N. post in September. The U.S. plan would allow Israel to annex all its settlements as well as the strategic Jordan Valley. The Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, territories seized by Israel in the 1967 war. Baati’s dismissal raised questions as to whether the draft resolution had gone too far in countering the U.S., a long-time ally of Tunisia, even though the Tunisian president lambasted the peace plan just a week ago as “the injustice of the century.”
Newsline: The US Embassy in Tunisia closed its doors to the public due to security reasons
“Due to security concerns, the US Embassy will be closed to the public on July 1st except for emergency services,” the embassy said in a statement. (https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190701-us-closes-embassy-in-tunisia-due-to-security-concerns/) The move came after two suicide bombings took place in the Tunisian capital on June 27, killing one policeman and injuring eight people. Daesh claimed responsibility for the attacks. The first explosion took place near a police patrol on the central Charles de Gaulle Street, not far from the French Embassy.
Newsline: Tunisia reopens consulate in Libyan capital Tripoli
Tunisia has reopened its consulate in the Libyan capital, the Libya foreign ministry said, the latest mission to return to Tripoli. Most embassies left Tripoli in 2014 when heavy fighting broke out between rival factions and few came back when a U.N.-backed administration took office in 2016. The Tunisian consulate resumed work after talks between the two countries, the Libyan foreign ministry said. The Tunisian foreign ministry declined to comment, but a diplomatic source confirmed the move. Tunisia closed its mission after ten staffers were kidnapped in 2015.
Newsline: Police suspect arson after fire at Stockholm embassy building injures 14
Police in Stockholm have arrested a man on suspicion of arson after a fire at an embassy building injured 14 people. The alarm was raised about the fire at the Narvavägen building housing the embassies of Portugal, Tunisia, Argentina and Belgium as well as apartments and a restaurant at around lunchtime on Wednesday afternoon. “The operation is still ongoing. Around 14 people have been affected by the fire, with no serious injuries but smoke and minor injuries,” Stockholm police press spokesperson Kjell Lindgren told The Local. “The latest information from the fire fighters is that there’s no one left in the building, but they’re still working to extinguish the fire in the apartment section.” Lindgren said police were looking to speak to a person who they “think could have something to do with” the incident, with a description released to the public in an effort to locate him. Asked if it’s thought the fire was started deliberately, Lindgren affirmed “we think it was lit by someone, which is why we’ve started an investigation into arson”. An arrest was made in central Stockholm just after 2pm on Wednesday, with a man arrested suspected of arson on reasonable grounds (the lower degree of suspicion according to Swedish law).
Newsline: Tunisia summons British ambassador over airline electronics rules
Tunisia’s government has summoned the British ambassador to protest against a decision to restrict carry-on electronic goods on flights from Tunisia, the Foreign Ministry said. Britain announced that from Saturday it would ban passengers from carrying some phones, laptops and tablets on flights from six countries in the Middle East including Tunisia. Tunisia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the British decision was “unjustified” and did not reflect an improved security situation in Tunisia. “Tunisia is surprised by this decision, which was taken without consultation with the Tunisian authorities or informing them in advance,” the statement said. Tunisia has been working to contain a threat from Islamist militants after three major attacks claimed by Islamic State in 2015, including two targeting foreign tourists. The United States imposed similar restrictions on planes coming from 10 airports in Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa in response to unspecified security threats. The U.S. restrictions did not include Tunisia.
http://m.todayonline.com/world/tunisia-summons-british-ambassador-over-airline-electronics-rules
Newsline: Kidnapped Tunisian embassy workers freed in Libya
A Tunisian diplomat and a fellow embassy staffer abducted in Libya earlier this year were freed by their abductors after months in captivity, an embassy source said. “They have been freed and should be returning to Tunisia soon,” the source, who declined to be identified, told AFP, adding that the pair were in good health. Diplomats in Tripoli say militias which fought to topple the Moamer Kadhafi regime in the 2011 uprising often carry out kidnappings to blackmail other countries into releasing Libyans they hold. Embassy employee Mohamed ben Sheikh was kidnapped in Tripoli on March 21 while diplomat Al-Aroussi Kontassi was seized April 17. At the time Tunis said a jihadist group was behind the abductions and was demanding the release of Libyans jailed in Tunisia for their role in a deadly “terrorist operation” that took place three years ago. The Tunisian embassy source said the pair were freed “thanks to negotiations” but that his government did give in to the demands of the kidnappers. Their abductions come during a string of attacks targeting diplomats in the Libyan capital. Jordan’s ambassador to Libya has also been kidnapped and Portugal’s embassy was attacked by gunmen
http://news.yahoo.com/two-tunisians-abducted-libya-freed-embassy-184909371.html
Diplomatic Briefing 