Tunisian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s comments on President Kais Saied’s decision to dissolve parliament last week, reported Arab News.
President Saied dissolved the country’s parliament on Wednesday and vowed to prosecute MPs who held a plenary session online and voted through a bill against his exceptional measures.
On Monday, Erdogan criticized President Kais Saied’s decree dissolving parliament last week as a “smearing of democracy” and a blow to the will of the Tunisian people.
The Tunisian foreign ministry said Erdogan’s statement was unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of the country.
“Tunisia expresses its astonishment at the Turkish President’s statement … these comments are unacceptable,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
It said that Tunisia affirms its keenness on close relations with other countries but adheres to the independence of its decision and rejects interference in its sovereignty.
Tunisian foreign minister, Othman Jerandi, said on Twitter on Wednesday that he had a telephonic conversation with his Turkish counterpart and summoned the Turkish ambassador to Tunisia to express his country’s rejection of President Erdogan’s comments.
The Tunisian political crisis intensified last week when more than half the members of parliament attended an online session to revoke Saied’s decrees. The president responded by dissolving parliament and imposing one-man rule. He declared the meeting illegal and denounced the move as a coup attempt. He said those responsible had “betrayed” the nation.
The country’s anti-terrorism police summoned Rached Ghannouchi, who is the main opposition figure and also the speaker of the Parliament, as well as other lawmakers for questioning last week.
Saied’s move was criticized not only by Tunisians at home but also abroad. The US State Department expressed its deep concern while the opposition called for a protest next Sunday in Tunis.
Ghannouchi, who is the head of the Islamist Ennahda party, rejected Saied’s decision to dissolve parliament and said other virtual sessions would be convened.
