Source >> International Viewpoint
In this context, the Tunisian presidency has even developed theories of the “great replacement” to justify this treatment, and has followed in the footsteps of the Tunisian National Party, a small but extremely racist (and anti-Semitic) party.
BORDER GUARD
A month ago, (French Interior Minister) Darmanin came to officialise an agreement turning Tunisia into a border guard, following in the footsteps of Italy, which had made the same request in January. For a few million euros, the Tunisian government has undertaken to discourage people from leaving for Europe from its shores, with the tacit agreement that as long as the flow of migrants decreases, France will be less strict about human rights.
The situation deteriorated sharply in the port town of Sfax – which, because of the configuration of the tides, is the one most conducive to crossing – where, following a fatal altercation with a migrant, real pogroms took place over several nights in front of a police force that was passive at best. Several dozen injured people filled the hospital in Sfax. Some of the people forcibly evicted from their homes and robbed included people who were “in order” as far as Tunisian immigration was concerned.
DEPORTATIONS TO LIBYA
The authorities have chartered buses to forcibly take migrants fleeing the city to the Libyan border. To date, there are around 1,200 of them, including at least 29 children and three pregnant women, and their situation is unknown. They have to get by without water or food in the desert, and organisations and journalists are forbidden to intervene. On the Libyan side, they have been threatened and have had to turn back. Their situation is dramatic. Several people have already died of dehydration. Those who did not get on the buses are wandering in the suburbs of Sfax, with nowhere to shelter and no humanitarian aid other than individual solidarity.
Fanning the flames of the structural negrophobia that exists in the Maghreb by acting as a safeguard against European racist policies while developing a vague anti-imperialism façade: this is the recipe of the Tunisian state. The massive scale of the deportations nevertheless represents a break with the past. There is an urgent need to develop solidarity with organisations supporting migrants in Tunisia, and above all for us to demand an end to the Fortress Europe policy. No one is illegal and all immigrants are welcome.
Translated by International Viewpoint from l’Anticapitaliste.
Art (52) Book Review (121) Books (114) Capitalism (65) China (79) Climate Emergency (97) Conservative Government (90) Conservative Party (45) COVID-19 (44) Economics (39) EcoSocialism (55) Elections (82) Europe (44) Fascism (56) Film (49) Film Review (68) France (69) Gaza (59) Imperialism (97) Israel (119) Italy (45) Keir Starmer (52) Labour Party (110) Long Read (42) Marxism (47) Palestine (163) pandemic (78) Protest (149) Russia (334) Solidarity (133) Statement (48) Trade Unionism (134) Ukraine (339) United States of America (130) War (362)
Latest Articles
- Turkey and the Neofascist Contagion
The ongoing battle in Turkey has become increasingly significant for the entire world. If the Turkish popular movement wins, its victory will have a significant impact in galvanizing resistance to the rise of neofascism worldwide argues Gilbert Achcar - The boys are not alright
Simon Pearson points out that a Minister for Men cannot rebuild the infrastructures of solidarity that were torn apart by decades of neoliberal consensus. - Yemen on the brink
Now that Trump has returned to the White House with far greater arrogance than during his first term, the possibility of re-escalating the war in Yemen with direct US involvement has become very real, argues Gilbert Achcar - Labour austerity – balancing the books on the backs of the poorest
Dave Kellaway on Labour attacks on disabled people - Turkey: a mass movement builds against Erdogan’s power grab
Uraz Aydin answers questions from Antoine Larrache about the mobilization currently building in Turkey after the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, who is seen as Erdogan’s main rival in the race for the next presidential election.