On Sunday, Tunisia’s president, Kais Saied, dismissed claims of racism and threatened judicial action against anyone who commit racial assaults.
It came more than a week after he sparked outrage from human rights organisations when he claimed that African migrants were involved in a plot to alter Tunisia’s demographic composition in the midst of a crackdown on immigrants.
According to rights organisations, the president’s words have led to the incarceration, abuse, and displacement of dozens of sub-Saharan Africans from their homes.
On Sunday, demonstrations were staged in the capital to demand the release of opposition leaders who had been imprisoned and incarcerated and were thought to be critical of Saied. The demonstrators also expressed their disgust with racism.
After dismissing the government, dissolving the legislature, and suspending the constitution in 2021, Saied has ruled the nation by decree.
He claimed that the sources of the purported racism campaign “are known” on Sunday without going into further detail.
In addition to mentioning that Tunisia was an African nation and that “Africans are our brothers,” he also mentioned that it was one of the original members of the Organisation of African Unity, which subsequently evolved into the African Union. He also disclosed that African citizens will no longer need visas.