Tunisia’s President, Kais Saied condemned undocumented Sub-Saharan African immigration to his country, saying it was aimed at changing Tunisia’s demographic make-up, which rights groups criticised. Speaking during a meeting with the National Security Council, Saied stated that the influx of irregular migrants to Tunisia must be stopped as soon as possible.
“The undeclared goal of the successive waves of illegal immigration is to consider Tunisia a purely African countrythat has no affiliation to the Arab and Islamic nations,” he said. Saied’s comments were racist, according to a Tunisian rights group, which had already condemned what they called hate speech directed at African migrants earlier this week.
“It is a racist approach just like the campaigns in Europe… the presidential campaign aims to create an imaginary enemy for Tunisians to distract them from their basic problems,” said Ramadan Ben Amor, a spokesperson for the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights.
Tunisia is a major transit point for migrants and refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, with an increasing number of Tunisians and people from other nearby African countries passing through. Recent Tunisian social media campaigns have urged authorities to prevent African migrants from passing through the country on their way to Europe or settling in the country, as thousands have done.
Tunisian authorities have cracked down on migrants this month, detaining dozens of them. Saied stated in his comments that over the last decade, unnamed parties had settled African migrants in Tunisia in exchange for money. Black Tunisians have a long history in the country, accounting for 10% to 15% of the population, and rights groups have complained that the country has not done enough to combat racism.
Tunisia’s President is locked in a battle with critics who accuse him of staging a coup by shutting down parliament and seizing most powers in 2021, and police have arrested many leading opposition figures this month. Saied has stated that his actions were both legal and necessary in order to save Tunisia from destruction.