International Federation
for Human Rights

Over the past few days in Tunisia, brutal repression and successive waves of arrests targeted hundreds of youngsters from depressed areas in various towns throughout the country. In fact, these young people, who suffer from growing impoverishment, were merely claiming what had led , ten years ago, to the “Revolution of Dignity” i.e. employment, freedom, justice and equality.

We, the undersigned personalities, associations, organisations and unions express our deep indignation and our full solidarity. We also forcefully remind the Tunisian authorities that they are duty-bound to comply with the principles enshrined in the 2014 Constitution, which include the state’s obligation to respect its citizens’ dignity, and thus we strongly condemn the resort to ill-treatment, torture and hasty proceedings.

We consider that the failure to challenge the economic and social choices of Ben Ali’s regime by the successive governments, since 2011, has led to further impoverishment of the population, mainly among the most vulnerable social groups, forcing thousands of young people and adults to do insecure and low-paid jobs, fueling informal economy channels and religious extremism. Such a situation has generated a confrontation with the regime which, once again, responded to their distress and legitimate grievances with systematic repression.

These movements of Tunisian youths are indicative of not only the economic and social deadlock in which the Tunisian government is stuck, but also of the total indifference of the European Union and its member states, which maintain the heavy debt burden on the country. Now, more than ever, it is necessary to cancel this debt and to give opportunities to Tunisian youth to live and work in their own country.

Guided by our commitment to the principles of justice and freedom to all the peoples of the world, and to the rights of youth to a decent and dignified life, we call on the Tunisian government to release all those who are unjustly arrested and to initiate steps that could meet the Tunisian people’s aspirations and the objectives of their revolution.

Furthermore, we call on those who are committed to democracy, freedom and justice in Europe and across the world to pressure the Tunisian authorities to ensure that the Tunisian Revolution does not develop into a living nightmare with the repressive practices of the past imposed in response to the legitimate aspirations of Tunisians.