By Tarek Amara
TUNIS (Reuters) -Hundreds of supporters of Tunisian President Kais Saied staged a rally outside the headquarters of the powerful UGTT union on Thursday and urged Saied to suspend the union following a transport strike last week that paralysed the country.
The rally highlights growing fears among activists and opposition supporters of a possible move by Saied against one of the last major independent organisations in the North African country.
Saied assumed sweeping powers in 2021, shut down the elected parliament, started ruling by decree, suspended the Supreme Judicial Council and sacked dozens of judges in a move the opposition described as a coup.
He said his actions were legal and intended to halt rampant chaos.
The protesters chanted slogans such as “The people want the union to be suspended!” and urged Saied to intervene against what they described as “union gangs”.
The UGTT said it was under attack by criminal gangs which it accused of recruiting children to attack its headquarters. Union spokesman Sami Tahri also said the authorities were behind the protest rally.
Dozens of union members staged a counter-demonstration and shouted anti-government slogans. “The union will remain steadfast and independent,” they chanted.
Police were deployed to prevent clashes between the two sides.
The union’s leadership will meet soon to decide on further actions, spokesman Tahri said.
Thursday’s rally followed a three-day nationwide transport strike led by the UGTT that paralysed land travel across Tunisia and underscored the union’s continued ability to mobilise protest in a landscape increasingly dominated by Saied.
Rights groups said that since 2021 the president has moved to dismantle or sideline opposition voices and civil society groups, imprisoned top opposition politicians and tightened control over the judiciary.
The UGTT, which played a key role in Tunisia’s post-revolution transition, has remained openly critical of Saied’s concentration of power — making it a potential target in what critics describe as an accelerating authoritarian drift.
While the UGTT initially supported Saied’s decision to shut down parliament in 2021, it opposed his subsequent measures, describing them as an attempt to entrench one-man rule.
(Reporting by Tarek AmaraEditing by Gareth Jones)
