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Tunisia’s Saied expels European trade union chief for taking part in protest

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Tunisian President Kais Saied ordered the expulsion Saturday of Europe’s top trade union official for “blatant interference” in the country’s affairs, the latest escalation in a quickening showdown with labor activists.

“On the orders of President Kais Saied, Tunisian authorities ordered the departure of Esther Lynch,” head of the European Trade Union Confederation, the presidency said in a statement.

Lynch “took part in a demonstration organized by the (UGTT trade union federation) and made comments that constituted blatant interference in Tunisia’s internal affairs,” it said.

Saied declared Lynch “persona non grata” and said the Irish citizen must leave the country within 24 hours.

The UGTT said the expulsion was “shocking” and opened up a confrontation with labor unions around the world.

Earlier in the day, Lynch had given a speech to thousands of people at a demonstration organized by the UGTT in Tunisia’s second city Sfax, one of several protests around the country over the faltering economy and the arrest of a top trade union official.

Speaking through an interpreter, Lynch said she had come to deliver a message of “solidarity from 45 million workers around Europe.”

“We say to governments: hands off our trade unions, free our leaders,” she said.

The government must “sit down and negotiate with the UGTT for a solution” to Tunisia’s woes, she added.

The demonstrations were partly organized to demand the release of senior UGTT official Anis Kaabi, who was arrested on January 31 following a strike by toll booth staff.

The union has described his arrest as “a blow to union work and a violation of union rights.”

It came a year and a half after Saied sacked the government and seized almost total power in the birthplace of the 2011 pro-democracy uprisings that rocked the Arab world.

Since his moves, which opponents have called a coup, he has been repeatedly accused of dragging the country back into authoritarianism.

UGTT spokesman Sami Tahri told private radio station Mosaique FM that Lynch’s comments were “a defense of the right to unionize, not interference in Tunisia’s affairs.”

“We condemn (her expulsion), which brings no honor to Tunisia. It’s a mark of shame and will harm Tunisia’s interests,” he said.

Othmane Jallouli, the UGTT’s deputy chief, told demonstrators that “today, any union member can be sacked simply for expressing an opinion.”

The protests came as Tunisia is in drawn-out talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout loan, which the UGTT has warned is likely to entail painful austerity measures.

Demonstrators in Sfax, where the largest protest took place, chanted “Tunisia is not for sale!” and “no to removing subsidies!“

Some raised loaves of bread in a symbol of protest at soaring living costs.

Kaabi faces trial from February 23 on charges of “using his position to harm public authorities.”

Jallouli said “the government has failed to put the country on the path of economic and social reforms. All it has succeeded in is attacking the union.”

Saturday’s mass protests marked an escalation in the union’s campaign against Saied and followed its criticism of recent arrests of several anti-government figures, including politicians, a journalist, two judges and a senior UGTT official.

The arrests have raised concerns of a wider crackdown on dissent and prompted the UN Human Rights Office to call for their immediate release.

The UGTT, which has more than 1 million members and has brought the country to a virtual standstill during strikes, has said the government is trying to stifle freedom of expression in a bid to deflect attention from the country’s economic troubles.

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