Make no mistake about it…there will be challenges this week. How extensive and serious things will get is anybody’s guess but there’s not one security officer out there who is willing to say that this week will be business as usual.
Lets do the math
You don’t need a degree in political science or a background in security to figure out why things can easily take a turn for the worse.
In fact all you have to do is read (between the lines), the Daily Star’s article entitled: “Tunisia climate tense one year after historic poll” by Antoine Lambroschini:
- the UGTT organized a meeting which brought together over 60 political groups to “cooperate in thrashing out the details of the draft constitution.”
- Two key parties in the ruling coalition, Ennahda and Marzouki’s Congress for the Republic, boycotted the meeting due to the presence of Call of Tunisia, founded by ex-premier Beji Caid Essebsi, who they consider a remnant of the former regime.
- The meeting resulted in the rejection, by those parties that did attend, of a proposal by the government to hold elections on June 23, and with no agreement on a timetable for adopting the new constitution.
- Essebsi’s increasingly popular party claims the government will lose its legitimacy on October 23, a year after the Assembly was elected, because it was committed to drafting a new constitution within 12 months.
Wait & See…
As Expats we don’t have the luxury of adopting a “wait and see” approach when it comes to our security & safety. Unfortunately, because Tunisia is going through such unprecedented changes we are forced to wait and see what happens (which technically means to hope for the best and prepare for the worst).
While hoping for the best is pretty easy…preparing for the worst can be a bit more challenging.
pre·par·ed·ness
Preparedness is the defined as the state of being prepared for specific or unpredictable events or situations. The British embassy in Tunis has a good summary of this week’s challenge on their site:
23rd October 2012 marks the one year anniversary of the country’s first democratic elections. As this date marks a date considered widely to be a deadline for delivery of the new constitution (which has not been met) there is a possibility that this date will trigger political demonstrations and other forms of protest throughout the country.
Think about this as you plan your week ahead.
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