Greetings Expats,
It’s interesting to note that we’ve been living under a “state of emergency” for over two years now. We should really start having “state of emergency renewal meetups”…
Interesting Point
It’s interesting to point out that President Marzouki “announced at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa earlier in the week that the state of emergency would not be renewed at the end of January.”
So what happened?
Officially they cited “armed clashes with militant groups on the borders and internal unrest” as the main reasons for the extension but there are at least 4 other significant factors that played a part.
4 Additional Factors (from lowest to highest)
1. Al Qaeda issues threat: Although the threats were primarily directed to the United States and France, the situation in Mali and border security would cause a Tunisian military adviser to take these threats seriously.
2. The Mali Situation: Think Tunisia is not connected to Mali? Think again. As recent as Wednesday, January 30th: Two Tunisians were arrested at the Tunisian-Algerian border as they tried to make their way to join the armed Islamic group in northern Mali.
3. Police Protest: Here’s one where the math simply does not add up: “Tunisia’s moderate Islamist government has said al Qaeda-linked militants have been accumulating weapons with the aim of creating an Islamic state” vs. Thousands of policemen protested outside the Tunisian prime minister’s office on Thursday demanding better pay, equipment and protection AND stating that they do not have the appropriate resources to deal with the threat from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
4. Because they can: Simply put: The state of emergency, grants special powers of police intervention…enough said.
Expat Readiness
The state of emergency has been extended. As Expats we should take this opportunity to review our security setup. This means making sure the we’re informed (Good Information Flow…Know what’s really going on)…connected (Good & Reliable Connection to our communities)…prepared (Ready to Adapt & Overcome).
Continue to explore and thrive…We’ll keep searching, analyzing and sharing empowering security information.
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