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The head of Tunisian diplomacy, Nabil Ammar, defended on Saturday on France 24 the anti-migrant statements of Kaïs Saïed, deemed shocking by the African Union. The Tunisian president said on Tuesday that the presence of nationals of sub-Saharan African countries in Tunisia was a source of “violence, crimes and unacceptable acts”.
The African Union (AU) condemned the Tunisian president’s remarks on migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and called on its member states to “refrain from any hate speech of a racist nature, likely to harm people”.
“These are accusations that we reject”, defended, Saturday February 25 on France 24, the Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nabil Ammar.
“Illegal migration poses problems in all countries,” he added. “Acknowledging that there is a problem is not hate speech at all.”
Some 300 migrants arrested in a week, according to NGOs
On Tuesday, Tunisian President Kais Saied advocated “urgent measures” against the illegal immigration of nationals of sub-Saharan African countries, saying that their presence in Tunisia was a source of “violence, crimes and unacceptable acts”.
Several Tunisian human rights associations have also denounced the arrest of 300 migrants in one week.