Lynch participated in a protest organized by the Tunisian General Labor Union in Sfax
The Tunisian presidency announced, on Saturday, that the country’s authorities had asked Esther Lynch, Secretary General of the European Union of Trade Unions, to leave the country immediately, by order of President Kais Saied, after her participation in a demonstration by the Tunisian General Labor Union, and her statements that were considered “blatant interference” in Tunisian internal affairs.
And the Tunisian presidency said in a statement on Saturday that it had given the European official 24 hours to leave the country after informing her that she was persona non grata.
She added that the foreign relations of the Tunisian General Labor Union “are a matter that concerns him alone, but there is no way to allow any party from outside to attack the sovereignty of the state and the sovereignty of its people.”
This decision came hours after Lynch participated in a protest organized by the Tunisian General Labor Union in Sfax, the second largest city in Tunisia, in defense of trade union rights and freedoms and rejection of the government’s economic policies.
Thousands of protesters gathered in front of the headquarters of the Regional Labor Union in Sfax, chanting slogans and holding banners demanding the right to trade union work and protesting against the government’s economic policy and the high cost of living.
The Tunisian Labor Union also organized similar protests in other Tunisian provinces.
It is noteworthy that the Confederation of European Trade Unions had expressed, through its Twitter account, its support for the protests organized by the Tunisian Labor Union.
The Confederation of European Trade Unions said that Lynch participated in the Sfax protest to demand that the Tunisian president stop what he called “attacks” on trade unions in Tunisia.