Tunisian president summons EU ambassador over alleged protocol violations

Tunisian President Kais Saied has summoned Giuseppe Perrone, the European Union’s ambassador to Tunisia, to protest what he described as breaches of diplomatic protocol, the presidency said.

According to a statement, Saied expressed his strong protest to the ambassador over the "violation of diplomatic protocols and his actions that went beyond the established official channels of diplomatic practic," Caliber.Az reports.

The presidency did not specify which actions prompted the complaint.

The move follows Perrone’s recent meeting with Noureddine Taboubi, head of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT). After the meeting, the EU official publicly praised the union’s role in winning the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize and emphasised the EU’s intention to deepen cooperation with Tunisian civil society at a time of rising tensions between the government and the country’s largest labour organisation.

The UGTT, which counts around one million members, has increasingly criticised what it says are growing restrictions on trade union freedoms and the government’s unilateral suspension of previously negotiated agreements.

Earlier this month, the union warned it could launch a nationwide strike “in defence of trade union rights,” citing a severe economic and political crisis that has fuelled protests by opposition groups, unions, journalists, banks and doctors.

Amnesty International recently said Tunisia’s crackdown on rights groups had reached “critical levels,” pointing to arbitrary arrests, detentions, asset freezes, banking restrictions and the suspension of 14 NGOs.

By Sabina Mammadli