Tunisia: Labour Union Calls on Govt to Resign

Amnesty International
Supporters accompanied the ambulance carrying the body of Chokri Belaid, a vocal critic of the Islamist-led government who was shot in February.
2 August 2013
allAfrica.com

Tunisia's General Labour Union (UGTT) has given the government one week to resign or the group will be "forced to consider other options", news agencies are reporting. The labour union - the largest in the country - has been trying to mediate between the Islamist-led government and the opposition.

UGTT said in a statement that it "considers this government incapable of continuing its work", and calls for the creation of a government of technocrats led by an "independent figure", according to a report by the pan-Arab newspaper, Al-Arab Online .
The group's call is in addition to mounting pressure from the government's coalition partners and opposition to step aside. According to Al Jazeera, tension reached boiling point after the deadly shooting of a member of parliament, Mohamed Brahmi, the second assassination in six months.

Although the government blamed Salafists for the murder, opposition members have accused it of orchestrating the killings.

The BBC reports that the country’s Interior Minister, Salem Labyedh, has resigned in reaction to the assassinations, with other key ministers threatening to do same.

Tunisia is where the Arab Spring began in 2011, which led to the overthrow of then president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

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