Tunis — The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (French: FTDES), Thursday, called for declaring a state of environmental emergency in the Gulf of Monastir, following "a recent environmental disaster triggered by the death of a huge number of fish, the contamination of the sea and the emission of bad odors.»

The FTDES called for urgent measures to be taken to address the disaster as soon as possible and hold all those accountable.

«Following this environmental disaster, a large number of fishermen and civil society activists held protests in Ksibet el-Médiouni on July 22 and 23,» complaining about «the suffering endured by the locals in Ksibet el-Médiouni, Lamta and Sayada as a result of the anarchic discharge of wastewater by the National Sanitation Office (ONAS), at the Sayada-Lamta-Bouhjar station.»

The Forum underscored that "the environmental crisis has lasted for 20 years in the Gulf of Monastir, following the ongoing discharge of polluted domestic and industrial water from wastewater treatment plants and factories."

It added that «despite continuous calls from all parties (the civil society, local authorities, experts and residents...) to address the environmental crisis resulted from the region's sanitation station, which has been out of service for many years, relevant authorities have not intervened to address the issue.»

The FTDES indicated that «the agreements, signed with the civil society under the supervision of regional and central authorities to shut down this station and turn it into a pumping station, have not been implemented until now.»

The Forum reiterated that each citizen has the right to a clean environment «which is guaranteed by the Tunisian Constitution as well as State institutions». On the other hand, it denounced «the policy of procrastination followed by some parties active in the environmental field.»

The Forum warned relevant parties against «the continuation of such policies which will have detrimental impacts on the fishing sector in the region.»