Protest against Italian PM Meloni in Tunisia

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid an official visit to Tunisia today and was greeted with protests. Dozens of people, including families of migrants detained in Italian prisons, demonstrated in the capital Tunis against Meloni's visit to Tunisia.

During the protests in front of the Municipal Theater on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights called for the rights of irregular Tunisian migrants in Italy and rejected their forced deportation.

The Anti-Torture Organization in Tunisia (OCTT) issued a statement saying that the Italian Prime Minister is not welcome in the country and is a racist: "You are responsible for killing and torturing Tunisian migrants in Italian prisons. Your presence in Tunisia with an official invitation is an insult to us and to the memory of the victims."

Twenty-four different human rights organizations in Tunisia and Italy issued a joint statement condemning Meloni's visit. The statement described the rapprochement between the Tunisian and Italian governments as a racist and xenophobic ideology.

The human rights organizations said in a statement that ongoing talks with the Italian government on border control and anti-smuggling cooperation have exposed Tunisian territorial waters and territory to interference by European security forces. In the statement, the organizations called on the European Court of Human Rights to enforce the March 30 ruling of the Italian government on the deportation of four Tunisian migrants.

It is learned that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will meet with Tunisian President Qais Said during her visit. During the meeting, Tunisia's negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the problem of irregular migrants will be discussed.

Source: Ihlas News Agency