Region

TUNIS — Tunisia's president on Wednesday named geologist Najla Bouden as the country's first ever female prime minister-designate, to form a government with limited executive clout after the president seized wide-ranging powers two months ago.

Bouden, a university lecturer and political unknown, will take office after President Kais Saied on July 25 sacked the government of Hichem Mechichi, suspended parliament, lifted MPs' immunity and took over the judiciary.

His moves followed months of political deadlock in the face of a pressing economic crisis and mounting coronavirus deaths.

While some Tunisians have supported his decisions against a reviled political class, he has faced repeated calls to name a government.

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to Saied, where she stressed that "a return to parliamentary democracy in dialogue with all political actors is essential", her office said in a statement.

Last week, Saied extended the suspension of parliament and moved to rule by decree, suspending parts of the country's post-revolution constitution.

Saied's office on Wednesday published a video of him meeting Bouden, and charging her with presenting a Cabinet "in the coming hours or days".

The president, who will head the cabinet, repeatedly emphasised the "historic" nature of the nomination of a woman, calling it "an honour for Tunisia and a homage to Tunisian women".

Saied, who was the only person to speak in the video, said Bouden's main mission would be to "put an end to the corruption and chaos that have spread throughout many state institutions".

'Minimum 

of experience' 

Political scientist Slaheddine Jourchi welcomed the nomination of a female premier, but warned that Tunisia faces daunting economic and political challenges.

"When we look at the CV of this lady, who is a geologist without other specialisations or experience in sensitive roles, I don't know how well she will be able to tackle these enormous, complex issues," he told AFP.

Jourchi said that by appointing Bouden, Saied “has avoided nominating a politician or anyone with a minimum of political experience. He doesn’t want a rival or anyone with political opinions, who could enter discussions with him over the important decisions to come.”

Some women in Tunis welcome Bouden’s appointment, but media student Yasmine Benhassen said “that doesn’t mean that we will support her whatever happens”.

“We’ll pay attention to who she is, and what she does,” the 21-year-old told AFP.

Raoua Gorab, a jobseeker in her 30s, said the key issue was “improves the situation in the job market. After the coronavirus pandemic, there’s nothing left, everything has closed”.

Economic woes 

With debt approaching 100 per cent of GDP as it negotiates with international lenders for a bailout, Tunisia has faced years of runaway inflation and high unemployment, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Bouden will be Tunisia’s tenth prime minister since a 2011 uprising overthrew longtime dictator Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali, sparking the Arab Spring revolts.

The country has won international plaudits for its democratic transition, but many Tunisians have seen little improvement in their lives and have become disillusioned with a political process they say is dysfunctional and corrupt.

Bouden, the same age as Saied at 63, is a former director at PromESsE, a higher education reform project, and has held senior positions at Tunisia’s higher education ministry.

The French-educated geologist with a PhD in geological engineering comes from the city of Kairouan, and is a lecturer at Tunisia’s national engineering school.

Regional pioneer 

Tunisia has for decades been seen as a regional pioneer in women’s rights, banning polygamy in 1956.

The Tunisian Association for Democratic Women (ATFD) welcomed Saied’s pick for prime minister, saying it had suggested Bouden for the role.

Activist Bel Haj Hmida praised the symbolic nature of the appointment, but also pointed out Saied’s previous positions on gender equality.

During the socially conservative constitutional law expert’s 2019 presidential run, he was criticised for his opposition to an inheritance law enshrining equality between men and women.

Also an academic and political outsider, Saied swept to power on a wave of anger against the political class, who have governed Tunisia since 2011 but failed to resolve pressing economic and social issues.

While many Tunisians praised his initial power grab, on Sunday more than 2,000 people demonstrated in central Tunis to demand a return to the constitution and Saied’s resignation, accusing him of “stealing” the 2011 revolution.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called on Wednesday for new efforts to promote coronavirus vaccination within Arab communities, which are now the leading hotspots of COVID transmission.

Before leaving New York where he addressed the UN General Assembly, partly on Israel's pandemic response, Bennett said "the 40 'reddest' communities in Israel are from the Arab sector", referring to transmission rates.

Bennett has faced criticism from some health experts over his refusal to reimpose lockdown restrictions despite persistently highly daily case counts.

But Bennett said his government's policy was to keep Israel "as open as possible alongside focused work on the non-vaccinated and the centres of morbidity".

"What will help is... going to the Arab sector, and persuading them," he told reporters.

Israel's Arab citizens, Palestinians who remained on their land after Israel's founding in 1948, make up roughly 20 per cent of the country's 9.3 million population.

Zahi Said, a spokesman for the health ministry, told AFP that 40 per cent of all new infections in Israel, and a similar rate of hospitalisations and deaths, were within the Arab community.

Said attributed the high rates to a “lack of vaccination and non-compliance with health ministry instructions, such as distancing and wearing masks.”

He said the ministry was promoting vaccine awareness in Arab cities and towns, but that vaccine resistance has persisted.

Israel was in December among the first countries to launch a national vaccination campaign that brought infections down to a trickle and allowed the lifting in June of nearly all pandemic restrictions.

The emergence of the highly transmissible Delta variant caused infections to surge, but Bennett’s government has opted to rollout a third, or booster, jab of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine instead of a new lockdown.

Israeli data shows that those who have received a third shot are less likely to become seriously ill with COVID than those who have received the required two shots.

DUBAI — Yemen's Houthi rebels could be on the verge of changing the course of the war as they close in on a key northern city, experts say, warning millions of refugees are at risk.

Hundreds of fighters have died in fierce clashes this month after the Iran-backed insurgents renewed their campaign for Marib, the government's last bastion in the oil-rich northern region.

Seizing Marib would be a game-changer, completing the rebels' takeover of Yemen's north while giving them control of oil resources and the upper hand in any peace negotiations.

It also raises fears for the more than two million refugees living in camps in the region after fleeing other frontline cities during the long-running conflict.

"The battle of Marib will determine the future of Yemen," Abdulghani Al Iryani, a senior researcher at the Sanaa Centre for Strategic Studies, told AFP.

"Houthis control most of the governorate and are closing in on the city."

The severe threat to Marib comes just over seven years after the rebels overran the national capital Sanaa, just 120 kilometres to the east, in 2014.

The takeover prompted the Saudi-led intervention to prop up the government the following year.

The grinding war has created what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis with millions of displaced people on the brink of famine.

"The refugees will probably pay the highest price for this destructive war," said Iryani.

Marib sits at a crossroads between the southern and northern regions and is key to controlling Yemen’s north. If it falls, the Houthis could be emboldened to push into the government-held south, analysts say.

Ahmed Nagi, of the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Centre, said they have made significant advances after opening new fronts around Marib in recent weeks.

If they seize the city, “the Houthis will use Marib to advance towards the southern governorates bordering it”, he told AFP.

The Houthis began a big push to seize Marib in February and, after a lull, they renewed their campaign this month, prompting intense air bombardments from coalition forces.

“Losing Marib to the Houthis could change the course of the war,” said Elisabeth Kendall, researcher at the University of Oxford’s Pembroke College.

“It would be another nail in the coffin of the government’s claim to authority and would strengthen Houthi leverage in any projected peace talks.”

According to Iryani, there still lies the possibility that Marib’s tribes and parties, which fight on the government side, accept a Houthi deal to spare the city destruction.

“It’s unlikely that they will fight their way into the city. More likely, they will strike a deal. Neither side wishes to engage in a bloody urban battle,” he said.

“The offer stipulates the local government disavow the coalition, declare neutrality and share the governorate’s resources with [the rebels in] Sanaa.

“In return, Houthis will leave the city alone and recognise its local government.”

‘Dire’ fallout 

The city had between 20,000 and 30,000 inhabitants before the war, but its population has ballooned as Yemenis fled there from other parts of the country.

With about 139 refugee camps in the province, according to the government, hosting approximately 2.2 million people, the displaced civilians are caught in the line of fire once again.

“As they disperse, it will be harder for them to access humanitarian assistance and, with the spectre of famine looming over Yemen, the Marib battle will make it more imminent,” said Iryani.

Kendall said “if the rebels seize Marib, the impact on the humanitarian situation will be dire”, while Nagi predicted a “huge” disaster.

About 80 per cent of the 30 million people in Yemen, long the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, are dependent on aid.

While the UN and the US are pushing for an end to the war, the Houthis have demanded the reopening of Sanaa airport, closed under a Saudi blockade since 2016, before any ceasefire or negotiations.

“Taking over Marib will not push the Houthis to accept the brokered peace or even to be committed to it if it is accepted,” said Nagi.

“On the contrary, it encourages Houthis to move to the other southern parts to ensure its full control over all Yemen.”

TUNIS — Four Tunisian political parties on Tuesday urged President Kais Saied to reverse a recent power grab, warning that his controversial moves could stoke violence.

At a press conference in Tunis, the four left-leaning parties accused Saied of violating the country's 2014 constitution, after he moved on July 25 to sack the government of Hichem Mechichi, suspend parliament, scrap MPs' immunity and seize control of the prosecution.

The president last week suspended parts of the constitution and installed rule by decree, sparking angry weekend protests in the only democracy to have emerged from the 2011 Arab uprisings.

"We believed the president had good intentions, [but] with the stroke of a pen he installed one-man rule," said Democratic Current chief Ghazi Chaouachi, whose party has 21 seats in the now-frozen parliament.

Accusing Saied of "an attack on constitutional institutions", Chaouachi said the parties had united "to defend democracy and prevent one-man rule".

Saied's moves followed years of political deadlock and economic crises exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, and he cited his constitutional powers to take "exceptional measures" when the state was in danger.

But Chaouachi, whose party had backed Saied's July 25 moves, warned that unless the president changes course, the North African country "risks sliding into violence" or even "civil war".

Chaouachi's party, along with Attakatol, Afek Tounes and Al Jomhouri, said they were coordinating to protect the country's democratic gains and to pressure Saied to reverse course.

He said they would use "all legal and peaceful means of pressure and activism to defend democracy and the gains of the 2011 revolution".

Fadhel Abdelkefi, an economist and former minister whose party Afek Tounes has two seats in the frozen assembly, warned that the latest crises could lead to disaster for Tunisia's already suffering economy.

Issam Chebbi of the Al Jomhouri party accused Saied of "exploiting" Tunisia's multiple crises to "grab power".

"We totally reject this and call on him to reverse his decisions," he said.

BEIRUT — The judge investigating last year's deadly Beirut Port explosion had to suspend his work on Monday, a court official said, after what rights groups and victims' families condemned as another blatant case of political obstruction.

In a second such suspension, Tarek Bitar will pause blast investigations until a court votes on whether to replace him in response to a complaint filed last week by ex-interior minister Nohad Machnouk, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Machnouk is one of a raft of top officials suspected of negligence ahead of the port explosion that killed more than 200 people on August 4 last year.

If removed, Bitar would be the second investigator to be sacked since the explosion amid widespread accusations of obstruction by Lebanon's political barons, who have largely dodged interrogation.

Bitar's predecessor Fadi Sawan was removed in February, after ex-ministers he had called in for questioning submitted a similar request for a replacement.

The latest move sparked an outcry from rights groups and relatives of blast victims, who accused the political elite of undermining the investigation into Lebanon's worst peacetime disaster.

Aya Majzoub, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said the case "should make it patently clear that the Lebanese political class will do everything in their power to derail, obstruct and undermine the investigation and escape justice".

"These brazen obstructions of justice should be a wake up call to the international community to authorise an international fact-finding mission," she told AFP.

Ibrahim Hoteit, whose brother was killed in the blast, accused the political class of "deliberately wasting time" to thwart accountability.

"If Bitar is removed... we will burn down the country and we will turn to violence," he warned.

Obstruction 

More than a year after the blast that destroyed swathes of the capital, the probe has yet to identify a single culprit.

Calls for an independent international investigation have been roundly rejected by Lebanon’s political leaders.

The explosion was caused by hundreds of tonnes of haphazardly stocked ammonium nitrate, but what lit the fire remains unclear.

Top officials in parliament, government and top security agencies were all aware of the fertiliser’s presence and its potential dangers, but failed to act.

In a report last month, HRW accused Lebanese authorities of criminal negligence in their handling of the ammonium nitrate shipment, and called for broad international sanctions against them.

The United Nations Security Council on Monday “stressed once again the need for a swift, independent, impartial, thorough, and transparent investigation” into the blast.

Bitar in July demanded that parliament lift the immunity of Machnouk, ex-finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil and former public works minister Ghazi Zaiter so that they can be questioned.

He has also asked for national security chiefs and ex-army commander Jean Kahwagi to be investigated.

But parliament has turned down his request and top leaders, including the powerful Shiite movement Hizbollah, have accused Bitar of political bias.

Hizbollah has reportedly threatened Bitar, according to local media.

‘Disgusting’ 

The relatives of blast victims have been pressing for accountability for months.

They have organised rallies and even stormed the houses of ex-ministers to denounce political interference.

A protest scheduled for Wednesday at the Justice Palace was announced before the news of the probe’s suspension.

But “it could now develop into something bigger”, Hoteit said. “Their houses are a target for us,” he said of political leaders.

Paul Naggear, who lost his three-year-old daughter Alexandra in the blast, said it was “disgusting” that the investigation was once again suspended.

“Bitar was our last chance at having a strong and intelligent judge” presiding over the case, he said.

Naggear said he hoped the suspension would boost turnout at this week’s protest.

“We are going to crank our mobilisation up a notch,” he said. “We were more or less peaceful until now. I think this will change.”