Tunisia joins Arab efforts to mend ties with Syria’s Assad
Tunisian political parties have been calling for the restoration of ties with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad six years after the former troika government expelled the Syrian ambassador.
TUNIS — While Tunisia gets ready to welcome the 30th Arab League Summit in March, Tunisian political and partisan circles are calling for the resumption of official relations with the Syrian regime.
In 2012, the troika government made up of Ennahda, Ettakatol and the Congress for the Republic and led by former President Moncef Marzouki expelled the Syrian ambassador after accusing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of crimes against his people.
In a statement signed by its leader Rachid Ghannouchi Jan. 3, Ennahda, a major partner in the current government coalition, called for “comprehensive national reconciliation that would give the Syrian people back their right to their land and to a democratic life, that would end the fighting and the resulting humanitarian tragedies and give Syria back its natural place in international and Arab organizations.”
Zubeir al-Shuhoudi, another Ennahda leader, told Al-Monitor that Ennahda’s changing stance toward the Syrian regime is the result of political considerations and a shift in Syria’s balance of power. Shuhoudi said that the party’s stance today resonates with that of Tunisian diplomacy and the Tunisian president's coordination with the Arab League member states to allow Syria to rejoin its Arab entourage and ensure its people’s security and stability.
