Tunisian Protesters Stage Rally to Back Government
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Tens of thousands in Tunisia shout 'no to coups, yes to elections' as tensions rise following assassinations of opposition MPs.
Tens of thousands of Tunisians have come out in a show of force for the country's Islamist-led government, in one of the largest demonstrations since the 2011 revolution, Aljazeera reported.
Shouting, "No to coups, yes to elections", supporters of the ruling Ennahda party on Saturday crowded into Kasbah Square next to the prime minister's office in the capital, Tunis.
Ennahda, a moderate Islamist party, called on supporters of the embattled government to join the rally to push back against a week of mass protests calling for the government's removal.
"We support the legitimacy of the government because we care about Tunisia and we care about democracy, not Ennahda," said 40-year-old Suad Nasri, a Tunisian flag wrapped around her head. "I'm not an Ennahda backer, but I want our democracy to succeed."
Kasbah Square was the site of major rallies in the days after autocratic President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali was toppled in 2011, with demonstrators demanding a transitional constituent assembly to draft a new constitution - one of the bodies the opposition is now demanding be dissolved.
