Ex-Minister blamed for Tunisian riots

Press, 23 April 1984, Page 6

Ex-Minister blamed for Tunisian riots

NZPA-Reuter Tunis An official report into the so-called bread riots that swept Tunisia in January has cited serious negligence and corruption among security chiefs and accused the disgraced former Interior Minister, Driss Guiga, of exploiting the violence to further his political ambitions. The report, published this week in the official press, included allegations of bribery, kick-backs, and drug smuggling by senior Interior Ministry officials.

The President, Mr Habib Bourguiba, on the basis of reading the report before publication, ordered last month that Mr Guiga, who left the country after the riots and is now in London, be tried for high treason. Mr Guiga, long seen as a . rival to the Prime Minister, Mr Muhammad Nzali, to succeed the 80-year-old President, has made it clear that he would not go home to face the charge. He could, if convicted, face the death penalty. The report, drawn up by

four State officials mandated to determine who was responsible for the breakdown of law and order, was widely expected to pin the blame on Mr Guiga. Opposition politicians have condemned the inquiry as being aimed solely at finding a scapegoat without addressing the root causes of the wave of discontent sparked by an overnight doubling of bread prices at the end of last year. The report put the official casualty figures at 89 dead and 938 wounded, including

348 members of the security forces. An unofficial estimate put out by the independent Tunisian Human Rights Defence League had estimated the death toll at 110. The report, based on evidence from 56 witnesses, did not accuse Mr Guiga directly of treason, but it concluded “It is evident that, by his negative stance, his avoidance of his legal and Constitutional duties, his breaches of public order and his neglect of his security obligations ... the

former Interior Minister has a clear and uncontestable repsonsibility ... “He wanted to exploit events as far as possible and profit from the atmosphere he created so as to poison the situation and force the country into a political crisis whose results would be to his benefit.” No date has yet been set for the trial and it is still not clear how many officials implicated by the report will be charged. Mr Guiga has not replied to the charge that he had exploited the violence.