Tunisian president accused of racism towards migrants from sub-Saharan Africa

Rights groups have accused Tunisian President Kais Saied of racism and hate speech after he vowed to crack down on migration from sub-Saharan Africa, which he said was an organised scheme aimed at changing Tunisia's demographic make-up.

The hands of a man on the deck of a ship that rescued him and 58 other migrants from international waters in the Mediterranean, near Tunisia, in September 2022. © Petros Karadjias/AP

In comments to the National Security Council on Tuesday published online by the presidency, Saied called for “urgent measures" to stop the arrival of "hordes of illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa”, who he said bring “violence, crime and unacceptable practices”.

Immigrants, he said, are part of a “criminal plot” intended to change Tunisia’s demographic make-up.

"The undeclared goal of the successive waves of illegal immigration is to consider Tunisia a purely African country that has no affiliation to the Arab and Islamic nations," he said.

Racism and conspiracy theories

The statements sparked outcry, with many people accusing the president of racism, and invoking right-wing conspiracy theories.

"It is a racist approach just like the campaigns in Europe,” said Ramadan Ben Amor, spokesperson for the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES). “The presidential campaign aims to create an imaginary enemy for Tunisians to distract them from their basic problems.

Tunisia is dealing with a deepening economic crisis, with growing debt and surging inflation and shortages of essential goods.

Saied, who has seized almost total power since shutting down parliament in July 2021, has blamed the shortages on unidentified "speculators".

European pressure on Tunisia

Ben Amor said Saied's comments about migrants showed he had "obviously and totally caved in to pressure from the Italian authorities to stop the flow of migrants" towards Europe.

Tunisia is less than 150 kilometres from the Italian island of Lampedusa and is a main departure point for migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

Last week, 23 rights groups said European migration policies were pushing Tunisia to play a key role in surveillance of migration routes and intercepting migrant boats in the central Mediterranean.

They warned that the state had started cracking down on migrants and turning a blind eye to racist hate speech directed against African migrants.

The organisations, including the FTDES, said some 300 migrants had been detained, often after simple identity checks or after attending court hearings to support relatives.

(with newswires)