TUNIS - Hundreds of Tunisians gathered on Tuesday outside the headquarters of the National Constituent Assembly in a sit-in protest against what they called a "Grand theft" organised by the Islamist-led government.
Tunisian government was to present a draft law before the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) for the compensation of former political prisoners, mostly Islamists from the ruling Ennahda party.
Citizens, representatives of civil society and the Union of diplomas unemployed chanted slogans such as: "Theft is a crime", "People of Tunisia wake up!, The nahdhaouis are robbers," "the people are tired of new Trabelsi", in reference to ousted first lady Leila Ben Ali’s family.
Members of the Tunisian Union of Unemployed University Graduates (TUUUG), activists, bloggers and members of the Tunisian Association of Freethinkers participated in the protest.
Activists have launched since last Friday, an e-campaign against the Ennahda Islamist party and its leader Rashed Ghannouchi following the resignation of Tunisia’s Finance Minister.
Hussein Dimassi resigned last week over “differences with the Islamist-led government”.
A statement from Dimassi's office said, "The draft law for the compensation of beneficiaries of the general amnesty is the most serious of all, it was the straw that broke the camel's back".
"It will result in a very heavy expenditure for the state's budget considering the high number of beneficiaries and the amount of the compensation," it added.
Tunisian newspapers said the plan may cost as much as 750 million dinars.
