MPs call on government to clarify its policy on irregular migrants’ issue

Tunis: Several members of the Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP) have called on the Tunisian government to clarify its plan and policy for dealing with the issue of irregular migrants and the solutions adopted to tackle this phenomenon, which has "worsened in Tunisia". During an evening plenary session held by the ARP to discuss the situation of irregular migrants in Tunisia, they called for a dialogue session with the Prime Minister and the Ministers of the Interior, Defence and Foreign Affairs to find out the truth about the phenomenon and clarify the Tunisian state's strategy to deal with it. They also demanded the publication of the content of the bilateral agreement between Tunisia and Italy on migrants, recently signed by the Tunisian Interior Minister and his Italian counterpart. They demanded the publication of the results of the trilateral summit held on April 23 at Carthage Palace between Tunisian President Kais Saied, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and President of the Libyan Pr esidential Council Mohamed al-Manfi. Other MPs spoke of a "well-orchestrated operation by interlocking international organisations" in relation to the growing number of irregular migrants in Tunisia. On the other hand, some of them went on to claim that "the Tunisian government has accepted the settlement project (of irregular migrants) and is distributing them demographically between cities and rural areas under the pretext of burden sharing", warning against this move which would exacerbate the economic crisis in Tunisia. Other deputies stressed the need to identify organisations, particularly those operating in Tunisia, which they believe are involved in undermining public security and creating crises in the country, especially as Tunisia faces presidential elections in the coming period. During this session, MPs raised the state of tension among citizens in the El Amra and Jebeniana regions of Sfax, against the backdrop of the concentration of migrants in olive fields and their "transformation into re fugee camps". They called for "an end to this situation, which worries residents and security forces in the region". A number of MPs proposed the formation of an investigative committee, including government representatives in addition to ARP members, to identify the parties behind this phenomenon and find solutions to address it. They stressed the need to work with neighbouring countries to find a solution to this cross-border phenomenon. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse