Ghannouchi attacks homage

Somia Ghannouchi berated a French tribute to Farhat Hached, the founding father of the independent Tunisian trade union movement assassinated by right-wing colonialists in 1952. On her official Facebook page, the eldest daughter of the leader of Tunisia’s ruling Ennahda Movement wrote: "France is not honouring Hached, but rather certain union leaders.” On the eve of International Worker’s Day, Parisian mayor Bertrand Delanoë inaugurated a square in Hached’s name. Hussein Abbasi, the Secretary General of the General Union of Tunisian Workers (French acronym UGTT), attended a ceremony in the 13th arrondissement of the French capital together with Hached’s son. Ghannouchi admonished France for honouring the UGTT, which she claimed “seeks to confuse the [Tunisian] government and destabilise the country.” She urged France to acknowledge and apologise for its involvement in Hached’s assassination and the perpetration of injustice against Tunisian citizens during the colonial era. She added: “It is ironic that Hached, the national leader who was assassinated by sinful French colonial hands, today gives his name to a square in the heart of the French capital, in the presence of leaders of the union.” Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdul Salam’s wife said: "The target of this honour is neither the late Hached nor the project of resisting French colonialism for which he fought.” She accused the French ceremony of paying homage to “current union leaders that dragged the UGTT into battles, which disrupt the government with an unending series of strikes and demands.” The UGTT called its first general strike in 35 years last fall, in part due to the Ennahda government’s burgeoning partnership with the Tunisian private sector and lack of sympathy toward workers’ strikes and movements. Somia Ghannouchi is known for her controversial assertions on social networking websites. She previously referred to Ennahda Movement detractors as "losers; an unsuccessful and marginalised minority." Her husband, the former Secretary of State, fiercely defended her freedom of speech.