Tunisian Labor Federation Calls Strike After Lawmaker Murdered

In Feburary, Tunisians accompanied the body of slain lawmaker, Chokri Belaid. Credit: Sarah Mersch

The Tunisian Labor Federation (Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail, UGTT) is calling for a general strike on July 26 to protest the assassination today of Mohammed Brahmi, a deputy in the National Constituent Assembly.

The action is a “political strike in defense of Tunisia and a protest against this new political assassination,”according to UGTT spokesman, Sami Tahri. The UGTT reinforced its stance with a declaration against this latest act of violence.

This is the second assassination of an opposition leader in Tunisia in the past few months. In February, Chokri Belaid, coordinator of a Tunisian left-wing political party, was gunned down in front of his home on his way to work. The murder sparked national outrage and Tunisians remain angry at the government’s perceived indifference to Belaid’s murder