Tunisia : UGTT pays tribute to Palestinian prisoners Marouene Barghouthi and Ahmed Saade
(TAP) - The Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) paid tribute to Palestinian prisoners Marouene Barghouthi and Ahmed Saadet at the opening of its 23rd Congress on Sunday.
In a message to
Barghouthi added that since its inception, the UGTT has campaigned for freedom, democracy and political rights, remembering, in this respect, the martyrs of Tunisia, the trade union movement and the Tunisian revolution as well as all martyrs of the Arab nation who sacrificed their lives for freedom, dignity, independence and justice.
Tunisians have the right to be proud of having sparked the Arab revolutions and succeeded in achieving a democratic transition, promulgating a consensual constitution and electing a parliament, a president of the Republic and several constitutional bodies, he said.
He also paid tribute to the Tunisian people, to its elite as well as to its intellectuals and to the components of civil society, first of all the UGTT, which took the initiative to organise a national dialogue and therefore to prevent the country from falling into chaos.
"From my narrow, dark cell in a prison of the Zionist occupation forces, I extend my profound sentiments of esteem and consideration to the great Tunisian people and to all its vital forces and all the martyrs of the country, Said Barghouthi, who called on all Arabs to co-operate to enable countries that have experienced revolutions to succeed in the reconstruction operation and to preserve their independence.
He denounced the Israeli attempts to Judaise Al-Quds, recalling the Israeli raid against Hammam Chott in 1985 and the assassination of Abu Jihad in 1988 and Mohamed Zouari in 2016.
Barghouthi denounced the US support for the Zionist occupation plan of Palestinian lands, a support which the new US president plans strengthen when he announced that the headquarters of the US embassy will be transferred to Al-Quds, he indicated.
Barghouthi called on the Arab countries to react against this decision, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international conventions.
For his part, representative of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in Tunisia, Ismail Aljunaidi, in a speech delivered on behalf of Abla Saadat, wife of Ahmed Saadat, who was prevented by the Israeli occupation to travel to Tunisia to attend the ceremony held in homage to her husband, said this ban illustrates the continuation of the policy of restriction of freedoms exercised by Israel since the Balfour declaration.
It is not surprising, he said, to see the UGTT honoring the two Palestinian prisoners Marouene Barghouthi and Ahmed Saadet insofar as this trade union organisation has placed the Palestinian cause at the heart of its concerns and played a decisive role in the accession of Palestinian trade unions to international trade union organisations.
The UGTT had rebuilt the primary school of Jenin camp destroyed by the Zionist occupation forces during the Palestinian uprising in 2000, he recalled.
Hayel Al-Fahoum, Ambassador of Palestine to Tunisia said the 23rd Congress of the UGTT illustrates the success of the process of democratic transition in Tunisia, recalling the role played by the union in strengthening dialogue between the different political parties.
He highlighted the succession of international and regional resolutions supporting the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the building of an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds as its capital.
Work of the Congress of the UGTT will continue on January 23, 24 and 25, 2017. Participants will discuss on Monday the moral and financial reports as well as the general report and the restructuring project of the union.