Staying United: How Civil Protests in Tunisia Can Induce Terrorism

The Tunisian city of Tataouine is facing civil protests that have been raging for three weeks now. Civilians are demanding the government keeps its promises and allocates more oil revenues to the local budget. However, such an action could jeopardize the country’s security.

Tunisian lawmaker Lutfi Nabli, who is also an assistant to a parliamentary speaker, told Sputnik Arabic that, “the protesters do not take into account the complex situation of the country and are holding back and hampering the development of the region.”

He further said that the claims and demands the demonstrators are making are quite unreasonable.

“Tunisia is one united country and the oil wealth of Tataouine belongs to the entire country. The demands of the residents to yield to the local budget 70 percent of oil revenues jeopardize its national unity,” Nabli said.

The politician added that the situation puts at risk the security and stability in the south of Tunisia, as this volatile internal situation can be used by terrorists for their own agenda.

“The terrorists can penetrate the country through its southern borders,” Nabli said.

He refuted reports of some media outlets suggesting that the country’s oil production had stopped due to the protests.

“The production did not stop; the government protects the oil infrastructure. It can be called a success that it was possible to do so without clashing with the protesters,” the politician concluded.