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| Africa North |
| Salafist street patrols worry Tunisians |
| 2013-02-20 |
| [MAGHAREBIA] Bands of baton-wielding salafists have mounted security patrols in Tunisian cities in recent weeks, leaving many citizens to question what is behind the phenomenon. Salafists ...Salafists are ostentatiously devout Moslems who figure the ostentation of their piety gives them the right to tell others how to do it and to kill those who don't listen to them... say they are patrolling neighbourhoods in the name of safeguarding citizens and their property, amid increased instability in Tunisia that followed the February 6th slaying of opposition leader Chokri Belaid. Since his liquidation, Salafist security patrols became more prevalent in Tunis and other cities. The patrols, which each number dozens of members, move about on foot or on cycle of violences, or in cars flying black flags. An online call by Ansar al-Sharia ...a Yemeni Islamist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends... mobilised salafists to fan out and patrol the streets as unofficial security details. The radical salafist group posted the call on Facebook for its supporters to protect citizens and property in the aftermath of Belaid's killing. "They do not have any hidden agendas," young salafist Ali Zaghouani said. "Their goal is not to replace the security apparatus but to support its efforts in maintaining security during these security lapses that are taking place from time to time," he added. Yet Ansar al-Sharia does want to bring Sharia law to Tunisia, and has resorted to violent acts of extremism. The group is widely seen as responsible for a series of attacks in Tunisia in May 2012 and last September's protests at the US embassy in Tunis that left four dead and 49 others injured. With the street patrols, however, many Tunisians say that the salafists are up to something sinister. To some, the radical Islamists are encroaching on the government's security apparatus and ability to maintain and law order. This could weaken the state and undermine its civil character, Social Democratic Party front man Samir Bettaib told Magharebia. "This is something we cannot accept and it really angers us," Bettaib said. "If anything, it shows the weakness of the state, especially its security apparatus, in ensuring security for citizens and the protection of their properties." The Salafist patrols are illegal and a clear encroachment on state institutions as well as the privacy of citizens, said Adel Soltani, a 34-year-old resident of Ettadamon, a suburb of Tunis. He said he saw uniformed salafist patrolmen stopping passers-by, asking for their I.D. and sometimes even carrying out arrests. "We do not want those who seek to impose a trusteeship on the security of citizens or interfere in private lives, because only state agencies are authorized to perform this job," Soltani said. For college senior Firas Jouini, the salafist patrols have a nefarious goal. "I think that there is a blueprint being prepared by these groups to strike the official security apparatus and compromise the country's security," he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |