Tunisia Live (Tunis)
Asma Ghribi
20 December 2011
One year after the commencement of the Tunisian Revolution the Tunisian government still has not adequately settled the issue of compensating victims according to a report released by Amnesty International on December 16th.
Entitled “One Year On: No Justice For Victims of the Uprising,” the report highlights how the martyr’s families gave the interim government unsatisfactory marks, both in granting compensation for the families of victims and in bringing those who killed their family members to justice.
More than 234 people were killed by security forces when state police attempted to put down the Tunisian uprising which led to the departure of former President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali who fled Tunisia on January 14th.
On November 19th, the Independent High Authority for the Elections (ISIE) organized a ceremony in commemoration of the martyrs of the Tunisian Revolution however, the ceremony turned into a protest because the families of the martyrs and the wounded refused to accept the symbolic recognition of ISIE.
There is still deep pain among the families who feel bitter and betrayed due to the government’s slow pace in settling their cases.
In his recent Carthage Palace interview, President Moncef Marzouki promised that the government will expidite the cases of the martyrs and the wounded of the revolution.
El Menaa Hancha is the father of Adel Hancha, who was 32 years old when he was shot in the head while working as a security agent for the municipality of Jbal Jloud.
El Menaa claims that three police snipers in an unregistered ambulance shot his son dead. The car was later caught by local committees (groups of locals who gathered to protect their neighborhoods during the breakdown of security that followed the end of the Ben Ali regime). The policeman who has been convicted of shooting Adel is now in custody.
The Hancha family received 20,000 Tunisian Dinars in compensation but El Menaa still feels his son’s killer has not fully paid for his crime. “Justice is all that I am asking for. He assassinated my son, he deserves to be executed,” said a bitter El Menaa.
El Menaa is willing to kill his son’s killer himself, if the government does not execute him. “If the court fails to punish my son’s killer, I will revenge my son’s murder with my own hands. I am 65 years old and I have nothing to lose.”
Alaa Saidi is a master’s student in fine arts who was shot in Tunis during demonstrations in Tunisia’s old government center, the Kasbah.
Alaa says he was not participating in a protest when a police bullet hit his right hand. Now he suffers from the half paralysis in his right hand which has became sensitive after enduring two injuries.
Alaa claims that politicians used public sympathy for the revolution’s martyrs and wounded to get votes but once they got to the Constituent Assembly they completely ignored the issue of martyrs.
Several civil society groups were created after the revolution to advocate for the rights of the victims of the revolution.
Awfia, is an organization that was founded in July. It is an advocacy group helping the wounded of the revolution.
Among the membership of Awfia are more than 300 people that were wounded and still waiting for the government to consider their cases.
“Interim Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebssi and Interim President Mbazaa promised us in public to settle the cases of the victims of the revolution but they did not do anything. We are hoping the new government will finally fulfill the legitimate demands of those who sacrificed the souls and their bodies.” said Lamia Farhani, the President of Awfia.
Ms Farhani announced that Awfia along with other organizations for victims of the revolution are scheduled to meet President Moncef Marzouki on Tuesday, December 20th at 4pm.
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