Tunisia - (AFP) - Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar confirmed Monday, in an interview with Agence France-Presse, that his country is sending messages of "reassurance", but excludes an apology, following criticism that considered President Kais Saied's speech regarding immigrants from sub-Saharan African countries "racist". .

Tunisian President Kais Saied stressed on Tuesday that "urgent measures" should be taken to stop the flow of irregular migrants from sub-Saharan Africa to his country, stressing that this phenomenon leads to "violence and crimes."

Saied's remarks came while he chaired a meeting of the National Security Council at the Carthage Palace on Tuesday, "dedicated to urgent measures that must be taken to address the phenomenon of the influx of large numbers of irregular migrants from sub-Saharan Africa to Tunisia," according to a statement by the Tunisian presidency.

Many NGOs denounced the speech as "racist and hateful", and the African Union denounced it and considered the president's remarks "shocking" and called on member states to "refrain from any racist hate speech".

"It is a tendentious interpretation of the statements of the higher Tunisian authorities on this matter. A few days have passed since this happened and we must now remain calm, and messages of reassurance have been sent through official and other channels," the foreign minister told AFP.
And he continued in the context of his speech, "No, the issue of apology is not raised, we did not harm anyone."

According to official figures reported by the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, Tunisia, with a population of about 12 million, has more than 21,000 citizens from sub-Saharan Africa, most of whom are in an illegal situation.

"For legal immigrants, no problem. On the contrary, we want more," the minister added. As for "illegal immigrants, they are invited to return to their homes, but with respect for their rights and dignity."

Following Said's strongly worded rhetoric, a number of NGOs and witnesses reported an escalation of attacks against African migrants in Tunisia.

"We should not confuse individual behavior with what the authorities do. The authorities take all measures to protect all migrants in Tunisia, whether they are legal or illegal," Ammar said.

The minister, who has been in office for three weeks, justified Saied's speech, saying that "the Tunisian authorities have the right to alert when illegal immigrant flows increase, with all the consequences that may ensue."

Said's statements about the existence of a "criminal arrangement prepared since the beginning of this century to change the demographic composition of Tunisia" in order to "settle irregular migrants from sub-Saharan Africa" in the country, reinforced comparisons with what is known as the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, which is defended in France by the right-wing. Extremist Eric Zemmour.

Ammar commented, "It is just one element (of the discourse), why did the commentators focus on this element to make it central? Even if this study was found, where is the problem with that? It is not the Tunisian authorities that produced it."

Ammar added, "There were testimonies in video clips, I do not want to mention them because I do not want to participate in the development of this debate, but there were testimonies given by immigrants from sub-Saharan countries and they said + here we are at home and so on + I do not even want to talk about that".

The majority of migrants from sub-Saharan countries arrive in Tunisia, some of whose coasts are less than 150 kilometers from the Italian island of Lampedusa, and then try to migrate illegally to Europe by sea.

Some NGOs consider Tunisia, whose coast guard regularly intercepts migrant boats bound for Europe, to be a key player in monitoring migration routes in the Mediterranean.

The minister continued, "We are in a difficult situation between the north and the south. When we say that there is a problem, they accuse us of racism. Do you see how unfair that is?"

He also denied accusations by non-governmental organizations and the opposition that Said's discourse on immigrants aims to distract public opinion from the deteriorating living conditions and the tense political situation with a series of arrests in political circles.
"Of course not... These are their interpretations... This is not the reality," he concluded.