Balaid’s widow to Echourouk: Al Ghanouchi is an extremist

Echorouk’s Assia Chalabi met the widow of the Tunisian political activist and lawyer Chokri Belaid who was shot to death three days ago while quitting home for his work, and responded to the reporter’s questions in this interview.

Mrs Belaid has extended her thanks to the Algerian people following the large support she received through the social networks in the wake of the barbarous act that claimed the life of her husband.

She went on saying that she learnt to love Algeria and its people through her late husband who was always asserting that the Algerians were the Tunisians ‘ brothers repeating “ I love them too much”.

As to the declaration made by the Tunisian Prime Minister Al -Djabali in which he announced the appointment of a caretaker government made of technocrats, the widow said that the she and her husbands party do not refuse the idea as they regard the suggestion as logical and likely to end the crisis adding that the Tunisian protesters that took to the streets were the legitimate ones as opposed to the current government that lost it.

Mrs Belaid said that she has never pointed at the Anahdha movement for the killing of her husband but laid the responsibility on them because they hold power and are supposed to protect the citizens. She laid the blame on the interior ministry that failed to end violence noting that some mosques called for the elimination of her late husband since weeks but the authorities didn’t react accordingly.

She further added that the victim’s family staunchly objected the attendance of the members of the government to the funerals saying she refuses the presence of the same people that attempted stage marches to counter thousands of protesters that took to the streets calling for justice. What kind of law and “ Charia” allow the killing of a man with two bullets on the head? She added.

Besma El Khalfaoui went on saying that she had asked for protection for her and her two daughters in the wake of leaked intelligence that a service operating in parallel to the interior ministry is plotting for political assassinations, but this doesn’t prevent her from pursuing her husband’s political combat within the party.