Tunisia in state of emergency

TUNIS – Tunisia has declared a state of emergency, eight days after a gunman killed dozens of foreign tourists at a Mediterranean beach resort.

The declaration, which gives the government increased powers to deal with suspected terrorists but also curtails to a degree the rights of citizens, is an unhappy juncture in what had perhaps been the only real success story to emerge from the 2011 uprisings that were collectively called the Arab Spring.

Tunisia, whose revolt against a longtime dictator set in motion similar pro-democracy movements across North Africa and the Middle East, had been making steady strides in its transition to democracy.

But the government’s hand was seemingly forced by the June 26 attack on the seaside town of Sousse, which killed at least 38 people, most of them British vacationers, and Islamic militants’ assault in March on a museum in the capital.

Emergency law strengthens executive powers, restricts rights such as freedom of assembly, and grants greater authority to the security forces. The declaration was announced by the office of President Beji Caid Essebsi, who later delivered a nationally televised speech.

In his address, Essebsi cited “a state of war of a special kind” that demanded the use of the state’s powers.

Immediately after the Sousse attack, the government announced measures including the deployment of troops at tourist sites and the closing of dozens of mosques deemed wellsprings of hate rhetoric.

The most recent rampage, which targeted foreign tourists as they swam and sunbathed, is expected to cause more than $500 million in losses to Tunisia’s tourist sector, one of the mainstays of the economy.

The country’s last state of emergency was in 2011, during the revolt against longtime ruler Zine el Abidine ben Ali, who was forced to step down.