Tunisian General Labor Union in hot water over support for al-Assad

Tunisian General Labor Union has called for the normalisation of relations with the Syrian regime after a recent meeting with Bashar al-Assad,  sparking a outrage.

The legal representative of the internationally recognized Syrian National Coalition for Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, Haitham al-Maleh, told Quds Press Agency, that they are compiling data and statements issued by the leaders of the Union who visited Bashar al-Assad at the end of last month and interrogate them before international trade union and judicial institutions.

“We have reports from UN fact-finding committees, most of which confirm that Bashar al-Assad’s regime has committed war crimes against humanity and against his people. We have filed two cases before the International Criminal Court against Bashar al-Assad and several of his regime’s leaders on this basis,” said al-Maleh.

He added: “International law considers that each party which can prevent the perpetrator of the crime from committing it and supports and encourages it is a partner in the crime. On that basis, we consider that everyone who visited Bashar al-Assad and supported him is considered as a partner, including the delegation of the Tunisian General Labor Union.”

“How can an Arab, whatever his affiliation is, accept to visit a president who killed his people with live ammunition, explosive barrels and chemical weapons, who brought the Russian and Iranian occupation to his country, and accepted long-term Russian military bases?” he said.

He continued: “We are now gathering data and statements that the leaders of the Tunisian General Labor Union have disclosed about the visit of its delegation to the criminal Bashar al-Assad, in order to hold them accountable before the international trade union organizations of which it is a member, and before international tribunals .”

In Geneva, the director of the Council on International Relations and Development, Anwar al-Gharbi, warned that the visit of the Tunisian General Labor Union delegation and its support for al-Assad seriously harms the Union, especially as regards its membership in the International Labor Organization and the International Confederation of Trade Unions.

This is based on their of non-compliance with international labor standards, breach of the principles of trade union freedoms and a violation of the principles of internationally recognized trade unionism.

“It is inconceivable that the legal department of the Union has been consulted and its opinion taken into consideration. This is in view of the deficiencies and consequences that could befall the Union as an organization and its leadership for what they have done to support and encourage the killing and extermination practiced by the Syrian regime which is backed by Russia and Iran and supported by the active participation of foreign militias and mercenaries from different countries,” said al-Gharbi.