Tuesday saw a closure of all businesses and government offices in Zarzis, Tunisia, with the exception of emergency situations (Oct 18).
Re-searches for relatives who vanished during an unsuccessful migration attempt were urged by protesters.
Thousands once more flooded the streets, chanting phrases like “we want the truth.”
The president requested his Justice Minister to launch an investigation as a result of the mounting pressure on the authorities.
Local activist Ezzedine Msalem declared, “I promise you that this strike (in the city of Zarzis, ed) is historic.
“The state must reveal the truth. Today, we want to know the truth. It is a state crime that was perpetrated against the inhabitants of Zarzis with the burial (of bodies found at sea — believed to be passengers from the boat — in a cemetery for foreign migrants, ed) without identifying them before, nor having done any DNA analysis.”
Supposed burial without a headstone
18 Tunisians boarded a boat bound for Italy four weeks ago, but it later sank.
Four people who were supposedly buried in a neighboring foreign migrant cemetery without any attempt to identify them were thought to be missing Tunisians.
Another two victims that were thought to be Tunisians were discovered, and the bodies have subsequently been excavated for identification.
The UGTT trade union organization, one of the biggest unions in the nation, expressed support for the walkout and demanded an investigation into the rescue operation and the manner in which the remains were buried.
The Tunisian Human Rights League demanded an investigation into the graves, claiming that authorities “had not devoted the required resources to search and rescue efforts in a timely manner.”
According to the defense ministry on Tuesday, Tunisian officials detained close to 200 migrants who were trying to get to Europe over the weekend.
Over 22,500 migrants have been stopped since the year’s beginning, roughly half of whom are from sub-Saharan Africa, according to official statistics.
