Montag, 08.07.2019 / 11:28 Uhr

Tunesien: Homosexueller Präsidentschaftskandidat für Normalisierung mit Israel

Von
Thomas von der Osten-Sacken

Müsste man sich eine Überschrift überlegen, die irgendwie den Geist des "Neuen Nahen Osten" in Worte fasst, es wäre wohl diese: "Homosexueller Präsidentschaftskandidat wirbt für Normalisierung mit Israel". Das? In der arabischen Welt?

Nun, ja. Der Mann wird sicher keine großen Chancen haben, aber das gibt es inzwischen wirklich:

Openly gay Tunisian lawyer Mounir Baatour, who has voiced pro-Israel sentiments, announced on June 25 that he plans to run for president in the country’s November election.
In a hair-raising debate on Tunisian TV last year, Baatour said, “I told you that normalization [with Israel] is not treason. Normalization is in Tunisia’s best interests in terms of economy and international relations.”

 

It is the first reported case of a gay Tunisian seeking to win the presidency of the Muslim-majority north African country.
According to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which translated the debate on Tunisian TV, “Following an incident in which Tunisian MP Ammar Amroussia ripped up an Israeli flag in a parliamentary session, in a push for legislation criminalizing ties with Israel, a Tunisian TV channel held a debate on the issue of normalization of ties between the two countries. Mounir Baatour, head of the Liberal Tunisian Party, defended his party against MP Amroussia’s accusations that they were a ‘fifth column’ within Tunisia, ‘mercenaries fighting alongside the enemies.’”

Baatour sharply criticized the anti-Israel Amroussia during the debate about his pro-boycott Israel views, asking him: “How come you do not cut ties with Iran, which has been occupying three UAE islands since 1971? I’m talking about the islands of Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa. Why don’t you boycott Turkey, which occupies the Sanjak of Alexandretta? The Sanjak of Alexandretta is larger than Palestine.”