Mootaz-khelifi
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CARTHAGE (TAP) - The Interim President of the Republic issued a republican decree providing for exceptional provisions applicable to a border buffer zone along Tunisia's southern border with Libya and Algeria, announced Minister of National Defence Rachid Sabbagh.
The boundaries of this buffer zone should be consistent with those of the Saharan zone existent since 1989, the minister specified after a meeting held on Thursday in Carthage with Interim President Moncef Marzouki, in the presence of Chief of Staff of the Army Brigadier General Salah Hamdi and Inspector General of the armed forces Brigadier General Mohamed Nafti.
The meeting discussed the security situation in the border region and reviewed efforts of the national army in co-ordination with the security forces and the National Guard.
This presidential decree will be applied for one year extendable if necessary and indefinitely, Rachid Sabbagh told the press after this meeting, noting that the operational command in that region will go, under that decree, to the military authorities.
This requires a close co-ordination between different authorities responsible for law enforcement, including the police, the National Guard and customs and a support for the fieldwork of those authorities, he indicated.
This presidential decree was issued in accordance with Paragraph 7 of Article 11 of the Constituent Law N°6 of the year 2011 on the provisional organisation of public powers, the minister specified.
These provisions give the President of the Republic the power to take exceptional measures if required by the situation, seeing the extent of the smuggling operations in the country's southern borders since the Revolution, particularly arms and goods trafficking, he added.
Access to the non-closed buffer zone for working and sightseeing reasons, requires authorisation by the local governor, also said the minister, adding that military authorities are entitled transform this buffer zone into a partly or completely closed area.
This decision should be announced on a broader scale, he added, saying that access to this area is possible through an authorisation issued by military authorities.
Access to the border buffer zone without authorisation is considered an act contrary to law and results in prosecution, he cautioned.
It is still premature to talk about the return of national army soldiers to their barracks, also said the minister, given the difficult conditions experienced by the country.
"The morale or our soldiers is in good shape," he assured, reiterating the army's commitment to deal with any threat to the security and territorial integrity of the country.
The boundaries of this buffer zone should be consistent with those of the Saharan zone existent since 1989, the minister specified after a meeting held on Thursday in Carthage with Interim President Moncef Marzouki, in the presence of Chief of Staff of the Army Brigadier General Salah Hamdi and Inspector General of the armed forces Brigadier General Mohamed Nafti.
The meeting discussed the security situation in the border region and reviewed efforts of the national army in co-ordination with the security forces and the National Guard.
This presidential decree will be applied for one year extendable if necessary and indefinitely, Rachid Sabbagh told the press after this meeting, noting that the operational command in that region will go, under that decree, to the military authorities.
This requires a close co-ordination between different authorities responsible for law enforcement, including the police, the National Guard and customs and a support for the fieldwork of those authorities, he indicated.
This presidential decree was issued in accordance with Paragraph 7 of Article 11 of the Constituent Law N°6 of the year 2011 on the provisional organisation of public powers, the minister specified.
These provisions give the President of the Republic the power to take exceptional measures if required by the situation, seeing the extent of the smuggling operations in the country's southern borders since the Revolution, particularly arms and goods trafficking, he added.
Access to the non-closed buffer zone for working and sightseeing reasons, requires authorisation by the local governor, also said the minister, adding that military authorities are entitled transform this buffer zone into a partly or completely closed area.
This decision should be announced on a broader scale, he added, saying that access to this area is possible through an authorisation issued by military authorities.
Access to the border buffer zone without authorisation is considered an act contrary to law and results in prosecution, he cautioned.
It is still premature to talk about the return of national army soldiers to their barracks, also said the minister, given the difficult conditions experienced by the country.
"The morale or our soldiers is in good shape," he assured, reiterating the army's commitment to deal with any threat to the security and territorial integrity of the country.
