Tunisian Marine Corps
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2012
- Messages
- 660
- Reaction score
- 1
- Country
- Location
On Sunday, the major cell phone provider Tunisiana officially became known as “Ooredoo” after it was acquired by a Qatar-based company.
The Ooredoo brand will be applied to the holdings of the Qtel company in Tunisia and other countries. In January 2013, the company increased its ownership stake in Tunisiana to 90 percent, but it was only in recent days that Tunisians saw “Ooredoo” (Arabic for I want) come up as the network name on their phones.
“Ooredo today announced that its Tunisian operations have fully adopted the global Ooredoo brand,” the company said in am April 27 press release.
In 2002, Tunisiana became the first privately owned telecommunications company in Tunisia. It was partially owned by Sakhr el-Materi, the notoriously corrupt son of of former president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, but his shares were confiscated by the government after the 2011 revolution.
Former Tunisiana store in downtown Tunis, now rebranded as Ooredooo. Image credit: Asma Smadhi, Tunisia Live
The Tunisiana store on Avenue Bourguiba in downtown Tunis has been rebranded with the Ooredoo name and logo.
The takeover by Qtel has been criticized by many Tunisian social media users decrying the influence of the small Gulf state over the country’s economy.
Last year, after President Moncef Marzouki called on Tunisians to be thankful for Qatar’s assistance in recovering some assets held by the former regime, many instead responded with criticism of Qatar’s hosting of American military bases, its relationship with Israel, and its human rights policies.
In recent days, Tunisians have used the Tunisiana takeover to once again express their discontent about Qatar on Twitter and Facebook
Playing on the meaning “I want” in formal Arabic, Tunisian social media users have produced anti-Qatar and anti-Ooredoo messages.
Social media users altered an Ooredoo advertisement.
Here, an advertisement featuring Argentine football star Lionel Messi holding the Ooredoo logo is defaced, with the added words reading: “I do not want Qatar.” Below a crossed-out image of the Tunisiana logo are the words: “Boycott that crap and you will be blessed.”
An image of a Tunisiana SIM card cut into pieces.
Images have been circulating of Tunisiana customers destroying their SIM cards in protest. Here, one was cut into pieces with a pair of scissors.
Image calling on readers to stop using Tunisiana
This image calls on social media users to join the campaign: “They threw away their SIM card and left Tunisiana, but what about you? It is time that you switch from Tunisiana SIM cards,” the image reads.
The top cartoon plays off a widely circulated image of Qatari business people celebrating the transaction by cutting into a giant cake bearing the Ooredoo logo.
In the background is a list of Tunisian institutions including Tunisiana and the Tunisian water and electricity companies, which become Ooredo and Qatargas. Ennahdha party leader Rached Ghannouchi becomes Egyptian theologian Yusuf al-Qardawi, but the fate of “the Tunisian people,” is blocked by the pictured Qatari emir.
- See more at: Tunisians Reject Qatari Takeover of Tunisiana Cell Phone Company - Tunisia Live : Tunisia Live
Last edited:
