Martyrs' Day is a public holiday in Tunisia, observed on April 9th to remember who were killed when French troops suppressed nationalist demonstrations in 1938.
Tunisia was under French domination in 1881, and the drive for independence began in 1920 with the formation of the political group Destour. The emergence of a new party, Neo Destour, led by Habib Bourguiba, who went on to become the country's first President, fuelled the desire for independence in 1934.
Bourguiba advocated a combative strategy to persuading the French to embrace independence, including the use of protests and rioting to shake the colonial authorities.
On April 9, 1938, hundreds of protestors flooded Tunis, demanding the establishment of a Tunisian parliament. The event became violent, killing 22 demonstrators, one police officer, and injuring over 150 others.
As a result, Bourguiba and other Neo-Destour members were arrested and incarcerated in Tunis's Civilian Prison. Neo-Destour was dissolved a few days later, but its activities continued in secret.
The events of April 9, 1938, represented a watershed moment in the battle for national liberation, resulting in far-reaching political developments that ended in independence on March 20, 1956, and the establishment of the republic on July 25, 1957.
To remember the Tunisians who died in the demonstrations, an official ceremony is held in Sijoumii Martyrs' Square, attended by important political leaders.
