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Area: 63,170 sq mi (163,610 sq km). Population: (2009 est.) 10,272,000. Capital: Tunis. The population is of Arab and Amazigh ancestry. Languages: Arabic (official), French. Religion: Islam (official; predominantly Sunni). Currency: Tunisian dinar.
Tunisia comprises a coastal region, mountains, an extensive hilly steppe, a marshy area with shallow salt lakes, and a tract of the Sahara. The Majardah is its longest (about 290 mi [460 km]) and only perennial river.
The Jasmine Revolution are protests taking place in numerous towns across Tunisia which led President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down from his presidency and leave Tunisia on 14 January 2011 after 23 years in power. Protestors rioted over unemployment, food inflation, corruption, freedom of speech and poor living conditions. The protests, which began in December 2010 after a fruit and vegetable seller (with university degree) set himself on fire after police confiscated his produce (alleging he did not have the necessary permit) constitute the most dramatic wave of social and political unrest in Tunisia in three decades and have resulted in scores of deaths and injuries. Following Ben Ali’s departure, a new election was called within 60 days.
The protests have also been called the Jasmine Revolution in the western media in keeping with the geopolitical nomenclature of “colour revolutions”. Others have dubbed the protests and the ouster of President Ben Ali as a Twitter Revolution or Wikileaks Revolution due to the influence of these new media.
Background
Riots on 18 December, 2010 in Sidi Bouzid went largely unnoticed, although social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube featured images of police dispersing youths who attacked shop windows and damaged cars. One protester, Mohamed Bouazizi, set himself alight in protest against the confiscation of his fruit and vegetable cart. He was subsequently transferred to a hospital in Tunis where he died on 4 January, 2011.
As pointed out by media networks, such as Al Jazeera and CBS News, riots in Tunisia were rare and noteworthy, especially since the country is generally considered to be wealthy and stable as compared to other countries in the region. Al Jazeera English also said that Tunisian activists are amongst the most outspoken in its part of the world with various messages of support being posted on Twitter for Bouazizi. An op-ed article in the same network said of the action that it was “suicidal protests of despair by Tunisia’s youth.” It pointed out that the state-controlled National Solidarity Fund and the National Employment Fund had traditionally subsidised many goods and services in the country but had started to shift the “burden of providence from state to society” to be funded by the “bidonvilles,” or shanty towns, around the richer towns and suburbs. It also cited the “marginalisation of the agrarian and arid central and southern areas [that] continue unabated.” The protests were also called an “uprising” because of “a lethal combination of poverty, unemployment and political repression: three characteristics of most Arab societies.”
The Tunisian government of Ben Ali, which had been criticised in the media and amongst NGO’s, was supported by the United States and France because of Ben Ali’s “persecution of the Islamists, his economic agenda was touted as a brilliant model that could be replicated in North Africa and he proved to be a staunch US ally actively involved in the controversial rendition programme.” As a result, the initial reactions by the US and France were muted.
Protests
There were reports of police obstructing demonstrators and using tear gas on hundreds of young protesters in Sidi Bouzid in mid-December 2010. The protesters had gathered outside regional government headquarters to demonstrate against the treatment of Mohamed Bouazizi who had set himself on fire to protest the police confiscation of fruit and vegetables he was trying to sell on the streets. Coverage of events was limited by Tunisian media. On 19 December 2010, extra police were present on the streets of the city.
On 22 December 2010, Lahseen Naji, a protestor, responded to “hunger and joblessness” by electrocuting himself after climbing an electricity pylon. Ramzi Al-Abboudi also killed himself because of financial difficulties arising from a business debt by the country’s micro-credit solidarity programme. On 24 December 2010, Mohamed Ammari was fatally shot in the chest by police in Bouziane. Other protesters were also injured, including Chawki Belhoussine El Hadri, who died later on 30 December 2010. Police claimed they shot the demonstrators in “self-defence.” A “quasi-curfew” was then imposed on the city by police.
Violence later increased as Tunisian authorities and residents of Sidi Bouzid Governorate encountered each other once again. The protests had reached the capital Tunis on 27 December 2010 with about 1,000 citizens expressing solidarity with residents of Sidi Bouzid and calling for jobs. The rally, which was called by independent trade union activists, was stopped by security forces. The protests also spread to Sousse, Sfax and Meknassy. The following day the Tunisian Federation of Labour Unions held another rally in Gafsa which was also blocked by security forces. At the same time about 300 lawyers held a rally near the government’s palace in Tunis. Protests continued again on the 29 December 2010.
On 30 December 2010, police peacefully broke up a protest in Monastir while using force to disrupt further demonstrations in Sbikha and Chebba. Momentum appeared to continue with the protests on 31 December 2010 and further demonstrations and public gatherings by lawyers in Tunis and other cities following a call by the Tunisian National Lawyers Order. Mokhtar Trifi, president of the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH), said that lawyers across Tunisia had been “savagely beaten.” There were also unconfirmed reports of another man attempting to commit suicide in El Hamma.
On 3 January 2011, protests in Thala over unemployment and a high cost of living turned violent. At a demonstration of 250 people, mostly students, in support of the protesters in Sidi Bouzid, police fired tear gas; one canister landed in a local mosque. In response, the protesters were reported to have set fire to tyres and attacked the office of Constitutional Democratic Rally.
Some of the more general protests sought changes in the government’s online censorship, where a lot of the media images have been broadcast. Tunisian authorities also allegedly carried out phishing operations to take control of user passwords and check online criticism. Both state and non-state websites had been hacked.
On 6 January 2011, 95% of Tunisia’s 8,000 lawyers went on strike, according to the chairman of the national bar association. He said “The strike carries a clear message that we do not accept unjustified attacks on lawyers. We want to strongly protest against the beating of lawyers in the past few days.”
It was reported on the following day that teachers had also joined the strike.
In response to January 11, 2011 protests police used riot gear to disperse protesters ransacking buildings, burning tyres, setting fire to a bus and burning two cars in the working class suburb of Ettadhamen-Mnihla in Tunis. The protesters were said to have chanted “We are not afraid, we are not afraid, we are afraid only of God.” Military personnel were also deployed in many cities around the country.
On 12 January 2011, a reporter from the Italian state-owned television broadcaster RAI stated that he and his cameraman were beaten with batons by police during a riot in Tunis’ central district and that the officers then confiscated their camera. A night time curfew was also ordered in Tunis after protests and clashes with police.
Hizb ut-Tahrir also organised protests after Friday prayer on January 14 2010 to call for re-establishing the Islamic caliphate. A day later, it also organised other protests that went to the April 9 Prison to free political prisoners.
Following Ben Ali’s departure, violence and looting continued as the national army was reported to be omnipresent in Tunis. The identity of the perpetrators has not been determined. A high official of the Tunisian military, however, has stated that elements loyal to former President Ben Ali have deployed across the country. The capital’s main train station was also torched.
Domestic political response
During a national television broadcast on 28 December, 2010, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali criticised people for their protests calling the perpetrators “extremists and mercenaries” and warned of “firm” punishment. He also accused “certain foreign television channels of broadcasting false allegations without verification, based on dramatisation, fermentation and deformation by media hostile to Tunisia.” His remarks were ignored and the protests continue.
On 29 December, 2010, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali shuffled his cabinet to remove his communications minister Oussama Romdhani, while also announcing changes to the trade and handicrafts, religious affairs, communication and youth portfolios. The next day he also announced the dismissal of the governors of Sidi Bouzid, Jendouba and Zaghouan.
In January 2011, Ben Ali said 300,000 new jobs would be created, though he did not clarify what that meant. However, he also described the protests “the work of masked gangs that attacked at night government buildings and even civilians inside their homes in a terrorist act that cannot be overlooked.” Ahmed Najib Chebbi, the leader of the Progressive Democratic Party, then said that despite official claims of police firing in self-defense “the demonstrations were non-violent and the youths were claiming their rights to jobs” and that “the funeral processions [for those killed on January 9] turned into demonstrations, and the police fired [at] the youths who were at these .. processions.” He then criticised Ben Ali’s comments as the protesters were “claiming their civil rights, and there is no terrorist act…no religious slogans,” while accusing Ben Ali of “looking for scapegoats.” He further criticised the additional jobs offered as mere “promises.”
On 10 January 2011, the government announced the indefinite closure of all schools and universities in order to quell the unrest.
Days before departing office, Ben Ali announced that he would not change the present constitution, which was read as, in effect, promising to step down in 2014 due to his age.
President Ben Ali’s resignation
On 14 January 2011, Ben Ali dissolved his government and declared a state of emergency. Officials said the reason for the emergency declaration was to protect Tunisians and their property. People were also barred from gathering in more than groups of three people otherwise courting arrest or being shot if they try to run away. He also called for an election within six months to defuse demonstrations aimed at forcing him out.
On the same day, Ben Ali fled the country and landed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after France rejected a request for the plane to land on its territory. Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi then briefly took over as acting president. On the morning of January 15 2011, Tunisian state TV announced that Ben Ali had officially resigned his position and Ghannouchi had handed power over to parliamentary speaker Fouad Mebazaa. This was done after the head of Tunisia’s Constitutional Court, Fethi Abdennadher, declared that Ben Ali had left for good, Ghannouchi did not have right to power and Mebazaa would be given 60 days to organise new election. Mebazaa said it was in the country’s best interest to form a National Unity government.
What is happening in Tunisia?
Following a month of largely leaderless popular protests against the government, Tunisia’s President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country on 14.01.2011. Fouad Mebazaa, the speaker of parliament, was sworn in the following day as interim president, and new elections are due within 60 days.
What were the protests about?
They were sparked by the suicide of an unemployed college graduate in December 2010. The man set himself on fire in front of a government building in the town of Sidi Bouzid after police confiscated his fruit cart, saying he was selling without a permit, according to Amnesty International. He died January 4 2011 from his injuries.
The event tore the lid off what appears to have been long-simmering fury at Ben Ali and his associates. Tunisians accuse the ruling circle of rampant corruption and nepotism. Recent diplomatic cables from the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia obtained by WikiLeaks revealed growing disquiet with the government — especially over nepotism.
How violent have the protests been?
At least 21 people died in protests before Ben Ali fled, according to the government. Local unions put the figure at more than 50.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, citing reports, said the protests had been peaceful and that security forces used excessive force.
Does this mean Tunisia is becoming a fully-fledged democracy?
It’s too soon to say. The protests have been dubbed the “Jasmine Revolution,” but CNN’s Ben Wedeman in Tunis, the capital, says the military has moved quickly to fill the power void. Curfews are in place and tanks and armored personnel carriers were on the streets of the capital’s main streets.
Are events like this unusual in Tunisia?
They’re very unusual, not only in Tunisia but across the Middle East. Ben Ali was only the second president of Tunisia since it gained independence from France in 1956. His predecessor, President Habib Bourguiba, ruled for more than 20 years until he was succeeded by Ben Ali — then the prime minister — in 1987. Ben Ali claimed victory in five successive presidential elections since then, most recently officially taking nearly 90% of the vote in November 2009.
Profile: Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali
Mr Ben Ali was born to a modest family near the city of Sousse in 1936.
He completed his education in France and the US before rising up the hierarchy in the Tunisian security establishment and serving as ambassador to Poland in the early 1980s.
He became Prime Minister in 1987, shortly before ousting Tunisia’s first post-independence ruler, Habib Bourguiba, in a bloodless palace coup. President Bourguiba was declared mentally unfit to rule.
Mr Ben Ali promised a gradual transition towards democracy, though in his first two presidential polls – in 1989 and 1994 – he was elected unopposed.
But even after multi-party presidential elections were introduced in 1999 they were still one-sided affairs, with Mr Ben Ali winning huge majorities.
The constitution was changed twice so he could continue to serve.
He won his final five-year term in 2009, with his share of the vote dropping just below 90%.
Tunisia seeks to form unity cabinet after Ben Ali fall
Interim leader Foued Mebazaa, who was sworn in on 11.1.2011 promised to form a unity government.
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