TUNISIA !
bigron:
Tunisia: How We Got Here and the Task Ahead
By Ramzy Baroud
http://uruknet.info/?p=m74394&hd=&size=1&l=e
January 28, 2011
Hunger strikes. These were the last resort for Tunisian activists as they fought against a brutal and highly oppressive regime. Prior to the ousting of Zineal-Abidine Ben Ali by an unprecedented people's uprising on January 14, there seemed to be no end in sight to the regime's wide-ranging human rights violations. Over time, these became a relegated segment of evening news across the Arab world. Even hunger strikes, shocking at first, became a routine event.
For Tunisians, unemployment, poverty and lack of civil liberties have long made life intolerable. Many were forced to flee the country, or dare challenge the authoritarian rule of Ben Ali and his security apparatus, which grew in numbers to double – or even triple - the nation’s army.
While Tunisia may not have appeared the most likely location for a successful popular rebellion, the country always had the potential of hosting one of the most active civil societies in the Arab Maghreb countries. This was what prompted Ben Ali and his regime to dedicate much time and energy into weakening and largely dismantling a once thriving, diverse and highly educated civil society. The society expressed itself through three main pillars: labor unions, the Islamic movement, and a strong student body throughout the country.
When Tunisia gained independence from France in 1957, the country was rife with hope and expectation. The anti-colonial fervor that gripped the country produced an active civil society who wished to move from a French sphere of influence into a nationalistic one. The national leader at the time, Habib Bourguiba dared not upset the growing mobilization of the country, and in fact succeeded in using – and later co-opting and manipulating - the mass movement to maintain his control over the country. This lasted for decades, until Ben Ali carried out his "tranquil revolution" and ousted Bourguiba in 1987.
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http://uruknet.info/?p=m74394&hd=&size=1&l=e
bigron:
US, interim government conspire against Tunisian masses
By Ann Talbot
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jan2011/tuni-j29.shtml
WSWS, January 29, 2011
The interim Tunisian government has announced a ministerial reshuffle in an effort to maintain its hold on power in the face of continuing protests. The cabinet changes are aimed at distancing the government from the regime of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali through the removal of a number of ministers associated with the Ben Ali’s Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD).
The cosmetic character of the shake-up is underscored by the retention as prime minister of Mohamed Ghannouchi, prime minister under Ben Ali and long-time RCD political henchman of the former president. Ghannouchi said Thursday that 12 ministers had been replaced by "independents," leaving two holdovers from the Ben Ali regime who had not been RCD members.
The reshuffle followed the arrival in Tunis of US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman. "We have heard the voice of the Tunisian people loud and clear," Feltman said on Tunisian television.
The senior US State Department official is the real power behind the scenes. He is noted for the role he played in constructing Fouad Siniora’s government, which held power in Lebanon from 2005 to 2008.
Feltman left Tunisia on Wednesday after a three-day visit, heading for Paris, where he held talks about the Tunisian situation and the new Lebanese government of Najib Mikati. France is the former colonial power in both countries.
Washington is working to suppress the Tunisian uprising, whatever statements it may make about respect for democracy. If the cabinet changes fail to achieve this objective, the US will resort to alternative tactics.
Doubtless one option being considered by Washington is the installation of a military dictatorship. Earlier this month, in the face of mass protests in Tunis and other cities, US generals communicated directly with their Tunisian counterparts and told them to withdraw their support for Ben Ali, precipitating the end of the 23-year rule of the long-time US ally
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http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jan2011/tuni-j29.shtml
bigron:
Police Launch New Crackdown on Tunisia Protesters
Witnesses Say Police Beat Protesters
by Jason Ditz, January 28, 2011
Though most of the world’s attention seems to have moved on from Tunis and are now watching the Tunisian style revolts emerging across North Africa and the Middle East, but the situation hasn’t completely stabilized in Tunisia yet, where police attacked protesters in front of the prime minister’s office.
MORE
http://news.antiwar.com/2011/01/28/police-launch-new-crackdown-on-tunisia-protesters/
bigron:
Weekend Edition
January 28 - 30, 2011
http://www.counterpunch.org/baroud01282011.html
The Task Ahead
Remaking Tunisia
By RAMZY BAROUD
Hunger strikes. These were the last resort for Tunisian activists as they fought against a brutal and highly oppressive regime. Prior to the ousting of Zineal-Abidine Ben Ali by an unprecedented people's uprising on January 14, there seemed to be no end in sight to the regime's wide-ranging human rights violations. Over time, these became a relegated segment of evening news across the Arab world. Even hunger strikes, shocking at first, became a routing event.
For Tunisians, unemployment, poverty and lack of civil liberties have long made life intolerable. Many were forced to flee the country, or dare challenge the authoritarian rule of Ben Ali and his security apparatus, which grew in numbers to double – or even triple - the nation's army.
While Tunisia may not have appeared the most likely location for a successful popular rebellion, the country always had the potential of hosting one of the most active civil societies in the Arab Maghreb countries. This was what prompted Ben Ali and his regime to dedicate much time and energy into weakening and largely dismantling a once thriving, diverse and highly educated civil society. The society expressed itself through three main pillars: labor unions, the Islamic movement, and a strong student body throughout the country.
When Tunisia gained independence from France in 1957, the country was rife with hope and expectation. The anti-colonial fervor that gripped the country produced an active civil society who wished to move from a French sphere of influence into a nationalistic one. The national leader at the time, Habib Bourguiba dared not upset the growing mobilization of the country, and in fact succeeded in using – and later co-opting and manipulating - the mass movement to maintain his control over the country. This lasted for decades, until Ben Ali carried out his "tranquil revolution" and ousted Bourguiba in 1987.
But even authoritarianism has its own compelling logic. Ben Ali could do little to mobilize Tunisian society, and his early promises of greater political participation, equality and openness were never translated into real action. Over time, he grew wary of everyone, including the elites, who are usually the bread and better of any authoritarian regime. He quickly began dismantling every component that gave civil society its import and vigor, destroying or restricting unions, enacting draconian measures against political activities that opposed his ruling party, the Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD), and bending the law and even the constitution to serve his own interests.
Ben Ali's success in maintaining his regime for 23 years hinged on several major strategies. He ensured that the presidential palace was the ultimate center of power, thus denying anyone else the chance to gain popularity outside a closely-knit circle. A system of patronage existed, whereby those who played by the rules were granted tiny spaces to operate and benefit. For example, during the elections of 2004, the Movement of Socialist Democrats (MDS), an 'opposition party' actually endorsed Ben Ali's re-election bid because it helped "complete the process of democratic pluralism". Other parties, including the Popular Unity Party (PUP), whose former leader Mohamed Bouchiha once competed for the post of the president, also seconded Bin Ali's bid to "drive the democratic process".
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http://www.counterpunch.org/baroud01282011.html
bigron:
Tunisian Islamist leader returns from exile
(AFP) – 10 hours ago
TUNIS — Tunisian Islamist leader Rached Ghannouchi is set to return to his homeland on Sunday from London after more than 20 years in exile, following the ousting of authoritarian ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Ghannouchi's historic return comes as the new government installed after Ben Ali's downfall unveiled unprecedented democratic freedoms including lifting media controls, releasing political prisoners and registering banned parties.
The Islamist leader still officially has a life sentence from the old regime hanging over him for plotting against the state but in practice other convicted exiles have been able to return without any hindrance in recent days.
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jc68o1LFCmArZSP1Ibq0mGVeyIWA?docId=CNG.59c8a650a1f0c8ba6aa289dc1ce08b97.31
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