Like a Hole in the Head
With Syria imploding and Egypt teetering, what the Middle East needs now, like you need a hole in your head, is another neighbour collapsing -- enter Tunisia.
Tens of thousands have taken to the streets of Tunis in support of the Opposition's demands for the resignation of the Islamist-led government following a recent political assassination; also marking the six-month anniversary of the assassination of a prominent leftist leader. The Tunisian General Labour Union called its members to join the rally.
The current unrest comes only two-years since President Ben Ali was overthrown by a popular uprising at the start of the "Arab Spring" with the protestors demanding the dissolution of the transitional assembly. The National Constituent Assembly (ANC), eight months beyond its promised deadline, is still in the process of drawing up the constitution; after which fresh elections are to be held in December.
Since the revolution but following years of oppression under the ousted Ben Ali, a range of Islamists have emerged in Tunisia ranging from moderates like the ruling Ennahda movement to the ultra-conservative Salafists. Just a few days earlier, Ennahda came out in a 150,000-strong show of support for the government. Indeed, the Opposition protestors say they are anti-Ennahda rather than anti-Islam.
Meanwhile, another group, the Ansar al-Sharia, wants the introduction of Islamic law across Tunisia. Their leader Seif Allah Ibn Hussein, imprisoned prior to the revolution, is in hiding following an arrest warrant for the attacks on the US embassy in Tunis in September 2012.
A Short History of Tunisia
Redacted from Tunisia Profile
A thousand years before Roman occupation in 146 BC, Phoenician settlers founded what became the naval power city of Carthage (near modern-day Tunis) before Arab and then Berber conquest in the 7th and 10th centuries, respectively. Centuries later, Tunisia became an autonomous region of the vast Ottoman Empire amidst growing French interest.
As part of World War II, allied forces drove German and Italian troops out of neighbouring Algeria in 1943. Tunisia gains independence in 1956 and a year later the constitutional monarchy is abolished for a republic; albeit with a strong French presence. Prime Minister Ben Ali has the President declared mentally unfit to rule and takes power himself in 1987, before winning presidential elections himself in 1989 and four times thereafter, most recently in 2009.
Following premonitory clashes between Islamists and security forces in 2007, major protests eventually break out over unemployment and political restrictions, spreading nationwide by 2010, forcing President Ben Ali into exile amid continuing protests into 2011.
Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi announces an interim national unity government, only to resign the following month in response to demands by demonstrators calling for a clean break with the past -- the Rally for Constitutional Democracy (RCD), the party of ousted President Ben Ali, is dissolved by court order. In April, Libyan troops cross the border into Tunisia during clashes with rebels forcing thousands of Tunisians to flee to the nearby Italian island of Lampedusa. In June, ex-president Ben Ali is tried in absentia for theft. He is sentenced to 35 years in prison.
The Ennahda Islamist party wins the Parliamentary elections of October 2011, falling short of an outright majority and the National Assembly to draft a new constitution meets for the first time in November. Meanwhile, hard-line Islamists have demanded the introduction of Sharia law in Tunisia. December saw the human rights activist Moncef Marzouki elected president by the constituent assembly, with Ennahda's leader Hamadi Jebali sworn in as prime minister.
Mid-2012, hundreds of Salafi Islamic extremists clash with security forces and attack a police station in Jendouba in a dispute over Salafi attacks on alcohol sellers, while former president Ben Ali is sentenced to life in prison over the killing of protesters in the 2011 revolution. Saudi Arabia refuses to extradite him.
August 2012 saw thousands protest in Tunis against moves by the Islamist-led government's draft constitution refers to women as "complementary to men"; and despite a 1956 constitution granting women full equality with men.
In February of 2013, Prime Minister Jebali resigns after his ruling Islamist Ennahda party rejects his proposals to form a government of technocrats after the killing of an opposition anti-Islamist leader. Ennahda rejects opposition allegations that it was behind the killing of Chokri Belaid, whose death prompted violent protests. May sees clashes between police and Salafi Islamists of the Ansar al-Sharia group in the Tunis suburb of Ettadhamen.
The assassination of opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi in July prompts mass demonstrations, a general strike and calls for the government to resign. Meanwhile, eight soldiers are killed in a suspected terrorist attack near the border with Algeria.
Source:
Tens of thousands rally to oust Tunisian government
Tunisia crisis: Tens of thousands join protest
Tunisia's radical divide over Salafi agenda
Tens of thousands have taken to the streets of Tunis in support of the Opposition's demands for the resignation of the Islamist-led government following a recent political assassination; also marking the six-month anniversary of the assassination of a prominent leftist leader. The Tunisian General Labour Union called its members to join the rally.
The current unrest comes only two-years since President Ben Ali was overthrown by a popular uprising at the start of the "Arab Spring" with the protestors demanding the dissolution of the transitional assembly. The National Constituent Assembly (ANC), eight months beyond its promised deadline, is still in the process of drawing up the constitution; after which fresh elections are to be held in December.
Since the revolution but following years of oppression under the ousted Ben Ali, a range of Islamists have emerged in Tunisia ranging from moderates like the ruling Ennahda movement to the ultra-conservative Salafists. Just a few days earlier, Ennahda came out in a 150,000-strong show of support for the government. Indeed, the Opposition protestors say they are anti-Ennahda rather than anti-Islam.
Meanwhile, another group, the Ansar al-Sharia, wants the introduction of Islamic law across Tunisia. Their leader Seif Allah Ibn Hussein, imprisoned prior to the revolution, is in hiding following an arrest warrant for the attacks on the US embassy in Tunis in September 2012.
A Short History of Tunisia
Redacted from Tunisia Profile
A thousand years before Roman occupation in 146 BC, Phoenician settlers founded what became the naval power city of Carthage (near modern-day Tunis) before Arab and then Berber conquest in the 7th and 10th centuries, respectively. Centuries later, Tunisia became an autonomous region of the vast Ottoman Empire amidst growing French interest.
As part of World War II, allied forces drove German and Italian troops out of neighbouring Algeria in 1943. Tunisia gains independence in 1956 and a year later the constitutional monarchy is abolished for a republic; albeit with a strong French presence. Prime Minister Ben Ali has the President declared mentally unfit to rule and takes power himself in 1987, before winning presidential elections himself in 1989 and four times thereafter, most recently in 2009.
Following premonitory clashes between Islamists and security forces in 2007, major protests eventually break out over unemployment and political restrictions, spreading nationwide by 2010, forcing President Ben Ali into exile amid continuing protests into 2011.
Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi announces an interim national unity government, only to resign the following month in response to demands by demonstrators calling for a clean break with the past -- the Rally for Constitutional Democracy (RCD), the party of ousted President Ben Ali, is dissolved by court order. In April, Libyan troops cross the border into Tunisia during clashes with rebels forcing thousands of Tunisians to flee to the nearby Italian island of Lampedusa. In June, ex-president Ben Ali is tried in absentia for theft. He is sentenced to 35 years in prison.
The Ennahda Islamist party wins the Parliamentary elections of October 2011, falling short of an outright majority and the National Assembly to draft a new constitution meets for the first time in November. Meanwhile, hard-line Islamists have demanded the introduction of Sharia law in Tunisia. December saw the human rights activist Moncef Marzouki elected president by the constituent assembly, with Ennahda's leader Hamadi Jebali sworn in as prime minister.
Mid-2012, hundreds of Salafi Islamic extremists clash with security forces and attack a police station in Jendouba in a dispute over Salafi attacks on alcohol sellers, while former president Ben Ali is sentenced to life in prison over the killing of protesters in the 2011 revolution. Saudi Arabia refuses to extradite him.
August 2012 saw thousands protest in Tunis against moves by the Islamist-led government's draft constitution refers to women as "complementary to men"; and despite a 1956 constitution granting women full equality with men.
In February of 2013, Prime Minister Jebali resigns after his ruling Islamist Ennahda party rejects his proposals to form a government of technocrats after the killing of an opposition anti-Islamist leader. Ennahda rejects opposition allegations that it was behind the killing of Chokri Belaid, whose death prompted violent protests. May sees clashes between police and Salafi Islamists of the Ansar al-Sharia group in the Tunis suburb of Ettadhamen.
The assassination of opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi in July prompts mass demonstrations, a general strike and calls for the government to resign. Meanwhile, eight soldiers are killed in a suspected terrorist attack near the border with Algeria.
Source:
Tens of thousands rally to oust Tunisian government
Tunisia crisis: Tens of thousands join protest
Tunisia's radical divide over Salafi agenda
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