Tunisia: President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali forced out

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: BBC

Tunisia's president has stepped down amid growing unrest on the streets of the capital and other towns and cities.

Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi said he would be taking over from President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

A state of emergency has been declared amid protests over corruption, unemployment and rising prices.

Troops have surrounded the country's main international airport, Tunis Carthage, and the country's air space has been closed.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12195025

[xchrom]

1. wow! nt

[Solly Mack]

2. k/r

[pampango]

3. Presidents who are elected with 90% of the vote & serve for 23 years are usually dictators.

"On Thursday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Arab leaders they would face growing unrest unless they enacted real economic and political reform.

Mrs Clinton was speaking in Doha at the end of a four-nation visit to the Gulf.

Mr Ben Ali, 74, was only Tunisia's second president since independence from France in 1956. He was last re-elected in 2009 with 89.62% of the vote."

[nalnn]

4. Tunisians

Tunisians are not arab, or am I mistaken? I can't help but wonder at the genesis of these problems. Was the French colonization, the departure of the French at the end of the colonization, or is it something more local/domestic. I know that they have some problems with AQIM, but not nearly as bad as neighbor Algeria.

Does anyone else here have any more insight as to the cause and or the resolution for the people of Tunisia in the crisis?


EDIT for spelling.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. No, they are Arabs

The CIA Factbook says:

Ethnic groups:
Arab 98%, European 1%, Jewish and other 1%

You can compare that with neighbouring Algeria:

Ethnic groups:
Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
note: almost all Algerians are Berber in origin, not Arab; the minority who identify themselves as Berber live mostly in the mountainous region of Kabylie east of Algiers; the Berbers are also Muslim but identify with their Berber rather than Arab cultural heritage; Berbers have long agitated, sometimes violently, for autonomy; the government is unlikely to grant autonomy but has offered to begin sponsoring teaching Berber language in schools

And Tunisia doesn't mention Berber dialects among languages, unlike Algeria or Morocco.

The people seem to be fed up with a bad economy, and Ben Ali's family making millions. The spark seems to have been the suicide of a jobless man who was arrested for trying to sell fruit and vegetables:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12157599

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12120228

[nalnn]

9. Cool!

Thanks for that info! Regrettably, I didn't take the time to research it as, well, I am at work (don't tell the boss!) LOL!

I assumed since they were so far west and a neighbor of Libya, they did not consider themselves arab. I think, way back when I don't recall, Qaddafi claiming that Libyans we Not in fact arab. Of course, I could just be misremembering his statement because of his political position when it comes to matters of Africa. Then, it seems he claims that Libyans are Africans first and arab second, when genetically I guess ALL of North Africa is arab.

[Turborama]

6. Tunisia's president flees to Paris amid rioting

Source: Global Post

Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has left the country amid the worst unrest there in decades, according to reports.

On a day of violent clashes between anti-government protesters and police, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali flew to Paris, leaving Mohammed Ghannouchi, the Tunisian prime minister, as the interim president, Al-Jazeera reported.

Ben Ali on Friday declared a state of emergency, a day after dismissing his cabinet. His announcement that he would not run for re-election in 2014 prompted celebrations on the streets of the capital Tunis.

In what's being viewed as a worrying sign for repressive leaders of Arab states in the region, demonstrators unhappy with the country's high unemployment, food prices and corruption have taken to the streets.

Read more: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/africa/110114/tunisia-president-paris-tunis-riots-arab-egypt

---

There are reports of protests and riots in Jordan, Algeria, Morocco and rumblings of discontent in Egypt too.

[conspirator]

7. Seeking support of his fascist friend Sarkozy n/t

[Ghost Dog]

10. Well...

"The reports suggest that the deposed president is looking for a place of asylum, with French media saying that French President Nicolas Sarkozy has turned down a request for his plane to land in France." - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12195025

[Catherina]

13. Aljazeera is reporting that the plane is now heading to a "Gulf country."

The implication is Dubai. :shrug:

Hard to know but Sarkozy must be really upset over these developments. This thing is going to spread like wildfire.

[Turborama]

15. Reports now he's landed in Saudi Arabia

Plane carrying toppled Tunisian president lands in Saudi Arabia: al Jazeera TV
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-01/15/c_13691578.htm

Was that Al Jazeera English or the Arabic channel? Same name, but two totally different news organizations.

[pampango]

8. This Is The Wikileak That Sparked The Tunisian Crisis

http://www.businessinsider.com/tunisia-wikileaks-2011-1

Tunisia's government has collapsed, partially due to food price inflation and unemployment, but also because of WikiLeaks.

One of the U.S. government cables released by WikiLeaks (via @spbaines) exposed the corruption of Tunisia's President's family, its reach into business in the country, and ability to transcend the rule of law. President Ben Ali's family was called "The Family" throughout the leak. The government attempted to block access to WikiLeaks earlier this month.

Here are some highlights from the June 2008 leak (read the full leak here):

On the power of the president's family:

Whether it's cash, services, land, property, or yes, even your yacht, President Ben Ali's family is rumored to covet it and reportedly gets what it wants.

On the family's business dealings:

The economic impact is clear, with Tunisian investors -- fearing the long-arm of "the Family" -- forgoing new investments, keeping domestic investment rates low and unemployment high (Refs G, H).

Finally, a prescient warning:

Although the petty corruption rankles, it is the excesses of President Ben Ali's family that inspire outrage among Tunisians. With Tunisians facing rising inflation and high unemployment, the conspicuous displays of wealth and persistent rumors of corruption have added fuel to the fire.

So, while unemployment and inflation were the underlying causes of the revolution, this WikiLeak may have been the spark that turned the public, and the government, against itself.

[Abq_Sarah]

11. It will be interesting to see how this develops

Since Ghannouchi is a crony of the former President.

It almost looks like an internal coup.

[Ghost Dog]

14. Yes. This guy had been sacked, a few hours earlier, by the President

who then abdicated.

I fear all will depend, as usual, on who controls, for a while, the local military/police/intelligence/media apparatus of repression...

...Until the real thugs move in, that is.

[Ghost Dog]

12. I've seen no credible reports of any such trouble in Morocco,

I'd like to point out, apart from unsourced probably irresponsible comments at places like Zerohedge and the like.

Eg. FT (I rarely quote) on 12 Jan 11:

Arab states act to restrain food costs

Libya, Jordan and Morocco have taken measures to control food prices in the wake of violent protests in Tunisia and Algeria fuelled by anger over unemployment and poverty.

Libya has abolished taxes and custom duties on locally produced and imported foods such as wheat-based products, rice, vegetable oil, sugar and infant milk.

The government in Jordan cut taxes on fuel and some foods, and Morocco introduced a compensation system for importers of soft milling wheat aimed at keeping supplies stable as global prices rise.

/... http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0dd506b6-1e7e-11e0-87d2-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1B1yFb4FL

The Govt. of Morocco is much less out of touch and much more committed than ever was that of Tunisia.