Janet Ritz: Tunisia's Riots: A Warning to Regimes in the Middle East

Crackdown in Tunis after protests topple president
Dario Thuburn, Agence-France Presse · Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011 TUNIS — Tunisia’s speaker of parliament took power on Saturday amid chaotic scenes in the streets of the capital after President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled from Protests after 23 years of iron-fisted rule. The Army locked down central Tunis to prevent further demos and AFP reporters saw Soldiers and plainclothes security personnel dragging dozens of suspected looters out of their cars at gunpoint and taking them awa...

Opportune neglect and the end of the Iraq invasion/occupation effect in the Middle East
The problem is that once it happens [when a dominant form of oppression collapses], it might happen for the wrong reasons, but everyone will claim victory. Everyone will be a hero. And a new "team" will probably proceed to disempower the majority, except in softer ways. Congratulations--"mukhtaruna al-jadeed jiddan jiddan yatakallam . . . " Unless, much serious work is done in the mean time, at the local institutional and micro-levels. Background The increasing Protests and (mini)uprisings tha...

Tense quiet reported in Tunisia
At least 60 people have been killed in Protests that began a month ago in the Arab former French colony, the BBC said. Friday, Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi announced he was assuming power after President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his wife flew to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, before authorities closed the national airport. In a nationally televised address late Friday, the prime minister called for demonstrators too cool off and let order be restored. "Our country does not deserve everything tha...

Tunisian Unrest Builds After Leader Flees
Learn about the people, economy and history. (AP) TUNIS, Tunisia - Unrest engulfed Tunisia on Saturday after a popular rebellion forced the president to flee: Dozens of inmates were killed in a Prison fire, looters emptied shops and torched the main train station, and gunfire echoed through the capital. Power changed hands for the second time in 24 hours in this North African country after President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country Friday for Saudi Arabia. The head of the Constitutional...

Anatomy of an autocracy
A Turko-Persian Middle East? Too Much Politics, or Not Enough? As the end of his reign quickly approached this week, Tunisia's President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali attempted to conjure the spirit that buoyed his government in the months after he seized power more than 20 years ago. In a televised address to the country on Jan. 12, Ben Ali -- speaking in colloquial Arabic and in unusually humble tones -- pledged not to run for Reelection when his current term ends in 2014 and to usher in a gentler ...

Tear gas and street battles in Tunisia
Tunisia's President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali has stepped down after 23 years in power, amid widespread Protests on the streets of the capital Tunis. In a televised address, Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi said he would be taking over from the president. A State of Emergency was declared earlier, as weeks of Protests over economic issues snowballed into rallies against Mr Ben Ali's rule. Adam Mynott reports. Exit Ben Ali - but can Tunisia change? Listen What is proper email etique...

Tunisian PM assumes power after anti-govt riots
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi has gone on state television to say he is assuming power in Tunisia. The announcement Friday came after thousands of Protesters mobbed the capital of Tunis to demand the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. In response to the riots, the president declared a State of Emergency in the North African nation, dissolved the government and promised new legislative Elections within six months. Unconfirmed news reports, citing unident...

The Tunisian Moment - An FP Slideshow
The Multilateralist: Morning multilateralism, Jan. 14 Scenes of a street revolution. A demonstrator holds a placard during a rally in front of the Interior Ministry in Tunis on Jan. 14, to demand President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's Resignation. Ben Ali stepped down today after 23 years in power and fled the North African state as the authorities declared a State of Emergency following deadly Protests. Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi announced on state television that he had taken over as in...

Arab League appeals for calm in Tunisia
FILE - In this Jan. 14, 2011 file photo, Protesters chant slogans against President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunis. The stunning collapse of Tunisia's long-ruling president brought cheers from the streets and a flood of messages on Middle East websites Saturday with one overriding question: Could it happen next in Egypt or other iron-fist regimes in the region? The Arab League has appealed for calm in Tunisia as mass chaos broke out following the ouster of the country's president. The unrest ...

January 14 Middle East quotes of the week
Follow the links to read the whole thing. Anyone who suggests that there is a war being waged by Muslims in their own lands and in the lands in which they have settled—these last, by the way, are the really aggressive “settlers”!—against rationalists and true liberals, traditional Conservatives and Islamic dissenters, Christians and Jews is likely to be labeled an “Islamophobe.” The heart of the problem is right here in the West: The Islamist world is determin...

The Middle East's Christian Onslaught
Church bombings kill scores in Iraq, Nigeria and Egypt. Iran rounds up dozens of Christians for allegedly being "hard-liners" who threaten the Islamic Republic. An Egyptian Police Officer opens fire on a crowded train, targeting only the Christian passengers. For a region that boasts of accommodating its Christian Minorities, officials seem at a loss to stem the surge in violence. While many Muslims took to Coptic churches to serve as human shields as a sign of solidarity, the Egyptian governme...

AIPAC's Man, Dennis Ross, Now In Charge of Middle East
If anyone was wondering why the Obama Administration's policy on Israel-Palestine is such an epic fail, look no further than today's Forward. Nathan Guttman, one of the best reporters on all matters Middle East/Washington, reveals that the problem is that Dennis Ross -- former chief of AIPAC's think-tank, the Washington Institute For Near East Policy -- has squeezed out former Senator George Mitchell, the President's Special Envoy to the Middle East. And there's your problem. Mitchell achiev...

What is Hillary Clinton Smoking and Inhaling During Her Middle East Tour?
Originally published on January 13, 2011. In 2009, President Obama declared that America is really “one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.” He also bowed low to Saudi King Abdullah and proudly defended America’s stand on behalf of a Muslim woman’s right to veil. Well, that didn’t stop Iran. Next, the Obama Administration tried to force the Israelis—who want peace—to give up…more pieces of land in order to further appease the Arabs—who do not

Quebec: Muslim immigration consultant arrested for helping hundreds in Middle East collect benefits from Canada
A European imam was caught on tape a few years ago saying that it was permissible to steal from the kuffar, since the Muslims were entitled to jizya payments from them anyway, and those payments were not being made. "Quebec Immigration consultant arrested in Fraud ring," by Stewart Bell for the National Post, January 6 (thanks to Sr. Soph): Toronto -- The RCMP has arrested a Quebec Immigration consultant accused of providing Canadian Citizenship documents to hundreds of people in the Middle Ea...

Tunisia riots: world leaders call for calm after Ben Ali's departure
President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's hasty departure from Tunisia last night triggered a wave of optimism on the streets that the country might become the first true Democracy in the Arab World....

Tunisia sees protest march, strikes after riots
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Hundreds of people are marching through Tunisia’s capital, a day after the nation’s president read out a list of promises and concessions try to stop deadly riots. The Protesters are carrying a poster reading “We won’t forget,” a reference to the deaths. The peaceful march came as Tunisia’s only legal trade union went ahead Friday with a symbolic two-hour strike in the region of the capital. Nearly a month of riots over Unemployment...

Tunisia riots: more protests threatened as President Ben Ali flees to Saudi Arabia
Protesters behind the mass uprising in Tunisia threatened more demonstrations today, as officials confirmed that ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali had fled to Saudi Arabia....

Tunisia's Facebook Riots of 2011
After Iran's Twitter Revolution of 2009, it seems like we've crossed a line that can never be un-crossed no matter how many times we click "Undo." For better or worse, words like "tweet" and "status" and "blog" are a part of everyday parlance, and this is actually happening in the actual world that we all actually live in… [B]ehind the postcard-perfect facade, legions of jobless youths who see no future are seething under the iron-fisted...

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) _Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi says he is assuming power in Tunisia
TUNIS, Tunisia - Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi says he is assuming power in Tunisia. You must login to comment....

Analysis: Tunisia riots offer warning to Arab governments
CAIRO — Nervous Arab leaders watching young Tunisian demonstrators force an aging strongman into sweeping concessions are wondering if their own old established formula of political repression will have to change too. There seems little likelihood that Tunisia's violence will soon spread and unseat autocratic governments from Rabat to Riyadh, partly as opposition movements are weak and demoralized. No one thinks Tunis is the Arab World's Gdansk, heralding a toppling of dominos of th...

Why Tunisia's revolution is Islamist-free
The reign of Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali is over. His government's response to the steadily growing unrest in the country was marked by successive tactical retreats: On Jan. 12, he declared his intention to immediately do away with restrictions on the press and step down once his term expires in 2014. When that concession only emboldened the Protesters further, he responded on Jan. 14 by sacking his government and announcing that new Elections would be held in six months. And now,...

Tunisia's new leader takes power amid chaos
Tunisia's acting president took power Saturday and pledged to free up the political system amid continuing unrest following the ouster of the North African state's former authoritarian leader. After being formally sworn into office to take over from Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, speaker of parliament Foued Mebazaa said that all Tunisians "without exception" would now be able to take part in national politics. "A unity government is necessary in the greater national interest," Mebazaa added, as the ti...

Tunisia's new leader takes power amid chaos
People take goods from a destroyed store in Tunis on January 15. There were... People celebrate near the Tunisian Embassy in Paris. Tunisia was on edge Sa... Tunisia's acting president took power Saturday and pledged to free up the political system amid continuing unrest following the ouster of the North African state's former authoritarian leader. After being formally sworn into office to take over from Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, speaker of parliament Foued Mebazaa said that all Tunisians "witho...

Unrest engulfs Tunisia after president flees
Jan. 14: Demonstrators throws stones at police during clashes in Tunis. TUNIS, Tunisia - Unrest engulfed Tunisia on Saturday after a popular rebellion forced the president to flee: Dozens of inmates were killed in a Prison fire, looters emptied shops and torched the main train station and gunfire echoed through the capital. Power changed hands for the second time in 24 hours in this North African country after President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country Friday for Saudi Arabia. The ...

Tunisia tries to form coalition
Tarek Amara and Christian Lowe, Reuters · Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011 TUNIS — Gunmen fired at random from cars in Tunis on Saturday and inmates staged a mass Jailbreak while leaders tried to map out Tunisia’s political future after the president was swept from power. The speaker of parliament, Fouad Mebazza, was sworn in as interim president. He asked Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi to form a Coalition Government and the constitutional authorities said a Presidential Election shou...