Tunisia: Chaos, Mayhem & likelihood of Military Takeover
- HASSAN MASIKY
- 01/13/11
Washington / Morocco Board News The security situation in Tunisia is fast evolving toward complete chaos and mayhem. As of Thursday afternoon, news agencies are reporting the death of at least 4 more civilians, which increase the toll from the violence to 66 deaths (a figure unconfirmed by the Tunisian authorities). The Tunisian military has been deployed in several Tunisian cities including the capital Tunis where riots and clashes between the police and protesters continue unabated. The New York Times is reporting that “protesters swarmed HAMMEMET, a beachfront tourist destination near the newly restive capital on Thursday, overwhelming the police and ransacking businesses as well as the luxurious mansion of a member of the president’s family.”
Despite a curfew, fresh clashes broke out with troops deployed in the capital and the city of Sfax as the regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali struggled to deal with the worst unrest in the country.
Among the dead are French and a Swiss citizens putting pressure on the France, Switzerland along the United Nations to pressure the Tunisian officials to use restrains in their attempts to quell the violence. The disproportionate use of violence by the Tunisian police is a source of concern to several European governments and the United States. The loss of life in Tunisia has raised serious questions about the ability of Ben Ali to manage the crisis.
This unprecedented violence has revealed deep anger against the rule of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's government coloring this social unrest with a political tone and making a resolution of the crisis more difficult to formulate. As the political impasse continues in Tunisia, the world community is sitting on the side unwilling to frame a political resolution to a crisis that has claimed too many lives.
In fact, it is Ben Ali 23 years of absolute power which crashed all forms of political opposition that has made finding an exit plan from the current crisis hard to materialize. With the annihilation of all possible political opponents, Ben Ali has, today, no major political figure who can come to the negotiations table as a partner representing the view of the protesters. Currently there is no clear leader speaking on behalf of the protesters, which leave the door open to a possible civilian-Military take over as the only feasible intermediary and temporary solution to this impasse.
In the absence of a clear message from the Tunisian leadership on how to end the social unrest, some observers are hoping to see either France or the United States attempt, at least in private, to formulate an exit strategy to put an end to the violence. The absence of France and the US as honest broker in the Tunisian predicament is sending the wrong message to the young “Arab” democrats. For now, it looks as if the Western powers view the Arab people undeserving of democracy, human rights and freedom. The silence of Paris and the meek American denunciations are alarming and reinforce the impression that the West rather appease autocrats who serve their agenda than support democrats who may disagree with them on certain issues.
The Facebook generation who is behind the current revolt in Tunis has been critical of the western powers silence and indifference to the plight of the protesters. In Tweets and Facebook postings, young North Africans are taking note of the apathy of certain European government namely France. The United State and France are missing an important occasion to show the young people of the Middle East the commitments of the West to democracy and the rule of law in the region.
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Comments (8)
what about those who were killed and those who have been rotting in his jails for years?
/
Halleluyah.....
I hope this is contagious and that it propagates to the other dictatorships in the region.
It's because of people like you that we will probably never see democracy in our lifetime. Our Fassis are nos different than their Trabelsis, the least we could is take a leaf from their book instead of tapping each other on the back for the peanuts that are thrown our way from time to time.Who could have guessed just few weeks ago that a small nation can do this, I am really proud of the Tunisians, ( unlike the Algerians who are full of hot gas, talk too much and do nothing at all )pure sign of the old HOGRA. The Tunisians are revolting not because they need food but they want to be free. from the beginning The young moroccan king was clever ,he understood this, and for this reason ,The Moroccans are now more free than ever . Freedom brings investments , progress and close ties with the free world
The fassis occupy every ministry and bikhir
PAM and the other corrupt parties are playing games with our kids future and bikhiiir
people are dying from hunger and cold in the moutains while millions of dollars are spent in Mawazin and gnawa festival and Bikhiir
Nassiri's kids and other spoiled brats are killing bouzebal in the streets and we are bikhiiir
If fassi's kids are educated as some keep telling us,then please tell them to work in the private sector and create job and not take 3 or 4 positions in the public sector.
Clean water is no existent in Meknes for months and hell with you if you or your kids get kidney stones and bikhiiir
Worse I just read last night that the guy in charge of RADEM of water and electricity in Meknes is a 24year old kid with last name IRAQI AND BIKHIIIRR
Mezwar our finance minister just borrowed 1 billion dollar so he can feeding the fat cats and bikhiiir
Half Moroccan girls are selling kefta in Dubia and bikhiiir
5 Million Moroccan live overseas away from their loves ones and bikhiiiir
RAM is charging exorbitant amount of money to the point that Moroccans can't visit their loved ones anymore and bikhiiiiir
If you want to register your kid at the embassy, you are told that you have to register yourself first,register your marriage,regist er your wife,get an ID for yourself,get an ID for your wife,Get halamadaniya, and bikhiiiiir
Public service became a ticket to wealth and bikhiiiiiir
Most Moroccans cant even afford to buy a kilo of serdine and bikhiiiir
Lah yehdi makhle9
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