Tunisia leader thrown down by a mass protest started on Facebook

According to “Foreign Policy”  online edition of January 14, the opposition formed from within the civil society in Tunisia, had no reported islamic presence. Unlikely as it might seem, considering that Ben Ali, who fled the country leaving the power with interim Head of Parliament, had since 1987, on its rise as head of State, oppressed and alienated all islamic presence from public life. Much like all his predecessors. Ben Ali refered to, by the title of a report in Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, online, as the “Arabic Pinochet”.

The Islamic Al-Nhada party, has most of his prominent leaders living in exile and in fact had to form an unlikely coalition with communists to prevail in the scene. Tunisia is rooted in a highly pan arabian patriotic yet secular regime, ever since Habib Bourguiba, the post colonial Tunisia’s equivalent of Ataturk, in Turkey.

The protesters that fled to the streets were mostly unemployed people, protesting against nepotism and lack of freedom of speech. Unions, Intelectuals and youth without any religious bias came to voice their concerns, from Sidi Bouzid to Tunis.

Ben Ali was forced to make concessions, such as promising to leave power in 2014 after 23 years ahead of the government. But after 70 were killed by the regime police, not even the further promise of stepping down in 6 months stopped the crowd, forcing him to flee to Malta.

When the protesters took the streets in Sidi Bouzid, the international community was focused on the celebrations of New Years Eve and after that on the shootings in Arizona. The Tunisian regime used that indifference of the media to label the movements as minor uprisings. This prompted a reaction of all the oppressed and organized to take a reaction to facebook, twitter and you tube to escape censorship  by publishing and updating all their moves.

The significance of that new platform to promote the revolution is that internet was being especially censored since it had been used by anti-regime protesters to denounce the many shopping trips by the First lady to Europe.

Political prisoners are being finally released. The concern comes from other equally authoritarian regimes in the region, who start to question their security against freedom of speech on the internet versus censoring it altogether, like Iran did during their presidential elections, but hesitating between suffering the consequences of loosing ground to get any concessions accepted by the rebels.

The other intersting aspect of this civil uprising, somewhat relatable to the carnations revolution, in Portugal 1974, is the fact that the army and the army general refused to attack protesters on the street, as instructed by the government, which might have led Ben Ali to feel furthermore isolated and hurry over to exile. The Army general also declined interfering with the interim government, and stepped aside much like Salgueiro Maia in 74, the Special Unit Commander and principal head of the peaceful revolt on the streets of Lisbon.

Police, on the other hand, actually ignited the long lasting volatile situation when pressing a 26 years old, college graduate and vegetable salesman, to get off the streets until getting a vendors license. the salesman refused to comply and was seriously beaten by the police, which eventually led the victim to ignite himself on fire and die of self inflicted death by combustion. In Czech Republic there had been two prior examples of demonstrators, during the USSR invasion in 68, who submited their own lifes to the altar of sacrifice, to peacefully protest, against the complacency of the czech when against the Soviets intrusion.

This case of police abuse that led to suicide in public was the dynamo that lead protesters to come out on the streets. The popular protests took place in Sidi Bouzeid , Tunis, Qasrain, Qabis, Binzert, Sousa, BinQirdan , Qairowan, Gafsa, QarQena , elKaf, Baga and Qibly. Riots led to police repression.

Ma’An News Agency says that the Sharia and islamic forces all through the region are claiming the victry of the people against the tyrants. The Arab League and the neighboring countries governments express prudence by advising Tunisian authorities to work along the people to reestablish political stability and institutional normalization.

The Jihad says: “It is also a message to Arab and Islamic countries to pay attention to the aspirations of their people that are rejecting hegemony and tyranny before it is too late.”

The neighboring countries people have a different message for their accolade in Tunisia: In Egipt, people ran to the Tunisian Embassy crying “Listen to the Tunisians. It’s your turn Egyptians,” . In Jordan, Union members and employees soaring with the commodities rising prices, claim the revolution shall spread. Also the Media in Lebanon raised their voice in support of the Tunisian people. Algeria, Kuwait and Qatar echoed the same opinion. Saudi Arabia decided to give refuge to Ben Ali and so is reserving their position.

Future weeks will determine whether the Chief of Parliament shall be allowed to set up the new terms for new elections or whether the situation miight call for the intervention of the UN or the OUA.