Masses of Tunisians marched in peaceful triumph on Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary of the revolution that ended the rule of former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali — and sparked uprisings around the Arab world.
Tunisia greeted the anniversary with prudent optimism, amid worries about high unemployment that cast a shadow over their pride at transforming the country.
Now a human rights activist is president and a moderate Islamist jailed for years by the old regime is prime minister at the head of a diverse coalition, after the freest elections in Tunisia’s history.
Tunisia’s uprising began on Dec. 17, 2010, when a desperate fruit vendor set himself on fire, unleashing pent-up anger and frustration among his compatriots, who staged protests that spread nationwide. Within less than a month, longtime leader Ben Ali was forced out of power and he fled to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14 last year.
Boisterous marches on Saturday reflected the country’s new atmosphere.
On a crisp, sunny day in Tunisia’s capital, Islamists shouted: “Allahu Akbar.”
Alongside them were leftists and nationalists celebrating freedom and mourning the more than 200 people killed in the month-long uprising.
The new leadership, to mark the anniversary, pardoned 9,000 convicts and converted the sentences of more than 100 prisoners from the death penalty to life in prison, state news agency TAP reported.
As the country that started the Arab Spring, Tunisia appears to be the farthest along in its transformation.
However, political analysts warn that further gains will not be easy or painless.
Heykel Mahfoudh, a law professor and adviser to the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, said in an interview that Tunisia is entering its second post-Ben Ali year “in a paradoxically necessary phase of turbulence.”
Mahfoudh said he is “cautiously optimistic” about Tunisia’s development, but remains worried about the country’s economic and social situation.
It is unclear, too, what the Islamists who won the elections will do with their power.
Unemployment has risen to almost 20 percent from 13 percent a year ago and economic growth has stagnated as investment dries up and tourism, once a pillar of Tunisia’s economy, evaporates.
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CHINA: The activities come amid speculation that Beijing might launch military exercises in response to Lai’s recent visit to Pacific allies The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said China had nearly doubled the number of its warships operating around the nation in the previous 24 hours, ahead of what security sources expect would be a new round of war games. China’s military activities come amid speculation Beijing might organize military drills around the nation in response to President William Lai’s (賴清德) recent visit to Pacific allies, including stops in Hawaii and Guam, a US territory. Lai returned from the week-long trip on Friday night. Beijing has held two rounds of war games around Taiwan this year, and sends ships and military planes
Five flights have been arranged to help nearly 2,000 Taiwanese tourists return home from Okinawa after being stranded due to cruise ship maintenance issues, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced yesterday. China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) have arranged five flights with a total of 748 additional seats to transport 1,857 passengers from the MSC Bellissima back to Taiwan, the ministry said. The flights have been scheduled for yesterday and today by the Civil Aviation Administration, with the cruise operator covering all associated costs. The MSC Bellissima, carrying 4,341 passengers, departed from Keelung on Wednesday last week for Okinawa,
US president-elect Donald Trump said he would “never say” if Washington is committed to defending Taiwan from China, but “I would prefer that they do not do it [ an attack],” adding that he has a “good relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). “I never say because I have to negotiate things, right?” Trump said in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press host Kristen Welker after saying he would not reveal his incoming administration’s stance on Taiwan’s defense in the event of an attack. Asked the question again, Trump, in a reference to China, said: “I would prefer that they
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