A month after the resignation of the president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia’s prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi, resigned after a weakened of violent protests that killed 5 people in Tunis. Linked to the old and corrupt government, Ghannouchi had long been a target of demonstrations post-revolution. Ghannouchi himself said that his “resignation will provide a better atmosphere for the new era” in Tunisia. He even called the resignation a “service to the country.” Tunisia’s new interim president (until elections are held), Fouad Mebazaa, named a former government minister, Beji Caid Essebsi, as the new prime minister. Post resignation, it is unclear whether or not protestors will be calmed or if a new issue will incite more protests. Protests have not been peaceful with one in the said weekend involving men with knives and stones, police cars on fire, and smashed store windows. Eric Goldstein, deputy director of Human Rights Watch, described it as “battles between security forces and rock-throwing youths.”
This resignation is a sign that the revolutions in January and the continued protests have been successful, even though tainted with violence. The human rights violations committed by the Ben Ali government were protested successfully against and one more remaining vestige of the corrupt regime has been eradicated. Unfortunately, the violence takes away from these accomplishments. In order for a rational, human rights respecting, government to emerge in Tunisia, the protests must remain peaceful so all voices can be given a chance to be heard.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/world/africa/28tunisia.html?ref=tunisia
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment