Tunis, Tunisia (CNN) -- A day after the Tunisian
president indicated that he wouldn't run again,
people peacefully took to the streets in tense
North African nation's capital to protest his rule.
Thousands congregated in front of the Interior
Ministry, and chanted slogans such as "Get out!"
and "Freedom for Tunisia!"
Haykal Maki, a pro-opposition lawyer who was in
the throng, said protesters want a "regime
change," the resignation of President Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali, and lawsuits addressing the
regime's corruption.
Tunisia has been wracked by angry
demonstrations, with citizens -- angry with the
government's performance -- protesting high
unemployment, alleged corruption, rising prices,
and a limitations on rights.
Feature: Social media is fueling
Tunisia protests
The wave of protests was sparked
by the suicide of an unemployed
college graduate, a man who
torched himself in December after
police confiscated his fruit cart,
cutting off his source of income.
In an address on national TV on
Thursday night, Ben Ali addressed
the crisis in a speech that came as
street unrest percolated and a
message purportedly from an al
Qaeda affiliate announced its
support of protesters.
He vowed to cut prices of basic
foodstuffs, to lift censorship and to
ensure police do not use live
ammunition except in self-defense,
and he indicated that he will not run
again for president.
"Enough violence," Ben Ali said on
national television after days of riots
that have killed at least 21 people.
"I also gave orders to the interior minister ... not
to use live ammunition. It is unacceptable and
unjustified unless someone uses his weapon and
forces you to defend yourself."
Ben Ali said he had asked the prime minister to
reduce prices of staples, including sugar, milk and
bread and said he had decided to give "complete
freedom to all media outlets ... as long as they
respect our values and the value of the
profession."
The 74-year-old president added that he would
not push to change the law setting an age limit
for presidential candidates in the next election in
2014.
By then, he would have exceeded the 75-year
age limit. "There will not be presidency for life,"
he said.
Organized mainly by the country's lawyers'
union mainly and other unions, the crowd on
Friday was under the watchful eye of a
contingent of riot police officers.
But the protesters freely were not shy about
slamming the government and Ben Ali's rule.
Demonstrators shouted "Public trial for the
president's family!" and "Yes to water and bread,
but NO to Ben Ali!"
Reem Ben Yousef, a 37-year-old university
professor, told CNN that the protesters say the
ruling family has robbed citizens and they want
them to depart from public life.
Reem says that Ben Ali's speech was staged and
was cynical about the presence of a pro-
government demonstration after his speech.
"We do not believe in Ben Ali and his regime,"
she said.
Source: Http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/01/14/tunisia.protests/
0 comments:
Post a Comment