Tunis, Tunisia (CNN) -- Even while under
curfew following the ouster of their long-serving
authoritarian leader, Tunisians on Saturday
experienced newfound freedoms online as their
acting president promised a "new phase" for his
embattled land.
Filters on websites like Facebook and YouTube,
put in place under former President Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali, were dropped and Internet speed
picked up considerably -- a development that
followed the new government's vow to ease
restrictions on freedoms.
In addition, three Tunisian journalists -- including
two bloggers critical of Ben Ali -- have been freed
from jail, the Committee to Protect Journalists
said Saturday.
These developments come as Fouad Mebazaa
was sworn in as the country's acting leader on
Saturday, after Ben Ali and his family took refuge
in Saudi Arabia following days of angry street
protests against the government
Speaking on national TV, Mebazaa,
who had been the country's
parliamentary speaker, promised to
ensure the nation's "stability,"
respect its constitution and "pursue
the best interest of the nation."
"Citizens, sons and daughters of
our country of Tunis, in this
important and urgent moment in
the history of our beloved country,
I appeal to all of you of various
political parties, and nationalist
organizations, and all civil society
organizations to fight for the
national interest and to respect the
army's command and the national
security in security matters, and to
preserve private and public
property and to bring the return of
peace and security in the hearts of
the citizens," he said.
Mebazaa's temporary assumption
of the presidency corresponds to
an article in Tunisia's constitution
that says power will be transferred
to the parliament speaker when the
president resigns, dies or is unable
to perform his responsibilities. He
asked Mohamed Ghannouchi to
remain as prime minister of what is
now a caretaker government.
This dramatic power shift comes
after the departure of Ben Ali, the
leader of the north African country
since 1987 who had a reputation
for ruthlessness and corruption,
Ben Ali fled to Jeddah, where he was welcomed
by the Saudi Arabian king.
"The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
announces that it stands fully by the Tunisian
people, wishing, by God will, its people will stand
solid to overcome this difficult phase in its
history," the Saudi royal court said in a statement.
Moammar Gadhafi, leader of neighboring Libya,
denounced the developments in a televised
speech Saturday night. Ben Ali remains the
nation's rightful president, per its constitution, and
blamed unrest on criminal gangs, he said.
"Sadly, Tunisia is headed to more chaos and we
do not know how it will end," he said.
Gadhafi closed his speech by saying he was "sad
and hurt" by the recent developments, which he
said threatened to derail significant progress in
Tunisia.
"I hope your sanity returns and your wounds
heal, because you had a big loss that will never
return," he said, addressing the Tunisian people.
As the political situation remained fluid, the army
appears to have clamped down and established a
strong presence on the streets in the cities of
Tunisia, long a relatively stable and prosperous
country in what diplomats have described as "a
rough neighborhood."
Tunisian state TV reported that officials plan to
hold presidential elections in 60 days, and an
opposition leader told CNN that opposition figures
were meeting with the caretaker prime minister
to discuss formation of a unity government.
The ruling government declared a state of
emergency, ordering a curfew requiring all
people to remain indoors between 5 p.m.
Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday.
No large street protests in the
capital, Tunis, were reported
Saturday. But multiple videos
posted online showed that Tunis'
main train station had been burned.
There were also reports of rioting
and looting in the country, and
security forces also have been
spotted rounding up and roughing
up people.
At least 42 people died when a fire
swept through a prison in the
eastern Tunisian city of Monastir,
Dr. Ali Chadly of the University
Hospital of Monastir told CNN. It
was not immediately clear what
sparked the fire.
A travel warning from the British Foreign Office
on Saturday said "there have been
demonstrations, some violent" and "significant
looting" in Tunis and other locations, citing
Sousse, Sfax, Nabul, Hammamet, Douze,
Kasserine, Requeb and Thia.
Under Ben Ali, Tunisia was a pro-Western state
supportive of U.S. policy in the Middle East and in
its efforts against terrorism.
On Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama
condemned "the use of violence against citizens
peacefully voicing their opinion in Tunisia" and
lauded "the courage and dignity of the Tunisian
people." He also urged Tunisia's government "to
respect human rights (and) hold free and fair
elections."
The wave of rallies in the North African nation
was stirred by the suicide of an unemployed
college graduate, who torched himself last month
after police confiscated his fruit cart, cutting off his
source of income.
Since then, protesters had called for Ben Ali to
step down and held daily demonstrations
denouncing his government.
The grass-roots protests, organized and
supported through online networks centered on
Twitter and Facebook, focused on poor living
conditions, high unemployment, government
corruption and repression.
Amnesty International spokesman Claudio
Cordone said that 55 people have been killed over
the past several weeks of demonstrations. The
former president had put the number at 21 before
his departure.
"We hope that the army will match its reputation
for being more professional and less trigger-
happy than the security forces that have been
responsible for much of the violence over the last
several weeks," Cordone said.
The tumult, including Ben Ali's departure, has
reverberated in the Arab world, where the news
of the uprising elated people in other countries
across the region, where authoritarian rule has
persisted for years.
In Cairo, Egypt, about 100 people inspired by
what some are calling the "Jasmine Revolution" in
Tunisia massed in front of the press syndicate
and called for a similar uprising there.
Amid heavy security and the presence of many
riot police in the city, the people chanted, "Down
with Hosni Mubarak," the nation's leader, and
called him a corrupt and ruthless ruler.
Tunisia has close cultural and economic links to
France, which invaded Tunisia in 1881. That move
led to the creation of a protectorate until Tunisia
became independent in 1956.
An official statement from French President
Nicolas Sarkozy noted France's "many ties of
friendship" to Tunisia and called for free elections
as soon as possible.
After Sarkozy met with some senior members of
his Cabinet Saturday to discuss Tunisia, Finance
Minister Christine Lagarde sent instructions to
financial institutions and banks to freeze the assets
in France of the Ben Ali family.
French government spokesman Francois Baroin
said Saturday that France asked some of Ben Ali's
relatives to leave the country, adding that Ben Ali
wouldn't be allowed in France.
The African Union's Peace and Security Council
on Saturday "expressed its solidarity" with
Tunisians and deplored the "excessive use of
force against demonstrators."
It also urged "the political stakeholders and the
Tunisian people to work together, in unity,
consensus and respect for legality, towards a
peaceful and democratic transition, which will
allow the Tunisian people to freely choose their
leaders through free, open, democratic and
transparent elections."
Also Saturday, the Arab League released a
statement regarding "this historic stage" and
urged the "return of calm and security,"
according to a report by Jordan's state-run news
agency, Petra.
The Cairo-based alliance offered support for a
peaceful, legal realization of "the Tunisian people's
aspirations for a decent, secure and stable future
in a climate of democracy and political stability."
Source: Http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/01/15/tunisia.protests/
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