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The Tunisian Revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive 28-day campaign of
Google Translate version
The debate surrounding the name and the poetic influences behind the Tunisian revolution was a popular question among Tunisian intellectuals. The name adopted in Tunisia was the Dignity Revolution, which is a translation of the
english translation
Some analysts have referred to this revolt as the WikiLeaks revolution and the Facebook revolution, as social media was used as a main source of protest during the revolution and WikiLeaks articles contributed to anti-government protests.
civil resistance
Civil resistance is political action that relies on the use of nonviolent resistance by ordinary people to challenge a particular power, force, policy or regime. Civil resistance operates through appeals to the adversary, pressure and coercion: i ...
. It included a series of street demonstrations
Demonstration may refer to:
* Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting
* Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought
* Demonstration (political), a political rally or prote ...
which took place in Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ( ar, زين العابدين بن علي, translit=Zayn al-'Ābidīn bin 'Alī; 3 September 1936 – 19 September 2019), commonly known as Ben Ali ( ar, بن علي) or Ezzine ( ar, الزين), was a Tunisian politician ...
in January 2011. It eventually led to a thorough democratisation
Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic Regime, political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an Authoritarianism, auth ...
of the country and to free and democratic elections.
The demonstrations were caused by high unemployment
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...
, food inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...
, corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
, a lack of political freedom
Political freedom (also known as political autonomy or political agency) is a central concept in history and political thought and one of the most important features of democratic societies.Hannah Arendt, "What is Freedom?", ''Between Past and F ...
s (such as freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
) and poor living conditions
Habitability refers to the adequacy of an environment for human living. Where housing is concerned, there are generally local ordinances which define habitability. If a residence complies with those laws it is said to be habitable. In extreme e ...
. The protests constituted the most dramatic wave of social and political unrest in Tunisia in three decades and resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, most of which were the result of action by police and security forces.
The protests were sparked by the self-immolation
The term self-immolation broadly refers to acts of altruistic suicide, otherwise the giving up of one's body in an act of sacrifice. However, it most often refers specifically to autocremation, the act of sacrificing oneself by setting oneself o ...
of Mohamed Bouazizi
Tarek el-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi ( ar, طارق الطيب محمد البوعزيزي, Ṭāriq aṭ-Ṭayib Muḥammad al-Būʿazīzī; 29 March 1984 – 4 January 2011) was a street vendor who set himself on fire on 17 December 2010 in Sidi Bo ...
on 17 December 2010. They led to the ousting of Ben Ali on 14 January 2011, when he officially resigned after fleeing to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, ending his 23 years in power. Labor union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
s were an integral part of the protests. The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet
The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet (Arabic: الرباعي التونسي للحوار الوطني, French: ''Quartet du dialogue national'') is a group of four civil society organizations that were central mediators in the effort to conso ...
was awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize
The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet (founded in 2013) for "its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011".
The National ...
for "its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Tunisian Revolution of 2011". The protests inspired similar actions throughout the Arab world, in a chain reaction which became known as the Arab Spring
The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in T ...
movement.
Naming
In Tunisia and the wider Arab world, the protests and change in government are called the Revolution or sometimes the Sidi Bouzid Revolt, the name being derived fromSidi Bouzid
Sidi Bouzid ( ar, سيدي بوزيد '), sometimes called ''Sidi Bou Zid'' or ''Sīdī Bū Zayd'', is a city in Tunisia and is the capital of Sidi Bouzid Governorate in the centre of the country. Following the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi in ...
, the city where the initial protests began. In the Western media, these events have been dubbed the Jasmine Revolution or Jasmine Spring, after Tunisia's national flower and in keeping with the geopolitical nomenclature of "color revolutions
Colour revolution (sometimes coloured revolution) is a term used since around 2004 by worldwide media to describe various anti-regime protest movements and accompanying (attempted or successful) changes of government that took place in post ...
". The name "Jasmine Revolution" originated from American journalist Andy Carvin
Andy Carvin is an American blogger and former senior product manager for online communities at National Public Radio (NPR). He accepted a position at First Look Media in February, 2014. Carvin was the founding editor and former coordinator of th ...
, but it was not widely adopted in Tunisia itself.
The protests and resultant political crises have generally been called the Jasmine revolution only in the foreign media.Mona Eltahawy
Mona Eltahawy ( ar, منى الطحاوى, ; born August 1, 1967) is a freelance Egyptian-American journalist and social commentator based in New York City. She has written essays and op-eds for publications worldwide on Egypt and the Islamic worl ...
Tunisian philosopher Youssef Seddik Youssef Seddik may refer to:
* Youssef Seddik (philosopher) (born 1943), Tunisian Greek and Islamic philosopher
* Youssef Seddik (revolutionary) (1910–1975), Egyptian military figure and politician
{{hndis, Seddik, Youssef ...
deemed the term inappropriate because the violence that accompanied the event was "perhaps as deep as Bastille Day
Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...
", and although the term was coined by the Tunisian journalist Zied El Hani, who first used it on his blog on 13 January and initially spread via social media such as Facebook (hence "Revolution Facebook" among the youth of Tunisia), it is not in widespread use in Tunisia itself.Google Translate version
The debate surrounding the name and the poetic influences behind the Tunisian revolution was a popular question among Tunisian intellectuals. The name adopted in Tunisia was the Dignity Revolution, which is a translation of the
Tunisian Arabic
Tunisian Arabic, or simply Tunisian, is a set of dialects of Maghrebi Arabic spoken in Tunisia. It is known among its over 11 million speakers aeb, translit=Tounsi/Tounsiy, label=as, تونسي , "Tunisian" or "Everyday Language" to distingu ...
name for the revolution, ('). Within Tunisia, Ben Ali's rise to power in 1987 was also known as the Jasmine Revolution.english translation
Some analysts have referred to this revolt as the WikiLeaks revolution and the Facebook revolution, as social media was used as a main source of protest during the revolution and WikiLeaks articles contributed to anti-government protests.
Background
PresidentZine El Abidine Ben Ali
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ( ar, زين العابدين بن علي, translit=Zayn al-'Ābidīn bin 'Alī; 3 September 1936 – 19 September 2019), commonly known as Ben Ali ( ar, بن علي) or Ezzine ( ar, الزين), was a Tunisian politician ...
had ruled Tunisia since 1987, mostly as a one-party state with the Democratic Constitutional Rally
The Democratic Constitutional Rally or Democratic Constitutional Assembly ( ar, التجمع الدستوري الديمقراطي ', french: Rassemblement Constitutionnel Démocratique, sometimes also called Constitutional Democratic Rally in E ...
(RCD). His government was characterised by the development of Tunisia's private sector in favor of foreign investment, and the repression of political opposition. Foreign media and criticised his government, which was supported by the United States and France. As a result, the initial reactions to Ben Ali's abuses by the U.S. and France were muted, and most instances of socio-political protest in the country, when they occurred at all, rarely made major news headlines.
Riots in Tunisia were rare and noteworthy, especially since the country is generally considered to be wealthy and stable as compared to other countries in the region. Protests had been repressed and kept silent by the regime, and protesters would be jailed for such actions, as with hundreds of unemployed demonstrators in Redeyef
Redeyef ( ar, الرّدَيِّف ') is a town and commune in the Gafsa Governorate, Tunisia. As of 2004 it had a population of 26,143. As noted by Mohamed Bacha in his book ''The Revolutionary Chants of Club Africain Ultras'', Tunisian youth had found an outlet to express their anger and dissatisfaction, through the fan chants of sports association Club Africain Ultras, such as: ''The capital is very angry'', ''We are solidary when we make war to the sons of — Who oppress us'', and ''Hey Regime, The Revolution is Imminent''.
At the time of the revolution,
On 28 November 2010,
On the same day, Ben Ali fled the country for
Following Ben Ali's departure from the country, a 
Following Ben Ali's departure, violence and looting continued and the capital's main train station was torched. The national army was reported to be extensively deployed in Tunisia, including elements loyal to Ben Ali.
A prison director in ' s correspondent said there were apparently three different armed groups: the police (numbering 250,000), security forces from the Interior Ministry, and irregular militias supportive of Ben Ali who were vying for control.
Ali Seriati, head of presidential security, was arrested and accused of threatening state security by fomenting violence. Following this, gun battles took place near the Presidential Palace between the Tunisian army and elements of security organs loyal to the former regime. The Tunisian army was reportedly struggling to assert control. Gunfire continued in Tunis and Carthage as security services struggled to maintain law and order.
The most immediate result of the protests was seen in increased Internet freedoms. While commentators were divided about the extent to which the Internet contributed to the ousting of Ben Ali, Facebook remained accessible to roughly 20% of the population throughout the crisis whilst its passwords were hacked by a country-wide
The Ghannouchi administration (15 January – 27 February 2011) was a caretaker government with the primary goal of maintaining the state and providing a legal framework for new elections.
Prime Minister
Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English (AJE; ar, الجزيرة, translit=al-jazīrah, , literally "The Peninsula", referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is an international 24-hour English-language news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is own ...
reported that Tunisian activists are among the most outspoken in its part of the world, with various messages of support being posted on Twitter and Facebook for Bouazizi. An op-ed
An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...
article in the same network said of the action that it was "suicidal protests of despair by Tunisia's youth." It pointed out that the state-controlled National Solidarity Fund and the National Employment Fund had traditionally subsidised many goods and services in the country but had started to shift the "burden of providence from state to society" to be funded by the '' bidonvilles'', or shanty towns, around the richer towns and suburbs. It also cited the "marginalisation of the agrarian and arid central, northern west and southern areas hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
continue unabated." The protests were also called an "uprising" because of "a lethal combination of poverty, unemployment, and political repression: three characteristics of most Arab societies." It was a revolution, notes a Tunisian geographer, "started not by the middle class or the northern urban centers, but by marginalised social groups."
Mohamed Bouazizi and Sidi Bouzid
Twenty-six-year-oldMohamed Bouazizi
Tarek el-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi ( ar, طارق الطيب محمد البوعزيزي, Ṭāriq aṭ-Ṭayib Muḥammad al-Būʿazīzī; 29 March 1984 – 4 January 2011) was a street vendor who set himself on fire on 17 December 2010 in Sidi Bo ...
had been the sole income earner in his extended family of eight. He operated a vegetable or apple cart (the contents of the cart are disputed) for seven years in Sidi Bouzid
Sidi Bouzid ( ar, سيدي بوزيد '), sometimes called ''Sidi Bou Zid'' or ''Sīdī Bū Zayd'', is a city in Tunisia and is the capital of Sidi Bouzid Governorate in the centre of the country. Following the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi in ...
, 300 kilometres (190 miles) south of Tunis. On 17 December 2010, a female officer confiscated his cart and produce. Bouazizi, who had had such an event happen to him before, tried to pay the 10-dinars fine (a day's wages, equivalent to US$3). It was initially reported that in response the policewoman insulted his deceased father and slapped him. This was a false story, which "had been disseminated and used to mobilize as much as possible against the Ben Ali regime." The officer, Faida Hamdi, stated that she was not even a policewoman, but a city employee who had been tasked that morning with confiscating produce from vendors without licenses. When she tried to do so with Bouazizi, a scuffle ensued. Hamdi says she called the police who then beat Bouazizi.
A humiliated Bouazizi then went to the provincial headquarters in an attempt to complain to local municipality officials and to have his produce returned. He was refused an audience. Without alerting his family, at 11:30 am and within an hour of the initial confrontation, Bouazizi returned to the headquarters, doused himself with a flammable liquid and set himself on fire. Public outrage quickly grew over the incident, leading to protests. This immolation, and the subsequent heavy-handed response by the police to peaceful marchers, provoked riots the next day in Sidi Bouzid
Sidi Bouzid ( ar, سيدي بوزيد '), sometimes called ''Sidi Bou Zid'' or ''Sīdī Bū Zayd'', is a city in Tunisia and is the capital of Sidi Bouzid Governorate in the centre of the country. Following the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi in ...
. The riots went largely unnoticed, though social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
sites disseminated images of police dispersing youths who attacked shop windows and damaged cars. Bouazizi was subsequently transferred to a hospital near Tunis. In an attempt to quell the unrest, President Ben Ali visited Bouazizi in hospital on 28 December. Bouazizi died on 4 January 2011.
Sociologist Asef Bayat
Asef Bayat ( fa, آصف بیات) is an Iranian-American scholar. He is currently the Catherine and Bruce Bastian Professor of Global and Transnational Studies and Professor of Sociology and Middle Eastern studies at University of Illinois at Urban ...
, who visited Tunisia after the uprising and carried out field research, wrote about the mechanisation of large-scale capitalist farms in towns like Sidi Bouzid that have come "at the cost of smallholders' debt, dispossession, and proletarianization." Tunisian geographer-cinematographer Habib Ayeb, founder of the Tunisian Observatory for Food Sovereignty and the Environment (OSAE), has questioned the model of development that was introduced in Sidi Bouzid:
Protests
On 28 November 2010, WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks () is an international Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous Source (journalism), sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activism, Internet acti ...
and five major newspapers (Spain's ''El País
''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA.
It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...
'', France's ''Le Monde
''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'', Germany's ''Der Spiegel
''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'', the United Kingdom's ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', and the United States' ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'') simultaneously published the first 220 of 251,287 leaked documents labeled confidential. These included descriptions of corruption and repression by the Tunisian regime. It is widely believed that the information in the WikiLeaks documents contributed to the protests, which began a few weeks later.
There were reports of police obstructing demonstrators and using tear gas
Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ad ...
on hundreds of young protesters in Sidi Bouzid
Sidi Bouzid ( ar, سيدي بوزيد '), sometimes called ''Sidi Bou Zid'' or ''Sīdī Bū Zayd'', is a city in Tunisia and is the capital of Sidi Bouzid Governorate in the centre of the country. Following the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi in ...
in mid-December. The protesters had gathered outside regional government headquarters to demonstrate against the treatment of Mohamed Bouazizi
Tarek el-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi ( ar, طارق الطيب محمد البوعزيزي, Ṭāriq aṭ-Ṭayib Muḥammad al-Būʿazīzī; 29 March 1984 – 4 January 2011) was a street vendor who set himself on fire on 17 December 2010 in Sidi Bo ...
. Coverage of events was limited by Tunisian media. On , extra police were present on the city's streets.
On 22 December, protester Lahseen Naji, responding to "hunger and joblessness", electrocuted himself after climbing an electricity pylon
A transmission tower, also known as an electricity pylon or simply a pylon in British English and as a hydro tower in Canadian English, is a tall structure, usually a steel lattice tower, used to support an overhead power line.
In electrical ...
. Ramzi Al-Abboudi also killed himself because of financial difficulties arising from a business debt by the country's micro-credit
:''This article is specific to small loans, often provided in a pooled manner. For direct payments to individuals for specific projects, see Micropatronage. For financial services to the poor, see Microfinance. For small payments, see Micropayme ...
solidarity programme. On , Mohamed Ammari was fatally shot in the chest by police in Bouziane. Other protesters were also injured, including Chawki Belhoussine El Hadri, who died later on . Police claimed they shot the demonstrators in "self-defence". A "quasi-curfew" was then imposed on the city by police. Rapper El Général
Hameda Ben Amor
( ar, حمادة بن عمر; born 7 Octob ...
, whose songs had been adopted by protesters, was arrested on 24 December but released several days later after "an enormous public reaction".
Violence increased, and protests reached the capital, ( ar, حمادة بن عمر; born 7 Octob ...
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
, on where a thousand citizens expressed solidarity with residents of Sidi Bouzid and called for jobs. The rally, organised by independent trade union activists, was stopped by security forces. Protests also spread to Sousse
Sousse or Soussa ( ar, سوسة, ; Berber:''Susa'') is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf ...
, Sfax
Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterranean ...
and Meknassy
Meknassy ( ar, المكناسي '), sometimes spelt ''Maknassy'', is a town and commune in the Sidi Bou Zid Governorate, Tunisia. In 2004 it had a population of 13,742.Gafsa
Gafsa ( aeb, ڨفصة '; ar, قفصة qafṣah), originally called Capsa in Latin, is the capital of Gafsa Governorate of Tunisia. It lends its Latin name to the Mesolithic Capsian culture. With a population of 111,170, Gafsa is the ninth-la ...
which was also blocked by security forces. About 300 lawyers held a rally near the government's palace in Tunis. Protests continued again on .
On 30 December, police peacefully dispersed a protest in Monastir, while using force to disrupt further demonstrations in Sbikha
Sbikha is a town and commune in the Kairouan Governorate, Tunisia. As of 2004 it had a population of 6,776.
and Chebba
Chebba (La Chebba, Ash Shabbah, aš-Šābbah, Sheba) is a small city in the Mahdia Governorate of Tunisia in North Africa on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.Jacobs, Daniel and Morris, Peter (2001) ''The rough guide to Tunisia'' Rough Guides, Lo ...
. Momentum appeared to continue with the protests on and the Tunisian National Lawyers Order organised further demonstrations and public gatherings by lawyers in Tunis and other cities. Mokhtar Trifi, president of the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH), said that lawyers across Tunisia had been "savagely beaten". There were also unconfirmed reports of another man attempting to commit suicide in El Hamma
El Hamma ( ar, الحامة ') is an oasis town located in the Gabès Governorate, 30 kilometers west of Gabès, Tunisia and near the eastern end of Chott el Fejej. Its population in 2014 was 73,512.
Etymology
The Arabic name ( حامة ) come ...
.
On 3 January 2011, protests in Thala over unemployment and a high cost of living
Cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living. Changes in the cost of living over time can be operationalized in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare the cost of maintaining a c ...
turned violent. At a demonstration of 250 people, mostly students, police fired tear gas; one canister landed in a local mosque. In response, the protesters were reported to have set fire to tires and attacked the RCD offices. Some of the more general protests sought changes in the government's online censorship; Tunisian authorities allegedly carried out phishing
Phishing is a type of social engineering where an attacker sends a fraudulent (e.g., spoofed, fake, or otherwise deceptive) message designed to trick a person into revealing sensitive information to the attacker or to deploy malicious softwar ...
operations to take control of user passwords and check online criticism. Both state and non-state websites had been hacked.
On 6 January 95% of Tunisia's 8,000 lawyers went on strike, according to the chairman of the national bar association
A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence. The word bar is derived from the old English/European custom of using a physical railing to separ ...
. He said, "The strike carries a clear message that we do not accept unjustified attacks on lawyers. We want to strongly protest against the beating of lawyers in the past few days." It was reported on the following day that teachers had also joined the strike.
In response to 11 January protests, police used riot gear to disperse protesters ransacking buildings, burning tyres, setting fire to a bus and burning two cars in the Tunis working-class suburb of Ettadhamen-Mnihla. The protesters were said to have chanted "We are not afraid, we are not afraid, we are afraid only of God". Military personnel were also deployed in many cities around the country.
On 12 January, a reporter from Italian broadcaster RAI
RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...
stated that he and his cameraman were beaten with batons by police during a riot in Tunis's central district and that the officers then confiscated their camera. A curfew was ordered in Tunis after protests and clashes with police.
Hizb ut-Tahrir
Hizb ut-Tahrir (Arabicحزب التحرير (Translation: Party of Liberation) is an international, political organization which describes its ideology as Islam, and its aim the re-establishment of the Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) to resume Isl ...
organised protests after Friday prayer
In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...
on 14 January to call for re-establishing the Islamic caliphate
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
. A day later, it also organised other protests that marched to the 9 April Prison
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the Brahmi numerals, beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshat ...
to free political prisoners.
Also on 14 January, Lucas Dolega
Lucas Dolega (19 August 1978 – 17 January 2011), born Loucas von Zabiensky-Mebrouk and also called Lucas Mebrouk Dolega, was a French/German photojournalist. He was reportedly killed by Tunisian police while he was photographing a protest in Tun ...
, a photojournalist for the European Pressphoto Agency
EPA Images , European Pressphoto Agency B.V. (EPA Images) is an international news photo agency.
Images from all parts of the world covering news, politics, sports, business, finance as well as arts, culture and entertainment are provided by a ...
, was hit in the forehead by a tear gas
Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ad ...
canister allegedly fired by the police at short range; he died two days later.
End of Ben Ali's rule
During a national television broadcast on , President Ben Ali criticised protesters as "extremist mercenaries" and warned of "firm" punishment. He also accused "certain foreign television channels" of spreading falsehoods and deforming the truth, and called them "hostile to Tunisia". His remarks were ignored and the protests continued. On 29 December, Ben Ali shuffled his cabinet to remove communications minister Oussama Romdhani, while also announcing changes to the trade and handicrafts, religious affairs, communication and youth portfolios. The next day he also announced the dismissal of the governors of Sidi Bouzid,Jendouba
Jendouba ( ar, جندوبة ; Formerly known as Souk El Arba until 30 April 1966) is a city in northwestern Tunisia, and capital of the Jendouba Governorate. It is an important crossroads with many road links to other towns such as El Kef, Tabark ...
and Zaghouan
Zaghouan (or Zaghwan; ar, زغوان '' ; ber, ⵣⴻⵖⵡⴰⵏ / Zeɣwan)'' is a town in the northern half of Tunisia.
Situated on a low ridge of the Dorsale Mountains, the town has a mild climate and presents a green aspect. Cold water ...
.
In January 2011, Ben Ali said 300,000 new jobs would be created, though he did not clarify what that meant. He described the protests as "the work of masked gangs" attacking public property and citizens in their homes, and "a terrorist act that cannot be overlooked". Ahmed Najib Chebbi
Ahmed Najib Chebbi ( ar, أحمد نجيب الشابي, french: Ahmed Néjib Chebbi) or simply Najib Chebbi (born 30 July 1944) is a Tunisian attorney and politician.
Chebbi is a prominent figure of the Tunisian opposition movement; in 1983, he ...
, the leader of the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), responded that despite official claims of police firing in self-defense "the demonstrations were non-violent and the youths were claiming their rights to jobs" and that "the funeral processions or those killed on 9 Januaryturned into demonstrations, and the police fired tthe youths who were at these ..processions." He then criticised Ben Ali's comments as the protesters were "claiming their civil rights, and there is no terrorist act...no religious slogans". He further accused Ben Ali of "looking for scapegoats" and dismissed the creation of jobs as empty promises.
Several weblog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
gers and rapper El Général were arrested, but the rapper and some of the bloggers were later released. Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
said the arrest of at least six bloggers and activists, who had either been arrested or had disappeared across Tunisia, was brought to their attention and that there were "probably" others. Tunisian Pirate Party
The Tunisian Pirate Party ( ar, حزب القراصنة التونسي ' ; french: Parti pirate tunisien) is a small political party in Tunisia. It was formed in 2010 and legalised on 12 March 2012, becoming one of the first outgrowths of the P ...
activists Slah Eddine Kchouk, Slim Amamou
Slim Amamou ( ( ar, سليم عمامو, Slīm ‘Amāmū; born 1977) is a Tunisian blogger and a former Secretary of State for Sport and Youth in the transitional Tunisian government of early 2011. He resigned from the role in the week of 25 M ...
(later appointed Secretary of State for Sport and Youth by the incoming government) and Azyz Amamy were arrested but later released. Hamma Hammami
Hamma Hammami ( ar, حمّه الهمامي; born 8 January 1952) is a Tunisian communist, leader a of the Popular_Front_(Tunisia), Popular Front, spokesman of the Tunisian Workers' Party, and former editor of the party news organ ''El-Badil''.
...
, the leader of the banned Tunisian Workers' Communist Party and a prominent critic of Ben Ali, was arrested on 12 January, and released two days later.
On 10 January, the government announced the indefinite closure of all schools and universities in order to quell the unrest. Days before departing office, Ben Ali announced that he would not change the present constitution, which would require him to step down in 2014 due to his age.
On 14 January, Ben Ali dissolved his government and declared a state of emergency
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
. The official reason given was to protect Tunisians and their property. People were barred from gathering in groups of more than three, and could be arrested or shot if they tried to run away. Ben Ali called for an election within six months to defuse demonstrations aimed at forcing him out. France24
France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned international news television network based in Paris. Its channels broadcast in French, English, Arabic, and Spanish and are aimed at the overseas market.
Based in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Mo ...
reported that the military took control of the airport and closed the country's airspace
Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as aerospace, which is the ...
.
On the same day, Ben Ali fled the country for Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
under Libyan protection. His aircraft landed in Jeddah
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
, Saudi Arabia, after France rejected a request to land on its territory. Saudi Arabia cited "exceptional circumstances" for their heavily criticised decision to give him asylum, saying it was also "in support of the security and stability of their country". Saudi Arabia demanded Ben Ali remain "out of politics" as a condition for accepting him.
Initial impact of Ben Ali's overthrow
Following Ben Ali's departure from the country, a state of emergency
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
was declared. Army Commander Rashid Ammar pledged to "protect the revolution". Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi
Mohamed Ghannouchi ( ar, محمد الغنوشي ''Muhammad Al-Ghannushi''; born 18 August 1941) is a Tunisian politician who was Prime Minister of Tunisia from 1999 to 2011. Regarded as a technocrat, Ghannouchi was a long-standing figure in the ...
then briefly took over as acting president. On the morning of 15 January, Tunisian state TV announced that Ben Ali had officially resigned his position and Ghannouchi had handed over the presidency to parliamentary speaker Fouad Mebazaa
Fouad Mebazaa ( ar, فؤاد المبزع, Fuʾād el-Mbazaʿ; born 15 June 1933) is a Tunisian politician who was the president of Tunisia from 15 January 2011 to 13 December 2011. He was active in Neo Destour prior to Tunisian independence, ser ...
, with Ghannouchi returning to his previous position as prime minister. This was done after the head of Tunisia's Constitutional Council, Fethi Abdennadher, declared that Ghannouchi did not have right to power, and confirmed Fouad Mebazaa
Fouad Mebazaa ( ar, فؤاد المبزع, Fuʾād el-Mbazaʿ; born 15 June 1933) is a Tunisian politician who was the president of Tunisia from 15 January 2011 to 13 December 2011. He was active in Neo Destour prior to Tunisian independence, ser ...
as acting president under Article 57 of the constitution. Mebazaa was given 60 days to organise new election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
s. Mebazaa said it was in the country's best interest to form a national unity government
A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...
.
INTERPOL
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
confirmed that its National Central Bureau (NCB) in Tunis had issued a global alert to find and arrest Ben Ali and six of his relatives.
A commission to reform the constitution and law in general was set up under Yadh Ben Achour
Yadh Ben Achour ( ar, عياض بن عاشور, also Iyadh Ben Achour, born 1 June 1945) is a Tunisian lawyer, expert on public law and Islamic political theory.
President of the Higher Political Reform Commission of Tunisia, he is then memb ...
. There were also calls by the opposition to delay the elections, holding them in six or seven months with international supervision.
Following Ben Ali's departure, violence and looting continued and the capital's main train station was torched. The national army was reported to be extensively deployed in Tunisia, including elements loyal to Ben Ali.
A prison director in Mahdia
Mahdia ( ar, المهدية ') is a Tunisian coastal city with 62,189 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse.
Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax
Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located ...
freed about 1,000 inmates following a prison rebellion that left 5 people dead. Many other prisons also had jailbreaks or raids from external groups to force prisoner releases, some suspected to be aided by prison guards. Residents who were running out of necessary food supplies had armed themselves and barricaded their homes, and in some cases had formed armed neighborhood watches. Al Jazeeraman-in-the-middle attack
In cryptography and computer security, a man-in-the-middle, monster-in-the-middle, machine-in-the-middle, monkey-in-the-middle, meddler-in-the-middle, manipulator-in-the-middle (MITM), person-in-the-middle (PITM) or adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) ...
. YouTube and DailyMotion
Dailymotion is a French video-sharing technology platform owned by Vivendi. North American launch partners included Vice Media, Bloomberg and Hearst Digital Media. It is among the earliest known platforms to support HD (720p) resolution video. ...
became available after Ben Ali's ouster, and the Tor anonymity network reported a surge of traffic from Tunisia.
Ghannouchi government
The Ghannouchi administration (15 January – 27 February 2011) was a caretaker government with the primary goal of maintaining the state and providing a legal framework for new elections.
Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi
Mohamed Ghannouchi ( ar, محمد الغنوشي ''Muhammad Al-Ghannushi''; born 18 August 1941) is a Tunisian politician who was Prime Minister of Tunisia from 1999 to 2011. Regarded as a technocrat, Ghannouchi was a long-standing figure in the ...
announced his cabinet on 17 January 2011, three days after Ben Ali's departure. The cabinet included twelve members of the ruling RCD, the leaders of three opposition parties (Mustapha Ben Jafar
Mustapha Ben Jafar ( ar, مصطفى بن جعفر) (born 8 December 1940) is a Tunisian politician and medical doctor who was Speaker of the Constituent Assembly of Tunisia from November 2011 to December 2014. He founded and has led the Democratic ...
from the Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties
The Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties ( ar, التكتل الديمقراطي من أجل العمل والحريات, ' ; french: link=no, Forum démocratique pour le travail et les libertés), also referred to as Ettakatol or by its Fre ...
TDL TDL may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Technical Design Labs, a former microcomputer- and software company
* Texas Digital Library, a consortium of institutions
* TDL Group, former company name of Tim Hortons
Places
* Tokyo Disneylan ...
Ahmed Brahim of the Ettajdid Movement
The Ettajdid Movement (''Movement for Renewal'' ; ar, حركة التجديد, ' ; french: Mouvement Ettajdid), also referred to simply as Ettajdid, was a centre-left secularist political party in Tunisia, active from 1993 to 2012.
History and p ...
, and Ahmed Najib Chebbi
Ahmed Najib Chebbi ( ar, أحمد نجيب الشابي, french: Ahmed Néjib Chebbi) or simply Najib Chebbi (born 30 July 1944) is a Tunisian attorney and politician.
Chebbi is a prominent figure of the Tunisian opposition movement; in 1983, he ...
of the PDP), three representatives from the Tunisian General Labour Union
The Tunisian General Labour Union (french: Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail, ''UGTT''. ar, الاتحاد العام التونسي للشغل) is a national trade union center in Tunisia. It has a membership of more than one million and wa ...
(UGTT), and representatives of civil society (including prominent blogger Slim Amamou
Slim Amamou ( ( ar, سليم عمامو, Slīm ‘Amāmū; born 1977) is a Tunisian blogger and a former Secretary of State for Sport and Youth in the transitional Tunisian government of early 2011. He resigned from the role in the week of 25 M ...
). Three notable movements not included in the national unity government
A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...
were the banned Ennahda Movement
The Ennahda Movement ( ar, حركة النهضة, Ḥarakatu n-Nahḍah; french: link=no, Mouvement Ennahdha), also known as the Renaissance Party or simply known as Ennahda, is a self-defined Islamic democratic political party in Tunisia.
Fou ...
, the Tunisian Workers' Communist Party and the secular reformist Congress for the Republic
The Congress for the Republic ( ar, المؤتمر من أجل الجمهورية, Al-Mu’tamar min ajl al-Jumhūriyya; french: Congrès pour la République), also referred to as El Mottamar or by its French acronym CPR, is a centre-left seculari ...
. The following day, the three members of the UGTT and Ben Jafaar resigned, saying that they had "no confidence" in a government featuring members of the RCD.
There were daily protests that members of Ben Ali's RCD party were in the new government. Thousands of anti-RCD protesters rallied in a protests with relatively little violence. On 18 January, demonstrations were held in Tunis, Sfax
Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterranean ...
, Gabes, Bizerta
Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical antiquity, classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the List of northernmost items, northernmost city in Afri ...
, Sousse
Sousse or Soussa ( ar, سوسة, ; Berber:''Susa'') is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf ...
and Monastir. Ghannouchi and interim president Mebazaa resigned their RCD memberships in a bid to calm protests, and Ghannouchi stated that all members of the national unity government had "clean hands".
On 20 January, Zouhair M'Dhaffer
Zouhair Ahmad Abdallah ( ar, زهير أحمد عبد الله; born 5 May 1983) is a Lebanese Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender and captains club Shabab Al Sahel FC, Shabab Sahel. Startin ...
, a close confidant of Ben Ali, resigned from the government. All other RCD ministers resigned from the party and the central committee of the RCD disbanded itself. The new government announced in its first sitting that all political prisoners would be freed and all banned parties would be legalised. The next day, Ghannouchi committed to resigning after holding transparent and free elections within six months.
Police began to join the protests in Tunis on 23 January over salaries, and to deflect blame over political deaths attributed to them during Ben Ali's rule. Army chief Rachid Ammar
Rachid Ammar, or Rchid Ammar ( ar, رشيد عمار) (born 1947 or 1948) was the chief of staff of the Tunisian Armed Forces.
He is perhaps best known for his refusal to fire on protestors during the 2011 Tunisian Revolution. He has been describ ...
declares that the armed forces are also on the side of the protesters and would "defend the revolution".
On 27 January, Ghannounchi reshuffled his cabinet, with six former-RCD members departing the interim government. Only Ghannouchi and the ministers of industry and international cooperation (who had not been RCD members) remained from Ben Ali's old government. This was seen as meeting one of the protesters' demands, and the UGTT stated its support for the reorganised cabinet. New ministers included state attorney Farhat Rajhi
Farhat Rajhi (born 29 December 1952, in Tunis) is a Tunisian politician. He was interim minister of interior affairs between January 27 and March 28, 2011, in the government of Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi
Mohamed Ghannouchi ( ar, محمد ...
as interior minister, retired career diplomat Ahmed Ounaies
Ahmed Ounaies, also spelled Ahmed Ounaiss, (born 25 January 1936) is a Tunisian politician and diplomat who was Foreign Minister for two weeks in the transitional government established after the 2010–2011 Tunisian uprising. Public pressure for ...
as foreign minister, and economist Elyes Jouini Elyes is a given name. It is the given name of the following people:
*Elyes Gabel (born 1983), English actor
*Elyes Fakhfakh, Tunisian politician
*Elyes Karamosli (born 1989 in Hammam-Lif, Tunisia), Tunisian volleyball player
*Elyes Garfi
Elyes Ga ...
as minister delegate to the prime minister in charge of administrative and economic reform. Ounaies later resigned after praising a foreign politician with ties to Ben Ali. Mouldi Kefi
Mohamed Mouldi Kefi (born February 10, 1946 in Le Kef, Tunisia) was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tunisia under the transitional government in 2011, and is a retired diplomat. He is married and has four children.
His diplomatic career starte ...
became the new foreign minister on 21 February.
By 3 February, all 24 regional governors had been replaced. Days later, the government reached an agreement with the UGTT on the nomination of new governors. The Interior Ministry replaced 34 top-level security officials who were a part of Ben Ali's security infrastructure. Mebazaa promised a national dialogue to address protester demands.
Sidi Bouzid and El Kef
El Kef ( ar, الكاف '), also known as ''Le Kef'', is a city in northwestern Tunisia. It serves as the capital of the Kef Governorate.
El Kef is situated to the west of Tunis and some east of the border between Algeria and Tunisia. It has a ...
saw violence in early February with protesters killed and a police car set on fire. A local police chief was arrested.
On 7 February, the defense ministry called up soldiers discharged in the previous five years to help control unrest.
The first steps were taken on a bill that would give Mebazaa emergency powers, allowing him to bypass the RCD-dominated parliament. The bill would allow Mebazaa to ratify international human-rights treaties without parliament; he had previously stated that Tunisia would accede to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) is an international human rights instrument of the United Nations intended to prevent forced disappearance, which, as defined in international law ...
, the Rome Statute
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998Michael P. Scharf (August 1998)''Results of the R ...
of the International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...
, the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, is a subsidiary agreement to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It was created on 15 D ...
(which would mean abolishing the death penalty).
Reports emerged on 18 February that Ben Ali had had a stroke and was gravely ill. Plans for a general amnesty were also announced on that day.
Protests flared on 19 February, with 40,000 protesters demanding a new interim government completely free of association with the old regime, and a parliamentary system of government replacing the current presidential one.
As a date was announced for an election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
in mid-July 2011, more than 100,000 protesters demanded the removal of Ghannouchi. On 27 February, following a day of clashes in which five protesters were killed, Ghannouchi resigned. He stated that he had carried his responsibilities since Ben Ali fled, and "I am not ready to be the person who takes decisions that would end up causing casualties. This resignation will serve Tunisia, and the revolution and the future of Tunisia."
Caid Essebsi government
Béji Caïd Essebsi
Beji Caid Essebsi (or es-Sebsi; ar, الباجي قائد السبسي, translit=Muhammad al-Bājī Qā’id as-Sibsī, ; 29 November 1926 – 25 July 2019) was a Tunisian politician who served as the 6th president of Tunisia from 31 December 20 ...
became prime minister, appointed by Mebazaa on the day Ghannouchi resigned. Although the cabinet was now free of RCD members, demonstrations continued as the protesters criticized the unilateral appointment of Essebsi without consultation.
Ghannouchi's resignation was followed the next day by the resignations of industry minister Afif Chelbi
Afif Chelbi is a Tunisian people, Tunisian politician. He was the Ministry of Industry (Tunisia), Minister of Industry and TechnologyMohamed Nouri Jouini. There were now protests for the entire interim government to resign, with the UGTT calling for an elected constituent assembly to write a new constitution. Further resignations were reported on 1 March: minister for higher education and scientific research Ahmed Brahim, minister of local development Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, and minister of economic reform
Many governments and supranational organisations expressed concerns over use of force against protesters. France, the former colonial power of Tunisia, was one of just a few states that expressed strong support for the Ben Ali government prior to its ouster, though protests were held in solidarity with Tunisia in several French cities and bhag
The lack of coverage in the domestic state-controlled media was criticised. Writer/activist
Elyes Jouini Elyes is a given name. It is the given name of the following people:
*Elyes Gabel (born 1983), English actor
*Elyes Fakhfakh, Tunisian politician
*Elyes Karamosli (born 1989 in Hammam-Lif, Tunisia), Tunisian volleyball player
*Elyes Garfi
Elyes Ga ...
.
Mebazaa announced elections to a Constituent Assembly would be held on 24 July 2011. This would likely postpone general elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
to a later date. This fulfilled a central demand of protesters.
In early March, the interim government announced that the secret police would be dissolved. A Tunis court announced the dissolution of the RCD and liquidation of its assets, though the party said it would appeal the decision.
In mid-April, charges were announced against Ben Ali, for whom international arrest warrants were issued in January. There were 18 charges, including voluntary manslaughter and drug trafficking. His family and former ministers faced 26 further charges.
The elections were further postponed and ultimately held on 23 October 2011. The election appointed members to a Constituent Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
charged with rewriting Tunisia's Constitution. The formerly banned Islamic party Ennahda, which was legalised in March, won with 41% of the total vote.
Effects
Refugees
In mid-February 2011, about 4,000 mostly Tunisian refugees landed on the Italian island ofLampedusa
Lampedusa ( , , ; scn, Lampidusa ; grc, Λοπαδοῦσσα and Λοπαδοῦσα and Λοπαδυῦσσα, Lopadoûssa; mt, Lampeduża) is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
The ''comune'' of L ...
, causing the authorities to declare a state of emergency that would allow for federal aid to the island. Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni
Roberto Ernesto Maroni (; 15 March 1955 – 22 November 2022) was an Italian politician from Varese and a past President of Lombardy. He was the leader of the Northern League, a party seeking autonomy or independence for Northern Italy or Padan ...
accused the EU of not doing enough to curb immigration and asked them to do more. He said that the "Tunisian system was collapsing" and that he would "ask the Tunisian Foreign Ministry for permission for our authorities to intervene to stop the flow in Tunisia", suggesting Italian troops would be on Tunisian soil. He called the event a "biblical exodus". The comments started a row between the two countries with the Tunisian Foreign Ministry saying it was ready to work with Italy and others but that it "categorically rejects any interference in its internal affairs or any infringement of its sovereignty." In response, Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini
Franco Frattini (14 March 1957 – 24 December 2022) was an Italian politician and magistrate. From January to December 2022, Frattini served as president of the Council of State.
Frattini previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from ...
said that both countries share a "common interest" to halt the immigration, while he also offered "logistical help in terms of police and equipment" and called to re-establish previously successful coastal patrols of Northern Africa. By 14 February, at least 2,000 refugees had been sent to Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
with the other 2,000 quarantine
A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...
d at a re-opened holding center. On 2 March about 350 more people arrived on the island. In response, Italy declared a humanitarian emergency.
The International Organisation for Migration
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers.
The IOM was ...
said that no new boats had been spotted. The EU's Catherine Ashton was on a visit to Tunisia to discuss the issue. German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...
said that "not everyone who does not want to be in Tunisia can come to Europe. Rather, we need to talk to each other how we can strengthen the rule of law in Tunisia again and whether Europe can be of help."
Stock market
The national stock market, theBourse de Tunis
The ''Bourse des Valeurs Mobilières de Tunis'' (BVMT) or ''Bourse de Tunis'' ( ar, بورصة تونس) is a stock exchange based in Tunis, Tunisia. It was founded in 1969, and currently lists around 50 stocks.
The exchange is under the contro ...
(TUNINDEX), fell on 12 January for a three consecutive day loss of 9.3%. Following the curfew in Tunis, the market index again fell 3.8% as the cost of protecting against a sovereign default
A sovereign default is the failure or refusal of the
government of a sovereign state to pay back its debt in full when due. Cessation of due payments (or receivables) may either be accompanied by that government's formal declaration that it wi ...
in credit default swaps
A credit default swap (CDS) is a financial swap agreement that the seller of the CDS will compensate the buyer in the event of a debt default (by the debtor) or other credit event. That is, the seller of the CDS insures the buyer against som ...
rose to its highest level in almost two years.
Following the resignations of Ghanoucchi and two Ben Ali-era ministers, the bourse was again suspended.
International and non-state
Many governments and supranational organisations expressed concerns over use of force against protesters. France, the former colonial power of Tunisia, was one of just a few states that expressed strong support for the Ben Ali government prior to its ouster, though protests were held in solidarity with Tunisia in several French cities and bhag French Socialist Party
The Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste , PS) is a French centre-left and social-democratic political party. It holds pro-European views.
The PS was for decades the largest party of the "French Left" and used to be one of the two major p ...
voiced support for the popular revolution.
Media and punditry
The lack of coverage in the domestic state-controlled media was criticised. Writer/activist Jillian York
Jillian C. York (born May 18, 1982)"Goodreads Author Profile"
The Revolutionary Chants of CLUB AFRICAIN Ultras: Football Fan Chants that explain the Tunisian Revolution in Tunsi, Français, English, italiano
*
Tunisia Political Overview 2013
International Center for Transitional Justice, Tunisia
Tunisia: Time of Change
collected news and commentary at ''
Tunisia Corruption Profile
from the
Turmoil in Tunisia
collected news and commentary at ''
mainstream media
In journalism, mainstream media (MSM) is a term and abbreviation used to refer collectively to the various large mass news media that influence many people and both reflect and shape prevailing currents of thought.Chomsky, Noam, ''"What makes mai ...
, particularly in the Western world, was providing less coverage and less sympathetic coverage to the Tunisia protests relative to Iranian protests, the Green movement
Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It be ...
, and censorship in China. York alleged the "US government – which intervened heavily in Iran, approving circumvention technology for export and famously asking Twitter to halt updates during a critical time period – has not made any public overtures toward Tunisia at this time."
Despite criticism about the "sparse" level of coverage and "little interest" given to the demonstrations by the international media, the protests were hailed by some commentators as "momentous events" in Tunisian history. Brian Whitaker
Brian Whitaker (sometimes credited as Brian Whittaker; born 13 June 1947) is a British journalist and writer.
He studied Arabic studies at the University of Westminster and Latin (BA Hons) at the University of Birmingham. A former joint invest ...
, writing in ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' on 28 December 2010, suggested that the protests would be enough to bring an end to Ben Ali's presidency and noted similarities with the protests
A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one.
Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
that led to the end of Nicolae Ceauşescu Nicolae may refer to:
* Nicolae (name), a Romanian name
* ''Nicolae'' (novel), a 1997 novel
See also
*Nicolai (disambiguation)
*Nicolao Nicolao is an Italian given name and a surname. It may refer to the following:
Given name
*Nicolao Civitali ...
's reign in Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
in 1989. Steven Cook, writing for the Council of Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York City ...
, noted that a tipping point is only obvious after the fact, and pointed to the counter-example of the 2009–2010 Iranian election protests
After incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared victory in the 2009 Iranian presidential election, protests broke out in major cities across Iran in support of opposition candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. The protests con ...
. Ben Ali's governing strategy was nevertheless regarded as being in serious trouble, and Elliot Abrams
Elliott Abrams (born January 24, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer, who has served in foreign policy positions for presidents Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump. Abrams is considered to be a neoconservative. He is currently ...
noted both that demonstrators were able for the first time to defy the security forces and that the regime had no obvious successors to Ben Ali and his family.
French management of the crisis came under severe criticism, with notable silence in the mainstream media in the run-up to the crisis.
Repercussion analysis
''Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
'' believed the ousting of the president meant the "glass ceiling of fear has been shattered forever in Tunisia and that the police state that Ben Ali created in 1987 when he came to power in a coup seems to be disintegrating". It added that Ben Ali's resignation, following his statement that he had been "duped by his entourage", may not have been entirely sincere. ''Le Monde
''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'' criticised French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the European Union's "Silence over the Tragedy" when the unrest broke. The ''Christian Science Monitor
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
'' suggested that mobile telecommunications
Mobile telephony is the provision of telephone services to phones which may move around freely rather than stay fixed in one location. Telephony is supposed to specifically point to a voice-only service or connection, though sometimes the l ...
played an influential role in the "revolution".
The revolt in Tunisia began speculation that the Tunisian Jasmine Revolution would lead to protests against the multiple other autocratic regimes across the Arab world
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
. This was most famously captured in the phrase asking whether "Tunisia is the Arab Gdańsk
Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
?". The allusion refers to the Polish Solidarity movement
Solidarity ( pl, „Solidarność”, ), full name Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" (, abbreviated ''NSZZ „Solidarność”'' ), is a Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. Subseq ...
and the role of Gdańsk as the birthplace of the movement that ousted Communism in Eastern Europe. The phrase appeared in outlets such as the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
, as well as editorials by columnists Rami Khouri
Rami George Khouri (born 22 October 1948) is a journalist and editor with Palestinian background and joint Jordanian and United States citizenship. He was born in New York City to an Arab Palestinian Christian family. His father, George Khouri, ...
and Roger Cohen
Roger Cohen (born 2 August 1955) is a journalist and author. He was a reporter, editor and columnist for ''The New York Times, and the International Herald Tribune (later re-branded as the'' ''International New York Times)''.and became head of th ...
.
Larbi Sadiki
Larbi Sadiki is a Tunisian writer, political scientist and professor of political science and democratization at the College of Arts and Sciences oQatar University He was formerly a scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center and lecturer at Univers ...
suggested that although "conventional wisdom has it that 'terror' in the Arab world is monopolised by al-Qaeda in its various incarnations", there was also the fact that "regimes in countries like Tunisia and Algeria have been arming and training security apparatuses to fight Osama bin Laden utwere till
image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...
caught unawares by the 'bin Laden within': the terror of marginalisation for the millions of educated youth who make up a large portion of the region's population. The winds of uncertainty blowing in the Arab west – the Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
– threaten to blow eastwards towards the Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
as the marginalised issue the fatalistic scream of despair to be given freedom and bread or death." A similar opinion by Lamis Ardoni carried by Al Jazeera said that the protests had "brought down the walls of fear, erected by repression and marginalization, thus restoring the Arab peoples' faith in their ability to demand social justice and end tyranny." He also said that the protests that succeeded in toppling the leadership should serve as a "warning to all leaders, whether supported by international or regional powers, that they are no longer immune to popular outcries of fury" even though Tunisia's ostensible change "could still be contained or confiscated by the country's ruling elite, which is desperately clinging to power." He called the protests the "Tunisian intifada
An intifada ( ar, انتفاضة ') is a rebellion or uprising, or a resistance movement. It is a key concept in contemporary Arabic usage referring to a legitimate uprising against oppression.Ute Meinel ''Die Intifada im Ölscheichtum Bahrain: ...
" which had "placed the Arab world at a crossroads". He further added that if the change was ultimately successful in Tunisia it could "push the door wide open to freedom in Arab world. If it suffers a setback we shall witness unprecedented repression by rulers struggling to maintain their absolute grip on power. Either way, a system that combined a starkly unequal distribution of wealth with the denial of freedoms has collapsed."
Similarly, Mark LeVine
Mark Andrew LeVine is an American historian, musician, writer, and professor. He is a professor of history at the University of California, Irvine.
Education
LeVine received his B.A. in comparative religion and biblical studies from Hunter ...
noted that the events in Tunisia could spiral into the rest of the Arab world
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
as the movement was "inspiring people...to take to the streets and warn their own sclerotic and autocratic leaders that they could soon face a similar fate." He then cited solidarity protests in Egypt where protesters chanted "Kefaya
Kefaya ( arz, كفاية ''kefāya'', , "enough") is the unofficial moniker of the Egyptian Movement for Change ( ar, الحركة المصرية من أجل التغيير ''el-Haraka el-Masreyya men agl el-Taghyeer''), a grassroots coalition ...
" and "We are next, we are next, Ben Ali tell Mubarak he is next;" and that Arab bloggers were supporting the movement in Tunisia as "the African revolution commencing...the global anti-capitalist revolution." He concluded that there were two scenarios that could play out: "a greater democratic opening across the Arab world," or a similar situation to Algeria in the early 1990s when the democratic election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...
was annulled and Algeria went into a civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
.
Robert Fisk
Robert Fisk (12 July 194630 October 2020) was a writer and journalist who held British and Irish citizenship. He was critical of United States foreign policy in the Middle East, and the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians. His stanc ...
asked if this was "The end of the age of dictators in the Arab world?" and partly answered the question in saying that Arab leaders would be "shaking in their boots". He also pointed out that the "despot" Ben Ali sought refuge in the same place as the ousted Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...
of Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
and that "the French and the Germans and the Brits, dare we mention this, always praised the dictator for being a 'friend' of civilized Europe, keeping a firm hand on all those Islamists." He notably pointed at the "demographic explosion of youth" of the Maghreb, though he said that the change brought about in Tunisia may not last. He thinks "this is going to be the same old story. Yes, we would like a democracy in Tunisia – but not too much democracy. Remember how we wanted Algeria to have a democracy back in the early Nineties? Then when it looked like the Islamists might win the second round of voting, we supported its military-backed government in suspending elections and crushing the Islamists and initiating a civil war in which 150,000 died. No, in the Arab world, we want law and order and stability."
Blake Hounshell wrote on Foreignpolicy.com that the Tunisian precedent raised the prospect of a "new trend. There is something horrifying and, in a way, moving about these suicide attempts. It's a shocking, desperate tactic that instantly attracts attention, revulsion, but also sympathy."
Impact of the Internet
The use of communication technologies, and the Internet in particular, has been widely credited as a contributor to the mobilization of protests. A blog associated with ''Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...
'' described the intricate efforts of the Tunisian authorities to control such online media as Twitter and Facebook. Other regional regimes were also on higher alert to contain spillover effects that might have ensued.
On 11 March 2011, Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
gave its annual award for online media freedom to the Tunisian blogging group Nawaat.org
Nawaat (Arabic: نواة) is an independent collective blog co-founded by Tunisians Sami Ben Gharbia, Sufian Guerfali and Riadh Guerfali in 2004, with Malek Khadraoui joining the organization in 2006. The goal of Nawaat's founders was to provide ...
. Founded in 2004, it played an important role for rallying anti-government protesters by reporting on the protests which the national media ignored.
Regional instability
In January 2011, the BBC reported: "Clearly the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi has resonated across the region...'There is great interest. The Egyptian people and the Egyptian public have been following the events in Tunisia with so much joy, since they can draw parallels between the Tunisian situation and their own. After the beginning of the uprising in Tunisia, similar protests took place in almost all Arab countries fromMorocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
to Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, as well as in other states, ranging from Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...
to Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
, Iran, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
, United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and others. Following weeks of protests, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011.
Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in t ...
resigned on 11 February. Major protests against longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
broke out on 17 February and quickly deteriorated into civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, ultimately resulting in the downfall of the Gaddafi regime later in the year. Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
experienced a major uprising of people calling for the removal of President Bashar al-Assad
Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...
. The Syrian uprising also deteriorated into a civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, giving rise to the militant group, ISIS
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
, and partly causing the current refugee crisis
A refugee crisis can refer to difficulties and dangerous situations in the reception of large groups of Forced displacement, forcibly displaced persons. These could be either internally displaced person, internally displaced, refugees, asylum ...
. In addition, Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
, Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
, and Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
have seen major protests.
However, a financial analyst in Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
suggested that "the spillover effect of the political turbulence to the large countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf ( ar, مجلس التعاون لدول العربية الخليج ), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ar, مجلس التعاون الخليجي), is a regional, interg ...
is non-existent as there are no similar drivers."
Aftermath
In mid-May 2013, Tunisia banned the SalafistAnsar al-Sharia Ansar al-Sharia or Ansar al-Shariah is a name used by a collection of radical or militant Islamist groups or militias, in at least eight countries. While they share names and ideology, they lack a unified command structure.
*Ansar al-Sharia (Yemen) ...
from carrying out party congresses. The day after the congress was due to be carried out, clashes between security forces and party supporters in Kairouan
Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( ar, ٱلْقَيْرَوَان, al-Qayrawān , aeb, script=Latn, Qeirwān ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by th ...
resulted in one death amid attempts to disperse those who wanted to carry out the events.
The Tunisian president, Beji Caid Essebsi, renewed the state of emergency in October 2015 for three months due to previous terror attacks. In August 2019, the United States aided Tunisia with $335 million that will be given in five years to support its democratic transition and help in funding projects and initiatives that would develop the country.
See also
*2008 Tunisian protests
The 2008 Gafsa strikes, also referred to as the Gafsa Social Movement, Gafsa events or the revolt in the Gafsa mining basin is an important social movement that shook the mining region of southwestern Tunisia—particularly the town of Redeyef, ...
* 2011-2012 Tunisian protests
* Art and politics in post-2011 Tunisia
The culture of Tunisia is thousands of years old, but the 2011 Tunisian revolution brought about important changes to the way art and politics interact in Tunisia. Censorship under the dictatorship of former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ...
* List of conflicts in Africa
This is a list of conflicts in Africa arranged by country, both on the continent and associated islands, including wars between African nations, civil wars, and wars involving non-African nations that took place within Africa. It encompasses coloni ...
* List of modern conflicts in North Africa
''Note:''
*''"Modern" is defined as post-WWI period, from 1918 until today.''
*''"North Africa" has a definition approximately that of the Arab term Maghreb, in addition to Egypt''
*''"Conflict" is defined as a separate 100+ casualty incident. ...
* Operation Tunisia
Operation Tunisia refers to the actions by internet group Anonymous (group), Anonymous during the Tunisian revolution.
Activities
Anonymous began DDoS attacks and multiple government websites in Tunisia were soon taken offline as a result of th ...
* Self-immolations in Tunisia
Tarek el-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi ( ar, طارق الطيب محمد البوعزيزي, Ṭāriq aṭ-Ṭayib Muḥammad al-Būʿazīzī; 29 March 1984 – 4 January 2011) was a street vendor who set himself on fire on 17 December 2010 in Sidi Bou ...
References
Further reading
* * * Bacha, MohamedThe Revolutionary Chants of CLUB AFRICAIN Ultras: Football Fan Chants that explain the Tunisian Revolution in Tunsi, Français, English, italiano
*
External links
*Tunisia Political Overview 2013
International Center for Transitional Justice, Tunisia
Tunisia: Time of Change
collected news and commentary at ''
Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English (AJE; ar, الجزيرة, translit=al-jazīrah, , literally "The Peninsula", referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is an international 24-hour English-language news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is own ...
''
Tunisia Corruption Profile
from the
Business Anti-Corruption Portal
The Risk & Compliance Portal (formerly The Business Anti-Corruption Portal) is a powerhouse for business anti-corruption information offering tools on how to alleviate or reduce risks and costs of corruption when doing business abroad. All the inf ...
Turmoil in Tunisia
collected news and commentary at ''
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
''
{{Authority control
21st-century revolutions
2010 in Tunisia
2010 riots
2011 in Tunisian politics
2011 riots
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
Colour revolutions
Intifadas
Nonviolent revolutions
Protest-related deaths
Riots and civil disorder in Tunisia