Tunisia uprising/riots

Pashosh · #1 14.01.2011, 16:03

For the first time in the middle east there seems to be a popular uprising - not a military coup or Islamist takeover.

It would be interesting to hear opinion from Tunisians and others from the Maghreb about the current situation & forecasts.

lost_inbroad · #2 14.01.2011, 16:05

Man, to be honest, I don't know much about that..I was in Tunisia once....but I am very much looking forward to the Ethiopian dinner tonight.

MrVertigo · #3 14.01.2011, 20:11

	Quote:	Pashosh
	For the first time in the middle east there seems to be a popular uprising - not a military coup or Islamist takeover. It would be interesting to hear opinion from Tunisians and others from the Maghreb about the current situation & forecasts.

According to Aljazeera & tunisian TV: the Prime Minister is temporarly president of he tunisian republic due to a temporary incapacity of the president BenAli.
Infos indicates that the president BenAli fled to Malta then heading to Paris. He is known for treating a cancer for the moment.
Quite unclear & unstable situation. For sure it's not a religious riot, people want just democracy & dignity.

River10 · #4 14.01.2011, 23:19

According to Alarabiya channel, riots still ongiong and people are not happy with the PM taking over as he belongs to to the same regime, they want them all gone.

Bin Ali seems to be going towards an Arabian Gulf country, most probably Qatar.

jrspet · #5 15.01.2011, 02:46

Saudi Arabia it seems, according to the BBC.

	Quote:
	Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali has stepped down after 23 years in power as protests over economic issues snowballed into rallies against him. Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi has taken over as interim president, and a state of emergency has been declared. Mr Ben Ali left Tunisia with his family, and has since arrived in Saudi Arabia, officials said.

How does this work?

Maybe this Cable added fuel to the fires

Castro · #6 15.01.2011, 10:09

	Quote:	Pashosh
	For the first time in the middle east there seems to be a popular uprising - not a military coup or Islamist takeover

Looks can be deceiving, this is every bit a military coup. They were the ones surrounding the Presidential Palace and Airport, and negotiating his safe exodus out of the country. In talks today between the army and the doomed PM, they will be pulling all the strings. I watched footage on one of the news channels of looters pillaging stores in Tunis, nothing unusual except the fact that the looters were in police uniform.

The populist uprising obviously contributed to the current state of affairs, but this is not a revolution, and in that sense I fear the Tunisians have simply swapped one hell for another.

i-b-deborah · #7 15.01.2011, 10:15

Same thing is happening accross the boarder in Algeria, it's been going on and building up for weeks but CNN doesn't cover that one.

Mowvich · #8 15.01.2011, 10:29

My 2 cents, Tunisians will move from corruption to more corruption now, they will get some good day or months with a new government but then they will lose much more than before.

Take it this way, Ben Ali & his government have been in authority for long years, they stole what they stole, made all the money they wanted and much more, now getting a new government, they will be so enthusiastic to make as much money as the previous one.....this is how it works in the arab world and i'm an arab myself.

m_dalloway · #9 15.01.2011, 11:42

	Quote:	i-b-deborah
	Same thing is happening accross the boarder in Algeria, it's been going on and building up for weeks but CNN doesn't cover that one.

Possible domino effect in the Arab world

And it has started...

Protests in Algeria

Protests in Jordan

exceptionally interesting

Lejoker · #10 15.01.2011, 20:35

	Quote:	Pashosh
	For the first time in the middle east there seems to be a popular uprising - not a military coup or Islamist takeover. It would be interesting to hear opinion from Tunisians and others from the Maghreb about the current situation & forecasts.

Is Tunisia in the Middle East??

Lejoker · #11 15.01.2011, 20:43

	Quote:	Castro
	Looks can be deceiving, this is every bit a military coup. They were the ones surrounding the Presidential Palace and Airport, and negotiating his safe exodus out of the country. In talks today between the army and the doomed PM, they will be pulling all the strings. I watched footage on one of the news channels of looters pillaging stores in Tunis, nothing unusual except the fact that the looters were in police uniform. The populist uprising obviously contributed to the current state of affairs, but this is not a revolution, and in that sense I fear the Tunisians have simply swapped one hell for another.

Are you Arab also? I noticed that Arabs are particularly negative when it comes to the Tunisian revolution or any ''revolution''. They convince you that nothing will change, and end up discrediting the whole riot-led change of government. I think that we should never salute the courage & indefagability of the Tunisian people nevertheless. What they did is entirely unprecedented and alien to the region...
On another note, I do agree that it takes many generations before a "real" change takes place.

CorsebouTheReturn · #12 15.01.2011, 20:44

	Quote:	Lejoker
	Is Tunisia in the Middle East??

Yes its near Turkey, Iran and Loukoums.

Or something like that

Mowvich · #13 15.01.2011, 20:53

Believe me it's not negativity at all, it's the sad fact this reagon is living

	Quote:	Lejoker
	Are you Arab also? I noticed that Arabs are particularly negative when it comes to the Tunisian revolution or any ''revolution''. They convince you that nothing will change, and end up discrediting the whole riot-led change of government. I think that we should never salute the courage & indefagability of the Tunisian people nevertheless. What they did is entirely unprecedented and alien to the region... On another note, I do agree that it takes many generations before a "real" change takes place.

Pashosh · #14 15.01.2011, 21:02

	Quote:	Lejoker
	Is Tunisia in the Middle East??

Some parts of the middle east are further west than Dublin.

As long as the country is Arab it's usually condisered in the Middle east.

MrVertigo · #15 16.01.2011, 00:28

A good article about what happened in Tunisia.

jrspet · #16 16.01.2011, 23:38

Apparently German, Swedish and French mercenaries were arrested in Tunisia.

Source

How does this work?

MrVertigo · #17 17.01.2011, 09:37

	Quote:	jrspet
	Apparently German, Swedish and French mercenaries were arrested in Tunisia. Source

Apparently a huge mistake: they were hunters on a trip to hun wild boars in Tunisia. They must be weird to go on hunting during a revolution!

MrVertigo · #18 17.01.2011, 09:42

Tunisia events are used as excuse by Netanyahu not to strike any peace deal with Palestinians! I think it's the weirdest I have heard from him....but I can be surprised in future.

I like the headline of Liberation newspaper in France: Who's next?

FrankZappa · #19 17.01.2011, 23:02

	Quote:	i-b-deborah
	Same thing is happening accross the boarder in Algeria, it's been going on and building up for weeks but CNN doesn't cover that one.

More info, please. As far as I can see the situation in Algeria is very different and there's no chance of a revolution (uprising... call it what you will) there. The army runs Algeria, whereas ex-policeman Ben Ali was never really mates with his, so when the political temperature rose, the army stood by and let things take their course. That is not on the cards in Algeria, IMHO.

Gastro Gnome · #20 17.01.2011, 23:13

	Quote:	MrVertigo
	Apparently a huge mistake: they were hunters on a trip to hun wild boars in Tunisia. They must be weird to go on hunting during a revolution!

Why on earth go to Tunisia?

France is overrun with sangliers at the moment.