“White smoke” appeared at the Bardo Palace with Tunisia’s new government winning a vote of confidence in the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) this past Wednesday. The creation of a new government came after the assassination of the Leftist opposition leader Chokri Belaid and the resignation of former Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali. The late PM promised to place “country first” by forming a government of technocrats, only to fail and cede his position to his Interior Minister.
It is important to note that since 2012 until the present day, the country has accumulated about ten million dollars in debt. In this vicious cycle where a debt is used to pay another debt, it is important to ask the following questions: Where will this debt take us? Where does the money go? Are the government’s cessions sufficient?
This special Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) update is brought to you by the newly launched Tunisian Environment Reporting Network, who are currently attending the 40th meeting of the Parties as part of the Internews Europe and Earth Journalism Network grant, supported by World Environment Magazine.
Tunisia should mark its national day of internet freedom on 13 March by releasing immediately and unconditionally 28-year-old blogger Jabeur […]
In a country riddled with political problems, the occasion of International Women’s Day turned to yet another opportunity to protest against the government. Chants of ‘the people want the fall of the regime’ dominated a rally that was initially organized to support women’s rights in Tunisia.
On February 6, 2013, Chokri Belaid, the outspoken political opponent of Ennahdha was cowardly gunned down in front of his house. Three weeks later, it is however useful to re-visit the aftermath and one would almost gasp with admiration how the leading party Ennahdha managed to turn the situation around.
London, 28 February 2013 — Moody’s Investors Service has today downgraded Tunisia’s government debt rating to Ba1 from Baa3, and […]
Less than a week after the resignation of Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, Ennahda chose Ali Laarayedh to form a new mixed government of technocrats and politicians as the country deals with a major political crisis—the most crucial since the fall of the previous regime. A secret meeting of the Ennahda “Shura (Consultative) Council” convened on Thursday night to internally elect a new prime minister replacing Mr. Jebali who stepped down early last week after he failed to form an apolitical cabinet.
Tunisian journalist Malek Triki offers insight in this week’s OpEd into Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali’s “Last Passion” which eventually culminated in his resignation. He dissects the foundational flaws which could lead to the failure of Tunisia’s revolution.
To assess the relevance of S&P grading, it is critical to understand the limitations of their methodology. In fact, S&P sovereign rating approach consists of analyzing in a forward-looking manner a range of qualitative and quantitative factors to assess the political, economic, external, fiscal and monetary aspects of sovereign creditworthiness.
La semaine précédente s’était terminée sur une note tendue à l’ANC avec le départ des élus de l’opposition jeudi 7 février. La semaine du 11 au 16 démarre dans une atmosphère tout aussi délétère. L’opposition a boycotté les séances en réclamant la tenue d’une plénière extraordinaire sur la situation politique. Pendant ce temps, les élus de la majorité ont entamé les débats sur le chapitre des collectivités publiques.
Picture this as a cryptic phenomenon in the modern history of Tunisia, a script that is currently being written by revolting masses. It is not one about the true start of this modern history in 1837 with Ahmed Bey’s access to power and the initiatives he undertook abolishing slavery, 18 years before the US, modernizing education by establishing the Saint Louis school in 1845, with its all-inclusive philosophy, giving equal access to modern means to Tunisia’s Muslims and Jews equally
For “awaiting a conclusive investigation into the murder” does not mean the cancellation of an obvious truth: The murder of Leftist activist Chokri Belaid cannot come from the opposition parties to the current rulers, or opponents of the ideology called ‘Political Islam’, or even enemies of the dogma of puritan ignorant Kharajites.
The week promised to shake up considerably the political landscape in Tunisia. Contrary to the expectations of most observers, the long awaited cabinet reshuffle announcement was delayed due to the lack of consensus among the leading troika as announced Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali on Saturday. The new-born troika of the opposition (Nidaa Tounes, Republican Party al Massar) went almost unnoticed since the Popular Front (a unified political alliance of left-wing parties) seems to be still reluctant to join the new political and electoral front.
Today, we are confronting what we could credibly call a ‘crisis.’ An identity crisis, a socioeconomic crisis, and most of all, a daily, practical crisis.
Dimanche soir une centaine de migrants ont quitté le camp de Choucha pour venir manifester à Tunis. Ils sont arrivés lundi matin et se sont dirigés vers la Place des Droits de l’Homme où ils ont commencé à manifester.
In order to perpetuate its grip on power and because it is more than ever weakened, the Islamist party Ennahdha is now dangling before the opposition members, promising their integration soon in a future reshuffled government.
The “Tunisian Revolution” has lost a good deal of its gloss. The rhetoric remains “radical”, the reality much less so. That it was a genuine national uprising engaging virtually the entire population is beyond doubt – and as such, nothing short of a regional inspiration. That it can be characterized as “a revolution” is open to question. What has changed?
