Tunisian officials must be scratching their heads at the moment. After decades of a sluggish political apathy, the country has witnessed a couple of governments in a few weeks. Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannoushi’s resignation is edifying. Foremost among the lessons learned is that public pressure and private suasion eventually pay off.
Egypt: Sequence of Communication Shutdown during 2011 Uprise
25 January 2011 was the day when people of Egypt went to the streets in several cities to demonstrate against […]
Tunisia: Hold Police Accountable for Shootings
The transitional government of Tunisia should make it an urgent priority to investigate the killings of demonstrators by Tunisian security forces in early January 2011, Human Rights Watch said today. Security forces used excessive force in suppressing demonstrations in the central western cities of Kasserine and Tala, Human Rights Watch said, killing at least 21 people with live ammunition in these two cities alone between January 8 and 12, Human Rights Watch found.
Tunisia’s Transitional Government: a page from the Ben Ali playbook
It is remarkable how self-assuredly and skillfully Mohamed Ghanouchi and Foued Mbazaa are managing street anger by juggling the composition of the unity government (keeping old-regime figures in the unity government and disbanding the ruling party).
The Dictator is gone but not the dictatorship. We haven’t done anything yet.
Ben Ali is gone, but the regime is still there. This interim government must be purged of the old regime’s […]
Tunisia ruling party (RCD) and the road to democracy
By Neji Ali Dhakouani, Calls are mounting for disbanding the Rassemblement constitutionnel démocratique (RCD) or at least banning it from […]
Tunisian unity government: Exclusion of certain opposition parties.
By Neji Ali Dhakouani, Like all Tunisians I have been closely watching recent developments in my native country. While many […]
Tunisia: The day after
It was extremely calm, almost serene in Tunis this morning. It was hard to believe that only yesterday, thousands marched […]
Tunisia: Zine Ben Ali Tunisia’s President Flees The Country To Malta
It’s semi official. Zine Ben Ali, Tunisia and his corrupt, oppressive regime are now history. There are numerous reports, including one from Le Monde that Ben Ali is gone and turned the governing of the country over to the Tunisian army. He did this after several press conferences these past days spoken in a language I am told he has not used for 23 years – the Tunisian Arabic dialect – offering the people of his country much of what it is that he has taken away these past decades: economic opportunity and democracy. Too little too late, his concessions were laughed at and did nothing to dampen the opposition.
Tunisia : Blogger Slim Amamou arrested today
Activist and blogger Slim Amamou was arrested today, January 6, around 1pm. At this time, his friends and colleagues have […]
CPJ to Ben Ali : Tunisia must end censorship on coverage of unrest
The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed by your government’s attempt to censor coverage of recent protests against unemployment and corruption in Tunisia. We are specifically alarmed by the confiscation of two opposition weeklies, the government’s denunciation of Al-Jazeera, the systematic obstruction of reporting and broadcasting […]
Tunisia’s protest wave: where it comes from and what it means
January traditionally has been Tunisia’s month for political drama — a general strike in January 1978; a Libyan-supported insurrection in […]
Les cyber-activistes arabes face à la liberté sur Internet made in USA
Cet article se concentre sur le cyber-activisme de base dans le monde arabe et les risques encourus d’une collision inévitable avec la politique étrangère et les intérêts US. Il résume l’essentiel des discussions que j’ai eues, ces deux dernières années, avec de multiples acteurs engagés dans la défense de la liberté d’expression sur Internet et dans l’utilisation de la technologie pour le changement social et politique. Bien que le sujet principal demeure l’activisme numérique arabe, j’y ai inclus les problématiques et inquiétudes similaires soulevées par des activistes et défenseurs de la liberté d’expression sur Internet issus d’autres parties du monde comme la Chine, la Thaïlande et l’Iran.
Tunisia and the media
“If it was happening in Iran instead of Tunisia, it would be on the front pages of all the newspapers.” […]
Tunisia’s Zine Ben Ali: So…will the end be gracious or graceless?
Ben Ali and Leila Tabelsi, that they are emptying out what is left in Tunisia’s coffers, that an airbus is fueled, ready and waiting to take off, as are the private jets of members of their two extended families… just in case the protests rocking the country cannot be crushed.
Deconstructing Tunileaks: An Interview with Professor Rob Prince, University of Denver
In order to have an “American” perspective on the Tunileaks affair, Nawaat invited Rob Prince to share his thoughts on the leaked diplomatic cables from the US embassy in Tunisia. Rob Prince is a Lecture of International Studies at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver. Rob served as a Peace Corps Volunteer and Staff Member in Tunis and Sousse. For more insight into Rob Prince thoughts on Tunisia, please listen to his interview with the KGNU Radio – Hemispheres about the human rights situation in our country. In this interview, we asked professor Rob about his first impression after reading the diplomatic cables; the state of the “institutionalized corruption” in the country and the consequence of these leaks on the US-Tunisia relationship; and how the Tunisian civil society, the opposition and the Tunisian online citizen media initiatives can use the leaks in their favor and push for a real change.
After running leaked cables, websites face harassment
New York, December 10, 2010– The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns harassment of the Lebanese news website Al-Akhbar after it […]
WikiLeaks cables: Tunisia blocks site reporting ‘hatred’ of first lady
Tunisia has blocked the website of a Lebanese newspaper that published US cables released by WikiLeaks describing high-level corruption, a […]