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| Africa North |
| Clashes in Tunisia as new cabinet sworn in |
| 2011-01-29 |
| [Ma'an] Clashes broke out in the Tunisian capital on Friday between riot police and hundreds of demonstrators, as a new cabinet aimed at putting an end to mass protests was sworn into office. Security forces fired warning shots and tear gas as some groups threw stones in the main government quarter, where protesters have camped out in front of Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi's offices for five days. The protest camp was shut down and at least five people were maimed, a medic said. AFP news hounds saw police beating and arresting several protesters. The head of the Tunisian League for Human Rights, Moktar Trifi, said he had asked Ghannouchi "to stop the firing of tear gas and release those jugged. Running street battles continued into the evening in central Tunis. The streets of Tunis had earlier returned to their normal bustle for the first time since president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's ouster on January 14, but cafes quickly cleared and shopkeepers drew down their metal blinds. The government announced a new cabinet line-up on Thursday that culled key figures associated with Ben Ali's ousted regime but protesters in Tunis had remained in place, calling for Ghannouchi himself to resign. But Ghannouchi seems to have won breathing space from some powerful critics. The influential UGTT trade union, which had refused to endorse the government until there has been a clean break from the Ben Ali era, said it was now supporting the prime minister -- who has been in charge since 1999. The government shake-up had replaced the foreign, defense, finance and interior ministers -- all hangovers from Ben Ali's last government -- and introduced new figures such as a human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... lawyer as agriculture minister. "This is a temporary government with a clear mission -- to allow a transition to democracy," Ghannouchi said in an address on state television. Kamel Morjane, who announced his resignation shortly before the reshuffle was announced, was replaced as foreign minister by Ahmed Ounais, a Gay Paree-educated career diplomat and former ambassador to Moscow and New Delhi. Ounais is expected to visit Brussels next Tuesday, EU officials said. European Union chief diplomat Catherine Ashton told Ounais that she would send an expert team to Tunisia next week to help prepare, her front man said. La Belle France, which has come under fire for backing Ben Ali and failing to support protests early on, said it wished the new government "success". Tunisian newspapers were generally positive about the government changes, with a headline in Le Quotidien daily reading: "Deliverance, At Last". But the more ambiguous headline in Le Temps said: "The Appeasement?", hinting at the degree of skepticism still remaining. Protesters earlier told AFP that the changes were not enough. "The whole government has to go, especially Ghannouchi," said Khaled Salhi, a 22-year-old student who called the reshuffle just "playing for time." Mokhtar Boubakar, a university lecturer, said: "It's a step forward. We have chased away the most symbolic RCD ministers" -- a reference to Ben Ali's still-potent Constitutional Democratic Rally party. Mouldi Jandoubli, a bigwig within the UGTT union, said the key thing was that the prime minister stick to his earlier pledge to quit after elections are held in around six months time. "The economy has to get back on track," he said. A taxi driver said the protesters should not be able to bring the country to a halt permanently. "I think the vast majority of Tunisians are happy now and just want things to return to normal," he said. The government has lifted strict controls on the media, released political prisoners and legalized previously banned political parties -- unprecedented freedoms for a country ruled by Ben Ali with an iron fist for 23 years. It has also frozen Ben Ali's assets and issued international arrest warrants for the ex-ruler and six members of his once all-powerful extended family. Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of the popular Ennahdha [Awakening] Islamist movement, meanwhile prepared to return to Tunisia on Sunday after more than 20 years of forced exile, a front man for the movement in Gay Paree told AFP. |
| Posted by:Fred |