Deadly Tunisian anti-austerity protests persist days before 2011 Arab Spring commemoration
By Staff Reporter
TWO days before Tunisia marks the sixth anniversary of the nascent 2011 Arab Spring (Revolution) that saw the end of a long-term dictatorship, the Army has been deployed onto the streets of the country’s cities and more than 500 people have been arrested in demonstrations against price and tax rises that started over the weekend.
Media reports from Tunisia indicate that human rights and activists have accused that country’s authorities of an indiscriminate crackdown of inexplicable violence, from which some protests have turned violent, with dozens of police officers injured. One demonstrator has died.
The unrest began at the weekend after a small gathering of civil society and opposition activists in Tunis, the capital, was broken up by police.
“The police are arresting protestors in every region,” said Heythem Guesmi, of the Minich Msamah organisation. “They are not even interested in the looters and the anarchists. They’re seeking our protesters and accusing them of things that just don’t make sense.”
The immediate causes of the unrest are government-imposed price and tax rises, which will raise the cost of basic goods. The government says the moves are essential to cut a ballooning deficit and satisfy international lenders.
Long-term factors include high levels of poverty, deep inequality and youth unemployment, particularly among graduates. Many of those who have taken to the streets are students.
Tunisia has had nine governments since the overthrow of the authoritarian leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.
The revolt was sparked by the death in 2010 of Mohamed Bouazizi, a street seller who set himself on fire in a protest over unemployment and police harassment. The ousting of Ben Ali, who ruled for 24 years, triggered expectations of rapid improvement and a much fairer distribution of wealth.
