THE GUARDIAN: Instead of the leftovers of a repressive regime, Tunisians deserve a genuinely democratic unity governmentmanage to catch us by surprise. In Tunisia last week, the brutal 23-year rule of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali ended in one fell swoop, surprising even the protesters who had braved bullets, tear gas and water cannons and yet had hardly dared to hope that their dreams of freedom would be so swiftly answered.
As news of Ben Ali's departure reached the streets, the young protesters who had driven this movement for change looked around them and glimpsed another Tunisia, one free from the only president they had ever known.
This cataclysmic shift is nothing short of a second independence for the country, long under the boot of the hegemonic Constitutional Democratic Rally party (RCD).
But, only a few days after those dizzying heights, it seems that while the dictator has fallen, the dictatorship remains. Tunisians felt a dreaded sense of déjà vu as they switched on their televisions to be greeted by the same familiar faces, engaged in a sickening game of musical chairs. Mohamed Ghannouchi, their not-so-new prime minister, was Ben Ali's right-hand man. He was, in the words of a US official, "indispensable" to Ben Ali and, ever the loyalist, he recently revealed that he is still in touch with the deposed dictator.
Indeed, continuity appears to be the dish of the day for the RCD. While throwing some measly crumbs to the official opposition parties – which had been handpicked by Ben Ali – it has shamelessly clung on to every significant ministry, including the interior ministry, which is responsible for organising elections. Continue reading and comment >>> Intissar Kherigi | Wednesday, January 19, 2011
