EXTRA: Tunisian interim president wants 'break with past'

Wed, 19 Jan 2011

Tunis/Paris - The interim president of Tunisia Foued Mebazaa promised a new start late Wednesday, in his first televised address to the nation.

"I personally guarantee that the interim government will make a clean break with the past," he said.

He promised to do everything in his power to lead the country through the difficult transitional phase.

"So that all the legitimate hopes of the uprising and this revolution of freedom and of dignity are realized," he continued.

Mebazaa has been tasked with organizing elections after long-time authoritarian president Zine el-Abidine ben Ali fled the country last week.

But the inclusion of members of ben Ali's Constitutional Democratic Rally party in the interim government sparked fresh protests this week.

One of ben Ali's confidantes, former interior minister Abdallah Kallel, was detained by police late Wednesday as he was attempting to leave the country. He stands accused of having tortured prisoners.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/363190,president-wants-break-past.html.