Plundering, unrest as Tunisia ponders life after Ben Ali

Sat, 15 Jan 2011

Tunis/Paris - Looting and unrest continued to plague Tunisia Saturday as the first steps toward a new government were taken a day after President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali fled the country in the wake of ever escalating protests.

Witness said the central train station in the capital Tunis was on fire overnight despite a nationwide curfew. Supermarkets and residential buildings had also been set ablaze or looted and one hospital attacked, reports said.

Several of the targeted buildings were owned by relatives of Ben Ali.

Criminal gangs were taking advantage of the chaos and looting stores, opposition politician Mustafa Ben Jaafar told the broadcaster France Info. He added that many government buildings had been attacked.

The Tunisian military was out in force Saturday morning in an attempt to reassert control, with troops marching through the center of Tunis and helicopters circling through columns of smoke wafting up from the rubble.

But several Tunisians told journalists that they suspected the military itself was behind the plundering as it took advantage of a power vacuum.

Hundreds of European holidaymakers fled the country. German tour operators canceled all flights to Tunisia due to an imposed state of emergency. However, many other European tourists remain stranded in the country.

Ben Ali left Tunisia on Friday after a month of popular revolt that claimed dozens of lives. He had earlier fired his government and announced early elections. His plane landed in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, local media reported early Saturday.

The SPA news agency reported that Saudi officials had welcomed Ben Ali and his family, while also wishing "security and stability" to the people of Tunisia.

The kingdom "stands by the side of the Tunisian people," reported SPA.

French media reported that Ben Ali has opted to travel to Saudi Arabia only after he was denied the right to flee to France.

Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, who had taken over as president, described the situation as complete security chaos. He called on residents to join forces to protect their belongings.

Ghannouchi is to serve as interim president until new elections are held. He said he would meet with leaders of Tunisia's political parties Saturday. Two opposition leaders had already indicated their willingness to cooperate with the interim government, he said in a televised interview Friday.

Ben Ali's return to Tunisia was "impossible," he added.

It was not clear whether Ben Ali had been forced to leave or had agreed to leave of his own accord.

Ben Jaafar said the collapse of Ben Ali's government was no surprise.

"The regime had collapsed a long time ago," he said. "There are a lot of opposition groups that came together and have been active in a variety of areas. But the last month was particularly important. The people have woken up and lost their fear."

His departure was met internationally with calls for Tunisians to form a new government in as peaceful a manner as possible.

Ben Ali, a 74-year-old former interior minister, had been president of the north African country since 1987, replacing self- styled "president for life" Habib Bourguiba when he was deposed in a coup.

His departure was prompted by anti-government demonstrations that were brutally repressed by the police. More than 60 protesters have been killed since mid-December, most shot dead by police firing on crowds with live bullets.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/362460,ponders-life-ben-ali.html.