Tunisia begins mourning victims of Jasmine Revolution

Fri, 21 Jan 2011

Tunis - Tunisia began three days of official mourning Friday for dozens of people killed during the recent month-long popular revolt.

The national flag was flown at half-mast on official buildings and state television broadcast Koranic psalms throughout the morning as the country mourned the victims of a brutal crackdown by the regime of ousted president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.

The country's new unity government says 78 people were killed in the unrest. Human rights groups estimate the total number of dead, including several men who committed protest suicides, at over 100.

Most of the victims were civilians shot dead by police during nationwide demonstrations over unemployment, corruption and repression that eventually toppled Ben Ali on January 14.

The new government says there were also an "undetermined" number of deaths among the security forces.

Thousands of police demonstrated countrywide Friday to show their support for the uprising.

In Tunis, around 1,000 officers wearing red armbands, a symbol of protest in Tunisia assembled outside police stations and the offices of the main trade union movement UGTT.

"We no longer want to be a tool for the repression of the people by the authorities," one policeman told the German Press Agency dpa.

"The police is a people's party," others chanted.

Police in the central towns of Sfax, Tatouine and Gafsa held similar rallies.

At the same time, thousands of protesters gathered in Tunis and other cities to reiterate their demand that members of Ben Ali's old party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) be barred from power.

Since Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia the focus of the protests has shifted to the RCD, which got the lion's share of top jobs in a new unity government.

Both interim president Foued Mebazaa, interim prime minister Mohammed Ghannouchi and the ministers of foreign affairs, the interior and defense, among others, all served under Ben Ali and were RCD members until this week, when they quit the party.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/363582,mourning-victims-jasmine-revolution.html.