Arabs 'looking up to Tunisia revolution'

Arabs 'looking up to Tunisia revolution'

www.presstv.ir

Troops have been deployed in the Tunisian capital after fresh clashes between police and demonstrators erupted over unemployment and high costs of living in the North African country.


The demonstrators have vowed to continue their protests across the country for the next three days despite the government's deadly crackdown.

(visit the link for the full news article)


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www.presstv.ir

Also worth noting was this:

Tunisia operates as a popular tourist playground for the Western Europeans. It's controlled by the police state and very little by the way of the critic. The EU knows that and they usually call Tunisia a secular and open state. They know there is no freedom of expression allowed in Tunisia. I think the Arab people all over the Arab world are itching for a revolution because what's happening in Tunisia is a revolution of oppressed people who have for many years been waiting for their civil rights in housing and employment and proper decent lives. So the Arab countries are rich in resources, but unfortunately they are states owned by very rich elite that do not care about their people. They rely on their security to deny those people their share in the wealth.

I can’t help but think of the American Revolution and it’s setting when I read this. The American Revolutionaries were denied their rights, the land was pillaged by the Crown, and all power belonged to a single family who owned enormous wealth and power. The Americans, tired of the oppression, rose up against the tyrants and threw off their shackles. I see the same spark possibly being ignited in the nation of Tunisia.

Much like when the American Revolution was set ablaze other Revolutions happened, most notably the French Revolution. Soon after came the Haitian Revolution, the revolutions throughout Latin America, and while it was still some 70 years later the American Revolution set the stage for the widespread revolutions across Europe that occurred in 1848.

America, much like Tunisia, had a small population at the time and its leaders were controlled by a foreign power while the people were silenced, oppressed, and robbed in their own land. Hopefully revolution will occur in Tunisia then Algeria and then spread all across the Middle East handing the power over to the people or respectable kings and finally allow to Arabs to control their own destiny.

But with every revolution comes the chance of an even more sinister power coming to rein. As with the French Revolution if things are not handled properly or the revolutions ideals are too radical then nightmare dictators such as Napoleon can come to power.

www.presstv.ir
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by Misoir


This is amazing. Just the other day I was trying to explain how, IF, an Iranian revolution would come to be, it would be an example to follow for the so many oppressed-by-royalty Arabs. I mean, the colonial times are far from over - the colonists of yesterday have 'transformed' into globalists at the head of international corporations today.

And how will these Western Europeans, that have experienced a luxurious vacation in a torn country, feel about themselves?

And now an article like this from presstv.

Originally posted by Zamini
reply to post by Misoir

 

And how will these Western Europeans, that have experienced a luxurious vacation in a torn country, feel about themselves?

Like typical wealthy Westerners they won't feel one bit sad for the locals but will feel angry they are being held up by protests.

Good timing, I was just reading an article about the death of a protester who broke the curfew in Tunis, last night:

www.guardian.co.uk...

23 people dead so far, officially..although, many suspect the actual death count is much higher. That count will surely go up as tensions rise. Police argue that they are only defending themselves from aggressive crowds throwing petrol bombs and also, as the article states, attacking them with sticks- not sure why a policeman should think that being attacked with a stick justifies shooting the aggressor, but there's two sides to every story, I suppose.

It's a tragic state of affairs, I went to Tunisia a few years ago, just for a day, the situation then saddened me. There are several "beautiful" hotels with services that a western hotel could be proud of..but then, you see the area between these hotels and all around there is shanty towns and poverty. To me, it's disgusting that a country can be ran like that and it's also disgusting that people can actually enjoy a holiday there, ignoring the misery of so many of the countries citizens and turning a blind eye.

It is not just a tourist destination, a lot of people have been/are buying homes/property in Tunisia.

This property buying movement has progressively worked it's way to Southern Europe and is now moving into Northern Africa.

IMHO, it creates a greater divide between the haves and the have nots..

The revolution will not be tellyvised

thank you for you thread you beat me too it...
a thread was needed on this topic as the western news has almost blanked the story out...
why? because the guy in charge is our man.

On December 17, a 26 year old Tunisian man named Mohamed Bouazizi reached the end of his rope. An unemployed university graduate, Bouazizi had become a seller of fruits and vegetables in the southern Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid. When authorities confiscated his wares to punish him for selling without a license, Bouazizi set himself on fire. He died in hospital on January 4, 2011

Bouazizi’s suicide struck a chord with other frustrated Tunisians. Thousands took to the streets in Sidi Bouzid to protest widespread unemployment, government corruption and lack of opportunity. Another frustrated youth in Sidi Bouzid, Lahseen Naji, killed himself by climbing an electricity pylon while crying out “No for misery, no for unemployment!” before grasping the high voltage line. The Tunisian government responded by sending baton and teargas-wielding reinforcements to the city and by promising future economic development projects. But riots have spread from Sidi Bouzid across the country, and the government has responded by closing the high schools and universities, arresting those they perceive to be ringleaders and imposing a curfew. Global Voices contributor Slim Amamou was one of those arrested on January 6th – we’ve not heard from him or been informed of the charges.

www.ethanzuckerman.com...

Rioting has spread to many cities including the capital and a cerfew iv in place.. A lot of people have been killed and the tunisian government is cenoring twitter and hacking peoples facebook accounts..
Anon has been setting up alternative methods for people to get information and has been delivering ddos attacks on government websites...



this is a big story and getting little coverage.....

www.presstv.ir...

A wave of violent clashes between Tunisian security forces and anti-government protesters has so far led to the death of at least 66 demonstrators.
_____________________________________________________________________________
In a live address on Monday, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali promised to create 300,000 new jobs.

Looks like things are getting a lot worse in Tunisia. People killing themselves in public as protest, the military has moved into the city with tanks and equipment, 66 people are now dead. Things are getting a lot worse.

Originally posted by Zamini
reply to post by Misoir

 

This is amazing. Just the other day I was trying to explain how, IF, an Iranian revolution would come to be, it would be an example to follow for the so many oppressed-by-royalty Arabs. I mean, the colonial times are far from over - the colonists of yesterday have 'transformed' into globalists at the head of international corporations today.

And how will these Western Europeans, that have experienced a luxurious vacation in a torn country, feel about themselves?

And now an article like this from presstv.

Hi, there is no royalty in Tunisia, it's been a republic since 1957.

I'm a western European and visited Tunisia at the start of last December, not long before the unrest began to grow by the sound of it. Not sure what your last paragraph is implying though - at least part of the unrest is through lack of employment (I know that's simplistic, but in line with your question), would you rather remove the thousands of jobs tourism brings into the country?

Ground report from Montastir : they burned and did damage to Adam Park - the police let them.They burned the Presidents Party building (not the RDC building) in the medina They damaged Salma cente

anon

they were going to burn it, but some of the store owners in there asked the people not to because there are innocents working there.The people were trying to open the Monoprix to get food - the police (only two stationed there) threw tear gas at he crowd. There is virtually no police presence here. The police that are here have said they are with the people and have stood by and basically watched as the crowds destroyed what belongs to the president and his family

anon.....

Tunisian Rioters Overwhelm Police Near Capital
www.nytimes.com...

www.presstv.ir...

Tunisian president orders security forces to stop using firearms against protesters while more people are killed in clashes with police.

Appearing on state TV, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali also promised political reforms and a cut in prices of food.

"I won't accept that another drop of blood of a Tunisian be spilled,'' he said.

I pray the people of Tunisia do not fall idle under the guise of peace and reform by a man with whose two edged sword is one of trickery and debauchery.

While I do not condone violence or extremism it is high time the citizens of the Arab world free themselves from their oppressors both foreign and domestic. Establish a national structure which serves and represents the identity and culture of Tunisia for Tunisians.

Right Now(phone call) : clashes everywhere Ibn Khaldoun, Intlaka, Kram, Marsa and Khereddine live ammo is still massively used #Sidibouzid

1 hour ago ...anon.

kx

Here is a prime example of how far the people will alow the masters to degrade them before all hell breaks loose.
The longer the oppression, the fiercer and less stopable the backlash will be.
I imagine the sitting pres would like the people to ease up, and now sees that there was too much taken from them.Now that he is willing to give some back, i doubt it will be enough to stop the wave of violent protest that is rocking most cities in the country.
Perhaps this should be a lesson to the PTB that you cannot oppress the people indefinately, and if you try, there will be a backlash when the right moment is reached, and a single human spark can set a conflagration which will destroy the ruling entire elite.

Tunisian television is a huge brainwashing machine. For instance a midst all this chaos where almost all Arabic satellite channels are showing the chaos, the tunisian main TV channel is showing how the white house was build as I'm typing this. So Tunisia is the only country not reporting about Tunisia.

This has been going on for years. Previously the topics where 23 hours music and entertainment, and 1 hour news about the accomplishments of their great president.

wow I did'nt realize the severity of the situation

Analyst Ahmed Lashin said he did not rule out the possibility that the entire Arab world would be engulfed in chaos in wake of the Tunisian “revolution.” He noted that anti-government demonstrations have already taken place in Algeria and Jordan..Atwan suggested that the US Administration prepare an island in the Pacific Ocean to receive its Arab friends and dictators “the same way it opened Guantanamo Prison for Al-Qaida men.”
www.jpost.com...

and this from an ATS'r while back

Saudi Prince Turki bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud has warned the country's royal family to step down and flee before a military coup or a popular uprising overthrows the kingdom.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by purplemer
The revolution will not be tellyvised

thank you for you thread you beat me too it...
a thread was needed on this topic as the western news has almost blanked the story out...
why? because the guy in charge is our man.

Around here (Belgium, EU) it's headline in the news ever since the protests started, halfway december. A pity that doesn't seem to be the case everywhere. What might explain why it goes more or less unnoticed here on ATS. Still it's big news, and a rare act of genuine revolution by the people.

This is the first time since very long that we witness an emancipatory movement of the people in a North-African - broader Middle-East country. I have some optimism on the possible outcome, since all was started by younger progressive middle class students and other civilians, supported by most Tunisians.
Also, it's not an Islamic protest movement, it's a revolution of the people based on socio-economic and political means, hence my hopes for an emancipation process.

We'll see how it evolves, good luck to all Tunisians.

They need to get the situation under control. While I wish everyone is fine, people are dying. My heart goes out to anyone in that situation.