TUNISIA AND THE BATTLE GOES ON.....

When the protests in Tunisia started a month ago we never imagined that this was the beginning of the ousting of a dictator. It was a unplanned moment of frustration by a people tired of being down trodden and abused by a greedy and corrupted president.

The same man that was held up by the west including the UK as a beacon of modernisation a champion against Islamic groups had been slowly strangling his people. Bleeding the very life force from the country. Lack of jobs and investments coupled with high prices and corruption had created a Tunisia far removed from the idyllic tourist destination it was painted to be. Behind the exotic souks and camel rides were a people controlled and held back by a dictator in power for 23 years.

The ironic thing is the BBC's coverage spent more time focusing on the Thomas cook holiday makers rather then the murder of over 50 innocent protesters. Quoted was one holiday maker who said that the protests had not touched them, they saw nothing, they were protected from it all. On hearing this the irony was not lost on me. This sums up the wests attitude towards the Ben Ali...too busy watching the lip service given to modernisation and so called western civilisation, to notice the ugly nasty truth unraveling in the corner. Like the western tourists just sent home, too busy snapping pictures of the colourful locals to notice the sadness and misery in their eyes.

But now the ugly truth of Ben Ali and his administration has been exposed like the dirty wound that it is. On Friday we cheered as we heard that Ben Ali had fled Tunisia bound on a plane for nowhere. Hovering in the Skies until eventually the corrupt Saudi regime opened their already bloody arms to him. With a history of accepting exiled leaders they were obvious choice for a man not welcomed anywhere in the world. Even his greatest supporters France turned their backs on him.

So on Friday we celebrated...a win not only for Tunisia but for every other nation drowning under the weight of dictatorships. This wasn't like the ousting of Saddam by America when our happiness of his departure was marred by our guilt that we has been freed by yet another oppressor. But the undiluted feeling of total freedom and power. Strength achieved through unity and the simple power of the people. Martyr's gave up their lives in Tunisia so that the world could see that freedom is feasible, with unity and strength comes a power that will leave even the bloodiest of dictators shaking in their boots. A fire has been lit in Tunisia and is slowly spreading like like a blanket of truth and justice covering everything it encounters in its path.

In Algeria there is rioting against unemployment rates and bad living conditions, in Egypt protests have also erupted and even in Libya there have been reports of clashes with the police based on unrest in regards to living conditions. There is an unrest in Tunisia's neighbours and it has the dictators of the middle east quivering in their steel studded army boots.

Arab leaders have remained staunchly quite on this subject apart from Gaddafi who has shown his contempt of the liberation of Tunisia. I am sure he is hoping that this fierce thirst for freedom will not reach and swallow up Libya. He was quotes as saying he was pained by the fall of the Tunisian Government. Protesters had been led astray by wiki leaks disclosures detailing the corruption in Ben Alis family and regime.

Personally I hope the people of my country Pakistan follow in the footsteps of Tunisia and oust Zadari from a post he never deserved or gained ethically, I hope and pray that this is a lesson that the people of the world take and expand on. 

However we have won the battle but not the war. Celebrations need to be short and sweet, the fight is far from over. Getting rid of Ben Ali has cut the tree but the roots are still there spreading their poison back into the soil of the Tunisian people.

The new Government put in place on Monday is no different from what was in place before. Mohamed Ghannouchi as well as foreign interior, finance and defense ministers retain the same roles as they had under Ben Alis regime.

Mohamed Ghannouchi was quoted as saying 

"Ministers that have served under Ben Ali and who have retained their jobs in the new government have clean hands and have always acted to preserve the international interest" - French radio European 1

We must continue to push forward with this battle. To see it through till the end, so that the countless lives that have been lost or destroyed were not in vain. It is important that the Tunisian people have in place a transitional care taker government that does not exclude any of the political parties. There needs to be a call for a free and fair election in order to return the sovereignity of Tunisia back to its people.
We cannot let the current Government run by Mohammed Ghannouchi continue while there is still Internet censorship, while opposition leaders are excluded from the government, while the security services responsible for shooting and murdering innocent civilians are still intact, If we do it is only a matter of time before the Tunisian people are locked back in the cage from which they have just escaped and our dreams of a free world disapere in a wisp of smoke before our very eyes. We cannot let the roots of the RCD continue to strangle the dreams of the Tunisian people. Until all parties are involved in a unified Tunisia the voice of the people will continue to roar.
So lets continue to put pressure on the RCDRachid Ghannouchi return to represent the people, to allow a unified caretaker government to help the people of Tunisia move into their new chapter in life.

There will be a protest outside the Tunisian Embassy at 5pm on Wed 19th Jan. Please come along to show your support.

Attached below are picture from Saturdays celebration outside the Tunisian Embassy.