Tunisian President Flees after Month-Long Protests

Since independence in 1956, Tunisia has largely been a republic (it was briefly a kingdom until July 1957) run by one of two men. President Habib Bourguiba was dictator until 1987, when he was replaced in a coup d'etat by Zine el Abidine ben Ali who became president. For the last month or so, the Tunisian people have protested food price increases, the general corruption of the regime, and the lack of opportunities. Friday, President ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia, and Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi and Fouad Mebazaa, the speaker of the lower house of parliament and now acting president, stepped in to try putting a government together. This journal congratulates the Tunisian people, who have set an example for a great many countries in their neighborhood. However, it can all too easily go wrong.

The reason this example is so potent is the conditions in Tunisia are replicated all around North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and more all have the same troubles. Their governments are hardly democratic. Their regimes exist as sources of jobs and bribes for those on the inside, and sources of oppression for those on the outside (which is most of the population). The job prospects for the fairly well-educated youth (who make up a substantial segment of society) are hardly optimum.

The ruling cliques in these countries see the dangers. Libya's Moammar Gadhafi said he was "sad and hurt" by the uprising, blaming criminals for the unrest. He also said, "Sadly, Tunisia is headed to more chaos, and we do not know how it will end. I hope your sanity returns and your wounds heal, because you had a big loss that will never return."

The Libyan tyrant is partially right. No one knows how it will end, and herein lies the danger. Revolution has a very romantic image, both on the left and the right. There is something that appeals to everyone about sweeping away the old, decrepit deadwood leaders who prevent people from realizing their individual potential. Historically, though, the tendency is for revolutions to result in dictatorships -- as a minor character in Doctor Zhivago asks, "This Lenin, will he be the new Tsar?" The people of Iran replaced the Shah's SAVAK with the ayatollahs' Revolutionary Guard. Rarely does a nation replace King George III with President Washington, and even then, liberty is fragile..

Tunisia is at a defining moment in its history. The fall of President ben Ali creates a vacuum in Tunisian politics, and vacua like this need to be filled by civilians with a patriotism beyond filling their own pockets and not by generals or plutocrats. The democratic opposition in Tunisia is historically a weak faction, yet there is some hope. Tunisia has suffered looting, riots and arson in the last two days. The people of Tunis has formed block watches to protect their homes, and this has improved security in the capitol according to media reports. If the citizens of the country can organize themselves like this, they can organize themselves to build a free and democratic Tunisia.

If they succeed, the surviving authoritarian regimes in the region may face unrest of a similar kind. The Arab nation deserves an end to the dictatorships that have misruled it for decades. At the same time, the revolutionaries must be careful not to replace a bad government with an even worse one. Elections need to be held, and they need to be open and honest. And they will not, in themselves, be sufficient. Time to keep fingers crossed.

© Copyright 2011 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.

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