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Following a month of largely leaderless popular protests against the government, Tunisia's President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country on Friday. Fouad Mebazaa, the speaker of parliament, was sworn in the following day as interim president, and new elections are due within 60 days.

What were the protests about?

They were sparked by the suicide of an unemployed college graduate in December. The man set himself on fire in front of a government building in the town of Sidi Bouzid after police confiscated his fruit cart, saying he was selling without a permit, according to Amnesty International. He died January 4 from his injuries.

The event tore the lid off what appears to have been long-simmering fury at Ben Ali and his associates. Tunisians accuse the ruling circle of rampant corruption and nepotism.

How violent have the protests been?

At least 21 people died in protests before Ben Ali fled, according to the government. Local unions put the figure at more than 50.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, citing reports, said the protests had been peaceful and that security forces used excessive force.

Why does Tunisia matter?

It could be the canary in a coal mine, since it's far from the only Arab nation with a long-time president and a young, underemployed population.

Riots broke out in neighboring Algeria after weeks of demonstrations in Tunisia, and Egypt, Libya and Yemen will certainly be watching closely to see what happens in Tunis.

Libya's Moammar Gadhafi said he was "sad and hurt" after Ben Ali fled Tunisia, warning that the country was heading for "more unjustified chaos.



i say good for them.

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The self-immolation by a graduate vegetable seller that triggered the Tunisian uprising and brought down the government of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is leading the desperately poor in neighbouring countries to follow suit.

On Monday, Abdou Abdel Moneim Gaafar, the 49-year-old owner of a restaurant set himself ablaze on the pavement in front of the parliament building in Cairo, the Egyptian daily Al Masri Al Youm reported on its website. Before soaking himself with gasoline and lighting the match, Mr. Gaafar shouted that his country’s establishment had denied him his rights. The daily said that security personnel used a fire extinguisher to douse the flames, and the man had been taken to hospital where the status of his condition is unknown.

But on Sunday, a youth in Algeria who had torched himself a day earlier succumbed to his burns. Mohcin Bouterfif, 37, part of a group of 20, had set himself alight in front of a town hall after the mayor refused to meet them over jobs and conditions of housing, AFP reported.

Since last Wednesday, this was the fourth self-immolation attempt by Algerians. On Sunday, police managed to put out the flames after a 34-year-old unemployed man, who had torched himself in front of the domestic intelligence agency headquarters at a location 355 km east of capital Algiers. Earlier on Friday, a 27-year-old man set himself aflame in front of a police station outside Algiers, the daily El Watan said. The daily also reported that on Wednesday, a man in his forties, and father of six, set himself on fire on being denied registration to receive housing benefits. A town official intervened to scotch the flames, the daily added.

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Until this recent news, I wasn't aware there were big problems there, but then, there are so many problems in the world these days....

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According to Amnesty International, the 1st guy that set himself on fire has died.

I don't know if this means anything for the Western Democracies though.  This is in a part of the world where I spent much of my Naval career.  Tunisia isnt really a major player on the world market or in the Islamic world.  It may be what  sparks revolution throughout the Islamic world, but I doubt it.  Those nations will have few qualms about brutally putting down any uprising.

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This may be a small issue as far as the rest of the Islamic world is concerned and even less as far as the West goes but it could be the snowball that starts an avalanche.

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Well, if more muslims want to set themselves on fire, fine with me.

And yeah...I know that's not 'PC'.

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not exactly very christ-like either.

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True.

Bad Dennis!  

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looks like the egyptians care about what happened in tunisia...

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I happened to think about this a few hours ago too!  This thing is about to blow up throughout the Islamic world.  


Now...I'm concerned.

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Originally Posted by Dennis Young:
I happened to think about this a few hours ago too!  This thing is about to blow up throughout the Islamic world.  


Now...I'm concerned.

and why do you think it's about to blow up? it's not happening in a vacuum.

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I'm worried that Egypt will become another Terrorist theocracy like Iran.  I'm worried about the ramifications for Israel.  And what might happen with the Suez Canal.  You know we will not allow it to be blocked.  And we wont allow an invasion of any sort to Israel.

Also what if this spills over into Saude?

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Originally Posted by Dennis Young:
I'm worried that Egypt will become another Terrorist theocracy like Iran.  I'm worried about the ramifications for Israel.  And what might happen with the Suez Canal.  You know we will not allow it to be blocked.  And we wont allow an invasion of any sort to Israel.

Also what if this spills over into Saude?

funny you should mention iran. read my post in the "wave of violence..." thread. you reap what you sew.