Thousands of protesters rallied in Tunisia’s capital on Tuesday after several nights of street violence, reviving the chant that rang a decade ago in a revolution that ushered in democracy: ‘The people want the fall of the regime.‘
Daytime protests in Tunis and some other cities demanding jobs, dignity and the release of detainees have followed clashes over recent nights between security forces and youths, with COVID-19 restrictions compounding a wider economic malaise.
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‘The whole system must go…We will return to the streets and we will regain our rights and our dignity that a corrupt elite seized after the revolution,‘ said Maher Abid, an unemployed protester.
Shortly before last week’s 10th anniversary of the revolution, Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi’s government ordered a four-day lockdown and tighter night-time curfew against the coronavirus pandemic, as well as a ban on protests.
However, in cities across the North African country youths have thrown stones and petrol bombs, burnt tyres, and looted shops while police have deployed tear gas and batons, arresting hundreds.
In a televised speech on Tuesday, Mechichi said he understood popular anger over the economic situation and the frustration of young people, but that violence was not acceptable.
‘Your voice is heard and your anger is legitimate… Do not allow saboteurs among you,‘ he said, addressing protesters.
Up to 250 people gathered on Bourguiba Avenue in central Tunis on Tuesday while other demonstrations took place in towns near Sidi Bouzid, where the 2011 revolution began.
The toppling then of Tunisia’s long-serving autocratic ruler inspired similar uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East dubbed the “Arab Spring”.
Protesters in all three rallies chanted ‘the people want the fall of the regime’, as well as demands for jobs. Tunisia was suffering economically even before the COVID-19 crisis, with high unemployment and declining state services.
Earlier on Tuesday, the powerful labor union and other rights groups voiced support for peaceful protests against ‘policies of marginalization, impoverishment, and starvation’, accusing the state of squandering the revolution’s hopes.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK