What happened in Tunisia on Friday, January 14, was not the collapse of the regime, but the fleeing of its face — Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his wife fled the country for two interrelated reasons: thousands of protesters surrounded the government compound in the capital city, and more importantly, the military refused a direct order from Ben Ali to open fire at the crowd. Normally, when the police refuse to obey a dictator’s command, he sends in the army. But when the army refuses to obey, the dictator packs his bags and runs for his life, as he should. But the story of his dethroning until this moment has been vague, as well as the basis on which the military generals decided to turn against the president and his personal guards. Perhaps time will fill in the missing paragraphs in this magnificent Tunisian chapter.
Mohammed Al-Ghannouchi, Tunisian Prime Minister (1999-2011)
But what about the system that Ben Ali was simply its head figure? Many members of the deposed government are part of the negotiating body to form the new constitution and government, including Al-Ghannouchi, the first minister (i.e. the prime minister) under Ben Ali’s rule, who assumed power, when it should have been the president of the parliament who temporarily replaces a deposed president, in accordance with constitution article 57. Who is this Ghannouchi exactly, and why are the Tunisian streets still in uproar over him, and other former government abettors and ruling party members, being part of the new government formation?
The quick take-over of Ghannouchi led the West, especially the United States and France, to immediately embrace the revolution and applaud the people’s right to self-determination for freedom and democracy, trying to force down people’s throats that this struggle for freedom was somehow about dethroning one man from power. Of course, one could argue that the West couldn’t respond in any other way in the face of a social movement with this magnitude. After all, Ben Ali and his policies have been approved of and applauded for thirty years by the United States and France in particular, citing the Tunisian setup as the best model for the Arab World to follow, with international reports mainly from entities like the World Bank, cheering the economic success. That is precisely because Tunisia has represented, for the last decade, one of the greatest models of the World-Bank/IMF design for what a neo-liberal capitalist society should look like, which is to say maximizing free trade in all sectors. That means, you open up Tunisia for giant transnational corporations to penetrate its markets, crushing all local competition in the process, where the Tunisian people are ultimately transformed from mass producers to mass consumers, unemployed and dependent on World Bank and IMF grants and loans for sustained consumption.
Basically the way it works is, the World Bank, ECB, and IMF, among others, flood a poor country like Tunisia with grants and loans for development in all sectors, with a cut to special interest groups (i.e. government officials, fake charitable societies, security apparatus heads, royal families, and so on). In return for these grants and low-interest (or no-interest) loans, the Tunisian government must, with or without the law, adopt and expand neo-liberal economic policies which basically include the three main components of free-trade:
- Privatizing the public sector.
- Removing customs, taxes and all other trade barriers.
- Eliminating labor laws (such as minimum wage, social security, health-care provision, or the right to get a decent job).
This is how a country like Tunisia becomes attractive to foreign investors and major corporations, where profits would sky-rocket for both the foreign investors and the corrupt officials, while the people lose their jobs and get worse living standards, hence increasing the gap between rich (the corrupt) and poor (the masses).
These economic policies, supported and directed by the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) and organizations like USAID, have been imposed on almost all Arab countries, but nowhere more aggressively than in Tunisia, followed closely by Egypt and Jordan. The more privatization, tax cuts, and labor laws eliminated, the more brutal the government must be in dealing with the anticipated revolt from the poor.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, on the other hand, are mostly excluded because IMF-type grants do not entice these oil rich countries, with minor exceptions. Instead, socialist values (without referring to them as such) are preserved against the wishes of those neo-liberal entities. For example, health-care, housing, land provision, and jobs are guaranteed rights to all GCC citizens. That is why, as long as petroleum, which pays for this socialist economy, continues to flow out of their wells for global consumption, no mass demonstration, let alone a single protest for change, could ever be witnessed in GCC nations. When the government provides plentifully for its people, politics become nothing but a social conversation over a gourmet steak dinner.
So why in Tunis, but not in other poor Arab countries? Palestinian professor and political organizer Dr. Azmi Bshara wrote in his most recent article (where he eloquently listed all the factors that made Tunisia the most likely Arab candidate to experience democratic reform, as he predicted ten years ago) that one of the main factors is that it wasn’t poverty alone that led to the month-long mass demonstrations in Tunisia, but also the assault on the people’s dignity. Bou Azizi, the young college graduate who set himself on fire (the catalyst of this social mobilization), did not do so because he was poor and unemployed, but because he was poor, unemployed, and humiliated in public! As the police confiscated Bou Azizi’s vegetable cart (because he did not have any permit, i.e. stealing customers from potential corporate competitors) and subdued him, they slapped and spat on his face in front of everyone. And when he went to the police station to file a complaint, he was thrown out. That’s why Bou Azizi set himself on fire, and that is why the entire nation got up to its feet. They were telling the Tunisian security forces, mukhabarat, and Ben Ali: no more insult and degradation! Our dignity is a red line you don’t cross!
Of course, light should be shed on why the Tunisian government (and other Third World governments) would resort to brutality in the first place. In socialist countries, like Qatar or UAE, police brutality against citizens is practically nonexistent. There is no need for it, because the people have jobs and have food in their own air-conditioned mansions. A brutal police force is only needed when economic injustice and financial corruption are planned to be overwhelming. As you rob the people from their food and confiscate their homes, legally or not, you would need a well-trained police force, national guard, and military (if necessary) to put down those who fight back for their rights and stolen livelihoods. But eventually, as the Tunisian medical doctor and author, Dr. Moncef Marzouki, wrote recently, it is this necessity for regime brutality in suppressing the people that would sow the seeds of its demise. When the people rise up against brutality, chanting “Ben Ali, you coward, Tunisians don’t get humiliated,” the dictator has nothing to do but inflict even more brutality, which is the very reason for the uprise! The Bou Azizi incident was not a matter of if, but when.
Unfortunately for Tunisia, the revolution is being suppressed as I write these words, by one of the most intelligent Bretton Woods System decoys ever conceived. The dethroning of Ben Ali is intended to be, or so it seems, the revolution extinguisher. It is supposed to be advertised as the revolution’s climax, the checkmate, where people can finally go back to their homes, celebrating victory. “You got what you wanted: freedom, free press, democracy, and a happy ending to prove that your martyrs did not die in vain.” As usual, the media will focus on all the political aspects of this revolution, but not a single peep on the failed economic policies that led to this Tunisian intifada.
Earlier, it had occurred to me that the Franco-American welcoming of the political change in Tunis, and the refusal to give asylum to Ben Ali, their long-term ally, were very peculiar. When the popular uprise dethroned the Shah of Iran, the US and its allies went berserk over the outcome. They even had one of their client states at the time, Saddam’s Iraq, declare a devastating war on Iran (1980-1988). But in Tunis, the dethroning of the Shah was welcomed and supported! The strangeness immediately faded away when news declared who assumed power: Mohammed Al-Ghannouchi, the Tunisian first (prime) minister (1999-2011), the former minister of economics, finance, and international cooperation and foreign investment (1990-1999), and former minister of planning (1987-1990). He is best known internationally for his taking part in negotiating deals with the IMF and ECB. He even stated to France 24, in his defense, that he “worked with Ben Ali, and was concerned with economic matters only.” Moreover, among the nine government ministers who retained their current positions is the minister of finance. No wonder Obama couldn’t stop smiling as he announced his full support for the Tunisian people’s right to self-determination!
The problem is not Ben Ali nor Ghannouchi, this party nor that, but it is in the failed economic policies prescribed by neo-liberal capitalists that led Bou Azizi to set himself on fire. The revolution will not be complete until social and economic justice is established and preserved by the new constitution.
There is still a little hope that the revolution will continue until the whole political and economic system collapses, instead of the face-lift it has gotten so far.
“Glory and immortality to the freedom martyrs of Tunisia.”
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I see your point! However, the tail of Tunis has not been told in its entirety yet.
I believe a free market economy with strong public services is the best way to go but true Democracy should prevail at all time, regardless. Sweden to me is the way the future should be!
Posted by sa'ab murjan | January 18, 2011, 1:49 pmSwedens system is being privatized on all fronts. The neo-cons are in power what ever coalition is voted into power.. Sweden has high living standards because it is a small country that doesn't make any fuzz with the US. The swedish gov have passed numerous surveilance laws, for example wanting to store all your webtraffic, sms and telephone calls for 6 months. It is now required to leave fingerprints when getting a passport.
No, you must create a tru modern state constitution. BY the people, FOR the people. Trade with who you want, at your own terms. Saying you want your country to be in the free market system may sound good, but in reality it leads to a global oligarchy and loss of freedom and wealth.
Keep the revolution going untill you are done Tunisians!
Posted by Anonswe | January 21, 2011, 8:12 amIt's a shame that Sweden in this very now and it's citizens have been brain-washed by the very same neo-liberal values that are described above. Sweden is becoming a whole lot colder each day, in every meaning of the word. Our health system is becoming privatized and the goverment are selling out more and more sectors to international profit-maximising corporations. At the same time surveys show that for the first time in 30 years (since these surveys started) the class and socio-economic differences between children are the largest ever.
We also used to be ranked number 5 in the world in regards to our enviromental politics, we have fallen to number 15 in just four years, ever since the right -wing parties with neoliberal politcs gained majorty. For the first time in almost 15 years we also have an extreme right wing party in government. And about 16 years ago the same neo-liberal parties seized power for a short period of time.
Posted by Rina | January 18, 2011, 4:17 pmMan, you had a great piece going up until this bit of nonsense:
They [the US] even had one of their client states at the time, Saddam’s Iraq, declare a devastating war on Iran (1980-1988).
I'm getting tired of bashing the US at every point. I dare you to write something that doesn't involve US support for (anything) as the primary cause of (something). This may seem like a novel idea: the US was caught off guard by this 'Tunisia thing' and is waiting to see who emerges as the new leader. Wow. I know it's not complex, but it's likely the truth. The US deals with the people who wield power because… that is what every country does. The US will work with whoever emerges in Tunisia as the power holder – be it another Saddam Hussein or a liberal protester who promises freedom for all – because…who else are you going to talk to? And to those who say the US keeps the dictators in power (though the means are never specified) – we clearly can't be very good at it if ONE MAN can change the course of a nation! So please please please write something that doesn't involve DC or London. To get back to the original point:
Saddam invaded the southern, gas-rich part of Iran because he was an opportunist who had long had his eye on that piece of land, and guessed (incorrectly) that Iran would be weak in its response because the new regime was working to consolidate its power. Despite UN calls to end the war, Iran (woah what? I thought the US controlled everything) continued the war by ignoring all UN ceasefire demands and actually counter-invading.
For the love of god, please stop blaming others. Reminds me of the words from Roger Cohen's NYTimes column "The Captive Arab Mind" where he notes, from Beirut, that blaming others for problems is the most typical sign of those who are powerless to think.
Posted by Johnson | January 19, 2011, 2:45 amThis is what Robert Fisk had to say about it:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators…
"The French and the Germans and the Brits, dare we mention this, always praised the dictator for being a "friend" of civilised Europe, keeping a firm hand on all those Islamists. "
"The job of the Arab potentates will be what it has always been – to "manage" their people, to control them, to keep the lid on, to love the West and to hate Iran."
"It's the same old problem for us in the West. We mouth the word "democracy" and we are all for fair elections – providing the Arabs vote for whom we want them to vote for.
In Algeria 20 years ago, they didn't. In "Palestine" they didn't. And in Lebanon, because of the so-called Doha accord, they didn't. So we sanction them, threaten them and warn them about Iran and expect them to keep their mouths shut when Israel steals more Palestinian land for its colonies on the West Bank. "
Posted by Sarakenos | January 19, 2011, 8:58 amA reply to Johnson:
" Reminds me of the words from Roger Cohen's NYTimes column "The Captive Arab Mind" where he notes, from Beirut, that blaming others for problems is the most typical sign of those who are powerless to think. "…that just sounds racist to me…
..but I wanna explain to you what you don't understand..or pulling a "white house" logic on:
In Amman -Jordan a country where things are "stable"..and we are "friends" with the US..and USAID is all over the place..and the Embassey is very active culturally they even built us a coffee shop as a gift..
..
Posted by elfar3i | January 19, 2011, 5:27 amcontinue reply to Johnson
yet the only tank/machine guns you see in amman jordan is infront of the US embassey where a street witha median hav ebeen closed and one side is now used for both direction to fit these tanks and protection..
you can either explain that as
A) .."well the US is so nice to Jordanians (assuming people in amman don't know anything about the war on Iraq,, the huge financial support to Israel, US support to wahabism in the 1940's..abu ghreib gails….ooops I was not planning to start with the list!!!!)….
but the protection is needed because of the "ARab Captive Mind"….or because we don't know what freedom is so we think that people who try to liberate us are harming us…
or
B) Look for reasons for why all these security lines
Posted by elfar3i | January 19, 2011, 5:28 amthe revolutionists must know and understand this before they set foot into another endless trap for two more decades.
Posted by Josephine | January 19, 2011, 5:49 amTo Johnson: You should have questioned the objectivity of that article upon reading the name Cohen. Really, if the article was supposed to strenghten your argument you failed.
Posted by Rina | January 19, 2011, 5:54 am………………………………………………………..CAIRO The stunning collapse of Tunisias long-ruling president brought cheers from the streets and a flood of messages on Middle East websites Saturday with one overriding question Could it happen next in Egypt or other iron-fist regimes in the region?.Theres little doubt that Tunisias people-power uprising – a potent mix of economic gripes and demands for political freedoms – will embolden similar calls in a region dominated by authoritarian leaders and ruling monarchs. Other hard-line regimes like Syria come down harshly and swiftly against dissent..And smaller states with well-organized political opposition including Kuwait and Bahrain provide their native citizens with wide-ranging social benefits that few would dare put at risk with a full-scale mutiny.. We only have to look at Iran to see the challenges for anyone thinking they can bring change just by going to the streets said Sami Alfaraj director of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies referring to the massive protests that were eventually crushed after the disputed re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009..Still he said its a mistake to underestimate the power of the upheaval in Tunisia.. This gets planted in minds that it is possible.
Posted by Monex | January 20, 2011, 10:36 pmMONTREAL As political change swept across Tunisia this weekend more than 1 000 protesters gathered in Montreal to support a revolution that has seen the African nation s president swept from power after months of violent demonstration.Using megaphones as they spoke from the back of a pickup truck rally organizers repeated that Tunisians had been waiting for freedom and dignity for the past 54 years since the country gained its independence in 1956.The rally highlighted the ties between Canada and Tunisia.Protesters said there are between 7 000 and 9 000 people of Tunisian origin in Montreal and about 20 000 in Canada.Halfway arounworld Tunisia s speaker of parliament Fouad Mebazza was sworn in as interim president Saturday after his predecessor Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was ousted 24 hours earlier and fled the country. Gunmen fired at random from cars and inmates staged a mass jailbreak while leaders tried to prevent the country from descending into chaos.Soldiers and tanks were stationed in the city centre to restore order in the aftermath of a night of looting that broke out when Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia.Ben Ali s departure follows a month of violent antigovernment protests that claimed dozens of lives. Although we have had only two presidents in nearly 60 years remember that we have also had two in the last 24 hours said Montreal protester Haroun Bouazzi of the group Collectif de solidarite au Canada avec les luttes sociales en Tunisie as the demonstrators approached the Tunisian consulate.
Posted by offshore bank accounts | January 21, 2011, 1:06 amMONTREAL As political change swept across Tunisia this weekend more than 1 000 protesters gathered in Montreal to support a revolution that has seen the African nation s president swept from power after months of violent demonstration.Using megaphones as they spoke from the back of a pickup truck rally organizers repeated that Tunisians had been waiting for freedom and dignity for the past 54 years since the country gained its independence in 1956.The rally highlighted the ties between Canada and Tunisia.Protesters said there are between 7 000 and 9 000 people of Tunisian origin in Montreal and about 20 000 in Canada.Halfway arounworld Tunisia s speaker of parliament Fouad Mebazza was sworn in as interim president Saturday after his predecessor Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was ousted 24 hours earlier and fled the country. Gunmen fired at random from cars and inmates staged a mass jailbreak while leaders tried to prevent the country from descending into chaos.Soldiers and tanks were stationed in the city centre to restore order in the aftermath of a night of looting that broke out when Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia.Ben Ali s departure follows a month of violent antigovernment protests that claimed dozens of lives. Although we have had only two presidents in nearly 60 years remember that we have also had two in the last 24 hours said Montreal protester Haroun Bouazzi of the group Collectif de solidarite au Canada avec les luttes sociales en Tunisie as the demonstrators approached the Tunisian consulate.
Posted by Monex | January 22, 2011, 4:16 amThis was a CIA coup in Tunisia. The US was complaining about Tunisia not giving enough contracts to Americans. Tunisia did not join in with the wars in Iraq.
Posted by Aangirfan | January 22, 2011, 6:52 am…………Mohammed Bouazizis attempted self-immolation set off protests by Tunisians AFP ……..Mohamed Bouaziz the young Tunisian who set fire to himself on December 17 is emerging as a symbol of the wider plight of the millions of young Arabs who are struggling to improve their living conditions…Like many across the Arab world Bouaziz who is now being treated for severe burns discovered that a university degree was insufficient to secure decent employment. He turned to selling fruit for a living but when the security forces confiscated his vending cart he torched himself – igniting a series of protests across Tunisia…The roots of this Tunisian uprising are to be found in a lethal combination of poverty unemployment and political repression three characteristics of most Arab societies…Corruption nepotism and inefficiency..Official figures place unemployment in the Arab world at 15 per cent but many economists believe the real rate is far higher than government supplied statistics suggest…A joint study by the Arab League and the United Nations Development Program UNDP indicates that in most Arab countries young people constitute 50 per cent of the unemployed – the highest rate in the world…According to the same report rates of poverty remain high – reaching up to 40 per cent on average which means that nearly 140 million Arabs continue to live under the upper poverty line .
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Posted by quicktime player download | January 24, 2011, 8:32 pmSarakenos, what do you think about this take on what's going on in Egypt?
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/2011/01/2011…
"But, the new changes have created many challenges for the regime.
It meant that the regime can no longer buy the support of millions of public sector employees by controlling their wages and jobs. The regime has to open its ranks to the new business elite and to tightly control its political tendencies. With privatisation throwing millions of Egyptians out of their public sector jobs and subjected them to increasing unemployment, creating a significant problem for the government as it deals with their growing anger."
What it's saying is that privatization has begun to challenge authoritarian rule in Egypt. Public sector jobs are always used to prop up the authority apparatus. When they get transferred to the private sector, governments lose control.
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Posted by Michaela Aradanas | February 17, 2011, 1:27 pmGCC states are not socialist by any means. They are Islamist welfare states only for those with citizenship. What about the foreign/ guest workers who toil all their lives to build and maintain these states and then are kicked out when they grow old and can no longer be productive? Have you ever heard of any modern nation state outside the GCC that has such an elaborate system of slavery? How would the defenders of GCC states feel if they work all their lives in the US or Canada and then are kicked out at 60?
Posted by brett | February 21, 2011, 2:42 am