Nearly a week has passed since protests broke out in the western Tunisian town of Kasserine following the death of Ridha Yahyaoui, a university graduate, allegedly threatening suicide after being denied a government job. Eyewitness accounts report clashes between security forces and demonstrators as police is using tear gas and, allegedly, rubber bullets. In some areas, army units have been deployed to stem the unrest, while Tunisian authorities declared a nationwide curfew in response to the growing unrest. The protests have spread to at least 16 governorates, including the capital Tunis, as crowds reportedly continue to chant: “Work, freedom, dignity,” evoking memories of the nation-wide demonstrations in 2011 that led to the toppling of longtime autocrat Zine el-Abedin Ben Ali. In Tunis, demonstrators demanding jobs and development even broke into and occupied the headquarters of the governorate of Greater Tunis. The marches were made up of several civil society groups including the Tunisian General Student’s Union (UGET), the Union of Unemployed Graduates (UDC) and the Popular Front – a coalition of leftist forces. Speaking to Tunisia Live, Souheil Aidoudi, a member of the executive office of the UDC, said that…
Tunisian Déjà Vu: Death Leads to Mass Protests Five Years After 2010 Uprising
January 23, 2016
