When a revolution came, never — nobody can say I know it was this date. Nobody can say that. But what we can say is it´s also a accumulation of things. It´s not something one day, and it happened like that. It was also a kind of rejection of these very bad people, of the mafia, of these criminals governing the country.
We were humiliated by these people ruling the country. Because we feel they do not deserve to do this job for Tunisia. Tunisian people are much more civilized than them. And after some years, after also you know, Tunisian people do not trust Tunisian media. They are always looking abroad, looking to foreign broadcast, in order to know what it is going on in their own country.
Even people who are very, very poor, people who do not have electricity, they use generators in order to connect to Al Jazeera, to Al Arabia and other and so on. Because they know the fair information, the right information will be done on these media, not in our Tunisian media used as propaganda tools.
And when this happened, it was done because of this accumulation of rejection of this kind of governance. It was not completely spontaneous. Yes, it was spontaneous. But it was because something was in preparation in a hidden way.
When [Muhammad Al] Bouazizi burned himself in [Sidi] Bouzid. Some people do not know that it was not the first time that young people are doing this kind of act. In six month, it was the ninth case. But it´s not the eighth one or the seventh one or the fifth one who provoked this rebellion. What happened when Bouazizi burned himself, because he was desperate.
A lot of women, old women, not young women, came in front of the governorate, this administration of the local governor, and protested.
But the full majority of people protesting were women. But police beating them.
And they protested against what police did to their women. And then, police started shooting them. And the protest was growing, growing, growing. At last the city was under siege. And when the city was under siege, there is no possibility to have bread, to have water, to have basic food. And the city, the neighborhood came to break the siege. And they were also shot.
They were also shot by police. And then, there is death. There is people and then, again, they are putting funerals. They are doing funerals. And police is shooting again. They are– and you know, this collection of mistakes by the police put it in a way that it can never stop. It can´t stop.
And it was spread out over the other city. And they are shooting, shooting. And when one is killed, the other are protecting again, and the other, and the other, and the other. And it started and it never stopped. And this was just to– to say one thing. It´s not Facebook who created the event. But Facebook is a part of the event.
Because when they surrounded the first city, Wasib (PH), and they did the siege, all these events were filmed by mobile phone, by young people. And here young people played a key role. And they sent it by their mobile phone. Because once the electricity was cut, you know, they´re not to allow people to connect on internet. But they use their mobile phone. And they sent all these files, all these videos. And these videos were put on Facebook immediately.
And also, Al Jazeera played a big role. Because you know, they didn´t have any correspondents there. They didn´t have a bureau in Tunisia, because it was forbidden. But what they did, they collected all these video from Facebook and they published it and broadcast on their channel.
Then people who are not on Facebook, who do not have any connection to internet, and common people are looking at and watching these videos on Al Jazeera. And on this issue, Al Jazeera did very, very good job. Because they didn´t select these video on the quality, because the quality was very bad. But because it was really important as a fact. And did increase privilege from quality to interest purpose, they succeed in being the second actor of this revolution.
Sihem Bensedrine was born in 1950. She studied at the University of Toulouse Le Mirail in France, from which she holds a degree in philosophy. Upon her return to Tunisia in 1977, she began work as a journalist, and became known as a critic of the regime.
As one of the most prominent Tunisian human rights activists, she paid a high price for her views. The regime continually harassed her and her family, pressuring employers to fire her, applying financial pressure, and slandering her in the media. Bensedrine’s family was under constant surveillance, received death threats, and was at times not allowed to travel outside the country. Due to these threats, she spent years as an exile, continuing to speak out on human rights and democracy issues in her homeland.
In 1998, she cofounded the National Council for Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT). In 1999, she launched the “Kalima” website, which reported on conditions inside the country. Kalima later expanded to satellite radio broadcasting. She also cofounded the Observatory for Defense of Freedom of the Press, Publishing and Creation (OLPEC).
Bensidrine returned to Tunisia as the demonstrations against the Ben Ali regime gathered steam. She continues to advocate for freedom of the press and other human rights as Tunisia transitions to a new democratic system of government.
Tunisia is situated on the Mediterranean coastline. It has a population of fewer than 11 million people and is the smallest nation in North Africa in land area. In 2010 and 2011, it became the first of the Arab countries to revolt against decades of dictatorial rule, launching the Arab Spring and a wave of change across the region. Tunisia has a developing economy, focused largely on agriculture, tourism, and light industry.
Tunisia has been settled since ancient times. In the 10th century B.C., it was part of the Phoenician Empire. The city of Carthage, near the modern capital of Tunis, was established in the 9th century B.C. In 149 B.C., the Roman Empire conquered the Phoenicians. Islam was introduced to what is now Tunisia in the 7th century A.D., and the area formed part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. In 1881, Tunisia became a protectorate of France. A strong French cultural element continues to this day.
In 1956, Habib Bourguiba led Tunisia to independence from France. His political party, later known as the Constitutional Democratic Rally, went on to dominate Tunisian politics for more than 50 years. Bourguiba’s Tunisia was a largely secular state and was viewed as one of the most progressive in the Arab world on women’s issues. In 1987, Bourguiba was replaced in a “bloodless coup” by his prime minister, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Ben Ali continued many of Bourguiba’s policies, but ruled with an increasingly heavy hand. The Ben Ali regime was repressive and corrupt, with a dismal human rights record. The regime showed little tolerance for dissent, and lashed out at opposition voices in politics, civil society, and the media.
The Tunisian Revolution began in December 2010, when Mohamed Bouazizi, a young street vendor, set himself on fire in protest over harassment by a local official. Bouazizi’s act led to mass demonstrations across the country, protesting the lack of human rights, poor economic conditions, and corruption and nepotism in the Ben Ali regime. On January 14, 2011, Ben Ali stepped down and fled the country. On October 23, 2011, Tunisia held its first free elections, forming a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution and lead the country to general elections. The role of religion in society is among the most important issues facing the assembly and country.
Under the interim Constituent Assembly, Tunisia has experienced considerable political upheaval, but has begun to consolidate its democracy. There is a major fault line between Islamist and secular political forces. In 2013, several political assassinations resulted in widespread protests and demonstrators calling for the nation’s Islamist-led government to be removed. In January of 2014, after two years of debate, the Constituent Assembly ratified the nation’s new constitution. The constitution is considered progressive for the nation and has many human rights guarantees. With the ratification of the constitution, elections are scheduled for autumn 2014.
Freedom House’s 2013 Freedom in the World report categorized Tunisia as “partly free”. The nation received the following ratings on a scale with one being the most free and seven being the least: 3.5 as an overall freedom rating, a four in civil liberties and a three in political rights. Tunisia’s Internet and press were also categorized as “partly free” in subsequent Freedom House reports.
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