Maghreb News Tunis- Lamine Ghanmi
Tunisia declared a nationwide curfew on Friday after four days of protests and rioting over jobs and economic conditions, the worst unrest since an uprising five years ago that toppled former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
There were further demonstrations on Friday in several regions, including Kasserine and Sidi Bouzid. In Tunis, demonstrators blocked a major thoroughfare and burned tyres in the street. At least 19 people were arrested in the capital in connection with the unrest, a security official said.
Prime Minister Habib Essid ,underlining the government’s failure to anticipate the wave of protests and its helplesness to satisfy angry youth claiming solutions of the widespread unemployment, said : »the government have no magic wand to provide jobs for everyone at the same time.People should be patient for solutions of this issue whihc is part of accumulated problems inherited by this government. »
The father of an unemployed Tunisian protester whose death has sparked a new wave of unrest says his son was a victim of corruption and « broken promises » five years after the revolution.
Othman Yahyaoui’s unemployed son Ridha, 28, was electrocuted on Saturday when he climbed an electricity pole in the town of Kasserine while protesting at the removal of his name from a list of public sector recruits.
« My son is a victim of corruption, marginalisation and broken promises, » Yahyaoui said.
« If there was no corruption, the name of my son would never have been removed and he would still be alive. As long as nepotism continues, others will die young like him, » the 65-year-old said.
The unrest over the latest four days echoed the public anger unleashed by the death of a street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi who set himself on fire in a nearby town in December 2010 in protest at unemployment and police harassment.
That desperate act of defiance provided the spark for the uprising that overthrew longtime leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and unleached violence and uphavals across the Arab world.
Tunisia has been hailed as a beacon of hope compared with other chaos-hit countries like Libya and Egypt, where popular revolts also toppled veteran autocrats Mummar Gaddafi and Hosni Mubarak.
But its transition has been tested by social unrest over poverty and joblessness as well as by a growing jihadist threat folowing three atacks last year.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that due to the risk to public and private property from the protests it was imposing a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. with immediate effect.
The protests started on Tuesday in the impoverished central town of Kasserine after young Yahiaoui’s death.Several small towns have have seen demonstrators storming local government buildings and clash with riot police. One policeman has been killed and dozens injured.
In recent days security forces have used tear gas and water cannon against crowds of hundreds of demonstrators, some of whom burned tyres and threw stones.
The unrest has spread to other parts of the country — including the capital where authorities reported « sacking and pillaging » in one suburb — prompting them to declare a nationwide nighttime curfew.