Category Archives: Blog

Tunisian Revolution 6 Months Later

Firsthand Account on Some Recent  Developments

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The Tunisian Revolution* is for real! There is a profound change in the country at all levels: Social, regional, institutional, sectarian, etc.  For the first time in anyone’s memory, people can talk, argue, and disagree vehemently. You really can write anything you want. You can also say anything you want and talk to anyone you want. People encounter one another in public meetings or political rallies and discover they have much in common (there are more than 100 mostly new political parties so far and counting–in a country of nearly 10 million residents).

There’s, however, wide-spread chaos and lawlessness throughout the country (and the fine line between chaos and normalcy is impossible to locate!). Yesterday, the main highway to the Cap-Bon region was blocked by tomatoes farmers protesting government imposed tariffs and prices for their produce. The army and police special forces were present there but only to prevent violence … We had to take a detour of a couple of hours through another province and many rural dirt roads to get to our destination. Similar scenes take place daily all over the country, in addition to sit-ins, street marches and demonstrations and strikes …

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Roadblock by tomato farmers in Cap-Bon, northeast Tunisia, on 6 July, 2011 and following days
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The Tunisian political classes were as surprise by their Revolution as anyone else. Many discussions about the constitution, the legal system, the economy, etc. have yet to be held, and will take time. There are no electoral laws, no electoral rolls. As yet there is no legitimate government, only a provisional one, and thus no clear mandate for reform. The longer it takes for real change to occur the greater the chance for disappointment, discontent, disorder and chaos and even counter-revolution. Nobody ever joins an uprising to resume business as usual.

The strange thing about post-revolutionary Tunisia is: Almost everything is still the same. The provisional caretaker government, in charge until elections can be held, includes elder statesmen who have been around for decades. Many of the same figures still run the same ministries as they did under the old regime. The police are less omnipresent but they are still there (actually, they are extremely polite now, something never seen before in Tunisia! I was told many were terrified to be accused of killing or torturing people during and before the revolution).

Tunisians began the Arab Spring. In order to sustain their hard-won democracy, they must deal with resurgent Islamists (diverse groups!), unemployment, a struggling economy and many other challenges.

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*Foreign media regularly call the Tunisian Revolution “The Jasmin Revolution.” No one here calls it that! It’s the “Freedom and Dignity Revolution.”
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Interior Ministry (e.g., Internal security), July 2011

Demo in Front of the Interior Ministry [.52 sec.]

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Government Plaza at Kasba in Tunis

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Graffiti against previous dictator Ben Ali and his wife
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“How beautiful Tunisia is without Ben Ali Baba and the 40 Trabelsi thieves (ref. to the dictator’s ‘familiy’)”

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Interior Ministry, Tunis

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Bourguiba Avenue / Porte de France & French Embassy, Tunis

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On January 22nd the new Tunisian government lifted licensing restrictions on the importation of books, publications and film. Books and publications that were once confiscated by the Border Police are now making their way to bookstores. Extreme censorship on the imported book has strangled intellectuals – both writers and readers – and in the absence of freedom, one cannot talk about creativity. In previous years, the Tunisian International Book Fair earned a poor reputation because of strict censorship imposed on imported works, forcing exhibitors to focus on cookbooks and fiction. In the end, many just didn’t bother to attend the fair. The number of the new publications having obtained receipts reached as of July, 2011, 148 publications, which notably include daily, weekly, bimonthly and monthly publications.

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National Library, Tunis

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National Archives, Tunis

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Al-Kitab Bookstore in downtown Tunis, one of the most famous in the country. All kinds of titles, previously censored under the dictatorship, are now available, mainly  in Arabic and in French.
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Book sale at a rally of a new political party

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Used book seller on a Tunis street
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(Roadblock by tomato farmers in Cap-Bon, northeast Tunisia, on 7, 6 2011 and following days)(Roadblock by tomato farmers in Cap-Bon, northeast Tunisia, on 7, 6 2011 and following days)

UN security council resolution 1973 (2011) on Libya – full text

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The UN Security Council has passed a resolution authorising “all necessary measures” to protect civilians in Libya from pro-Gaddafi forces.  Read the full text of the resolution passed at UN headquarters in favor of a no-fly zone and air strikes against Muammar Gaddafi.

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Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

Security Council

6498th Meeting (Night)

Security Council Approves ‘No-Fly Zone’ over Libya, Authorizing ‘All Necessary Measures’ to Protect Civilians, by Vote of 10 in Favour with 5 Abstentions

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ARABIC text of UN security council resolution 1973 (2011)

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مجلس الأمن

قرار مجلس الامن

القرار  ١٩٧٣

الذي اتخذه مجلس الأمن في جلسته ٦٤٩٨ ، المعقودة في ١٧ آذار/مارس ٢٠١١

إن مجلس الأمن،

إذ يشير إلى قراره ١٩٧٠

المؤرخ ٢٦ شباط/فبراير ٢٠١١

وإذ يعرب عن استيائه لعدم امتثال السلطات الليبية للقرار  ١٩٧٠
وإذ يعرب عن القلق ا لبالغ إزاء تدهور الوضع وتصاعد العنف والخسائر

الفادحة في صفوف المدنيين، …………… الخ

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Libya UN Resolution 1973:

Text analysed (BBC)

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[Gaddafi’s flag]

Feb 26, 2011
Security Council
SC/10187/Rev.1**Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New YorkSecurity Council 6491st Meeting* (PM)

In Swift, Decisive Action, Security Council Imposes Tough Measures on Libyan Regime, Adopting Resolution 1970 in Wake of Crackdown on Protesters Situation Referred to International Criminal Court;Secretary-General Expresses Hope Message ‘Heard and Heeded’ in Libya

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دستـور لـيبيـا

أصدرته  “الجمعية الوطنية الليبية” في 7 أكتوبر 1951

وألغاه الإنقلابيون في أول سبتمبر 1969

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Libyan Constitution

(Libyan Constitutional Union)

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Libya’s Constitution

[English Translation]

Promulgated by the “National Constituent Assembly” on

7th October 1951

Abolished by a Military Coup d’etat on

1st September 1969

North Africa & the Middle East 2011

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Revolutions in North Africa & the Middle East, 2011

Description: This collection, selected by the Library of Congress, documents the events in Northern Africa and the Middle East in 2011 after the Tunisian uprising. Content includes blogs, social media and news sites about Egypt, Yemen, Sudan and other African countries. These sites contain content in Arabic, English, and French.

Jasmine Revolution – Tunisia 2011

Description: This collection consists of websites documenting the revolution in Tunisia in 2011. Partners at Library of Congress and Bibliothèque Nationale de France have contributed websites for this collection, and the sites are primarily in French and Arabic with some in English.

Tunisia and the spark that launched uprisings

(The Washington Post)

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By Marc Fisher, Saturday, March 26,

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handar4How a slap sparked Tunisia’s revolution – CBSNews

Tunisia and the spark that launched uprisings

Broadcast: February 20, 2011 / 13:37 minutes

Bob Simon reports from Tunisia, where protests against the repressive government not only toppled its autocratic ruler, but sparked the uprising in Egypt that forced President Hosni Mubarak to resign.

Are the Mideast revolutions bad for women’s rights?

Democracy’s victims

By Isobel Coleman, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of Paradise Beneath Her Feet: How Women are Transforming the Middle East (THE WASHINGTON POST, Feb. 20/11):

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Female futures in the MENA region

(Women have been actively participating in recent political protests in the Middle East and North Africa, and as a consequence, international audiences are becoming more aware of the discrimination women face. This blog discusses what roles these women might play in the rebuilding of future governance systems in the region.)

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handar4“Women of the revolution”

by AJE – Al Jazeera English

Egyptian women describe the spirit of Tahrir and their hope that the equality they found there will live on.
Egyptian women, just like men, took up the call to ‘hope’. Here they describe the spirit of Tahrir – the camaraderie and equality they experienced – and their hope that the model of democracy established there will be carried forward as Egyptians shape a new political and social landscape.

Libya: revolution, 17 February, 2011

Libyans Revolution

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The Libyan League For Human Rights

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handar4Libyan Revolution Blogs, Tweets, etc.

handar4Revolutionary Situation in LibyaProf. Juan Cole @ University of Michigan

 

210px-Flag_of_Libya.svg Gaddafi’s flag

  • How To Spell Qaddafi/Gadhafi/Gaddafi/Qadhafi

    You may have noticed reading the news recently, that there is no agreed upon way to spell the name of the current Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi. The controversy is well illustrated by a May 1986 letter to Minnesota second graders; Gaddafi signed his name in English “Moammar El-Gadhafi.” The AP reported the event, “Second-Graders Get Letter From Khadafy.”

    Librarians are all too familiar with the profusion of guises in which the name of Libyan dictator Qaddafi may be encountered in the Latin alphabet.  (The Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF) preferred form of entry — Qaddafi- lists 72 alternate spellings). For the rest of the public out there it’s still mystery that still requires explanation.

    In 2009, ABC News listed 112 different ways to spell Gaddafi, which have appeared in various news outlets. The leader’s name was even the topic of a 1981 Saturday Night Live sketch, offering the most creative spelling a one-way ticket to Tripoli.

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    The Definition Of Democracy According to

    Gaddafi“!!!

    [YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS UP!!]

    Qaddafi’s Arabic etymology of democracy:  ديمو كراسي

    Qaddafi gave a live interview with Al Jazeera in which he expounded on the meaning of the word “democracy.” According to him, the word “Democracy” is actually an Arabic word that means to sit in one’s chair, because apparently “cracy” is an Arabic plural that sounds like the word for chairs “karasy = كراسي” … and “demo” ديمو in Arabic means “to stay” or “to last a long time.”  The word “karasy” (cracy) in Arabic (pl.)  usually refers to the thrones or seats of power of ruling dictators, who tend to “sit on the chair” for life. Gaddafi, who has been on the chair himself since 1969, seems to understand that democracies are meant to be dictatorships, and vice-versa. “A system where you have a party, a president and a government is ridiculous,” he said.

    He ended the interview with the usual plug for his book, The Green Book (“all this is in The Green Book,” he concludes), a manifesto for government based on the “Third Universal Theory,” which proposes a solution to economic and social problems for humanity. If followed correctly, governments and societies would look much as Libya does.

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    Who is Muammar al-Gaddafi?

    AllGov.com

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    Fatwas, or religious edicts, Against Gaddafi

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    Several moral figures, both inside and outside Libya, backed the pro-democracy protesters and the spreading rebellion against his regime.

    Libyan authorities arrested Islamic Scholar Al Sadeq Al Gheryani after he spoke to Al Jazeera Arabic program over the phone (Feb-20-11) … during which he issued a holy decree (FATWA, or, Islamic edict), saying that it was “everyone’s duty to get out on the streets and topple Gaddafi.”

    Libyan cleric issues fatwa against Gaddafi gift cash

    On Tuesday (March 1st), one of Libya’s most prominent religious scholars issued a fatwa against the 500 dinars now being handed out to every Libyan family. In his fatwa, Sheikh Al Sadeq Al Gheryani said the money was tantamount to accepting a bribe from the Kadhafi regime. Such a fatwa is likely to be implemented by his followers, who represent a large section of the Libyan people.

    This fatwa was endorsed later by Sheik Ali Mohammed al-Selabi, who is considered to be the most influential religious scholar among Libyans abroad.

    Refused an appeal from one of Colonel Gaddafi’s sons, Saadi el-Qaddafi, to issue a fatwa banning demonstrations against his father. “Saadi, Qaddafi’s son, asked me to say a word against the protests; I refused to back him because they were killing innocent people, killing old men and peaceful demonstrators.” The cleric issued a fatwa against Gaddafi instead, saying that “it’s a religious obligation” to fight oppressors and to provide medical and humanitarian help for the protesters.

    The Saudi cleric said that he refused to back the Libyan regime because of its “injustices against the Libyan people. That regime is not offering security and peace to the people but it is offering the opposite.”

    The Grand Imam of Al-Ahmed Al-Tayeb, head of al-Azhar University in Cairo, calls for the Libyan army to disobey orders Gaddafi.

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    handar4Seif Qadhafi’s PhD thesis from LSE

    A copy of the PhD thesis Seif al-Qadhafi, son of Muammar al-Qadhafi, filed in September 2007 at the London School of Economics (whose former chancellor, Tony Giddens, was an advisor to his father). It’s called “The Role Of Civil Society In The Democratisation Of Global Governance Institutions: From ‘Soft Power’ to Collective Decision-Making?” [See more about academics-turned-consultants, Anthony Giddens and Benjamin Barber, according to guardian.co.uk]

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    A careful Wiki-study of Saif al-Gaddafi’s PhD thesis at the London School of Economics yields an astonishing amount of suspicious, non-cited similarities to other texts.

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    As government security forces were reported to be firing into crowds of civilian protesters on Monday, and with Gaddafi Jr appearing on television to threaten a civil war in which the regime “will fight to the last minute, until the last bullet”, many of his erstwhile associates were questioning their friendships with him… More about this—

    handar4An inquiry into the LSE’s links with Libya and lessons to be learned (October 2011) This Report has been prepared by the Woolf Inquiry, an independent inquiry appointed by the Council of the LSE [London School of Economics] to establish the full facts of the LSE’s links with Libya.

    At the time Tony Blair was anxious to secure a rapprochement with the Libyan regime. The call from the Foreign Office to Professor Valpy FitzGerald, the head of Oxford’s Department of International Development, came in the spring of 2002. …    Continue reading Libya: revolution, 17 February, 2011