CIAO DATE: 04/2012
March 2012
United States Institute of Peace
Mohammed Bouazizi’s altercation with a policewoman in the dusty town of Sidi Bouzid on December 17, 2010, was ordinary for its arbitrariness but extraordinary for what it sparked. After spitting in and slapping his face, a local policewoman confiscated his vegetable cart—and all its goods bought on credit—and so doing threatened his livelihood and sole means of support for his entire family. Bouazizi tried to appeal to the local municipal officials, but they refused to see him. With no education or prospect of another job, the twenty-six-year-old man set himself on fire in front of the municipal headquarters building. He succumbed to his wounds in the hospital on January 4, 2011, ten days before Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced to step down. Bouazizi’s tragic protest struck a chord of discontent and frustration that sparked public demonstrations throughout Tunisia. What had begun as an outpouring of frustration and protest over poor economic conditions, and particularly high youth unemployment, rapidly escalated into an unprecedented challenge to Ben Ali’s twenty-three-year rule. The internal security services—the police and the National Guard—responded in force. Some protests were largely peaceful, but others turned violent. Police opened fire on crowds and arrested protestors, journalists and opposition party members, lawyers, and rights advocates. But the police response failed to quell the protests. On January 13, Ben Ali made a last ditch attempt to save his rule. On national television, he pledged to step down when his term ended in 2014, offered new parliamentary elections, and vowed to end state censorship. But with the carrot came the stick. He deployed the military to buttress the internal security forces, and on January 14 declared a state of emergency that prohibited gatherings of more than three people. He also authorized the use of force against any individuals who ignored the ban. And then General Rachid Ammar, chief of staff of the army,
Resource link: Security Sector Reform in Tunisia [PDF] - 204K