Free Republic

The rich heritage of Tunisia, maybe the only place where the Arab Spring stands a chance Modern-day Tunisians, more Westernized than most Arabs, see themselves as descendants of the great Carthaginian general who invaded Italy. The Arab Spring began in Sidi Bouzid, a small Tunisian town, at the end of 2010. In a desperate protest against the corrupt and oppressive government that had made it impossible for him to earn a living, food-cart vendor Mohamed Bouazizi stood before City Hall, doused himself with gasoline, and lit a match. His suicide seeded a revolutionary storm that swept the countryside and eventually...

As dozens of riot police fired volleys of tear gas towards crowds of angry youths on Bourghiba Avenue this week, the scene was disturbingly reminiscent of what happened on this very avenue two years ago. Even the chanting was the same: "We want the downfall of the regime!" The target of the crowd's anger may be a different government, but many here feel their efforts in 2011, when they succeeded in removing Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, may have been for nought. Many outsiders, myself included, always believed the Tunisian "Jasmine" uprising had the best chance of succeeding, of building a...

<p>CAIRO — An unprecedented wave of anti-American violence swept across Africa, Asia and the Middle East on Friday as protesters, angered by an amateurish video that mocks the founder of Islam, stormed and scorched U.S. embassies in Tunisia and Sudan, ransacked a German embassy in Sudan, and set a fast-food restaurant ablaze in Lebanon.</p>

Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, who preached in Tahrir Square 10 days ago, loathes Israel, justifies suicide bombings against its civilians. 1. Sheikh Dr. Yusuf Abdallah al-Qaradawi is a central figure affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. He was expelled from Egypt and found refuge in Qatar, operating from there throughout the Muslim world. 2. Many consider him the supreme religious and ideological authority for the Muslim Brotherhood, although he is not officially its leader. (In the past, he refused to accept the title of the Muslim Brotherhood’s General Guide). He is influential in Egypt and considered one of the most important Sunni...

Thousands of Tunisians have held demonstrations in the capital Tunis, calling for the ouster of the country's interim government. Protesters took to the streets on Sunday and demanded the resignation of interim Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi, reiterating that the new governing team should be completely swept from the old guard. Tunisian Court of Appeal on Friday approved the verdict of an initial court regarding the dissolution of the Constitutional Democratic Rally Party (RCD), which was established by former President of Tunisia Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 1988. The court has also barred all members of the party from...

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia's government asked Saudi Arabia on Sunday whether its exiled former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is dead, and demanded his extradition if he is still alive, as thousands of people protested in the capital demanding that the caretaker government resigns. The 74-year-old Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14, following a massive popular uprising that ended his 23-year rule and prompted a wave of protest against other autocratic leaders across the Arab world. Tunisia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement it had asked Saudi Arabia to provide information "as soon as possible"...

Deposed Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali had a stroke and is in a coma, French newspaper Le Monde reported on Thursday. "The former head of state was admitted to an institution for Saudi princes under a false identity for security reasons," the paper reported. "His condition is worrying."

TUNIS (AFP) – Interpol issued an arrest warrant for Tunisia's toppled president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali as protests demanding a clean break with the past mounted ahead of a major cabinet revamp due Thursday. The cross-border police agency said that member states, including Saudi Arabia where Ben Ali fled, were asked to "search, locate and provisionally arrest Mr Ali", pending a formal extradition request from Tunis. The warrant applied to Ben Ali and six family members, including his unpopular wife Leila Trabelsi, the statement said. Ben Ali, his wife and other members of his once all-powerful family are accused...

It was on Christmas Day that Facebook's Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan first noticed strange things going on in Tunisia. Reports started to trickle in that political-protest pages were being hacked. "We were getting anecdotal reports saying, 'It looks like someone logged into my account and deleted it,'" Sullivan said. For Tunisians, it was another run-in with Ammar, the nickname they've given to the authorities that censor the country's Internet. They'd come to expect it. In the days after the holiday, Sullivan's security team started to take a closer look at the data, but it wasn't entirely clear what...

Many Conservatives and Liberals (and Americans in general) are pleased as punch that Tunisia has overthrown their "president" of over two decades: Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. However, there is nothing to really be pleased about from a realistic foreign policy point of view and everything to be concerned about; we must not jump the gun on this "revolution." Tunisia has long been a ally of the United States in the ongoing War on Terror and the Jihadists. Ben Ali didn't share the Islamist worldview of our enemies in either the religious, or the political sense. Women are unchained and Islamists...

The family of ousted Tunisian President Zine El Abidin Ben Ali has reportedly fled the country with 1.5 tons of gold worth more than 45 million euros. Citing information received form the French secret services, the French newspaper, Le Monde, disclosed on Monday that Leila Trabelsi, the wife of the ousted president, took the gold bars out of the country before the collapse of Ben Ali's regime. Ben Ali's 23-year rule ended on Friday after weeks of street protests all over the North African country. "According to information gathered in Tunis, Leila Trabelsi, the president's wife allegedly went to the...

-excerpt- The president announced earlier in the day that he would dismiss his government and call new legislative elections after thousands of protesters marched through the capital to demand his ouster.