Politics

Tunisia-Tunisia marks 10 years since revolution

Tunisia on Thursday celebrates the 10th anniversary since the flight into exile of iron-fisted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, pushed from power in a popular revolt that foretold strife and civil war in the region, acknowledged as the Arab Spring.

The revolution was unconsciously sparked by an extreme act of a 26-year-old fruit seller, Mohammed Bouazizi, who set himself in fire on Dec. 17, 2010, to oppose police humiliation in Sidi Bouzid. His death unleashed boiling dissatisfaction and mass protests against poverty, joblessness and repression. That, in turn, rebounded beyond Tunisia and extended to other nations.

Nonetheless, despite successive governments, Tunisia has still not attained the goals of the revolution, as roared by the protesters during the riots: work, freedom and national dignity. Tunisians suffer more than ever from poverty and an increasingly high cost of living. The exclusive point of light in this record appears to be freedom of expression. Tunisians have even lost some gains and are still professing their most fundamental rights, prominently the right to drinking water or to a road infrastructure worthy of the 21st century.

“Ten years after Tunisia’s Revolution, which sparked a wave of uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa, victims are still struggling to obtain justice and reparations for grave human rights violations committed during the revolution, between 17 December 2010 and 14 January 2011, “Amnesty International reported.