Tunisian PM announces national unity government
Source: Agencies |
January 18, 2011, Tuesday
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TUNISIA'S prime minister announced a national unity government yesterday, allowing opposition into the country's leadership for the first time, in a bid to quell unrest following the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali amid street protests.
Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, a longtime ally of Ben Ali, and several top ministers retained their posts in the shake-up. Ghannouchi also announced that political prisoners would be freed, among an array of measures aimed at loosening up a political system that for decades was effectively under one-party rule.
A key question was whether the changes in the government lineup would be enough to stabilize the North African country that has been reeling amid continued unrest after Ben Ali fled on Friday - 23 years after he took power.
Ghannouchi, who has been premier since 1999 and has kept his post throughout the upheaval, said the current ministers of defense, interior and foreign affairs would keep their posts.
Three opposition figures, including Nejib Chebbi, a founder of the opposition PDP party, will take up posts in the government - a breakthrough in a country that the autocratic Ben Ali led for more than two decades.
Until new presidential elections are held, the country is being run by interim president Fouad Mebazaa, former speaker of the lower house of parliament, also a veteran of Tunisia's ruling party.
Ghannouchi said all nongovernmental associations that seek it would be automatically -recognized, and all the restrictions on the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights would be lifted.
Many opponents of Ben Ali's rule have taken to the streets to express their hopes that the new government would not include any remnants of his harsh regime.
Earlier yesterday, security forces fired tear gas to repel angry demonstrators ahead of the announcement. In a later march, a small, peaceful group of youths carried signs reading: "Get out" - under the gaze of police, part of hundreds of security forces in the capital.
Ghannouchi said the government would create three new state commissions to study political reform, investigate corruption and bribery, and examine abuses during the recent upheaval.
Ghannouchi didn't refer to the prospect of new elections, which under Tunisia's constitution must be called within 60 days. But some members of the opposition want more time to allow the public to get to know the choices in a country known for one-party rule.
Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, a longtime ally of Ben Ali, and several top ministers retained their posts in the shake-up. Ghannouchi also announced that political prisoners would be freed, among an array of measures aimed at loosening up a political system that for decades was effectively under one-party rule.
A key question was whether the changes in the government lineup would be enough to stabilize the North African country that has been reeling amid continued unrest after Ben Ali fled on Friday - 23 years after he took power.
Ghannouchi, who has been premier since 1999 and has kept his post throughout the upheaval, said the current ministers of defense, interior and foreign affairs would keep their posts.
Three opposition figures, including Nejib Chebbi, a founder of the opposition PDP party, will take up posts in the government - a breakthrough in a country that the autocratic Ben Ali led for more than two decades.
Until new presidential elections are held, the country is being run by interim president Fouad Mebazaa, former speaker of the lower house of parliament, also a veteran of Tunisia's ruling party.
Ghannouchi said all nongovernmental associations that seek it would be automatically -recognized, and all the restrictions on the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights would be lifted.
Many opponents of Ben Ali's rule have taken to the streets to express their hopes that the new government would not include any remnants of his harsh regime.
Earlier yesterday, security forces fired tear gas to repel angry demonstrators ahead of the announcement. In a later march, a small, peaceful group of youths carried signs reading: "Get out" - under the gaze of police, part of hundreds of security forces in the capital.
Ghannouchi said the government would create three new state commissions to study political reform, investigate corruption and bribery, and examine abuses during the recent upheaval.
Ghannouchi didn't refer to the prospect of new elections, which under Tunisia's constitution must be called within 60 days. But some members of the opposition want more time to allow the public to get to know the choices in a country known for one-party rule.
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