Protests have broken out across Tunisia after austerity measures came into effect on January 1. The country's main opposition party has said it will keep protests going until the government drops its 2018 budget.
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Tunisians protest austerity measures
Protests have broken out across Tunisia against austerity measures aimed at stabilizing the country's economy. The protests saw demonstrators burn government buildings and one protester killed.
Image: picture-alliance/Anadolu Agency/Y. Gaidi
Increasing anger
Tunisians have held rallies across the country to protest the government's new austerity measures, aimed at minimizing the country's deficit. The Tunisian people have become increasingly angry since the government said it would increase the price of petrol, some goods, and taxes on cars, phone calls, the internet, hotel accommodation and other items from January 1.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Belaid
One protester dead
One protester died in unclear circumstances in Tebourba, a town 40 kilometers west of the capital Tunis. The Interior Ministry said that the 43-year old male was not killed due to police violence, but an autopsy would be carried out to determine the cause of death.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Belaid
'Nothing to do with democracy'
Interior Ministry spokesman Khelifa Chibani said 44 protesters were arrested for carrying weapons such as knives, setting government buildings on fire and robbing stores. "What happened had nothing to do with democracy and protests against price hikes ... Yesterday protesters burned down two police stations, they looted shops, banks and damaged property in many cities," Chibani said.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Hamdaoui
Opposition to increase protests
The leader of Tunisia's main opposition party Popular Front, Hamma Hammami, said they would step up protests until the government changed its "unjust" 2018 budget. "Today we have a meeting with the opposition parties to coordinate our movements, but we will stay on the street and we will increase the pace of the protests until the unjust financial law will be dropped," Hammami said.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Belaid
Tunisia's economy in crisis
Tunisia's has been in economic crisis since 2011, when the Arab Spring uprising unseated the government. Two major militant attacks in 2015 also greatly damaged the country's tourism industry, which made up eight percent of gross domestic product. Many people face unemployment, with official figures put the unemployment rate at around 15 percent.
Image: picture-alliance/Anadolu Agency/Y. Gaidi
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Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed on Tuesday promised to crack down on rioters after two days of anti-austerity rallies in the country.
"What some Tunisian areas saw overnight could not be considered a way of protest, but acts of theft, looting and attacks on Tunisians' properties," Chahed said. "The only solution for confronting those involved in looting and attacks on Tunisians and their properties is applying the law."
The details
Protests broke out in more than 10 towns against price and tax increases put in place by the government in an attempt to stabilize Tunisia's economic crisis.
About 300 people demonstrated in the streets of the central Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, the center of the country's Arab Spring revolution.
A 43-year old male protester died in unclear circumstances in the town of Tebourba, 40 kilometers west of the capital Tunis.
The Interior Ministry denied that the protester was killed due to police violence, but an autopsy would be carried out to determine the cause of death
National Security chief Walid Ben Hkima said 11 officers were wounded in the clashes, some after being hit by stones and Molotov cocktails.
Khelifa Chibani, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said 44 people had been arrested for carrying weapons such as knives,´setting government buildings on fire and looting shops.
Tunisians have become increasingly frustrated since the government said it would increase the price of gasoil, some goods, and taxes on cars, phone calls, the internet, hotel accommodation and other items from January 1, as part of austerity measures agreed upon with its foreign lenders.
"What happened had nothing to do with democracy and protests against price hikes ... Yesterday protesters burned down two police stations, they looted shops, banks and damaged property in many cities," Interior Ministry spokesman Chibani said.
The leader of Tunisia's main opposition party Popular Front, Hamma Hammami, said they would increase protests until the government dropped the "unjust" 2018 budget.
"Today we have a meeting with the opposition parties to coordinate our movements, but we will stay on the street and we will increase the pace of the protests until the unjust financial law will be dropped," Hammami told reporters.
Tunisia - everyday life with the crisis
The future of the "Arab Spring" is not only being decided in Egypt. In Tunisia the crisis continues between the Islamist-led coalition government and the secular opposition.
Image: DW/A. Allmeling
Life without work
Many people spend the day on the street or in cafés because unemployment in Tunisia is high. That hasn’t changed since the fall of long-time dictator Ben Ali. The hopes of many Tunisians that the economic situation would improve following the "Jasmine Revolution" have not been fulfilled. Many blame the ruling party, Ennahda.
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Meager earnings
Cactus figs sale - for a whole range of people in Tunis, this is the only employment. The meager earnings are barely enough to survive. Tunisia is in a deep economic and political crisis, and stall holders such as this feel it very strongly.
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Evening meeting place
All roads lead to Bardo Square - at least for the opponents of the Tunisian government. Night after night they gather there and demand the resignation of the political leadership. Since the murder of opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi at the end of July, the gap between supporters of the government and the opposition has increased.
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Noisy protests
"The government must resign," the demonstrators shout. They accuse the largest government party Ennahda, inter alia, of not acting decisively enough against radical Islamists. These are suspected of being behind the murder of Brahmi. Many Tunisians, however, believe that the Islamist Ennahda party was responsible.
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Boycott of Parliament
They have had enough of the ruling party: roughly one third of the members of the Constituent Assembly are boycotting their own institution. President Mustapha Ben Jaafar has temporarily suspended the work of the Constituent Assembly, which acts as Parliament. The democratization process in Tunisia is on hold.
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Political impasse
Unlike Egypt, Tunisia is dominated not by violence but by political stalemate. The government and opposition regard each other with suspicion. The country is struggling with enormous problems. Widespread poverty and terrorism are among them.
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Fewer guests
Tourist information centers across the country are deserted. While staff say that the situation has improved somewhat in recent months, the industry is still suffering greatly from the unrest in the country.
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Popular capital
Tunisia has a lot to offer tourists and the capital was slowly establishing itself as a venue for international conferences. But attacks on Mohamed Brahmi and opposition leader Chokri Belaid in February have repeatedly led to cancellations and a decrease in bookings.
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Tense silence
Although the anti-government protests continue, it is quieter on the streets of Tunis now. Many Tunisians watch the escalation of violence in Egypt with concern. They hope for a peaceful resolution to the crisis in their own country - even though no one can say how this might be achieved.
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The end of tolerance
The Arab country was long famous for its religious tolerance. But since Ben Ali's fall from power, attacks on minorities have increased. The small Jewish community in Tunis has been particularly threatened by Islamists. The result: many Jews are leaving their homes.
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Hope for compromise
The country where the "Arab Spring" began is still far from a democracy. But even before the upheaval in January 2011, Tunisia was relatively progressive. A majority of the population hopes that the country continues to open itself – and does not sink into political chaos.
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Roots in the Arab Spring
Tunisia's economy has been in crisis since the 2011 uprising unseated the government and two major militant attacks in 2015 damaged the country's tourism industry, which accounted for eight percent of gross domestic product.
The January protests are much smaller compared to the previous turmoil seen in Tunisia since the overthrow of autocrat ruler Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, but past confrontations between government, labour unions, Islamists and secular forces have also started small before escalating.