 Tunisia's acting President Fouad Mebazaa (L) and Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi pose during the swearing-in ceremony of his new transitional national unity government. AFP photo |
Tunisia braced for fresh protests Saturday after the main trade union called for a new government of "national salvation," as the prime minister promised the first democratic elections since independence.
The rallies come on the second day of a national mourning period put in place by the new authorities for the victims of a bloody crackdown by 23-year president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali before his ouster on January 14.
Flags flew at half-mast and public television broadcast Koranic prayers.
The UGTT union, which played a key role in the protests, has rejected the government installed after Ben Ali's downfall because it has kept in place some of the same people in key posts despite unveiling huge democratic reforms.
Abid Briki, deputy head of the UGTT, told AFP on Friday, "The executive committee of the UGTT met today and called for the dissolution of the government and the formation of a new government for national salvation."
"The street is still boiling over," said the independent daily Le Quotidien.
Protesters "are determined to wipe out any trace of the old regime and its ideological instrument, the RCD" - the ex-ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally party, which has dominated Tunisian politics for decades, it said.
"It's clear that transition to a truly democratic regime will not happen without a hitch," it added.
Upheaval in the once tightly controlled state continued to bring change, with state media reporting that farmers in the Beja region west of Tunis had occupied land they said had been confiscated from them by Ben Ali's nephew.
The government in recent days said it had opened a vast investigation into the property and finances of Ben Ali's extended family, seized family assets and arrested 33 of the ex-president's relatives.
Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi, who has kept his post despite the revolt, vowed to quit politics after the north African country's first fair polls since independence from France in 1956, in comments broadcast on Friday.
"After the transition, I will retire from political life," said Ghannouchi, who has been prime minister since 1999. He also said that like many Tunisians he was "afraid" under the Ben Ali regime.
"All undemocratic laws will be scrapped" during the transition to democracy, he added, mentioning electoral, anti-terrorism and media laws.
He did not give a precise date for when elections would be held, although he has previously said there will be a vote within six months. Under the constitution elections should officially take place within two months.
Protesters in Tunis on Friday called for Ghannouchi to resign and officials from his office threw out portraits of Ben Ali onto the street below.
The rallies in Tunis in recent days have been largely peaceful and are smaller than the ones seen in the final days of Ben Ali's rule.
Ben Ali resigned and fled in disgrace to Saudi Arabia after 23 years in power, felled by a populist uprising against unemployment, corruption and poverty that quickly spiralled out of control despite his crackdown.
Officials say that 78 people were killed in the uprising including five members of the security forces. The United Nations has said at least 100 died, including dozens of prisoners who died during an uprising in Monastir.
At the start of a three-day mourning period in the country, imams across Tunisia hailed the "martyrs" at the traditional Friday prayers.
The government has announced major democratic reforms such as the release of all political prisoners, complete media freedom and the registration of previously banned political movements - including the Islamist Ennahdha.
But there is still deep resentment in central Tunisia, where the protests began a month ago, over social and economic conditions there.
One protestor at a rally on Friday held up a sign reading "Our President" next to a photograph of Mohammed Bouazizi, the 26-year-old fruit vendor who inspired the uprising against Ben Ali by setting himself on fire last month.
Dissident journalist Taoufik Ben Brik, who lives in Paris, has said he would run in the planned presidential election.
Moncef Marzouki, another dissident who returned to Tunisia this week after years of exile in Paris, has also said he wants to run.
The rallies come on the second day of a national mourning period put in place by the new authorities for the victims of a bloody crackdown by 23-year president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali before his ouster on January 14.
Flags flew at half-mast and public television broadcast Koranic prayers.
The UGTT union, which played a key role in the protests, has rejected the government installed after Ben Ali's downfall because it has kept in place some of the same people in key posts despite unveiling huge democratic reforms.
Abid Briki, deputy head of the UGTT, told AFP on Friday, "The executive committee of the UGTT met today and called for the dissolution of the government and the formation of a new government for national salvation."
"The street is still boiling over," said the independent daily Le Quotidien.
Protesters "are determined to wipe out any trace of the old regime and its ideological instrument, the RCD" - the ex-ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally party, which has dominated Tunisian politics for decades, it said.
"It's clear that transition to a truly democratic regime will not happen without a hitch," it added.
Upheaval in the once tightly controlled state continued to bring change, with state media reporting that farmers in the Beja region west of Tunis had occupied land they said had been confiscated from them by Ben Ali's nephew.
The government in recent days said it had opened a vast investigation into the property and finances of Ben Ali's extended family, seized family assets and arrested 33 of the ex-president's relatives.
Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi, who has kept his post despite the revolt, vowed to quit politics after the north African country's first fair polls since independence from France in 1956, in comments broadcast on Friday.
"After the transition, I will retire from political life," said Ghannouchi, who has been prime minister since 1999. He also said that like many Tunisians he was "afraid" under the Ben Ali regime.
"All undemocratic laws will be scrapped" during the transition to democracy, he added, mentioning electoral, anti-terrorism and media laws.
He did not give a precise date for when elections would be held, although he has previously said there will be a vote within six months. Under the constitution elections should officially take place within two months.
Protesters in Tunis on Friday called for Ghannouchi to resign and officials from his office threw out portraits of Ben Ali onto the street below.
The rallies in Tunis in recent days have been largely peaceful and are smaller than the ones seen in the final days of Ben Ali's rule.
Ben Ali resigned and fled in disgrace to Saudi Arabia after 23 years in power, felled by a populist uprising against unemployment, corruption and poverty that quickly spiralled out of control despite his crackdown.
Officials say that 78 people were killed in the uprising including five members of the security forces. The United Nations has said at least 100 died, including dozens of prisoners who died during an uprising in Monastir.
At the start of a three-day mourning period in the country, imams across Tunisia hailed the "martyrs" at the traditional Friday prayers.
The government has announced major democratic reforms such as the release of all political prisoners, complete media freedom and the registration of previously banned political movements - including the Islamist Ennahdha.
But there is still deep resentment in central Tunisia, where the protests began a month ago, over social and economic conditions there.
One protestor at a rally on Friday held up a sign reading "Our President" next to a photograph of Mohammed Bouazizi, the 26-year-old fruit vendor who inspired the uprising against Ben Ali by setting himself on fire last month.
Dissident journalist Taoufik Ben Brik, who lives in Paris, has said he would run in the planned presidential election.
Moncef Marzouki, another dissident who returned to Tunisia this week after years of exile in Paris, has also said he wants to run.
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