The present analysis took place in Tunisia beginning from 18th December, 2010 to 14th January, 2011. Tunisia is a descent of Berbers; however, when she got her independence in 1956, she retains close political, economic and cultural link with France. President Bourguiba declared Tunisia a Republic in 1957, thereby ending the nominal rule of the former Ottoman Bays. Tunisia adopted a constitution modeled on the French system- Presidential system of government; where the military were excluded in participatory politics.
President Buorguiba stood unopposed in several elections that made and named him
‗‘president for life‘‘ in 1974 by a constitutional amendment. However, the entire democratic process in Tunisia has remained very slow and sluggish.
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In 1987, when President Ben. Ali came on board; he pledged greater democratic openness and respect for human rights. But his entire regime became worse to the former because the welfare of the people and rule of law were stiffened. In fact, his regime had long decades of rules accumulated into sufferings of the people, this amounted to agitations and protests. The demonstrations were precipitated by high unemployment, food inflation, corruption, ‗‗lack of political freedoms like freedom of speech, and poor living conditions.‘‘26 In fact, among other causes of the revolt were ‗‗Government corruption and Social inequalities. The protests constituted the most dramatic wave of social and political unrest in Tunisia in three decades and resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, most of which were the result of action by police and security forces against demonstrators.‘‘27
The methods of the revolution are self-immolations, civil resistance, demonstrations, general strikes, and spontaneous uprisings. The protests were sparked by ‗‗the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi on 17th December, 2010.‘‘28 The consequences of the uprising in Tunisia are as follows: overthrow of the Ben. Ali government, resignation of Prime Minister Ghannouchi, dissolution of the political police, dissolution of the former ruling party of Tunisia and liquidation of its assets , release of political prisoners, and ‗‗elections to a Constituent Assembly on 23rd October, 2011.‘‘29 Nevertheless, government agrees to resign and engages in dialogue on the country's new transition. Besides, the protests led to the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali; 28 days later he officially resigned after fleeing to Saudi Arabia, ending the 23 years in power. Labour unions were said to be an integral part of the protests. The Tunisian National Dialogue Quarter was awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Tunisian Revolution of 2011. The protests inspired similar actions throughout the Arab world. In mid-February 2011, about 4,000 mostly Tunisian refugees landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa, causing the authorities to declare a state of emergency that
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would allow for federal aid to the island. Interior Minister Roberto Maroni accused the EU of not doing enough to curb immigration and asked them to do more. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that "not everyone who does not want to be in Tunisia can come to Europe. Rather, we need to talk to each other how we can strengthen the rule of law in Tunisia again and whether Europe can be of help."30 The protests and resultant political crisis have generally been called the ‗Jasmine revolution‟31only in the foreign media. Tunisian philosopher Youssef Seddik deemed the term inappropriate because the violence that accompanied the event was "perhaps as deep as Bastille Day."32 The revolt in Tunisia sparked off speculation that the Tunisian Jasmine Revolution would lead to protests against the multiple other autocratic regimes across the Arab world. This was most famously captured in the phrase asking whether "Tunisia is the Arab Gdańsk?" The allusion refers to the Polish Solidarity movement and Gdańsk's role as the birthplace of the movement that ousted Communism in Eastern Europe. The phrase appeared in outlets such as the BBC, as well as editorials by well-known columnist Roger Cohen.
From the foregoing, one could decipher the following: the Tunisian Revolution was the first popular uprising in the Arab Spring which began in the late 2010. It was the first of its kind for an uprising to result to the ousting of the dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali on 14th January, 2011, in the Arab world. It ignited and inspired other Revolutions in the MENA region. Again, we ought to respect the legitimacy underpinning the reactions of the citizens of Tunisia to rise to their feet to revolt against abuses in government. Even though, we may not know their political and intellectual aptitude and convictions to act or were they instigated or imposed or induced to act? If their actions were borne out of freedom, then, their uprising ought to be saluted! That notwithstanding, we shall appreciate all the more the courage and brevity of Ben. Ali to hand over the government. These have shown a little enlightenment in the entire Tunisian political system. The political soil could be fertile and docile for positive
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enchantment of new course for action within the hemisphere of politics. But a lot needs to be done. What are the philosophical lessons to be down from the revolution? What about the Muslim brotherhood? What are their interests in the Tunisian polity? The entire political system requires total reforms. Thus, all hands must be on deck to play the music that all would dance for the human development and to achieve progress in Tunisia.