Tunisia: Violent protests after journalist sets himself on fire
Clashes between protesters and police erupted for the second day in Tunisia on Tuesday after a journalist set himself on fire to protest poor living conditions in the North African state.
Journalist Abderrazak Zorgui posted a video online before his self-immolation in the provincial city of Kasserine, in which he lamented unemployment, poverty and corruption.
“For the sons of Kasserine who have no means of subsistence, today I start a revolution. I am going to set myself on fire,” Zorgui said in the video. He died Monday after being taken to the hospital.
Police patrol the streets after clashes in Kasserine
His death sparked protests Monday night as youth set tires ablaze and blocked streets, prompting police to fire tear gas. Six police officers were injured and several protesters arrested.
After Zorgui’s funeral on Tuesday renewed clashes erupted in impoverished city, some 270 kilometers (165 miles) from the capital Tunis. Authorities also deployed reinforcements on the main streets of Kasserine.
The National Union of Tunisian Journalists said Zorgui had died protesting “difficult social conditions … and a lack of hope.” The union was considering a strike.
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Tunisia stuck in post-revolution limbo
Dark silhouettes in Tunis’ Souqs
From a time when ͞the walls had ears to post-revolution struggles seven years later, Tunisians are proud to have won their freedom of speech.
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Tunisia stuck in post-revolution limbo
Café Le Parlement
“Now, at least we can speak freely,” proclaim Tunisians on the streets. Cafes, such as Le Parlement in Tunis, have become a forum for discussions and debates spurred on by the revolution.
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Tunisia stuck in post-revolution limbo
Bullet hole in Bardo
Bardo,Tunisia’s National Museum, was the scene of one of the two terror attacks in 2015, which left 24 people dead and the country’s crucial tourism economy in tatters.
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Tunisia stuck in post-revolution limbo
The scene of the attack
Twenty tourists were killed In Bardo, and another 38 in the resort town Sousse. Tunisia also has the highest number of “Islamic State” recruits, and has fought against an Islamist insurgency in the country’s border regions.
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Tunisia stuck in post-revolution limbo
Post-revolution political assassinations
The murders of secularist politicians Mohamed Brahmi and Chokri Belaid shocked the country in 2013; Tunis routinely sees demonstrators calling for justice.
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Tunisia stuck in post-revolution limbo
Between football and apathy
Competing football club graffiti in Tunis suburbs. Some young Tunisians have pointed at the political apathy and disengagement, claiming that society focuses more on football rivalries than post-revolution politics.
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Tunisia stuck in post-revolution limbo
Fighting for women’s rights
A landmark law, which came into effect in February, made violence against women a criminal offence. Wafa Fraouis has been involved in women’s issues since she was 15-years old. She was a member of the committees drafting the post-revolution constitution, enshrining gender equality in Tunisia’s future. She is now director of Beity, the only shelter for vulnerable women in Tunis.
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Tunisia stuck in post-revolution limbo
A tantalizing glimpse of a better life
For many Tunisians, the only option to escape creeping poverty is the dangerous journey to Europe. Over 6,000 Tunisians reached Italy’s shores in 2017 alone; over a third came in the space of two months, the sharpest increase since the 2011 revolution.
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Tunisia stuck in post-revolution limbo
Discarded and forgotten
Inside a cafe, a group of men sit around plastic tables covered with coffee cups, as heaps of discarded cigarette butts pile underneath. “This is what unemployment looks like,” says one of the regulars inside. At least three visitors in the small cafe have been deported from Italy.
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Tunisia stuck in post-revolution limbo
Escaping from their past
Marwan, a regular at this cafe, says many Tunisians leave to escape prison sentences, provide for their families back home, or cut links with the past completely. “We departed together with five boats; three made it to Lampedusa.” He spent four years in northern Italy, dealing drugs and saving enough for a house and marriage back home.
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Tunisia stuck in post-revolution limbo
The final nail in the coffin
Hundreds of Tunisians who have tried to take the dangerous sea route across the Mediterranean have perished. Unmarked graves have popped up along Tunisia’s coastline.
The self-immolation was reminiscent of that of street vender Mohamed Bouaziz, who set himself on fire eight years ago to protest unemployment, corruption and repression.
His death triggered the Arab Spring protests that toppled longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and unleashed a chain of similar movements throughout the Middle East.
Despite Tunisia’s democratic transition the country has suffered from low economic growth, corruption, poor living conditions and an al-Qaeda and “Islamic State” presence.
cw/aw (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Article source: http://www.dw.com/en/tunisia-violent-protests-after-journalist-sets-himself-on-fire/a-46863748?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf