Bombings took the lives of 62 Shiite pilgrims, mostly in the holy city of Karbala, but also in Diyala province. Sunni Arab guerrillas are still attempting to destabilize the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki by provoking Shiite-Sunni feuds and spreading a feeling of instability that interferes with investment and reconstruction. On Tuesday, a […]
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Arab World
Tunisia’s Uprising: A Real Shot at Democracy – Cole at the Economist
A podcast interview with me about Tunisia and its wider significance in the Middle East is up at the Economist web site.
Map: Industry by Province in Tunisia
Courtesy Centre Technique du Textile
Tunisian Ministers Resign En Masse from old Ruling Party
Stung by continued protests against the Rally for Constitutional Democracy (RCD) of deposed president Zine el-Abedine Ben Ali, the members of that party in the interim cabinet all resigned from it on Thursday morning. The president and prime minister had earlier left the party. The government also announced the freeing of all political prisoners. Some […]
Juan Cole: Tunisia Uprising “Spearheaded by Labor Movements, by Internet Activists, by Rural Workers; It’s a Populist Revolution” (Democracy Now!)
My interview on Tunisia on Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now!, which aired on Tuesday, is on the Web. A transcript is here. Here is the YouTube video: Excerpt: ‘ AMY GOODMAN: And, of course, Ben Ali has taken refuge in Saudi Arabia. And if you heard Fares Mabrouk, they are calling for him to be extradited […]
Tunisian Revolution Shakes, Inspires Middle East – Cole in Truthdig
My column is out at Truthdig on the wider repercussions in the Middle East of the Tunisian events, “Tunisian Revolution Shakes, Inspires Middle East”. Excerpt: ‘The spectacle of masses of demonstrators pouring down Bourguiba Avenue on Friday, overwhelming security forces and putting the president to flight, raised the hopes of the dispossessed and the downtrodden, […]
New Tunisian Government Declares Total Liberty of Information, as the Opposition Demands more Change
The Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) managed to remain in control of Tunisia on Monday, with Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi announcing a national unity government in which his party retained the most powerful posts. He did bring some 9 opposition party members into the cabinet. The not-altogether-new government was greeted with disbelief, dismay and extreme suspicion […]
New Wikileaks: US Knew Tunisian Gov. Rotten Corrupt, Supported Ben Ali Anyway
The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten released a series of US diplomatic cables from 2006 on massive and pervasive corruption and nepotism in Tunisia and its effect on economic development and social problems. The cables show that the United States government was fully aware of the dangerous and debilitating level of corruption in Tunisia, and its anti-democratic […]
Tunisia: Government of National Unity or Tanks in the Street?
The video on Aljazeera shows Tunis as a war zone on Saturday afternoon, with burned out vehicles in the streets and heavy black smoke floating over the city. Security forces loyal to deposed president Zine al-Abidin Ben Ali are alleged to be engaging in sabotage and looting, and to be coming into conflict with the […]