Posted by John, January 15th, 2011 - under Middle East, North Africa, Revolution, Tunisia, US imperialism.



The BBC is reporting that US backed Tunisian dictator Ben Ali has resigned and may have fled the country.

The report – Tunisia: President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali forced out – says in part:

Tunisia’s President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali has stepped down after 23 years in power, amid widespread protests on the streets of the capital Tunis.

In a televised address, Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi said he would be taking over.

A state of emergency was declared earlier, as rumbling nationwide protests over economic woes snowballed into anti-government demonstrations.

Unconfirmed reports say Mr Ben Ali has left the country.

The revolution may have only begun – in Tunisia and across the region. Let’s hope Ben Ali’s overthrow is only the beginning and it unleashes forces in Tunisia and North Africa and the Middle East that liberate the toiling masses.

The BBC’s Arab affairs analyst Magdi Abdelhadi says Mr Ben Ali’s demise may rattle the entire post-colonial order in North Africa and the wider Arab world.

I can only hope so. Victory to workers and peasants across the region – not only in Tunisia but in Algeria, in Libya, in Egypt, in Saudi Arabia, in Syria to name a few. Spread the revolution.

The developing revolution in Tunisia shows the way.

But don’t accept half measures. Don’t stop until total victory. Take over and run the workplaces. Seize the land. Set up a government of workers and peasants, not remnants of the regime or those who have bowed before it.

The liberation of Palestine comes a step closer if the dictators are swept aside and the iron grip of US imperialism shaken loose. The road to Jerusalem runs through Tunis and Cairo.

Update: A word of caution however. As Magpie points out in one of the comments, Deutsche Welle is reporting only that the dictator has asked the Prime Minister to form a new government. If so, that in itself is a great concession won by the blood of the Tunisian martyrs, but still leaves the dictator and his cronies in pwoer. It reinforces the point – intensify the action to sweep away all of the rotten regime.

Further update: The BBC is reporting that Ben Ali is in fact now in Saudi Arabia. It looks like he has gone but his regime of terror and repression continues in a new guise. Get rid of the lot of them. The report says:

A Saudi palace statement said Mr Ben Ali arrived in the country early on Saturday, according to the official SPA news agency.

“Out of concern for the exceptional circumstances facing the brotherly Tunisian people and in support of the security and stability of their country… the Saudi government has welcomed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family to the kingdom,” the statement said.