Tunisian political protests – January, 2011

4th February 2011

The protest and resulting regime change in Tunisia restates the reality that there is no place in modern politics for dictator style governments. In a move that could return political freedom and democracy to Tunisia, it’s hard not to see the protests as the spark that lit the touch paper for the current unrest in Egypt. The aftermath of the Tunisian protests reiterate the power that the voice of the people can have in modern society.

Tunisia's former president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali had been in power since 1984 and similarly Egypt's Hosni Mubarak has ruled for the last thirty years. Both nations have been clogged with reports of corruption and a lack of political freedom, however it is the diminishing opportunities for the young that seems to have spun the frustration up a regime change level.

The slow economic growth in Tunisia meant that to a large extent the people there accepted the police state under Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, but as the economy dried up, so did the people's tolerance for the system. The voice of this sentiment grew in strength overnight when a young graduate set himself on fire to protest against being officials from his home town preventing him from selling vegetables on the streets without permission.

From this small act a groundswell of protests raised up against the police state and with the power of modern communication, media and word of mouth they have managed to topple the long outdated might of the government. A result that looks more than likely in Egypt also.

What the Tunisian protests show is that a dictator style government can only pull the wool over the eyes of its people for so long. When the cat gets out of the bag, it moves with purpose, speed and a wave of support.