More than 200 people have been arrested and one person has died and in two nights of widespread and violent protests across Tunisia, driven by anger over steep price rises resulting from austerity measures.
According to reports, on Tuesday night hundreds of young people gathered in some places, with some throwing rocks, blocking roads and looting, and others torching police cars and attacking government officials, interior ministry spokesperson Khelifa Chibani said.
Police responded by firing tear gas at the demonstrators. As many as 237 people have been arrested, at least 49 police officers were also injured during clashes with demonstrators, the spokesman added.
Protests have become common in Tunisia in January, the anniversary of the 2011 revolt, which was sparked by the death of Mohamed Bouazizi, a street seller who set himself on fire in a protest over unemployment and police harassment.
Heythem Guesmi, of Manich Msamahm (I Will Not Forgive), said the activist group was calling for justice over the death in Tebourba and a return to the aims of the 2011 revolution.
He said the new budget “has made the rich richer and the poor poorer. By increasing taxes and the cost of such basic items as flour, telephone bills and internet access, they’ve risked families’ food security. Prices have increased, but incomes have remained at the very lowest level.”
The defence ministry said the army is now protecting banks, post offices and other government buildings in Tunisia’s main cities.
The prime minister, Youssef Chahed, said on Tuesday that his government respected the right to protest but recent demonstrations had descended into “acts of vandalism, looting and violence against citizens”.
The government plans to offer voluntary redundancies to cut the bloated civil service, but a rise in petrol prices and social security contributions are hard for people to swallow after years of hardship.
>Juthy Saha
