Coup In Tunisia?

Massive demonstrations ignited due to public anger over aiding youth unemployment and rises in poverty but which have morphed into general opposition against a regime's increasingly corrupt nature and fierce suppression of dissent have reached the Tunisian capital.

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The protests started late December after a 24-year old youth committed suicide in an act of desperation which struck a powerful cord with Tunisians, especially the youth, who could readily empathize with his plight.

The Tunisian army has been deployed to the capital along with several coastal towns and a 8pm curfew has been established in Tunis in order to contain protests. The late Tuesday night army entry onto the capital streets sparked rumors which spread like brushfire that a coup has taken place against long-reigning authoritarian president Ben Ali.

Twitter was lite with unconfirmed reports that the president had been overthrown and the army chief-of-staff placed as temporary leader.

The rumors have proved to be false, but many Tunisians remarked that the intensity in which they were believed reflected the great hope the nation has that they will soon be rid of Ben Ali.

As public malcontent continued unabated the regime has resorted to well-practiced tactics of arrests of prominent dissidents and violent attacks against civilian demonstrators which have left dozens dead.

At the same time it has acknowledged some of the dissidents' grievances and promised job creation for graduates and several ministers have been sacked, including the interior minister. On Wednesday the regime. which has thus far avoided any explanation but economic to categorize the protests, said it is open to dialog once unrest ceases. But such words carried little weight amongst average Tunisians and have conspicuously done nothing to placate widespread anger or to undermine the growth and continuation of demonstrations. Many Tunisians no longer trust the word of their government after years of broken promises.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that the American position is for a peaceful resolution but that the United States has not taken sides between the opposition and the government. Tunisia is considered an American ally and the timid nature of government is echoed in Europe and stands in contrast to the strong denunciations against the Iranian regime's far less bloody crackdown of demonstrations in 2009. In France, a French official even went so far as to pledge support for the regime and request that aid be provided to it.

Given the ongoing instability in the country and the nearly unanimous collapse of support for the present regime, many Tunisians dearly hope that enough people in the government will recognize that the current president's status as a credible leader has been irredeemably tarnished by unrelenting demonstrations, no matter the force used against the people, and that the armed forces will obviate his tenure and bring about a democratic change. A coup is still in the offering in Tunis.