Unrest In Tunisia Continues

In an otherwise quite nation that usually sits below the radar of Arab politics, Tunisia has been gripped by numerous protests up-and-down the country for several weeks now as public dissatisfaction and angry over the ruling regime have finally materialized in to popular demonstrations.

Unemployment is at the heart of the matter. Despite constant growth and regime claims of an economic peace, unemployment remains stubbornly high, especially for college graduates. Officially it nears 14%, but in some town it is 25% and for college graduates finding work commensurate with one's education level is quite arduous. This is coupled with a severe lack of avenues for public compliment or registering of grievances. People are stifled in their personal affairs and then denied a voice as well to even coo dissent as human rights are nonexistent under the authoritarian regime of Ben Ali.

Riots started in the small central town of Sidi Bouzid after a 26-year college graduate, Mohamed Bouazizi, attempted suicide in angry over the fact that authorities shut down his fruit selling business, something he resorted to after failing to find a decent job. He was pronounced dead on Tuesday. The fourth victim to die in 20 days, another committed suicide and two have been shot by the regime's police force who have used violence to suppress protests in this notoriously repressed society where even minimal dissent is silence.

The regime has sought to placate the protesters through a cabinet re-shuffle and a promised $5billion government aid program. But the regime lacks credibility after years of promises and worsening jobs prospects and it is widely detested for its well-known corruption, especially cornering the First Lady and her entourage. Corruption has undermined the hopes of many Tunisians as documented in a recent diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks which wrote that fears about corruption has undermined domestic investment in high-skilled sectors in the country as Tunisians are loath to invest their savings only to have "the Family" covet a share of the profits.

The Tunisian government has naturally relied on brute force and media censure (even denying access of Facebook), but Tunisians have had some allies. A group of hackers brought down government websites through coordinated attacks in "Operation Tunisia".

Protesters in Tunisia continue to increase in presence and encompassing more towns, with the people attending them growing more audacious and less intimidated by the police. Local headquarters of the ruling party have been torched. There are unconfirmed reports that high school students have joined in some demonstrations and the national lawyers guild is calling for a general strike on Thursday.

The regime has arrested untold people but for the first time in the more than two decades of power in the form of President Ben Ali the regime is being challenged in a strong show of force.