Interim leader sees 'democracy for all children of Tunis'

CNN News, From Rima Maktabi and Ben Wedeman, January 15, 2011

New Tunisian President Foued Mebazaa is sworn in Saturday, January 15, in Tunis.
Power was transferred to the parliament speaker when the former president Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali fled the country. Presidential elections will be held in 60 days.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Acting president calls for a "better political life" in Tunisia
• Country's parliament speaker is sworn in as acting president
• Presidential elections will be held in 60 days
• The longtime former president is now in Saudi Arabia

Tunis, Tunisia (CNN) -- Tunisia's acting president on Saturday called for "a new phase" in his embattled land, envisioning "a better political life which will include democracy, plurality and active participation for all the children of Tunis."

Fouad Mebazaa was sworn in as the country's acting leader Saturday after Tunisia's longtime authoritarian president and his family took refuge in Saudi Arabia, a flight sparked by days of angry street protests against the government.

Speaking on national TV, Mebazaa, who had been the country's parliamentary speaker, promised to ensure the nation's "stability," respect its constitution and "pursue the best interest of the nation."

"Citizens, sons and daughters of our country of Tunis, in this important and urgent moment in the history of our beloved country, I appeal to all of you of various political parties, and nationalist organizations, and all civil society organizations to fight for the national interest and to respect the army's command and the national security in security matters, and to preserve private and public property and to bring the return of peace and security in the hearts of the citizens," he said.

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Mebazaa's temporary assumption of the presidency corresponds to an article in Tunisia's constitution that says power will be transferred to the parliament speaker when the president resigns, dies or is unable to perform his responsibilities.

The formation of a new government is in the works after the departure of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali amid the dramatic power shift in the restive country.

A leader with a reputation for ruthlessness and corruption, Ben Ali fled to Jeddah after ruling his country since 1987, and was welcomed by the Saudi Arabian king.

"The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announces that it stands fully by the Tunisian people, wishing, by God will, its people will stand solid to overcome this difficult phase in its history," the Saudi royal court said in a statement.

Tunisian state TV reported that officials plan to hold presidential elections in 60 days, and an opposition leader told CNN that opposition figures were meeting with the caretaker prime minister to discuss formation of a unity government.

As the political situation remained fluid, the army appears to have clamped down and established a strong presence on the streets in the cities of Tunisia -- long a relatively stable and prosperous country in what diplomats call "a rough neighborhood."

No street protests in the capital, Tunis, were reported Saturday, but reports of rioting and looting in the country and the burning of Tunis' main train station have surfaced. Security forces also have been spotted rounding up and roughing up people.

At least 42 people died when a fire swept through a prison in the eastern Tunisian city of Monastir, Dr. Ali Chadly of the University Hospital of Monastir told CNN. It was not immediately clear what sparked the fire.

A travel warning from the British Foreign Office on Saturday said "there have been demonstrations, some violent" in Tunis and other locations, citing Sousse, Sfax, Nabul, Hammamet, Douze, Kasserine, Requeb and Thia.

"There was significant looting in Tunis overnight and there continue to be reports of rioting and looting, including in residential areas," said the office, which recommended against all but essential travel to the country.

The wave of rallies in the North African nation was stirred by the suicide of an unemployed college graduate, who torched himself last month after police confiscated his fruit cart, cutting off his source of income.

The protests have been organized and supported through online networks centered on Twitter and Facebook.

Under Ben Ali, Tunisia was a pro-Western state supportive of U.S. policy in the Middle East and in its efforts against terrorism.

A widespread grass-roots outrage has been bubbling over poor living conditions, high unemployment, government corruption and repression.

Protesters had called for Ben Ali to step down and held daily demonstrations denouncing his government.

The tumult has also reverberated in the Arab world, where the news of the uprising elated people in other countries across the region, where authoritarian rule has persisted for years.

In Cairo, Egypt, about 100 people inspired by what some are calling the "Jasmine Revolution" in Tunisia massed in front of the press syndicate and called for a similar uprising there.

Amid heavy security and the presence of many riot police in the city, the people chanted, "Down with Hosni Mubarak," the nation's leader, and called him a corrupt and ruthless ruler.

The dramatic change in Tunisia's government began on a turbulent Friday, when police fired tear gas and dispersed demonstrators in the capital -- a show of force that aggravated what had been a peaceful gathering.

Ben Ali dissolved the government and declared a state of emergency.

Then, Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi announced that he had taken over the responsibilities of the president because Ben Ali couldn't perform his duties.

Ghannouchi appealed for calm, and pledged to respect the constitution and carry out political, economic and social reforms.

Ghannouchi asked residents to cooperate with the army, which was ordered to take charge of the streets following a state-of-emergency declaration.

As Ghannouchi took the helm, protests erupted in Kasserine as Tunisians objected to his power move.

Trying to calm widespread discontent with Ben Ali's government, the prime minister told Arabic-language Al-Jazeera TV that "certain measures" had been taken against "corrupt families," referring to business owners close to the president.

The president's return to Tunisia "is impossible," Ghannouchi said.

The parliament speaker then assumed the interim presidency under constitutional law and Ghannouchi was named the prime minister in what is now a caretaker government.

Abdel Latif Abid, a human rights lawyer and one of the founders of an opposition party, told CNN that the opposition leaders were meeting with Ghannouchi to discuss the formation of a unity government.

The unity government would prepare for presidential elections after which a new government is formed and prepares for parliamentary elections.

Amnesty International spokesman Claudio Cordone told CNN that 55 people have been killed over the past several weeks of demonstrations. The former president had put the number at 21 before his departure.

"We hope that the army will match its reputation for being more professional and less trigger-happy than the security forces that have been responsible for much of the violence over the last several weeks," Cordone said.

Tunisia has close cultural and economic links to France, which invaded Tunisia in 1881. It led to the creation of a protectorate until Tunisia became independent in 1956.

An official statement from French President Nicolas Sarkozy noted France's "many ties of friendship" to Tunisia and called for free elections as soon as possible.

The statement said France will assist in helping along the democratic process and "has taken steps to ensure that suspicious financial transactions involving Tunisian administrative assets in France are blocked under the law."

After Sarkozy met with some senior members of his Cabinet Saturday to discuss Tunisia, Finance Minister Christine Lagarde sent instructions to financial institutions and banks to freeze the assets in France of the Ben Ali family.

French government spokesman Francois Baroin said Saturday that France asked some of Ben Ali's relatives to leave the country.

He also said Ben Ali wouldn't have been allowed to travel to France if he had tried to seek refuge there.

There "was never a presence of Ben Ali on French soil ... it was never requested and it would not have been accepted," Baroin said.

The African Union's Peace and Security Council on Saturday "expressed its solidarity" with Tunisians and deplored the "excessive use of force against demonstrators."

It also urged "the political stakeholders and the Tunisian people to work together, in unity, consensus and respect for legality, towards a peaceful and democratic transition, which will allow the Tunisian people to freely choose their leaders through free, open, democratic and transparent elections."

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday condemned "the use of violence against citizens peacefully voicing their opinion in Tunisia" and lauded "the courage and dignity of the Tunisian people. "

"I urge all parties to maintain calm and avoid violence, and call on the Tunisian government to respect human rights, and to hold free and fair elections in the near future that reflect the true will and aspirations of the Tunisian people," he said.

"I have no doubt that Tunisia's future will be brighter if it is guided by the voices of the Tunisian people."

Journalists Elham Nakhlawi and Ian Lee contributed to this report.

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