“Jasmine Revolution”
Symbol of peace: Flowers placed on the barrel of a tank
in very much calmer protests than in recent days in Tunisia

'The Protester' - Time Person of the Year 2011

'The Protester' - Time Person of the Year 2011
Mannoubia Bouazizi, the mother of Tunisian street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi. "Mohammed suffered a lot. He worked hard. but when he set fire to himself, it wasn’t about his scales being confiscated. It was about his dignity." (Peter Hapak for TIME)

1 - TUNISIA Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)


How eyepatches became a symbol of Egypt's revolution - Graffiti depicting a high ranking army officer with an eye patch Photograph: Nasser Nasser/ASSOCIATED PRESS

2 - EGYPT Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)


''17 February Revolution"

3 - LIBYA Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)

5 - SYRIA Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)

"25 January Youth Revolution"
Muslim and Christian shoulder-to-shoulder in Tahrir Square
"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) -
(Subjects: Egypt Uprising, Iran/Persia Uprising, Peace in Middle East without Israel actively involved, Muhammad, "Conceptual" Youth Revolution, "Conceptual" (without a manager hierarchy) managed Businesses, Internet, Social Media, News Media, Google, Bankers, Global Unity,..... etc.)
"The End of History" – Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)
(Subjects:Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Muhammad, Jesus, God, Jews, Arabs, EU, US, Israel, Iran, Russia, Africa, South America, Global Unity,..... etc.) (Text version)

"If an Arab and a Jew can look at one another and see the Akashic lineage and see the one family, there is hope. If they can see that their differences no longer require that they kill one another, then there is a beginning of a change in history. And that's what is happening now. All of humanity, no matter what the spiritual belief, has been guilty of falling into the historic trap of separating instead of unifying. Now it's starting to change. There's a shift happening."


“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013.

They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."



African Union (AU)

African Union (AU)
African Heads of State pose for a group photo ahead of the start of the 28th African Union summit in Addis Ababa on January 30, 2017 (AFP Photo/ Zacharias ABUBEKER)

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela
Few words can describe Nelson Mandela, so we let him speak for himself. Happy birthday, Madiba.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Tunisia descends into turmoil

Deutsche Welle, 16 december 2012


Two years after the 'Arab Spring' revolution in Tunisia, the country is in turmoil. The economy is paralyzed, and the political, religious and social gulf between Islamists and the secular opposition is growing wider.

Hundreds of people have been hurt in protests since the end of November. In the Northern town of Siliana supporters of Tunisia's largest trade union UGTT protested against police abuse and social grievances. In the course of several days, more than 300 people were hurt in clashes with security forces.

In the Tunisian capital Tunis, radical Islamists attacked members of the UGTT, who were gathered outside the union's headquarters on December 4 to mark the 60th anniversary of the assassination of its founder.

Elsewhere in the country the situation is tense. Two years after the beginning of the rebellion that became known as the 'Arab Spring', the country has still not found peace. The self-immolation of a Tunisian vegetable vendor triggered the initial wave of discontent and protests that quickly spread across the Middle East.

Mohamed Bouaziz had set himself on fire to protest against the authorities which had confiscated his vegetable stall. The news quickly spread and Tunisians in towns all over the country vented their anger over corruption, officials' arbitrary behavior and the general lack of economic perspectives.

Tunisia's President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali fled the country in early 2011, setting the stage for a painstaking political reorganization. The Islamic Ennahda party emerged victorious from the elections in October 2011.

Divided society

Protests in Siliana Tunesia
Tunisia is increasingly polarized. The Ennahda and Salafits groups want to give greater political and social importance to Islam. The opposition, comprised of several parties and the influential trade union UGTT, views this with concern.

“Battlelines are being drawn”, William Lawrence from the International Crisis Group told Deutsche Welle. “It is increasingly clear that Tunisian society is lining up on one side or the other. Things are definitely getting more tense in Tunisia these days”, said Lawrence, who heads the North Africa Department, referring to ongoing strikes and violence by Salafists against secular targets.

Radwan Masmoudi, who heads the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy in Washington, agrees that there is an ever greater gulf dividing the two sides. “People are afraid of each other: The Islamists are afraid of the secularists and the secularists are afraid of the Islamists.” He told Deutsche Welle that there was a lot of “residual fear” on both sides. “The Islamists have suffered for 30 years from oppression and torture.”

Secularlists, he added, were afraid that the Islamists in power might imitate the Iranian or Saudi Arabian model. “The key is to encourage dialogue and find a consensus.” The center Masmoudi chairs organizes round table discussions. When the debate is public, Masmoudi says, it tends to be heated. But turn the microphones off – and both sides manage to engage constructively.

Economic crisis overshadows political turmoil

But these social conflicts are overshadowed by the economic crisis. Two years ago, the anger spilled onto the streets when hundreds of thousands demonstrated against unemployment and the dictatorship's nepotism. One of the protesters main rallying calls – besides freedom and dignity – was jobs. Young university graduates without any perspective of ever finding work were the driving force behind the revolution.

But their situation hasn't improved. “One of the major causes of revolution was corruption and it is absolutely unclear if any of this corruption has been attenuated”, says Crisis Group analyst Lawrence. Until the revolution, the families of President Ben Ali and his wife Leila Trabelsi “had their hands in about 180 of the top-200-firms in Tunisia. And when those families ran away, power was transferred to new interests but it is not clear how corrupt those new interests are”, Lawrence says. What is more, according to the Middle East expert, neither Ennahda nor its coalition partners, have any great experience in economic policies.

Calls for European support

Confrontation with the Tunis trade union, UCTT

In order to kick-start its languishing economy, Tunisia depends on support from abroad. Lawrence and Masmoudi agree that Europe could do more for the country. But, in the aftermath of the revolution, many European companies fled – and continue to flee – Tunisia, Lawrence says: “They leave for good reasons: unrest, strikes and threats of violence.” He is convinced that Tunisia has to create a “hospitable environment” for the European companies that Tunisia so badly needs. But, Lawrence says, more is needed than just an inflow of money. Tunisia requires fundamental structural reforms, he said.

Mamsoudi is convinced that it is “critical for European interests that Tunisia succeeds as a model for democracy that shows the way for other Arab countries, like Libya and Egypt how to build a true democracy in the Arab world and in North Africa.” But in order to achieve that, Europe should support Tunisia in its difficult transition period, “in the same way that Europe helped Eastern Europe after the collapse of the Soviet Union.”

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