Ben Ali allies dropped from cabinet

Key ministers from the heavily criticised former government replaced while interm Tunisian prime minister remains.

Aljazeera, 27 Jan 2011 20:26 GMT

It remains unclear whether the protesters in Tunis would accept a
new ministerial line-up [Reuters]

Mohammed Ghannouchi, the Tunisian prime minister, has reshuffled the interim government, dropping key ministers from the heavily criticised government of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

"The aim of the government is to bring the country to democracy," he said on Thursday.

Ghannouchi, also a key figure in the previous administration, said he would stay in his post as the country prepares for parliamentary and presidential elections.

The new cabinet includes 12 new ministers and keeps nine from the previous set-up. Among those replaced were the ministers of interior and defence.

Earlier on Thursday, Kamel Morjane, the foreign minister, resigned.

Ghannouchi said the new foreign minister will be Ahmed Ounais, a 75-year-old career diplomat who studied at the Sorbonne University in Paris and served as Tunisia's ambassador to Moscow and New Delhi.

Protesters' demands

Protesters, who earlier on Thursday stormed police barricades in Tunis, the Tunisian capital, have been insisting that the government dismiss Ben Ali loyalists.

Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on January 14 when weeks of violent protests against poverty, repression and corruption toppled him after 23 years in power.

The interim government which was appointed after Ben Ali's departure includes many officials of RCD, the former ruling party.

Morjane and the seven other ministers from the RCD quit the party last week but that gesture did not prove enough to appease protesters.

Tunisia's powerful labour union, UGTT, will not join the new government itself but said it would approve of Ghannouchi staying in power, a factor that could help appease protesters demanding that the government be purged of members of the RCD.

The union has a large membership and has been involved in organising some demonstrations.

And in what is being seen as an attempt to ease the tension on the street, the union decided to cancel a big protest rally scheduled for Friday.

The developments came as thousands of demonstrators continued to throng the main Tunis boulevard, Bourguiba Avenue, demanding that the transitional government resign.

Earlier on Thursday, protesters broke through police lines outside Ghannouchi's office, where hundreds of demonstrators have pledged to camp out until the government resigns.

Tunisia's uprising has electrified Arabs across the Middle East and North Africa, where many countries share the complaints of poor living standards and authoritarian rule.

Inspired by Tunisia's example, thousands of Egyptians have taken to the streets to demand an end to Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, clashing with police who fired tear gas and used water cannon.

In addition to the cabinet reshuffle, Tunisia is aiming to set up a council of "wise men" to guide the country to democracy from the authoritarian state run by Ben Ali.

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Tunisia Foreign Minister Kamel Morjane resigns