Protests target Tunisia PM; shooting probe pledged
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Leaders of secular and Islamist opposition groups, repressed under Ben Ali's rule, are rushing tore-enter the political battle (File)
TUNIS/ MONTREAL (Agencies)
Tunisian protesters demanded the departure of the embattled prime minister on Saturday, and an investigator promised to uncover the interior ministry's role in this month's shooting of scores of unarmed demonstrators.
Thousands rallied in Tunis and other cities Saturday, while hundreds of protesters backed by the UGTT union launched a march on the capital from the impoverished region where an uprising began last month, ending strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's 23-year rule.
Participants at the march called their protest a "caravan of liberation".
Not satisfied with his pledge to quit once free elections can be held, hundreds surged past a half-hearted police cordon at the office of Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi. One banner read: "No place for men of tyranny in a unity government."
Ghannouchi, who stayed on to head a would-be unity coalition after strongman Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled on Jan. 14, made an emotional late-night plea for patience on television on Friday. He portrayed himself as a fellow victim and pledged to end his political career as soon as he could organize elections.
But as he met cabinet colleagues on Saturday, thousands -- including many policemen -- took to the streets of Tunis and other towns to keep up the protest momentum and reject what many deride as Ghannouchi's token attempt to co-opt a handful of little-known dissidents into his government.
One demonstrator outside the premier's office said: "We want to tell Mr. Ghannouchi the definition of 'revolution' -- it means a radical change, not keeping on the same prime minister."
The General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT under its French acronym), which played a vital role in the movement against Ben Ali, has refused to recognize the new government because of its inclusion of figures from the old regime.
Investigating abuse
We saw in some cases shots had been directed to the head or to the chest... We will look into the reason those who held guns or knives struck those with empty hands who called for bread and freedom 
The heads of three commissions established by Tunisia's interim government this week said they would overhaul the country's laws and examine the interior ministry's role in the shooting of protesters.
"We saw in some cases shots had been directed to the head or to the chest... We will look into the reason those who held guns or knives struck those with empty hands who called for bread and freedom," said Taoufik Bouderbala, head of the National Commission to Investigate Abuses.
"We will accuse no one. We will check the facts... but we will ask who gave permission to those who opened fire?"
Tunisia's interior minister has given a death toll of 78 since the start of the demonstrations, but the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights put the number at 117, including 70 killed by live fire.
It is unclear when elections for president and parliament might be held. But leaders of secular and Islamist opposition groups, harshly repressed under Ben Ali's rule, are rushing to re-enter the political fray.
Rached Ghannouchi, exiled leader of the banned Islamist Ennahda (Renaissance) movement said his movement supported the democratic trend and should not be feared: "We are a moderate Islamic movement, a democratic movement based on democratic ideals in ... Islamic culture," he said.
Moncef Marzouki, a secular dissident who returned from exile in Paris and hopes to run for president, urged the appointment of a new, independent prime minister. He said premier Ghannouchi's presence was hampering, not helping, efforts to restore stability.
But mindful of the dozens of deaths this month and of the thirst for retribution against Ben Ali's clan and the organs of his police state, Marzouki urged those in the streets to stay calm.
"The great thing is that this revolution has been peaceful," he said. "Please continue this way and don't get into revenge."
Even policemen, once the feared blunt instrument of Ben Ali's 24-year rule, were declaring changed loyalties. In Tunis thousands joined in a chant of "We are innocent of the blood of the martyrs!" at a rally to show their support for the revolt.
Clearly under pressure, Prime Minister Ghannouchi said on television late on Friday: "I lived like Tunisians and I feared like Tunisians." He added: "I pledge to stop all my political activity after my period leading the transitional government."
The response of the street protesters was scornful: "Since 1990, Ghannouchi has been finance minister, then prime minister," said student Firass Hermassi outside Ghannouchi's office. "He knows everything, he's an accomplice."
"Not welcome in Canada"
Mr. Ben Ali, deposed members of the former Tunisian regime and their immediate families are not welcome in Canada Meanwhile relatives of ousted president Ben Ali arrived in Canada, a government official in Ottawa told AFP on Saturday.
The official confirmed, without offering details, a report in Le Journal de Quebec, which said one of Ben Ali's many brothers-in-law arrived in Montreal Friday morning aboard a private jet accompanied by his wife, their children and a governess.
Ben Ali's wife Leila Trabelsi has several brothers, and neither source specified which one had arrived in Canada. The family reportedly checked into a hotel in Montreal.
An official at Citizenship and Immigration Canada said Ottawa was not offering asylum to Ben Ali's family.
"Mr. Ben Ali, deposed members of the former Tunisian regime and their immediate families are not welcome in Canada," said spokesman Douglas Kellam, who declined to comment on any specific cases for privacy reasons.
"Anyone entering Canada must pass a number of tests. In the case of Tunisians, they must have a valid visa issued by the government of Canada."
The official added that visas "are only issued by our officers when they are satisfied that the individual will leave Canada once the visa expires. Given that members of the regime cannot return to Tunisia, that would be a challenge."
Protests in Montreal
The news of the arrivals drew protests from Tunisians in Montreal, many of who had demonstrated in Canada against the former regime.
"These people need to answer for their actions before Tunisians, in Tunisia," said Sonia Djelidi, a member of a group organizing protests.
Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia earlier this month.
The protests against were in part fueled by widespread allegations of corruption and reports that Ben Ali's family members, particularly his wife's relatives, had gorged themselves on state funds at a time of economic hardship.
The deposed president's daughter Nesrine Ben Ali and her husband, businessman Sakher El Materi, purchased a $2.5-million villa in the upscale Westmount neighborhood of Montreal two years ago.
The house is currently uninhabited and partially under construction.
On Thursday, Tunisian authorities arrested 33 members of Ben Ali's family who were under investigation for plundering the nation's resources.
The European Union has agreed in principle to freeze the assets of Ben Ali and his family, a source in Brussels told AFP earlier this week, though the final details were still to be worked out.
The Swiss government had earlier ordered a freeze on any funds held by Ben Ali in a move aimed at helping the country's new authorities to retrieve public assets illicitly taken from the country.
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