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Tunisia imposes nationwide curfew amid spreading unrest Tunisia imposes nationwide curfew amid spreading unrest
(about 1 hour later)
KASSERINE, Tunisia — Tunisia imposed a nationwide overnight curfew Friday in response to growing unrest as protests over unemployment across the country descended into violence in some cities.KASSERINE, Tunisia — Tunisia imposed a nationwide overnight curfew Friday in response to growing unrest as protests over unemployment across the country descended into violence in some cities.
A curfew from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. has been put into place because the attacks on public and private property “represent a danger to the country and its citizens,” the Interior Ministry said. The week of increasingly violent demonstrations was triggered Sunday when a young man who lost out on a government job climbed a transmission tower in protest and was electrocuted. The suicide more than five years ago of another unemployed youth set off a popular uprising that overthrew Tunisia’s longtime ruler and eventually gave rise to the “Arab Spring” uprisings across North Africa.
On Thursday night, police stations came under attack and security officers used tear gas to repel protesters armed with stones and Molotov cocktails. In a housing projects on the outskirts of the capital, Tunis, roving groups of young people pillaged a bank and looted stores and warehouses. Tunisia built the only democracy to survive that movement, which spawned chaos elsewhere in the region. But the country’s economy is foundering, and about one in three young people remains without work.
Tunisia’s prime minister, Habib Essid, cut short a visit to France to deal with the protests, which were triggered Sunday when a young man who lost out on a government job climbed a transmission tower in protest and was electrocuted. Tunisia’s unemployment stands around 15 percent, but is 30 percent among young people.
“Are we not Tunisians too? It’s been four years I’ve been struggling. We’re not asking for much, but we’re fighting for our youth. We’ve struggled so much for them,” said Leila Omri, the mother of an unemployed graduate in Kasserine.“Are we not Tunisians too? It’s been four years I’ve been struggling. We’re not asking for much, but we’re fighting for our youth. We’ve struggled so much for them,” said Leila Omri, the mother of an unemployed graduate in Kasserine.
A curfew from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. was declared because the attacks on public and private property “represent a danger to the country and its citizens,” the Interior Ministry said.
Overnight into Friday, police stations came under attack and security officers used tear gas to repel protesters armed with stones and Molotov cocktails. In housing projects on the outskirts of the capital, Tunis, roving groups of young people pillaged a bank and looted stores and warehouses.
The previous night, a police officer died after protesters flipped his car, the government said.
Tunisia’s prime minister, Habib Essid, cut short a visit to France to deal with the protests. Tunisia’s unemployment stands around 15 percent, but is 30 percent among young people.
Tunisia has been under a state of emergency since a suicide bombing in November killed 12 members of the presidential guard in the heart of Tunis — an attack that capped an unusually violent year for Tunisia. That bombing, as well as deadly attacks earlier in the year against the Bardo museum in Tunis and the tourist beach town of Sousse, were claimed by the Islamic State group.Tunisia has been under a state of emergency since a suicide bombing in November killed 12 members of the presidential guard in the heart of Tunis — an attack that capped an unusually violent year for Tunisia. That bombing, as well as deadly attacks earlier in the year against the Bardo museum in Tunis and the tourist beach town of Sousse, were claimed by the Islamic State group.
The suicide five years ago of another unemployed youth set off a popular uprising that overthrew Tunisia’s longtime ruler and eventually gave rise to the “Arab Spring” uprisings across North Africa. In Paris just before leaving for home, Essid said the problem was not with democracy, but with the economy.
In an interview in Paris just before his government imposed the curfew, Essid denied that the two deaths had a comparable context. “We have a set of policies to try to solve this issue, which is one of this government’s main challenges,” he said after his meeting with the French president. “We don’t have a magic wand. We can’t solve the problem of unemployment in one go.”
“Tunisia has completely changed from a dictatorship to a young democracy. You know during youth there are periods of adolescence that you have to get through,” he told France 24 television. “We have a difficult job and we are aware of the difficulty.” France promised aid worth 1 billion euros, much of it dedicated to inland regions far from the relatively glamorous coastal areas that include the resort of Sousse. But tourism, the main driver of Tunisia’s economy, plummeted after last year’s attacks, leaving even the coasts struggling.
Tourism, the main driver of Tunisia’s economy, plummeted after last year’s attacks, leaving even the relatively prosperous coastal areas struggling. “You want a solution? It’s easy: give the people jobs, instead of pouring millions into Sousse,” said Abid Khadhraoui, another unemployed graduate. “You had five years and nothing happened. All we want are jobs!”
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This version corrects spelling of one byline to Benjamin. Ben Bouazza contributed from Tunis. Lori Hinnant and Jonathan Shenfield contributed from Paris.
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Ben Bouazza contributed from Tunis. Lori Hinnant contributed from Paris.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.