Saturday, April 07, 2012

Tunisian Police Clash With Unemployment Demonstrators

Tunisian police clash with unemployment demonstrators

Sat Apr 7, 2012 6:11PM GMT
presstv.ir

Police forces in the Tunisian capital Tunis have clashed with people protesting against the country’s high unemployment rate.

The police used batons and teargas against peaceful protesters to disperse crowds as thousands of jobless graduates gathered, chanting anti-government slogans. Protesters pelted stones at police in response.

According to the Union of Unemployed Graduates, some 20 protesters were injured.

"We came to demonstrate peacefully for jobs, freedom and dignity because nothing has changed since the revolution. The police behaved brutally just as in the days of [Zine El Abidine] Ben Ali,” leader of the Union of Unemployed Graduates, Belgacem Ben Abdallah said.

A statement by the interior ministry also said that six police officers were also injured during the protest.

Ben Ali and his wife fled to Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2011, following a month-long revolution.

Ben Ali is facing charges of manslaughter and crimes against the state.

Ben Ali's 23-year-old regime collapsed early 2011 after weeks of bloody protests over corruption, unemployment, and high food prices. He fled to Saudi Arabia with his family on the same day.

The popular revolution sparked a wave of anti-regime protests in North Africa and Middle East, promptly known as the Islamic Awakening, and led to the downfall of long-time dictators in Egypt and Libya.

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