Teachers Go On Strike in Tunisia
Tunisian Flag (ei-ie.org)
The Jasmine revolution in Tunisia continues with teachers all over the country going on strike on Monday, as the students wanted to return to classes after weeks of riots and protests in the streets of the north African country.
The protests on Monday against the interim government turned violent as the protesters threw rocks and bottles against the riot police, smashed police cars and broke the windows of the Finance Ministry.
Even though Tunisia has rid itself of the former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the protests of teachers, shopkeepers, and even police show that the country is far from finding peace and the democratic future people are expecting.
Tunisian Teacher Protest (teachersolidarity.com)
After former president Ben Ali was ousted, Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi took over a caretaker government in which members of the former regime met new members.
Ghannouchi pledged to organize elections within six months, but many Tunisians do not seem disposed to wait that long, considering the new ministers were brought into the new government merely to give a façade to a government that remains autocratic and corrupt.
The teacher decided to protest indefinitely against the fact that the new government has included members of Ben Ali’s regime.
The classes were canceled in January 10, and the teachers followed the lead of their trade union leaders to stay away from classes until their demands were met. “We will stay here,” people say, “until the government runs away like Ben Ali.”11
