Los Tunisios tienen lo que les falta a los Cubanos, Venezonalos, etc....
Un hombre de 26 anios: Mohamed Bouazizi trato de vender verduras en la calle de su alrea rural sin licencia. La policia le quito sus verdudas, Bouazizi se mato en protesta. Las noticias de su suicidio se expandieron rapidamente via Facebook.
El pais en pleno se fue contra el gobierno y han logrado que el Dictador se vaya del pais.
Hillary Clinton ahora aprecia la Agenda de Libertad de George W. Bush.
Revolt in Tunisia
An Arab strongman falls in North Africa
An oft-forgotten truth about dictatorships is how unassailable they appear—right up to the moment they fall. An example is unfolding in Tunisia, where strongman Zine el Abidine Ben Ali appeared to have fled the country late yesterday after a month of protests across the North African nation.
The unrest started in mid-December, when unemployed 26-year-old Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi tried to sell vegetables on the streets of his rural village without a license. After police confiscated his produce, Bouazizi immolated himself in protest. News of his suicide spread quickly, mostly via Facebook, a social-networking site that the government hadn't banned.
As often happens in authoritarian regimes, the event became a pretext for demonstrations against the corruption and economic and social controls that marked Mr. Ben Ali's 23-year rule. The government first attempted to crack down, arresting hundreds and killing dozens.
But the demonstrations grew, and by yesterday the 74-year-old Mr. Ben Ali had shifted to appeasement by lifting restrictions on the media, calling for elections within six months and ordering troops not to use live ammunition. It was too late. By last night he had declared a state of emergency before fleeing to Saudi Arabia.
Demonstrators in Tunisia on Friday
.What Tunisians will get next is anybody's guess. The protesters say they want democratic rule and an end to the corruption of the old regime. This is a hopeful portent, but the vacuum of legitimacy remains. In a Friday statement Prime Minister Ghannouchi cited constitutional provisions that stipulate a president who is temporarily unable to conduct his duties should delegate them to the prime minister. Mr. Ghannouchi's claim on power may be challenged, especially if he doesn't move toward new elections.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has also lent its support to Mr. Ben Ali's overthrow. Its leader, Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, is urging demonstrators to "send their sons to us to receive training with weapons and to gain military experience." Al Qaeda and other extremist groups don't enjoy broad support in Tunisia, but they are disciplined and organized. History is full of liberal revolutions that were hijacked by new dictators. See Lenin, V.I., and Iran after the Shah.
In a timely warning, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton exhorted Arab leaders in Doha on Thursday to reform lest others "fill the vacuum." She said "extremist elements, terrorist groups, and others who would prey on desperation and poverty are already out there, appealing for allegiance and competing for influence."
The U.S. and Europe have long supported Arab dictators on grounds that the only alternative is radical Islam. For a time, President George W. Bush offered a third way with his freedom agenda, but that was undercut by his State Department, the rise of Hamas and the hard slog in Iraq. Mrs. Clinton's remarks show that perhaps she understands Mr. Bush's point, and the trouble in Tunisia certainly bears them out. In Tunis and elsewhere in Arabia, the West needs to support alternatives to dynastic strongman rule or Islamism.