Unrest in Tunisia

What is the issue?

At a time when Tunisia must be cherishing the 7^th anniversary of the “Jasmine Revolution”, the country has crept back to turmoil.

What is Tunisia’s story?

Tunisia is a small country in northern Africa, along the southern Mediterranean coast.
The country saw intense civil unrest in 2011, which lead to the ousting of the 23 year old authoritarian regime of president “Zine El Abidine Ben Ali”.
The demonstrations were caused by high unemployment, food inflation, corruption, a lack of political freedoms and poor living conditions.
This (jasmine revolution) subsequently inspired similar demonstrations around the Arab world, which came to be known as Arab Spring.
While many died in the protests and police action, unlike rest of the Arab world, Tunisia managed to make a fairly comfortable transition to democracy.
While the country was stable thus far, recent austerity budget cuts and the economic situation have led to some unrest, which could spell danger.

What has led to the current wave?

IMF had set stringent pre-conditions regarding austerity budget cuts, for offering a loan of $2.9 billion, which the government has concurred to.
This implies lower petrol subsidies and higher taxes on cars and utilities, for the reducing fiscal deficit from the currently at 6% of GDP, to 4.9% in 1 year.
Further, 25% youth unemployment rate, and persisting disparities among regions has also contributed to current unrest.
Notably, the crumbling of the Tourism industry due to the poor security scenario has affected the economy significantly.
While the government has promised $70 million in aid to support the poorer communities in a bid to quell the protests, it has failed to cut ice.
Notably, PM Youssef Chahed has been cautious in criticising only the violence behind the opposition rather than the dissent against the fiscal reforms.

What can be done?

The PM would now have to show demonstrable progress in implementing democratic reforms to restore confidence in the government.
Particularly, the 2015 security law and the proposed amnesty for corrupt officials of previous dictatorial regime have been politically controversial.
These needs to be addressed by building considerable political consensus and garnering popular public support.
Also, as foreign aid is indispensible, the government will have to tactically balance international players with the domestic political compulsions.
Significantly, EU would be keenly interested in Tunisian affairs due to the persistent cross-Mediterranean migration.

Source: The Hindu