tunisia march 2018 – march 2013

Readers are asked to add more insights into these events, and also provide interesting information or critiques that are not included here.

18/3/18:

Tunisia, Gafsa region: 2nd day of clashes with cops as locals demand jobs and investment On Saturday night, police fired tear gas at protesters who tried to block trains that were transporting phosphate. Sunday’s protest, attended by many young men and women, broke down into clashes after some demonstrators threw stones at police, who again used tear gas to disperse the crowd.”

15/2/18:

Tunisia, Tunis: football supporters clash with cops (no confrontations with fans of opposing team reported) Video here. Given that exactly a month before, on 15th January, over 1000 of the same team supporters “gathered Monday evening in the working class Bab Souika neighborhood of Tunis. Chibani said the crowd attacked a government building with stones and bottles, before police fired back with tear gas.” ( see below ), I imagine that these fans had a clear anti-cop, anti-state hatred that motivated them far more than football.

21/1/18:

Tunisia, Metlaoui: roads barricaded with burning tyres in protest against lack of jobsMadhila: roads blocked with burning tyres as Gafsa Phosphate Corporation stormed, administrative documents destroyed

16/1/18:

Tunisia, Kram: youths block roads with burning tyres

15/1/18:

Tunisia, Tunis: clashes between footbal fans and cops “…more than 1,000 fans of club Esperance Sportive de Tunis gathered Monday evening in the working class Bab Souika neighborhood of Tunis. Chibani said the crowd attacked a government building with stones and bottles, before police fired back with tear gas.”

14/1/18:

Tunisia, Feriana: more clashes and roads blockedsimilarly in Tunis (Ettadhamen…and Kram) More here, which mentionsSidi Ali Ben Aoun (Sidi Bouzid)… Ettadhamen city (Ariana) and Douar Hicher ( Manouba) where, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Khalifa Chibani, young insurgents have erected barricades across the streets and clashed with the lackeys of power. In Nabeul, the cops reported 26 arrests, 11 of which were directly related to clashes with the police and various looting of shops, customs depots and state buildings. During the night of Sunday to Monday, there were anonymous burning tires in several streets and stones thrown at the police. In Sidi Ali Ben Aoun, others tried to break into a warehouse owned by Tunisian Customs, only just prevented by the cops. In Sidi Bouzid, a group of insurgents damaged a high voltage power cable, causing a power cut in some areas”…and more here in EnglishLongish reformist article here “Tebourba is a prison” said Oussema Ellafi, an unemployed 32-year-old …”If you have connections, you work. Those who are deserving, don’t work. You go to the [local government] office and ask them to find you work and they say there’s only farm work. What’s this farm work? They’re making fun of us, giving us a [sedative] pill… Just be hungry and shut up.”…in Tebourba, and in poor towns and areas across the country, there’s a different, more desperate and raw anger….Without organised leadership and structure, the opposition protests will likely remain volatile.” I’d guess that implicit in this is the desire on the part of certain sections to offer themselves to the state as some future “organised leadership and structure” to prevent these movements  from becoming volatile, possibly organisations such as Manich Msamah (‘I Will Not Forgive’) or the Fech Nestannew (‘What are we waiting for?’) campaigns. The miserable history of all the organisations which aim to tame social explosions is that they start off as benign reformists subservient to a modification of dominant “realism” and end up as part of the ruling racket.

13/1/18:

Tunisia, Siliana: clashes between stone throwing youths and teargas-throwing cops as youths block roads with burning tyresstate to hand out crumbs of comfort to the poorest families in response to riots The proposal is to pay out $70 million as well as improved healthcare to 250,000 families (probably about 10% of the population), which  works out at $280 per family. Whereas, the annual defence budget for the ruling class (officially “the country”) doubled from over $480 million in 2011 to over $960 million in 2017 (here). This says “Among the few “decisions” that he announced yesterday in an attempt to contain the anger, Min. of Social Affairs mentioned the creation of a guarantee fund to allow citizens w/ “unregular income” to get housing loans…This is NOT a new decision. It was already in the Finance Law 2018, Article 59…This fund was not intended to be used as a support people from the low-income/vulnerable working class from the industrial/agricultural sector or the informal sector. It is a fund for “economically active” liberal professionals in legally regulated sectors…Usually banks require from clients a “salary domiciliation” signed by their employers to make sure that they have a stable job that allows them to pay back the loans. Liberal professionals cannot provide this doc. It is about financial risk management, not welfare. On the other side, the Finance Law created a high VAT on real estate that will prevent so many low-income people from having access to housing…. I think that VAT measure was meant to tackle speculation on real estate … And that first home buyers have separate tax incentives? With the devaluation of the dinar, the upper middle class have sought to protect their wealth buying land and apts creating a real estate bubble.”

11/1/18:

Tunisia: video here and here and here…Photos here

10/1/18:

Tunisia: 3rd night of riotsBeja: 2 areasTebourba: molotovs v. teargas during attempts to break into judicial court & HQ for financial receipts.More here “Tebourba… is emblematic of the social and economic issues driving the revolt. Thirty kilometres outside the capital, the only two opportunities for work are either gruelling agricultural labour or travelling into the city and spending half your wage on travel – a wage that amounts to USD 160 per month. With youth unemployment as high as 38%, many people aren’t even lucky enough to secure this derisory pay.” Thala: uprising of youths on estate (access to town blockaded) More here: after Thala’s regional “security” office is burnt down, national army occupy townEtadhamen (Mnihla – Tunis): motorway barricadedHammam-Lif (Tunis suburb): demonstrators totally block all rail linesSiliana, Sejoumi, Kasserine, Cité Ibn Kahldoun (popular area of Tunis – where police station & section of Town Hall were seized, & an attempt to burn them was made)La Marsa:  road to Bousalsla blockadedChaâbia, Jbel Lahmar, Sousse, Cap Bonarmy  deployed around banks, post offices & other government buildings in all major cities; government accuses leftist party of stirring up trouble video in Arabic …More here “Some 237 people have been arrested in the past 48 hours for being involved in looting and vandalism, Tunisian Ministry of Interior said on Wednesday. Khalifa Chibani, official spokesman for the ministry, said the looting took place in 11 provinces, and 58 security agents including police and national guard were injured in night clashes, in addition to the destruction of 57 state security vehicles.”

 

9/1/18:

Tunisia: riots spread further across country; about 28 areas effectedJedaida: assault on municipal vehicle compound as major road is blockedTunis: protesters storm supermarket; riots in 2 areasNabeul: molotovs against cops; Hammamet Nord: ringroad blocked with burning tyresSfax: roads blockaded in several regions and popular areasriots & looting also on various estates in Ettadhamen,Testour, Beja, Gafsa,  Manourba, Tebourba, Sousse, Bouhssina (police station torched), Khezama, Kelibia, & Sidi Bouzid Nefza: cop station torched Another report mentions burning of municipal cars and the town hall’s financial receipts hereKebili: roads blocked with burning tyresthe following towns, districts & estates have also been effected: BabJedid, Bab Al Jazira, Cité Ezzouhour, Ibn Sina, Al Kabaria, Ennour, Soliman, Kasserine, Le Kef

8/1/18:

Tunisia, Tebourba: man dies (officially from teargas asphyxiation, though independent witnesses say he was deliberately run over) during attempt to burn down government building as riots & protests against price & tax rises spread to 11 different areasphoto of man being killed by security vehicleMelloulèche: road between Sfax & Chebba closed during 3 hours of riotsTunis: riots in 2 areas – looting of supermarket in Intilaka Apart from these 4 places, riots have taken place in Kasserine, Kairouan (2 areas: Bouhajla & la Oueslatia), Thala (2nd night of riots), Feriana, Gafsa & Sbeitla…

7/1/18:

Tunisia, Thala: stones v teargas as youths block roads with stones and tyres in protest against new taxes & higher prices More here

30/12/17:

Tunisia, Tunis: fly-pitchers & cops clash; 2 cops injured, cop car vandalised

13/12/17:

Tunisia, Kram: youths block road, chuck stones at cops, after resident is badly beaten by copsBouarada: youths protesting suicide in custody get teargassed by copsSidi Bouzid: roads blocked with flaming tyres in movement against unemployment

Meknassi, Sidi Bouzid

12/12/17:

Tunisia, Sejnane: 200 attack National Guard gendarmerie during General Strike demo against lack of investment & unemployment in area Violence had already occurred on Friday in Sejnane (Bizerte governorate) in response to the death in hospital of a woman who tried self-immolation by fire last month in protest against the removal of social assistance. According to the Interior Ministry, protesters set fire to the headquarters of a local social affairs unit and broke the windows of the sub-prefecture. Police officers had been injured, the ministry added, without specifying their numbers. A first general strike was observed in the city on November 22nd, days after the attempted self-immolation at the headquarters of the sub-prefecture of Radhia Mechregui, who died in early December during her hospitalization. This mother of five wanted to protest against the cancellation of the welfare payment of 150 dinars (51 euros) from her husband, sick, after several unanswered claims. “The act of despair and anger of Radhia Mechergui was the spark that triggered the anger of the inhabitants of Sejnane,” said November 22, Mr. Barhoumi, UGTT. “The temperature in the street is at boiling point,” he said.

4/11/17:

Tunisia, Gafsa: part of national guard post & security vehicle torched as youths block main road in  protest against not being employed (also this)

31/10/17:

Tunisia, Zarzis: clashes with cops as youths block roads with burning tyres after youth tries self-immolation following his brutal “interrogation” by the cops

12/10/17:

Tunisia, Kebili: youths set fire to HQ  of delegation & delegate’s official residence in protest against suspicious deaths “Angry protesters also blocked the national road linking Kebili to Tozeur “

Souk Al Ahad

13/9/17:

Tunisia, Tunis: clashes as national assembly passes “reconciliation bill” that forgives crimes of Ben Ali’s old regime “…demonstrators tried to invade the seat of parliament and responded to being opposed by the police by throwing glass bottles and stones.

6/8/17:

Tunisia, Zarzis: fishermen prevent racists docking for urgently needed supplies for the master race

3/7/17:

Tunisia, Tunis: stall-holders clash with cops after state cracks down on “anarchic” street markets proliferating since uprising of 2011 For an ultra-leftist take on the situation there, see this analysis.

24/5/17:

Tunisia, Tataouine: new governor resigns after less than a month following massive strike and riot movement against unemployment 

22/5/17:

Tunisia, Tataouine: 3rd day of revolt in several cities & towns in southern parts of country after protester  is run over & killed by cops in strike movement against unemployment 2 police stations and several state vehicles set on fireprotesters force closure of two oil and gas pumping stations…  More here….Hazoua: attack on border post in solidarity with movement in Tataouine; 12 state officials wounded

10/5/17:

Tunisia, Tebourba: 100s riots after fruit seller sets himself alight following cops preventing him from selling

18/3/17:

Tunisia, Bouhajla: cop station attacked by friends and family of desperate man who killed himself by self-immolation

26/2/17:

Tunisia, Bradaa:  cops force end to 3rd day of sit-in on motorway following general strike protesting unemployment Unfortunately these protesters seem to have illusions in NGOs helping their movement (see here).

23/2/17:

Tunisia, Bradaa: general strike against unemployment

24/1/17:

Tunisia, Sfax: roads blocked, clashes with cops after youth dies fleeing from cops

14/1/17:

Tunisia: protesters block president’s route as demonstrations against unemployment spread throughout country on 6th anniversary of ousting of Ben Ali “In Gafsa, angry youths protested against Mr Essebsi’s visit, throwing stones and blocking the road. Local media and residents said the president’s convoy was forced to change its route before he left by air. In Sidi Bouzid, the cradle of the Tunisian revolution which was sparked by the death of a street vendor protesting against official corruption and abuses, hundreds demonstrated in front of the local governorate, making the same demands as six years ago. “We raised the same slogans as 2011 … work is our right … no fear, and the street belongs to the people,” said local resident Attia Athmouni. In Meknassi, police arrested some protesters late on Friday. But the protests continued in Meknassi and Manzel Bouziane on Saturday.”Métlaoui: freight train wagon burnt out by protestersMenzel Jemil: police station attacked with molotovs

12/1/17:

Tunisia: clashes with cops, burning barricades and roads blocked in 3 cities (Sidi Bouzid, Ben Guerdène and Médenine) as general strike develops against unemployment whilst poverty gets a lot worse than under Ben Ali More here (in English)…Sbeïtla: protestors confiscate governor’s car & attack governorate’s HQ

11/1/17:

Tunisia, Sidi Bouzid: riots over unemployment continue after a series of self-immolationsBen Guerdane: clashes with cops over closure of border crossing with Lybia in town dependent on cross-border trade

10/1/17:

Tunisia, Sidi Bouzid: governor’s HQ smashed up in city that sparked Arab Spring

3/1/17:

Tunisia:  in Kasserine,  clashes as building workers’ demo burn tyres, block main roads, whilst youths break open municipal depot & retrieve impounded smuggler’s luxury car & several motorbikes; in Jendouba, similar tyre-burning etc.  following shipyard workers’ demo; access to Algerian border in Kef region closed as state fears connection with Kabylie uprising 

26/7/16:

Tunisia, Sidi Bouzid:  workers demanding regularisation of their work sit-in in front of local government HQ

Tunisia, Kerkennah: further clashes with cops over unemployment Clashes took place on the night of Thursday to Friday in Kerkennah between police and protesters after the latter blocked the arrival of six trucks of the Petrofac company from the port of Sidi Youssef…Acts of vandalism and violence occurred in an area where several protesters gathered outside the port, threw various objects and threw gas canisters on fire in the direction of the security agents. … A general strike was observed on Tuesday in Kerkennah, scene of several days of tension, following the intervention of the security forces on 3 April, to disperse a sit-in of unemployed outside the offices of the company Petrofac.” More here. “On April 18, in the archipelago of Kerkennah, the use of force against the blocking of the oil company Petrofac degenerated into riots. … Since January 19, the oil company Petrofac,…was blocked by protesters who demand the Government keep its promises about jobs….The only reaction of the State: the use of force, which degenerated into riots on 18 April. …To reduce unemployment, the state has helped 266 unemployed people, including university graduates, with an “environmental program” funded by Petrofac since 2011 through the Regional Council of Sfax. They obtained jobs in the government of the island without having a contract or social security coverage. They now demand the regularization of their situation, under agreements with the government in April 2015, while Petrofac’s lack of transparency in the management of its funds, has suspended its funding program since late 2015. …In fact, the government’s room for maneuver is limited: the fiscal deficit forced the state to reduce hiring.” 

14/4/16:

Tunisia, Kerkennah: molotovs etc. thrown at cops during protests over unemployment Clashes erupted on Thursday evening in Kerkennah between police  and demonstrators as the latter prevented Petrofac trucks coming from the port of Sidi Youssef from entering,…Police used tear gas and water jets to disperse protesters who threw stones at law enforcement officers…A general strike was staged Tuesday in Kerkennah after police broke up on April 3 a sit-in of unemployed people outside the premises of Petrofac.” Video of underwater police

9/4/16:

Tunisia, Tunis: big demo of unemployed try to get into main government building demanding public sector jobs Clashes erupted Saturday in front of the government headquarters in Tunis between the police and the unemployed who attempted to enter the building, injuring several people. …The ministry said five policemen were injured by protesters throwing stones. … several protesters were injured in clashes with police and that two of them had been taken to hospital . …19 protesters were arrested.”

Tunisie-des-affrontements-devant-le-siege-du-gouvernementTunis: according to the Ministry of the Interior this is a photo of “60 unemployed people”

3/4/16:

Tunisia, Sfax: 3 month strike-cum-sit-in by workers of petrol company broken up by security forces “”These people attacked the security units’ agents and their cars. Two buses and two security cars were wrecked, and an officer was wounded in the face…sit-ins and repeated blockades…cost about 200 thousand dollars a day.”

23/1/16:

Tunisia:  “A spokesperson for the National Guard has told Mosaique FM that 123 people were arrested during the country’s first night of curfew, with 18 members of the National Guard wounded. No details have been given on the number of protesters injured. 23 vehicles belonging to the National Guard were also damaged during clashes with protesters. Five Guard Posts were also damaged during disturbances. Seven people were arrested in Karouan while attempting to drill a hole through the wall off the Promogro shopping centre thereThe Ministry of the Interior have announced the arrest of 261 individuals for looting, 84 ones for breaking curfew, with 109 security officers injured. It is unclear if these figures include those quoted by the National Guard.”

Protests against arrests for breaking curfew take place in Sidi Bouzid, Regueb & Ben Aoun Nabeul: burning tyres block entry to townTozeur: pharmacy looted

22/1/16:

More Tunisia coverage: riots in 4 areas despite curfew

This comment talks of the amount of arrests and other things; it also says that the Arabic word for “totalitarian” has, over the last few years  of demockrazy,  been tagged on the walls of military buildings and some people have been calling for the collapse of the state (though I suspect, fairly few, and the comment gives no details; still – interesting). [SF]

Sidi Bouzid: clashes as protesters try to force entry into local government offices

Tunis: 2 estates erupt during curfew; tyre burning and looting of shops

Protesters block roads between these 2 estates “This area experienced theft and looting of banks and some local shops last night”

Tunis (Kram): rioters v cop, stones v. tear gas

21/1/16:

Tunisia: protesters try to storm government buildings in several towns on 3rd day of widespread rioting against unemployment “…youths chanted “Jobs or Another Revolution,” according to state media and local residents. President Beji Caid Essebsi’s government announced on Wednesday it would seek to hire more than 6,000 young unemployed people from Kasserine, and start construction projects….Unemployment rose to 15.3 percent in 2015 compared with 12 percent in 2010″

More here“It’s as if we were back in 2010-2011,” Al Shuruk newspaper wrote …Tensions remain high in Kasserine, where security forces have used tear gas and water cannon against crowds of hundreds of demonstrators, and the protests have since Tuesday spread to nearby towns. As on the previous days, protesters on Thursday set up roadblocks with burning tyres and pelted security forces with stones,…In Feriana, 30km away, a policeman was killed on Wednesday during an operation to disperse demonstrators…he died when his vehicle was overturned….As the protests spread, protesters on Thursday cut off roads in Sidi Bouzid and clashed with police, while similar demonstrations were reported in the central towns of Jendouba, Gafsa and Kebili”

and here“Tunisian police firing tear gas clashed on Thursday with hundreds of protesters who set fire to police posts and tried to storm local government buildings in towns across the country in the largest protests since the 2011 “Arab Spring” uprising….Protesters set fire to a police station in the town of Guebeli in southern Tunisia and officers abandoned another post in Kef in the northwest…Later on Thursday night, the protests spread to the capital where rioters burned a small police post in the poor Tunis district of Cite El Intilaka and residents set alight tyres in the streets of Cite Ettadhamen district”

And here “…a fractious night that saw protests in a number of the capital’s suburbs. Districts, Ettadhamen , Sidi Hassan , Mnihla and Intilaka all saw disturbances through the night, with police reporting damage to shops, supermarkets and a bank. Protests in Ettadhamen continued until 5am, with Police arresting six. … a number of police stations had been set on fire, including ones at Douz and Gabes. Several police cars are also understood to have been burnt.”

Video here

More here:
“Relative peace reported in Kasserine, but protests persist in frontof the governorate headquarters.Following the Ministers’ announcement of a development plan for Kasserine, protests erupt in other interior regions—including Sidi Bouzid, Gafsa, Jendouba, Beja, Gabès, Tozeur and Medenine—demanding similar government interventions. Security forces clash with protesters and apply tear gas in Mahdia. Demonstrations spread throughout the governorate of Sidi Bouzid. A man attempts to self-immolate in Nefta, near Tozeur. In Siliana, protesters surround the governorate headquarters. In Kairouan and Enfidha, demonstrators enter and occupy governorate headquarters. In the distric oft Skhira, near Sfax, protesters set fire to tires and block traffic.”

And here:
“It’s as if we were back in 2010-2011,” Al Shuruk newspaper wrote …Tensions remain high in Kasserine, where security forces have used tear gas and water cannon against crowds of hundreds of demonstrators, and the protests have since Tuesday spread to nearby towns. As on the previous days, protesters on Thursday set up roadblocks with burning tyres and pelted security forces with stones,…In Feriana, 30km away, a policeman was killed on Wednesday during an operation to disperse demonstrators…he died when his vehicle was overturned….As the protests spread, protesters on Thursday cut off roads in Sidi Bouzid and clashed with police, while similar demonstrations were reported in the central towns of Jendouba, Gafsa and Kebili”

and here, from France24:
“Tunisian police firing tear gas clashed on Thursday with hundreds of protesters who set fire to police posts and tried to storm local government buildings in towns across the country in the largest protests since the 2011 “Arab Spring” uprising….Protesters set fire to a police station in the town of Guebeli in southern Tunisia and officers abandoned another post in Kef in the northwest…Later on Thursday night, the protests spread to the capital where rioters burned a small police post in the poor Tunis district of Cite El Intilaka and residents set alight tyres in the streets of Cite Ettadhamen district”

More here: “El Ksiba the capital of the governorate where clashes between the security forces and youth …manifested themselves by throwing projectiles and burning tires. The security forces had to respond by launching tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.  Some distance away, on the east bank of the canal, at Zarzouna, other youth groups went on to burn tires and block roads…At the Ennasr city of Mateur, a dozen people blocked the road in the industrial area by piling up  branches and burning tires.”

Tunisia (Mahdia): unemployed occupy governor’s HQ

And the army sent in as national guard post is burnt down &  roads are closed with burning tyres

As a nationwide curfew is announced, state propaganda claims that the extension of the state of emergency is due to an  increase in the threat of terrorism, rather neatly revealing how such states of emergency – whether in Tunisia, France or elsewhere – are almost invariably a pretext for cracking down on proletarian subversion (just in case anybody reading this was naive enough to have any doubts about it).

“Essebsi reminded the protesters in his Friday speech that the country is under a state of emergency, banning all forms of demonstrations. The General Labor Union, which won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work in reconciling the country after the Arab Spring, called for a national dialogue between political parties and civil society groups to find solutions in response of the protests.”  – here: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/tunisia-imposes-curfew-following-nationwide-demonstrations-182725904?#sthash.kAmI6eP7.dpuf” Another neat reminder of how unions, Nobel peace prizes, political parties and civil society groups are all united in trying to find ways of presenting continuing misery as  “solutions in response of [sic] the protests”.  [SF]

The Tunisian unions seem to be looking for another Peace Prize — maybe this year it will be shared between them, Obama and the Pope: a global congratulations to the beloved leaders of the workers, the free world and the faithful respectively. A far cry from the sentiments of George Bernard Shaw who refused this great honor saying  ‘I can forgive Alfred Nobel for inventing dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize’. It is astonishing that so many radicals in this day and age continue to fancy that these rackets are or ever can be useful in
revolutionary struggle as ‘organs of the working class’. [SK]

20/1/16:

Tunisia: cop killed as movement against unemployment continues into 2nd day (video) “Large crowds burned tyres and chanted “Work, Freedom, Dignity during the violent protests” An oxymoronic slogan; freedom and dignity certainly go together – but work…? In a world where proletarians are increasingly surplus to the requirements of surplus value, unemployment is bound to rise, but work is not the answer to unemployment, but merely the other side of the coin, the threat making those who have work grateful for their relatively better situation and more submissive than when unemployment is low.

More here:

http://www.tunisia-live.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Time-Line-Protest.pdf

“Organizers stage protests in Tunis and Sousse in solidarity with Kasserine’s demands that the government solve the problem of unemployment. Protests in Kasserine resume and spread to small towns throughout the governorate, including Majel. Bel Abbes and Foussana…Following an emergency meeting, the Council of Ministers announces a plan to hire 5,000 unemployed individuals in Kasserine for public sector jobs and to undertake major infrastructure reforms in the region.

19/1/16:

Tunisia: at least 4 towns experience violent clashes with cops over unemployment after suicide of young man
“The protests erupted in Kasserine, where the young man killed himself, apparently over the lack of job opportunities, residents said, and later spread to three other towns or cities in the country’s impoverished central, southern region. Tunisia’s “Arab Spring” uprising in 2011 was sparked when a struggling young market vendor committed suicide, unleashing a tide of anger among the young, unemployed that eventually forced longtime autocrat leader Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali to step down and flee the country. “Security forces chased the protesters in the streets of the city and fired tear gas,” …Hundreds of unemployed protesters had gathered in front of the headquarters of the Kasserine governorate, where some threatened to commit suicide, prompting tear gas salvoes by security forces to scatter them….clashes continued into the night there and spread to the other cities of Tahla, Fernana, Meknasi…Protesters chanted: “Work, freedom and dignity,” according to one resident. In Meknasi, groups of young men took to the streets and set alight tires in solidarity with protests in Kasserine”

More here:
http://www.tunisia-live.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Time-Line-Protest.pdf

“Morning: Following a meeting between protesters and political leaders that failed to produce an agreement, several unemployed graduates attempt suicide by jumping from the roof of the governorate headquarters. Two individuals are injured and taken to the hospital. Protesters block the streets with burning tires and clash with security forces in the neighborhoods of Ennour and Ezzouhour in Kasserine. Social media reports that police used tear gas to disperse the protests.
3 P.M.: Curfew declared in Kasserine from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.
8 P.M.: Protesters defy curfew and set fire to Nidaa Tounes’s [governing party] office in Kasserine and attempt to do the same at the governorate headquarters.
9 P.M.: Protests spread to the towns of Thala and Feriana, as well as parts of Sidi Bouzid.

3/12/15:

Tunisia, Sfax: striking council workers block all entrances to town hall, preventing the mayor, amongst others, from entering “The protesters contest “bad working conditions, outdated hardware and insecure premises,” according to a union source. The demonstration degenerated into clashes with police who used tear gas to disperse it. There were two or three wounded, according to eyewitnesses at the scene. The staff protest eventually blocked the road from the main Sfax downtown avenue (opposite the town hall) by using large trucks belonging to the council. According to the same source, in protest against the “muscular” intervention of the police, the regional office of the UGTT called for solidarity from  port staff and that of  SORETRAS to stop their activities today and to block access to the city with company buses.”

3/10/15:

Tunisia, Zarzis: national guard building attacked with stones and molotovs after national guards kill 2 motorcyclists in “accident”

zarzis 

14/8/15:

Tunisia, Sidi Bouzid: stones v. tear gas; 2 cops injured

3/8/15:

Tunisia, Sousse: wildcat strike as trade unions collaborate in sacking of workers

5/6/15:

Tunisia, Douz: 4th day of riots; rioters burn national guard post, police car and police station ….night-time curfew imposed amidst reports that the cops have left the cityBizerte: youths on estate attack cops with stones, put up burning tyre barricades; cops cover area with tear gas

4/6/15:

Tunisia, Douz: cops attacked with stones, fires lit, on 3rd night running of unemployed protests

douz 4 6 15Douz, Tunisia

3/6/15:

Tunisia, Tozeur: attempt to ransack police station, tyres burnt, in protest about lack of work; Tunisian flag replaced by Algerian one

2/6/15:

Tunisia, Kebili: army deployed outside governor’s buildings to protect them from destruction by protestersprotester badly hurt by copsafter roads blocked with burning tyres; northern governor’s HQ ransacked, office equipment destroyed, by unemployed youths demanding work

21/5/15:

Tunisia, Dhehiba: unemployed youths clash with cops over repression of black economy cross- border commerce, also demanding work

9/5/15:

Tunisia, Kebili: National Guard post set fire to, journalists threatened as part of movement of unemployed demanding work

7/5/15:

Tunisia, Kebili: confrontations between cops and protesters demanding work in petrol companies, etc

29/4/15:

Tunisia, Tozeur: protesters against arrest of 5 people for trying to kill cop, block road with tyres, burn down tourist police station and vandalise admin vehicle (here also)

4/4/15:

11/2/15:Tunisia, Ben Guerdane: confrontations with state continue; tyres burnt, stones thrown…

10/2/15:

Tunisia, Ben Guerdane: general strike as movement against taxation of Libyans crossing border is renewed (see 8/2/15)  More here“…despite the peaceful nature of the march, the participants headed to the square of the Great Arab Maghreb in the city, burned tires and threw stones, causing the situation to slip into clashes with the security forces who used tear gas to subdue protesters. According to the ULT, the strike has achieved a success rate of 99%,  however, with no response to the demands of the protesters. … the protesters say they are committed to the pursuit of their movement, considering it “a revolution of the hungry and a spark towards a new revolution that seeks to get to the area’s  plundered wealth…”

8/2/15:

Tunisia, Ben Guerdane: confrontations between insecurity forces and demonstrators demanding end of tax on Libyans and suppression of new law forbidding Libyan goods; young guy loses an eye (more here)

7/2/15:

Tunisia, Dhehiba: National Guard post burnt, protester killed, during riots over transfer of goods between country and Libya

2/2/15:

Tunisia, Gabes-Metouia: protesters demanding dismissal of Chief of Police hurl stones at cops, burn tyres, etc.

5/1/15:

Tunisia, Redeyef: police station torched in protests against phosphate transportation

24/12/14:

Tunisia, Sidi Bouzid: demonstration against election result – main road blocked overnight with burning tyres, municipal depot lootedregional office of agricultural HQ set on fireSouk Lahad: National Guard post, and 2 other state buildings, set on fire

22/12/14:

Tunisia: several riots in response to the elections (continuing into the 23rd Dec) “A number of  riots erupted in many regions and cities after the announcement of the election results announcing the victory of Beji Caid Essebsi. The damage assessment   to the town of El Hamma at Gabes is the heaviest in the country. Sixteen security guards were wounded, police stations, the post of the National Guard and the district security building  were burned… in Jomna under the jurisdiction of Kebili Sud, a group of youths barricaded the road between the two jurisdictions of Kebili and Douz with burning tires during the day on Monday, December 22, 2014…The popular neighborhood of Kram ….on the night of Monday to Tuesday, December 23, 2014 was the scene of violent clashes between police and dozens of “protestors”. Tear gas was fired to disperse the crowds…”

24/11/14:
Tunisia, Sidi-Bouzid: locals attack police station after rumour that prisoner was tortured to death7/8/14:Tunisia, Tunis: police lieutenant injured during clash over house demolition

11/7/14:

Tunisia, Djerba: re-opening of waste disposal site causes clashes between islanders and cops, who tear gas them; waste disposal admin building burned

28/6/14:

Tunisia, Skhira: cops violently disperse 6 day sit-in by unemployed (which had blocked the movement of trucks, and threatened to endanger petrol distribution), who then go on to block main road and attack cops with stones etc.

18/6/14:

Tunisia, Tizi-Ouzou: riot over clearly discriminatory housing allocation ( link in French)

27/5/14:

Tunisia, Ouchteta: clashes with cops after seizure of contraband petrol; 4 cops injured, 2 official vehicles destroyed

2/4/14:

Tunisia, Ben Guerdane: strikers torch  building of union that scabbed on strike

16/1/14:

Tunisia: energy price hike suspended  after riots

10/1/14:

Tunisia: anti-economic riots flare up in Tunis and Bouchebka; burning and looting; one dead….more here

9/1/14:

Tunisia, Tatouine: 2 police stations and governing party offices attacked in protests against cost of living; protests force government to suspend vehicle tax increase

8/1/14:

Tunisia, Kasserine: General Strike against lousy living conditions; police post attacked (more here and  here) (video here) “Dozens of protesters tried on Wednesday to force their way into the offices of the ruling Islamist party Ennahda in the town of Kasserine, but were pushed away by tear gas fired by police…In the village of Thala, which lies in the Kasserine region and had already witnessed clashes on Tuesday evening, protesters attacked a police post, partially burning it and driving away the security forces, witnesses said….A policeman was injured during the clashes after he was hit by a tear gas canister fired at him by one of his colleagues.”

27/11/13:

Tunisia: heavy clashes throughout country in protests against increasing poverty; dominant governing party’s HQ ransacked…..general strike in 3 regions (video)….Silana: 50 cops injured

24/10/13:

Tunisia: government party building burnt and ransacked (more here)

5/8/13:

Tunisia: 12 day sit-in Sidi Bouzid dispersed  by cops  using tear gas and rubber bullets

27/7/13:

Tunisia: protests continue; man killed riot in Sidi Bouzid

26/7/13:

Tunisia: general strike in reaction to killing of leftist leader

25/7/13:

Tunisia: cops tear-gas sit-in occupation attempt

28/5/13:

Tunisia: street vendors throw rocks and molotovs at cops

16/4/13:

Tunisia: 2 days of riots between fans and cops 

18/3/13:

Tunisia: biggest demos since the Arab Spring

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Comments

4 responses to “tunisia march 2018 – march 2013”

  1. Jim MacBryde avatar
    Jim MacBryde

    Very interesting to contrast this timeline of proletarian revolution/rebellion with the bourgeois notion of revolution (the replacement of Ben Ali).

    Thank you for jah works

  2. James avatar
    James

    Sam Fanto note:
    The following unexplained & inexplicable email exchange was sent including a personal email address and possible names of people I know nothing about, which I have edited out. Is the response meant to be a parody of the cgi’s position or what? Since there’s no link to the article it mentions, my response is “whatthefuck??”. My guess is that James persistently smokes too much weed and has fallen into a semi-solipsism and so doesn’t care whether his posts communicate something or not:

    Fw: Re: PROLETARIAN REVOLT IN ANCIENT AFRICA
    PL

    Thu 03/02/2011 16:23
    Inbox
    To:
    JK (email address);
    Show all 2 attachments (254 KB) Save all to OneDrive – Personal

    — On Tue, 2/1/11, PL wrote:

    From: PL
    Subject: Re: PROLETARIAN REVOLT IN ANCIENT AFRICA
    To: “JK”
    Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 8:20 AM

    Hi “J”,

    I tried to contact you yesterday to your previous email address (email address) but it didn’t run. It’s a long time ago we have no news anymore from you. How are you? Did you receive the last issue of “Communism” last summer? What do you think about?

    Since weeks the proletariat in the Maghreb is in open rebellion. And now it spreads to Egypt as well… We support all the insurgents struggling against the increase of the rate of exploitation, and against exploitation as such.

    Here I send you an interesting “Leaflet of solidarity with the Tunisian insurgents” signed by a French group called “Autonomous struggles”, and we translated in English (see Attach Files). Moreover we also published our own leaflet in French and in English. Now the problem is that we see the needs to translate these materials in Arabic (of course!!!…), but we are a little bit lost. We could find some solution, but we prefer to contact you first. Could you help us in this ask?

    BTW don’t hesitate to use both materials for your intervention and propaganda. Don’t hesitate to send us any interesting material you could obtain. Don’t hesitate to send us information about what is happening now… We are reading some posts and discussion about Egypt on “Libcom.org”.

    Waiting for your reply as soon as possible.

    Communist greetings.

    Class solidarity with the insurgents in the Maghreb , in Egypt … and all over the world!

    Richard, for the ICG.

    Attach Files: ,

    — On Tue, 2/1/11, JK wrote:

    From: JK
    Subject: PROLETARIAN REVOLT IN ANCIENT AFRICA
    To: info@gci-icg.org
    Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 3:40 AM

    Modern proletarians in present day Tunisia have risen in revolt against the worst excesses and exactions of the bourgeoisie and have caused the bourgeois puppet master to flee temporarily.

    The time is not now, however, to topple the whole capitalist edifice. The working class knows that it must impose its dictatorship for one thousand years and more.

    Once again having formed the historical vanguard, the proletariat dissolves itself into civil society and allows the petty bourgeoisie to take up the reigns of political power.

    ALL POWER TO THE POWERLESS!

  3. […] tunisia march 2018 – march 2013 […]

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