Tunisia has declared a state of emergency after its president of over 23 years, Zine el Abeiden Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on January 14 after weeks of riots and protests over unemployment and corruption. At least 23 people have reportedly died from clashes with military, and new presidential elections are already being planned.
Hours after Ben Ali was forced into exile, Tunisia swore in its interim president Fouad Mebazza, former head of the lower house of Parliament. Mebazza has declared that elections will be held in 60 days, and has asked for calm to be restored throughout the country.
Others are speculating if Ben Ali’s removal from office could signify changes in other countries like Egypt. Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s President for nearly 30 years, has kept the country in a police state. The North African country is facing mounting tensions between its majority Muslim community and its Coptic Christians after a January 1 church bombing in Alexandria that killed 23 people. And 10 days later, a man shot and killed a Christian while opening fire on a train in southern Egypt and wounding five others. The attacks prompted Pope Benedict to call for better protection for Egypt’s Christian minorities which the Egyptian government dismissed as “unacceptable interference” in its affairs.
Additionally, Egypt will hold presidential elections this year which also create more uncertainty for pre-existing tensions. The Egyptian government has declared that schools are no longer allowed to take field trips throughout the country for fear of rising safety concerns.
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