More than 500 protestors arrested against the Tunisian government’s austerity program
Authorities say more than 500 people have been arrested in the North African country of Tunisia amid violent protests against government austerity plans. Authorities said that more than 300 people were arrested on Wednesday alone. Security forces have been deployed in several cities to control protests that began last Monday in response to the inclusion of a tax hike in the government’s new budget.
Earlier this week, protesters threw petrol bombs into a Jewish school on the Tunisian tourist island of Djerba. The corruption that lasted for a long time before the dictator Zine El Abindine Ben Ali was overthrown in 2011. Tunisia is hit hard by the high unemployment.
The Tunisian movement that ousted dictator Zine El Abindine Ben Ali in 2011 sparked the Arab Spring, a movement that is prominent across North Africa and the Middle East. Among those countries where the people opposed the entrenched authoritarian leaders, only Tunisia was able to successfully transition to a democratic system.
VOA (Myanmar)