Four ministers quit new Tunisia government

TUNIS – Four ministers quit Tunisia’s day-old government yesterday, undermining its hopes of quelling unrest by sharing power with members of the opposition to the old regime.

All who resigned were opponents of deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s iron-fisted 23-year rule and had been named to the government Monday. It was not immediately clear if the resignations could bring down the government, which has 40 full and junior ministers.Clashes broke out in central Tunis around the time the resignations were announced, as police fought off protesters demanding that the new cabinet be purged of the old guard that served Ben Ali.Riot police in shielded helmets pummeled a protester to the ground with batons and boot kicks as other officers fired off tear gas grenades to disperse a crowd of several hundred demonstrators.’I am afraid that our revolution will be stolen from me and my people. The people are asking for freedoms and this new government is not. They are the ones who oppressed the people for 22 years,’ said Ines Mawdud, a 22-year-old student among protesters at the demonstration.A month of unrest has devastasted the Mediterranean nation’s tourist industry. Thousands of tourists have been evacuated, and Germany’s tour operator TUI AG said yesterday it is cancelling all departures to Tunisia through to February 15.Junior Minister for Transportation and Equipment Anouar Ben Gueddour told The Associated Press yesterday that he had resigned along with Houssine Dimassi, the labour minister, and minister without portfolio Abdeljelil Bedoui.The three ministers are all members of a top labour union, the UGTT, which is not a party but is a movement that acts like a lobby and has a big nationwide base to mobilise people around the country.The group’s supporters staged the protest in central Tunis yesterday, calling for a general strike, constitutional changes and the release of all imprisoned union leaders.Health Minister Mustapha Ben Jaafar of the FDLT opposition party also resigned, party member Hedi Raddaoui told The AP. The culture minister, Moufida Tlatli, told The AP she was considering resigning but was consulting her supporters first.Tunisia’s interim leaders have sought to stabilise the country after riots, looting and an apparent settling-of-scores after Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday.- Nampa-AP