Prime minister of Tunisia, Mohamed Ghannouchi, announced a new government named National Unity Government on 17 January 2011, after the Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was deposed recently. The Prime Minister along with the ministers for defence, foreign affairs, internal affairs and finance are unchanged. Ghannouchi promised that political prisoners would be released, banned parties will be allowed to function and the Tunisian Federation of Human Rights will be freed from restrictions that Ben Ali imposed on it.
It was the first successful Arab over-throw of an authoritarian government many of which are still ruling countries namely Algeria, Libya, Jordan, Morocco in Middle East and North Africa. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali had taken over as president of Tunisia after a military coup on 7 November 1987 against Tunisia’s founder President Habib Bourguiba and had since ruled in autocratic fashion over the country.
The immediate cause for the protests in Tunisia was the public self immolation of a street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi after police forcibly took away his goods. Rising food prices, high unemployment and lack of political representation were the other main reasons behind the uprising.
Uprising in Tunisia against the autocratic rule has been termed Jasmine revolution. Jasmine is the national flower of Tunisia.
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