Tunisia: The battle of Sidi Bouzid

Poor economic policies have led to widespread distress as Tunisia's youth take their frustrations to the streets.

The economic policies as championed by the 'Washington Consensus' have manifested in unbearable levels of unemployment, a core factor behind the latest rounds of street protests [AFP]

What happened to the state? Where did civil society go? Why is there only silence from Development Minister Mohamed Nouri Jouini?

Before even attempting to answer each one of those questions, these seemingly dysfunctional institutions need to be inspected more closely in order to see the extent to which they share responsibility for the suicidal protests of despair by Tunisia’s youth.

This is a not time for scoring political points. What Wikileaks says or does not say about Tunisia’s ruling familiy serves no purpose here. This is a time for reflection on Tunisia’s own ‘wretched of the earth’ – the ‘khobz-istes’ of Sidi Bouzid and the country’s disenfranchised youth.
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