Protests draw support from many sectors of civil society
Protests draw support from many sectors of civil society - trade unions, students, lawyers syndicates
Within days of Mohamed Bouazizi's attempted suicide in front of the local government office, students, teachers, lawyers, journalists, human rights activists, trade unionists, and opposition politicians took to the streets in several cities, including Tunis, to condemn the government's economic policies, its repression of all critics, and a mafia-style corruption that enriches members of the president's family.

Education unions, some of the most independent and aggressive within the UGTT, played a critical role in organizing unemployed workers, many with university degrees, who protested the government's failure to provide jobs, its corruption, and its refusal to engage in meaningful dialogue. Human rights organizations, journalists, lawyers, and opposition parties then joined in to criticize the government's restrictions on media coverage of the protests and the arrests and torture of demonstrators. In this way, a broad coalition of civil society organizations has connected bread-and-butter employment grievances with fundamental human rights and rule-of-law concerns.
Immediately related elementsHow this works
-
Technology: Oppressor or liberator? »Technology: Oppressor or liberator?
Country Case Studies »Country Case Studies
Revolutions in the Arab world »Revolutions in the Arab world
Tunisia »Tunisia
Recent events (Dec 2010 - Jan 2011)? »Recent events (Dec 2010 - Jan 2011)?
Protests draw support from many sectors of civil society
+Commentaires (0)
+Citations (1)
+About