Tunisian Revolution
All topics-
From El Kamour to Carthage: #We will Not Recoil#
Rebels with a cause
Regarded since the Arab Spring as the one country that successfully transitioned from dictatorship to democracy, Tunisia is now feeling the consequences of a failure to invest in its people and its economy. The fact that the system is still riddled with corruption simply adds more grist to the people′s mill. By Houda Mzioudet
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Tunisia′s partisan path to transitional justice
The problem with truth
One year before its mandate expires, Tunisia′s Truth and Dignity Commission is struggling to complete its work within a volatile domestic political climate. With the ruling party opposed to the transitional process and new reports of torture and abuse emerging, the country′s democratic gains are in danger. By Fatim-Zohra El Malki
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The Maghreb
A regional time bomb
With the lack of sustainable development and social progress, political stability is at risk in the Maghreb. Instability may have fatal consequences for Europe. Commentary by Nassir Djafari
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Hamza Meddeb on the "No Future" generation
Tunisia's ticking time bomb
Political scientist Hamza Meddeb is critical of the Tunisian authorities, which prefer to focus exclusively on security aspects in the war against terror, rather than launching efforts to genuinely address the causes of youth radicalisation. Interview by Sarah Mersch
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Tunisian rapper Boutheina El Alouadi
Rapping against sexism and Salafists
At the age of ten, she practiced breakdancing in a mosque and at 16, she began to rap. Boutheina El Alouadi is one of the few professional and politically courageous female rappers in Tunisia. This is where her dream came true – and yet she now would rather leave her country. By Julia Neumann
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Post-revolution transformation in Egypt and Tunisia
Let them eat cake!
In Tunisia, members of civil society and the media may freely scrutinise the government and call for change. By contrast, writes Ishac Diwan, freedoms of expression and association are severely limited in Egypt where criticising government policies is tantamount to high treason
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Interview with Tunisian Secretary of State Saida Ounissi
Don′t marginalise your Muslims
In 2014, Saida Ounissi (29) was elected to the Tunisian Parliament as an MP for the Ennahda movement. She is currently Secretary of State to the Ministry of Vocational Training and Labour. In interview with Peter Schaefer, she describes growing up with Islamophobia and racism in France and suggests ways of preventing youth radicalisation
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Interview with Sihem Bensedrine
"We mustn't forget what happened!"
Tens of thousands of people who suffered at the hands of Ben Ali's dictatorship have made submissions for compensation to the Tunisian Truth and Dignity Commission. The first public hearings were held in mid November. Sarah Mersch spoke to Sihem Bensedrine, president of the commission
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Unrest in Morocco
Condemned to eke out a living
Symptomatic of the widespread poverty and oppression within Moroccan society, the tragic death of the fishmonger Mouhcine Fikri has touched a raw nerve among the population. Attempts to defuse the situation are ongoing. Matthew Greene reports from Rabat
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Bonn′s Beethovenfest
Sounds of the Arab Spring
Six composers from five Arab countries translated their impressions of the Arab Spring into music, providing the pianist Seda Roder with material for her multimedia ″Songs of Spring″ performance, rich in hope and disappointment. By Gaby Reucher
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Tunisia's TV spoof
Look who's coming to dinner!
This Ramadan, opinions are divided over a hidden camera television show being broadcast in Tunisia. The presumed protagonist: the former ruler Ben Ali. Does the programme trivialise the dictatorship, or is it an intelligent wake-up call? By Sarah Mersch in Tunis
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10th conference of the Tunisian Ennahda Party
Farewell to political Islam?
The latest Ennahda party conference, held in the Tunisian town of Hammamet, revealed in both its symbolism and the new parlance used by the party a renunciation of political Islam in favour of Muslim democracy. By Ivesa Lubben