Nahda rejoicesTHERE is only one happy story to emerge from the tumult of the Arab spring of 2011. While its neighbours succumbed to chaos, violence and renewed authoritarianism, Tunisia, the first Arab country to oust its dictator, remained on the path to peaceful democracy. There were setbacks along the way, but in 2014 the country held free and fair general and presidential elections, and adopted a relatively liberal constitution. Its reward was the Nobel peace prize, presented in October to four civil-society organisations that helped keep Tunisia on track.
The prize, said the Nobel committee, was also an encouragement for Tunisia to stay the course. But a month later, the country looks rather wobbly. A rift in the dominant political party threatens to destabilise the government, which was already struggling to jump-start an economy plagued by corruption, red tape and two big attacks on foreign tourists claimed by Islamic State this year. Neighbouring Libya, mired in civil war, may have provided the training ground for those terrorist strikes. The Tunisian army, meanwhile, is fighting Islamist militants on its border with...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/1PCecel
EmoticonEmoticon