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Scholar: Tunisians Celebrating, but Keeping Eye on Egypt

   VOA News  January 31, 2011
   Celebrations in the streets of Tunis, January 22, 2011

Photo: AP

   Celebrations in the streets of Tunis, January 22, 2011

   In  Tunisia,  the second government in as many weeks struggles to keep
   the  country  running,  and  stability seems a long way in the future.
   However,  in  the  midst  of  chaos, say observers, there is joy, as a
   people  long  used  to  suppression  of  free  speech  and other basic
   freedoms  are  finding  their  voices  and  rights again. Larbi Sadiki
   teaches  Middle  East  Politics  at Britainâs University of Exeter and
   arrived  in  Tunis  on  Sunday.  He told VOAâs Cecily Hilleary that as
   Tunisians  are  celebrating  their  new-found  freedoms, they are also
   carefully monitoring the popular uprising in Egypt.

                        [Listen to the full interview with Larbi Sadiki:]

   Asked  about  the mood on the streets of Tunis, Sadiki describes it as
   âunbelievable,â  adding  that  new-found freedoms have given rise to a
   number  of  new  groups  in  the  country  all  representing different
   agendas.
   âPeople  on  the margins of society and the economy are coming in from
   the hinterland to represent their own causes.â

   Exeter University senior lecturer Larbi Sadiki

Exeter University

   Exeter   University   senior   lecturer  Larbi  Sadiki  sees  pan-Arab
   solidarity emerging among cyber activists

   âItâs  like they have re-discovered sovereignty,â says Sadiki after he
   observed  a  group  of  Tunisians  gathered  in  front of the Interior
   Ministry  building  protesting  the appointment of the incumbent prime
   minister.
   Sadiki does acknowledge that there is a lot chaos and uncertainty, but
   adds  that  the  changes  are  almost âtherapeuticâ for Tunisians, and
   âamazing to see.â
   The  Exeter  scholar says that Tunisians are also keenly aware of what
   is  going  in  Egypt,  realizing  the  scale  of  events there and the
   strategic  importance of Egypt, with implications that add Israeli, US
   and EU dimensions.
   Sadiki also says that there are contacts between Tunisian and Egyptian
   cyber  activists, and that information is being exchanged between them
   on  matters  like how to deal with security forces and how to keep the
   momentum  of  the  protests going. It seems like some kind of pan-Arab
   cyber  solidarity is emerging between the Tunisians and the Egyptians,
   and itâs all over Twitter and Facebook, says he.
   Overall, says Sadiki, the winds are changing and they are blowing from
   Tunisia  further to the east. âNo one ever expected this to happen and
   now itâs happening before our eyes,â adds he.
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References

   1. http://twitter.com/VOAMidEast
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