{"id":1369,"date":"2019-03-27T04:18:24","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T04:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportsnewsforyou.com\/?p=1369"},"modified":"2024-11-10T09:30:53","modified_gmt":"2024-11-10T09:30:53","slug":"tunisia-tug-of-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/?p=1369","title":{"rendered":"Tunisia \u2013 tug of war?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click:cat beds<\/a><\/p>\n

Thousands of people rally against terrorism in Tunisia. Hamideddine Bouali\/Demotix. All rights reserved.<\/i><\/p>\n

When Mohammed
\nBouazizi set himself alight on that fateful day in December 2010, he had no
\ninkling that his act of self-immolation would engulf an entire region in
\nsweeping protests. Yet four and half years on, as Seifeddine Rezgui calmly and meticulously
\ngunned down his victims on a Sousse beach, we can safely assume that the wider
\nconsequences of his actions were not lost on him.<\/p>\n

The attack on the
\nSousse beach, in which 38 tourists tragically lost their lives, was not just an
\nattack on visiting westerners. It was an attack on the brave hotel workers and
\ntheir industry, who desperately tried to shield their guests from the raging
\nbullets of the murderous gunman. It was an attack on a hardworking builder, who
\ncourageously launched missiles of bricks and tiles, succeeding in knocking the
\ngunman down to enable security forces to catch up to him. It was also an attack
\non Tunisia as whole, orchestrated to wreak havoc on a country that has come so
\nfar after overturning decades of dictatorship.<\/p>\n

Since 2011,
\nTunisia has emerged as the sole success story of the Arab Spring. We waited
\nwith bated breath as Egypt flirted with democracy, before returning unrewarded to
\nthe tradition of tough military rule. We watched as Libya succumbed to violent
\nstruggles of power, the combination of weapons and a lack of authority proving
\na deadly cocktail for a country once showing promise. And we witnessed as Syria
\nand Yemen slid deeper into the throes of civil war, providing a fertile ground
\nfor extremist elements to thrive. Through this all, Tunisia has shone brightly
\nas the beacon of hope in the Arab world, principally guided beyond pitfalls by the
\nwillingness of the Islamist Ennahdha party to pursue compromise and
\nconciliation across the political spectrum. <\/p>\n

In January
\n2014, Tunisia earned praise for adopting a progressive constitution, enshrining
\nthe rights that were fought for in the Jasmine revolution. The UN Secretary
\nGeneral, Ban Ki-Moon, urged the people of Tunisia \u201cto continue to inspire the
\nworld as they did some three years ago, and serve as an example for dialogue
\nand compromise in resolving political disputes across the region and beyond\u201d.<\/p>\n

Tunisia has
\nproved to the world that there is no contradiction between Islam and democracy,
\nmarking the successful transition from despotism through two free and fair
\nelections. Tunisians have placed their faith in the ballot box, despite
\nattempts to steer them down a path well-trodden on by its neighbours. They have
\nfaced political assassinations, stagnating numbers of tourists and political
\ndeadlocks. All have threatened to derail Tunisia\u2019s democratic transition, but
\nnone as much as this recent tragedy.<\/p>\n

According to
\nthe World Travel and Tourism Council, tourism contributed to 15.2 percent of
\nTunisia\u2019s GDP in 2014, directly supporting 230,500 jobs and employing 6.8 percent of the total workforce. This attack sought to destroy the Tunisian
\neconomy, deliberately leaving it vulnerable to the tentacles of the extremists
\nwho feed on those with nothing.<\/p>\n

Tunisia is now
\nat a crossroads, facing the largest challenge to its democratic transition yet.
\nHow should it respond to such an atrocity without undermining the rights and
\nfreedoms that have been so resolutely fought for? Can Tunisia now negotiate the
\nthin fine line of liberty and security without resorting to methods that characterise
\nthe old guard?<\/p>\n

The horror that
\nwe witnessed was not simply confined to a stretch of white sand in Sousse, but
\nit is a symptom of a growing terrorist threat that has gripped the world. It is
\nan international phenomenon that requires an international response, and that includes
\nsupporting and reinforcing Tunisia\u2019s security and stability.<\/p>\n

Tunisia is
\nstuck in a tug of war between those who wish it well, and those who wish it hell. If we
\nin the west are truly the champions of freedom and liberty, then we must
\nsupport those who have demonstrated their willingness to journey down the path
\nof democracy. By murdering innocent tourists, Seifeddine Rezgui sought to
\nextinguish the flames of hope and optimism that were ignited over four years
\nago. We must not allow this to happen.<\/p>\n

This piece was first published on Al Huffington Post on 10th July 2015.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click:cat beds Thousands of people rally against terrorism in Tunisia. Hamideddine Bouali\/Demotix. All rights reserved. When Mohammed Bouazizi set himself alight on that fateful day in December 2010, he had no inkling that his act of self-immolation would engulf an entire region in sweeping protests. Yet four and half years on, as Seifeddine Rezgui calmly…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1369"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11242,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1369\/revisions\/11242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}