Tunisia's Crisis A Wake Up Call For Indonesia

http://egagah.blogspot.com: Protesters enraged over soaring unemployment and corruption
drove Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali

Years ago nobody in Tunisia would believe that ordinary people could trigger massive rallies which ended up by the toppling of the president.

However, the story is different when a 26-year-old university graduate Mohammed Bouazizi was forced to scratch out a living by peddling fruits and vegetables because he could not find a job and committed suicide by burning himself in front of a crowd on December 17, 2010.

According to a report by Indonesia's Antara news agency it was said that Bouazizi was very upset when the police tried to seize his produce.

Bouazizi's action soon reaped the public sympathy especially from unemployed youngsters. Protests have spread from the central town of Sidi Bouzid to other parts of the country since the December tragic incident. On January 15, President Ben Ali resigned and fled in disgrace to Saudi Arabia after 23 years in power.

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A professor from the University of Indonesia Zainuddin Djafar said Indonesia must draw a lesson from the Tunisian crisis for such a condition might also happen in Indonesia.

Zainuddin said the revolution in Tunisia originally came from its people's frustration toward the government which, according to them had totally failed to give them prosperity and make improvements.

The increasing prices of basic needs and worsening unemployment, besides a corrupt and anti-critic government were considered as factors which triggered the so-called Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia.

"The revolution has previously been predicted by western observers saying that developing countries with a majority of muslims including Indonesia are the most vulnerable to experience it," Zainuddin said.

He said during recent years fundamental problems such as rising prices of basic needs and low income could trigger public outrage.

"Learning from Tunisia's tragedy, I suggest the Indonesian government to work harder in eradicating corruption and increasing the people's welfare. A drastic change is needed," he said, adding that Indonesia had a great potential to be bigger if corruption in the country could be eradicated, or at least reduced.

Why did it happen? Tension has been simmering in the region since the attempted suicide of Bouazizi.

When police seized his produce because he did not have the necessary permit, he doused himself with gasoline and set himself alight, said the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights.

Bouazizi was rushed the a hospital in Tunis with severe burns.

The incident triggered violent demonstrations in which protesters burned old tires and chanted slogans demanding jobs.

The government said the violence was isolated and had been exploited by the opposition.

Tension heightened on December 22 when another young man, Sidi Bouzid, climbed up an electric pylon and electrocuted himself on the cables, saying he was fed up being constantly unemployed.

The government would not confirm the suicide, but ordered a judicial investigation into the circumstances of his death.

On Friday, flags flew at half-mast and state television broadcast prayers from the Koran as Tunisia began national mourning for the 78 people who officials say were killed when security forces cracked down on the wave of social protests that began last month.

The government has declared three days of mourning and major democratic reforms such as the release of all political prisoners, complete media freedom and the registration of previous banned political movements -- including the Islamist Ennahdha.

But one protester held up a sign reading "Our President" next to a photograph of Bouazizi, the 26-year-old fruit vendor who inspired the uprising against Ben Ali by setting himself on fire last month.

(BERNAMA)