The Tunisian city of Sbeitla (or Sufetela) in Kasserine Governorate has seen a wave of violent protest after a man died when the authorities demolished the illegal kiosk where he was sleeping on October 13, 2020.[1] The incident was reminiscent of the death of Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian street vendor who, in late 2010, set himself on fire in protest against the confiscation of his vehicle by the municipal police in Sidi Bouzid;[2] this became the catalyst for the Tunisian revolution that toppled the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Although nearly a decade has passed, Tunisia continues to face a multidimensional crisis, represented in the sharp political polarization between civilian forces and the Ennahda Movement and its allies, and the country’s blatant economic struggles, which have only been exacerbated by the second wave of COVID-19. The development gap between regions has also continued to widen, and “sectarian” and regional protests have spread, especially in remote areas such as Kasserine, Sidi Bouzid, and Gafsa, known as “shadow areas” and “poverty pockets” that suffer from three-dimensional marginalization (regional, economic and developmental, and humanitarian).[3]
This paper will examine the catalysts behind the protests in Sbeitla, the government’s policies for handling the protests, the position of civil society organizations regarding the protests and the government’s response, and the possible outcomes.
Domestic triggers/drivers of the Sbeitla protests
The government’s approach to handling the protests
The positions of social groups and civil society organizations
Potential outcomes for Tunisia
Conclusion
The Sbeitla protests have shone a light on key problems in Tunisian society, primarily the arbitrary nature of the municipal police in their dealings with marginalized groups and the continued imbalance in development between major cities and peripheral regions since the country’s independence. New visions will be required to tackle these problems. Although the protests in Sbeitla may die down over time, they could flare up again at any moment if the driving factors persist, especially social marginalization in the face of the State’s increasing financial difficulties and its poor response to protesters demands, which would allow extremist and terrorist groups to exploit tensions and threaten national stability.
References
[1] “الشرطة هدمت كشكه وهو بداخله.. احتجاجات في تونس بعد مقتل شخص”, Al-Hurra, 13 October 2020. Available at: https://arbne.ws/33Y7qw1
[2] “القصرين التونسية تعيش وقائع مقتل بوعزيزي آخر”, Al Bayan, 13 October 2020. Available at: https://bit.ly/3iZPqWi
[3] Sarah Yerkes and Zeineb ben Yahmed, “Tunisians’ Revolutionary Goals Remain Unfulfilled”, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 7 December 2018. Available at: https://carnegieendowment.org/2018/12/06/tunisians-revolutionary-goals-remain-unfulfilled-pub-77894
[4] Noha Mahmoud, “واقعة القصرين ليست الأولى.. تعسُّف الشرطة قنبلة موقوتة في تونس”, Al-Hurra, 13 October 2020. Available at: https://arbne.ws/34Tb6OQ
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[7] Jasser Aid, “شيراز العتيري من القصرين: بعد سنوات من التهميش لا بد من سنوات من التمييز لتحقيق التوازن”, Radio Express FM, 6 July 2020. Available at: https://bit.ly/2IpPEcA
[8] Dalia Ghanem, “Algeria’s Borderlands: A Country Unto Themselves”, Carnegie Middle East Center, 27 May 2020. Available at: https://carnegie-mec.org/2020/05/27/algeria-s-borderlands-country-unto-themselves-pub-81881
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[20] Larbi Sadiki, “Regional development in Tunisia: The consequences of multiple marginalization”, Brookings Doha Center, 14 January 2019. Available at: https://www.brookings.edu/research/regional-development-in-tunisia-the-consequences-of-multiple-marginalization/
Malik al-Hafez | 23 Feb 2021
Hamdi Bashir | 18 Feb 2021
EPC | 15 Feb 2021