N Chandrababu Naidu Launches 'Praja Galam' As Part of TDP’s Election Campaign
Seek4media the cradle of the arab spring is moving towards democracy
1. Seek4media:
The
Cradle
of
the
Arab
Spring
Is
Moving
Towards
Democracy
Having
lit
the
touchpaper
for
the
Arab
Spring,
and
been
the
first
to
rid
itself
of
its
despot,
Tunisia
is
seen
by
many
as
a
sort
of
political
Petri
dish
of
how
the
revolutions
among
its
neighbours
might
turn
out.
Much
as
Zhou
Enlai
replied
when
asked
to
assess
the
French
Revolution,
it
is
too
early
to
say.
But
there
are
a
few
hints
of
the
sort
of
country
Tunisia
might
become,
or
at
least
might
wish
to
be;
some
encouraging,
others
less
so.
Seven
months
after
its
dictator,
Zine
al-‐Abidine
Ben
Ali,
sloped
off
to
Saudi
Arabia,
Tunisia
has
yet
to
find
its
political
feet.
An
election
to
a
constituent
assembly,
scheduled
for
July,
has
been
postponed
until
October.
The
assembly,
when
finally
elected,
will
draft
a
constitution
within
a
year.
That
will
prepare
the
path,
finally,
for
a
full
election.
The
three
quarters
of
Tunisians
who
would
not
vote
for
Nahda
are
wary.
Anecdotal
evidence
might
give
them
cause
to
be.
An
anti-‐
Islamist
film
director
had
a
film
premiere
disrupted.
Tunis's
legalised
red-‐light
district
has
been
firebombed.
Even
with
the
benefit
of
their
early
start,
Tunisians
are
still
struggling
to
define
what
democracy
for
them
might
look
like,
let
alone
how
to
achieve
it.
Protesters
have
accused
the
former
President
of
using
the
country's
wealth
to
fund
a
lavish
lifestyle,
by
controlling
the
country's
biggest
businesses
and
embezzling
state
assets.
At
the
trial
yesterday,
Judge
Touhami
Hafian
said
that
investigators
who
searched
the
presidential
palace
and
Ben
Ali's
residence
found
43
million
Tunisian
dinars
(£19
million)
in
cash
and
1.8kg
(9lb)
of
illegal
drugs
presumed
to
be
cannabis
along
with
jewellery,
archaeological
artefacts,
and
weapons.
Ben
Ali
has
said
that
the
jewellery
was
gifts
given
to
his
wife
by
foreign
dignitaries.
"As
for
the
drugs
allegedly
found,
that
is
a
lie
and
an
ignominy.
It
is
absurd
and
defamatory,"
he
said,
adding
that
the
trial
has
"no
goal
but
to
accuse
yesterday's
President".
2. Tunisian
authorities
said
that
future
trials
would
deal
with
the
more
serious
charges
of
plotting
against
the
security
of
the
state
and
ordering
the
security
services
to
fire
on
protesters.
Ben
Ali
and
his
inner
circle
including
his
wife
currently
face
93
charges,
of
which
35
will
be
referred
to
a
military
court.
Hundreds
of
protesters
stood
outside
the
courtroom
demanding
that
Ben
Ali
be
brought
back
to
Tunisia.
Saudi
Arabia
has
not
responded
to
an
extradition
request,
stating
that
Ben
Ali
agreed
not
to
undertake
any
political
activity
when
he
arrived
in
Jeddah.
Outside
the
courtroom,
several
hundred
protesters
chanted
"How
long
will
he
be
allowed
to
flee?"
Some
protesters
demanded
that
Ben
Ali
be
sentenced
to
death.
Lawyers
in
Egypt
were
closely
watching
the
trial,
as
a
similar
legal
case
is
being
prepared
against
Hosni
Mubarak,
the
former
Egyptian
President.
Seek4media
is
an
independent
voice
on
the
web.
We
report
today's
news
is
tomorrow’s
headlines
responsibly
and
truthfully
so
that
readers
can
improve
their
own
lives
and
increase
their
understanding
and
respect
for
their
neighbors
next
door
and
around
the
globe.
In
our
approach
and
in
our
content,
we
uphold
universal
human
values,
rights,
and
freedoms.
We
are
a
business
that
puts
our
readers'
interests
first,
in
all
that
we
do.
