Today we are all Tunisians

Yvonne Ridley pays tribute to the courage of the Tunisian people and reminds us of the stark fact that all the time when the deposed Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was torturing and plundering his people, he had the full support of the USA and European governments.

Over the last few days we have seen some of the bravest people facing down some of the worst.

Armed with nothing more than a revolutionary heart and hopes of a better future they gathered and protested as government forces aimed their weapons and fired live rounds in to the crowds.

But the ammunition and the underlying threats of arrest and torture meant absolutely nothing to the masses – for they had simply lost their fear.

It was the final testament to the brutality of a dictator who has had the support of European leaders and various presidents of the United States.

And that the Tunisian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, fled from his country like a rat up a drainpipe after 23 brutal years spoke volumes about the character of the man himself.

If he had one ounce of the courage his own people displayed, he too would have stayed but most of these tyrants are gutless with the moral fibre of a dung beetle.

The demise of Ben Ali came when police prevented an unemployed 26-year-old graduate from selling fruit without a licence.Mohammad Bouazizi turned himself in to a human torch on 17 December and died of the horrific burns in Sidi Bouzid, in central Tunisia.

It was the final straw, a defining moment which ignited rallies, marches and demonstrations across Tunisia.

And revelations from WikiLeaks cables exposing the corrupt and extravagant lifestyle of Ben Ali and his grasping wife fanned the flames of unbridled anger from a people who were also in the grip of poverty.

“I saw the burning desire for freedom in the eyes of the courageous people of Gafsa when the Viva Palestina convoy entered the country in February 2009 on its way to Gaza."

I knew it was coming. I saw the burning desire for freedom in the eyes of the courageous people of Gafsa when the Viva Palestina convoy entered the country in February 2009 on its way to Gaza.

Our convoy witnessed the menacing secret police intimidate the crowds to stop them from gathering to cheer us on.

This vast army of spies, thugs and enforcers even tried to stop us from praying in a local mosque

That they stood their ground to cheer us on prompted me to leave my vehicle and hug all the women who had turned out. We exchanged cards and small gifts and then, to my horror, I discovered 24 hours later that every woman I had embraced in the streets of Gafsa had been taken away and questioned.

Human rights organizations have constantly condemned and exposed the brutality of the Ben Ali regime but that has not stopped America and European leaders from intervening or putting on pressure to stop the brutality.

Sadly, it serves Western interests to have a people brutalized and subjugated.

Now Tunisia is minus one dictator but it is still in a state of emergency. The next few days and weeks are going to be crucial for the Tunisian people who deserve freedom and liberty. My God, they’ve paid for it with their own blood and we must always remember their martyrs.

None of the politicians, secret police or other odious government forces will emerge from this period with any honour and quite a few are already cowering in the shadows.

But perhaps the biggest show of cowardice in this whole sorry episode has come from The White House.

“Not one word of condemnation, not one word of criticism, not one word urging restraint came from Barak Obama or Hillary Clinton as live ammunition was fired into crowds of unarmed men, women and children in recent weeks.”

Not one word of condemnation, not one word of criticism, not one word urging restraint came from Barak Obama or Hillary Clinton as live ammunition was fired into crowds of unarmed men, women and children in recent weeks.

And news of the corrupt, mafia-like regime would not have come as a surprise to either of them. We know this thanks to the WikiLeaks cables written by US Ambassador Robert Godec who revealed in one memo: “Corruption in the inner circle is growing.”

But, as the injustices and atrocities continued there was not one squeak from the most powerful nation on earth – until America’s dear friend, Ben Ali, had scuttled from the country.

The reality is the US administration likes dealing with tyrants and even encourages despotic behaviour. Egypt is one of the biggest testaments to this with its prisons full of political opposition leaders. Hosni Mubarak is Uncle Sam's enforcer and biggest recipient of aid next to the Zionist state.

TBC...

I pray this is the beginning of a new domino effect.

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I don't recall saying Americans....

Just making up my arguments for you to make them easier to approach?

However, he certainly did have some involvement with the Americans. He attended an intelligence institution in the U.S for a start.

But most of his involvement was with the Europeans. He was trained at French military academies, and in fact the former head of the Italian Intelligence Services boldly stated: "In 1985-1987 we organized a kind of golpe in Tunisia, putting president Ben Ali as head of state, replacing Burghiba (sic) who wanted to flee".

Anyone who denies his Western-backing would have to be a complete and utter fool.

As you can see, he was quite chummy with most of the Western leaders (as most Arab dictators are, since they put them there).

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Just making up my arguments for you to make them easier to approach?

Of course not. You seem to have copied and pasted the entire thing. But it did mention the US.

Do you agree about the previous dictator wanting to flee?

Who will the west install next?