Tunisia revolt sparked by a police slap

Tunisia's Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi will lead a caretaker government until fresh elections are held within 60 days. Picture: AFP Source: The Australian

The blow was too much for Mohamed Bouazizi, 26, an unemployed computer graduate who scraped a living illegally by selling oranges, apples and bananas from a cart in the town of Sidi Bouzid.

He had been harassed by police for months and had his stock confiscated several times, but on December 17 he was hit by an officer. "From that moment, he became angry," his cousin, Rochde Horchane, told The Times.

Bouazizi went to the local Governor to complain, but he would not listen. "My cousin said, 'If you don't see me, I'll burn myself'," Mr Horchane said. He set himself alight and died three weeks later. A spate of similar acts has emerged in Arab countries, triggering fears Bouazizi's death will inspire revolt across the region.

Atia Athmouni, an opposition party official from Sidi Bouzid, said the protests over the death evolved rapidly from a demonstration by his large family to a national revolt.

"I have been an activist for 25 years in the region. I spoke a lot about liberty and equality," he said. "Despite the dictatorship, people listened. So I knew that one day it would explode."

Mr Athmouni, who rushed to the hospital to see Bouazizi, heard there was a crowd gathering at the Governor's office. "They demanded the Governor explain. He did not respond. It was clear from the start that the people were protesting ferociously against unemployment and repression. It was a very strong moment - a whole mass that no longer had fear of the police or the state security. This is the revolt of the fruit-and-vegetable sellers. It's the revolt of the poor."

Protesters have set themselves on fire in Egypt, Mauritania and Algeria in the past week in apparent copycat self-immolation attempts.

The incidents, while isolated, reflect the growing despair among the public of many Arab regimes resisting reform.

They are a deeply symbolic means of protest in a region that has little or no tolerance for dissent.

"It is clear that Tunisia and its events had an impact on Egypt as well as Algeria," veteran Egyptian columnist Salama Ahmed Salama said.

The attempted self-immolation in Cairo this week, he added, would be a "worrying element to the government".

However, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit ruled out the possibility that Tunisia's political uprising would spread.

"This is pure nonsense," he said. "Those promoting fantasies and trying to ignite the situation will not achieve their goals and will only harm themselves."

But frustration over high unemployment, soaring food prices, and a lack of democratic reform, has echoed in Egypt and elsewhere in the region, where governments face similar complaints.

The Times, AP