Independent Media Centre Ireland     http://www.indymedia.ie

Tunisian secular opposition leader shot dead

category international | rights, freedoms and repression | other press author Wednesday February 06, 2013 11:49author by Elric

The Arab Spring has morphed into Islamic Winter in Tunisia. Full text at link.

A leading member of Tunisia’s opposition was shot dead on Wednesday morning as he was leaving his house in the capital Tunis. Chokri Belaid, who was secretary general of the leftist Democratic Patriotic Party, was shot in the head and neck and died as he was taken to hospital. A leading voice of secular opposition in Tunisia, he was also a harsh critic of the Islamists who have come to dominate Tunisian politics since the country’s revolution in early 2011.
Chokri Belaid
Chokri Belaid

While motives for his killing remain unclear, Belaid’s party was a member of the Popular Front coalition of parties opposed to the government, dominated by the Islamist Ennahda party, which was elected in December 2011. Several opposition parties and trade unions have accused the pro-Islamists of orchestrating attacks against them.

Alaa Talbi, a close friend of Belaid, told FRANCE 24 that the politician had been threatened and “beaten up” on Sunday during a party meeting in the town of Kef.

"My brother has been assassinated," Abdelmajid Belaid told reporters on Wednesday. "I am beyond despair. I accuse [Ennahda leader] Rachid Ghannouchi of assassinating my brother."

Related Link: http://www.france24.com/en/20130206-tunisia-chokri-belaid-secular-islamist-assassinated

Comments (4 of 4)

 
author by Elricpublication date Wed Feb 06, 2013 13:58author address author phone

Vid & full text at link.

Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid has been shot dead outside his home, prompting thousands of Tunisians to protest in the capital and across the country, torching ruling party offices in several towns and chanting “the government should fall.”

Police fired teargas and warning shots at protesters near the Interior Ministry, reports Al Jazeera. The streets in front of the Interior Ministry are now packed, according to eyewitness accounts. Security forces cordoned off the area.

Rubber bullets and tear gas were also used to contain the crowds in Sidi Bouzid, central Tunisia, which gave birth to last year’s revolution.
A local man placed the number protesting at “more than 4,000” in Sidi Bouzid, according to Reuters.He said that many were “burning tires and throwing stones at the police.” Further protests have erupted in several towns.

The Islamist Ennahda party offices have been attacked and torched in several cities across the country.

Related Link: http://rt.com/news/protest-tunisia-assassination-opposition-556/
author by adampublication date Wed Feb 06, 2013 18:57author address author phone

Its an awful tragedy,a callous cold murder of a man of the people..

author by Elricpublication date Wed Feb 06, 2013 20:15author address author phone

The author of the article below was murdered today- probably by the Islamic regime

A second page opens in the revolutionary process

Thursday 31 January 2013, by Chokri Belaïd

Chokri Belaïd is general secretary of the Parti Unifié des Patriotes Démocrates and one of the leaders of the Popular Front. His remarks were published in the Tunisian daily "Le Temps" on December 18, 2012.

Two years after the outbreak of the Revolution its direct and distant causes are still there. They have deepened, whether at the level of social demands, employment, regional development, social justice or political reality. The police repression and that of the militias is reproduced with the Ennahda movement.

The current government is that of the foreign agenda. It is devoted to the choice of foreign forces unrelated to the national interest of Tunisia and the Tunisians.

Official violence and that of the militias is present, with the political assassination in Tataouine, and warnings and calls for the liquidation of political competitors without the authorities responding. The situation that gave birth to December 17, 2010 is still current.

The revolutionary process experiences ebbs and flows. October 23, 2011 was the date of the provisional victory of the anti-revolutionary forces represented by Ennahda. The situation that prevailed before December 17, 2010 continued. Hence the popular protest movements and the gathering of militant political forces with the constitution of the Popular Front. Disputes have affected the entire territory and all sectors of society. Tunisia is opening a second page in the revolutionary process, against the despotic Ennahda project protecting corruption and consecrating dependency.

The political, social and economic situation is stifling. There is unanimity around the diagnosis. It is the responsibility of the Ennahda government who turned their backs on all promises made during the election campaign. It has led the country into a dark tunnel.

The political, social and security instability requires the formation of a restricted government of national jurisdiction, with ministers who have not been involved with the former regime. They should not stand as candidates in the next elections so that they may exercise their functions without any electoral considerations.

This government will be called on to take urgent measures, such as the fixing of a specific road map, the completion of the drafting of the Constitution, the adoption of the election law and the establishment of three bodies (responsible for elections, the judiciary and information).

Urgent measures are to be taken for the control of prices, employment, the solution of the problems of the wounded of the Revolution and the families of the martyrs. Urgent decisions are to be taken for the benefit of the poorest regions. Transitional Justice should be implemented without political manipulation. A restricted and competent government is the only hope for the remainder of the transitional period.

Related Link: http://internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article2878
author by An Draighnean Donn - Páirtí Cummanach na Poblachtapublication date Thu Feb 07, 2013 02:25author address author phone

It's very sad to hear that another secular Arab leader has been brutally murdered by the Zionists, via their Muslim Brotherhood assassins. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. Tragically, the news is no surprise. This is precisely what the Anglo-Zionist "Arab Spring" was all about, i.e. the destruction of progressive, secular, Arab states, and their replacement with gangs of medieval thugs, who can be easily controlled by Israel and the US.

Related Link: http://soviet.ie/index.php?/topic/2036-the-arab-spring-and-the-seduction-of-the-western-left/

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/103246?condense_comments=true

Indymedia Ireland is a media collective. We are independent volunteer citizen journalists producing and distributing the authentic voices of the people. Indymedia Ireland is an open news project where anyone can post their own news, comment, videos or photos about Ireland or related matters.