The word thawra in Arabic, meaning revolution, is frequently heard but rarely witnessed. "Revolution Day" usually marks the coup d'etat that brought the regime to power, not a mass movement. And even coups have become rare. If you make an exception for Mauritania, there have been no Arab coups since Sudan in 1989. We seem today to have witnessed a real revolution from below, and what it means will be debated for a long time.
Of course, technically the ruling party is still in power; Prime Minister Ghannouchi is exercising Presidential powers "temporarily" since the President is "unable to carry out his duties" mostly because he's fled the country. But people are already questioning the constitutionality of Ghannouchi's assuming power (it's supposed to go to the Speaker of Parliament) and I suspect Ghannouchi is a very transitional figure. Revolutions in progress are unlikely to settle for the removal of Ben Ali but keeping the rest of the system in place. Now is not the moment to proclaim decisive victory, and a lot is likely to happen over the next few days, which could lead to anything, from a military coup to a civil war. But today is a day to remember.
Most Tunisian towns have a street named for November 7, the day in 1987 when Ben Ali replaced Habib Bourguiba. Perhaps they'll be changing them to January 14. (How French of them to have a Revolution on the 14th!)
Weekend Historical Video later. This is a three day weekend in the US (the Martin Luther King holiday) but I'll obviously be watching events in Tunis closely and will post if I have anything worth saying.
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