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| Tunisia tries to form coalition Posted: 15 Jan 2011 03:53 PM PST  Silhouettes of people are seen on the Tunisian flag during a peaceful demonstration in the Ettadamen suburb of Tunis January 15, 2011. — Reuters pic It was not clear who the assailants were but a senior military source told Reuters that people affiliated to former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali were behind the shootings. Soldiers and tanks were stationed in the city centre to restore order in the aftermath of a night of looting that broke out when Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia following a month of violent anti-government protests that claimed dozens of lives. The ousting of Tunisia's president after widespread protests could embolden Arab opposition movements and ordinary people to challenge entrenched governments across the Middle East. Speaker of parliament Fouad Mebazza, sworn in as interim president, asked Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi to form a coalition government and the constitutional authorities said a presidential election should be held within 60 days. The French government called on Tunisia to hold free elections as soon as possible and said it had taken steps to block suspicious movements of Tunisian assets in France. Dozens of inmates were killed in the mass escapes from two prisons, gangs of men fired weapons randomly from speeding cars in the capital and clouds of black smoke hung over the city from torched buildings. As night fell, a Reuters reporter said suburban neighbourhoods were being guarded from looters by impromptu militias, made up of residents armed with clubs and knives. They blocked neighbourhoods and only allowed local people to pass. In a sign that Ben Ali's rule was over, workers were taking down a portrait of the former president outside the headquarters of his RCD party on Mohamed V Avenue in the centre of Tunis. "We are very happy to be free after 23 years of prison," said Fahmi Bouraoui, drinking coffee in the Mozart cafe, one of a few businesses that reopened yesterday morning. But his optimism could be short-lived as parts of the country descended into chaos. Tunisian analyst Taoufik Ayachi said of the drive-by shootings, about 10km from the city centre yesterday and in another suburb on Friday night: "It is certain the presidential police are behind all this. They still hope to regain power." Dozens of inmates were killed when they broke out of Mahdia prison and the prison at Monastir, also south of the capital, was on fire after a separate escape attempt, witnesses said. "They tried to escape and the police fired on them. Now there are tens of people dead and everybody has escaped," said a local man, Imed, who lives 200 m (yards) from Mahdia jail. Forty-two people died in the Monastir riot, the official news agency said. In suburban Tunis, the big Geant shopping centre was on fire, witnesses said. State television showed footage of dozens of people who had been arrested for looting and violence. They had knives and double-barrelled shotguns and a small lorry stocked with stolen shoes, electrical equipment and a display mannequin. In the suburb of Ariana, a crowd encircled four men who were shooting from the windows of a Ford jeep, somehow disarmed them and took them to the police. Ghannouchi earlier confirmed reports that members of Ben Ali's family had been arrested, but did not say who. Al Jazeera television also reported that Ben Ali's head of presidential security had been arrested. Protesters have threatened to continue their campaign. "We will be back on the streets, in Martyrs Square, to continue this civil disobedience until ... the regime is gone. The street has spoken," said Fadhel Bel Taher, whose brother was one of dozens of people killed in the protests. The Eurasia Group consultancy said that without a definitive timetable for elections or a transitional government including opposition representatives, protests could continue: "Although the streets of Tunis are calmer than they have been in several days, Ben Ali's departure is not likely to immediately defuse tension across the country." The acting president on state television said he had asked the prime minister to form a coalition government. "I have called on Mohamed Ghannouchi to form a new government of national unity," he said. An opposition leader who held talks with the prime minister yesterday said there would be more negotiations today. "We discussed the idea of a coalition government and the prime minister accepted our request to have a coalition government," Mustafa Ben Jaafar, leader of the Union of Freedom and Labour party, told Reuters. "There will be another meeting with the aim of getting the country out of this situation and to have real reforms. The results of these discussions will be announced tomorrow." A representative in France of the PDP opposition party said it was impossible to organise elections within two months, as proposed by the Constitutional Council. "We do not accept this deadline because at the time there is a revolution in Tunisia and they're in the process of transforming it into a coup d'état so that the party in power can keep its grip," Iyed Dahmani told Reuters in Paris. "What is striking about Tunisia is how fast it happened — although there were decades of discontent behind it. That has to worry governments elsewhere," Gala Riani, a Middle East Analyst with IHS Global Insight, said. Egypt, where Hosni Mubarak has ruled for nearly 30 years, said it respected the choice of the Tunisian people. The Arab League called for calm and unity. Jordan called for Tunisia's political forces "to close ranks and work together to preserve the security of people and protect the country", its Foreign Ministry said in a statement. In the Gaza Strip, hundreds of Islamic Jihad supporters rallied to support the uprising. Activists of the Islamic Jihad held Tunisian flags bearing the words "Revenge against tyranny" during the rally in the heart of Gaza City. Around 5,000 Tunisians and sympathisers marched through Paris yesterday, one screaming: "It's the end of 23 years of tyranny." As many as 600,000 Tunisians live in France and about 25,000 French people live in the former colony. Around 100 Tunisians living in Italy gathered outside their country's embassy in Rome, demanding free and fair elections and celebrating the departure of Ben Ali. Germany's Angela Merkel urged Tunisia to introduce "a true democracy" and said the European Union would support it. Hundreds of European tourists have been stranded by the unrest and were flown home on emergency flights. Tunisian air space, closed on Friday, was reopened and the official news agency said all airports were open. — Reuters
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| Many still missing in Brazil floods Posted: 15 Jan 2011 03:47 PM PST  A man walks under a damaged car after a landslide in Teresopolis January 13, 2011. — Reuters pic Nearly four days after rains sparked floods and massive landslides, officials in this scenic mountain town are still struggling to cope with the scale of the catastrophe. The steadily rising death toll in the region north of Rio de Janeiro hit 591 yesterday, Brazil's Civil Defence agency said, and President Dilma Rousseff declared three days of national mourning. Cemeteries in Teresopolis have been overwhelmed by the number of bodies and Brazilian media reported that residents in isolated areas have been forced to bury victims themselves. Mortuary officials in Teresopolis, where the official death toll is 257, are using two refrigerated fish trucks to hold dozens of bodies that have still not been identified. Many residents fear their relatives are still buried under the surge of water, mud and rocks that tore a path of destruction through some villages on the outskirts of the town, suggesting the death toll could rise sharply. Authorities have not given estimates on the number of missing people. Wemerly Moraes was waiting with his wife outside the morgue yesterday morning to identify a body that could be the missing 2-year-old son of his sister, whose body has already been buried. "This happened on Wednesday morning. When I went there on Thursday, there was still no one working to find victims," the 37-year-old builder said. "Maybe then he was still alive." Up to half the victims of the disaster are feared to be children, charity Save the Children said. Gardener Odair da Silva told Globo television that he had to dig out the bodies of his father and stepmother from the wreckage of their home near Nova Friburgo town, where at least 267 people died. He left their corpses on the side of a road. "I asked firefighters for help but they aren't giving much priority to helping people," he said. The extent of the damage has posed a challenge for Rousseff, Brazil's new president, and exposed major flaws in emergency planning and disaster prevention in a country that aspires to attain developed-nation status in coming years. Rousseff visited the region on Thursday and pledged a swift relief effort that has yet to pan out in some of the hardest-hit areas, though anger has so far been mostly directed at state and local authorities. The federal government has earmarked 780 million reais (RM1.4 billion) in emergency aid and donations were starting to pour in from around the country. The torrent of earth and water swept like a tsunami through mostly poor communities, smashing houses and killing whole families as they slept. Some corpses in Teresopolis were found several miles away from their houses. Emergency teams are still struggling to reach some areas and have had to dig through the rubble with their hands because vehicles and heavy equipment could not get through. Steady rainfall is further hampering rescuers. Jorge Alfonso, a 42-year-old cook, said he lost 14 relatives when a mudslide virtually wiped out the village of Campo Grande, including his mother, two sisters, a brother and two adult sons. So far, only six of the bodies have been found. "I'm without words," said Alfonso, who has been moving back and forth between the cemetery to bury his relatives and the mortuary to identify them ever since the disaster struck. — Reuters |
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