Tunisia torn between anxiety, hope on first day after ousting president

Xinhua, January 16, 2011

On the first day after Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted from power, the country is torn between anxiety and hope.

One day after Ben Ali fled the country for Saudi Arabia, Tunisia has successively had two presidents, Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi, who was later replaced by parliamentary speaker Fouad Mbezaa, according to the Tunisian Constitution.

On Saturday, the state of emergency is still in force in the country with a strict dusk to dawn curfew imposed from 8 p.m. ( 1900 GMT) to 6 a.m. (0500 GMT).

The first night of post Ben Ali rule also proved a frightening experience for a great number of Tunisian families with reports of hooded armed gangs attacking people's homes and indulging in shooting sprees in the streets.

In spite of the presence of army patrols on the streets and of the constant TV coverage of reported incidents and gang arrests in the capital, people fear for their lives and property.

In the extraordinary flurry of events that followed the ousting of the former Tunisian president, the Tunisians have had very little time to take stock of the revolution that has swept the country after 23 years of authoritarian rule.

In the expectation of free elections within six months and with talks well underway for the formation of a national unity government, many Tunisians still hold the hope that order and law will surely return to the country soon.