Tue Feb 15, 2011

TUNIS (AFP) – Tunisia's interim government prolonged Tuesday a state of emergency imposed just before president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was toppled a month ago as it struggled to restore stability.
The interior ministry also ended an overnight curfew imposed ahead of Ben Ali's January 14 toppling in a wave of protest, but warned of efforts to stir up unrest including within the security forces.
"To prevent anything that may harm the security of the state and to ensure the security of citizens and protection of public and private goods, it was decided to extend the state of emergency from Tuesday February 15 until further notice," it said in a statement.

The state of emergency, which gives the security forces certain powers to enforce their orders and bans some public gatherings, was imposed on January 14 as Ben Ali ended 23 years in power by fleeing to Saudi Arabia.
The North African country has confronted pockets of unrest since then and was forced this month to call up reservists to bolster the army.
In a statement carried by the official TAP news agency, the ministry also said a nationwide curfew in force since January 12 was being lifted.

It called for vigilance against attempts to sow discord between the police and the army, and in the population, and accused Islamists of inciting violence -- an apparent reference to complaints from the tiny Jewish minority.
The security forces are already divided: the police, the strongarm of Ben Ali's authoritarian regime, opened fire to quell the weeks-long "Jasmine Revolution" during which about 200 people were killed.
The army however refused orders to shoot at the demonstrators, siding with the protestors, and are credited with helping to persuade Ben Ali to leave.

The ministry cited a text distributed by unidentified parties "looking to sow trouble and disorder within the internal security forces in this delicate situation in which the country is starting to reestablish its security and stability."
Ben Ali's ouster inspired similar protest movements across the Middle East and North Africa and was the prelude to the even more dramatic toppling of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak last week.

The interim government led by Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi has vowed to hold Tunisia's first free elections within six months, declared full freedom of speech and adopted an amnesty law for those persecuted by the former regime.

But some members of the interim authority have accused Ben Ali loyalists of fomenting unrest in an attempt to derail the transition to democracy. There is also unhappiness about the presence of members of his regime in the interim government.

The leader of Tunisia's centuries-old Jewish minority told AFP meanwhile he had informed Ghannouchi of an anti-Jewish demonstration by extremists outside the main synagogue in the capital Tunis.
"About 40 religious people gathered Friday in front of the main synagogue in Tunis and started chanting ant-Jewish slogans and inappropriate words," Roger Bismuth told AFP.
"I think this is something that might happen again," he said.

Muslim Tunisia is home to about 1,600 Jews, one of the largest Jewish communities in the Arab world.
The government said it would "spare no effort" to safeguard freedom of belief, tolerance and peaceful co-existence.
The interim authority was also under pressure to stop illegal migration after about 5,000 illegal immigrants, most of them Tunisians, arrived on the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa in recent days.

Tunisia has moved troops into its southern fishing ports in a bid to halt the sea crossings while the European Union border agency said Tuesday it would launch operations involving aircraft and other vessels to stop the migration.
The Swiss foreign ministry meanwhile lifted restrictions on travel to parts of Tunisia but said "situation is still not stable".
"It is not advisable to go to Tunisia for tourism or other non-urgent travel, with the exception of the capital Tunis and seaside resorts," it said on its website.