Thursday, January 24, 2013

The government's success in suppressing

The government's success in suppressing violent Islamist extremists, along with its pro-western foreign policy, has moderated Western criticism of what some have characterized as Tunisia’s slow pace in improving democratic practices. Groups such as Amnesty International[14] have documented some restriction of basic human rights and obstruction of human rights organizations. HP HSTNN-YB0X Battery The Economist's 2008 Democracy Index ranks Tunisia 141 out of 167 studied countries and 143 out of 173 regarding freedom of the press.[15] Though the government received criticism in 2008 for its handling of social unrest in the town of Gafsa, it has been broadly praised for its efforts to respond constructively to the events. HP Compaq HSTNN-105C Battery Trade unionists initially arrested for protesting working conditions were released on the order of President Ben Ali and officially pardoned in October 2009[16] in a move that was welcomed by Amnesty International.[17] Levels of democracy and freedom of expression in the country are criticised by Amnesty International and various other organizations. HP Compaq HSTNN-C12C Battery   Freedom of the press is officially guaranteed and condoned, however, independent press remains restricted, as does a substantial amount of web content. Journalists are often obstructed from reporting on controversial events.[21] Prior to the Jasmine Revolution, Tunisia practiced internet censorship against popular websites such as YouTube. HP Compaq HSTNN-C66C Battery Reporters Without Borders includes Tunisia in the country list of “Enemies of the Internet".[22] However, Tunisia has recently shown interest in improving its information policy, hosting the second half of the United Nations-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society in 2005, HP Compaq HSTNN-C66C-4 Battery ]which endorsed the freedom of the internet as a platform for political participation and human rights protection. Furthermore, Tunisians have grown online, as witnessed by the more than 3.5 million regular internet users, 1.6 million Facebook users[24] and hundreds of internet cafes, known as ‘publinet.’ HP Compaq HSTNN-C66C-5 Battery   Five private radio stations have been established, including Mosaique FM, Express FM, Shems FM [25] and private television stations such as Hannibal TV andNessma TV. The issue of Human rights in Tunisia, is complex, contradictory, and, in some regards, confusing in the wake of a revolution that began in December 2010 and overthrew the longstanding dictatorship of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. HP Compaq HSTNN-C67C Battery While the immediate months after the revolution were characterized by significant improvements in the status of human rights, some of those advances have since been reversed. The entire situation, however, remains in a state of considerable flux, with different observers sometimes providing virtually irreconcilable accounts of the current status of human rights in that country. HP Compaq HSTNN-C67C-4 Battery   Long labeled “Not Free” by Freedom House, Tunisia was upgraded to “Partly Free” after the revolution, its political rights rating improving from 7 to 3 (with 7 the worst and 1 the best) and its civil liberties rating going from 5 to 4. A U.S. State Department report, issued in April 2011 depicts the status of human rights in that country on the eve of the revolution, HP Compaq HSTNN-C67C-5 Battery citing “restrictions onfreedom of speech, press and association,” the “severe” intimidation of journalists, reprisals against critical of the government, questionable conduct of elections, and reports of arbitrary arrest, widespread corruption, official extortion, government influence over the judiciary, HP Compaq HSTNN-DB05 Battery extremely poor prison conditions, and the abuse and torture of detainees and prisoners, involving a wide range of torture methods. Defendants did not enjoy the right to a speedy trial, and access to evidence was often restricted; in cases involving family and inheritance law, judges often ignored civil law and applied sharia instead.[2] HP Compaq HSTNN-DB06 Battery   Although the principal cause of the revolt was a frustration over the country's dire economic situation, many leaders of the revolution were longtime human-rights activists and many participants shared their hope of replacing autocracy with a democratic government and a civil society in which human rights were respected. HP Compaq HSTNN-DB0E Battery As Christopher de Bellaigue noted in an article posted at the New York Review of Books website on December 18, 2012, Tunisia's new constitution is, “give or take a few vague references to Islam, strikingly secular. (It does not mention the Sharia, for instance, and guarantees equal rights for all Tunisian men and women.)”[3] HP Compaq HSTNN-DB11 Battery   The revolution initiated what Amnesty International has described as “a wholesale process of reform” under which “political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, were released; legal restrictions on political parties and NGOs were eased; the Department of State Security (DSS), notorious for torturing detainees with impunity, was dissolved; HP Compaq HSTNN-DB16 Battery Tunisia became party to additional international human rights treaties; and a new National Constituent Assembly was elected with a mandate to draft and agree a new Constitution.”[4] In July 2011, the UN opened its first human-rights office in north Africa. HP Compaq HSTNN-DB28 Battery “The whole world watched with amazement and growing respect as Tunisians kept demanding your rights, refusing to be cowed by the repression, the arrests, the torture and all the injuries and tragic loss of life that occurred,” the High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said at the official opening of the office. HP Compaq HSTNN-DB29 Battery “The impact of these actions, on Tunisia itself, on the wider region, and indeed all across the world is hard to measure and is far from completed. But it has unquestionably been enormous and truly inspirational.” She noted that in the previous three weeks, Tunisia had had ratified four major treaties: HP Compaq HSTNN-DB67 Battery the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, the UN Convention on Enforced Disappearances, and the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court.[5] Since the revolution, however, according to de Bellaigue, “tensions have risen sharply between the three partners” in the post-revolutionary government, HP Compaq HSTNN-FB05 Battery “not least because the divisions between Islamists and secularists that the coalition was designed to bridge, or at least camouflage, are now obvious....increasingly, secularists and religious conservatives have been drawn into a vigorous culture war, in which the former invoke human rights, and the latter, Islamic law.”[6] HP Compaq HSTNN-FB18 Battery Moreover, under the current regime, as Amnesty International had pointed out, there have been “continuing human rights violations,” with security forces using excessive force against protesters, who have also been mistreated while in detention. The UN Special Rapporteur on Truth, Justice, Reparations and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence, Pablo de Greiff, HP Compaq HSTNN-FB51 Battery urged Tunisian authorities in November 2012 to put human rights front and center in their transitional efforts.[7] In December 2012, at a World Human Rights Day ceremony in Carthage attended by several top Tunisian government officials, President Marzouki, while complaining about “an excessive freedom of expression of some media,” HP Compaq HSTNN-FB52 Battery lamented that “the path towards the construction of a human rights Tunisia is still difficult and full of traps.” One difficulty was that many Tunisians consider the new constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be at odds with Islamic values. Marzouki admitted that security officials need to undergo a radical change of mindset, HP Compaq HSTNN-I04C Battery while Speaker of the National Constituent Assembly Mustapha Ben Jaafar expressed thanks for the help given to the new regime by a number of human rights organisations. Problems aside, said Ben Jaafar, Tunisia's democratization was “on the right track” and the country was “moving towards a consensus on the new Constitution.” HP Compaq HSTNN-I12C Battery The President of the National Union of Tunisian Judges, Raoudha Labidi, however, charged that the exclusion of judges from the human-rights event represented a denial of judges' pre-revolutionary struggle, “adding that the judicial service is the guarantor of human rights and individual freedoms in the country.”[8] HP Compaq HSTNN-I39C Battery   In a December 2012 article, Dorra Megdiche Meziou took a cynical view of the Human Rights Day event. While acknowledging “the historic achievements of the incumbent President of the Republic, Moncef Marzouki, as a human rights activist,” noting that he had been on “the steering committee of the Arab Organization for Human Rights, HP Compaq HSTNN-I40C Battery ” belonged to “the Tunisian branch of Amnesty International,” served as “president of the Arab Committee for Human Rights,” and “co-founded the National Council for Liberties in Tunisia,” and while further acknowledging that Mustapha Ben Jaafar, too, had helped advance human rights as “a main figure in the Tunisian opposition,” HP Compaq HSTNN-I44C Battery Meziou complained that “serious violations and infringements of human rights” remain in today's Tunisia, and called on “these former activists of human rights who are now in power to get to work and translate their words into actions.”[9] In October 2012, Amnesty International said that Tunisia's revolutionary reforms had been eroded, HP Compaq HSTNN-I44C-A Battery with recent months seeing “new restrictions on freedom of expression targetting journalists, artists, critics of the government, writers and bloggers,” leading to a journalists' strike. Also, protesters complaining that reforms have not been instituted quickly enough, “have been met with unnecessary and excessive force.” HP Compaq HSTNN-I44C-B Battery In addition, Human Rights Watch documented the government's failure to look into attacks on political activists by radical Islamic groups.[10] Amnesty International admitted to “doubt” regarding the commitment of Tunisia's new leaders to reform, HP Compaq HSTNN-I45C Battery HP Compaq HSTNN-I45C-A Battery saying that “Tunisia is at a crossroads” and calling for “urgent steps...to realise the rights and freedoms for which Tunisians fought so tenaciously and bravely in late 2010 and early 2011.” HP Compaq HSTNN-I45C-B Battery,HP Compaq HSTNN-I48C-A Battery,HP Compaq HSTNN-I48C-B Battery

On April 20, 2012, U.S. Treasury Secretary

On April 20, 2012, U.S. Treasury Secretary [9] and Tunisian Finance Minister Houcine Dimassi signed a declaration of intent[10] to move forward on a U.S. loan guarantee for Tunisia. The U.S. Government would provide this loan guarantee to enable the Tunisian government to access significant market financing at affordable rates and favorable maturities with the backing of a U.S. guarantee of principal and interest (up to 100 percent). HP HSTNN-W34C Battery   The support would consist of the U.S. guarantee of Tunisian government-issued debt (or of bank loans made to the Government of Tunisia). This guarantee will significantly reduce the Tunisian government’s borrowing costs at a time when market access has become more expensive for many emerging market countries. HP HSTNN-W48C Battery In the weeks ahead, both governments intend to make progress on a loan guarantee agreement that would allow Tunisia to move forward with a debt issuance. The ceremony took place at the World Bank immediately following the meeting of Finance Ministers of the Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in Transition. HP HSTNN-W49C Battery   Tunisia is situated on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Nile Delta. It is bordered by Algeria on the west and Libya on the south east. It lies between latitudes 30° and 38°N, and longitudes 7° and 12°E. An abrupt southward turn of the Mediterranean coast in northern Tunisia gives the country two distinctive Mediterranean coasts, HP HSTNN-W50C Battery west-east in the north, and north-south in the east. Tunisia is about the size of the American state of Wisconsin. Despite its relatively small size, Tunisia has great environmental diversity due to its north-south extent. Its east-west extent is limited. Differences in Tunisia, like the rest of the Maghreb, HP HSTNN-W52C Battery are largely north-south environmental differences defined by sharply decreasing rainfall southward from any point. The Dorsal, the eastern extension of the Atlas Mountains, runs across Tunisia in a northeasterly direction from the Algerian border in the west to the Cape Bon peninsula in the east. HP HSTNN-XB24 Battery North of the Dorsal is the Tell, a region characterized by low, rolling hills and plains, again an extension of mountains to the west in Algeria. In the Khroumerie, the northwestern corner of the Tunisian Tell, elevations reach 1,050 meters (3,440 ft) and snow occurs in winter. HP HSTNN-XB37 Battery The Sahel, a broadening coastal plain along Tunisia's eastern Mediterranean coast, is among the world's premier areas of olive cultivation. Inland from the Sahel, between the Dorsal and a range of hills south of Gafsa, are the Steppes. Much of the southern region is semi-arid and desert. Tunisia has a coastline 1,148 kilometres (713 mi) long. HP HSTNN-XB41 Battery In maritime terms, the country claims a contiguous zone of 24 nautical miles (44.4 km; 27.6 mi), and a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi). Tunisia's climate is temperate in the north, with mild rainy winters and hot, dry summers. Temperatures in July and August can exceed 40°C. HP HSTNN-XB43 Battery Winters are mild with temperatures rarely exceeding above 20°C (exception is the south-west of the country). The south of the country is desert. The terrain in the north is mountainous, which, moving south, gives way to a hot, dry central plain. The south is semiarid, and merges into the Sahara. HP HSTNN-XB45 Battery A series of salt lakes, known as chotts or shatts, lie in an east-west line at the northern edge of the Sahara, extending from the Gulf of Gabes into Algeria. The lowest point is Chott el Djerid, at −17 m (−55.8 ft), and the highest is Jebel ech Chambi, at 1,544 metres (5,066 ft). The politics of Tunisia function within a framework of a democratic constitutional republic, HP HSTNN-XB4X Battery with a President serving ashead of state, Prime Minister as head of government, a bicameral legislature and a court system influenced by French civil law. Between 1956 and 2011, Tunisia operated as a de facto single party state, with politics dominated by the secularConstitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) under former Presidents Habib Bourgiba and then Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. HP HSTNN-XB59 Battery However, in 2011 a national uprising led to the resignation of the President and the dismantling of the RCD, paving the way for a multi-party democracy. Tunisia is a member of the Arab League, the African Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. HP HSTNN-XB60 Battery It maintains close relations with France and the European Union, with which it entered an Association Agreement in 1995.[1] Tunisia’s favorable relations with the European Union was earned following years of successful economic cooperation in the private sector and infrastructure modernization. HP HSTNN-XB61 Battery   In Tunisia, the President is elected to five-year terms. He appoints a Prime Minister and cabinet, who play a strong role in the execution of policy. Regional governors and local administrators also are appointed by the central government. Mayors and municipal councils are elected. The lower house of the bicameral Parliament is the Chamber of Deputies of Tunisia (Majlis al-Nuwaab), which has 214 seats. HP HSTNN-XB70 Battery Members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms. 20% At least 25% of the seats in the House of Deputies are reserved for the opposition. More than 27% of the members of the Chamber of Deputies are women. The Lower House plays a growing role as an arena for debate on national policy especially that it hosts representatives from six opposition parties. HP HSTNN-XB71 Battery Opposition members often vote against bills or abstain. Because of the comfortable majority enjoyed by the governing party, bills usually pass with only minor changes.[3] The upper house is the Chamber of Advisors, which includes 112 members including representatives of governorates (provinces), professional organizations and national figures. HP HSTNN-XB72 Battery 41 members are appointed by the Head of state while the remainder are elected by their peers. About 15% of the members of the Chamber of advisors are women.[4] The Tunisian legal system is based on French civil law system and Islamic law[2]; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session. The judiciary is independent, although the judicial council is chaired by the head of state. HP HSTNN-XB73 Battery   Since 1987 Tunisia has reformed its political system several times, abolishing life-term presidencies and opening up the parliament to opposition parties. The number of new political parties and associations has notably increased since the beginning of Ben Ali's presidency in 1987. Currently there are eight recognized national parties, six of which hold national legislative seats. HP HSTNN-XB76 Battery   Since his accession to the Presidency, the President's party, known as the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD), rallied majorities in local, regional, and national elections. Although the party was renamed (in President Bourguiba’s days it was the Socialist Destourian Party), its policies were still considered to be largely secular and conservative. HP HSTNN-XB79 Battery However, the Tunisian Revolution in 2011 saw its removal from power. The Tunisian national elections of 2009, overseen by the Interior Ministry and held on October 25, 2009, elected candidates for president and legislative offices. During the campaign, speeches by candidates were aired on Tunisian radio and television stations.[5] HP HSTNN-XB87 Battery Participation was 89% of resident citizens and 90% of citizens living abroad. In the presidential vote, Ben Ali soundly defeated his challengers, Mohamed Bouchiha (PUP), Ahmed Inoubli (UDU) and Ahmed Ibrahim (Ettajdid Movement) for a fifth term in office. His 89% of the vote was slightly lower than in the 2004 election.[6] HP HSTNN-XB89 Battery In the parliamentary elections, the RCD received 84% of the vote for 161 constituency seats. The MDS won 16 seats under the proportional representation system, followed by the PUP with 12 seats. 59 women were elected to legislative seats.[7] The election was criticized by opposition parties and some international observers for limitations placed on non-incumbents. HP HSTNN-XB90 Battery In one instance, the Ettajdid party's weekly publication, Ettarik al-Jadid, was seized by authorities for violating campaign communications laws.[8] Meanwhile, a delegation from the African Union Commission praised the election for taking place with "calm and serenity"[9] Prior to the 2009 election, Tunisia amended its constitution to allow more candidates to run for president, HP HSTNN-XB91 Battery allowing the top official from each political party to compete for the presidency regardless of whether they held seats in parliament. Women hold 23% of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies, outpacing the percentage of women serving in the U.S. Congress, which stands at 17% in the 111th Congress. HP HSTNN-XB93 Battery More than one-fifth of the seats in both chambers of parliament are held by women, an exceptionally high level in the Arab world.[12] Tunisia is the only country in the Arab world where polygamy is forbidden by law. This is part of a provision in the country’s Code of Personal Status which was introduced by President Bourguiba in 1956. HP HSTNN-XB94 Battery  

The agricultural sector stands


The agricultural sector stands for 11.6% of the GDP, industry 25.7%, and services 62.8%. The industrial sector is mainly made up of clothing and footwear manufacturing, production of car parts, and electric machinery. Although Tunisia managed an average 5% growth over the last decade it continues to suffer from a high unemployment especially among youth. HP HSTNN-IB83 Battery



Tunisia was in 2009 ranked the most competitive economy in Africa and the 40th in the world by the World Economic Forum.[86]Tunisia has managed to attract many international companies such as Airbus[87] and Hewlett-Packard.Tourism accounted for 7% of GDP and 370,000 jobs in 2009.[89]

The European Union remains Tunisia's first trading partner, currently accounting for 72.5% of Tunisian imports and 75% of Tunisian exports. HP HSTNN-IB88 Battery

Tunisia is a one of the European Union's most established trading partners in the Mediterranean region and ranks as the EU’s 30th largest trading partner. Tunisia was the first Mediterranean country to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union, in July 1995, although even before the date of entry came into force, Tunisia started dismantling tariffs on bilateral EU trade. HP HSTNN-IB89 Battery

Tunisia finalised the tariffs dismantling for industrial products in 2008 and therefore was the first Mediterranean country to enter in a free trade area with EU.[90]

Tunis Sports City is an entire sports city currently being constructed in Tunis, Tunisia. The city that will consist of apartment buildings as well as several sports facilities will be built by the Bukhatir Group at a cost of $5 Billion.[91] HP HSTNN-IB93 Battery

The Tunis Financial harbour will deliver North Africa’s first offshore financial centre at Tunis Bay in a project with an end development value of US$ 3 billion.[92] The Tunis Telecom City is a US$ 3 billion project to create an IT hub in Tunis.

The majority of the electricity used in Tunisia is produced locally, by state-owned company STEG (Société Tunisienne de l´Electricité et du Gaz). HP HSTNN-IB94 Battery

In 2008, a total of 13,747 GWh was produced in the country.[95]

Oil production of Tunisia is about 97,600 barrels per day (15,520 m3/d). The main field is El Bourma.[96]

Oil production began in 1966 in Tunisia. Currently there are 12 oil fields.[97]

Tunisia has plans for two nuclear power stations, to be operational by 2019. HP HSTNN-IB95 Battery

Both facilities are projected to produce 900–1000 MW. France is set to become an important partner in Tunisia's nuclear power plans, having signed an agreement, along with other partners, to deliver training and technology.

The Desertec project is a large-scale energy project aimed at installing solar power panels in northern Africa, with a power line connection between it and southern Europe. HP HSTNN-IBON Battery

Tunisia will be a part of this project, but exactly how it may benefit from this remains to be seen.

The country maintains 19,232 kilometres (11,950 mi) of roads,[84] with the A1 Tunis-Sfax, P1 Tunis-Libya and P7 Tunis-Algeria being the major highways. There are 30 airports in Tunisia, with Tunis Carthage International Airport and Djerba–Zarzis International Airport being the most important ones. HP HSTNN-LB09 Battery

A new airport, Enfidha – Hammamet International Airport, was completed at the end of October 2009 but was delayed in opening and did not open fully until 2011. The airport is located north of Sousse at Enfidha and is to mainly serve the resorts of Hamammet and Port El Kantoui, together with inland cities such as Kairouan. HP HSTNN-LB0W Battery

There are four airlines headquartered in Tunisia: Tunisair, Karthago Airlines, Nouvelair and Tunisair express. The railway network is operated by SNCFT and amounts to 2,135 kilometres (1,327 mi) in total.[84] The Tunis area is served by a tram network, named Metro Leger.

Some 98%of modern native Tunisians are from a sociological, historical and genealogical standpoint mainly of Arab and Berberdescent, HP HSTNN-LB17 Battery

but the overwhelming majority simply identify themselves today as Arabs.[101][102] However, there is also a small (1% at most)[103] population located in the Dahar mountains and on the island of Djerba in the south-east and in the Khroumire mountainous region in the north-west.

From the late 19th century to after World War II, Tunisia was home to large populations of French and Italians (255,000 Europeans in 1956), HP HSTNN-LB31 Battery

although nearly all of them, along with the Jewish population, left after Tunisia became independent. The history of the Jews in Tunisia going back some 2,000 years. In 1948 the Jewish population was an estimated 105,000, but by 2003 only about 1,500 remained.[105]

The first people known to history in what is now Tunisia were the Berbers. HP HSTNN-LB311 Battery

Numerous civilizations and peoples have invaded, migrated to, and been assimilated into the population over the millennia, with influences of population via conquest fromPhoenicians/Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Alans, Arabs, Spaniards, Ottoman Turks and Janissaries, and French. There was a continuing inflow of nomadic Arab tribes from Arabia.[27] HP HSTNN-LB33 Battery



Additionally, after the Reconquista and expulsion of non-Christians and Moriscos from Spain, many Spanish Moors and Jews also arrived. According to Matthew Carr, "As many as eighty thousand Moriscos settled in Tunisia, most of them in and around the capital, Tunis, which still contains a quarter known as Zuqaq al-Andalus, or Andalusia Alley." HP HSTNN-LB60 Battery



The majority of Tunisia's population (around 98%) are Muslims while about 1% follow Christianity and the remaining 1% adhere to Judaism or other religions.[84] The bulk of Tunisians belong to the Maliki School of Sunni Islam and their mosques are easily recognizable by square minarets. HP HSTNN-LB72 Battery

However, the Turks brought with them the teaching of the Hanafi School during theOttoman rule which still survives among the Turkish descended families today, their mosques traditionally have octagonal minarets.[107]

Tunisia has a sizable Christian community of around 25,000 adherents, mainly Catholics (22,000) and to a lesser degreeProtestants. HP HSTNN-LB73 Battery

Berber Christians continued to live in Tunisia up until the early 15th century.[108] Judaism is the country's third largest religion with 1,500 members. One-third of the Jewish population lives in and around the capital. The remainder lives on the island of Djerba, with 39 synagogues, and where the Jewish community dates back 2,500 years.[109] HP HSTNN-LB93 Battery



Djerba, an island in the Gulf of Gabès, is home to El Ghriba synagogue, which is one of the oldest synagogues in the world. Many Jews consider it a pilgrimage site, with celebrations taking place there once every year. In fact, Tunisia along with Morocco has been said to be the Arab countries most accepting of their Jewish populations.[110] HP HSTNN-LB94 Battery



The constitution declares Islam as the official state religion and requires the President to be Muslim. Aside from the president, Tunisians enjoy a significant degree of religious freedom, a right enshrined and protected in its constitution, which guarantees the freedom to practice one's religion.[109] HP HSTNN-MB09 Battery



The country has a secular culture that encourages acceptance of other religions and religious freedom. With regards to the freedom of Muslims, the Tunisian government has restricted the wearing of Islamic head scarves (hijab) in government offices and it discourages women from wearing them on public streets and public gatherings. HP HSTNN-MB10 Battery

The government believes the hijab is a "garment of foreign origin having a partisan connotation". There were reports that the Tunisian police harassed men with "Islamic" appearance (such as those with beards), detained them, and sometimes compelled men to shave their beards off.[111] In 2006, the former Tunisian president declared that he would "fight" the hijab, which he refers to as "ethnic clothing".[112] HP HSTNN-OB0F Battery



Individual Tunisians are tolerant of religious freedom and generally do not inquire about a person's personal beliefs.

Arabic is the official language, and Tunisian Arabic, known as Derja, is the local, vernacular variety of Arabic and is used by the public.[113] There is also a small minority of speakers of Shelha, a Berber language.[114] HP HSTNN-OB0L Battery



Due to the former French occupation, French also plays a major role in the country, despite having no official status. It is widely used in education (e.g., as the language of instruction in the sciences in secondary school), the press, and in business. In 2010, there were 6,639,000 French-speakers in Tunisia, or about 64% of the population.[115] HP HSTNN-OB0X Battery

Italian is understood and spoken by a small part of the Tunisian population.

The culture of Tunisia is mixed due to their long established history of conquerors such as Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks, Spaniards, and the French who all left their mark on the country. HP HSTNN-OB0Y Battery



The birth of a Tunisian contemporary painting is strongly linked to the School of Tunis, established by a group of artists from Tunisia with united by the desire to incorporate native themes and rejecting the influence of Orientalist colonial painting. It was founded in 1949 and brings together French and Tunisian Muslims, Christians and Jews. HP HSTNN-OB17 Battery

Pierre Boucherle was its main instigator, along with Yahia Turki, Abdelaziz Gorgi, Moses Levy, Ammar Farhat and Jules Lellouche. Given its doctrine, some members have therefore turned to the sources of aesthetic Arab-Muslim art: such as miniature Islamic architecture, etc. HP HSTNN-OB20 Battery

Expressionist paintings by Amara Debbache, Jellal Ben Abdallah and Ali Ben Salem are recognized while abstract art captures the imagination of painters like Edgar Naccache, Nello Levy and Hedi Turki.[117]

After independence in 1956, the art movement in Tunisia was propelled by the dynamics of nation building and by artists serving the state. HP HSTNN-OB31 Battery

A Ministry of Culture was established, under the leadership of ministers such as Habib Boularès who saw art and education and power.[117] Artists gained international recognition such as Hatem El Mekki or Zoubeir Turki and influenced a generation of new young painters. Sadok Gmech draws his inspiration from national wealth while Moncef Ben Amorturns to fantasy. HP HSTNN-OB37 Battery

In another development, Youssef Rekik reused the technique of painting on glass and founded Nja Mahdaoui calligraphy with its mystical dimension.[117]

There are currently fifty art galleries housing exhibitions of Tunisian and international artists.[118] These galleries include Gallery Yahia in Tunis and Carthage Essaadi gallery. HP HSTNN-OB38 Battery



Tunisian literature exists in two forms: Arabic and French. Arabic literature dates back to the seventh century with the arrival of Arab civilization in the region. It is more important in both volume and value than French literature, introduced during the French protectorate from 1881.[119] HP HSTNN-OB41 Battery

Among the literary figures include Douagi Ali, who has produced more than 150 radio stories, over 500 poems and folk songs and nearly 15 plays,[120] Khraief Bashir, an Arabic novelist who published many notable books in the 1930s and which caused a scandal because the dialogues were written in Tunisian dialect,[120] HP HSTNN-OB42 Battery

and others such asMoncef Ghachem, Mohamed Salah Ben Mrad or Mahmoud Messaadi. As for poetry, Tunisian poetry typically opts for nonconformity and innovation with poets such asAboul-Qacem Echebbi. As for literature in French, it is characterized by its critical approach. HP HSTNN-OB45 Battery

Contrary to the pessimism of Albert Memmi, who predicted that literature Tunisian was sentenced to die young,[121] a high number of Tunisian writers are abroad including Abdelwahab Meddeb, Bakri Tahar, Mustapha Tlili, Hele Beji or Mellah Fawzi. The themes of wandering, exile and heartbreak are the focus of their creative writing. HP HSTNN-OB51 Battery



The national bibliography lists 1249 non-school books published in 2002 in Tunisia, with 885 titles in Arabic.[122] In 2006 this figure had increased to 1,500 and 1,700 in 2007.[123] Nearly a third of the books are published for children. HP HSTNN-OB60 Battery



At the beginning of twentieth century, musical activity was dominated by the liturgical repertoire associated with different religious brotherhoods and secular repertoire which consisted of instrumental pieces and songs in different Andalusian forms and styles of origins, essentially borrowing characteristics of musical language. HP HSTNN-OB71 Battery

In 1930 "The Rachidia" was founded well known thanks to artists from the Jewish community. The founding in 1934 of a musical school help revive Arab Andalusian music largely to a social and cultural revival led by the elite of the time who became aware of the risks of loss of the musical heritage and which they believed theatened the foundations of Tunisian national identity. HP HSTNN-OB75 Battery

The institution did not take long to assemble an elite group of musicians and poets and scholars. The creation of Radio Tunis in 1938 allowed musicians are greater opportunity to disseminate their works.

The 1960s and 1970s witnessed the emergence of composers and performers working mostly in the orchestra of the Tunisian Radio and Television. HP HSTNN-OB75 Battery

Song using melodies and popular rhythms experienced a significant rise. From the 1980s, the music scene saw the emergence of a generation of musicians, composers and performers of Arab and Western musical training who believed that Tunisian music needed new song writing techniques. HP HSTNN-OB89 Battery

The emergence of new patterns of racial and improvised music since the late 1990s changed the musical landscape of Tunisia. At the same time, the majority of the population is attracted by the music of Arab origin (Egyptian, Lebanese or Syrian). Popular western music has also had major success with the emergence of many groups and festivals, including rock music, hip-hop, reggae and jazz. HP HSTNN-OB91 Battery



Among the major Tunisian contemporary artists include Hedi Habbouba, Saber Rebai, Dhafer Youssef, Belgacem Bouguenna, Sonia M'Barek and Latifa. Other notable musicians include Salah El Mahdi, Anouar Brahem, Zied Gharsa and Lotfi Bouchnak.

The TV media has long remained under the domination of the Establishment of the Broadcasting Authority Tunisia (ERTT) and its predecessor, the Tunisian Radio and Television, founded in 1957. HP HSTNN-OB93 Battery

On November 7, 2006, President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali announced the demerger of the business, which became effective on August 31, 2007. Until then, ERTT managed all public television stations (Télévision Tunisienne 1 and Télévision Tunisienne 2, which had replaced the defunct RTT 2) and four national radio stations (Radio Tunis, Tunisia Radio Culture, Youth and Radio RTCI) HP HSTNN-OB94 Battery

and five regional Sfax, Monastir, Gafsa, Le Kef and Tataouine. Most programs are in Arabic but some are in French. Since 2003, a growth in private sector broadcasting is underway, witnessing the creation of Radio Mosaique FM,Jawhara FM and Zaytuna FM and Hannibal TV and Nessma TV. HP HSTNN-Q08C Battery

In 2007, some 245 newspapers and magazines (compared to only 91 in 1987) are 90% owned by private groups and independents.[124] The Tunisian political parties have the right to publish their own newspapers, but those of the opposition parties have very limited editions (like Al Mawkif or Mouwatinoun). HP HSTNN-Q09C Battery

Freedom of the press is guaranteed by the constitution although almost all newspapers following the government line report without critical approach to the activities of the president, government and the Constitutional Democratic Rally Party (in power) through the Agence Tunis Afrique Presse. HP HSTNN-Q21C Battery



Several private radio stations have been established, including Mosaique FM, Shems FM[125] and private television stations such as Hannibal TV and Nessma TV.

Football is the most popular sport in Tunisia. The Tunisia national football team, also known as "The Eagles of Carthage," won the 2004 African Cup of Nations (ACN), which was held in Tunisia. HP HSTNN-Q22C Battery

They also represented Africa in the 2005 FIFA Cup of Confederations, which was held in Germany, but they could not go beyond the first round. The Eagles of Carthage have participated in four World Cup Championships.

The premier football league is the "Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1". HP HSTNN-Q33C Battery

The main clubs are Espérance Sportive de Tunis, Club Africain, Club Sportif Sfaxien and Étoile Sportive du Sahel. The first team participated in the 2011 World Cup for clubs and finished in the Second Match, in which it was eliminated by Sadd Sports Club from Qatar.

The Tunisia national handball team has participated in several handball world championships. HP HSTNN-Q34C Battery

In 2005, Tunisia came fourth. The national league consists of about 12 teams, with ES. Sahel and Esperance S.Tunis dominating. The most famous Tunisian handball player is Wissem Hmam. In the 2005 Handball Championship in Tunis, Wissem Hmam was ranked as the top scorer of the tournament. HP HSTNN-Q35C Battery

The Tunisian national handball team won the African Cup eight times, being the team dominating this competition. The Tunisians won the 2010 African Cup in Egypt by defeating the host country.[129]

In boxing, Victor Perez ("Young") was world champion in the flyweight weight class in 1931 and 1932.[130] HP HSTNN-Q44C Battery



In the 2008 Summer Olympics, Tunisian Oussama Mellouli won a gold medal in 1500m freestyle.[131] In the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the 1500m freestyle and a gold medal in the 15km marathon totaling 3 Olympic medals in his life.

The adult literacy rate in 2008 was 77.6%.[132] HP HSTNN-Q61C Battery

Education is given a high priority and accounts for 6% of GNP. A basic education for children between the ages of 6 and 16 has been compulsory since 1991. Tunisia ranked 17th in the category of "quality of the [higher] educational system" and 21st in the category of "quality of primary education" in The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-9, released by The World Economic Forum.[133] HP HSTNN-Q62C Battery



While children generally acquire Tunisian Arabic at home, when they enter school at age 6, they are taught to read and write in Standard Arabic. From the age of 8, they are taught French while English is introduced at the age of 12.

Tunisia is in the process of economic reform and liberalization after decades of heavy state direction and participation in the economy. HP HSTNN-UB02 Battery

Prudent economic and fiscal planning have resulted in moderate but sustained growth for over a decade. Tunisia's economic growth historically has depended on oil, phosphates, agri-food products, car parts manufacturing, and tourism. In the World Economic Forum 2008/2009 Global Competitiveness Report, the country ranks first in Africa and 36th globally for economic competitiveness, well ahead of Portugal (43), Italy (49) and Greece (67). HP HSTNN-UB09 Battery



Current GDP per capita soared by more than 380% in the Seventies (1970–1980: USD 280–1,369). But this proved unsustainable and it collapsed to a cumulative 10% growth in the turbulent Eighties (1980–1990: USD 1,369–1,507), rising again to almost 50% cumulative growth in the Nineties (1990–2000: USD 1,507–2,245), signifying the impact of successful diversification.[6] HP HSTNN-UB0G Battery



This is a chart of trend of gross domestic product of Tunisia (estimated) by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of Tunisian Dinars.

For purchasing power parity comparisons, the US Dollar is exchanged at 0.44 Tunisian Dinars only. Mean wages were $4.17 per manhour in 2009. HP HSTNN-UB17 Battery



Growing foreign debt and the foreign exchange crisis in the mid-1980s. In 1986, the government launched astructural adjustment program to liberalize prices, reduce tariffs, and reorient Tunisia toward a market economy.

Tunisia's economic reform program has been lauded as a model by international financial institutions. HP HSTNN-UB33 Battery

The government has liberalized prices, reduced tariffs, lowered debt-service-to-exports and debt-to-GDP ratios, and extended the average maturity of its $10 billion foreign debt. Structural adjustment brought additional lending from the World Bank and other Western creditors. In 1990, Tunisia acceded to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). HP HSTNN-UB37 Battery



In 1996 Tunisia entered into an "Association Agreement" with the European Union (EU) which removes tariff and other trade barriers on most goods by 2008. In conjunction with the Association Agreement, the EU is assisting the Tunisian government's Mise A Niveau (upgrading) program to enhance the productivity of Tunisian businesses and prepare for competition in the global marketplace. HP HSTNN-UB41 Battery



The government has totally or partially privatized around 160 state-owned enterprises since the privatizationprogram was launched in 1987. Although the program is supported by the GATT, the government has had to move carefully to avoid mass firings. Unemployment continues to plague Tunisia's economy and is aggravated by a rapidly growing work force. HP HSTNN-UB69 Battery

An estimated 55% of the population is under the age of 25. Officially, 14% of the Tunisian work force is unemployed.

In 1992, Tunisia re-entered the private international capital market for the first time in 6 years, securing a $10-million line of credit for balance-of-payments support. HP HSTNN-UB72 Battery

In January 2003 Standard & Poor's affirmed its investment grade credit ratings for Tunisia. The World Economic Forum 2002-03 ranked Tunisia 34th in the Global Competitiveness Index Ratings (two places behind South Africa, the continent's leader). In April 2002, Tunisia's first US dollar-denominated sovereign bond issue since 1997 raised $458 million, with maturity in 2012.



The Bourse de Tunis is under the control of the state-run Financial Market Council and lists over 50 companies. The government offers substantial tax incentives to encourage companies to join the exchange, and expansion is occurring.

The Tunisian government adopted a unified investment code in 1993 to attract foreign capital. HP HSTNN-UB73 Battery

More than 1,600 export-oriented joint venture firms operate in Tunisia to take advantage of relatively low labor costs and preferential access to nearby European markets. Economic links are closest with European countries, which dominate Tunisia's trade. Tunisia's currency, the dinar, is not traded outside Tunisia. HP HSTNN-UBOL Battery

However, partial convertibility exists for bonafide commercial and investment transaction. Certain restrictions still limit operations carried out by Tunisian residents.

The stock market capitalisation of listed companies in Tunisia was valued at $5.3 Billion in 2007, 15% of 2007 GDP, by the World Bank[1]. HP HSTNN-W20C Battery



For 2007, foreign direct investment totaled TN Dinar 2 billion in 2007, or 5.18% of the total volume of investment in the country. This figure is up 35.7% from 2006 and includes 271 new foreign enterprises and the expansion of 222 others already based in the country.

The economic growth rate seen for 2007, at 6.3% is the highest achieved in a decade. HP HSTNN-W26C Battery



Republic of Tunisia

http://www.all-keyboard.com/,http://www.laptopfan-shop.com/,http://www.laptop-fan-shop.com/ Tunisia , officially the Republic of Tunisia  (Arabic: الجمهورية التونسية‎ al-Jumhūriyyah at-Tūnisiyyah; Berber:Tagduda n Tunes; French: République tunisienne), is the smallest country in North Africa. It is a Maghreb country bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. HP 448007-001 battery Tunisia is almost 165,000 square kilometres (64,000 sq mi) in area, with an estimated population of just under 10.7 million. Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the northeast. The south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline. HP Pavilion DV7 battery Tunisia has an association agreement with the European Union and is a member of the Arab Maghreb Union, the Arab League, and the African Union. Tunisia has established close relations with France in particular, through economic cooperation, industrial modernization, and privatisation programs. HP DV6-1120SA battery The word Tunisia is derived from Tunis; a city and capital of modern-day Tunisia. The present form of the name, with its Latinate suffix -ia, evolved from French Tunisie.[10] The French derivative Tunisie was adopted in some European languages with slight modifications, introducing a distinctive name to designate the country. HP DV6-1210SA battery Other languages remained untouched, such as the Russian Туни́с (Tunís) and Spanish Túnez. In this case, the same name is used for both country and city, as with the Arabic تونس, and only by context can one tell the difference.[10] The name Tunis can be attributed to different origins. It is generally assiociated with the Berber root tns, which means "to lie down" or "encampment".[11] Compaq CQ50 battery It is sometimes also associated with the Phoenician goddess Tanith (aka Tunit),[10][12] ancient city of Tynes.The Atlas mountains and the Sahara desert both played a prominent role in ancient times, first with the famous Puniccity of Carthage, then as the Roman province of Africa, which was known as the "bread basket" of Rome. HP Pavilion DV8 battery Later, Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD, Byzantines in the 6th century, and Arabs in the 8th century. Under the Ottoman Empire, Tunisia was known as "Regency of Tunis". It passed under French protectorate in 1881. After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the "Kingdom of Tunisia" at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty. Sony VGP-BPS13 battery With the proclamation of the Tunisian Republic on 25 July 1957, the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president.The country was led by the authoritarian government of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled during the Tunisian revolution. Farming methods reached the Nile Valley from the Fertile Crescent region about 5000 BC, and spread to the Maghreb by about 4000 BC. HP DV9700 battery Agricultural communities in the humid coastal plains of central Tunisia then were ancestors of today's Berbertribes. It was believed in ancient times that Africa was originally populated by Gaetulians and Libyans, both nomadic peoples. Compaq CQ35-100 battery According to the Roman historian Sallust, the demigod Hercules died in Spain and his polyglot eastern army was left to settle the land, with some migrating to Africa. Persians went to the West and intermarried with the Gaetulians and became the Numidians. The Medes settled and were known as Mauri latter Moors. HP HP-6000L Battery The Numidians and Moors belonged to the race from which the Berbers are descended. The translated meaning of Numidian is Nomad and indeed the people were semi-nomadic until the reign of Masinissa of the Massyli tribe. At the beginning of recorded history, Tunisia was inhabited by Berber tribes. HP HSTNN-C17C Battery Its coast was settled by Phoenicians starting as early as the 10th century BC. The city of Carthage was founded in the 9th century BC by Phoenician and Cypriot settlers. Legend says that Dido from Tyre, now in modern day Lebanon, founded the city in 814 BC, as retold by the Greek writer Timaeus of Tauromenium. HP HSTNN-C29C Battery The settlers of Carthage brought their culture and religion from the Phoenicians.[20] After a series of wars with Greek city-states of Sicily in the 5th century BC, Carthage rose to power and eventually became the dominant civilization in the Western Mediterranean. The people of Carthage worshipped a pantheon of Middle Eastern gods including Baal and Tanit. HP HSTNN-C50C Battery Tanit's symbol, a simple female figure with extended arms and long dress, is a popular icon found in ancient sites. The founders of Carthage also established a Tophet, which was altered in Roman times. A Carthaginian invasion of Italy led by Hannibal during the Second Punic War, one of a series of wars with Rome, nearly crippled the rise of Roman power. HP HSTNN-C51C Battery From the conclusion of the Second Punic War in 202 BC, Carthage functioned as a client state of the Roman Republic for another 50 years. Following the Battle of Carthage in 149 BC, Carthage was conquered by Rome. After the Roman conquest, the region became one of the main granaries of Rome and was fully Latinized.   The Romans controlled nearly all of modern Tunisia from 149 BC until the area was conquered by the Vandals in the 5th century AD, only to be reconquered byRoman general Belisarius in the 6th century, during the rule of Emperor Justinian I. During the Roman period the area of what is now Tunisia enjoyed a huge development. HP HSTNN-C52C Battery The economy, mainly during the Empire, boomed: the prosperity of the area depended on agriculture. Called the Granary of the Empire, the area of actual Tunisia and coastal Tripolitania, according to one estimate, produced one million tons of cereals each year, one-quarter of which was exported to the Empire. HP HSTNN-C53C Battery Additional crops included beans, figs, grapes, and other fruits. By the 2nd century, olive oil rivalled cereals as an export item. In addition to the cultivations, and the capture and transporting of exotic wild animals from the western mountains, the principal production and exports included the textiles, marble, wine, timber, livestock, pottery such as African Red Slip, and wool. HP HSTNN-C54C Battery   There was even a huge production of mosaics and ceramics, exported mainly to Italy, in the central area of El Djem (where there was the second biggest amphitheater in the Roman Empire). Berber bishop Donatus Magnus was the founder of a Christian group known as the Donatists. HP HSTNN-CB45 Battery During the 5th and 6th Centuries (from 430 to 533 AD), the GermanicVandals invaded and ruled over a kingdom in North Africa that included present-day Tripoli. They were defeated by a combined force of Romans and Berbers. Around the second half of the 7th century and the beginning of the 8th century, HP HSTNN-CB71 Battery the region was conquered by Arab Muslims, who founded the city of Kairouan, which became the first city of Islam in North Africa. In this period, the Great Mosque of Kairouan (also called the Mosque of Uqba) was erected in 670 AD. The Great Mosque of Kairouan, which has the oldest standing minaret in the world, HP HSTNN-CB72 Battery is the most ancient and most prestigious sanctuary in the Muslim West;[23] it is also considered a masterpiece of Islamic art and architecture.[24] Tunisia flourished under Arab rule as extensive irrigation installations were constructed to supply towns with water and promote agriculture (especially olive production). HP HSTNN-CB73 Battery This prosperity permitted luxurious court life and was marked by the construction of new Palace cities such as al-Abassiya (809) and Raqadda (877).[25] Successive Muslim dynasties ruled Tunisia (Ifriqiya at the time) with occasional instabilities caused mainly by Berber rebellions;of these reigns we can cite the Aghlabids (800–900) and Fatimids (909–972). HP HSTNN-CB87 Battery After conquering Cairo, Fatimids abandoned North Africa to the local Zirids (Tunisia and parts of Eastern Algera, 972–1148) and Hammadid (Central and eastern Algeria, 1015–1152).[27] Zirid Tunisia prospered, with agriculture, industry, trade and learning, both religious and secular, all flourishing.[28] HP HSTNN-CB0W Battery Management of the later Zirid emirs was neglectful though, and political instability was connected to the decline of Tunisian trade and agriculture.The invasion of Tunisia by the Banu Hilal, a warlike Arab Bedouin tribe encouraged by the Fatimids of Egypt to seize North Africa, sent the region's urban and economic life into further decline. HP HSTNN-CB0X Battery The Arab historian Ibn Khaldun wrote that the lands ravaged by Banu Hilal invaders had become completely arid desert. The coasts were held briefly by the Normans of Sicily in the 12th century, but following the conquest of Tunisia in 1159–1160 by the Almohads the last Christians in Tunisia disappeared either through forced conversion or emigration. HP HSTNN-CQ44C Battery The Almohads initially ruled over Tunisia through a governor, usually a near relative of the Caliph. Despite the prestige of the new masters, the country was still unruly, with continuous rioting and fighting between the townsfolk and wandering Arabs and Turks, the latter being subjects of the Armenian adventurer Karakush. HP HSTNN-DB02 Battery The greatest threat to Almohad rule in Tunisia was the Banu Ghaniya, relatives of the Almoravids, who from their base in Mallorca tried to restore Almoravid rule over the Maghreb. Around 1200 they succeeded in extending their rule over the whole of Tunisia, until they were crushed by Almohad troops in 1207. HP HSTNN-DB0G Battery After this success, the Almohads installed Walid Abu Hafs as the governor of Tunisia. Tunisia remained part of the Almohad state, until 1230 when the son of Abu Hafs declared himself independent. During the reign of the Hafsid dynasty, fruitful commercial relationships were established with several Christian Mediterranean states. HP HSTNN-DB10 Battery In the late 16th century the coast became a pirate stronghold .In the last years of the Hafsids, Spain seized many of the coastal cities, but these were recovered by the Ottoman Empire.The first Ottoman conquest of Tunis took place in 1534 under the command of Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha, the younger brother of Oruç Reis, who was the Kapudan Pasha of the Ottoman Fleet during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. HP HSTNN-DB13 Battery However, it wasn't until the final Ottoman reconquest of Tunis from Spain in 1574 under Kapudan Pasha Uluç Ali Reis that the Ottomans permanently acquired the former Hafsid Tunisia, retaining it until the French occupation of Tunisia in 1881. Initially under Turkish rule from Algiers, soon the Ottoman Porte appointed directly for Tunis a governor called the Pashasupported by janissary forces. HP HSTNN-DB17 Battery Before long, however, Tunisia became in effect an autonomous province, under the local Bey. Under its Turkish governors, the Beys, Tunisia attained virtual independence. The Hussein dynasty of Beys, established in 1705, lasted until 1957.[33] This evolution of status was from time to time challenged without success by Algiers. HP HSTNN-DB20 Battery During this era the governing councils controlling Tunisia remained largely composed of a foreign elite who continued to conduct state business in the Turkish language. Attacks on European shipping were made by corsairs, primarily from Algiers, but also from Tunis and Tripoli, yet after a long period of declining raids the growing power of the European states finally forced its termination. HP HSTNN-DB31 Battery Under the Ottoman Empire, the boundaries of Tunisia contracted; it lost territory to the west (Constantine) and to the east (Tarabulus). The Maghreb suffered from the deadly combination of plague and famine.[34] The great epidemics ravaged Tunisia in 1784–1785, 1796–1797 and 1818–1820.[35] HP HSTNN-DB32 Battery   In the 19th century, the rulers of Tunisia became aware of the ongoing efforts at political and social reform in the Ottoman capital. The Bey of Tunis then, by his own lights but informed by the Turkish example, attempted to effect a modernizing reform of institutions and the economy. Tunisian international debt grew unmanageable. HP HSTNN-DB42 Battery This was the reason or pretext for French forces to establish a Protectorate in 1881. In 1869, Tunisia declared itself bankrupt and an international financial commission took control over its economy. In 1881, using the pretext of a Tunisian incursion into Algeria, the French invaded with an army of about 36,000 and forced the Bey to agree to the terms of the 1881 Treaty of Bardo (Al Qasr as Sa'id). HP HSTNN-DB51 Battery  With this treaty, Tunisia was officially made a French protectorate, over the objections of Italy. Under French colonization, European settlements in the country were actively encouraged; the number of French colonists grew from 34,000 in 1906 to 144,000 in 1945. In 1910 there were 105,000 Italians in Tunisia. HP HSTNN-DB63 Battery In 1942–1943, Tunisia was the scene of the third major operations by the Allied Forces(the British Empire and the United States) against the Axis Powers (Italy and Germany) during World War II. The main body of the British army, advancing from their victory in the Battle of el-Alamein under the command of British Field Marshal Montgomery, pushed into Tunisia from the south. HP HSTNN-DB64 Battery The U.S. and other allies, following their invasions of Algeria and Morocco in Operation Torch, invaded from the west. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, commander of the Axis forces in North Africa, had hoped to inflict a similar defeat on the Allies in Tunisia as German forces did in the Battle of France in 1940. HP HSTNN-DB72 Battery Before the battle for el-Alamein, the Allied forces had been forced to retreat toward Egypt. As such, the battle for Tunisia was a major test for the Allies. They concluded that in order to defeat Axis Powers they would have to coordinate their actions and quickly recover from the inevitable setbacks the German-Italian forces would inflict. HP HSTNN-DB73 Battery   On February 19, 1943, Rommel launched an attack on the American forces in the Kasserine Pass region of Western Tunisia, hoping to inflict the kind of demoralizing and alliance-shattering defeat the Germans had dealt to Poland, Britain and France. The initial results were a disaster for the United States; the area around the Kasserine Pass is the site of many U.S. war graves from that time. HP HSTNN-DB74 Battery However, the American forces were ultimately able to reverse their retreat. With a critical strategy in tank warfare, and having determined that encirclement was feasible, the British, Australian and New Zealand forces broke through the Mareth Line on 20 March 1943. The Allies subsequently linked up on April 8, and on May 13, the German-Italian Army in Tunisia surrendered. HP HSTNN-DB74 Battery Thus, the United States, United Kingdom, Australian,Free French, and Polish forces (as well as others) were able to win a major battle as an Allied army. The battle, though overshadowed by Stalingrad, represented a major Allied victory of World War II largely because it forged the Alliance that would one day liberate Western Europe. HP HSTNN-DB75 Battery   Tunisia achieved independence from France in 1956 led by Habib Bourguiba, who later became the first Tunisian President.[40]The secular Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD), formerly Neo Destour, controlled the country as one of the most repressive regimes in the Arab World since its independence in 1956.[41] HP HSTNN-DB75 Battery   In November 1987, doctors declared Bourguiba unfit to rule and, in a bloodless coup d'état, Prime Minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali assumed the presidency.[40] President Ben Ali, previously Habib Bourguiba's minister and a military figure, held office from 1987 to 2011, HP HSTNN-DB90 Battery having acceded to the executive office of Habib Bourguiba after a team of medical experts judged Bourguiba unfit to exercise the functions of the office in accordance with Article 57 of the Tunisian constitution.[42] The anniversary of Ben Ali’s succession, November 7, was celebrated as a national holiday. HP HSTNN-DB91 Battery He was consistently re-elected with enormous majorities every election, the last being 25 October 2009,[43] until he fled the country amid popular unrest in January 2011. Ben Ali and his family were accused of corruption[44] and plundering the country's money. HP HSTNN-DB93 Battery Corrupt members of the Trabelsi family, most notably in the cases of Imed Trabelsi and Belhassen Trabelsi, controlled much of the business sector in the country.[45] In its January/February 2008 issue, the Foreign Policy Magazine reported that Tunisia's First Lady was using a government 737 Boeing Business Jet[46] to make "unofficial visits" to European fashion capitals, HP HSTNN-DB94 Battery such as Milan, Paris and Geneva. The report mentioned that the trips are not on the official travel itinerary. The former first lady was described then as a shopaholic.[47][48] Tunisia refused a French request for the extradition of two of the President's nephews, from Leila's side, who were accused by the French State prosecutor of having stolen two mega-yachts from a French marina.[49] HP HSTNN-DB95 Battery During the last few years of the old regime, rumors circulated that Ben Ali's son-in-law Sakher al-Materi (the husband of Zine and Leila's daughter Nessrine) was being primed to eventually take over the country.[50] Independent human rights groups, such as Amnesty International, Freedom House, HP HSTNN-E02C Battery and Protection International, have documented that basic human and political rights were not respected.The regime obstructed in any way possible the work of local human rights organizations. In the Economist's 2008Democracy Index Tunisia was classified as an authoritarian regime ranking 141 out of 167 countries studied. HP HSTNN-E03C Battery In 2008, in terms of freedom of the press, Tunisia was ranked 143 out of 173. The Tunisian revolution was an intensive campaign of civil resistance, including a series of street demonstrations that took place in Tunisia. The events began when Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year old Tunisian street vendor, set himself afire on 17 December 2010, in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official. HP HSTNN-FB39 Battery This act became the catalyst for mass demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country. Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizi's death on 4 January 2011, ultimately leading longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on 14 January 2011, after 23 years in power. HP HSTNN-FB40 Battery International Tunisian organizations, such as the Tunisian Community Center in the US, supported the protesters' aims toward democracy as well, in addition to TCC's efforts to freeze Ben Ali's assets abroad.[58] The demonstrations were precipitated by high unemployment, food inflation, corruption, HP HSTNN-I60C-5 Battery a lack of freedom of speech and other political freedoms[60] and poor living conditions. The protests constituted the most dramatic wave of social and political unrest in Tunisia in three decades[61][62] and resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, most of which were the result of action by police and security forces against demonstrators.[63] HP HSTNN-I61C-5 Battery Labour unions were said to be an integral part of the protests.[64] The protests inspired similar actions throughout the Arab world as well as elsewhere in the wider North Africa and Middle East. In response to the demonstrations, Ben Ali declared a state of emergency in the country, HP HSTNN-I62C-7 Battery dissolved the government on 14 January 2011, and promised new legislative elections within six months. But on that same day Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi went on state television to say he was assuming power in Tunisia. However, the head of Tunisia's Constitutional Court, Fethi Abdennadher,[65] HP HSTNN-I71C Battery confirmed that Ghannouchi violated the constitution. Fouad Mebazaa became acting President following the Constitutional Court's interpretation of the situation and the Constitution. It was soon confirmed, however, that Ben Ali had fled to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. HP HSTNN-I79C Battery   Protests continued in Tunisia to call for banning of the ruling party and the eviction of all its members from the transitional government formed by Mohammed Ghannouchi. Eventually the new government gave in to the demands and a new prime minister Beji Caid-Essebsi was appointed by the acting president on Thursday, 3 March 2011. HP HSTNN-I81C Battery Two of the first actions made after the appointment of the new government were the decision of the Tunis court to ban the ex-ruling party RCD and to confiscate all its resources, and a decree by the minister of the interior banning the "political police" including what has been known as the state security special forces which were used to intimidate and persecute political activists. HP HSTNN-IB03 Battery   Tunisia is situated on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Nile Delta. It is bordered byAlgeria on the west and Libya on the south east. It lies between latitudes 30° and 38°N, and longitudes 7° and 12°E. An abrupt southward turn of the Mediterranean coast in northern Tunisia gives the country two distinctive Mediterranean coasts, west-east in the north, and north-south in the east. HP HSTNN-IB04 Battery   Though it is relatively small in size, Tunisia has great environmental diversity due to its north-south extent. Its east-west extent is limited. Differences in Tunisia, like the rest of the Maghreb, are largely north-south environmental differences defined by sharply decreasing rainfall southward from any point. HP HSTNN-IB09 Battery The Dorsal, the eastern extension of the Atlas Mountains, runs across Tunisia in a northeasterly direction from the Algerian border in the west to the Cape Bon peninsula in the east. North of the Dorsal is the Tell, a region characterized by low, rolling hills and plains, again an extension of mountains to the west in Algeria. HP HSTNN-IB0F Battery In the Khroumerie, the northwestern corner of the Tunisian Tell, elevations reach 1,050 metres (3,440 ft) and snow occurs in winter. The Sahel, a broadening coastal plain along Tunisia's eastern Mediterranean coast, is among the world's premier areas of olive cultivation. HP HSTNN-IB0N Battery Inland from the Sahel, between the Dorsal and a range of hills south of Gafsa, are the Steppes. Much of the southern region is semi-arid and desert. Tunisia has a coastline 1,148 kilometres (713 mi) long. In maritime terms, the country claims a contiguous zone of 24 nautical miles(44.4 km; 27.6 mi), and a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi). HP HSTNN-IB0X Battery Tunisia's climate is temperate in the north, with mild rainy winters and hot, dry summers.[67] The south of the country is desert. The terrain in the north is mountainous, which, moving south, gives way to a hot, dry central plain. The south is semiarid, and merges into the Sahara. A series of salt lakes, known aschotts or shatts, HP HSTNN-IB10 Battery lie in an east-west line at the northern edge of the Sahara, extending from the Gulf of Gabes into Algeria. The lowest point is Shatt al Gharsah, at 17 metres (56 ft) below sea level and the highest is Jebel ech Chambi, at 1,544 metres (5,066 ft). Tunisia is a constitutional republic, with a president serving as head of state, HP HSTNN-IB14 Battery prime minister as head of government, abicameral parliament and a court system influenced by French civil law. The new Constitution of Tunisia guarantees rights for women, and states that the President's religion "shall be Islam."[69] Rare for the Arab world, women hold more than 20% of seats in both chambers of parliament.[70] HP HSTNN-IB17 Battery   The Tunisian legal system is based on the French civil code and on Islamic law; the judiciary is appointed by the Ministry of Justice. The Code of Personal Status remains one of the most progressive civil codes in the Middle East and the Muslim world.[71] Enacted less than five months after Tunisia gained its independence, HP HSTNN-IB20 Battery the code was meant to end gender inequality and update family law, to enable greater social and economic progress and make Tunisia a fully modern society. Among other reforms, the code outlawed the practices of polygamy and repudiation, or a husband’s right to unilaterally divorce his wife.[72] HP HSTNN-IB31 Battery   On 3 March 2011, the president announced that elections to a Constituent Assembly would be held on 23 October 2011. The constituent assembly elections took place as scheduled with international and internal observers declaring it free and fair. The Ennahda Movement, formerly banned under the Ben Ali regime, won a plurality of 90 seats out of a total of 217.[73] HP HSTNN-IB32 Battery   On 12 December 2011, former dissident and veteran human rights activist Moncef Marzouki was elected as president of Tunisia by a ruling coalition dominated by the moderate Islamist Nahda party, and sworn in on 13 December 2011. Marzouki had previously been imprisoned and exiled for years for opposing former President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. HP HSTNN-IB33 Battery At the time of his election, Marzouki was head of the secular center-left Congress for the Republic party. The Islamist Nahda party also "won the largest share of seats in an assembly charged with appointing a transitional government and drafting a new constitution."[74] The revolution ushered in nationwide calls for political reform. HP HSTNN-IB34 Battery The Constituent Assembly, with 217 members, was elected on October 23, 2011 in a process that included thousands of domestic and hundreds of international observers. A new president and prime minister took office in December 2011. On December 23, 2011, the Constituent Assembly confirmed a new cabinet for Tunisia composed of 41 ministers (29 full ministers, 15 deputy ministers.) HP HSTNN-IB39 Battery Length and terms of office, the authority of the legislature, and separation of powers are subject to change under the new constitution currently in draft.[75] The number of legalized political parties in Tunisia has grown exponentially since the revolution. There are now over 100 legal parties, including several that existed under the former regime. HP HSTNN-IB40 Battery During the Ben Ali, only three functioned as independent opposition parties: the PDP, FDTL, and Tajdid. The Islamist opposition party Nahda was deemed a "terrorist organization" and outlawed by the Ben Ali government in 1991, but quickly reasserted its position as a major political player following the party’s legalization by the post-Ben Ali government. HP HSTNN-IB42 Battery While some older parties are well-established and can draw on previous party structures, many of the 100-plus parties extant as of February 2012 are small.[75] Trade unions are now in the process of reconstituting themselves to participate in the country’s new political and socio-economic debate. Following Ben Ali’s ouster, two new trade confederations, HP HSTNN-IB44 Battery the Union of Tunisian Labor (UTT) and the General Confederation of Tunisian Labor (UCGT), emerged to challenge the status quo. Since the revolution of 2011, religious violence has increased in Tunisia, primarily consisting of Muslim attacks on Christians and members of other non-Muslim groups. HP HSTNN-IB45 Battery Tunisian journalists and human rights activists were harassed and faced surveillance and imprisonment under harsh conditions. Others were dismissed from their jobs or denied the right to communicate and move freely. The authorities had also prevented the emergence of an independent judiciary, further compounding the problem. HP HSTNN-IB51 Battery Islamist groups have also violently repressed artistic expression that is viewed to be hostile to Islam.[78] Tunisia remains a model in the Arab world in promoting the legal and social status of women. A Code of Personal Status was adopted shortly after independence in 1956, which, among other things, HP HSTNN-IB52 Battery gave women full legal status (allowing them to run and own businesses, have bank accounts, and seek passports under their own authority). It also, for the first time in the Arab world, outlawed polygamy. The government required parents to send girls to school, and today more than 50% of university students are women and 66% of judges and lawyers are women. HP HSTNN-IB62 Battery Rights of women and children were further enhanced by 1993 reforms, which included a provision to allow Tunisian women to transmit citizenship even if they are married to a foreigner and living abroad. The government has supported a remarkably successful family planning program that has reduced the population growth rate to just over 1% per annum, contributing to Tunisia's economic and social stability. HP HSTNN-IB64 Battery   Since the revolution, some non-governmental organizations have reconstituted themselves and hundreds of new ones have emerged. For instance, the Tunisian Human Rights League, the first human rights organization in Africa and the Arab world, operated under restrictions and state intrusion for over half of its existence, but is now completely free to operate. HP HSTNN-IB72 Battery Some independent organizations, such as the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, the Association of Tunisian Women for Research and Development, and the Bar Association also remain active. As of 2008, Tunisia had an army of 27,000 personnel equipped with 84 main battle tanks and 48 light tanks. HP HSTNN-IB73 Battery The navy numbered 4,800 operating 25 patrol boats and 6 other craft. Paramilitary forces consisted of a 12,000-member national guard.[79] Tunisia's military spending is 1.6% of GDP (2006). The army is responsible for national defence and also internal security. Tunisia has participated in peacekeeping efforts in the DROC and Ethiopia/Eritrea. HP HSTNN-IB74 Battery Previous United Nationspeacekeeping deployments for the Tunisian armed forces have included Cambodia (UNTAC), Namibia (UNTAG), Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi and the 1960s mission in the Congo, ONUC. The military has historically played a professional, apolitical role in defending the country from external threats. HP HSTNN-IB75 Battery Since January 2011 and at the direction of the executive branch, the military has taken on increasing responsibility for domestic security and humanitarian crisis response. Tunisia now finds itself as an export-oriented country in the process of liberalizing and privatizing an economy that, while averaging 5% GDP growth since the early 1990s, has suffered from corruption benefiting politically connected elites. HP HSTNN-IB79 Battery ]Tunisia has a diverse economy, ranging from agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and petroleum products, to tourism. In 2008 it had a GDP of US $41 billion (official exchange rates), or $82 billion (purchasing power parity).[84] It also has one of Africa and the Middle East's highest per-capita GDPs (PPP).[85] HP HSTNN-IB82 Battery