Ben Ali in Tunisia who was ousted by the Arab Spring

Former Tunisian President Sean El Abidine Ben Ali died on September 19 last year. He died in Saudi Arabia. Ben Ali was 83 years old at the time.

Ben Ali is not only the second president of Tunisia. More importantly, he was an indirect contributor to the Arab Spring. After a small town protests reached the capital, he had to flee.

The Tunisians were able to overthrow a dictator they thought could not be chased away, which sparked protests throughout the region. Perhaps if Ben Ali were in power, the Arab Spring would have been far less important or not.

Intelligence officer

Ben Ali was born in 1936 in the town of Suis, French Tunisia. He did not finish school. He joined the Tunisian army in 1958 and worked mostly in intelligence.

He served as the Director of National Intelligence for some time during the 1970s. He was reappointed in 1984 and became Minister of the Interior in 1986 and became Prime Minister in October 1987.

Seizure of power

Habib Bogiba was the first president of Tunisia. He was the first Prime Minister of Tunisia in 1956 and was ousted in 1957 and became President. Bogiba maintained a dictatorship.

By the 1980s, Bogiba was beginning to doubt many. The growth of Islamic groups has also contributed to this. Meanwhile, the Bogiba regime was bitter to the people.

Shortly after he became Prime Minister, on November 7, 1987, Ben Ali took power in a bloody coup. He promised the people a new beginning. The vast majority of the people who were exhausted by the Bogeeba regime were hoping for this new change.

Disappointment

However, under Ben Ali, not much has changed. The single-party rule in the country did not change much. Some other political parties may, in the course of time, be allowed to function, but within a limited space. Tunisia can be considered a nominal multilateral state.

In the meantime, Ben Ali focused on power and wealth around his family and friends. Most of the major businesses in the country were owned by family or close friends. In the meantime, Ben Ali used local media to enhance his image.

In the meantime, he was able to maintain good relations with the West. Particularly important was the relationship with France. France is generally known for its good relations with its former colonies in Africa.

The French-backed Ben Ali's regime knowing it would be a dictatorship. Ben Ali's argument was that he would bring stability to Tunisia. In his absence, Islamist movements, especially those associated with the “Muslim Brotherhood” spread in many countries in the Arab world, will emerge.

Withdrawal of power

Although Ben Ali was falling in popularity, most did not expect him to be ousted. There was no reason to believe that he would oust at least one of the dictators who had long held power in the Arab world. It could be said that everything changed due to the internet and social media.

On December 17, 2010, pavement dealer Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire in Sidi Bouzid, a small town in central Tunisia. That was because his cart was taken over by government officials. He had been harassed by the police and the authorities for some time. But on December 17, 2010, when he could no longer bear it, he went to the extreme.


Biasi died on January 4, 2011, of his injuries. But by that time, the wave of protests that had taken place at his home was spreading unexpectedly. Initially, protests in Sidi Bouzidi spread through social media. Protests began to form in major cities.

Ben Ali tried to suppress the protests, but the people took to the streets and took control of it. On January 13, 2011, Ben Ali announced that he would make some renovations. But he was not prepared to change any of the basic facts of the situation.


He seemed to be trying to get some more time. But he was losing control. Ben Ali fled the country on January 14, when it appeared that the military was obedient to him. He was not allowed to enter France. So he left for Saudi Arabia.

After his ouster, he was indicted in Tunisia on charges of corruption, and he was convicted in trials without him. Yet, he did not face any punishment until he died.


However, with the departure of Ben Ali on January 14, 2011, a new impetus has emerged throughout the Arab world. In the weeks leading up to the ouster of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, the Arab Spring has engulfed the entire Arab world. The armed conflicts that resulted from it still exist in some countries.