What is legacy of Arab Spring protests and uprisings as Tunisia’s president ousts PM in ‘coup’
Long considered one of the few success stories that sprang from the Arab Spring, Tunisia has seen its president accused of staging a coup after he sacked his prime minister and suspended parliament with the help of the army.
President Kais Saied’s dismissal of Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi on Sunday followed violent demonstrations across the country over the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
It has led to clashes between supporters and opponents of the president in the streets of the capital, Tunis.
President Kais Saied (pictured) fired the prime minister less than a year after Hichem Mechichi was appointed to the role. Pic AP
Mr Saied has said he will name a new prime minister, but his critics have accused him of a power grab that threatens Tunisia‘s young democracy.
Here is a look at the legacy of the Arab Spring and how protests and uprisings dramatically altered the political structure of much of the Arab world.
The Arab Spring
The Arab Spring spread across much of the Arab world from early 2010 as demonstrators rallied against the region’s dictatorial leaders in protests over corruption, poverty and oppression.
Escalating anti-government protests spilt over into uprisings and eventually civil wars in several countries as the Arab Spring spread from Tunisia to Egypt, Syria, Libya and Yemen, resulting in the ousting of the leaders in those countries, with the exception of Syria.
It has directly contributed to the refugee crisis and the rise of the Islamic State and has seen fresh authoritarian leaders seize power in many countries, leaving many with their hopes crushed as they struggle to live under increasingly authoritarian regimes in countries beset by greater levels of poverty and unemployment.
Tunisia
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People took to the streets in the capital, Tunis, to celebrate the PM’s dismissal – but others have called the move ‘a coup’
The roots of the Arab Spring can be traced back to Tunisia, where Mohamed Bouazizi, a fruit seller, set himself on fire in protest after police confiscated his goods and a female officer slapped him on 17 December 2010.
Footage of his self-immolation spread across the country and led people in his home city of Sidi Bouzid to take to the streets in rage.
Within a month, protests had forced Tunisia’s authoritarian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, to flee to Saudi Arabia.
Despite the relative success of Tunisia’s revolution, the country has recently seen large protests over mass unemployment and many consider its parliament inefficient and stagnant.
These problems have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit the economy hard as infection rates soared over the summer.
Egypt
Thousands of Egyptians protest in Tahrir Square, the focal point of the Egyptian uprising, in Cairo in July 2011. Pic: Associated Press
Demonstrations in Tunisia following the death of Bouazizi inspired massive protests across Egypt, leading President Hosni Mubarak to leave office within weeks.
A presidential election in 2012 gave power to President Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, but Mr Morsi himself was later deposed when Egypt’s military generals seized power in 2013.
Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi then became president and imposed a police state, which has seen tens of thousands of Egyptians imprisoned and hundreds executed.
The country remains under military rule.
Syria
President Bashar al Assad with his wife Asma as she casts her vote in Syria’s president election in May 2021
As unrest spread across Syria, Bashar al Assad’s government began using live ammunition against protesters, leading tensions to boil over and igniting a civil war in 2011 between the regime and rebel groups.
IS emerged from among the myriad rebel groups and expanded across the border into Iraq, where it declared a new Islamic caliphate in 2014.
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Sky’s Mark Stone visits refugee camps in northern Syria and hears of the growing influence of Islamic State inside
Syria’s brutal decade-long civil war has seen hundreds of thousands of people killed and over 6.8 million Syrians become asylum seekers and 6.7 million displaced within the country’s borders.
Despite this, Mr Assad has managed to cling on to power with the support of Russia, Iran and Lebanon-based Shia-militant group Hezbollah, although fighting in the war-ravaged country continues and several areas remain under the control of rebels.
Libya
Members of the Libyan pro-government forces gesture as they stand on a tank in Benghazi, Libya, in May 2015
Similarly, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi decided to crack down on the largest protests in the country’s history with force.
The move sparked a civil war and a NATO-led coalition began conducting airstrikes in support of the country’s rebels.
Rebel forces deposed and later killed Gaddafi in October 2011. However, efforts to transition away from Gaddafi’s rule broke down and the country descended into a renewed civil war.
The internationally recognised Government of National Accord remains in control of Tripoli and the city of Misrata, while the Libyan National Army, commanded by General Khalifa Haftar, runs Benghazi and much of the oil-rich east. General Haftar’s forces are supported by Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
Yemen
Yemen’s civil war has led to one of the worst famines the world has ever seen
As protests spread throughout much of the Arab world, pressure on Yemen’s authoritarian president Ali Abdullah Saleh led him to hand power to his deputy, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, in 2011.
However, Mr Hadi’s presidency was beset by continuing problems of corruption, unemployment and an insurgency from the Houthi militia.
The Houthis took control of the capital, Sana’a, in 2014 and declared themselves in charge of the government. Yemen’s President, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, fled to Aden, where he continues to lead Yemen’s internationally-recognised government.
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David Miliband criticises Yemen aid cut
Fierce fighting between the Iran-backed Houthi group and the western-backed coalition led by Saudi Arabia has led to one of the worst famines the world has ever seen, with half of the population lacking food and almost 16 million on the brink of starvation in 2016.
Other countries affected
While the Arab Spring saw rulers deposed in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen, it also led to street protests in Iraq, Morocco, Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and Sudan. Some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, were able to use military force to effectively end revolts before they could seriously threaten the status quo.
Legacy of the Arab Spring
While the reverberations of the Arab Spring continue to affect life in the Arab World, continuing issues including corruption, authoritarianism and poverty are likely to be exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis.
Only Tunisia’s uprising resulted in a transition to a constitutional democracy, but with the country’s president ousting his prime minister, the shift away from authoritarian rule is looking increasingly fragile.
Porn star Stormy Daniels has described to jurors an awkward and unexpected sexual encounter she claims she had with Donald Trump in 2006.
Ms Daniels was testifying at the former president’s criminal trial over hush money she was paid to keep silent about the alleged encounter during the presidential race.
But it was not all bad news for Mr Trump. On the day the court heard from Ms Daniels, his trial in Florida on charges of illegally keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence after leaving office, scheduled to start on 20 May, was postponed indefinitely by a federal judge.
Ms Daniels, 45, speaking at the “hush money” trial, said she tried not to think about having sex with him while it was allegedly taking place.
Trump trial as it happened: Raging ex-president calls for mistrial over ‘difficult to control’ witness Stormy Daniels
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Stormy Daniels recalls bedroom encounter with Trump
Mr Trump, 76, stared straight ahead when she entered the courtroom and occasionally shook his head and whispered to his lawyer.
After the lunch break, Mr Trump’s defence lawyers demanded a mistrial over what they said were prejudicial and irrelevant comments.
The judge rejected the defence’s request and said defence lawyers should have raised more objections during the testimony.
Later in the day, the Trump team used its opportunity to question Ms Daniels to paint her as motivated by personal hatred of the former president and hoping to profit off her claims against him.
“Am I correct that you hate President Trump?” defence lawyer Susan Necheles asked.
“Yes,” Ms Daniels acknowledged.
Donald Trump in court. Pic: Reuters
Stormy Daniels in Manhattan in 2018. Pic: AP
Hush money payment
In the final weeks of Mr Trump’s 2016 Republican presidential campaign, his then-lawyer and personal fixer Michael Cohen paid Ms Daniels $130,000 (£103,000) to keep quiet about what she described as an awkward and unexpected sexual encounter with Mr Trump at a celebrity golf outing in Lake Tahoe in July 2006.
Mr Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations in 2018 related to the payments and served more than a year in prison – with federal prosecutors saying he acted at Mr Trump’s direction.
Mr Trump, the Republican candidate for president again this year, has pleaded not guilty to charges of falsifying business records to cover up the payment and denies having sex with Ms Daniels.
Trump’s ex-personal lawyer Michael Cohen served more than a year in prison. Pic: AP
Imbalance of power
Ms Daniels described how an initial meeting at the golf tournament, where they discussed the adult film industry, progressed to a “brief” sexual encounter she said Mr Trump initiated after inviting her to dinner and back to his hotel suite.
She said she did not feel physically or verbally threatened during the encounter, but she perceived an imbalance of power, with Mr Trump being “bigger and blocking the way”.
She said she found it “hard to get my shoes” after it ended “because my hands were shaking so hard”.
“He said, ‘Oh, it was great. Let’s get together again, honey bunch’,” Ms Daniels said. “I just wanted to leave.”
Read more:
This was Donald Trump with his trousers down – no doubt | James Matthews
Daniels expected to return to witness stand
Mr Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with the hush money payments.
Speaking outside of court at the end of the day, Mr Trump said: “This was a very big day, a very revealing day. As you see their case is totally falling apart.”
Ms Daniels is expected to return to the witness stand when the trial resumes tomorrow.
There are moments, more than others, that scream the humiliation of it all.
Take this, before Tuesday’s proceedings got underway. “No descriptions of genitalia or anything but it’s important to elicit that she had sex with him.”
It was the prosecution’s assurance prior to questioning Stormy Daniels after Donald Trump’s lawyers had objected, in advance, to her testifying to the details of sexual acts.
It would be that kind of day in this kind of trial.
Trump trial as it happened: Stormy Daniels accused of car park ‘threat’ lie
In a dingy New York courtroom, this was the president and the porn star, together again, in a reunion most reductive for Mr Trump.
He might have secured guarantees on anatomical detail but, from the moment the court heard “The People call Stormy Daniels” this was Mr Trump with his trousers down, no doubt.
Ms Daniels told her story, of growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the daughter of a single mother. She edited her high school newspaper, enjoyed ballet dancing and horses and had ambitions to be a technician.
By the time she met Mr Trump, aged 27, we learned she was an adult film actress and director, star of the likes of 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up.
By her telling, the Trump encounter was more Austin Powers – the penthouse suite, the satin pyjamas and the spanking with a rolled-up magazine.
“Bullshit,” Mr Trump was heard to mutter. His problem is that this kind of bullshit sticks.
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Stormy Daniels recalls bedroom encounter with Trump
Whatever his lawyers’ protestations about Ms Daniels’ credibility – and there are holes – that’s hardly the headline for a watching, voting, public.
What will they take from court to the polling booth in November? Quite apart from the imagery, what message does it send to key demographics?
An affair with a porn star, whilst married, is a poor fit with the principles of evangelicals, so critical to the Trump vote in 2016. Suburban women might also reel from this tawdry peek backstage at the presidency.
How much will Mr Trump worry? About $130,000 (£103,000) worth. It is the premium he paid to stop the story coming out in the first place.
Sadly, for him, the insurance policy has run out.
World
Israel-Hamas war: Hostages’ families urge PM Benjamin Netanyahu to take a deal to get their loved ones home
There is anxiety in Museum Square in Tel Aviv – a space which has turned into a commemoration centre for the 132 hostages still held by Hamas.
A place for quiet contemplation, as well as for crowds who gather hand-in-hand to solemnly sing Israel‘s national anthem.
An agreement to get the hostages out of Gaza is far from certain.
The crowd sings Israel’s national anthem in Tel Aviv
Israel-Gaza war: Latest updates
There is so much confusion around any potential deal.
But most people here want their prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to come to an agreement and get the captives back home.
We had a chance encounter with Yehuda Cohen.
His 19-year-old son Nimrod Cohen, an Israeli soldier, was taken on 7 October.
Mr Cohen’s message to Israel’s leadership was simple – take a deal.
Right now, however, he is not very hopeful.
“Nothing is moving, we will feel better when something will start moving, that a deal will be on the table, agreed and hostages will start being released,” he said.
Yehuda Cohen, father of Nimrod Cohen
Nimrod Cohen is among the hostages
Mr Cohen had particular criticism for Mr Netanyahu.
He said of the PM: “He has his own considerations, mainly his private considerations – he wants to survive, he’s thinking only about himself.”
Mr Cohen even challenged Mr Netanyahu in person a few weeks ago about whether a ceasefire would guarantee the release of all the hostages. He did not get an answer.
Simona Steinbrecher, mother of Doron Steinbrecher
Doron Steinbrecher
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Netanyahu’s choice – accept ceasefire deal or gamble on Rafah incursion
Doron Steinbrecher, a 31-year-old veterinary nurse, lived at Kibbutz Kfar Aza when Hamas took her away.
The only proof of her abduction was a solitary message on WhatsApp.
“They’ve arrived, they have me,” she wrote.
Her mother Simona Steinbrecher thinks of little else all day.
She says any deal should be accepted to get her daughter back home.
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But she admits: “I’m afraid the deal won’t be done, so I don’t even let myself think about it.
“Until someone tells me – Simona, your daughter has come back, I don’t think about it.”
Seven months into this conflict, following Hamas’ killings and kidnappings, the latest talk of an agreement – however near or far it could be – simply provides no relief for so many hostage families.
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