Tunisia Analysis: The Rise of an Economic and Political Crisis (Sadiki)

Photo: Agence France PresseLike many developing states, Tunisia jumped onto the "Washington consensus" bandwagon, which led to fiscal, political and social adjustments.

This led to a decrease in subsidies, privatisation, poor convertibility of the dinar, vast land sales with foreign ownership of real estate, tourist resort leasing, nouveaux riches consumption patterns, big business commissions, business monopolies and corruption.

Inevitably, the clouds gathering over the skies of Tunisia’s winter of discontent have started  the tell-tale signs of a deluge of ills symptomatic of a quasi-"banana republic".

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Tunisia Analysis: Is This The Fall of the Government? (Whitaker)

The Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali may try to cling on, but his regime now has a fin de siècle air about it. He came to power in 1987 by declaring President Bourguiba unfit for office. It's probably just a matter of time before someone else delivers that same message to Ben Ali.

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Tunisia: Escalating Protests over Unemployment (Al Jazeera)

Demonstrators in Tunisia are continuing their street protests, ignoring a warning by Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, the Tunisian president, that disturbances will be firmly dealt with.

Protests continued unabated on Wednesday with demonstrators deploring the lack of employment opportunities in the country.

Lawyers have joined students and youths on the streets of the capital and trade unions are reportedly lending their support to the movement.

Ben Ali, who named a new youth minister on Wednesday in a limited cabinet reshuffle, warned earlier that protesters would be punished if rioting continued in the country.

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Wikileaks and Oil Special: Does Shell Really Have A Grip on Nigerian Government?

The Guardian of London featured this October 2009 cable in their WikiLeaks coverage on Thursday: "Shell's Grip on Nigerian Government Revealed".

Well, not quite.

This is a significant document but not in the black-and-white portrayal of The Guardian. Instead, it reveals how Shell has made its political moves --- including putting its own people inside Nigeria's ministries --- precisely because it cannot be sure of "control" over Nigerian policy. 

And this is also a forthright revelation of the US Government as accomplice to Shell's efforts: "The Ambassador asked what the Embassy could do to help" the oil company with the pressure on Nigeria's legislators over the Petroleum Industry Bill.

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WikiLeaks: A Guide to EA's Saturday-Monday Coverage

ANALYSES

1. A two-part special evaluating the January 2010 assessment of the Green Movement and Iranian politics by the US Consulate in Dubai:

Part 1: "US Diplomats Assess the Green Movement and the Political Situation"

Part 2: "US Diplomats Assess Green Movement and Politics 'From Crisis to Stalemate'"

2. Getting behind misleading headlines to assess the claim "Saudi Arabia: A Cash Machine for Terrorists"

3. Getting to the real significance on an American assessment of the situation in Iraq: "Comparing the Threats from Saudi Arabia and Iran"

FEATURES AND DOCUMENTS

1. A November 2009 diplomatic episode involving the US and Libya: "When the Nuclear Deal Almost Unraveled...Because Qadhafi Couldn't Camp in New York"

2. The State Department warns students, "Link to Documents and You'll Never Work for Us"

WikiLeaks and Libya: When the Nuclear Deal Almost Unraveled...Because Qadhafi Couldn't Camp in New York

On 20 November 2009, the day before the plane was to leave for a nuclear facility in Russia, Libyan officials unexpectedly halted the shipment. Without explanation, they declared that the uranium would not be permitted to leave Libya. They left the seven five-ton casks out in the open and under light guard, vulnerable to theft by the al-Qaeda factions that still operate in the region or by any rogue government that learned of their presence.

For one month and one day, U.S. and Russian diplomats negotiated with Libya for the uranium to be released and flown out of the country.

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