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I won't 'go back' on democracy, says troubled Tunisia's PM

Jan 26, 2016 Tunisia’s Prime Minister Habib Essid recently reiterated that he will not go back on the country’s young democracy.

This was announced in the wake of violent protests and riots over the unemployment rate in the country.

The demonstrations, which begun in the town of Kasserine, immediately spread across the country and is considered the most serious since the 2011 uprising that toppled Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.

While speaking to reporters, Prime Minister Essid said:

“The issue raised in Kasserine is due to the fact that we found solutions for some of the people but not for everybody. People have to understand that solutions are available, but patience and optimism are required,”

Tunisia has been held up as a model for democratic progress since the 2011 revolution. However there has been an increased discontentment over a lack of jobs and high living costs in the country.

“Democracy requires protection and it is the country’s responsibility to protect it. And what I would like to confirm is that this democratic transition, this young democracy, is a choice I will not go back on,”

The protests saw demonstrators storm police stations and local government buildings.

To curtail this, the government imposed a nationwide nighttime curfew

“There are pressures and problems on a national and regional level and the government has moved on this, but what we have done is not enough and we must do more and this is our duty and we have no other way to calm the tensions, especially among our young people – who have waited for so long,” Essid added.

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