WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States is concerned about demonstrations and a crackdown on social media in Tunisia, following weeks of unrest in that country.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley urged restraint on all sides Friday, and said Tunisians should enjoy the right to protest publicly. He said the U.S. summoned the country’s ambassador to express its opinions.
Crowley’s comments came a day before Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton travels to the Persian Gulf region to speak with groups about expanding freedom in the Arab world.
He also expressed concern about hacking activity linked to social media and Tunisian government websites.
The Paris-based media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders says it is monitoring cases of at least five arrests of bloggers in Tunisia, “but the list could well be longer.”
Anger nationwide has swelled since Dec. 17, when a young university graduate set himself on fire after police confiscated the fruits and vegetables he sold without a permit.
The case of the vendor, who later died, has resonated with many jobless but well-educated young adults in Tunisia.
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who has run the small Mediterranean country of 10 million people with an iron fist since 1987, and his government have been clearly caught off guard by the spreading discontent. Public dissent and unrest are rare in Tunisia.
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Article source: http://www.fox12idaho.com/Global/story.asp?S=13804818
Category: Government Security Watch