Saturday, March 05, 2011

TUNIS: Tunisia’s interim prime minister, Beji Caid-Essebsi, said Friday he would appoint a new government in two days and accused toppled President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali of “high treason” during his first public appearance since taking public office.

“In two days I will present my new government to the interim president,” he told a news conference, to pull his country back from the “abyss.”
“Our priority will be to re-establish the authority of the state, which has declined to an untenable level, which means the re-establishment of security for all citizens, regions and institutions,” he said.

Caid-Essebsi, 84, was appointed after previous interim Prime Minister Mohammad Ghannouchi quit Sunday following protests over his close ties to Ben Ali and the slow pace of change.
By appointing a new team, Caid-Essebsi is seeking to see through a delicate transition in which Tunisians will elect a constituent assembly on July 24 to rewrite the Constitution.

A source close to the president’s office said that, once in place, a constituent council could appoint a new government or ask the caretaker administration to carry on until presidential and parliamentary elections were held.

In an bid to distance his administration as much as possible from Ben Ali’s rule, Caid-Essebsi said Ben Ali had committed treason by failing to ensure stability and security to his people.

“I have no doubt that the former president made himself guilty of high treason for having renounced upholding his responsibility of ensuring security and stability” and for “having left” the country when he was “commander in chief of the armed forces,” he said, adding the constituent assembly would be “a first step toward democracy” and that Parliament was effectively dissolved.

In a sign of how closely Tunisia’s military is watching the transition, the chief of staff of the armed forces, Rachid Ammar, attended the prime minister’s news conference.
Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry said Friday 12 political parties had received official approval since Ben Ali’s fall. – AFP, Reuters