Today, the one thing that devastated me the most is how quickly the president who is supposed to be a human rights defender, not just any president, stepped in to persuade us to get used to the spilling of blood.

Weariness with unfulfilled promises, deteriorating economic conditions and the rising threat of violence was rather visible on the day celebrating the second anniversary of the Tunisian revolution.

Bouazizi’s desperate act of self-immolation in response to his humiliation seems to be replicated once again under the rule of a legitimate government that came to power through the ballot box.

23rd October marked the first anniversary of free and democratic elections in Tunisia. However, dissatisfaction over the slow pace of reform and the crackdown on human rights soured plans to celebrate.

The victim filed a complaint against the three police officers only to be charged with “intentional indecent behaviour” based on the testimony of the offenders.

In Tunisia, the violent protest that took place after the Friday prayer near the US embassy resulted in four deaths with several seriously injured.

Stifling the media can lead to the emergence of robust new media, like those that accelerated the end of some of the most autocratic Arab dictators.

The Association of Religion and Tolerance has offended the sensitivities of the ultra-conservative Muslims whose ears have recently become accustomed to an intolerant discourse imported from the Gulf and orchestrated in order to generate hatred and violence in Tunisia.

Last week, Tunisia’s minister of finance, Houcien Dimassi, abruptly resigned from his post refusing to approve a bill that would cost the national budget more than a billion dollars just to curry favour with the voters

The aspirations of the Jordanian people do not differ much from those of the Tunisians and Libyans and all those individuals who decided at some point to break down the wall of fear.

The downfall of Ben Ali has brought to the fore an ever-growing fan club of the newly-elected Islamist government to replace them.