http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12233850

 19 January 2011 Last updated at 22:45 GMT 
Ousted Tunisian leader Ben Ali's family 'arrested'
 Protesters want the unity government to exclude members of Mr Ben Ali's RCD 
party 
Some 33 members of ousted Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's family 
have been held, state TV says. 

It said that they were arrested as they tried to leave the country. 

In a televised speech, interim leader Fouad Mebazaa vowed a "total break" with 
the past, an independent justice system and media freedoms. 

In a separate development, the new government said it had freed all political 
prisoners. The reported move comes after weeks of mass protests.

More than 100 people have reportedly died in the unrest, the UN said, promising 
to carry out an investigation.

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets again in the Tunisian capital Tunis, 
urging allies of the ousted president to stop clinging to power.

Waving banners and chanting, they called for all links to the old regime to be 
severed.

However, riot police did not respond with tear gas or water cannons, the BBC's 
Wyre Davies in Tunis reports.

While the situation remains tense, curfew hours have been reduced, traffic on 
the streets is increasing, political cartoons have appeared in the newly free 
press and some shops and businesses are reopening, our correspondent says. 

Amnesty 
"I guarantee that this transition government will ensure a total break with the 
past," Mr Mebazaa said on Wednesday.

Continue reading the main story 
"Start Quote
  We have discovered those responsible for the terror in our country. We have 
arrested these armed gangs"

End Quote Fouad Mebazaa Tunisia's interim president 
  a.. Tunisia unity cabinet: Your views
  b.. Return of Tunisia's opposition
  c.. Tunisia's credit rating downgraded
"Together we can write a new page in the history of our country."

In his first address to the nation since Mr Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on 
Saturday, Mr Mebazaa also thanked the army for helping to maintain security, 
saying that the situation was returning to normal. 

"We have discovered those responsible for the terror in our country. We have 
arrested these armed gangs."

He added that the priority for the new government would be to issue an amnesty 
for all political prisoners.

Naib Chebbi, an opposition leader who is now a member of the new cabinet, and 
Mustapha Ben Jafar, one of several new ministers who dropped out of the unity 
government, were both quoted by news agencies as saying that all the political 
prisoners were released on Wednesday. 

They said these included members of a banned Islamist movement.

Separately, Tunisia's state news agency TAP said that the first of more than 
1,800 prisoners who had been sentenced to less than six months were already 
being released.

Private jet 
As the political turmoil continues, Tunisia's national unity cabinet is 
reported to have postponed its first meeting. 

Continue reading the main story 
TUNISIAN CABINET
  a.. Mohammed Ghannouchi stays on as prime minister; a Ben Ali ally, he has 
been in the job since 1999, keeping his post throughout the unrest
  b.. Interior Minister Ahmed Friaa, appointed by Mr Ben Ali to mollify 
demonstrators, retains post
  c.. Foreign Minister Kamal Morjane retains post
  d.. Najib Chebbi, founder of opposition Progressive Democratic Party, named 
as development minister
  e.. Ahmed Ibrahim, leader of opposition Ettajdid party, named minister of 
higher education
  f.. Mustafa ben Jaafar, leader of opposition Union of Freedom and Labour, 
named health minister but refused to take office
  g.. Slim Amamou, prominent blogger who was arrested during protests, becomes 
secretary of state for youth and sport
  a.. Tunisia: Key players
  b.. Q&A: Tunisia crisis
  c.. Return of Tunisia's opposition
Ministers in the new interim government are currently discussing how to resolve 
deep divisions over the inclusion in key posts of members of the former 
government. 

Mr Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday following a spate of violent protests 
across Tunisia over unemployment, poverty and corruption.

Four opponents of Mr Ben Ali resigned from the new unity government within a 
day of being appointed, in protest at the number of ministers from the old 
regime who were still included.

In Geneva, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey announced a decision to 
freeze any funds of Mr Ben Ali held there. 

Ms Calmy-Rey said Bern acted to prevent assets being withdrawn and also to 
ensure that a new Tunisian administration would be able to retrieve assets 
taken illicitly.

The ban also applies to any assets held by "his entourage", the foreign 
ministry said in a statement.

A Swiss judicial source told Reuters news agency that an association of 
Tunisians living in Switzerland had sought the freezing of assets including a 
building on Geneva's exclusive Rue du Rhone and a Falcon 9000 jet said to be at 
Geneva airport.

In other developments on Wednesday, the head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, 
linked the upheaval in Tunisia to deteriorating economic conditions throughout 
the Arab world.

"The Arab soul is broken by poverty, unemployment and general recession," he 
said at the opening of an Arab League summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm 
el-Sheikh.

Are you in Tunisia? What are your views on the new unity government? Are you 
protesting? You can send us your experiences using the form below:

Send your pictures and videos to [email protected] or text them to 61124 (UK) 
or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload 
here.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



------------------------------------

Post message: [email protected]
Subscribe   :  [email protected]
Unsubscribe :  [email protected]
List owner  :  [email protected]
Homepage    :  http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/

<*> Your email settings:
    Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join
    (Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
    [email protected] 
    [email protected]

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    [email protected]

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Kirim email ke