Tunisians mark 1st anniversary of revolution that sparked Arab Spring with prudent optimism
By Associated Press, Updated: Saturday, January 14, 6:22 AM
TUNIS, Tunisia Thousands of Tunisians marched in peaceful triumph Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary of the revolution that ended the dictatorship of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked uprisings around the Arab world.
Tunisia greeted the anniversary with prudent optimism, amid worries about high unemployment that cast a shadow over Tunisians pride at transforming their country.
Now a human rights activist is president, and a moderate Islamist jailed for years by the old regime is prime minister at the head of a diverse coalition, after the freest elections in Tunisias history.
Tunisias uprising began on Dec. 17, 2010, when a desperate fruit vendor set himself on fire, unleashing pent-up anger and frustration among his compatriots, who staged protests that spread nationwide. Within less than a month, longtime president Ben Ali was forced out of power, and he fled to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14, 2011.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/tunisians-mark-1st-anniversary-of-revolution-that-sparked-arab-spring-with-prudent-optimism/2012/01/14/gIQAfJt5xP_story.html