Tunisia's Arab Spring: Three years on
On Thursday, Tunisian Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh of the Islamist Ennahda party announced his resignation, following through on a compromise negotiated by the ruling party. His exit comes as the Tunisian constituent assembly prepares to adopt the country's post-revolution constitution, capping a two-year process.
"The Tunisian revolution was the result of dictatorship and oppression," said Mourad Bouselmi, 44, who was jailed for a year as a political prisoner under Ben Ali. "Whether the first ousted dictator or the second, the Almighty God puts them all in the trash can of history."
Three years after setting off what would become known as the "Arab Spring", Tunisia continues to struggle with overlapping economic, security, and political challenges. But Tunisia's transition - at times promising, often stalled, and at several points near collapse - seems poised to pass another milestone with the expected completion of the constitution in the coming days. Compared to the coup and ongoing crackdown in Egypt, the horrific civil war in Syria, and suppression in Bahrain, Tunisia's revolution stands out among "Arab Spring" countries thus far for having survived.
"The people have become free, but we must pay for this freedom with this hard transition," said Mahmoud Boualif, a 68-year-old retired professor in a cafe in downtown Tunis. He compared the new freedoms Tunisians now enjoy to a berserk bull released from its pen.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/01/tunisia-arab-spring-three-years-20141146353728616.html
Not surprisingly, it doesn't sound like there is much nostalgia for the 'good ol' days' of "dictatorship and oppression. No matter where you are in the world, people don't want to live under that.