Was the goal of the Tunisian uprising to oust the entire political regime, or only its head? Do the Tunisians trust the body of the regime after it was decapitated? Will the Tunisians accept – after their revolution – for the body of the regime itself to rearrange affairs and rebuild the Tunisian state along different lines and criteria than those followed by the regime over 23 years? Will the beneficiaries of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's regime accept to forfeit the benefits they had throughout the tenure of the head of the regime? Are those who committed the lootings in the aftermath of the regime head's flight part of the regime itself, as they sought to tarnish the revolution and the image of the protesters, or are they merely thieves and thugs who exist in any society and who thrive when the security situation collapses? And what is the fate of the class that was born and raised, and that has grown and prospered in the shadow of the decapitated regime, in the next stage? These are some logical questions being raised by the media and television programs and reports, since the occurrence of the event that altered Tunisia and shook the world. Of course, there isn't just one answer for any of these questions; instead, the answers to them are many, according to the vantage point of those who have taken it up themselves to answer them. Here, however, there is a remark that cannot be overlooked, regarding the reactions of the regime vis-à-vis the flight of its head. In form: A constitutional error occurred that the regime members sought to avoid on the next day, and ended up handing over the country's leadership to the Speaker of the Parliament and assigning the Prime Minister to form a new national unity cabinet, provided that presidential elections be held within sixty days. Naturally, the new-old leaders were acting under constitutional provisions that were specifically designed to keep the head of the regime in his post for life. More importantly, however, these leaders did not issue a single statement praising the revolution or the protestors behind it, for a simple reason: To start with, the uprising was against both the head and the body of the regime, i.e. the entire regime. The people have heard the statements of Mohamed Ghannouchi through satellite televisions. He spoke about the future, avoided speaking about the present, and refused to dwell on past events. The people found him to be always adopting an appealing tone towards the Tunisian people, to show self-control, preserve its gains while cooperating with the institutions of the state – which are the same institutions of the previous regime -, and weather this critical stage. Ghannouchi spoke far and wide about the rosy dreams of the future, the freedom that the Tunisians will enjoy and the prosperity that will be achieved. But the man failed to mention the mistakes of the regime that was decapitated, because he himself was a symbol of this regime. Nor did he get anywhere close to tackling the sins that the body of this regime has committed. This may be understandable because it would have been difficult for him to do as the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi did, when he expressed his sadness over what happened in Tunisia! Gaddafi also praised Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and expressed regret for his deposition and his flight outside of the country. It is also hard for Gannouchi to talk about the flaws, mistakes and crimes of the head of the regime, because people know that he was close to him, that he carried out what Ben Ali decided, be it ideas or instructions, and that he naturally contributed in identifying the information, visions and impressions that were allowed to be passed on to the head of the regime. The Tunisians were thus deprived of celebrating their great revolution, and did not go out into the streets to revel in their new era. Nor did media outlets or political elites use the term “the former regime” when referring to the Ben Ali regime, since nothing in that regime has finished except its head, while its body is tending to its wounds, and seeking to gain a foothold in the new regime. Meanwhile, the measures which affected some of the presidential security officials, the ruling party, and the family and wife of Ben Ali, can all be taken to be part of the attempts to whitewash the body of the regime, as those who were affected by these measures were, until last Friday, the veins, arteries and cells of this body. In any case, confidence in the Tunisian people remains high, no matter what the challenges or the repercussions may be, and no matter how many questions are raised. The people who suffered a security siege for many long years, and was prevented from enjoying its freedom, used the internet, Facebook and Twitter to prepare its revolution, while other peoples that perhaps suffer more than the Tunisians, and who have the freedom to use the internet, sit long hours in front of Facebook and Twitter to follow up other people's revolutions…or to chat.
