TUNIS: Tunisia announced Monday a new interim government free of any members of the regime of toppled Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and scrapped a security agency that had targeted political dissidents. The new government is the third to be formed since Ben Ali ended his 23 years in power on Jan. 14. Interim Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi announced a 22-member government — called a “public authority” — that includes five ministers, to replace ones who quit last week, and two women. The new lineup returns 17 officials to posts they occupied in a government formed on Jan. 27, with none of its members signed up to any political party. All are technocrats expected to focus on reviving the economy. The removal of figures from the Ben Ali regime was a key demand of protests that continued after the fall of the leader, even though the new administration introduced unprecedented freedoms and released all political prisoners. The Interior Ministry announced separately Monday that it was abolishing the feared general directorate of public security, affirming a commitment “to applying the law and respecting liberties and civic rights.” The directorate had been tasked with seeking out political dissidents, thousands of whom were rounded up under Ben Ali, alleging torture and unfair trials. A ministry statement announced a series of measures including “the definitive break with any form of organization resembling the political police at the level of structure, mission or practice.” These measures were in line with the “values of the revolution” and illustrating “the climate of confidence and transparency in the relationship between the security services and the citizen,” it said. Twelve political parties have meanwhile received official approval since the fall of Ben Ali, bringing the number in the country to 21. And as the country's authorities struggle to impose order following the revolution, it announced Sunday that nearly 2,000 people had been arrested in the past month including for assault and possessing illegal weapons. – Agence France
