TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisia’s Islamist prime minister said on Saturday he will resign if his proposal to appoint a nonpolitical Cabinet by midweek is rejected.
Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali called for that change on Wednesday after Tunisia was thrown into a crisis when a prominent opposition politician was shot and killed in Tunis, the capital, touching off violent protests.
Jebali’s moderate Islamist Ennahda party has already rejected his proposal. But he didn’t flinch, saying in an interview with the France-24 TV channel that to change the situation, government ministers must be replaced by ones without a political affiliation, notably technocrats. “I feel obliged to save my country,” hesaid, adding that Tunisia risks a “swing into chaos.”
If his new team is accepted, “I will continue to assume my role,” Jebali said. If not, he will withdraw from the government.
As Jabali spoke, several thousand pro-government protesters rallied on the main avenue of the capital. But outside Tunis, groups of youths threw stones at offices of the governing party and attackedpolice stations in several cities in scattered unrest.
The Interior Ministry said 230 people, aged 16 to 25, have been arrested since Friday, the day Chokri Belaid was buried in Tunis. The slaying of the respected opposition figure unleashed anger, and his funeral drew hundreds of thousands of mourners chanting anti-government slogans.
Saturday was the third straight day of unrest in thisNorth African country, which overthrew its long-ruling president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, in January 2011, kicking off the Arab Spring revolutions.
With tension mounting, Jebali said that he’ll appoint a new Cabinet by midweek, saying it would be small, made up of technocrats and therefore neutral. He said that key ministries, notably Interior, Justice and Foreign Affairs, would not be spared.
Front Section, Pages 14 on 02/10/2013