Tunisia

The Broken Rifle 98

The popular unarmed uprisings in the Arab World early in 2011 took the world by surprise, both because most observers did not expect demands for human rights and democratic choice to become central in Arab states, and because they did not expect mass protest to be predominantly unarmed. However, in retrospect there are many reasons why initially the 'Arab Spring' took the forms it did in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Syria, Libya and other states. Moreover, as scholars of nonviolent civil resistance pointed out, in the first months the most significant movements displayed some of the classic characteristics of such resistance. In the longer term, however, many of the movements have failed to fulfill their initial promise, overtaken by armed civil war (as happened quickly in Libya and more gradually in Syria), or failing to achieve their initial democratic promise - most notably in Egypt. The impressive protests at the 'Pearl Roundabout' in Bahrain were quite quickly crushed, and preemptive offers by rulers of Morocco and Jordan to make reforms to meet public demands have so far only diluted royal power. This article briefly elaborates on the points made above, and then raises some questions about the future.

Headquartered in Jamestown, Pennsylvania, United States, Combined Systems Inc. (CSI)—often manufacturing under the brand name Combined Tactical Systems (CTS)—supplies Tunisia, Yemen, Germany, Netherlands, India, East Timor, Hong Kong, Argentina, Chile, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone, as well as its most high-profile clients as of late— Egypt and Israel.

War Resisters' International - an international network of more than 80 antimilitarist groups in more than 40 countries - declares:

We are sick and tired of military interventions that shield behind false "humanitarian motives" - be that in Libya or elsewhere.
We are sick and tired of the logic of violence as a form of resolving social and political conflicts.
Yet once again we have to address these themes as if nothing has been learnt in the last hundred years.

We absolutely reject foreign military intervention in Libya, whatever the excuse.

07/08/1998 1 Conscription

conscription exists

Ever since achieving independence in 1956 Tunisia has had conscription. [3] [11] [1]

According to art. 15 of the 1987 constitution, "the defence of the fatherland and its territorial integrity is a sacred duty of every citizen". [10]

The present legal basis is not quite clear.

Compulsory military service is prescribed by the 31 May 1967 Military Service Law (Act no. 67-19), and the 19 February 1975 National Service Law (Act no. 75-8).