New Tunisian govt. on brink of collapse

The Tunisian opposition Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberty has quit the interim government, pushing the new cabinet on the verge of collapse.

The opposition party pulled out of the government of national unity on Tuesday and called for a new cabinet line-up as protests against the transitional government is reaching a peak.

The ministers from the Democratic Forum for Labor and Unity (FDLT) refused to sit in a cabinet that contained eight high-ranking members of the ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s government, which many Tunisians see as corrupt.

Among the FDLT politicians was the party’s Secretary General Mustapha Ben Jaafar, who said he would not take his position as the health minister.

This comes a day after four ministers resigned from the transitional government of unity in protest against the presence of politicians from the former administration in the new governing team.

Tunisian interim President Fouad Mebazaa and Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi quit Ben Ali’s ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally party (RCD) on Tuesday as protests intensified over the inclusion of RCD members in the new government.

On Wednesday, Mebazaa promised a “total break” with the past and hailed “a revolution of dignity and liberty.”

Meanwhile, prosecutors said they have launched a probe into domestic and foreign assets held by the toppled president.

Hundreds of protesters once again flooded the streets of the capital, Tunis, on Wednesday and called for the resignation of the interim government.

Ben Ali’s 23-year rule came to an end after weeks of street protests culminated in the victory of a popular revolution. His era was marred by numerous human rights violations and acts of torture.