Protesters reviving ‘arab spring’

TUNIS Protesters rallied in Tunisia’s capital Tuesday after several nights of street violence, reviving the chant that rang a decade ago in a revolution that brought in democracy: “the people want the fall of the regime.”

daytime protests in Tunis and some other cities demanding jobs, dignity and the release of detainees have followed clashes over recent nights between security forces and youths, as COVID-19 restrictions add to wider economic malaise.

“The whole system must go. … We will return to the streets and we will regain our rights and our dignity that a corrupt elite seized after the revolution,” said protester Maher Abid.

In 2011, the toppling of Tunisia’s long-serving ruler inspired similar uprisings across the region dubbed the “Arab Spring.”