14/01/2011 Responding to widespread unrest over prices and unemployment, Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali said late Thursday he would not seek another term in office and promised to liberalize the political system.
After nearly a month of riots that initially focused on unemployment, sparked by the suicide of a young graduate who set himself alight, the president appeared on television in a bid to calm tensions.
Ben Ali, who has been in power since 1987, vowed not to seek re-election in 2014. "I say no to being president for life and I refuse to alter the age limit set by the constitution."
He also promised to institute widespread reforms, introduce more freedoms into society, and to investigate the killings of protesters during demonstrations that have spread throughout the country over the past month.
Ben Ali promised to introduce "total freedom" of information and Internet access and vowed reforms.
"I say again to you here that I want to deepen democracy and to revitalize pluralism in our country," he said.
The president promised to lower prices of basic commodities such as milk, bread and sugar.
He said that he did not intend to scrap a constitutional upper age limit for candidates.
"Enough firing of real bullets," he said, adding in a rare admission that he had been "wrong" in his analysis of the country's social ills and promising a full inquiry to establish "each and everyone's responsibilities".
But even as the president addressed the nation, two people were killed as police opened fire on protesters in central Tunisia, witnesses said.
The witnesses, who asked not to be named, spoke of chaos in the town of Kairouan where pillaging had taken place over several hours.
OPPOSITION WELCOMES
Later on Friday, opposition reacted positively to Ben Ali’s speech, with Mohammed Nejib Chebbi, long-standing leader of the Progressive Democratic Party, which is legal but not represented in parliament, said: "The positive fact is that the president decided not to stand again".
The president promised to lower prices of basic commodities such as milk, bread and sugar.
"This speech opens up possibilities," declared Mustapha Ben Jaafar, head of the Democratic Forum for Work and Liberties.
He added, however: "These intentions still have to be applied."
Member of Parliament Ahmed Ben Brahim, head of the former communist Ettajdid party, said: "It's positive, the speech answers questions that were raised by our party."
Human rights militant Bouchra Bel Haji, said Ben Ali had "freed us and freed himself".
But not everyone was so positive, with another human rights defender Mohamed Abbou declaring he did not believe the president and that Ben Ali was "fooling the Tunisians with promises that have no tomorrow".
Agencies
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