Tunisia Interim Government Disbands Secret Police

by NowPublic Staff | March 7, 2011 at 11:15 am

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Tunisa Gets Rid of Secret Police

Caid Essebsi, Tunisia's Interim Prime Minister, announced the dissolution of the State Security Department, which the secret police force that terrorized Tunisian citizens.

Caid Essebsi is Tunisia's third Interim Prime Minister since Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced to flee the country. Subsequent Prime Ministers were also ousted due to too-close ties to the old regime.

Tunisia's interim government will stay in power until the country holds elections on July 24.

"These practical measures are in harmony with the values of the revolution, in the wish to respect the law, in word and deed, and in consecrating the climate of confidence and transparency in the relationship between the security services and the citizen," the ministry said in a statement.

Eric Goldstein of Human Rights Watch discusses the role of Tunisia's secret police, not just as a tool of political control, but as an economic linchpin: Tunisia has roughly 200,000 police officers for a population of 11 million. That's one police officer for every 55 people.

President Ben Ali could have simply shut down local human-rights groups and jailed their founders. But that would have run counter to the image he wished to project. So he let these groups exist-barely-while employing hundreds of goons to harass their members, block their meetings, and scare away the victims of government abuse who sought their help.