JNN 10 Feb 2013 Tunis : Tunisian police have fired tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters in the central town of Qafsa as Tunisians bury the slain opposition figure, Shokri Belaid.
Police clashed with furious protesters who were throwing stones and petrol bombs in the mining town on Friday as rallies swept Tunisian cities.
Tunisian police also used tear gas to disperse protesters following the funeral of Belaid in the capital, Tunis.
Tunisia plunged into a political chaos after Belaid was fatally shot outside his home in Tunis on February 6.
Belaid’s assassination triggered violent demonstrations across the North African country, with the headquarters of the ruling Ennahda party attacked in more than a dozen cities.
The opposition accuses Ennahda of involvement in the killing. However, the party’s leader Rashid al-Ghannushi condemned the act and rejected the allegations.
A general strike is currently taking effect across the Arab country with schools, shops, and banks all shut down.
Some 3,000 Tunisians gathered outside a public building in the capital’s southern suburbs of Djebel Jelloud on Friday to attend Belaid’s funeral, who was fatally shot by a gunman outside his home in Tunis on February 6.
The army sent vehicles and troops along the Habib Bourguiba Avenue of the capital, where the uprising in 2011 ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to demonstrate for Belaid’s murder after Friday prayers.
Belaid’s killing has triggered massive protests in Tunis and the mining region of Gafsa. His family has accused Ennahda of being behind the killing.
Following the explosion of public anger over the murder, Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali said in a televised address on Wednesday that he would dissolve the cabinet and form a new government of technocrats.
However, Ennahda’s parliamentary leader Sahbi Atig said on Thursday that the premier’s decision was rejected by his bloc of lawmakers. “The head of the government took the decision without consulting the (ruling) coalition or the Ennahda movement.”
Tens of thousands gathered at the funeral of opposition leader Chokri Belaid in the city of Tunis. General strike has been declared in Tunisia in protest of Belaid’s killing, as Gafsa clashes marked the funeral with petrol bombs and teargas.
Thousands mourners from all over Tunisia joined the funeral procession of secular opposition leader Belaid, who was well respected and very popular in the country, Our Correspondent reported from the city of Tunis.
Our Correspondent , who was in the middle of the crowds of mourners, said many people openly accused the Islamist Ennahda party of Belaid’s death and chanted anti-government slogans.
“Down with the system, we can’t stand Ennahda anymore,” “Ghannouchi assassin,” “We are all Chokri Belaid,” the people chanted.
Belaid, who was shot dead on Wednesday, was an extremely vocal, very harsh critic of the government, particularly of the ruling Enhanda party, the Tunisian branch of Muslim Brotherhood.
The military provided security of the funeral ceremony, and army helicopters were watching over the Tunisian capital. While the police have lost people’s trust in recent clashes, the army still enjoys respect among Tunisians.
Both the police and the army in Tunis are still on alert on alert, expecting the peaceful procession to be followed by clashes.
The Tunis-Carthage International Airport has been shut down and all flights to and from the Tunisian capital have been canceled due to demonstrations against the murder of leftist opposition leader Chokri Belaid.
Airport authorities said on Friday that the airport was closed amid a general strike called by the General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT) to protest the murder of Belaid, a lawyer and critic of the country’s ruling Ennahda Party.
“All the departures and all the arrivals have been canceled for the whole of Friday,” said the airport’s information service, adding that the cancelation included both domestic and international flights.
Jafria News 