Mideast rulers watch Tunisia in fear of repeat

Protestors from opposition parties and labour unions shout anti-government slogans outside the parliament in Amman. The protest was against the government economic policy, which the protestors blame for worsening economic conditions. The demonstrations, which included around 1000 people, was spearheaded by the Islamic movement and left-leaning political parties. -Reuters

AMMAN: Governments across the Middle East anxiously watched developments in Tunisia on Sunday after the ouster of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, fearing the spread to their doorsteps of violence and popular revolt.

After 23 years of iron-fisted rule, the Tunisian president caved in to violent popular protests on Friday and fled to Saudi Arabia, becoming the first Arab leader to do so.

Administrations in the Middle East were cautious in their response to his toppling, but are increasingly uneasy about the situation as opposition groups seek to take advantage of the upheaval in the north African country.

The worlds largest pan-Islamic body, the Saudi-based Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), said the strife in Tunisia was an internal matterwhile urging people to protect public and private properties.

It expressed hope, however, that Tunisia would show the solidarity and unity of its people and their aspirations for enhancing democracy and good governance.The United Arab Emirates echoed the plea.

The UAE urges the Tunisian people in this delicate moment to stick together, to maintain national unity and to thwart any attempt to undermine Tunisia or its security and stability, said a cabinet statement carried by the state news agency WAM.

But Ben Alis ouster appeared to embolden disenchanted youths in Yemen, with about 1,000 students taking to the streets of the capital Sanaa on Sunday urging Arabs to rise up agai! nst thei r leaders.

Flanked by human rights activists, the students marched from Sanaa Universitys campus to the Tunisian embassy, calling for Arab peoples to wage a revolution against their scared and deceitful leaders.Libertys Tunisia, Sanaa salutes you a thousand times, they chanted.

Leave before you are toppled, read one banner, without naming Yemens own President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Peaceful and democratic change is our aim in building a new Yemen.

Syrias pro-government daily Al-Watan said the events in Tunisia were a lesson that no Arab regime should ignore, especially those following Tunisias political approach of relying on friends to protect them.

Arab leaders on sale to the West should learn form the Tunisian lesson. They should make Arab decisions according to what is favourable to the interest of the Arab people and not those of faraway countries, Al-Watan said.

In Jordan, the powerful Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm the Islamic Action Front urged Arab regimes to carry out genuine reforms leading to renaissance. Tyranny is the mother of all evil in the Arab world, they warned.

We have been suffering in Jordan the same way Tunisians have been suffering, Muslim Brotherhood chief Hammam Said told 3,000 demonstrators who held a sit-in outside parliament to protest government economic policies.

We must put an end to oppression and restrictions on freedoms and peoples will, he said. Opposition MPs in Kuwait agreed.

I salute the courage of the Tunisian people All regimes that oppress their peoples and fight Arab and Islamic identity will meet the same fate,Islamic MP Waleed al-Tabtabai said.

Iran, which has good ties with the north African country, said it hoped the Muslim Tunisian nations demands are fulfilled through peaceful and non-violent means.

We are worried about the situation in Tunisia, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in Tehran.

For Israel, the dramatic events in Tunisia were a sign of regional pol! itical i nstability.

The region in which we live is an unstable region, everybody can see that today. We see it in several places in the broader Middle East, said Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

There can be changes in governments that we do not foresee today but will take place tomorrow. Tunisias main political parties held talks on Sunday to form a national unity government as soldiers patrolled the streets amid fears of a backlash by supporters of Ben Ali.

Officials said the government would now investigate killings of civilians during the wave of protests that led to Ben Alis abrupt departure and look into allegations of corruption of his inner circle.