20110128
Reuters
(Reuters) - The Tunisian government ditched loyalists to its ousted president on Thursday -- a move which won backing from the powerful labor union and could help defuse protests which have inspired people across the Middle East.

Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, who retained his job, said 12 ministers would be replaced, purging the interim government of members of the former ruling party including the interior, defense and foreign ministers.

"This government is a transitional, interim government that will remain until it completes its mission of taking the country to democracy," Ghannouchi said in a live television address.

Weeks of violent protests by Tunisians angered by poverty, repression and corruption forced President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee to Saudi Arabia on January 14 after 23 years in power.

But they had been angered after an interim government led by Ghannouchi had retained many former Ben Ali loyalists.

The purge is unlikely to fully quell protests in Tunisia, some of which are spontaneous and others more organized.

After the prime minister's television address, chants of "bread, water but no Ghannouchi" broke out among protesters who had launched a sit-in outside his office to demand he resign.

"We reject Ghannouchi totally. We were surprised to see him announce the government," said protester Mohammed Fadel. "Since he did not fight corruption under Ben Ali, he is an accomplice."

But the move would nonetheless provide greater legitimacy to the interim government, which had struggled to impose order after Ben Ali fled.

Earlier on Thursday, thousands of demonstrators thronged Bourguiba Avenue, the main boulevard in the capital Tunis, demanding that the government resign.

They also broke through police lines outside the prime minister's office, where hundreds of demonstrators had pledged to camp out until the government resigned.

The purge replaced members of Ben Ali's former ruling RCD party with ministers who Ghannouchi said were chosen for their high levels of experience and qualifications.

He also promised the new government -- agreed after talks with all political parties and civil society groups -- would lead the country into its first free elections, to be organized by an independent body and monitored by international observers.

The powerful UGTT labor union, which has a large membership and played an important role in organizing the protests, will not join the new government itself but would approve the new lineup, a union source told Reuters.

TUNISIA INSPIRES PROTESTS ACROSS MIDEAST