Honoring the 1st Anniversary of Tunisian Revolution

January 18, 2012


During this historic week, MPAC honors the one-year anniversary of the Tunisian Revolution, which led to dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali stepping down after a 23-year reign, and sparked a regional transformation known as the Arab Spring.

Last year started and ended with historic popular movements for freedom, stretching from Tunisia to Egypt to Yemen to Syria. What began with a desperate act by a young Tunisian vendor who set himself on fire, ended in a regional uprising which called for dignity and change. In honor of this powerful year, Time magazine chose The Protester as its “Person of the Year.”  

MPAC has been closely following the events of the Arab Spring, and this past December, hosted its 11th Annual Convention, “Spring Forward: America’s Role in a Changing World,” with discussions on U.S. policy toward the Arab World and emerging political trends in the aftermath of successful revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt.

The convention fell on the day Tunisian citizen Mohamed Bouazizi lit himself on fire after repeated attempts to address his concerns of government corruption.

“Today is the one year anniversary of the Arab Spring, where one man in Tunisia, literally and figuratively, lit the fire for the democratic revolutions through the Middle East,” said Salam Al-Marayati, MPAC President at the 11th Annual MPAC Convention. “We see the rise of these nonviolent popular movements throughout the region and the demise of the al-Qaeda narrative, and we want America to take notice of that, beginning first and foremost with the policy-makers.”

SEE: MPAC President Talks about Anniversary of Bouazizi’s Death

Follow us on our website, Facebook and Twitter to watch clips from our Convention and learn about the events we host and organize as we continue to watch and comment on events as they unfold in the Middle East and North Africa.




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