Word: ben
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...under pressure from his Western allies, Ben Ali set aside 20% of seats in parliament for opposition parties. The multiparty system is "the government's décor, to show the world it tolerates opposition parties," says Eric Goldstein, Middle East and North Africa research director for Human Rights Watch. "But it does its utmost to silence and marginalize them...
...government-controlled TV and radio, that message has been hammered home in recent weeks, as Tunisians mark a historic date: the 20th anniversary of the coup that brought President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali to power on Nov. 7, 1987. Educated in France and the U.S., Ben Ali was Prime Minister when he ousted Habib Bourguiba, the founder of modern Tunisia. Today, celebratory billboards around Tunis hail the 71-year-old Ben Ali, often pictured wearing his ceremonial sash and medals...
...Ben Ali did not respond to TIME's interview requests, but his officials gladly rattle off lists of figures to show Tunisia's progress under his regime. The numbers are striking: while Egypt and Algeria suffer from chronic shortages, Tunisia has a 15% surplus of housing, thanks to massive government construction programs. And about 80% of Tunisians own their homes - ahead of much of Europe. While African countries struggle to educate their children, school is compulsory - and free - in Tunisia up to age 16. About 34% of Tunisian high school graduates go to university, more than five times the rate...
...success has come at a price: freedom. Tunisia's critics say that beneath the gloss of modernity, the ruling party has snuffed out dissent, leaving Ben Ali unchallenged. Some Tunisians, along with Western diplomats, have begun to wonder whether repression and economic growth can continue to coexist, or whether tight government control might ultimately provoke a backlash as middle-class Tunisians demand more civil liberties, and as jobless youth seek outlets to vent their frustration - not least by joining radical Islamic organizations. "Tunisia is the one Arab country which could afford real political openness, but the system is completely closed...
...Autumn's first big comedy, The Heartbreak Kid, tried to have it both ways: apply the boisterous tone to the tale of a bridegroom (Ben Stiller) who finds himself in the marriage from Hell and wants out. The movie earned only $14 million its first weekend, about half what the experts had predicted, and was the first big flop of the fall...