The Tunisian revolution: ten years on, is the dream doomed? Published on On 14 January 2011 the Tunisian President Ben Ali fled the country following a single day of mass unrest. After 23 years in power he left behind an angry, fractured nation. Ten years on, despite newly won civil liberties, political Islam is running rampant in the country. Caught between burgeoning democratic ambitions and militant reactionary forces, Tunisia's future is uncertain to say the least. "We the people demand parliament be dissolved! We the people will tear the regime down!" It's Friday 18 December and chants are echoing across Tunis's Bardo square. The protest, which was organised by the Tunisian General Workers Union (UGTT), aims to expose the violence and hypocrisy of political Islam, and to "defend the civil state" against the religious elite's manipulation of the poor. The demonstration was set-up as a response to an assault which took place on 8 December, during which three democratic representatives were attacked by associates of Al Karama (an extremist parliamentary coalition with close ties to the religious-fundamentalist party, Ennahdha). Samia Abbou, a parliamentarian who is well-known for being a vocal member of the People's Representative Assembly (ARP), was among the victims. While Abbou came to support the protest she's keeping a low profile. She still hasn't recovered from the incident which happened in the Tunisian Parliament ten days previously and which ended in bloodshed.