Tunisia Tensions; Political Realignment in Israel
KRISTIE LU STOUT, ANCHOR: Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. After a weekend of unrest, Tunisian leaders attempt to form a unity government. Thousands return to Southern Sudan, anticipation that it may soon become an independent nation. And we look at the winners and losers. And the online verdict on the Golden Globe Awards. Tunisian leaders are trying to form a unity government. The country's president for the last 23 years fled on Friday, pushed out by weeks of popular protests. Now, sites linked to Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali like this cafe owned by his nephew have been targeted by demonstrators. Now, the military has moved to restore calm. Tanks and security forces can be seen throughout the capital. But just a short time ago, riot police used tear gas to break up a protest in Tunis. Now, the crowd was rallying against Ben Ali's party and had moved toward its headquarters. Members of the previous government are expected to hold positions in the new one. Our Senior International Correspondent Ben Wedeman has details on that demonstration.</s>BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: After a weekend when people were headed in to go out on the streets, now we have our first demonstration. Monday morning, life seems to be getting back to normal in the Tunisian capital, but this group of demonstrators is coming out to demand that the ruling new Constitution Party, the party of the deposed president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, being thrown out of power. At the moment, the current power structure is that the prime minister and the acting president are both from the new Constitution Party. What these people want is to see that party completely thrown out of power. They want to see the Tunisian constitution completely revamped to suit the new situation, people calling for democracy and supporting -- voicing their support for the army, which they feel was instrumental in throwing out Ben Ali. I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Tunis.</s>STOUT: Now, other peaceful demonstrations took place in central and southern Tunisian towns. Rima Maktabi joins us on the line from Tunis. And Rima, is the protest moving growing today, or is the situation calming down? What's your read?</s>RIMA MAKTABI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was supposed to calm down after the unity government was announced today, the Miti Alike (ph), some of the names of the ministers. And it seems the people of Tunis don't like some of those people who are going to take part in this unity government. The people of Tunis do not seem satisfied. There are demonstrations in the center and in the south of Tunisia. And apparently there's a major meeting for opposing parties and human rights organizations and the unions to decide what to do about this. The people of Tunis do not want anyone from the old regime in the new government. This may delay the government, and they delayed</s>STOUT: As you mentioned, there is speculation that a new unity government will be announced today. Any more information on that front? And will this be a government that the people of Tunisia will support?</s>MAKTABI: This is what everyone is trying to work on, but I've spoken to opposing political parties. They said they're aware of what the Tunisian people want. But on the other hand, they are also aware that this country has been run by the same ruling party for the past 23 years or more. They said -- I spoke to one official in the opposition party. He said, "We cannot simply assume power overnight. We need a transitional period. Those people from the ruling party should remain with us until we organize fair elections, presidential elections." So the coming hours are really decisive -- Kristie.</s>STOUT: And Rima, there's been a lot of discussion about whether the protests and the political changes in Tunisia is a red flag for other Arab countries. I mean, is it -- are there major regional ramifications here?</s>MAKTABI: Well, government and the media are not reporting this yet, but this doesn't mean it's not happening. We've been hearing some information about things happening in certain areas in the Arab world, not specific so far, but leaders in the region are observing what's happening in Tunisia seriously. They are taking notes and there may be changes in the coming days, because this is the first time, probably, in the recent history of Arab nations that the people themselves revolt rather than political parties opposing political parties, or coup d'etats.</s>STOUT: It is an incredible moment in history to watch unfold. Rima Maktabi, thank you very much, indeed. Rima joining us live from the Tunisian capital. Now, the sort of scenes that toppled President Ben Ali are very rare in the Middle East. Analysts say that the fallout from these demonstrations will be closely watched by Algeria, Egypt and Yemen. Now, Libya's leader, Moammar Gaddafi, has already warned Tunisia is heading for "more unjustified chaos." Now, Colonel Gaddafi has also suggested social media sites and WikiLeaks played a role. He says this: "All these cables posted on WikiLeaks and other items on Facebook, YouTube and other tools are used to spread lies about us." Now, the cables that Gaddafi refers to are from U.S. ambassador Robert Godec. Let's take a look at a couple of them. Now, Godec wrote this back in 2008: "One Tunisian lamented that Tunisia was no longer a police state, it had become a state run by the mafia." Now, in another, Godec detailed a lavish dinner given for him by President Ben Ali's daughter and her husband. And he wrote this: "Their behavior make clear why they and other members of Ben Ali's' family are disliked and even hated by some Tunisians. The excesses of the Ben Ali family are growing." But the U.S. assistant secretary of state says that this information is not new. Now, P.J. Crowley tweeted this: "Tunisia is not a Wiki revolution. The Tunisian people knew about corruption long ago. They alone are the catalysts of this unfolding trauma." Now, WikiLeaks has just received a new batch of secrets. A Swiss banker turned over two disks that he says holds secret offshore records. We'll have a live report on that story a little later in the show. Now, Israel's defense minister is turning his back on the Labor Party he has led since 2007 and is forming a new, independent faction. Former prime minister Ehud Barak and four other members of parliament announced their plans to leave Labor today. Our Kevin Flower joins us now live from Jerusalem. And Kevin, who is in this breakaway faction, and why are they leaving Labor?</s>KEVIN FLOWER, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Kristie, it's a dramatic day in Israeli politics, as you alluded to. And what's happening here is that the Labor Party leader and the current Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak, is bringing four members of his old Labor Party, creating a new faction called the Atzmaut faction, which is short for "independence." And they are leaving the Labor Party because of what they say is infighting and just problems that cannot be solved without dividing the party into two. Now, specifically what they're saying is that they want to create a new party that is centrist, Zionistic and democratic. One of the criticisms that these breakaway -- that Barak and these four breakaway Knesset members had is that the Labor Party was veering too far to the left and that it was no longer relevant anymore. Now, this is a major, major development on the domestic scene here. The reaction from the remaining Labor Party members was very swift. One saying that Barak was "out to destroy the party." He said, "The curtain has come down on the glorious Labor movement." Three Labor ministers who were part of the coalition government of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu have quit their ministry positions. They will be leaving the government altogether. So, what we have, Kristie, basically, is a realignment of coalition politics here. The Labor Party before, with its 13 members, was a member of the right wing coalition government of Benjamin Netanyahu. With this change, what happens is Barak and his four followers are likely to remain in the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, but the remaining Labor members are going to leave that coalition altogether. So, in the end, it leaves Benjamin Netanyahu with a smaller coalition, but at the same time, a much more stable coalition in the eyes of many political observers here. So a lot of people are saying that Netanyahu comes out the winner in all of this -- Kristie.</s>STOUT: What needs to happen before this new faction can be considered a new legitimate party?</s>FLOWER: Well, there are a number of things that have to happen. First and foremost, it's not a new political party yet. Like you said, it is a faction. It has to go through a formal registration process. There's lots of legal work that needs to be done, work in the Knesset before it becomes its own party. And at this point, it's not clear whether anybody else will be joining that party or whether this is just going to be a party of those five people. So, a strange day in Israeli politics. I think it will become a lot clearer in the days and weeks to come to see how the government is going to be shaped -- Kristie.</s>STOUT: All right. Kevin Flower, live in Jerusalem for us. Thank you very much indeed. Now, the ongoing political uncertainty on Sunday. Former dictator Jean- Claude Duvalier, known to Haitians as "Baby Doc," arrived back in the troubled country after 25 years in exile. Now, Duvalier has been living in France since he fled Haiti during a revolt, and he returns at a time when the Caribbean nation is struggling to choose a new leader. An election runoff scheduled for Sunday was postponed amid fraud allegations, but the reasons for Duvalier's appearance are unclear.</s>CONNIE WATSON, CBC REPORTER: A couple of reporters who managed to get into the airport while he was waiting to clear Customs said he mentioned the phrase, "I've come to help." But when reporters put that question, we never did get a chance to talk to Duvalier tonight, but his wife came out to talk to us. And when we asked her why he's here, and did it have anything to do with the current political crisis in Haiti, she said in Creole, "It has nothing to do with that at all."</s>STOUT: Well, here's some background on Jean-Claude Duvalier. The 59-year-old is the son of another Haitian leader, Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier. Now, "Baby Doc" rose to power in 1971, following his father's death. Just 19 years old at the time, Duvalier became one of the world's youngest heads of state. He was known for brutal suppression of his opposition and even declared himself "president for life." Duvalier remained in power until 1986, when popular protests forced him to flee into exile. As we mentioned, he lived in France until his surprise return to Haiti. Now, still to come on NEWS STREAM, the floodwaters in Brazil have killed hundreds. But now these survivors are facing a new problem, not to mention the possibility of more rain. And playing video games is just a bit of harmless fun, right? Not according to a new report that warns of the risks of too much gaming. And we've heard of dance hall music and reggae, but a combination of the two? Well, the hot hybrid is coming to a club near you.