Tunisian Teenager Commits Suicide In Protest

In a stark reminder of the street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire on December 17, 2010, in a drastic act of protest against police harassment in Tunisia, a young unemployed teenager has killed himself in Sidi Bouzid, the marginalised town in central Tunisia where the country’s revolution erupted two years ago, witnesses said on Tuesday.

PRESIDENT MONCEF MARZOUKI OF TUNISIA
PRESIDENT MONCEF MARZOUKI OF TUNISIA

The victim, identified as Wissem Hani, 17, died on Sunday from a massive electric shock after clinging to an electric pylon in protest at his bleak circumstances, witnesses said.

It would be recalled that just last week in Sidi Bouzid, protesters angry at the government’s failure to improve living standards, pelted President Moncef Marzouki with rocks and tomatoes after a speech he gave to mark the anniversary of the uprising.