TUNIS - Tunisia's national unity cabinet was due to hold its first meeting on Wednesday, with the caretaker prime minister under pressure from opposition leaders who demanded he fire more of the ousted president's allies. Four opponents of former president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali quit the government within a day of being appointed, saying street protesters who triggered the upheaval were disappointed at how many of the old guard, including Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, were still in power. The tree-lined Avenue Bourguiba, in the center of the capital, was re-opened to traffic for the first time in several days. The street had on Tuesday been the scenes of clashes between protesters demanding the removal of Ben Ali's RCD party from power, and police using tear gas. Tunis residents said the streets were quiet overnight, with no reports of shooting or looting. Abid al-Briki of the UGTT trade union, whose three ministerial nominees all resigned, said it still wanted to see all ministers from Ben Ali's team cleared out, though it would make an exception for Ghannouchi. "This is in response to the demands of people on the streets," Briki said. Trying to defuse the row, Ghannouchi and caretaker President Fouad Mebazza quit the Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD).
NEW MINISTERS
One of the new ministers who resigned, Mustafa Ben Jaafar, indicated that move might be enough to tempt him back. But the UGTT responded that while their ditching of old party cards was positive, it was not sufficient. Ghannouchi said some ministers were kept on because they were needed in the run-up to elections, expected in the next two months. Underlining international concern over Tunisia, U.S. President Barack Obama spoke to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak about Washington's desire for calm. "The President ... shared with President Mubarak that the United States is calling for calm and an end to violence, and for the interim government of Tunisia to uphold universal human rights and hold free and fair elections in order to meet the aspirations of the Tunisian people," the White House said in a statement on Tuesday. At an Arab summit in Egypt on Wednesday, the emir of Kuwait called for national unity to resolve the crisis. Ministers in the coalition government took the oath of office in a ceremony on Tuesday evening, Najib Chebbi, an opposition party leader and minister in the government, told Reuters. In an indication of the new government's desire to break with the past, the ruling RCD party canceled the party membership of Ben Ali, ex-presidential advisor Abd Elwahab Abdallah, Ben Ali's son-in-law Sakher Materi and brother-in-law Belhassen Trebelsi, state television reported.
