SIDI BOUZID, Tunisia - Tens of thousands of people packed a provincial town square to celebrate the first anniversary on Saturday of Tunisia's democratic revolution in the place where it began, unleashing a tide of popular revolt that has transformed the Arab world. The festive mood in Sidi Bouzid was tempered somewhat, however, by reminders that democratic change in Tunisia has yet to ease poverty and high unemployment - bread and butter issues that preoccupy many Tunisians and have triggered rioting. The fuse for "Arab Spring" uprisings was lit when a jobless unemployed university graduate in Sidi Bouzid set himself on fire in despair at police who had confiscated his unlicensed fruit and vegetable cart. He died later in hospital. Mohamed Bouazizi's death took the lid off simmering anger about poverty, joblessness, corruption and repression. Protests erupted across Tunisia, forcing autocratic President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country less than a month later.
