Veteran Tunisian leader quits after protests

TUNIS, (Reuters) – A surge of anger in the streets  over police repression and poverty swept Tunisia’s veteran  leader from power today, sending a chill through unpopular  authoritarian governments across the Arab world.
President Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali stepped aside after more  than two decades in power and looked to have flown out of the  country. His exact whereabouts were unclear.
Ben Ali’s prime minister told Tunisians he would steer the  state until early elections. The streets of the capital were  calm amid heavy security, but analysts questioned whether the  change of face at the top would satisfy the protesters.
After days of violence that spread from provincial towns to  Tunis, leaving dozens dead as security forces struggled to  contain angry young demonstrators, the government declared a  state of emergency and imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew.
The violence and rapid turn of events sent shockwaves across  the Arab world, where similar authoritarian rulers are deeply  entrenched, but face mounting pressures from growing young  populations, economic hardship and the appeal of militant Islam.
“The fall of Ben Ali marks the first ever collapse of an  autocratic regime in the face of a popular uprising in the Arab  world,” said U.S. political risk consultancy Stratfor.
“Leaders across the Arab world, and especially in North  Africa, will now look to the Tunisian example with concerns  about how the situation could be replicated in their own  countries.”
Western powers have long turned a blind eye to rulers in  the region who provide a bulwark against Islamist radicals.
The United States led international calls for calm and for  the people of Tunisia to be given a free choice of leaders.
“I condemn and deplore the use of violence against citizens  peacefully voicing their opinion in Tunisia, and I applaud the  courage and dignity of the Tunisian people,” said U.S. President  Barack Obama.
It remained unclear where Ben Ali was, with al Jazeera  television reporting Ben Ali was flying to the Gulf and  Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV saying he was heading to Qatar.
A police source in France, its former colonial power, said  police had been told to await Ben Ali’s arrival at an airport  near Paris but the Foreign Ministry did not confirm this.
Yet, French media reported that President Nicolas Sarkozy  had refused to give Ben Ali permission to enter France.
French daily Le Monde reported a plane coming from Tunisia  arrived at Le Bourget airport on Paris’ outskirts at 1830 GMT  carrying a daughter and granddaughter of the Tunisian president.