By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:36 PM on 14th January 2011
- Travel company says: ‘Customer well-being is our primary concern’
- President promises to stand down in bid to stop rioting
- Foreign Office warns against essential travel due to ‘unpredictable’ climate
Travel company Thomas Cook has vowed to fly home all 1,800 of its British customers who are holidaying in Tunisia, following violent riots which have claimed 23 lives so far this week.
In addition the company has cancelled the next scheduled departures to the north African country, which were due to take off on Sunday.
Thomas Cook said in a statement that they are ‘strongly advising’ those Brits on holiday in Tunisia to board the return flights, which will take off today.
The riots, which have been rumbling all month and have gripped the nation, have been caused by levels of high unemployment and general disenchantment with a government some view as corrupt.
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Fire takes hold at a seaside villa in the chic Mediterranean resort of Hammamet which is popular with Europeans and the country’s ruling class. The building is said to belong a member of the Tunisian president’s inner circle
‘Assassin’: Protesters took to the streets in Tunis today and claimed that President Ben Ali, who made an impassioned speech last night, will not be forgiven after 23 died in the riots
Riots: A youth hurls a pole as a fire rages in the Tunisian capital Tunis
The president of Tunisia, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, last night vowed to step down in a bid to stop the riots but as these pictures show the riots and protests continued today.
Thomas Cook’s statement read: ‘Although there have been no specific problems for our holidaymakers, their well-being is our primary concern so, as a precaution, we’ve taken the decision to bring them back to the UK as soon as we can, using our fleet of aircraft today.’
Yesterday the Foreign and Commonwealth Office – along with the US and French alternative – altered its guidance, advising against all but essential travel to Tunisia due to the ‘unpredictable’ climate.
President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali addressing the nation on TV last night. He has vowed to step down in a bid to stop the rioting
Deadly: The Tunisian government say that 23 people have been killed in the riots, but the opposition party claim the real figure is much higher
In spite of his televised address to the nation last night vowing to make concessions Tunisians still blame President Ben Ali for the country’s ills
‘British nationals in Tunisia should monitor the news or stay in touch with your tour operator.’
According to the website ‘the situation is unpredictable and there is the potential for violence to flare up’.
The website also warns tourists to steer clear of rallies and demonstrations, and remain inside their lodgings.
The political unrest will strike a huge blow to a country that has enjoyed a tourism boom in recent years.
Its location out of the Eurozone has proved attractive to holidaymakers looking for a cost effective break and visitor figures were up by 29 per cent in 2010.
Around 250,000 British travellers travelled there last year, and in all some seven million tourists travel to Tunisia a year.
President Ben Ali, who came to power in a bloodless coup in 1987, said he will leave the presidency when his term ends in 2014, he ordered prices on food to be slashed and made pledges for political and media freedom.
Hundreds of people took to the street of the capital Tunis today to march after Mr Ben Ali read out the list of promises and concessions.
Angry: A rioter hurls a rock at the police in Regueb, near Sidi Bouzid
Anarchy: A fire rages in the capital Tunis as chaos reigns
Some protesters carried posters reading ‘We won’t forget’, a reference to the 23 deaths – though Mr Ben Ali’s opposition party believe that there are dozens more than that.
The International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, known by its French acronym FIDH, said yesterday it has tallied 66 dead in the unrest so far, including seven people who killed themselves.
The peaceful march came as Tunisia’s only legal trade union went ahead today with a symbolic two-hour strike in the region of the capital.
TOURIST LURED BY 15C WINTER SUN
- A two-and-a-half flight from the UK, the North African country has some 700 miles of beaches and offers a gateway for tours of the Sahara desert.
- Its capital Tunis, a French colony for 100 years, remains popular with day-trippers from coastal resorts.
- Aside from sun and cheap prices, the sites featured in George Lucas' Star Wars, much of which was shot on location in Tunisia, continue to be a big draw for film fans.
- A popular winter sun destination, temperatures in January and February hover between 15C° – 20C°.
- And ABTA, The Travel Association, named the North African country as the 10th most popular destination for UK travellers at its October conference and the island of Djerba, just off the Tunisian coast, has been tipped by many travel experts as a hot destination for 2011.
The deadly riots have destabilised the authority of Mr Ben Ali, who has led the country for 23 years.
And he has been forced to be unusually contrite ordering prices on sugar, milk and bread to be dropped.
Buoyant crowds spilled into the streets after his speech, many cheering his price cuts but some questioning his commitment to real change.
Calling for a ‘cease-fire’, Mr Ben Ali, 74, told his nation in a televised speech: ‘I have understood you.
‘I have understood the demands about unemployment, the demands about necessities, and the political demands for more freedoms.’
He added that he had issued orders to the interior minister that no more bullets be fired on protesters, unless security forces are under threat.
‘I won’t accept that another drop of blood of a Tunisian be spilled,’ he said.
‘There will be from now on a total freedom of the press and a removal of Internet restrictions,’ he said, adding that ‘many things have not worked as I wanted them to’ in terms of democracy and freedoms.
YouTube and other websites blocked previously were again accessible after his speech.
Online media and social networks have helped spread the outrage since a desperate young graduate tried to set himself on fire in a provincial town last month.
That incident touched off protests around the country that turned into increasingly violent clashes with police before reaching the capital this week.
Rising death toll: Last night more people were killed in the riots
Protests: The violence reached Tunis on Thursday, provoking the president to make a passionate speech
Significantly, he said the 75-year age limit on presidential candidates should remain untouched, meaning that he would not be able to run for a sixth term in 2014.
His bold pledges appeared to be aimed at quelling public anger while allowing him to cling to power in Tunisia.
It remains to be seen whether his speech will mean an end to violence.
Pent-up anger at unemployment, and at a leadership many see as controlling and corrupt, has exploded into protests and clashes with police over the past few weeks.
The demonstrations started in the provinces but reached the capital this week.
Three more people were shot to death and six others injured by police in clashes last night in the working class northern suburb of Kram, according to an employee at the Khereddine Hospital.
In the centre of the capital, a protester was fatally shot and a journalist was hit in the leg by police gunfire as rioting youths clashed with police, witnesses said.
Yesterday rioters hurled stones at trams and government buildings in Tunis while the smell of tear gas filled the air.
Police fired on protesters with bullets, two witnesses said and one protester was hit by a sniper on the balcony of a building overlooking the violence.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU'RE ON HOLIDAY OR DUE TO TRAVEL
For those in the country
British tourists who are currently in Tunisia should 'continue to remain vigilant, and follow advice from their tour operator and the Foreign Office', says ABTA.
Those who have immediate bookings
Because the FCO is currently advising against 'all but essential' travel to Tunisia, holidaymakers who have booked with an ABTA member travel agent or tour operator will be entitled to a full refund, can organise an alternative destination or rebook their trip for a later date.
These arrangements apply to immediate departures only and for the period the FCO advice is in force. Customers with future departure dates should discuss arrangements with their tour operators, say ABTA.
Those who have bookings for later date
General advice from ABTA is for customers who have bookings to Tunisia where the departure isn't immediate should sit tight and 'wait to see how the situation develops'. They are not immediately entitled to refunds as the FCO advice may change.
Useful contacts
For updates from the Foreign Office, visit www.fco.gov.uk.
Thomson has set up an emergency helpline for holidaymakers due to travel this weekend: 0800 009 3834. For flights departing after 16th January, visit the Thomas Cook (www.thomascook.com) and First Choice (www.firstchoice.co.uk) websites.
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