US has enormous stake in Tunisia: Obama

WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (AP): President Barack Obama pledged U.S. support for Tunisia's political and economic development, as he welcomed the North African nation's prime minister to the White House for a meeting steeped in symbolism. Tunisia sparked the wider democracy movement now known as the Arab Spring when citizens took to the streets in January to protest their authoritarian government. Tunisia was the first Arab Spring country to successfully overthrow its longtime leader, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and will also be the first to hold free elections to emerge from the movement, with voters set to cast ballots on Oct. 23. Because of those milestones, Obama said he wanted Tunisian Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi to be the first of the new generation of Arab Spring leaders to be recognised with a White House meeting. "Tunisia has been an inspiration to all of us who believe that each individual man and woman has certain inalienable rights, and those rights must be recognised by a government that is responsive and democratic," Obama said. The president said the US would play a strong, supportive role as Tunisia transitions toward full democracy. Following the meeting, the White House announced plans to work with Congress to provide up to $30 million in loan guarantees to Tunisia and to launch a $20 million Tunisia Enterprise Fund to support private sector growth. In addition, the Peace Corps will return to Tunisia starting early next year, with volunteers focusing on English language training and youth development programs. The White House says the US has already committed more than $55 million in non-security assistance to Tunisia since January. Essebsi thanked the US for its early support of Tunisia's democracy movement, and said he hoped the transformation taking place in his country would be replicated elsewhere in the region. "Up until now, the Arab Spring is only really the Tunisian Spring. So what I do hope is that this Arab Spring will not limit itself exclusively to Tunisia and that it will spread throughout the region," Essebsi said through a translator. The prime minister's comments underscored a concern that while democracy protests have taken hold throughout the Arab world, their effectiveness has been uneven. The protests in Tunisia quickly spread to nearby Egypt, where massive public protests forced the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. Elections there are scheduled for November. In Libya, rebels led the charge to end the four decade-long regime of Moammar Gadhafi. But it took a months-long NATO bombing campaign, which continues today, to clear the way for the opposition to take control of most of the country, including the capital of Tripoli. The US and the United Nations now recognise the opposition-led National Transitional Council as Libya's legitimate government, though Gadhafi remains at large. Elsewhere, protest movements have been stymied, often by harsh crackdowns by government-backed forces. The violence has been most notable in Syria, where the United Nations human rights office says at least 2,900 people, including security forces, have been killed since mid-March.