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Revolutions once they start by their very nature, often don't stop until many years later, and usually after substantial destruction and killing. The French Revolution which claimed the lives of 2.5 million French civilians and soldiers between 1789---1814 out of a population of 28 million, for example was the very antithesis of its lofty ideals..."Liberty, Fraternity, Equality". There was continued revolution within France, war without, and constant changes in government, until Napoleon was crowned emperor in 1804.
The same with the Soviet Bolshevik Revolution which effectively continued between 1918 to 1928, by which time Stalin became the supreme leader, but only after 10 million people had perished under emergency rule, and wars against real and imagined counter-revolutionaries by the Bolsheviks.
In Iran after the 1979 Revolution, the revolution effectively continued within Iran and without under the direction of Khomeini, until the early 1990's, with Iran's defeat by Iraq in 1988 playing a major factor in reducing the revolutionary zeal.
In ALL these revolutions, chaos ensued for many years, and the OLD ELITE WERE REMOVED into exile, or killed....EVERYBODY, and a new elite established in their place. In the pursuit of ideological purity, with extremist revolutionary elements taking over eventually, there was no room for compromise, accommodation and peaceful co-existence.
Revolutions on the whole, despite their lofty, humanist and idealistic slogans do not result in a better future, but quite often as with the cases of the big countries mentioned above, where many competing groups are involved, unnecessary death and destruction follows. The best model for change in society is quiet, peaceful slow changes in society through consensus, dialogue and negotiations.
I have not even mentioned the revolution of Nazi Germany 1933--45, or Mussolini's Italy 1922--1944 under Fascist rule.
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Tunisia Bans Ben Ali’s Party as Unrest Continues
By Jason Ditz at antiwar.com
Tunisia’s Interim Government is continuing to try to further distance itself from the regime of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, and today announced that they banned the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD), the long-standing ruling party.
The most recent cabinet reshuffle saw Prime Minister and de facto leader Ghannouchi ousting every RCD member (except for himself, of course) from the government. In practice the elimination of the party is purely symbolic, as a number of these figures will likely be brought back, re-branded as it were.
Despite the new government apparently consolidating its rule in Tunis and having successfully crushed much of the protesting in the capital city (ostensibly in the name of the “revolution”), unrest still remains.
Particular in Kef, where police openly clashed with protesters and eventually opened fire, killing four and wounding 15 others. The protesters eventually set the Kef police headquarters and a number of police cars on fire.
