So Tunisia - France’s favorite dictatorship - has began a new era of Ben Ali repression. The 73-year-old black-hair-dyed tyrant - in power for 23 years today - recently won a fifth term with a mere 89% of the vote.

Of course, Tunisia has no real elections and the Tunisian media is so pathetic and submissive it makes the Saudi press look decent. And the recent election had a new novelty - a Stalinesque song was produced for the buffoon.

Ben Ali made it clear before the election that he was not planning on ushering in any freedoms in the country. He gave a speech threatening anyone who would challenge the legitimacy of the election.

And since his ostensible victory, he has stayed true to that principle of repressing even the most non-threatening dissent:

The assault of two independent journalists in Tunisia and the arrest of a third in the wake of last week’s elections must be punished, Amnesty International said on Friday. »It appears that these three journalists were targeted because they have criticized the government and opposed the re-election, for a fifth term, of President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, » said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa Programme. »This is an extremely worrying development, indicating that there is likely to be no let-up in the Tunisian government’s repression of dissent.

“A Tunisian blogger and drama teacher, Fatma Riahi, known online as Arabicca, has been arrested by the country’s police, Al Jazeera has learned.

Riahi was summoned to appear before the Criminal Brigade of Gorjani in Tunis on Monday, where she was questioned about her online activities, sources said.”

This repression will only usher in the fifth term. Tunisians will continue to suffer the fate of Ben Ali and his cronies - particularly the greedy Trabelsi family.

It is unfortunate since one of the best contenders for democracy in the region is Tunisia with its stable and liberal middle class, strong institutions. The country is growing economically and is - by the rankings of the World Economic Forum - the most competitive economy in Africa. How unfortunate that an even more vibrant and prosperus society is crippled by tyranny. Such is the unfortunate fate of Arabs today.