Word: bourguiba
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Tunisian Interior Minister Othman Kechrid accused Libya of launching the attack in an attempt to overthrow ailing President Habib Bourguiba, 76. Though he did not mention Tunisia's oil-rich eastern neighbor by name, Kechrid clearly had Libya in mind when he denounced "a neighboring state specializing in this kind of operation." Premier Hedi Nouira also accused Libyan Strongman Muammar Gaddafi of "a diabolic plot" to make it appear that Algeria was responsible for the attack. The Tunisians expelled the Libyan ambassador and withdrew their own envoy from Tripoli, a move just short of breaking diplomatic relations...
...renewed interest in Islam is most pronounced among the young. A prominent judge in Algiers is surprised to discover that five times a day his 14-year-old son joins a group of friends at a mosque for prayer. In Tunisia, whose President Habib Bourguiba has promoted equal rights for women, including divorce and abortion, students belonging to the militant Muslim Brothers wage war on "sin and evil" by painting over sexually suggestive cinema billboards and chalking quotations from the Koran on city walls. At Cairo University (enrollment: 130,000), hundreds of female Egyptian students have donned the veil...
Stung Again. The possibility of all-out war stirred fears throughout the Arab world. Egypt's Anwar Sadat, Tunisia's Habib Bourguiba and Iraq's Ahmed Hassan Bakr telephoned Hassan and Algerian President Houari Boumedienne to urge a ceasefire. Syria's Hafez Assad dispatched Vice Premier Mohammed Haidar and Chief of Staff General Hikmat Chehabi to Algiers and Rabat to try to defuse what Damascus radio called "the explosive situation...
...strategic positions throughout the city. Within hours, every Arab government had proclaimed extended periods of mourning. Egypt's President Anwar Sadat, who had received extensive aid and political support from the Saudi King, called Faisal "a tireless fighter for the Arab cause." Tunisia's aging President Habib Bourguiba, who described Faisal as a friend of 30 years and "a force for stability and moderation," broke off a meeting with Libya's Strongman Muammar Gaddafi to head for Riyadh and join a procession of foreign leaders flying in for Faisal's funeral...
...some Middle East observers, Bourguiba's indecisiveness indicates that the aging leader may be losing his grip. In recent years, he has suffered at least one heart attack, arteriosclerosis, viral hepatitis and nervous collapse-requiring prolonged hospitalization in Switzerland and the U.S. His failing health has probably made him more susceptible to the scheming of his aides...