Tens of thousands call for Tunisia govt ouster

          
Tens of thousands of Tunisians on Saturday called for the resignation of the Islamist-led government in one of the largest opposition protests to date.  
              
The protest, organized by the National Salvation Front coalition of parties, marked the traditional 40-day mourning period since the assassination of opposition politician Mohammed Brahmi.                                          

His killing in front of his family plunged the country into a political crisis and prompted dozens of opposition members of the assembly to withdraw from the body, paralyzing its work of writing the country's new constitution.                       

They announced Friday they would begin a hunger strike until their demands were met.                                             
Weeks of mediation by the main labor union between the moderate Islamist Ennahda Party and the opposition have not borne fruit.                                

"We are determined to continue the struggle to extract the country from the disastrous situation it finds itself in because of those in power," said Beji Caid Essebsi, leader of the right-of-center Nida Tunis (Tunis Calls) party, one of the main opposition groups.                                
"After the blood, Ennahda has no legitimacy," chanted demonstrators who came from all over the country to answer the opposition call for the march.  
                                       
The opposition is demanding the Islamist-led government resign immediately for what they say is its failure to ensure security or manage the economy.
                   
Ennahda has countered by offering to dissolve the government after four weeks to ensure the constitution is completed and the body charged with organizing elections has been put in place. In August, Ennahda, which rules in a coalition with two secular parties, organized its own pro-government demonstration of comparable size.                 

AP