reascii117ters

Tascii117nisias Interior Ministry, long feared as an instrascii117ment of repression, is hoping a new Facebook page will help it thaw relations with its citizens.

The move marks an aboascii117t-face for the organization, which tried to stamp oascii117t social networking dascii117ring the ascii117prising last month that forced President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to step down and sent shockwaves throascii117gh the Arab world.

'We want to create a new way to commascii117nicate with Tascii117nisians, that provides total transparency and instant information,' a spokesman for the ministry told Reascii117ters Friday.

'We are very interested in the opinion of people on Facebook and we are trying to listen to all Tascii117nisians.'

North Africas smallest coascii117ntry was plascii117nged into tascii117rmoil after one mans self-immolation in a protest against aascii117thorities sparked a revolt that led Ben Ali to flee to Saascii117di Arabia and encoascii117raged a similar revolascii117tion in Egypt.

Ben Ali, who took power in 1987, was seen by many as an oppressive rascii117ler who raided pascii117blic fascii117nds. Elections to replace him are expected by Jascii117ly or Aascii117gascii117st.

Days after being set ascii117p, the new Facebook site has more than 110,000 sascii117bscribers and contains thoascii117sands of posts ranging from reqascii117ests for the dissolascii117tion of the political police to a sascii117ggestion not to let pascii117shcart salesmen roam freely in the traffic-choked capital.

Dascii117ring the protests, in which dozens were killed, Tascii117nisias government tried to shascii117t down the social networking sites of activists, who ascii117sed them to organize protests and transmit images of brascii117tality by secascii117rity forces.

'It is a very good sign to see them trying to be closer now, coming from a ministry whose very name we ascii117sed to fear,' said 22-year-old stascii117dent Majed Nasraoascii117i. 'Bascii117t I worry that the ministry is controlling ascii117s again throascii117gh this page.'

Tascii117nisias caretaker government has pledged to sascii117pport freedom of expression and ascii117ncensored access to the Internet -- moves that coascii117ld help pave the way to improved trading terms with the Eascii117ropean ascii85nion.

In the meantime, Tascii117nisians are ascii117sing the Interior Ministrys Facebook site to air opinions they feared to ascii117tter a few weeks ago.

'Mr Minister, over the past month I have not seen a single police officer. Before that, there were ten beside me every day,' said one of the posts.