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This is a guestpost by David Sasaki, together with Isaac Mao he’s responsible for Public Square Squared

I first met Lina Ben Mhenni at the 2nd Arab Bloggers Meeting in Beirut, Lebanon about two years ago. The meeting, organized by Global Voices Advocacy and the Heinrich Boll Foundation, aimed to strengthen a regional network of Arab bloggers, online activists, and civil society organizations. Lina had been blogging from Tunisia since 2006 — frequently about freedom of speech issues — but it wasn’t until late 2009 when she became a full fledged online activist; coordinating the campaign to free Mohamed Soudani, a young Tunisian student who was imprisoned after giving interviews to international media.

Two years ago it was nearly implausible to foresee a Tunisian Revolution that would finally remove President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after nearly 25 years of dictatorial rule. Lina was both an active participant and observer during the protest movement that led to the revolution. She has recently published a book about her experience as an activist and citizen journalist, which will hopefully soon be made available in English.

Lina Ben Mhenni will join us in Linz to offer a first person account of the Tunisian Revolution, and a timely update of where her country is now headed. I sent her some questions over email to set the context for our discussion at Ars Electronica.

DS: As an outside observer, my impression is that, at first, very few international media were covering the anti-government protests in Tunisia and then, when it reached a critical juncture, several groups such as Anonymous and Wikileaks began to take credit for the movement. As someone based in Tunisia who was heavily involved in the revolution, what were your impressions of the international media coverage?

LBM: At first few international media were covering the anti-government protests in Tunisia because, on the one hand, many of them did not understand the importance of the social movement, and on the other hand, they were not allowed to enter Tunisia because of the strict restrictions imposed on journalists by the Ben Ali regime. When it reached a critical juncture, all the media became interested in what was going on in Tunisia, some succeeded in entering the country, and others shared videos and photos recorded by Tunisian cyber-activists. But I don’t think that either Anonymous or Wikileaks played an important role in the movement. The cables released by Wikileaks came as a confirmation of what all Tunisians already knew about the corruption of Ben Ali, his wife, and their families. Later (January 2nd), Anonymous supported Tunisian cyber-activists by attacking governmental websites.

Tunisians involved in the movement understood the importance of disseminating information, and they started recording videos and taking pictures that were then broadcast all over the world.

DS: It seems that two competing narratives have emerged to explain the catalyst of the Tunisian Revolution. One focuses on youth unemployment and the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi; the other gives more priority to free speech, corruption, and the impact of the Wikileaks cables. On Global Voices you wrote about both issues well before the English-language press paid any attention to Tunisia. Last November you detailed the anti-censorship “Launch a Blog Campaign” and Nawaat’s Tunileaks project. In December you covered the online organization of protests in response to the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi. Which of the two competing narratives best explains the spark of the revolution?

LBM: Again I don’t think that Wilkileaks was the catalyst of the Tunisian revolution. Indeed people who took to the streets just after the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi had never heard of Wikileaks. The majority of the those who carried out the protests had never even used internet . People took to the streets because of unemployment, poverty, injustice, limitations on freedom, oppression, etc … it has nothing to do with Wikileaks.

DS: Let’s talk about where Tunisia is today, after the revolution. There were plans to elect a constituent assembly in July, but the election was postponed until October 23. Was that the right decision? Are there fears that the same old leaders from Ben Ali’s government will take control of the country again if new leaders aren’t immediately elected?

LBM: At first I was against the postponement of the elections of the constituent assembly, but with time I understood that it was the right decision. We have to take our time in preparing for these elections. As for the second part of your question, yes there fears that people who used to work for Ben Ali will once again control the country. They are actively working on this. In fact, they have already organized themselves into new political parties.

DS: Now that the Ben Ali dictatorship has been removed, I would imagine that the first step toward democracy is ensuring that Tunisians vote in the upcoming election. You have written on Global Voices that so far few Tunisians have registered to vote, which inspired young bloggers to launch the “Time to Register” campaign. Of those who do plan to vote, an early poll suggests that 54% have yet to decide who they will vote for. Has the “Time to Register” campaign made progress? Why are Tunisians reluctant to register when they fought so hard for democracy?

LBM: I think that this campaign helped a little — especially with young people who use the Internet and Facebook. The High Committee for Elections also launched a huge media campaign that asks people to register for the elections. Tunisians are reluctant because they do not understand the process. Some don’t know who to vote for; especially with the sudden emergence of more than 100 new political parties. Others do not trust the government and the way the elections are coordinated.

You can see Lina Ben Mhenni speak — and ask her your own questions — at the Public Square Squared symposium on September 4th.