This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011 [1].
Now that ousted Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has fled the country, the question on everyone's mind is: Where is he headed to?
Netizens are putting their money on any one of the Arab Gulf Countries – which comprise of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman.
Angry Arab News, a blog maintained by As'ad Abu Khalil, notes [2]:
Aljazeera is reporting that the plane of Bin Ali is now heading to a “Gulf country.” Let me GUESS: which states habitually provides haven to ousted dictators??
In a follow up post, he adds [3]:
Al-Arabiyya says that Bin Ali plane is going to Qatar, while Aljazeera implies that his plane is going to Dubai
Egyptian columnist Mona Eltahawi tweets [4]:
How many bets #Qatar takes in #BenAli because it was 1 one of 1st to acknowledge toppling and is a pro at playing all sides? #Sidibouzid
Saudi Wafa Aljohani urges [5] Gulf Arabs to stand up:
And Samar Dahmash Jarrah adds [6]:
Egyptian A Naje jokes [8]:
Fellow Egyptian Mohammed Mansour tweets [9]:
He continues [10]:
والله مش بعيد مبارك يعرض على بن على ان يستضيفه فى مصر . اصلهم اخوات فى الديكتاتورية . و شرم الشيخ كبيرة #BenAli #sidibouzid #tunisia #Egypt
Along similar lines, top french blogger and lawyer @MaitreEolas tweets [11]:
France terre d'asile : on a accueilli Khomeiny, Bokassa, Mobutu, Duvallier, on va bien recevoir Ben Ali ?
Dima Khatib confirms that France shut its door to Ben Ali and notes [12]:
Sarkozy probably thought: can't receive this guy (Ben Ali) in France. With so many Tunisians living here I would have my own #SidiBouzid :)
Meanwhile, in Bahrain, the chatter on where Ben Ali is continues [13].
Ali Fareed responds:
He's heading 2 Dubai
And Abdurahman Warsame, in Qatar, concludes [14]:
news that Ben Ali's airplane landed in #dubai. #tunisia
However, Egypt Tarek Amr has a better solution. He quips [15]:
Doesn't Ben Ali use Dopplr or Foursquare so that we can know where he is heading to? #Tunisia #LBS ##Sidibouzid
This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011 [1].