Jahangir's World Times First Comprehensive Magazine for students/teachers of competitive exams and general readers as well.
It is time that all dictators should leave the stage for the democratic governments; otherwise the horrific picture of genocide is not far off.
The situation in the Middle East worsened when Egypt, Tunisia and other countries were caught in a dilemma in which the political system does not allow the masses to benefit from economic advances. What began in Tunisia will not end in one country. Therefore, smelling the revolutionary move, other countries of the region also decided to mend their ways.
There is a version being spread in the political circles of the Middle East. Some fear it as an al Qaeda initiative and if so what is the goal? The governments of Tunisia and Egypt will change. The question to be answered is change to what. However, the major question is how it will impact Israel. No one in the Middle East will be immune from these developments. In addition to this, this has been observed that dictators normally try to eliminate alternative leadership in order to avoid any threat to their rule.
TUNIS
The movement first compelled the ruler of Tunis, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to leave the country. The unrest in Tunis touched off by the death of a man in southern Tunisia who set himself on fire to protest his inability to sell his produce. It was fanned by the Internet and Tunisians angry about economic hardships and perceived corruption among top Tunisian politicians. Dozens of people died in the unrest so far, although government officials and human rights groups offered vastly different tallies.
After Ben Ali’s exit, Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi announced he was holding the affairs of the government when protests and riots rocked the capital. The army sealed off the airport and closed Tunisian airspace.
The government also imposed night curfew in the capital and surrounding suburbs. Despite the deployment of the military and heavy police presence, there was no let up in the demonstrations. People taking part in the protests say they are angry about unemployment, corruption and what they say is government repression.
The unrest has alarmed investors in Tunisia, one of the region’s most developed economies. Shares on the Tunis stock exchange reach their lowest level. In further concessions, the government decided to free everybody detained for taking part in the riots and promised financial help to jobless graduates ‘a group whose grievances have been a driving force behind the unrest. The protests are being watched closely in other countries with the potential for social unrest. An estimated 150 people have died in the protests, which were inspired by events in Tunisia. Later, Tunisia’s interim government banned the former ruling party as fresh violence left one youth dead.
Tunisia’s Senate has passed legislation that gives interim President Fouad Mebazaa the power to rule by decree. Now Mebazaa will be able to sidestep parliament which is dominated by associates of Ben Ali. Meanwhile, according to the UN 219 people died during Tunisia’s protests which began in December.
Then it was Egypt’s turn and despite public protest Mubarak refused to see the writing on the wall and announced not to bow before the public power. However, the Egyptian army refused to fire at the protesters and handled the situation tactfully. It allowed peaceful public protests which are quite contrary to all previous examples. It seems that the Egyptian armed forces have understood the signal from the US and have, therefore, decided to refrain from using its might against the protesters. At the initial stage, the protest was leaderless but later former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei joined the protesters. He has spent most of his life time serving abroad. Since 1991 he remained in foreign countries working in various capacities.
Hosni Mubarak was sworn in on October 14, 1981, eight days after Sadat’s assassination. Since then, he has survived six assassination attempts. Now Mubarak declared to die on the Egyptian soil, unlikely Tunisia’s former dictator, who fled to Saudi Arabia after street protests. Earlier 30 years back, the Shah of Iran ‘a key Cold War ally of the US’ fled to Egypt in the face of the Islamic Revolution.
Both the secularists and the Islamists joined hands for ousting Mubarak from the government. IAEA former chief ElBaradei asked the US not to support the Mubarak regime. Sensing the public mood, the US administration is also distancing itself from Mubarak and getting ready for a transition. Anti-government protests were also seen in Alexandria as well as in the Nile Delta, Suez and Ismailia.
Egypt is a major ally of the US and Israel and Mubarak had been blue eyed boy of the US for about three decades. He served as mediator in talks between Israel and Palestinians. The US gives around $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt apart from hundreds of millions of dollars for the state. Recent events have forced the US to review its aid policy.
In a development towards reconciliation, leaders of the banned Muslim Brotherhood met Egyptian Vice-President Omar Suleiman for holding talks between the government and opposition figures. However, the talks remain inconclusive. However, despite Mubarak’s assurance to step down in September in a television address, the masses rejected his offer. This resulted in the ouster of Mubarak in the 18-day struggle and compelled him to shift to Sharam el-Sheikh. Hosni Mubarak family fortune could reach $70billion. He has cash in British and Swiss banks plus UK and US property. After the departure of Mubarak, the military promised “free and fair” presidential elections this year and called for a return to a “normal way of life.”
JORDAN
Tunis and Egypt’s shocks are also felt in Jordan. In this connection Shah Abdullah removed the government of Sameer Rafai and appointed Maruf al Bakhit as new Prime Minister. The nominee, also PM from 2005 to 2007, was assigned to initiate political reforms in the country. However, the Opposition rejected the fresh move and termed it mere eyewash. Moreover, Jordanian King Abdullah dismissed the cabinet and asked the new prime minister to end unemployment and price hike from the country. However, the opposition is the Islamic Action Front and they have rejected the new appointment and called for even stronger protests against the government and monarch.
YEMEN
Women are second-class citizens in Yemen, yet it’s a woman leading the country’s protests. Tawakkol Karman, a 32-year-old mother of three, is the country’s best-known activist, and she organised the first protests at Sana’a University following the ouster of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia.
Yet Saleh’s move posed questions about stability in a nation seen by the Obama administration as a key ally in its fight against Islamic militants. Al Qaeda’s Yemeni offshoot claimed responsibility for a failed December 2009 attempt to blow up a passenger jet over the US and an attempt last year to ship parcel bombs to the US via cargo planes.
In the parliament, Saleh called on the opposition to meet for a dialogue on political reforms and their demands. Opposition spokesman Mohammed al-Sabri rejected the call and expressed doubts about Saleh’s pledge not to seek re-election. Al-Sabri said Saleh made a similar promise in 2006, but then failed to fulfill it, ran again and was re-elected.
He announced plans to raise the salaries of government employees and military personnel by almost $50 ‘a significant perk for the poorly paid soldiers and civil servants serving the Arab world’s poorest nation.
No parties want to see clashes in Yemen like Tunisia and Egypt, particularly not the US government, which has vested interest in keeping Yemen stable. There’s fear that chaos, even if brought on by pro-democracy uprising, makes it easier for al Qaeda to operate in the country.
After the announcements of Egypt and Yemen presidents not to contest the next presidential elections, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas also declared withdrawal of his candidature for the forthcoming election.
Pro-democracy uprising in Bahrain is inspired by revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia and people have taken to the streets to protest against the government’s dictatorial policies. The magnitude of the pro-democracy protests in Bahrain is unprecedented in the history of the kingdom and the authorities’ efforts to quell them have so far been ineffective.The demonstrators are demanding a new constitution that would move the country toward democracy and limit the king’s powers. Bahrain is ruled by a royal family from the country’s Sunni minority, who are blamed for discrimination against the country’s Shia population ‘comprising 70 percent of the population.
About 2,000 people have camped out at the Pearl Roundabout, a major road in the capital, Manama, where they stay in hopes of emulating the people’s victory in Egypt’s Tahrir Square. They protest unemployment, restricted political freedoms and corruption, problems they say have long plagued this country. In clashes with people security forces battled demonstrators over two days, leading to the deaths of two protesters. It was a clear sign of widening crisis in the country.
LIBYA
According to a report of Human Rights Watch the Libyan security forces have killed 24 people. In retaliation the protesters hanged to death two policemen, damaged government installations and burnt official buildings. The public protests are still continuing in Tripoli despite security forces efforts to control them.
CONCLUSION
Though neither Tunisia nor Egypt are significant oil producers, they have set in motion concerns about wider regional instability ‘and that in turn should remind us that the significance of oil has fallen from a peak of a little under 50 per cent in the 1970s. But oil is so immensely convenient, and since the oil and the gas prices move pretty much together, it remains the key energy price, the benchmark for everything else. So what happens to the oil price has the most profound impact on food prices, living standards, indeed on our entire civilisation. What happens next? No one can predict what will happen to the region over the next decade or two but we can say some things about energy demand and supply, and maybe too about the oil price.
