Arabs Uprising

Arab world is struggling for a change that could ensure political freedom and social justice

By Mazhar Khan Jadoon

It may be part of a ‘greater Israel plot’, or it may be another American move to reshape Middle East for a stronger foothold to tap more oil, or the revival of Islamic forces that are out to enforce Sharia in the Arab land. All these speculations will stay in the air until the dust of revolution settles down and a clearer picture emerges.

However, all that is happening in the streets of the Arab world shows one thing for sure; “the educated and more aware Arab youth belonging to middle class are calling the shots now for a change that will bring them at par with the rest of the world”.

No one was expecting that an isolated protest in a northern African country would trigger a tsunami that would flood the entire Arab world. Tunisian uprising gathered mass quickly and turned out to be a revolution pulling down the thrones of worn-out dictators one-by-one. It is people versus dictators. Absolute power blankets the mind and vision of a dictator and he fails to see the reality. Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi also showed his true colours when he ordered his forces to crush the ‘rats’. It is the end of a dictator when he sees his people as rats.

The whole Arab world, perhaps, was waiting for a spark to ignite a change — that could ensure political freedom, social justice and right to speak without the fear of being gagged and imprisoned. Pent up desire for freedom provided the thread for the rosary of change in the Arab world.

Mubarak lost people’s confidence because he failed to feel the pulse of the young generation that is capable of juxtaposing their lives with that of the changing world with no room for repression and dictators. Taking their cue from the Tunisian uprising, Egyptians thronged Tahrir Square and forced the generals to send the 82-year-old president into retirement — as had happened to his counterpart — Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia.

The rage that sprang up in Tunisia and swept through Egypt has morphed into a ‘people versus dictators’ battle. The contagious rage knows no boundaries and is gaining momentum day-by-day. Two of the Arab rulers are down and the rest are nauseated with the event and are waiting for their turn.

Mubarak and Ben Ali have been pushed into oblivion by their fate decreed by people and what is in store for the rulers of Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria, Iraq and Morocco is no different. It is just a matter of how quickly and wisely the rulers read the will of their people and leave without creating mess.

Libya

In his televised address, Gaddafi tried to scare away the swelling crowds threatening to use force to crush them. He should have talked sense because the use of force will only limit his chances for a safe and honourable exit. Mubarak went down with over 200 deaths while Gaddafi has already crossed the toll of 1000 dead and thousands injured. The resilience of Libyans shows that use of force will only quicken Gaddafi’s downfall.

Political analyst Robert Fisk says Gaddafi is facing the forces he cannot control. According to an article that he wrote for The Independent, Fisk suggests Gaddafi is groping in the dark searching for legitimacy for his illegitimate rule, “Gaddafi's claim that the millions of protesters in Libya want to turn Libya into an Islamic state is exactly the same nonsense that Mubarak peddled before his end in Egypt, the very same nonsense that Obama and Clinton have suggested.”

Bahrain

In Bahrain, the predominantly Shia Muslim protesters are sticking to their guns occupying the Pearl roundabout ahead of the promised talks between the opposition representatives and the rulers. Bahrain freed at least 23 political prisoners held on terrorism counts on Feb 23 and pardoned two others including an exiled opposition leader whose plan to return to the country may complicate talks with the government on political reforms.

More than 100,000 demonstrators recently packed central Pearl Square, in what organisers called, the largest pro-democracy demonstration this tiny Persian Gulf nation had ever seen. Tens of thousands of men, women and children, mostly members of the Shiite majority, got together with one message: “this regime must fall”. King Hammad bin Isa al-Khalifa is still clinging to power with calls for a national dialogue to try to bridge differences, preserve the monarchy and unite the nation.

Yemen

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has said, only defeat at the ballot box will make him quit, despite a growing protest movement calling for him to resign. Tens of thousands of protesters continue to rally around the country. For the first time several Yemeni Ministers of Parliament joined the protesters in the streets.

Experts are voicing concern, about the US using the presence of Al-Qaeda elements in the country as a pretext for military intervention. According to BBC, many commentators warned against a repetition of the ‘pre-emptive’ action taken against Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iraq

Frustrated Kurds are crying foul at the tight grip with which the two ruling parties control the Kurdish autonomous region. Iraqis across the country have staged a number of protests in recent weeks against corruption, high levels of unemployment and poor provision of basic services such as clean water and electricity.

Algeria and Morocco

Now it could be Algeria’s turn to free itself from the autocratic rule. Fearing a full-blown uprising like that in Tunisia and Egypt, the government officials in the huge North African country are scrambling to stem an accelerating movement of street protests. This kind of a display of anti-government sentiment was unthinkable until recently. Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci had announced that his country's 19-year state-of-emergency laws would be revoked within days, ending tight censorship and lifting a ban on political demonstrations win back enraged public.

Algeria’s small neighbour is also undergoing change. Two of Morocco's biggest political parties and human rights groups have joined calls by a youth movement for constitutional reform that could reduce the role of the king. “More political freedom” and “end to dictatorship” are the by-words sending shivers down the spine of rulers in Rabat.