Sunday, January 23, 2011

To The Arab Leaders: People Power No Empty Slogan

Arab governments need to tackle unemployment and poverty or risk frustration and anger spilling on to the streets

By Abdullah al-Shayji
This commentary was published in The Gulf News on 24/01/2011

For some time now, the Arab political landscape has been in a state of flux, where instability, the games other nations play, and regional and international designs have all taken their toll on weak and fragmented Arab regimes. This has contributed to the stagnation of the Arab political system, rendering it dysfunctional. The crucial question is: what is the Arab tipping-point?

Last week, Arabs inched very close to that tipping point. In what could be a landmark year for them, 2011 started with a bang — with three events unfolding at the same time, indicating change and transformation from North Africa to the eastern Mediterranean region.

The first was the referendum in south Sudan. The vote will almost certainly lead to the break-up of the largest Arab and African nation with unpredictable consequences for the security and stability of the Nile Basin.

Secondly, Lebanon once again found itself on the brink of the abyss, with a dysfunctional system where the cabinet, the parliament and the presidency all seem to be paralysed. The nation has become accustomed to living dangerously. Now there are fears that the present situation will lead to a bloodbath and split the country.

Lebanon has been labouring over the past three decades to keep itself together. But the country is besieged and this leaves Lebanese with few options. Lebanon is reaching a tipping point.

But the most significant tipping point in the Arab world came in Tunisia. The North African nation, where society is highly modern and secular, endured the iron-fisted and corrupt rule of Zine Al Abidine Bin Ali for almost a quarter of a century. His regime, though, was brought to an abrupt end by a determined people power movement.

Now the warning bells have tolled and Tunisia is a wake-up call for many Arab regimes — people power is no longer an empty slogan or something that can be crushed or shrugged off. The people's power has toppled one of the most autocratic regimes in the region. But the blinding speed at which Bin Ali's rule crumbled is still inexplicable.

How could a regime so entrenched and in control wither away so rapidly? How could its leader be so humiliated that he could not even find refuge in western capitals, especially Paris and Washington, which saw in him and in his regime an exemplary model in the fight against extremism and Islamists.

Looming danger

In a blunt and stark warning to Arab leaders a day before Bin Ali's ouster, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Doha that unless economic and political space opened up for the Arab world's exploding youth population, women and minorities, they will face growing unrest, extremism and even rebellion.

She urged them to quickly address the issue of depleting oil and water resources and enact real economic and political reform. "Without that, young people and others will increasingly turn to radicalism and violence that will bleed outside the region, threatening not only Middle Eastern stability and security but the rest of the world.

"In too many places, in too many ways, the region's foundations are sinking into the sand, the new and dynamic Middle East ... needs firmer ground if it is to take root and grow everywhere. Those who cling to the status quo may be able to hold back the full impact of their countries' problems for a little while, but not forever.

"If leaders don't offer a positive vision and give young people meaningful ways to contribute, others will fill the vacuum ... This is a critical moment and this is a test of leadership for all of us."
The message from Tunisia is loud and clear. The uprising has set in motion a chain of events which has reverberated in many Arab capitals and even beyond. Tunisia overshadowed the second Arab Economic Summit in Sharm Al Shaikh, the first Arab summit following the ouster of an Arab ruler.

The Jasmine Revolution seems to have emboldened the oppressed and broken masses. Many Arab countries, to counter the resonating effect of the Jasmine revolution, rushed to mitigate the Tunisian syndrome by doing away with unpopular policies, increasing subsidies for basic commodities, like food and gas and increasing employees' salaries. They are hoping to forestall public anger and absorb the boiling and charged atmosphere, given that the psychological barrier has been broken with the events in Tunisia.

Arab leaders, aware of the seriousness of the situation, have closed ranks. This time, they saw a menacing threat and pledged to enact a $2 billion (Dh7.34 billion) Arab fund financed by the rich GCC states, mainly Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, who will contribute half the amount to help promote jobs, eradicate poverty and meet the demands of the youth in Arab countries.

Amr Mousa, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, seems to have captured the current Arab mood in his opening statement, as was quoted by the New York Times, "The Arab soul is broken by poverty, unemployment and general recession. The Tunisian revolution is not far from us... The Arab citizen entered an unprecedented state of anger and frustration."

The Arab tipping point seems to be facing us all. The Arab world is at the crossroads in a tumultuous region that needs to enact real and lasting changes so that unfulfilled dreams and broken promises would become things of the past and there would be hopes of dreams being fulfilled.

Professor Abdullah Al Shayji is the Chairman of the Political Science Department, Kuwait University.

No comments:

Post a Comment