Freedom
A lot has been happening in the Middle East that I have many thoughts about.
The butterfly effect that a Tunisian street vendor started in a remote town by setting himself on fire has clearly demonstrated that the power of a very large group of people who won't budge, is a force not to be underestimated. I'm pleased that the Tunisians and Egyptians got what they wanted in the end, and I'm sort of pleased for the Libyans, Bahrainis and Yemenis who are still trying to fight it out, tooth and nail, for political reform.
But we must remember that what has been happening in the Middle East is not an entirely new phenomenon. The region seems to undergo spasms of nationalism every generation; indeed it was the last movement that installed into place some of the leaders who are now being overthrown by their people.
Especially in places like Libya, where public anger has spilled over into violence, blindly supporting the rebels may not be the most humanitarian thing to do. We don't know their background, they could easily be just as violent with pro-Gaddafi Libyans as Gaddafi's forces are with them.
And why have Western countries been so quick to help the Libyan rebels out anyway? Surely not to rid them of a calculative, brutal dictator - if that were the case, they should have intervened in Zimbabwe years ago where the dictatorship is unimaginably more restrictive. Libya has something that Zimbabwe never will - oil. Would be nice for our shattered economies if we secured an energy supply, won't it?
Bahrain is a whole different kettle of fish, though. A worried monarch who really has no basis for being the head of state brings in too-ready foreign forces to "rein in" peaceful protestors. I was ashamed that the UAE sent in forces to quash the protests. They shake their heads at Iran for violently quelling any anti-government protests, such as in 2009, but then participate in attacking another country's citizens for the very same reasons! It is unacceptable. The UAE ought to concentrate on simply maintaining its bling-bling image, and not tarnish it by sending in troops to attack fellow Arabs.
And where has the West been in all of this? There have been murmurs of protest from Western heads of state, but that's it. What's the matter? Can't go about telling your oil-producing friends to stop and do what the citizens want, can you? Actually, a good friend is one who points out your faults and mistakes to you, but the US et al are shying away from pressuring Bahrain's Sheikh into democracy, in order to remain socially acceptable to their Gulf Arab friends.
Despite all of this, we should be cautious in accepting whoever has been installed as the country's leader in those countries that have been successful in purging out the previous leader. There's no guarantee that the new leader won't get drunk with power too.
The butterfly effect that a Tunisian street vendor started in a remote town by setting himself on fire has clearly demonstrated that the power of a very large group of people who won't budge, is a force not to be underestimated. I'm pleased that the Tunisians and Egyptians got what they wanted in the end, and I'm sort of pleased for the Libyans, Bahrainis and Yemenis who are still trying to fight it out, tooth and nail, for political reform.
But we must remember that what has been happening in the Middle East is not an entirely new phenomenon. The region seems to undergo spasms of nationalism every generation; indeed it was the last movement that installed into place some of the leaders who are now being overthrown by their people.
Especially in places like Libya, where public anger has spilled over into violence, blindly supporting the rebels may not be the most humanitarian thing to do. We don't know their background, they could easily be just as violent with pro-Gaddafi Libyans as Gaddafi's forces are with them.
And why have Western countries been so quick to help the Libyan rebels out anyway? Surely not to rid them of a calculative, brutal dictator - if that were the case, they should have intervened in Zimbabwe years ago where the dictatorship is unimaginably more restrictive. Libya has something that Zimbabwe never will - oil. Would be nice for our shattered economies if we secured an energy supply, won't it?
Bahrain is a whole different kettle of fish, though. A worried monarch who really has no basis for being the head of state brings in too-ready foreign forces to "rein in" peaceful protestors. I was ashamed that the UAE sent in forces to quash the protests. They shake their heads at Iran for violently quelling any anti-government protests, such as in 2009, but then participate in attacking another country's citizens for the very same reasons! It is unacceptable. The UAE ought to concentrate on simply maintaining its bling-bling image, and not tarnish it by sending in troops to attack fellow Arabs.
And where has the West been in all of this? There have been murmurs of protest from Western heads of state, but that's it. What's the matter? Can't go about telling your oil-producing friends to stop and do what the citizens want, can you? Actually, a good friend is one who points out your faults and mistakes to you, but the US et al are shying away from pressuring Bahrain's Sheikh into democracy, in order to remain socially acceptable to their Gulf Arab friends.
Despite all of this, we should be cautious in accepting whoever has been installed as the country's leader in those countries that have been successful in purging out the previous leader. There's no guarantee that the new leader won't get drunk with power too.