Winds of democracy in Middle East
By Abdelkader Zerougui
The Arab masses decided finally to take a leap into the 21st century by overcoming their fear and taking their destiny into their own hands. The winds of freedom are now blowing in all directions in the Middle East.
Mohamed Bouazizi who set himself on fire on Dec. 17, 2010, to protest the injustices of Zin al-Abidine Ben Ali's police state, did not know that his sacrifice would unleash the forces of change in the Middle East on an unprecedented scale. Revolutionary Paris decided to name a place after Bouazizi as a salute to his stand against oppression.
Bouazizi lighted a candle that brought his fellow Tunisians to the streets, and after 28 days, Ben Ali was forced to flee, and sought refuge in Saudi Arabia ― a haven for sadistic and overthrown dictators.
Commentators and Egyptian leaders who once thought the Egyptian people only rebel "when bread prices increase" were proven wrong. Hosni Mubarak was challenged not by Muslim extremists or the army, but faced a popular uprising led by the Egyptian youth whose motto was "to be free."
The dictator who ruled with impunity for 30 years was finally forced to take the back door exit after 18 days of protests, where more than 300 people were murdered by the police and Mubarak's thugs.
The political support from the absolute monarchs of Saudi Arabia and Morocco, the despised Yemeni dictator Ali Abdullah Salah and Moammar Gadhafi, the paranoid "King of Kings" as he prefers to label himself, could not stop the course of history.
The Chinese New Year of the Rabbit is bringing prosperity for the people of the Middle East, but it was not a good year for Middle East dictators, for two police states collapsed in a period of month. This is a sign of things to come.
The winds of democracy are blowing harder this year, and they will bring down once indestructible citadels. The tsunami is reaching this region, where human beings are still treated like cattle, and where people are punished for even dreaming differently from their rulers.
The scarecrows that Wahhabists and military dictators used to strike fear into their people and to rally Western support have fallen apart and these regimes are now totally naked in front of a new generation of youths that are not easily manipulated and have neither a religious agenda nor a revolutionary tone.
These people want to be free from fear and from absolutism. The ruling oligarchs in the Middle East remain stubborn in front of these events, and instead of institutionalizing changes, they are trying to circumvent the people's aspirations.
The global village and the digital world brought by new technologies have not only revolutionized the way people communicate but made it easier for cherished universal values to reach all kinds of races and appeal to all kinds of people in the world including Middle Easterners.
Regimes from Morocco to Syria are on their toes, and their obsolete advisors have run out of old magic tricks to calm the masses. The people spoke and they must be heard. People must be set free, they must freely select their representatives, and the law must be supreme.
Democracies do not engage in wars, and thus a democratic Middle East means an end to all forms of hostilities. Law and diplomacy will replace guns and wars that devastated the region for the past 60 years.
Human capital and oil resources will be directed toward building nations and not unnecessary armies. The rippling effects of democracy will increase pressures on totalitarian regimes in region including Iran.
This is also the time for Western nations to atone for their long history of supporting dictators, and stand with the masses of the Middle East who seek to live in dignity and enjoy what Westerners come to see as basic rights.
Abdelkader Zerougui, Ph.D., is an adjunct professor of sociology at American University in Washington, D.C. He can be reached at Zerouguiabdelkader@yahoo.com.