Everytime we ask an Arab president (Egypt, Syria, Algeria, Yemen, Bahrain, Tunisia, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Jordan,...) this following question: When are we going to have democracy? They tense up and snap back, "If I do what you want, the Islamic fundamentalists will seize power." OH MY, aren't they tired of this same excuse in order to legitimate their dictatorships!!!
Democracy can work in the Arab world and these Arab presidents must stop using the fundamentalists as an excuse to sit on power pour toujours. These dictators create societies deferential to authority, with a powerful state and a bureaucracy which is corrupted. These presidents created passive citizens who are meekly submitted to hierarchy. Why? Fear! Fear to die, fear to be persecuted, fear to die in jail, fear to be tortured...would turn every citizen like that!
These Arab dictator have created in fact the problem of the 'Islamic fundamentalists.' These dictators have ruled their countries for decades and they have suppressed all political activity. The one place where people can have a dialogue about politic was at the mosque. Of course, these dictators could not shut down the mosques. Therefore, the mosques became the center of political activism and discourse and religion became the language of the opposition.
In Algeria, weeks of protests forced the government to cut taxes on sugar and cooking oil, and wheat supplies increased! Thank you for the cadeau!
Jordan Abdullah II, King for 11 years / Saudi Arabia Abdullah King for 5 years / Tunisia Zine el Abidine Ben Ali President for 23 years, ousted / Bahrain Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa In power for 11 years / Morocco Mohammed VI King for 11 years / Egypt Hosni Mubarak President for 29 years / Algeria Abdelaziz Bouteflika President for 11 years / Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh In power for 32 years / Syria Bashar Assad President for 10 years
En tout cas!! I wonder how they can still sleep at night! With Ben Ali gone and Mubarak gone, who's next?
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