The overthrow of President Ben Ali of Tunisia is being hailed as a potential precursor to similar revolts against repressive regimes elsewhere in the Arab world. Democracy enthusiasts dream of falling dominos throughout the Middle East comparable to the cascade of apparently impregnable dictatorships in eastern Europe and eventually the Soviet Union between 1989-92.
Certainly some elements of Tunisia's so-called Jasmine Revolution parallel other upheavals. Mohammed Bouazizi, the street vendor who set himself on fire, became a symbol of heroism not unlike the Rev. Laszlo Tokes in Romania whose resistance to Nicolae Ceauseascu's venality inspired thousands to take to the streets in 1989. And the Tunisian protesters, unlike those in Iron Curtain countries, had the benefit of social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook with which to rally supporters.
But massive Tweeting and consequent street demonstrations in Iran in 2009, coupled though they were with enthusiasm for opposition politician Mir Hossein Mousavi, were not sufficient to rid the country of either its autocratic president or its theocratic state. Moreover, despite widespread protests over recent stolen elections, Alexander Lukashenko remains very much in power in Belarus as does Laurent Gbagbo in Cote d'Ivoire.
The truth is that no one knows for sure what makes for success when it comes to explosions of popular outrage. Before the revolution, Tunisia boasted both a well-educated populace and a small but courageous civil society with wide access to new communication technologies. The addition of economic stress and resentment at the luxuries garnered by the president's family through corruption made for a lethal mix. (How ironic that that corruption was largely revealed through WikiLeaks which, having intended to give the heartburn to the US, one of the most open countries in the world, contributed instead to the downfall of one of the least open.) When the military refused to protected Ben Ali, his fate was sealed. But this combination of conditions is not easily duplicated elsewhere and many of them are not within the control of those who would promote democracy.
So what should we democracy and human rights activists do to encourage positive change in repressive regimes around the world? Like the old Boy Scout slogan, we should "Be Prepared!" We should encourage the widespread availability of social networking tools and training in nonviolent strategies of social change. We should never abandon civil society when it is under threat and ensure that our own governments don't either. We should push Western governments to reexamine their ties to repressive regimes. (The US will inevitably pay a price in post-Ben Ali Tunisia for its war-on-terror-inspired alliance with Tunis.) And we should be models of civility worth emulating in the conduct of our own democracy. In this sense whether the Americans heed President Obama's eloquent words in Tucson has implications well beyond our shores.
The Jasmine Revolution may or may not have staying power. (Ask most Ukrainians whether they are happy today with the results of their 2004 Orange Revolution!) But it has underscored the message that under the right circumstances people can indeed determine their own destinies. That ought at least to give pause to autocrats from Beijing to Cairo and put at least a momentary smile on the faces of all those who care about freedom.
William F. Schulz is President of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and former Executive Director of Amnesty International USA.
Wait, don't let the spring, the clearness of the sky and the shine of the morning light fool you ...
Because the darkness, the thunder's rumble and the blowing of the wind are coming toward you
from the horizon
Beware because there is a fire underneath the ash
Most of the widespread corruptions of the ruling family was long revealed by such French books as "La Regente de Carthage" (published last year) and many other online articles/blogs, that were banned in Tunisia, many of these were published since 2002.
Even Facebook had many of its pages/groupes inaccessible in Tunisia, which prompted the intelligent young Tunisians to resort to several proxies software to gain access.
There were widespread report that the Tunisian Government had hacked into many Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Yahoo accounts of Tunisian activists, yet in the end, They were invincible and they successfully overthrew their dictator and forced him in exile.
Now hopefully they would be able to extradite him (and the crooks in his family) and put them in jail for the rest of their life.
"Revolution Until Victory” (the old Palestinian battle cry) - from a demonstration outside the Tunisian embassy in Cairo congratulated the intifada. “Revolution in Egypt!”
The original Arab revolution is the decades-long Palestinian Intifada that has finally overthrown the rigged Israeli-American charade called the 'peace process' and is now setting it's sights on overthrowing the Israeli Apartheid occupation of Palestine - and the 1979 Iranian Revolution that overthrew the American-puppet in Iran
It's time for the American supported Israeli despot Netanayahu to be overthrown along with the whole Israeli Apartheid regime as well
http://pulsemedia.org/2011/01/15/this-is-what-victory-looks-like/
The Western clients in particular are in trouble. Saudi-owned media coverage of Tunisia makes their fear plain. Over the last weeks Algeria has seen demonstrations and riots. Yesterday thousands marched against economic conditions in Jordan. Tonight a demonstration outside the Tunisian embassy in Cairo congratulated the intifada, and chanted “Revolution Until Victory” (the old Palestinian battle cry),
Tunisia's Nervous Neighbors
Events in Tunisia are being closely watched across the Arab world, by both political leaders and citizens. While many people have been celebrating, leaders may be nervously wondering what happens next http://www.newslook.com/videos/283858-tunisia-s-nervous-neighbors?autoplay=true