We know that after Ben Ali (who people say is now in the hospital after a stroke), Hosni Mubarak has stepped down (and possibly left the country) and the "Days of Rage" are on across the Middle East, and most notably in Libya, against the well-entrenched Moammar Gaddaffi, in Bahrain, against the well-entrenched royal family (who's already unleashed the troops on the protesters and managed to kill many), and despite the political moves in Yemen and Jordan, the protests are still on in those regions.
The fact is that no matter how the future of the region looks on from here, these protests, for one, have scared the hell out of the incumbents. There are dole outs galore in almost all the countries in the region, and the big, orthodox, well-established House of Saud in Saudi Arabia feels the heat too.
Bahrain's king Khalifa has brought down the wrath of his army onto the protesters, with many losing their lives. Now Obama's already talked to the king to exercise restraint. Of course, his talk was filled with the classic American crap of "universal rights" for its citizens and "meaningful reform", but one must wonder why is Obama talking to the Bahraini king and as far as I know, he didn't talk to anybody else? I think the answer lies standing on the Bahraini capital Manama's port in the form of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, America's show naval might in these oceans and seas.
One could say that this will be the second time in the near past that the American Government is facing a test of its resolve to those oft repeated democratic and human rights principles, after its refusal to shut down or relocate its military base on the Japanese island of Okinawa, despite a widespread Japanese protest against the base. In fact, the then Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Yukio Hatoyama, had to resign when he couldn't deliver on his poll promise of removing the base from there.
But lets not get into history shall we? There's too many dark corners and double standards there which will only enrage me further. But it will be interesting to see how this American dilemma plays out. Already western media has started raising the bogey of the Islamic fundamentalists taking these regions over, which they say, is a very bad thing which the US shouldn't allow to happen.
Next comes another big gun, Moammar Gaddaffi. There were reports a few days ago of protests in Libya, which is actually ensconced right in between Tunisia and Egypt, so it has been feeling the heat for a long time now! Gaddaffi was already in action when the unrest had begun, and began announcing reforms and raising salaries. From what I read in the news earlier, the protests were first not against Gaddaffi, but against the Prime Minister and his government, but somehow, rather expected I should say, they turned to the fact that Gaddaffi's been the dictator for far too long now. Already more than three dozen people have been killed in the east of the country, a region which the media reported to always have been unfriendly towards Gaddaffi.
It would be safe to say that more than a 100 protesters in the region have been killed in cold blood by the armies/police forces of these countries, and many will be killed before any normalcy returns. The west is mainly concerned about the safety of the oil flow, and I suppose it would be unfair of me to say that the rest of the world isn't, but this year will definitely be an epochal time in the region's, and world, history. Never having known what democracy is, I wonder how they will manage.
What about Iran? There are simmering tensions there, but I think i'll leave that for another post.
The fact is that no matter how the future of the region looks on from here, these protests, for one, have scared the hell out of the incumbents. There are dole outs galore in almost all the countries in the region, and the big, orthodox, well-established House of Saud in Saudi Arabia feels the heat too.
Bahrain's king Khalifa has brought down the wrath of his army onto the protesters, with many losing their lives. Now Obama's already talked to the king to exercise restraint. Of course, his talk was filled with the classic American crap of "universal rights" for its citizens and "meaningful reform", but one must wonder why is Obama talking to the Bahraini king and as far as I know, he didn't talk to anybody else? I think the answer lies standing on the Bahraini capital Manama's port in the form of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, America's show naval might in these oceans and seas.
One could say that this will be the second time in the near past that the American Government is facing a test of its resolve to those oft repeated democratic and human rights principles, after its refusal to shut down or relocate its military base on the Japanese island of Okinawa, despite a widespread Japanese protest against the base. In fact, the then Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Yukio Hatoyama, had to resign when he couldn't deliver on his poll promise of removing the base from there.
But lets not get into history shall we? There's too many dark corners and double standards there which will only enrage me further. But it will be interesting to see how this American dilemma plays out. Already western media has started raising the bogey of the Islamic fundamentalists taking these regions over, which they say, is a very bad thing which the US shouldn't allow to happen.
Next comes another big gun, Moammar Gaddaffi. There were reports a few days ago of protests in Libya, which is actually ensconced right in between Tunisia and Egypt, so it has been feeling the heat for a long time now! Gaddaffi was already in action when the unrest had begun, and began announcing reforms and raising salaries. From what I read in the news earlier, the protests were first not against Gaddaffi, but against the Prime Minister and his government, but somehow, rather expected I should say, they turned to the fact that Gaddaffi's been the dictator for far too long now. Already more than three dozen people have been killed in the east of the country, a region which the media reported to always have been unfriendly towards Gaddaffi.
It would be safe to say that more than a 100 protesters in the region have been killed in cold blood by the armies/police forces of these countries, and many will be killed before any normalcy returns. The west is mainly concerned about the safety of the oil flow, and I suppose it would be unfair of me to say that the rest of the world isn't, but this year will definitely be an epochal time in the region's, and world, history. Never having known what democracy is, I wonder how they will manage.
What about Iran? There are simmering tensions there, but I think i'll leave that for another post.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are welcome!