The Peninsula Newspaper
Wednesday, 26 January 2011 02:40
Like most, I could not believe my eyes when I saw the signs on the screen of the BBC World news channel, held by marching demonstrators in the streets demanding freedom, justice, and democracy, with raised pictures of Che Guevara. I thought it might be a Latin American country, however, when I looked more carefully I saw that the slogans were in English, French, and the most notable were in classical Arabic. I realized then that the clock was ticking in Tunisia, ringing in the date of change in the region.
The question is: why did the people wait all of these long, dark decades? And how much time will it take for others to follow suit? How many more innocent people, will we lose? And who will hold the keys to power – will it be those in a military uniform, religious cloak, French suit, or shirt of democracy?
Does the scene really need a deep psychological or anthropological study? How could the “children of the streets”, the name designated to some of the demonstrators, manage, in the matter of a few days, to change the comprehensive system that continued for half a century after independence and the imposition of the principle of inherited power and centralism? What happened to the iron grip of the deadly security and intelligence groups who project fear, defeatism, and refraction?
Maybe all it takes is nothing more than a psychological barrier that was broken; there are only so many people that prisons and detention centers can absorb. I wonder if the young, unemployed university student who set himself on fire in Sidi Bouzid despite all of the religious edicts, and political pressure condemning and cursing the act, knew that it would ignite change across the region.
Tunisia’s uprising, with all of its repercussions, has made every Muslim and Arab rethink everything we thought we knew.
One week of almost daily statements taught us how to think about those who are at the top and the extent of the gap separating them from those at the bottom. After 23 years, those at the top finally acknowledged that the status quo was unacceptable; that everything was not okay. After two decades, they started begging for people to forgive them for sacrificing those around them and eradicating them all, just to remain in power to the end of a mandate won by fraud. In order to continue in their quest for power, they presented themselves as a gateway to the West, like a steel, thick wall in the face of Islamists from taking power, a means to combat terrorism. They understood the message much too late with long-overdue contracts of repression, torture, and confiscation of rights.
Observers agree that the failure of the Tunisian model is that it bet on economic progress at the expense of democracy, the provision of public liberties, freedom of the press, and dignity of citizens. It is a message addressed to all Arab regimes without any exceptions highlighting the need to take lessons from the results of imposing a single opinion, only one form of thought, and a single dominant party. Even if security grips citizens, people’s patience has its limits and will explode one day.
The infamous WikiLeaks was ever present in the Tunisian crisis, and resulted in the blocking of hundreds of websites by intelligence services. The leaked cables have revealed reports that the system no longer accepted internal or external advice and did not apply international recommendations for minimum levels of reform. WikiLeaks documents note that the Tunisian system refused to debate the issue of presidential succession of its aging leader who had not selected an heir or deputy to rule the country’s political and economic struggles, thereby triggering long-term security risks. As a result, he surrounded himself with a mafia of extended relatives, advisers, generals, and businessmen, representing the state’s corruption and suppressed opposition.
The former president’s wife played a big role in the consolidation of the dictatorial regime which assaulted the ownership of several companies and successful economic projects, planting several political and security watchdogs in top positions. Additionally, she monopolized political decisions and took on authority when the former president was absent from the political scene due to bouts of his mysterious disease, which the media has not leaked any details about. Isn’t this scenario very similar to other Arab countries?
The crisis was a severe test to Arab news channels without exception, which tried to hold the stick from the middle and tracked events without manufactured and manipulating the winner of the battle by carefully editing the story. Instead, the Tunisian situation turned everything upside down and imposed a different reality in Arab media. Unfortunately, Arab media is disappointing at the time of true tests and its biases are easily revealed despite the clichés and catchy slogans claiming objectivity.
Destiny favoured the Tunisian people who wanted to live. They deserve to be proud for being able to impose change without the help of internal or external forces. Arab countries will never be the same again.
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