The future of the Arab Spring: Islam, Islamism, growing paranoia and future prospects – Part II

English: Map showing the territorial four main races/ethnicities/colors of South Africa in 1979: Whites, Coloureds, Blacks and Indians. The gray areas indicate the Apartheid-era Bantustans, which are almost exclusively black. This map is a photoshopped version of the CIA-made original map at Perry Castañeda map collection at the University of Texas website. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Written by Raeesah Cassim Cachalia (1)

Part I of this discussion explored the paranoia around the growth of political Islam after the Arab Spring. The discussion explained many of the issues involving Islam and Islamophobia and where these issues stem from. Continuing from this, part II briefly examines democracy as well as the Islamic state and explains why democracy, as we know it today, should not be the only option considered for regime change in Arab Spring nations.

The flaws and fallacies of democracy

Democracy needs to be evaluated as more than a theoretical ideal but in light of its implementation and track record as well. This is because freedom and justice, among the other values which democracy is meant to entail, do not merely exist in the right to vote or in the existence of a peoples’ constitution. Democracy, at its core, is a system meant for the benefit of the masses. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu said: “…freedom translates into having a supply of clean water, having electricity on tap; being  able to live in a decent home and have a good job; to be able to send your children to school and to have accessible health care. I mean, what’s the point of having made this transition [to democracy] if the quality of life of these people is not enhanced and improved? If not, the vote is useless.”(2) South Africa, despite having come a long way from its Apartheid past, is an example of the distance between democracy in theory and practice.

The past six months have seen a number of South African citizens worked up into a frenzy over Government attempts to impose toll tariffs for the use of major public roads. Government claims the tariff is necessary to cover a large ZAR 20 billion (US$ 2.6 billion) debt accrued for various road projects. In considering why the regular national budget does not cover such expenses, many angrily point to Government corruption along with gross wastage of state expenditure by South African politicians. To name but one example, that of former Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sicelo Shiceka, we may look at the following official findings regarding the former Minister’s expenditure of state, and thus taxpayers, money in 2011 (keeping in mind that poverty rates are as high as 64% in parts of South Africa with these parts of the population living on less than ZAR 10 (US$ 1) a day):

• ZAR 546,864 (US$ 71,687) for a personal trip to Switzerland under the pretence of official Government work.
• ZAR 640,000 (US$ 83,920) in one year spent by the Minister and his immediate staff on one of South Africa’s most costly hotels.
• ZAR 55,793 (US$ 7,300) for a one night stay for the Minister and a private acquaintance in the same hotel.
• ZAR 160,000 (US$ 20,975) in eight months for flights for the Minister’s family members (including an “estranged wife and current girlfriend”).(3)

South Africa may be a relatively new democracy, but even established democracies indicate the illusions of this system.

Gulf of Aden Security Review – June 12, 2012

Jaar-sm (Photo credit: Julian Stallabrass)

Yemen: Yemen military recaptures Jaar and Zinjibar; interview with AQAP military spokesman features details on May 21 suicide attack, battle for Abyan; findings from May 21 suicide attack in Sana’a to be released next week

Horn of Africa: TFG, Kenyan troops clash with al Shabaab near Qoqani; al Shabaab recaptures Mahas from Ahlu Sunna and Ethiopian forces; al Shabaab arrests four people in Elbur; Somali peacemaker in Beledweyne assassinated; Kenya asks for financial assistance from U.S. ahead of assault on al Shabaab’s stronghold in Kismayo; newly trained TFG soldiers arrive to Beledweyne

Yemen Security Brief

• Yemen’s commander of the southern military zone General Salem Qatan reported that the former Ansar al Sharia strongholds of Zinjibar and Jaar in Abyan governorate have been “completely cleansed.” The Yemeni Defense Ministry said that the Yemeni military, backed by armed tribesmen, entered Zinjibar and Jaar where they clashed with Ansar al Sharia militants. At least 20 militants, four soldiers, and two civilians were killed in the attack. Twenty more Yemeni soldiers were also injured. The Defense Ministry added that between 200 and 300 Ansar al Sharia militants, including foreign fighters, fled from Jaar, Zinjibar, and Shaqra. Residents in Jaar reported that militants left behind flyers stating that Ansar al Sharia did not want to “cause any harm to Jaar and its inhabitants.” Additionally, the Yemeni Navy reportedly sunk 10 boats carrying Ansar al Sharia militants.[1]

• In an interview with al Quds al Arabi released on June 12, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s (AQAP) military commander Qasim al Raymi provided details on Sana’a’s May 21 suicide attack. When asked why AQAP targeted Yemeni troops when it claims it is at war with the U.S., Raymi explained that the attack was in retaliation for the Yemeni President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s campaign against militants in Abyan and demonstrates AQAP’s ability to “bring the attack to them.” He added that the battle for Abyan will continue for years.[2]

• Yemeni Interior Minister Abdul Qadir Qahtan announced on June 11 that the findings from the investigation of the May 21 Sana’a suicide bombing will be released next week. The attack claimed by AQAP killed over 100 Yemeni soldiers.[3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Local residents reported that Transitional Federal Government (TFG) soldiers, backed by Kenyan troops, clashed with al Shabaab militants near Qoqani in Lower Jubba region. Reports on casualties and injuries have yet to surface.[4]

• Al Shabaab militants recaptured the town of Mahas in Hiraan region on June 11, reported locals. TFG and Ahlu Sunna wa al Jama’a forces withdrew before al Shabaab fighters arrived. Ahlu Sunna official Saney Mohamud Farah stated that the town fell to the militants due to the increased pressure felt from the growing presence of al Shabaab militants on the outskirts of Mahas.[5]

Yemen Crisis Situation Reports: Update 140

Yemeni officials claim that security forces have made significant gains against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s (AQAP) insurgent arm, Ansar al Sharia, in south Yemen. The insurgency began quietly last March, and by early summer, Ansar al Sharia threatened the port city of Aden. Regaining control over the territory held by Ansar al Sharia will begin to reduce AQAP’s sanctuary in Yemen.

Yemen claims to have recaptured territory in and around Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan governorate, after weeks of intense fighting. Mohammed Albasha, Yemen’s embassy spokesman in Washington D.C., announced in an emailed statement that the army entered the center of Jaar, north of Zinjibar, this morning, and that troops have control of the Governor’s mansion in Zinjibar. The mansion appeared last spring in militant footage documenting Ansar al Sharia’s seizure of Zinjibar. Yemeni troops have been positioned in Abyan and Shabwah governorates to pursue Ansar al Sharia militants and are set to begin an operation to secure ‘Azzan in Shabwah, a militant stronghold. The commander of Yemen’s southern military zone Major General Salem Ali Qatan claimed that Ansar al Sharia suffered “heavy losses” while only four Yemeni soldiers were killed. Control of Zinjibar and Jaar will give the Yemeni military control over the main artery into Aden.

The Republican Guard’s 3rd Armored Brigade accepted the appointment of a new commander after a two-month standoff. Yemeni President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi appointed Brigadier General Abdul Rahman Abdullah al Halili commander of the brigade on April 6, replacing Brigadier General Mohammed Qaid Saleh al Hathifi.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claimed credit for two suicide attacks on al Houthi targets. A suicide car bombing in Hazm, the capital of al Jawf governorate, reportedly killed 13 supporters of the al Houthi movement on May 25. The al Houthis also reported a failed suicide bombing in Sa’ada city the same day. Clashes between al Houthi rebels and Salafist fighters broke out June 3 in Sa’ada’s Kataf district, killing over thirty people. Separately, the al Houthis have announced that they will participate in Yemen’s upcoming National Dialogue.