<!–[if !mso]> <! st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } –>
2011-01-15 23:25
Beirut – The near-silence of Arab leaders about the popular protests that chased Tunisia‘s ex-president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power speaks volumes.
- Image via Wikipedia
People across the region have watched enthralled as street unrest forced Ben Ali to flee the North African country he has ruled for 23 years – an unprecedented spectacle in the Arab world, where authoritarian leaders can usually only be dislodged by army coup, assassination or their own mortality.
US President Barack Obama urged free and fair elections in Tunisia, a call echoed by other Western leaders – many of whom had turned a blind eye to Ben Ali’s repressive style.
But Arab capitals have largely kept quiet, apparently stunned by the seismic explosion of protest in Tunisia.
“What will worry many governments in the region is that the crisis was spontaneous and not organised,” said Henry Wilkinson of the Janusian Security Consultancy. “Events in Tunisia have shown the risk of a pressure cooker effect: if you have a system of intense suppression without addressing the causes of discontent, a crack in that system can lead to an explosion.”
A cautious statement from the Cairo-based Arab League called for Tunisia’s “political forces, representatives of Tunisian society and officials to stand together” and keep the peace. Continue reading
