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02 March 2011 By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid Tunisian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi
resigned yesterday, saying that he could not bear the
pressure and difficult circumstances anymore. Only 41
days have passed since Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled
Tunisia, and the interim Prime Minister has failed to
carry out his job. He was tasked with administering
the country's affairs, until genuine, free and fair
elections could take place. Protestors returned to the
streets, resuming confrontations that resulted in
deaths and injuries. The situation in Egypt also one
of concern, as 18 days have passed since the overthrow
of Mubarak, and again masses have returned to Tahrir
Square in Cairo, to stage demonstrations and protests.
They are disputing over what should be done from now
until the proposed election date in six months. Will
the Egyptian revolutionaries be patient enough to wait
until this date, or will the masses explode once
again, in the event of ongoing disagreements over
numerous issues? Libya is currently experiencing the most difficult
and bloodiest of all three revolutions. For the past
two weeks, the country has been in a state of war,
with thousands of victims. It seems that despite their resounding success on
the ground, and the speed of their victories,
protestors are unable to temporarily agree on a rule
mechanism, or decide upon an interim leadership. It is
clear that the common denominator between the three
revolutions is a desire to overthrow the existing
regime. Sometimes the price of this is extremely
expensive, as in Libya, which continues to bleed, but
still the revolutionaries are experiencing
disagreements. They lack a ready alternative to lead
the political scene, which would enable them to ward
off the risks of a political vacuum, and the potential
disputes over rule. In Libya, the situation is
extremely urgent because the formation of a leadership
system accepted by all opposition forces, and the
youths on the ground, would enable such parties to
settle the war more quickly in their favor. The world,
specifically the Security Council, has finally sided
with the Libyan people, and is now ready to back them
and settle the battle, by means of direct or indirect
intervention, albeit once a unified alternative
leadership is available. Arguably the most respected character in the Libyan
political scene is Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, the resigned
Minister of Justice, who supported the protestors and
the revolution, and took it upon himself to expedite
the announcement of an interim government, with the
consent of the revolutionary forces around him.
However, the surprise was that his government was
rejected by the opposition only a few hours after it
was declared, having been described as a
one-dimensional proposal. Consequently, an opportunity
to form a cohesive entity to deal with the
international community was missed. The Libyan
situation remains hazy and extremely dangerous,
something which has prompted Saif al-Islam Gaddafi to
say: Look…they may have seized control of Benghazi,
but they are fighting over its management. Because Egypt was smoother, more streamlined, and
more disciplined in handling the overthrow of
President Hosni Mubarak, and because it is the largest
and most influential Arab state, thus something of a
role model, whether positively or negatively, it was
predicted that, by now, the country would have
overcome its dangerous stage. People believed that the
train of transition would now be travelling on firm
and solid rails, but this is not the case. Last
Friday, and in the days that followed, Tahrir Square
was crowded with angry, protesting masses, in what
seemed to be a second revolution, thus causing the
army to cut off electricity in the Square. However,
cutting off electricity will not hide the problem.
Does the problem lie in the unrealistic ambitions of
the revolutionaries, who seem to be in a hurry? Or is
the problem that the Mubarak rule has fallen, but his
regime continues to dominate the political scene? If,
by summer, disagreements continue to persist, Egypt
will be in real danger, and all gains may then be at
risk. In order not to forget, we should ask ourselves:
What are these prospected gains? There must be a popular democratic system that does
not exclude anyone, and ensures stability and
continuity for Egypt, as is the case with developed
countries all over the world. Unfortunately, these are
promises which the revolutionaries and the regime seem
to be unable to focus on, and instead are wasting
their time disputing details of the past era.
Tunisia's case is similar to Egypt, where tensions are
continuing in a more violent manner. There, the
situation may end up with a security or military
system of rule, similar to that of Algeria, and this
could last for the next ten years. Al Rashed is the general manager of Al -Arabiya television. He is also the
former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al- Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly
magazine, Al Majalla. He is also a senior Columnist in the daily newspapers of
Al Madina and Al Bilad. He is a US post-graduate degree in mass communications.
He has been a guest on many TV current affairs programs. He is currently based
in Dubai. |