The Arab region is witnessing a new wave of change that might bring back the region's unique economic, social and political features. is it in their nature to change or will they resolve to follow their instinct and surrender.
Qatar played an important role in this change. The Al Jazeera news station has supported the will of the people despite the accusations against Qatar from some remnants of corrupt Arab regimes. Qatar also has lost one of its citizens for the liberation of Libya, Ali Al-Jaber of Al Jazeera. During the sixth Al Jazeera Forum (the Arab World in Transition: Has the Future Arrived) Sheikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al-Thani, Member of the Board of Directors of Nada Centre for Special Needs, and Deputy Chairman of Shafallah, greeted Egypt's youth and said: "I wanted to go to Al Tahrir Square to join Egypt's youth but I was afraid that the role of Qatar would be misunderstood." The Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions have succeeded in achieving their primary goal: overthrowing the regime, which had a Doppler effect in the region, touching different countries in different manners, depending on what stage of frustration or readiness they are in.
But how is the future of the Arab region shaping up after that? How can the rebuilding be done? And what are the risks and potential challenges?
Qatar Today met with a group of young activists who contributed to the change. The activist Islam Lutfi Shalabi, a member of the 25 January Revolution Coalition in Egypt, says, "We are trying to achieve a certain kind of brotherhood in the region, but in a critically different way from the old vision of Arab brotherhood. For example, we don't want visa restrictions between the countries, and we want to empower the Arab common market, trade and agricultural cooperation between the various countries so they can come together for development as we did for a revolution."
He stressed the importance of Qatar's role in support of this Arab Revolt, and the extent of its support for Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. "We, the youth, will step back to give the professional politicians the opportunity to run the country, but if they fail we will remove them as we have done with their predecessors."
Islam also calls for strengthening economic ties between Arab nations. Asmaa Mahfouz, a member of the Revolution Coalition in Egypt, says the next step would be about empowering the citizens to address issues facing them. She wished to set up the Union of Arab Rebellions intimating that they would adopt the slogan 'Heads up, you are an Arab'.
"The National Party (the party of the former regime) set up a committee working through the Internet, as a counter-revolution against the Egyptian evolution, but we are confronting them. Over the coming months we need strong media and further support from Al Jazeera to face these attempts," she maintained.
Ahmed Maher, one of the main founders of the April 6 Movement and a member of the Revolution Coalition in Egypt, said, "The role of the youth is to monitor and neutralise any attempts to repress the demands of the revolution, most importantly democracy and freedom. If the next regime doesn't achieve the demands of the revolution, we can overthrow it as well."
We met Sara Alaa, 21, one of the members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who spoke about Islamic governance. "We do not want to be like the Saudi or Iranian models, but we want the presence of Islam and universal ideals such as freedom, democracy, justice and human rights. Once those values are in place, we will have good governance. The real purpose of Islam is to suit all sects of society for a civil, not religious, state."
When asked about her plans and future projects, she expressed her desire to focus on teaching children the values of freedom, dignity and democracy, as well as organising camps and meetings for them on a wider scale as the former regime discouraged any group activity. Lina bin Mehdi was a participant in the Tunisian Revolution - an activist and political blogger who had been chosen after the revolution as a member of the National Authority of Information and Communication. She said, "There are several concerns regarding the Tunisian Revolution being overtaken by the remnants of the former regime and some political parties in addition to the Islamic movement."
Regarding what the Tunisian youth are doing at this stage, she said: "Many young people are creating civil society associations and are pressing on the government either on the ground or through the Internet." Buthaina Kazim of UAE, a blogger, said, "My concern now is to activate the role of civil society, the new media and the role of young people. We also support Arab revolutions through online social networking. We in the UAE do not need a revolution, but we have some demands for reform, such as strengthening our democracy through elections of the National Council."
Former President of Brazil shares his country's experience in Qatar.
Former Brazilian President Lula da Silva, attended the forum, and stressed that peoples' democratic aspirations will always prevail. "Democracy is not just talk; it is a very difficult construction that demands the participation of all," he argued.
He continued to say that the changes in the Arab region can be understood in the context of the world's need for more freedom and equality in development, and that the world is going towards new global governance. Da Silva urged the countries of the region not to consider their detractors as enemies, but as an expression of the aspirations of its citizens, and he described what was happening as an "exceptional moment". Da Silva mentioned Brazil and other Latin American countries as an example of where people were able - after great sacrifices - to establish democratic regimes that could in turn stimulate economic and social development. "The Brazilian model can help the Arab world," he continued. He called for reform of international institutions so as to establish a global system that's not controlled by just a single state.
Turkish Foreign Minister calls for construction
Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, when speaking about the conditions for building democratic regimes in the Arab world said, "It is time for change and the formation of a regional regime and another one that's global. Both should be based on cooperation and the promotion of human values such as justice, dignity, respect for the will of the people and equal development."
"There is an urgent need for change, and this ongoing spontaneous movement is a genuine historical expression, albeit a little late," he added He stressed the time had come for political reconstruction in the region and called on the existing regimes to understand the logic of change and to embrace it. Warning about the risks surrounding the ongoing transformation in Libya and Yemen, and the fear of division, he maintained: "The transition process should be led by forces representing the will of the people without outside interference; it should be done without violence and in a way that ensures the survival of state institutions."
The Turkish Foreign Minister stated that the region has all the elements of economic, social and political power to become a stable, international and cultural hub.
He said that there has to be more political and intellectual dialogue to formulate a common vision that allows the region to move to that kind of situation, but it requires a new economic and cultural system. Davutoglu said that the region can contribute to a new economic world order, provided that the youth contribute significantly in transition.
Winds of change
The President of the Tunisian Conference for the Republic, Moncef Al-Marzouki,
expressed his confidence that the ongoing transformations would lead to the birth of the real citizens and promote the concept of an Arab nation.
"This revolution by the public - in the Arab region - will give birth to a nation where the people will unite, and the Arab Union is approaching day by day," he added.
Dr Heinrich Krift, Special Representative for Dialogue among Civilizations at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany pointed out that "it's a big step forward to create a new future, and we in Europe are very interested in what is happening and hope it gives a dynamic boost to the economy of the Arab world. We are very interested in change and economic development for more partnerships and economic ties between us and the Arab world."
Differences among the Arab tsunami waves
The revolution model in Tunisia and Egypt may not apply to all the Arab countries. In Jordan there is a near consensus among all political forces - and people from various walks of life - to achieve the theme of "reform" and the fight against corruption and tyranny.
There is a call for deep constitutional amendments to achieve the principle of people power and to have a constitutional monarchy that owns but doesn't govern. This is required in Jordan and there will be a big movement towards the achievement of these demands, according to Al-Kefahi.
Concerns and risks that may threaten the revolution
Regarding the risks that threaten the revolution, the Arab thinker, writer and editor of Al Quds newspaper, Abdel Bari Atwan, said "The concerns are in the counter-revolution from the remnants of previous regimes; the West's attempts to contain these revolutions and take advantage of the element of time to control them."
He said the military intervention against Libya is vandalism, an abortion of the Libyan Revolution and a cause of frustration for revolutions in other countries. The greatest risk for these revolutions is foreign intervention, so the Arab states should support these revolutions internally with money, weapons and volunteers if possible.
Regarding the future of these revolutions and its protection, Atwan said that economic factors play an important role. We need an Arab, not just Gulf "Marshall Plan" as happened with Oman and Bahrain. The Gulf States should allocate funds for the Arab States to be able to stand up and attain economic recovery. Atwan also called on the Arab immigrant competencies and experiences in the West to return to their countries to contribute to reconstruction and development.
"We should stay away from political ideologies, adopt a liberal unionist approach and focus on justice, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary," he said. Al-Marzouki said that "there are still remnants of the former Tunisian dictatorial regime and there is no political security yet. We know for every revolution there is a counter-revolution, so we have to continue the momentum and pressure to achieve all of our objectives, such as what happened with the previous governments and the removal of Prime Minister Mohamed Al- Ghannouchi."
He also described the position of the West - and France in particular - regarding the revolution in Tunisia as "a negative attitude". For the success of the revolution in Tunisia, Al-Marzouki called Europe and the West to postpone debt repayments for a specific period until the Tunisian economy recovers, in addition to repatriation of the Tunisian monies frozen in Western banks boost their economy. Dr Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary- General of the Palestinian Initiative, speaking to Qatar Today, said "The Arab Revolt is still in its infancy and there are revolutions that have not yet succeeded, such as Yemen and Libya. The most important thing is the imposition and consolidation of democracy as a political system, because the revolution can only be protected by democracy, and there is always the fear of counter-revolution."
Jordanian politician, Mustafa Hamarneh, thinks that the constant pressure of the Arab peoples on the political elite, like what is happening in Tunisia and Egypt, might be a guarantee to move to the desired situation. He stressed that the success of the revolution in Egypt would place a lot of pressure on existing Arab dictatorships.© Qatar Today 2011
