Democracy in Egypt and Libya - Essay Example

Teacher: Democracy in Egypt and Libya Two major Arab nations in West Africa are going through the period of swift revolution. Both the nations showed great determination to over throw their corrupt and self-serving rulers. Tunisia’s Zeinil Abedin Ben Ali, with the help of his own and his wife’s relatives did corruption and finally ran away (Pratt, 2007). Likewise Egypt’s president Hosni Mobarak ruled the country for over thirty years with corruption. People of Egypt started strong protests against the government and finally forced Hosni Mobarak to quit government. It is estimated that Hosni Mobarak accumulated about US$40 billion through corruption (Kassem, 2004). Many demonstrators suffered injuries during their protests at Tahrir Square specially. Strong Egyptian army was present in the streets but army chief promised security to his own countrymen. Finally Hosni Mobarak changed his stance and left the presidency. Therefore, people of Egypt finally managed to get rid of a dictator and live their lives as per their own will. Unrest in Middle East spread to Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Yemen and now Libya is under fire. Now the world is focusing on the unrest in Libya. Anti government protesters have shown a lot of aggression against the Qadhafi’s government and are continuously exerting the pressure to topple Qadhafi’s government. Protestors set fire to the parliament building in Tripoli, seriously challenging the Qadhafi’s rule (Saikal and Schnabel, 2003). Libya is one of the largest oil producers in the region. Libya almost produces more than 1.6 million barrels of oil per day. Unrest in Libya can seriously affect the oil prices and global economy also. Unrest in Libya caused death of thousands of people (Pratt, 2007). Qadhafi’s ordered agencies to open fire on the protester that resulted in death of thousands of citizens. Libya is unable to provide protection to their own people. Egypt witnessed the largest protests in last few months. Protestors demanded the resignation of President Hosni Mobarak who ruled the country for more than 30 years (Saikal and Schnabel, 2003). Tahrir square of the capital was the main gathering point for protests. Protesters were not agreed on any incentive less then resignation of the president Hosni Mobarak. This stance of protesters was clear to Mobarak but even than he refused to quit before the elections of coming September. After seeing the state of turmoil in the country, complete cabinet was changed and new ministers were announced but public said that they would only be satisfied when president Mobarak resigns. Tens of thousands of protesters continuously demanded for an end to corruption, deprivation and lawlessness in the country (Kassem, 2004). Army was employed in the streets of Cairo with heavy tanks and other weapon systems. Army allowed protestors to continue protests against the government as this was their legal right. Hosni Mobarak addressed the nation on television before the million march and delivered very inflammatory speech and also pledged reforms in different parts of life (Kassem, 2004). However, on the next day more than a million people again took part in the protests and demanded resignation of Mobarak. This was the first time when people of the Muslim nations stood for their rights of self determination against a dictator who ruined the life of people through corruption and cruelty. Success of protests and end of Mobarak rule in Egypt is most likely to encourage people of other Muslim nations in mid east to take daring steps against their rulers. Increasing numbers of demonstrations in Egypt cause many injuries to people but deaths were surprisingly very less (Pratt, 2007). Army did not take stern actions against the demonstrators. Army chief denied the use of force against its own citizens. This act of army really gave confidence to people to take active part in the protests and express their views about the government. There were incidents of throwing acid and stones on the protesters at “Liberation” square by the police and national guards but involvement of army kept the death rate very low. Curfew was enforced by the army in Cairo, public also violated the curfew frequently but even than no major clash was seen between the public and the army (Pratt, 2007). Egypt has always been a strong US ally because US is continuously giving 1.5 billion dollars annually (Saikal and Schnabel, 2003). Egypt is also the main US ally in Mid-East on American policies and also is the major support on war against terror in the region. That is why Mobarak government has always supported the American instance on Mid- East Asian affairs. Egypt has also supported the US- Israel relations. Hosni Mobarak has always supported US policies in the region which ultimately provoked the nation (Kassem, 2004). It is well said and analyzed that if you have to introduce reforms than introduce them before than it’s too late. Mobarak accumulated around 40 billion US dollars as his personal money. This act spread a lot of deprivation and sense of insecurity among the people. When such situation arises than people are liable to take actions against the government and same have been done by the people of Egypt. Finally they succeeded in their efforts and managed to force Mobarak for resignation. Army took the control of the government after Mobarak’s resignation. Army chief announced the election of new president in October 2011. Wave of anti government protest entered Libya from Mid-East. Situations in Libya were changed than situation in Egypt in many aspects. Qadhafi is ruling Libya for the last few decades. Protests started in complete Libya for toppling the Qadhafi’s government in March 2011. Qadhafi also refused to resign from his post despite severe criticism by the people of Libya. A worthwhile army is ready to enforce will of Moammar Qadhafi on the innocent people of Libya. Protesters started to get angrier on Qadhafi’s policies in Libya. Qadhafi’s government ordered to open fire on the protesters in Tripoli. This is the worst action, which a ruler can take against his people. Thousands of people have been killed in clashes between army and demonstrators in the country (Eljahmi, 2006). This gave an opportunity to NATO to operate against the Qadhafi’s forces to protect the Libyan nation. As a first step, NATO carried out air raids on the army installation and logistic sites to break the supply line (Eljahmi, 2006). NATO remained successful in destroying the air defence system of Qadhafi’s forces. NATO is also trying to establish “no fly” zone over Libya. This will help NATO to carryout air and ground operations with more security. US is also looking forward to give weapons to anti Qadhafi element. Clashes can be more severe in shape and magnitude if protesters are given arms by the US. This will indulge Libyan nation in more bloodshed. Libya is an oil rich country which is main cause of NATO presence in the region. Libya also quitted its nuclear program in 2003 to avoid any aggression by the US. Libya was secretly working on its nuclear program for the last fifteen years but it was abandoned under US pressure. Qadhafi’s army is also likely to get continuous oil supply along the coast road to attack Binghazi (Eljahmi, 2006). Unrest in Libya will cause more damage to the economy of country and to economy of world as well. Shortage of oil supply will affect the oil price worldwide. This is the right time for Moammar Qadhafi to quit ruling Libya and handover the power to avoid more bloodshed. Qadhafi should resign in the national interest because ultimately his nation is going to suffer the damage. Qadhafi should try to protect people from getting off balance from the track of progress. Qadhafi has not taken any remedial measures so far to control the situation and maintain peace in the country (Eljahmi, 2006). He must give the right of self-determination to the people of Libya to choose their leaders for better tomorrow. This is the only good that he can do to the nation in present circumstances. His own army is firing bullets at their own citizens which is criminal. Egypt also faced the same situation but army controlled the situation and did not open uncontrolled fire at the people. Because this is not the right way to suppress protests. Now Qadhafi’s army is slowly loosing the control over the country and they have been pushed back at number of places. Qadhafi’s government is still trying to regain control over the lost area but it may not be practically possible now. The day is not far away when Libyan people will also get rid of Qadhafi as Egypt got from Mobarak. Egypt and Libya are almost faced with the same situation. However, the army in Egypt better handled situation. Libya faced angry protests by the people but Qadhafi refused to accept public demand. Protesters were fired upon by their own army, which further deteriorated the situation. Both the governments should have accepted the public demand to avoid the clashes. Timely introduction of reforms, economic activities and job opportunities are the measures that every ruler must adopt to avert the anti government protests (Pratt, 2007). The fire of revolution is spreading fast toward other countries in the region. People of different nations are getting hopes to get ideal time for protests. This may endanger the stability of other nations like Pakistan, Iran and Lebanon. Works Cited Eljahmi, Mohamed. (2006). Libya and the US: Qadhafi Unrepentant. Middle East Quarterly 13 (1). pp. 11-20. Kassem, Maye. (2004). Egyptian Politics: The Dynamics of Authoritarian Rule. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Pratt, N. (2007). Democracy and Authoritarianism in the Arab World. London: Lynne Rienner Publishers.  Saikal, Amin and Schnabel, Albrecht. (2003). Democratization in the Middle East. New York: United Nations University Press. Read More