Lessons from Arab Spring - Lim Sue Goan
Being described as a replica of the Tiananmen Incident, the recent bloody crackdown launched by Egyptian security forces on protesters supporting ousted president Mohamed Morsi has turned the Arab Spring into Arab Tragedy.
The Arab Spring had once ignited the flame of democracy in North Africa and West Asia while setting off an uprising movement. However, democracy requires a solid foundation and various conditions.
It must be achieved gradually or after the dictator is overthrown by the people's revolution, other careerists would take the opportunity and try to achieve their goals. As a result, political unrest continues, putting the people in deep distress.
The revolution of Arab people began in northern African country Tunisia when the people's protest overthrew the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. An anti-government wave then swept across the whole Arab world.
In the evening of 14 January 2011, Ben Ali fled with his wife to Saudi Arabia after he was ousted; Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned on 11 February 2011, after 18 days of massive protests and the political power was transferred to the military; Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown on 23 August 2011, and was killed on 20 October 2011; and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh was formally succeeded by Abd al-Rab Mansur al-Hadi on 27 February 2012 after signing the GCC power-transfer deal in which a presidential election was held.
The democratic process in Egypt over the past more than two years is enough to explain why democracy in the Arab world is a thorny path.
Egypt held a presidential election in 2012 after the revolution. Muslim Brotherhood's candidate Mohamed Morsi was elected and he made a "100-day plan" promise during his election campaign to tackle five key issues, including security vacuum and fuel shortages.
However, a year passed but no improvement could be seen. His moves to strengthen "Islamisation" and suppress the secularists have also intensified social contradiction.
On 30 June this year, the people of Egypt once again staged a protest due to to economic issues and they overthrew the democratically elected president in four days. However, the key factor behind it was, the military took the opportunity to oust Morsi for his attempt at weakening the military's power.
The US is taking an ambiguous attitude as the loss of Muslim Brotherhood is more in line with the its interests. The US is maintaining close ties with the Egyptian military and it wishes not to see a government with strong religious influence.
Unwilling to lose its power, Muslim Brotherhood staged a series of protests, including camping at the Raba'ah al- Adawiya Square. The military broke up the protests on 14 August and many were killed. The Tiananmen crackdown-like move was condemned by the US and other countries, but I believe that it would not be mentioned in the same breath with the Tiananmen Incident.
No matter how unbearable the governance of Morsi was, he was still an elected president and should not be overthrown through demonstrations and power seizing approaches.
If political parties, the military and the people do not play by the rules, it could evolve into a "bloodthirsty political culture", just like the struggle between the red shirts and the yellow shirts in Thailand.
Muslim Brotherhood has great influence throughout the country and the bloody crackdown in Cairo might lead to a civil war. Therefore, only reconciliation could restore peace in Egypt.
The political turmoil in Egypt has also brought a strong psychological impact to Malaysian Muslims, as Malaysian Islamic movements receive great influence from the Middle East. Many Malaysian students have furthered their studies in Egypt and other Middle East countries.
The Arab Spring has actually brought the world a message, that is, a true democracy can only be achieved by strengthening governance capacity, improving democratic conditions and culture, as well as separating politics from religion. – August 16, 2013.
