Expect many more
How the mighty fall. Ousted Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak appeared in court the other day to face charges. A stark contrast from calling the shots for over thirty years in a near totalitarian fashion. The erstwhile dictator was flown in from Sharm-al-Sheikh, were he has been living since his ouster, to a Cairo courtroom. He was in a defendant’s cage (the Egyptians know how to hold their trials in style and drama) on a hospital stretcher. Though it is still not clear how Mubarak will be dealt with, the symbolism of the trial alone will be therapeutic for many.
Meanwhile, it is becoming more and more evident now that the monarchs and dictators of the Middle East are still not willing to adapt to the new era. In an effort to appear with the times, they do claim to be open and willing to reform but the occasional cabinet reshuffle is their most drastic idea of restructuring. That won’t cut it anymore. The recent unrest in Syria is yet another example of the regime’s inability to understand the tectonic shifts that the Arab spring has brought about. The government forces’ bloody siege of the city of Hama in particular has attracted much condemnation.
There is also the nervousness of the Saudi authorities, who have just lumped together peaceful protestors with violent terrorists and ensures that both will face anti-terror courts. And then there is the most serious tension in Yemen, in the capital, no less. There is also a measure of satisfaction in seeing regimes that were darlings of the West being under attack as well. The royal family in Jordan is coming to realise that no amount of good press is going to translate into better situations at home.
History is but a mere account of challenges and their responses. The rulers of the Middle East could not take into account the vast demographic changes and the freer-flow of information of the present times. There is a lot that the public will not take lying down anymore. We should be thankful our own political regimes make no outdated assumptions about public here.
