First it was Tunisia. Today it was Egypt, where the government insisted that they absolutely were not the next Tunisia. Clearly, they were wrong. But who is next? There are plenty of bets on that, and plenty of governments insisting that it won’t be them.
The possibilities literally span the entire Muslim world. From Morocco in the far west of Africa to the US-backed government in Pakistan, people are riled up and their rulers are insisting that their situations, with an angry population seeking more freedom and less unemployment, is somehow so different from the situation everywhere else that the comparison is ridiculous.
There are some obvious situations, as in Sudan or Yemen, where the opposition to the president-for-life model is pretty straightforward. But even in nations with fairly recent regime changes like Pakistan and Iraq, the hope for change is palpable.
Indeed, there seems to be a sense of jealousy in Baghdad, which saw massive deaths and a US occupation as their path toward regime change, and is now watching Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki consolidate power at an alarming rate. Though analysts say it is unlikely Iraqis will take to the streets (particularly with 50,000 US troops still on hand to prop up Maliki), the resentment is growing.
Even in Iraqi Kurdistan, the “good part” of Iraq, the opposition Gorran Party is calling for resignations and reforms in the regional government, and likening the situation in the region to that in Egypt.
The question “is this Egypt” will be one invariably asked when governments face resentment, and the answer “no” will undoubtedly always be given. But with the world transfixed it seems the reality is that there is at least a little bit of Egypt everywhere.
Pakistanis will rise up and rid themselves of Vassals and Satraps serving the Empire of Terror and exterminating their own people.
I was appalled by UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s supremacist comments yesterday on the CNN program, GPS. Mr. Cameron eagerly revealed his elitist view that Egyptians were not quite ready yet for one-person, one-vote democracy, implying that the great unwashed masses of Egypt needed further education to qualify for this privilege. What would he have said when blacks in America, and later women, were suddenly enfranchised? David Cameron would have blown a gasket!
"…there is at least a little bit of Egypt everywhere." Yes, even in the US and the UK. However, I wonder if those citizens have the guts.
Egypt has been around a lot longer than most other civilized nations on the earth, and I suspect it will be here long after most others have perished. The man on the street is just that- the man on the street- but they know right from wrong and are willing to stand up to modern-day autocrats and say enough is enough. Let the people sort it out for themselves without the US or Israel meddling in their affairs any more. They'll get it right in their own time and in their own way, to suit themselves- not some puppetmaster nation. May Allah(swt) bless and guide their efforts to reform their nation.