Five Arab Countries That the "Jasmine Revolution" May Spread to Next

by: Zaid Jilani   |  ThinkProgress | News Analysis

Five Arab Countries That the "Jasmine Revolution" May Spread to Next
Egyptian civilians sing songs and wave the nation's flag as they continue to celebrate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's resignation. (Photo: Scott Nelson / The New York Times)

Last month, the world was shocked as the Tunisian autocrat Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who had ruled his country for 23 years, was overthrown in a protest movement that lasted only 29 days. The event was soon dubbed the “Jasmine Revolution,” a symbolic reference to a blooming flower. While many doubted that this revolution would spread, it was only days later that massive protests rocked Cairo, resulting in the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who had been in power for more than 30 years. While the fate of both countries is still unresolved, one thing is clear: the people are demanding democracy, and they have forced massive changes in their government to get it.

Now, many are wondering if this pro-democracy movement that swept Tunisia and Egypt will spread throughout the rest of the Arab world. ThinkProgress has assembled a short list of other autocratic regimes in the region that are facing protests, particularly today, and which may soon be the next to go in the Middle East’s next “Jasmine Revolution”:

ALGERIA: Algeria has been in the iron grip of a military government since 1991, when the regime cancelled elections after an Islamist party won the first round. This set off a bloody civil war in the country, which peaked in violence between 1993 and 1997. In recent days, Algerians, inspired by their Tunisian and Egyptian neighbors, have organized large protest marches demanding democratic reforms. Saturday, despite officials outlawing the protest, nearly 10,000 people marched in Algiers anyway, facing off with three times as many riot police. Perhaps fearing that they will be the targets of the next revolution, Algerian officials recently announced that they will be lifting the country’s own emergency law — which has been in place for decades — in the “very near future.”

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BAHRAIN: Bahrain’s Sunni leader, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, has long oppressed his country’s Shi’a-majority population. Last August, his ruling party arrested hundreds of Shi’a activists and shut down the main opposition party’s websites right before the parliamentary election, fearing that it may lose its grip on power. Yet recent events in the Middle East have the king fearing for his rule, too. He has ordered “a hike in food subsidies and reinstated welfare support for low-income families to compensate for inflation,” and plans to deliver a speech today where he will offer further concessions. Additionally, Bahrain’s government announced that it will be giving $2,650 to each Bahraini family yesterday. Yet pro-democracy activists plan to march Monday anyway, demanding real reforms in the country.

JORDAN: Likely also fearing a Tunisian-style revolution, Jordan’s King Abdullah sacked his government and appointed a new Prime Minister at the beginning of this month. Yet some of the largest protests in modern history have rocked the nation in recent weeks, indicating that Jordanians do not see the concessions as enough. In perhaps a sign of the regime’s weakness, President Obama dispatched Adm. Mike Mullen, the head of Joint Chiefs of Staff, to meet with Abdullah this weekend.

SYRIA: Earlier this month, protesters planned a “day of rage” where they would protest their grievances against the unelected president Basher al-Assad. While the protesters ended up being few in number, the regime did deploy its security services in increased numbers across the country, visibly fearful of a protest movement like the ones in Egypt and Tunisia. The government also lifted a five-year ban on Facebook, in a move widely seen as appeasing a nascent protest movement.

YEMEN: The president of Yemen, “one of America’s foremost allies” in the region, promised to step down in 2013, as his people began to demonstrate against the ruling elite. Today, thousands of pro-regime demonstrators attacked anti-government demonstrators with clubs and knives, an eery parallel to an Egyptian tactic that failed to quell protests and destroyed the regime’s public reputation and international support.

An American abroad in Yemen captured the protests there, where Yemenis spontaneously erupted in protest and began marching to the country’s own iconic capital square — which is actually named Tahrir, just like Egypt’s. Watch it:

This list is far from comprehensive, as movements are being organized in a number of other countries such as Saudi Arabia and Oman. Whether these movements will ultimately be successful is unknown, but they symbolize a growing grassroots call for democracy that has been virtually unseen in the region. Given that the United States is a sponsor of many of the intelligence and military apparatuses of these countries and a close ally to their governments, we have not just an opportunity but a responsibility to work with the people towards a more democratic future.

All republished content that appears on Truthout has been obtained by permission or license.





     

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Where's the apostate's

Where's the apostate's rights revolution?



This flame of democracy

This flame of democracy should spread to more than just the five Arab countries.

The country that really needs democracy the most at this point in history is AMERICA. Yes, the Americans have been "drugged" for so long they have lost their desire for democracy or liberty. They are so 'comfortable' with the fake-democracy given to them by corporate America that they don't even deserve to preach 'democracy' any where else on this planet.

The very basic thing in life like health care has been stripped away from the Americans. Yet they still bend over and accept the exploitative condition imposed upon without a fight.

The US government has also been the root cause of many human rights violations around the world through its supports of dictatorships that have inflicted so much pain upon their own people. And Mubarak has been a prime example of this.

AMERICA NEEDS A REVOLUTION NOW!



Which legitimately elected

Which legitimately elected officials in America do you want removed? Do you want the military to take over?

Do you want a left of center protest movement like we see in Egypt, Iran, Tunisia or the liberal ones that took down the Iron Curtain countries?

It is impossible here. The police would crush it, the media would ignore it.

Unless it was from the right. But they have no solutions, only complaints.

Not sure Egyptians had solutions either, but that's another story.



To Fep 18:05 above. Remove

To Fep 18:05 above. Remove corporate personhood. Re-enforce separation of State laws. Enact Instant Runoff Voting for better, more representative government. Dismantle Electoral College. Discard the Wall Street Financial District and encarcerate all stockbrokers, economists and bankers at Las Vegas where they can spend their own money. Soak the Rich.



To 14:17 — Anonymous There

To 14:17 — Anonymous
There is not much more I can add to that.
Revolution in the Evil Empire! wouldn't that be good!!!



One thing for sure, the

One thing for sure, the pro-democracy movement won't spread to AMERICA.



be careful what you wish

be careful what you wish for. there is an implicit racist assumption in this article that all Arab regimes are corrupt and brutal and should be overthrown (and for those who ask about Iran, the Iranians are not Arabs). but there is a danger here that the people in all Arab countries will demonstrate and protest for the sake of demonstrating, and actually remove regimes which are not so bad, only to find they end up with something worse. Jordan is a prime example; your mention of the protests there doesn't actually indicate precisely what Abdullah's new government is likely to do wrong? compared to Saudi Arabia or Algeria, the Jordanian regime is positively benign, and always has been. so please try to be a little more discriminating.



Amen @ 14:17. Our larger

Amen @ 14:17. Our larger mainstream media loves to float these stories as if these people were so oppressed and we are - as ever - the bastions of liberty for all the world to see. What a sick joke. As 45,000 Americans are still dying every year because they lack access to health care, Obama cuts home heating fuel for seniors to freeze to death in the winter time, 35 million Americans are unemployed and Congress cuts unemployment benefits, Obama and Duncan just made it a lot harder for any American's child to get a graduate school education, we are in endless wars ... The American people need to get out in the streets! Demand an immediate military exit from these countries, immediate expansion of Medicare to ALL Americans, massive jobs program, double and expand social security, have all representatives in Congress taking dirty money to "JUST GO" as the Egyptians said to Mubarak.



Amen @ 14:17. Our larger

Amen @ 14:17. Our larger mainstream media loves to float these stories as if these people were so oppressed and we are - as ever - the bastions of liberty for all the world to see. What a sick joke. As 45,000 Americans are still dying every year because they lack access to health care, Obama cuts home heating fuel for seniors to freeze to death in the winter time, 35 million Americans are unemployed and Congress cuts unemployment benefits, Obama and Duncan just made it a lot harder for any American's child to get a graduate school education, we are in endless wars ... The American people need to get out in the streets! Demand an immediate military exit from these countries, immediate expansion of Medicare to ALL Americans, massive jobs program, double and expand social security, have all representatives in Congress taking dirty money to "JUST GO" as the Egyptians said to Mubarak.



Forget about Arab

Forget about Arab revolution. The United States of America needs a revolution to restore the Americans own dignity and credibility. Until then, Americans are nothing more than a bunch of brainwashed deluded slaves who think they are riding above the world with their Chinese-made government.



We The People... the rest

We The People... the rest is just details.



You mean the Yeminis took

You mean the Yeminis took time out--from trying to kill the last 500 Jews left in their country--to demonstrate for democratic rights? Despite police protection for the Jews, Muslims managed to kidnap a 6-yr-old child and currently are either converting him or turning him into a slave.... I'd call that pretty ironic.



Dear sharonsj, please come

Dear sharonsj, please come quickly to the realization that you are going about this all wrong. Israel is correct if it feels backed into a corner by the new events in the Middle East. Someone in that country needs to figure out about karma before the wrong leaders come out with all their guns drawn, shooting wildly.



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