The Tunisians will determine Tunisia’s future today I have seen the seed of Arab revolution starting in Tunisia and the ripples falling at the shores of Egypt and Libya. While the Tunisian have demonstrated maturity and tenacity in the process of realising their dream the Egyptian masses have shown total immaturity, haste and ignorance! They have been caught off guard by the extraordinary control and grip on power by the military, cronies from the previous dictatorship and the old guards from the establishment. They have shown little understanding of how democratic reform evolves in any society over a long period of time. Their desire for instant change has destroyed their revolution very prematurely. I compare Egyptians who ousted their first ever elected president to self-cannibalism. However, the Tunisians have so far remained loyal to the ballot boxes. I have been to Tunisia and I have many Tunisian friends. What gives me hope is that every Tunisian I have spoken to has taken a mature approach to their revolution. They are not dreaming the impossible but they are sure of taking the right step in the right direction even if the steps are small and slow. The Libyans have been engulfed by totally lunacy of tribalism, lawlessness and anarchy. Post Gaddafi government has very little control over the country and is heavily reliant upon the various militias that control swathes of land across the vast country. This has paved its path to the long road to misery and mess. To add to this terrible fray the Saudi, Emirati and Egyptian illegitimate rulers have used fighter-jets purchased from UK, France and USA to bomb Libya in the name of fighting terrorists and Jihadists! The truth is they have been bombing Libya because their masters in Washington and London have ordered them to do so and to protect their financial interest. The reality is they know their days are numbered and it’s only a matter of time when the same revolutionary zeal would sweep their countries. On the other hand Tunisians have been able to keep the international vultures away so far. Tunisia has shown that you don’t have to be big and a bully to determine your own future. As they say “small is beautiful”, Tunisia may be a small country but it sparked the biggest revolution in the Middle East and North Africa. While others may have fallen by the way side Tunisia has stayed stuck to its course. I am looking forward to a beautiful outcome at the end voting today. The question is have I shelved the dream of freedom, democracy, rule of law and fairer opportunities in the entire Middle East? The answer is no, I havent but I have no hope for this to happen soon. When a nation refuses to roll up its sleeves, take to the streets and commit for a long haul toward change what hope can a foreigner like me have? If the Arabs are not willing to bring their despotic rulers down and work towards building their nation what can anyone from the outside do? An ill educated and unenlightened populace cannot sustain change. Tunisia is different; it has an intellectual basis and respect to the process on both sides of the political divide - secular and Islamic parties are able to sit together and discuss the future instead of wishing to annihilate the other. Their military is willing to remain outside politics. Their judiciary is determined to remain neutral depoliticised. The Islamic party is being led by the most phenomenal personality, thinker, philosopher and politician of 21st century – Dr Rashid Al-Ghannushi. His vision for a more open democracy for the Muslim world has kept the country from falling into anarchy. It is the brilliant mind of such personalities that has helped shape the constitutional compromise. I wish him and his party every success in today’s election. I only hope that other neighbouring nations would learn from this giant of our time. I am eagerly waiting for a true civil and civic renaissance in Tunisia, pioneering an Arab democratic state through today’s vote. Tunisia started the revolution and Tunisia will show the world how to sustain the revolution. Let them demonstrate that democracy can work in the Middle East and democratic reform can be achieved peacefully. I hope Tunisian would make the right choice today when they go to the ballot boxes to elect a parliament and whatever is the outcome all parties would stand together to create a democratic beacon in the middle of extremely dark Middle East and North Africa. economist/news/leaders/21627622-tunisia-works-it-fragile-rest-world-should-give-it-hand-light-unto
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 09:01:00 +0000
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