Gamle, korrupte magtstrukturer og Vestens interessepolitik med dyrkelse af “lydige” regimer uden skelen til deres demokratiske gøren og laden eller folkelige opbakning kan være ved at gøde jorden for en revolution i den arabiske verden, som kan sammenlignes med den iranske revolution i 1979, skriver Soumaya Ghannoushi i dagens Guardian:
As the promises of development and progress vanished into the smoke of the shanty towns, the Arab state lost its last refuge from its citizens. Stripped of all cover, it degenerated into a terrifying oppression machine. The more depleted its legitimacy, the greater it relied on the police, internal intelligence apparatuses, and on the support of foreign patrons – much like the Shah. Most Arab regimes would not survive without the perpetual use of violence against their citizens and opponents – aided and abetted by their “friends” and allies.
Egypt may represent the clearest manifestation of this state of affairs. For the last decade, its 80-year-old president has been preoccupied with ensuring the accession of his son, Gamal, to the throne of the republic. In the meantime, his country, the most populous in the Arab world, sinks deeper into degeneracy, with receding regional influence, rampant corruption, and millions teetering on the verge of starvation.
this is not to say that the Iranian scenario will be replicated in Egypt – or other Arab countries – or that another Khomeini will soon emerge. History does not repeat itself. What is doubtless though is that many components of the Iranian dynamite are today raging beneath the surface of imposed “stability”, especially as new sociopolitical forces are entering the stage on the ruins of the discredited official elite.
Og den vestlige verden holder i den sammenhæng temmelig konsekvent på de forkerte heste: Diktatoren Mubarak i Ægypten og Saudi-Arabiens kongefamilie er blot de mest eklatatante og beskæmmende eksempler.
Link: Ripe for revolution