April 2010
By Abdel-bari Atwan
"Kyrgyzstan is a small country in Central Asia, Moslems form the majority of the population. The country hosts two military bases, one American and the other Russian. Its security forces are known to be efficient and aggressive but they were unable to protect President Kurmanbek Bakiyev from the wrath of the people who took to the streets in a noisy demonstration on 6 April and then stormed the Republican Palace the following day.
On April 15 Bakiyev and his family left the country. This is the second time in five years that the Kyrgyz people have driven their President to run for his life.....
President Bakiyev's downfall was that his regime was characterized by corruption, cronyism, supression of the populace by the security forces and looting public funds, in a manner not that far removed from that of his counterparts in some Arab and Islamic countries.....
Popular revolt has seen the end of several oppressive and corrupt regimes around the world and yet we have seem nothing like this in Arab countries. Conditions in Kyrgyzstan, whose population is only 5 million, are generally better than those in Arab countries like Egypt, yet the Egyptians do not take to the street to demand change and reform. Not even when their fellow Arabs are under occupation in Palestine, humiliated and abused at Israeli checkpoints.
Some may argue that people in these repressive Arab state are too frightened of the security forces to rebel and this is why they are so passive and submissive. Yet the security forces in Kyrgyzstan are proving to be exceptionally brutal and violent - they opened fire on protesters, killing well over a hundred to date, and yet they continue to demonstrate, even storming the presidential palace and setting it on fire.
People who are oppressed must start to defend their interests and their basic human rights; they need to be prepared to make sacrifices for this lofty goal. Since they do not, it seems that the problem is no longer Arab rulers alone, but Arab people as well.
What is currently happening in Kyrgyzstan must be noted by Arab rulers and peoples alike. This small people has battled against corruption and cronyism, and has toppled their ruler, his family and his crown prince to whom he wanted to bequeath power. No amount of foreign bases in Kyrgyzstan can ultimately protect an unpopular leader from the anger of the people and their demands for political reform and true democracy. If the Arab people would only learn this simple lesson of history our current state of opression would be ended."
By Abdel-bari Atwan
"Kyrgyzstan is a small country in Central Asia, Moslems form the majority of the population. The country hosts two military bases, one American and the other Russian. Its security forces are known to be efficient and aggressive but they were unable to protect President Kurmanbek Bakiyev from the wrath of the people who took to the streets in a noisy demonstration on 6 April and then stormed the Republican Palace the following day.
On April 15 Bakiyev and his family left the country. This is the second time in five years that the Kyrgyz people have driven their President to run for his life.....
President Bakiyev's downfall was that his regime was characterized by corruption, cronyism, supression of the populace by the security forces and looting public funds, in a manner not that far removed from that of his counterparts in some Arab and Islamic countries.....
Popular revolt has seen the end of several oppressive and corrupt regimes around the world and yet we have seem nothing like this in Arab countries. Conditions in Kyrgyzstan, whose population is only 5 million, are generally better than those in Arab countries like Egypt, yet the Egyptians do not take to the street to demand change and reform. Not even when their fellow Arabs are under occupation in Palestine, humiliated and abused at Israeli checkpoints.
Some may argue that people in these repressive Arab state are too frightened of the security forces to rebel and this is why they are so passive and submissive. Yet the security forces in Kyrgyzstan are proving to be exceptionally brutal and violent - they opened fire on protesters, killing well over a hundred to date, and yet they continue to demonstrate, even storming the presidential palace and setting it on fire.
People who are oppressed must start to defend their interests and their basic human rights; they need to be prepared to make sacrifices for this lofty goal. Since they do not, it seems that the problem is no longer Arab rulers alone, but Arab people as well.
What is currently happening in Kyrgyzstan must be noted by Arab rulers and peoples alike. This small people has battled against corruption and cronyism, and has toppled their ruler, his family and his crown prince to whom he wanted to bequeath power. No amount of foreign bases in Kyrgyzstan can ultimately protect an unpopular leader from the anger of the people and their demands for political reform and true democracy. If the Arab people would only learn this simple lesson of history our current state of opression would be ended."
No comments:
Post a Comment