Arab Spring States Lack Experience: The Absence Of Sincerity And A Rampant Greed To Acquire Everything
04 February 2013By Tariq Alhomayed
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the
Arab Spring has brought people who have no experience
in governing and managing countries to power, which
has led to confusion, chaos, and a lack of security,
citing the recent developments in North Africa.
However this excuse is not convincing, even if it does
raise the question: If the Arab Spring leaders have no
experience, what can be said about those who stood
with them, supported them, and believed their slogans?
It would have been possible—particularly in some Arab
Spring states—to further guarantee the transitional
process if we had ensured that this took place in a
responsible and more profound manner. In other words,
by drafting the constitution first, and providing real
guarantees to the minorities, as well as respecting
the political process as a whole. Here we must recall
that President Obama had wanted to see Wael Ghoneim,
for example, as the elected president of Egypt, so
what more is there left to say? Therefore the story in
the Arab Spring states is not one of lack of
experience, and the evidence for this can be seen in
what has been happening in Iraq over the past 7
months. It is clear that the people have failed to
learn anything. This is not to mention what has been
happening in Sudan over a long period of time with
this situation ultimately ending with the division of
the country.
The real problem in the Arab Spring states is not lack
of experience but lack of vision and statesmanship,
and this can all be attributed to a lack of credible
intentions. The Arab Spring victors lack the
conviction that nations are not built on flimsy
slogans and promises but by practical and realistic
institutions and laws that look to the future. States
are not built by excluding others but by reviving a
sense of responsibility and participation for all.
States cannot be built on the belief that people in
general lack piety, but rather by being aware that
people are in dire need of security and safety, jobs,
opportunities, education, and ensuring that their
dignity is safeguarded. It is enough to recall that
the Creator, God Almighty, granted to "provide them
with food against hunger, and with security against
fear." (Surat al-Quraish; Verse 4). However the Arab
Spring leaders are too busy securing their rule and
excluding others.
The real problem facing the Arab Spring states is that
nobody cares about rebuilding, or bringing the people
together, or reconciliation, or achieving consensus
and compromise. We must be aware that most of the Arab
Spring leaders returned from the west, whether to
Egypt or Libya or Tunisia. They lived in the west and
saw the reality of organizations and the value of the
law, pluralism, and freedom; they saw the west with
all that is good and bad, and some of them even hold
western nationalities. However when they took power
they went against everything that was said during the
outbreak of the Arab Spring, not to mention all the
modern political concepts. Therefore they labeled
anybody who opposed them as a traitor, excluding those
who had joined them in Tahrir Square, forming
alliances based on exploiting the moment rather than
preparing to build a future. Now we find them
bickering after they distributed the spoils of power,
and the best example of this can be seen in what is
happening in Egypt between the Salafists and the
Brotherhood. Even worse than this, we are now finding
Brotherhood affiliates in the Arab Gulf, for example.
So those who previously demanded freedom and reform
are now offering public advice about the need to
"contain" the liberal media in Egypt! Therefore, the
problem is not in the lack of experience, but the
absence of sincerity and a rampant greed to acquire
everything, as if countries are nothing more than the
spoils of the square!
Tariq Alhomayed is the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq
Al-Awsat, the youngest person to be appointed that
position. He holds a BA degree in Media studies from
King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, and has also
completed his Introductory courses towards a Master's
degree from George Washington University in Washington
D.C. He is based in London.
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