Mideast news brief: EU heads meet in Brussels for emergency summit on Libya

Iraqi special police members charge demonstrators calling for jobs and better basic services at Baghdad’s Tahrir square on March 11, 2011 in the latest challenge to the government as a wave of popular uprisings sweeps across the Arab world (AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images).

Arguments & Analysis

‘Yemen between reform and revolution’ (International Crisis Group)

In a new report (pdf), the International Crisis Group discusses the situation in Yemen, prospects for change, and what should be done now by all relevant parties to ease a transition towards more accountability. Regarding the current situation:”What comes next? It is easy to look at Tunis and Cairo and predict the regime’s rapid demise. Some traits are shared. Far more even than Tunisians or Egyptians, Yemenis suffer from poverty, unemployment and rampant corruption; if economic disparity and injustice are an accurate predictor of unrest, the regime has reason to worry. As in those preceding cases, the demonstrators have condensed their demands into a call for the leader’s unconditional departure, and they are displaying remarkable resilience and ability to expand their reach in the face of regime counter-measures. Still, Yemen is neither Egypt nor Tunisia (though, for that matter, nor was Egypt like Tunisia, which says something about how oblivious popular protests are to societal differences and how idle is speculation about what regime might be the next to go). Its regime is less repressive, more broadly inclusive and adaptable. It has perfected the art of co-opting its opposition, and the extensive patronage network has discouraged many from directly challenging the president. Moreover, flawed as they are, the country has working institutions, including a multi-party system, a parliament, and local government. Qat chews are a critical forum for testing ideas and airing grievances. Together, these provide meaningful outlets for political competition and dissent, while preserving space for negotiation and compromise.”

‘Barack Obama is right not to do much about Arab revolutions’ (Ian Buruma, Daily Star)

“Building institutions that guarantee not only political liberties, but also the protection of minorities, as well as other liberal conditions, is difficult enough in countries where such institutions had once existed, as in post-communist Central Europe. It will be harder in countries where they did not, or where the economy remains largely in the hands of the armed forces. Armed Anglo-American intervention, especially if it is not sanctioned by the United Nations, would do much to undermine liberals and democrats, who need all the credibility they can get. There are no doubt some among the demonstrators who would like Obama to be more strident in his support of their aims. Some have even called for more active U.S. assistance. There may be things that Western powers can do to alleviate the suffering, by offering aid to refugees, for example, or use the latest technology to keep lines of information open. But American hawks want what most opposition leaders in Libya have expressly rejected. They want the U.S. to show leadership, which is the last thing aspiring democrats need right now. People in the Middle East and North Africa have been led by the West, or by Western-backed dictators, for long enough. They must find their own way to freedom. Obama seems to understand this. Which is why he has done all right.”

‘The Moroccan exception and a king’s speech’ (Valentina Bartolucci, Open Democracy)

After the events in Egypt, Tunisia, and elsewhere, the desire for protest seeped into Morocco as well. “Many did answer the call and mobilised (largely peacefully) on the day [of the scheduled protests]. The evidence was clear that many Moroccans – like their counterparts in Tunisia, and Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain, Algeria and Libya – want democracy and real reforms. In particular, Morocco simmers with anger over poverty, unemployment , and the high cost of living, issues that give rise to regular protests. Yet there are factors in Morocco’s situation that distinguish it from other parts of the Arab world, and may partly explain the relative neglect of the country in current debates about the regional risings. The sovereignty dispute over the Western Sahara is one, the uncertain power of the country’s Islamists another. There is also a broader difference related to the ruling system and how it influences people’s aspirations, in four ways.”