| Center
for American Progress (www.americanprogress.org)
What
the World is Saying.. About
Democracy in the Middle East
March
10, 2005
From
elections in Palestine, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia to
popular demonstrations in Lebanon, events across
the Middle East have provoked a lively discussion
on the political future of the region. While some
are confidently proclaiming the dawning of new era
of democracy in the Middle East, others are far
more cautious and skeptical in their predictions.
Newspapers from across the globe are weighing in
on both sides of the debate:
United
Kingdom
"The
connection between the invasion of Iraq and the
faltering steps towards democracy in parts of the
region is tenuous at best.. ..The most striking
moves towards democracy in the region, however,
have been unrelated to Iraq. They either
originated in local and unforeseen events – the
death of Yasser Arafat, the assassination of Rafik
Hariri – or reflected earlier trends – the
very partial extension of the franchise in Saudi
Arabia; Libya's retreat from nuclear
weapons."
Comment, The Independent, March 8, 2005
"In
the same way that Arabs resent America not for
what it is but for its policies, they do notice
and react when those policies start to change.. ..But they also know from the experience of 60 years
that, in the interest of regional stability and
cheap oil, the US's invariable default decision in
the Middle East has been to shore up tyranny and
defend the status quo. If that has really changed,
the question is whether the US can live with the
results. Democracy is untidy anywhere, but will be
very messy in the Arab world."
Editorial, The Financial Times, March 5, 2005
Egypt
"Egyptian
citizens seem finally to be obtaining the kind of
political equality enjoyed by many other people in
the world.. .. It will be very difficult in this
short space of time for parties and candidates to
recruit staff, organize and launch their campaigns
and obtain the necessary funding. If they fail
proponents of the status quo – and there are
quite a few out there who are nervous at the
prospect of multi-candidate elections – will be
able to say that they did what they could to
establish democracy but the society they were
dealing with was simply not mature enough to take
up the challenge."
Gamil Matar, Al-Ahram, March 8, 2005
Saudi
Arabia
"Winds
of change are blowing though the region: Elections
in Iraq, a successful rebellion against the old
establishment in the Palestinian Parliament,
constitutional changes on the cards in Egypt and
now people power in Lebanon. Until a few weeks
ago, change was seen as driven from outside, by
the Americans. Those who still think that are
clearly wrong. The Americans may have done some of
the initial driving but it is now being driven
from within. The Middle East is ready for change
and wants a change but not only between
Palestinian and Israeli."
Editorial, Arab News, March 2, 2005
Qatar
"Whether
Lebanon's internal differences will render it
ungovernable again, plunging it into civil war
remains to be seen.. ..One disturbing aspect of
the 'Cedars Revolution' is that, unlike other
recent 'people power' revolutions, in Serbia,
Georgia or Ukraine, there is no generally accepted
charismatic leader with the authority to take
control of the situation. The absence of a single
figurehead could easily allow dangerous divisions
to emerge."
Viewpoint, The Gulf Times, March 3, 2005
Israel
"Nevertheless,
it appears that Israel will have a hard time
adjusting to a democratic Arab world, in which
public opinion rather than centralized rulers
determine policy. At a lecture in Tel Aviv last
week, eminent Israeli political scientist Prof.
Yehezkel Dror described the Israeli
establishment's viewpoint. "We're all for
democracy, but let us imagine democracy in Egypt
or Jordan. Will it strengthen their peace with
Israel?"
Aluf Benn, Haaretz, March 4, 2005
Germany
"If
elections were held today in the countries in the
region, radical Islamists would be voted into
power almost everywhere. The Arab societies are
under-developed, conservative, characterized by
clan relations and ethnically divided. There is
simply no basis for a functioning democracy."
Editorial, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, March 2, 2005
Lebanon
"Hizbullah
must be accorded an important place in the process
of national dialogue and rebuilding not so much
because it is a powerful force.. ..that was
capable of making the Israeli occupation of South
Lebanon too costly for Israel, but because it is
the major sociopolitical organization in Lebanon.
Quite simply, Hizbullah is not a problem: It is
part of Lebanon's solution."
Editorial, The Daily Star, March 7, 2005
"At
this current high point, democrats across the
region are looking to the United States to deliver
on its promise of peace. We need no intervention
on the front of democracy. Not only does simple
logic tell us that democracy cannot be imposed,
but we have proven that we are capable of creating
it on our own. However, what we do need are the
right conditions in which democracy can flourish,
and this is something the U.S. can help us forge.
America must play a crucial role in promoting
democracy in the region by being a fair and just
broker for peace."
Editorial, The Daily Star, March 2, 2005
[Reprinted
with permission of the Center for American
Progress (www.americanprogress.org).]
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