Arab Spring Update December 2011

Tunisia: Many voted for what was the first time ever, a proper election in Tunisia. After a tumultuous lead up, particularly in Sidi Bouzid, Hizb Ennahda (Party of Renaissance) won the elections. They have been described as “moderate Islamists” by many newspapers and have been consistently demonised by those who do not want freedom for the Arabs, such as 2012 US Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich.

Egypt: Currently, they are going through elections. There have been alot of protests in Tahrir Square against the military regime since the departure of Hosni Mubarak. There was even a protest 26th November 2011 outside the Egyptian embassy in London where there were Arabic chants of “Down, down with the military rule!” As usual, the Islamophobic media are depicting the revolutions as something negative and that people will lose 'rights' they apparently have. According to them, the “Islamist” parties are likely to win. At the elections there are five candidates to choose from.

Libya: Gadaffi has been ousted and his son, Saif ul-Islam has been captured and being held in Zintan. There is also a conspiracy as to whether the intelligence chief of Moammer Gadaffi has actually been captured, as Osama Jweli, Libya’s Defence Minister is claiming there is no evidence. Meanwhile, the National Transitional Council is trying to create a new government and stability, both socially and politically at present.

Bahrain: The military, with the aid of the King are still oppressing people. So much so that medics who have been aiding the protesters have been accused of supplying weapons to the protesters. Sentences were up to 15 years imprisonment against the medics.

Yemen: Abdullah Saleh has finally stepped down, much to the jubilation of the Yemenis. Sadly, the military took advantage of this instability and shot down some of the protesters. As usual, Saudi Arabia is treating Saleh as their “guest”. Many Yemenis are refusing to vote until all of Saleh’s family are out of Yemen.

Syria: The military are continuing to massacre the people. Many are claiming it’s an outside job done in the name of Al Assad. However, Al Assad should be defending his people, or at least be making some attempt. The UN has condemned Syria for violating human rights and Turkey has verbally stated that it is ready for any scenario against Al Assad. The death toll in Syria has now risen to around 4,000 as per UN reports.