It is like a wave sweeping across parts of the globe. First it was Tunisia followed by Egypt and now it is the turn of Libya. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh narrowly survived the popular protest and Bashar al-Assad of Syria is still trying to put up a brave face against the uprising with the help of brutal forces.
The media sphere is no short of acronyms and they range from the 'Arab Spring' to 'Jasmine Revolution'. The West has likened the series of protests and the uprisings with a wave for democracy. What has happened in Africa undoubtedly epitomises the fall of dictatorial regimes but whether such events would facilitate democratic polity is a matter to watch in the future.
Be it another wave of democracy or popular uprising facilitated by globalisation and technological innovation, the events which uprooted longstanding dictators in the Arab world also exposes a level of hypocrisy by the West. Remember the vacillation by the US administration when Hosni Mubarak was struggling for his political life. The western countries always provide lip service to democracy and the peoples' right to self determination but in reality prefer someone in power who would act as the custodian of their political and economic interests. Hosni Mubarak was one such custodian as is Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan.
There is a difference though between Hosni Mubarak and Muammar Gaddafi. Colonel Gaddafi was loathed by the West in the past but, once he promised concessions about furthering their interests, the western leaders embraced him with open arms. Colonel Gaddafi's heinous past was forgotten in the name of diplomatic engagement only to have access to the plentiful natural resources of his oil-rich country.
Such hypocrisy is, however, not associated only with the West. Even countries like India, who leave no stone unturned to pride itself as the world's largest democracy, considered undemocratic leaders like Saddam Hossain and Muammar Gaddafi as its trusted friends. While the West did so in the name of economic and political gains, countries like India did so in the name of non-alignment or to uphold its anti-west credentials for playing to the gallery of its domestic constituency.
Leaders across the globe have likened the developments in the Arab world as a manifestation of the peoples' power. Whether such power really lies with the people would determine the success of this wave of transformation.
As dictators like Muammar Gaddafi, Hosni Mubarak, and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali make exit from public life in the face of popular protests, the western leaders need to make some introspection to match their words with action. They should not only celebrate the advent of 'democracy' by jugglery of words but also question whether it is fair to support undemocratic and tyrannical regimes like the one in Saudi Aarabia.
Democracy and right to self determination should not only be the prerogative of the West. Those who claim their right to modernity should also take the lead in propagating it, not only through words but also by actions.
All comments are personal and have no bearing on others.
Comments on the post are welcome at the blog site.
One thing I could not support. Killing Gaddafi in such a brutal way was inhuman. What kind of democracy is this? He might have been a dictator...but he should have been taken into custody and judged properly! This is against human rights!
ReplyDelete