Demonstrators shout slogans during an anti-government protest in Sanaa January 29, 2011. Yemen's ruling party has called for dialogue with the opposition, the country's state news agency said late on Friday, in a bid to end anti-government protests fuelled by popular unrest across the Arab World.
Khaled Abdullah/Reuters
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How leaders of Bahrain, Jordan, Syria and Yemen plan to keep control
Scheherezade Faramarzi
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Published
Last updated
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King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has promised changes to living conditions in Bahrain.— AP
King of Bahrain Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa promises changes in living conditions
Bahrain, a tiny island in the Persian Gulf, has had its own share of Shia unrest. The Muslim sect is the majority in a country ruled by the Sunni Muslim minority. The King, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, is a Sunni, and the Sunnis lost control of parliament last October.
The smallest economy in the area and a fledgling democracy, Bahrain doesn't boast the oil wealth of many of its neighbours and has instead moved to diversify its economy by investing heavily in education and creating an unemployment safety net, the only one in the region.
Perhaps seeing the effects of the Tunisian and Egyptian upheavals, though, the King has met with advisers, security officials and Sunni and Shia clerics, pressing upon them the need to abide by the system and respect the law. The Gulf Discussion Forum also reports that the King was clearly worried and called on clerics and mosque leaders to counter calls from those who were trying to agitate in the streets. It did not elaborate.
The King also promised that Bahrain would see political reforms and improvements in living conditions in the coming days, and asked those who'd met to move quickly and take their responsibilities seriously.
“People in Bahrain may dream of changes when they watch the news these days, especially that the economic boom in the country has not added much to the standard of living of ordinary people, as in Egypt,” said a Bahraini professor who asked not to be identified.
People aren't likely to challenge an army or security force, since most are made up of naturalized Bahrainis. “This would weaken any attempt by the people to mimic the Egyptian and Tunisian example, where the army and police force are entirely made up of local population, with close interaction with the people,” said the Bahraini professor.
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Jordan's King Abdullah II has replaced his prime minister and vowed to 'increase popular participation.' — Chris Wattie/Reuters
Jordan's King Abdullah II replaces prime minister
King Abdullah II has come under pressure in recent weeks from protests by a coalition of Islamists, secular opposition groups and a group of retired army generals who have called for sweeping political and economic reforms.
The peaceful demonstrations, inspired by the unrest in the region, have blamed corruption spawned by free-market changes for the plight of the country's poor.
To defuse tensions, the King sacked prime minister Samir al-Rifai on Tuesday, replacing him with Marouf al-Bakhit, an ex-army major general and top intelligence adviser to “undertake quick and tangible steps for real political reforms, which reflect our vision for comprehensive modernization and development in Jordan.”
Economic reform, the U.S.- and British-educated monarch said in a statement, has to be in conjunction with “real political reforms, which must increase popular participation in the decision-making.”
Also, he called for a revision of laws regarding political and public freedoms, including legislation governing political parties, public meetings and elections.
It's likely that Mr. al-Bakhit, a former ambassador to Israel, would include some opposition leaders in the new government, though it was not clear whether members of the Muslim Brotherhood would be among them.
The powerful Muslim opposition said the changes didn't go far enough and it would continue the protests until its demands were met. They include the dissolution of a parliament elected in November in a vote widely criticized as fraudulent and new elections. They want amendments to curb the King's power in naming prime ministers, who they insist should be elected.
Jordan's constitution still gives the King the exclusive power to dismiss parliament and rule by decree.
Many Jordanians hold successive governments responsible for a prolonged recession and rising public debt that hit a record $15-billion this year in one of the Arab world's smallest economies, heavily dependent on foreign aid.
Still, the Hashemite kingdom's human rights record is generally considered better than those of Tunisia and Egypt.
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he will have time to make reforms because of his close links 'to the beliefs of the people.'— Hussein Malla/AP
Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad counts on his close links to ‘beliefs of the people'
With his tight leash on his country and zero tolerance for protests, Bashar al-Assad feels secure in his post as president.
Despite the country's ruthless disdain for political dissidence, an opposition group using Facebook and Twitter is calling on Syrians to rally in Damascus on Friday in “Syrian rage” against their government. By midnight last night, more than 10,000 had clicked to show their support for the Facebook site, Syria Revolution 2011. The site is believed to operate outside the country, where Facebook is officially banned but many use proxies for access.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal this week, Mr. Assad, who comes from a minority ruling clan called the Alawites, said he will have more time to make changes than Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak did, because his anti-American position and confrontation with Israel have endeared him with the grassroots in Syria.
“Syria is stable. Why?” Mr. Assad said. “Because you have to be very closely linked to the beliefs of the people. This is the core issue. When there is divergence … you will have this vacuum that creates disturbances.”
Mr. Assad's one-party rule is among the region's most repressive, where opponents are detained without charges. The government-controlled media in Syria is far more rigid than it is in Egypt.
A far less civil society than either Egypt or Tunisia, Syria is also a more difficult place for the opposition to organize. “Syria, in which civil society – i.e. organized political parties, labour unions, etc – are curtailed, are less likely to see mass rallies and political trouble,” said Joshua Landis, a Syria expert. “In short, the tougher regimes will tough it out.”
Still, the leader, who inherited power from his father, Hafez, in 2000, must be sensing some pressure. Hoping to prevent the kind of upheaval that fuelled unrest in Tunisia and Algeria, he recently eased economic pressures with measures such as raising heating-oil allowances for public workers. He has also promised to push through political reforms this year for municipal elections, grant more power to non-governmental organizations and establish a new media law.
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Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has increased wages and exempted students from tuition fees.— Khaled Fazaa/AFP/Getty Images
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh exempts students from tuition fees
Facing demands to resign, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh called for a meeting of parliament Tuesday, but the opposition, which has been protesting on a nearly daily basis in the capital, Sanaa, since mid-January, said it was too late for dialogue and that he must go.
Mr. Saleh's move to amend the constitution so he can be president for life has enraged Yemenis, citizens of the poorest country in the Arab world.
Using Facebook and Twitter, the main opposition parties and young Yemenis have called for a “day of rage” on Thursday.
The Islamists, Socialists and Nasserites parties have called for demonstrations, across the country.
Fouad Al Salahi, an independent sociologist at Sana'a University, said he expected a bigger uprising in Yemen than in Egypt if serious political and economic reforms were not adopted.
“In Yemen, the explosion [of public anger] will be stronger if there are no serious and quick reforms,” he said.
Mr. Saleh's attempts at reform have so far failed to satisfy the opposition.
On Monday, he increased wages and reduced income taxes and ordered the creation of a fund to employ university graduates and to extend social security coverage.
He also exempted university students from the rest of their tuition fees for this academic year, and charged the high council of universities to reduce the cost of a degree.
The General People's Congress party on Friday called for a resumption of dialogue with opposition parties, which are currently at an impasse.
“No doubt that we have learned a lesson from what happened in Tunisia and what's going on in Egypt,” General People's Congress spokesman Tareq al-Shami told AFP in Sanaa.
“We are trying to work more on responding to the people's demands within our country's capabilities,” he said.
However, he warned that the consequences of any move similar to that in Egypt or Tunisia “will not only affect Yemen but its aftermath will extend to other countries in the region.”
Source: The Gulf News
