24 Oct 2011
Amman, 23 October 2011
“Change is needed in the Arab region as whole; but how and what then?, said Lakhdar Brahimi, veteran Algerian diplomat and former UN envoy in a talk to students at the Jordan Media Institute’s last Thursday.
Brahimi who reviewed current changes in the Arab region within the international and regional context, said: the reasons for anger that triggered recent Arab revolts, commonly named “Arab Spring”, have been present for a while. The need for change has been known, and so was the desire and urgency to induce it. Brahimi wondered if what took place was one Arab revolt, or revolts, each evolving in its own context and environment? It was the timing of these changes, their consequences and possible emergence of a new uncertain Middle East identity.
What happened in Libya “exposed Arab impotence”. Arab countries should have intervened instead of leaving the gates wide open for NATO’s action. He added: “We are partly responsible for a foreign military intervention in an Arab country and is it any wonder that the US Secretary of State was the first international diplomat to visit Libya!”.
Brahimi wondered if the new Arab leaderships will seek a better accommodation with neighboring countries like Iran - that is increasingly influential in Iraq - and Turkey - that shows creativity in many respects.
In response to the students’ questions, Brahimi said: “Theoretically, the present Arab leaderships can drive the desired change, however the problem rests in the people’s distrust of their governments. Time is short and if leaders don’t respond quickly to people’s demands, they will lose their legitimacy, as in Libya, Syria or Yemen”.
Commenting on the situation in Iraq, where he was the Special Representative of the UN secretary General in 2004, Brahimi said the war against Iraq was a crime, for which former President George Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair must be held accountable. “What did the US achieve from this war, other than handing Iraq over to Iran?” Brahimi said.
“While we complain about the West’s lack of understanding of our Arab Spring, we are ourselves not fully aware of the significance of this Spring, its consequences, potentials and threats. For example, the lurking danger in the African Sahel close to North Africa and Egypt – such as Mali and Nigeria - extremist groups are growing stronger and drug trafficking is increasing, taking advantage of the current situation. This deserves scrutiny to avert further regional deterioration.”
Brahimi concluded by posing the question:” What comes next? Now that some regimes have fallen as the masses demanded. Where is the national agenda? The toppling of leaders seems easier than what Egypt and Tunisia are currently undergoing. The Arab Spring has created a new reality, that we have to make use of to rescue the region from further decline.