| |
|
27. februar 2005
|
|
The United Arab Emirates are in many ways a success story in the Arab world. Economically it has been able to prosper without the massive oil wealth of its neighbours, its capital Dubai frequently hosts high-profile international events, and there has been a minimum of violence. But the UAE is a dictatorship. Now many prominent citizens, academics and members of the appointed consultative council, want the country to join the stampede for Arab democracy:
When millions of Arabs in Palestine, Iraq and Saudi Arabia have gone to the polls, the UAE cannot continue to lag behind, Professor Abdul Khaleq Abdullah of the UAE University told the English-language daily Khaleej Times.
"I strongly support the idea of having elected members" in the Federal National Council, said Khalifa Jumma al-Naboda, who sits on the 40-strong FNC, which is appointed by the rulers of the seven emirates making up the UAE.
Fellow member Mohammad bin Ali al-Nagbi told the same newspaper he would support elections as long as they were decided from within and were not imposed by external pressure. Atiq Daka, a professor of political science at the UAE University, told AFP: "Our country is now the only member of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) which has yet to catch up with the political opening up under way in the Arab world. Even countries we thought incapable of political change, such as Saudi Arabia, are now ahead of us."
The PGCC groups the UAE with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. [...]
"We are certainly ahead (of other countries in the region) at the economic and trade levels. But we should also lead the way on the political front," Daka said.
A rush for democracy in the Middle East. Pinch me, I'm dreaming.
10:41:58 PM 
|
|
I have earlier written about the Lawrence Summers affair. Harvey Mansfield, himself a Harvard professor, is quite blunt in his attack on the feminist academics:
It takes one's breath away to watch feminist women at work. At the same time that they denounce traditional stereotypes they conform to them. If at the back of your sexist mind you think that women are emotional, you listen agape as professor Nancy Hopkins of MIT comes out with the threat that she will be sick if she has to hear too much of what she doesn't agree with. If you think women are suggestible, you hear it said that the mere suggestion of an innate inequality in women will keep them from stirring themselves to excel. While denouncing the feminine mystique, feminists behave as if they were devoted to it. They are women who assert their independence but still depend on men to keep women secure and comfortable while admiring their independence. Even in the gender-neutral society, men are expected by feminists to open doors for women. If men do not, they are intimidating women.
Thus the issue of Summers's supposedly intimidating style of governance is really the issue of the political correctness by which Summers has been intimidated. Political correctness is the leading form of intimidation in all of American education today, and this incident at Harvard is a pure case of it.
Summers may have been humiliated inside the ivory tower, but I don't think the feminists are aware of how badly they look to most people outside it.
2:20:37 PM
|
|
Egyptian blogger Big Pharaoh was as surprised as the rest of us by Mubarak's announcement of multi-party elections:
I never imagined what President Mubarak said today. He asked the parliament to amend the Egyptian constitution to allow multiple candidates to run for the presidency. This means that Muabark will have opponents running against him.
Now, I am not stupid nor am I living in la la land. Mubarak's decision today came after immense pressure from the US and the current earthquakes (the purple revolution in Iraq and the Hariri revolution in Lebanon) that shook the region days ago. However, I credit US pressure as the number one reason. Condoleezza Rice cancelled a trip to Egypt scheduled for next week because of the arrest of Ayman Nour and Mubarak's failure to "change". Well, it seems that Bush turned out to be bloody serious about this democracy in the Middle East thing.
If democracy indeed continues to spread across the Middle East, it will be fascinating to watch the European media squirming to avoid crediting George W. Bush for it.
PS: It is still too early to break out the champagne, though.
"This appears to be a step in the direction of a more open political system, and we welcome it," said Steven Pike, a State Department spokesman. At the same time, however, officials said they wanted more information from Egypt before deciding how meaningful the move might be.
"We have to see the details of the referendum," a senior administration official said. "We are hopeful, but until we know exactly what the government is embracing, it is too early to declare that it is a major change."
As I wrote earlier, democracy requires freedom of press and the freedom of the opposition to campaign. Will Egypt's government controlled press allow the opposition to voice their opinions? We'll see how this works out.
12:35:50 PM
|
|
A half-brother of Saddam Hussein has been captured in Iraq:
Sab'awi Ibrahim al-Hasan al-Tikriti was No. 36 on the U.S. military's Iraqi 55 Most Wanted List and one of only 11 people on the list who remained free.
A half-brother on Hussein's mother's side, al-Tikriti held many positions in his regime, the latest being that of Hussein's personal adviser.
A major counter-terrorism operation is in progress in the Anbar province, where US and Iraqi forces try to surround cities like Ramadi and Falluja to prevent the terrorists from finding safe heavens. It is not yet known if the capture is related to these operations.
Al-Tikriti has previously been described as directly involved in leading the 'insurgency':
Reuters news agency says interim government officials months ago described Mr al-Tikriti, who has the same mother as Saddam Hussein, as one of at least two former Baath Party officials directing the anti-American insurgency from Syria.
Could be important.
Update: Apparently, Syria handed him over to the Iraqis:
Iraqi officials said Sunday that Syrian authorities captured Saddam Hussein's half-brother in Syria and handed him over to Iraq in an apparent goodwill gesture.
They feel the pressure!
10:07:34 AM
|
|
|
© Copyright 2005 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.03.2005; 01:33:15.
|
|
|
