The evolution of Arab revolutions
Why are countries such as Libya, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain facing bloody battles for change?
For the transcript of this episode, please click HERE.
The Arab Spring is in full bloom. Peaceful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt sparked a democratic tide that has swept across the region.
Young Arabs have taken to the streets in vast numbers, their disaffection for the dictators and autocrats that have continually oppressed them, no longer bearable.
180 million strong, they are protesting on common ground, demanding common values and speaking in one common language.
They are clamouring for change, for free speech, for human rights and a solution to mass unemployment and poverty. But as the revolution evolves, it has become clear not all Arabs are singing to the same tune.
In Libya, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain, it is now a tale of two protests, with the situation deteriorating into widespread violence and outright war.
It seems some regimes will stop at nothing to resist change. So with no unified leadership or clear agenda, and with domestic complications in each and every country, is this truly a revolution? And if this is an Awakening – what path will it follow – that of Turkey? Of Iran? Or rather a third way, an Arab way. Empire finds out.
Joining Marwan Bishara to discuss these issues are: Rabab el-Mahdi, a professor of political science at American University, Cairo; Christopher Dickey, Middle East editor of Newsweek and The Daily Beast; Patrick Seale, author of The Struggle for Arab Independence.
Our interviewees are: Ahmed Maher, founder of the 6 April Youth Movement, Egypt; Mohamed Arafat, from Egypt’s Social Deomocratic Party; Shaeera Amin, former deputy director of Nile TV; Hugh Miles, author of Al Jazeera – How Arab TV News Challenged the World
This episode of Empire aired from Thursday, April 21, 2011.