WP: Across Middle East, (democracy) Rises(fueled by technology,mass media)

[DeepModem Mom]

Across Middle East, a New Power Rises
After Years, Democracy Activists Taste Success

By Scott Wilson and Daniel Williams
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, April 17, 2005; Page A18


...across the region, political reformers are benefiting from the unifying forces of technology and mass media. Digital channels outside the control of states are carrying anything from a Kuwaiti woman's call for voting rights in her country to a Lebanese Christian seeking to drive out Syrian troops from his. The foot soldiers are political Islamic activists in some cases, Bob Dylan disciples, communists or Arab secular nationalists in others. Many are united only in their common desire for fair elections, free speech and political rights.

In his second inaugural address, President Bush said that "it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture." But many democracy advocates in the region are skeptical of U.S. intentions here, and truly free elections in such countries as Egypt and Saudi Arabia could usher in parties sharply at odds with the United States. At the same time, the message has offered a measure of comfort to street activists, who believe that crackdowns will be harder to carry out now that the United States is watching.

A powerful influence on the region has been televised imagery of Georgia's street uprising, called the Rose Revolution, which resulted in the ousting of a president after a flawed election. Then came Ukraine's potent Orange Revolution, which also followed polling seen as rigged. These mass movements have helped inspire political strategies playing out today on the streets in Beirut and Bahrain.

The Iraq experience, by contrast, has had a mixed effect. Some democracy activists in the region have been inspired by the recent elections but remain concerned by the continuing violence there....

***

The Arab movements are, in many cases, increasingly tethered together by the work of U.S.-funded democracy programs, international anti-corruption groups and Arab satellite television. Seminars funded by groups such as Transparency International and the philanthropist George Soros have brought together novice parliamentarians, activist journalists and human rights advocates from Morocco to the Persian Gulf....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58609-2005Apr16.html

[ismnotwasm]

1. A mixed bag indeed

Do they mean democracy, or unrestrained capitalism, I wonder.

[KoKo]

2. Interesting article which does NOT give Bush and his Invasion credit

for "Democratic" stirrings in the Middle East. I was almost afraid to read it considering it's from WaPo and given their love for the Bushies, but it's a good read. Mentioning George Soros and the education of so many in the US as a factor. :shrug:

[DeepModem Mom]

3. The article surprised me, also -- if this assessment has merit...

it's a good thing, as Martha would say.

[darkism]

4. They can do it in Georgia and Ukraine, but not here...

"A powerful influence on the region has been televised imagery of Georgia's street uprising, called the Rose Revolution, which resulted in the ousting of a president after a flawed election. Then came Ukraine's potent Orange Revolution, which also followed polling seen as rigged."

[rodeodance]

5. bush neglects to tell his flock that there are many kinds of 'freedom"-

.....The Bush administration's promotion of democracy in Lebanon and Egypt is also bound to bump up against the fact that some of the most popular political parties are rooted in conservative Islam and sharply oppose U.S. goals in the region. Hezbollah remains a potent force in Lebanon, and its Shiite following likely accounts for a majority of the population, if not yet its electorate.

In Egypt, the one group capable of mounting large-scale demonstrations is the Muslim Brotherhood, a veteran Islamic movement. Although the Brotherhood has joined rhetorical forces with other opposition groups, its political program calls for the creation of an Islamic republic in Egypt, the Arab world's most populous country.

The group has yet to display the full extent of its power to rally its followers, but on March 27 it gave a small sampling of its potential. It rallied an estimated 3,000 demonstrators, despite the presence of thousands more police officers, who sealed off central Cairo and blocked them from marching on parliament. The government arrested about 50 activists the day before the march and another 50 during it.

"We don't want to be extras on somebody else's stage," said Aly Abdel Fatah, a high-ranking Brotherhood official. "We want to change the system, not just a person."

[DeepModem Mom]

6. Most Americans take our democracy for granted...

and refuse to believe that there are those who can come to power here, who are not truly democrats, and who endanger our system as we've known it.