“You Westerners get it wrong,” he told me. “You think what’s going on here is all about religion and extremism. But that’s a problem that can probably be solved.
The real issue – he said – was accountability. If the princes responded to pressures for change by democratising, they would end up losing their power and privileges.
And that, he said, was why real reform – radical reform – just was not on the cards.
source: BBC News
How very true. Is there any hope that we will have democracy in the Middle East as Bush would like us to believe possible? Not a chance, not before the ruling families get it, and if it means them losing power then it just will not happen.
A few weeks ago we had a seminar on discrimitation that turned the island upside-down with even the Royal Court releasing a condemning statement against the organisers, the speakers and the attendees. What was all the hub-hub about you might ask? Questioning the concept of the ruling family and specifically recommending changing the the family from a “ruling” family to a “Royal” family to go inline with the declared constitutional kingdoms in the world like the UK and the Netherlands, where the Royal family is just that, a Royal family but leaving the ruling part to the parliament and the people.
Would that happen? not in our lifetime I’m afraid. But I think they realise that if that is not changed quickly, they will undoubtedly invite even more discontent from their people which might very well result in concerted revolts and maybe even civil wars.
Comments
You westerners get it wrong….
Hi Mahmood. Only just discovered your page and throughly enjoy it. However I have to admit to being slightly disappointed with your backing of this kind of discussion. The lid was taken of a boiling pot a little too quickly, with little preperation of general public before hand. Are you seriously suggesting that another fundamental change should be encourgaed so quickly? One community is inherently political, arguab;ly because it has had to be, the other has never had to worry, but is catching up slowly. Until it does, the balance that you seem to support can never be achieved. I think its a case of progress slowly but surely. not running before we can walk, if we run, there’s a wall with Islamic Fundumetalism spray-painted all over it.
You westerners get it wrong….
Can I suggest that when you quote news items that you include who said what to whom> An intersting quote but would be more so if we knew who was saying it
Re: You westerners get it wrong….
I do! If you click on the source (they’re always clickable) then you will go to the article a quoted the text from.
Re: You westerners get it wrong….
The crux of the matter is that I – like many others in Bahrain – are fed up with the excesses of the ruling family and their entourage. You probably are too. Hence the slant of the article.
Democracy is a painful process, it’s got to get worse before it gets better and I fervantly hope that this is the case with what’s happening in Bahrain. What you say is absolutely corret, we have to learn to walk before we can run, and what we have in the infant parliament is a start that should be supported with all our being. I am not against that. What I am against rather is the fundimental Islam. It’s true that if at this particular moment you open up the flood-gates of full democracy that there is no doubt that these fundimentalists would go through and wreck havoc with the island and it’s people.
So what are we to do? We can’t sit back and let the parliament, political institutions nor the ruling family have it their way completely. We have to make our voice heard in order for it to be taken into consideration and yes, we have to be patient for this infant to grow up, but we have to nurture it into accepting diverse views.
I’ve argued before in this weblog that educating the people on what constitutes a democracy is vital for its survival. What we’ve had so far are either inflamitory seminars or lessons in kow-towing. We have to find a path in the middle. It is this that I advocate whole-heartedly.
You westerners get it wrong….
Here’s an interesting excerpt of the reaction in the Middle East after Bush’s speach:
Re(1): You westerners get it wrong….
Yes i understand totally. What WOULD make a very positive start would be a reassessment of the family and benefits – much like the British Royals have had to do. I have heard numerous substantiated stories of obscene payouts and benefits to those who do nor work hard for the Kingdom or represent any of the values (good citzenship, indpendence and hard work and pride) the real rulers are tworking so hard to instill. If these were left to live independtntly without payouts that they flaunt (one lady I know has a BD400 a night drinking habit – u do the math) then much of the bitterness towards them would disappear. I hear many complain of the ‘family’ but not very much criticism of the main players. It would be an irony if they were scuppered by the vile and decadent selfish behaviour of their own blood.
You westerners get it wrong….
Should Bush be taken at his word? I’m very sceptical as to whether the US has any intention of introducing democracy in the Middle East. Rather, Washington wants to encourage “regime improvement”: respect for the rule of law, human rights, government accountability.The US/Bahrain sponsored Arab Judicial Forum held in September was a prime example of this kind of approach – promoting good practice and liberal reform in the region, but not challenging the status quo.
You westerners get it wrong….
There has to be a mass movement among the people, a longing for democracy, more understanding of the concepts of human rights and good liberal modern education for the public. When there are a sufficient number of such people, democracy will become not just an aspiration of the people but a reality. Note it takes enlightened leadership too, Oman may in future be one of the first to usher in democracy (but the general conservative views of the population may hinder it) America has a vested interest in keeping the middle east regimes afloat, their history shows that they love to deal with dictatorships than democracies, take General Musharaff for example. Religion also is a big factor and most nations in the region will in future become Islamic republics than the typical western or Indian style democracy. What do u think? John.
Re: You westerners get it wrong….
Yes the momentum must build up in sufficient quantity and quality in order for democracy to take root. And if democracy is to continue, the middle classes and professionals must quit stradling the fence and discard the “wait and see” attitude. That only resulted in the wrong people entering the parliament and we’re suffering because of that now.
Bush promised a revamp of the status quo in his recent speech particularly in the Middle East and Islamic world may partly be because of the new and reachable oil sources in the world such as the producing nations around the Caspian Sea. So proping up regimes in the Middle East is no longer that critical to the continued survival of the USA. While I am not naive enough to accept that oil is the only reason, I understand that some in the US/Europe administration have woken up to the fact that their tolerance and acceptance of the various human rights violations in these countries have only bred discontent which gave rise to extremists and their views which turned around and bit the West in the ass.
The Middle East regimes have also woken up to the fact that they might not be around for much longer unless they share power, hence the emerging democracies in this area of the world. They probably (rightly) think that allowing popular limited participation will allow them to continue to rule for a few more decades. Good luck to them. I personally don’t think that with the current formula they will last much longer unless they adopt a true democracy, end patronage, and most importantly change their mode of operation from “ruling families” to “royal families.”
You westerners get it wrong….
Sitting on the fence? the fear for personal/family safety is probably the reason for that. The regimes in the region have such a iron grip on their people that an attempt to bring democracy suddenly will plunge the country or region into a civil war (this whats going to happen in Iraq if the americans don’t get their act together) or several regions controlled by tribal leaders who in turn may be locked in a power struggle. Such a scenario would be devastating for the country, all the wealth & progress of the Gulf could go up in smoke, who would like to see this happen to their country? The people as a whole must come together unite in their ideology and decide their fate with the transfer of power to them from the existing ruler. Or a scenario where the existing king decides not have any more “heirs” and transfers the power to a body of elected people, possibly what HM Sultan Qaboos has in mind??
You westerners get it wrong….
I’m not sure what Oman’s agenda is. The elections they have held recently was only for a Shura council rather than partial parliamentary. As I am of the opinion that any popular representation no matter how week is fine, as long as the long term strategy is for full pooular democratic representation.
In Bahrain, we have an overwhelming vote for the National Charter, approved by 98.4% of the population, then we found that that has been watered down so much in its promises that 6 political societies boycotted the parliamentary elections.
Fear is most defintely a motivator of non-action. But I feel that this has lessened tremendously over the past few years. In fact just a few years ago, possibly any post you find in this blog would have landed me in prison!
I agree with you that the transfer of power must be gradual and studied. Should that happen overnight in this socio-political clime, we would descend into anarchy with most probably an extremist Islamist rule.
Patience is a virtue, however I do hope that this patience doesn’t turn into stone and aid further inactivity for further generations citing that the time is not yet right for hand-over of power.
Personally I don’t mind living under a Royal Family. It is part of our tradition and has been for over 5,000 years. I do mind however to continue to live under a Ruling Family which promote partronage and corruption.