alternatif politika Cilt 3, Sayı 3, Kasım 2011 Misafir Editör: Prof. Bogdan SZAJKOWSKİ Timeline of the Arab Revolt: December 2010-June 2011 Bogdan SZAJKOWSKİ Social Media Tools and the Arab Revolts Bogdan SZAJKOWSKİ The Social Opposition Movement in Syria: The Assad Regime in the Context of Reform and Revolution Veysel AYHAN European Union’s Ineffective Middle East Policy Revealed after Revolution in Tunisia Bahar Turhan HURMİ Libyan Uprising And International Intervention: NATO’s Mission and Libya’s Gridlock Veysel AYHAN Arab Spring and Israeli Security: The New Threats Dünya BAŞOL Background of the Tunisian Revolution Nebahat TANRIVERDİ alternatif politika Cilt 3, Sayı 3, Kasım 2011 Introduction- Bogdan SZAJKOWSKİ, i-ii. Timeline of the Arab Revolt: December 2010 – June 2011- Bogdan SZAJKOWSKİ, 256-419. Social Media Tools and the Arab Revolts-Bogdan SZAJKOWSKİ, 420-432. The Social Opposition Movement in Syria: The Assad Regime in the Context of Reform and Revolution-Veysel AYHAN, 433- 454. European Union’s Ineffective Middle East Policy Revealed after Revolution in Tunisia-Bahar Turhan HURMİ, 455-489. Libyan Uprising And International Intervention: NATO’s Mission and Libya’s Gridlock-Veysel AYHAN, 490-508. Arab Spring and Israeli Security: The New Threats-Dünya BAŞOL, 509-546. Background of the Tunisian Revolution-Nebahat TANRIVERDİ, 547-570. INTRODUCTION Guest Editor: Prof. Bogdan Szajkowski This special issue of Alternatif Politika is devoted to the Arab revolts of 2011 –the series of dynamic social and political developments not seen in the Arab world for over fifty years. Throughout 2011 the Middle East, the Gulf region, Arab Peninsula and North Africa have witnessed social and political turmoil that has fundamentally impacted not only on these regions but also on the rest of the world. In a wide comparative framework these events can be seen as a delayed phase of renaissance and age of enlightenment that had begun late in the Ottoman era and led to the Arab armed revolt of 1916-1918 against the Ottoman empire. These revolts originated in the heart of Arabia and were directed against foreign powers. The discoveries of oil and gas which over the past six decades have generated enormous revenues gave rise to an “arrangement” between Salafi-Wahhabi religious institutions, local tribal elites and their foreign sponsors. These “arrangements” constituted a chronic impediment to Arab reform. The Arab revolts of 2011 have not been directed against foreign powers but primarily, if not exclusively, against the Arab regimes. The protesters’ complaints included long lists of economic grievances headed by issues such as the unfair distribution of wealth concentrated in a clan-class controlled system and a chronic and ever increasing unemployment - particularly among the youth which constitutes between 44 and 65 per cent of the respective societies. Significantly, however, the protesters’ political demands proved more important than economic petitions. They centred on the abuse of power, lack of democracy, absence of representation, lack of accountability and transparency, widespread corruption, disrespect of human rights and the theft of public wealth that to a varying degree has been clearly apparent in most contemporary Arab societies. Paternalistic power relations triggered mass political revolts against the rentier oligarchical state. The Arab revolts of 2011 differ fundamentally from the Arab revolts in the 1950s and 1960s. The current wave is entirely “profoundly state-focused” and is not a “pan-Arab movement.” While the spirit of revolution has crossed borders, people have not been fighting for their counterparts in other countries. The only state to intervene in another country has involved Saudi, Emirati and Kuwaiti military support for the ruling minority in Bahrain. At the time when this special issue of Alternatif Politika goes to print the regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have collapsed as a result of popular revolts; a UN Security Council resolution has asked Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh to relinquish his post; Syria has been threatened with expulsion from the Arab League; Moroccans have approved a new constitution; protests in Jordan have led to the sacking of two successive governments; Oman has seena government reshuffle, economic concessions and the granting of law- www.alternatifpolitika.com making powers to elected legislature; massive economic hand-outs have been ordered by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia as well as an announcement of approval of women's participation in voting and participating in the next Shura Council and municipal elections in 2015; resignation of the cabinet in Kuwait; lifting of the 19-year-old state of emergency in Algeria; and GCC military intervention to save the ruling family in Bahrain. These are not insignificant consequences of the Arab revolts thus far. Moreover it is worth remembering that from now onwards it will prove very difficult, if not impossible, for the Arab regimes not to carry on further political and economic reforms guaranteeing respect of human rights, greater popular participation in the decision-making process, and more accountability and transparency. The Arab revolts have not been a monolithic movement but protests about good governance, accountability and human dignity. They have been the results of mass activism and by mainly young and frustrated protesters. Although naturally Islamic elements have been present among the demonstrators, these protests were not, on the whole, inspired by Islamic political ideology or fundamentalist leaders. This special issue of Alternatif Politika presents analytical material to some of the aspects of the Arab revolts of 2011. It is not meant to be an exhaustive coverage but merely an introduction to further issues of this journal which will be devoted to examining the on- going developments in the Arab world. Prof. Bogdan Szajkowski www.alternatifpolitika.com Alternative Politics, Vol.3, No.3, 256-419, November 2011 256 TIMELINE OF THE ARAB REVOLT: DECEMBER 2010 – JUNE 2011 Bogdan SZAJKOWSKI* December 17, 2010 Tunisia - Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old unemployed, sets fire to himself in the central Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, protesting at the confiscation by police of his fruit and vegetable cart. He suffers third-degree burns across his entire body and is subsequently treated in the Traumatology Centre for Severe Burns in the town of Ben Arous. His self-immolation sparks demonstrations in which protesters burned tyres and chanted slogans demanding jobs. Protests soon spread to other parts of the country including the towns of al-Ragab and Maknasi in central Tunisia, and later the capital, Tunis. Videos of the Sidi Bouzid demonstrations are online soon after the protest began and the Twitter website carries extensive commentary of the protests. December 19, 2010 Tunisia - Protests spread to Kairouan (holy city located in north-central Tunisia), Sfax (city 270 km southeast of Tunis), and Ben Guerdane (town in south-eastern Tunisia, close to the border with Libya). December 20, 2010 Tunisia - Mohamed Al Nouri Al Juwayni, the Tunisian development minister, travels to Sidi Bouzid to announce a new $10m employment programme. But protests continue unabated. December 21, 2010 Tunisia - President Ben Ali carries out limited cabinet reshuffle and warns that protesters would be punished if rioting continued in the country. December 22, 2010 Tunisia - Lahseen Naji, a 22-year-old commits suicide in the midst of another demonstration over unemployment in Sidi Bouzid by climbing an electricity pylon and electrocuting himself on the cables, after shouting out ―No to misery, no to unemployment!‖ 257 Bogdan Szajkowski Ramzi Al-Abboudi, under the burden of business debt, ironically made possible by the country‘s micro-credit solidarity programme, commits suicide. December 24, 2010 Tunisia - Mohamed Ammari, an 18-year-old is killed by a bullet in the chest when police opened fire in the town of Menzel Bouziane, 240km south of the capital Tunis. Chawki Belhoussine El Hadri, a 44-year-old man, is among those shot by police at the same protest. He dies on 30 December 2010. Hundreds of protesters rally in front of the Tunisian labour union headquarters over rampant unemployment, clashing with Tunisian security forces in the central towns of al- Ragab and Miknassi. Skirmishes break out when security forces stage overnight crackdown campaigns. December 25, 2010 Tunisia – Protesters in Kairouan, Sfax and Ben Guerdane again stage demonstrations. An interior ministry spokesperson says police were forced to "shoot in self-defence" after shots in the air failed to disperse scores of protesters who were setting police cars and buildings ablaze. December 27, 2010 Tunisia - Mass rally is held in Tunis. December 28, 2010 Tunisia - President Ben Ali warns in a national television broadcast that protests are unacceptable and will have a negative impact on the economy. He criticises the ―use of violence in the streets by a minority of extremists‖ and says the law will be applied ―in all firmness‖ to punish protesters. Rally in the town of Gafsa organised by the Tunisian Federation of Labour Unions is blocked by security forces. Some 300 lawyers stages protests close to government headquarters in Tunis. The governors of three provinces: Sidi Bouzid, Jendouba, and Zaghouan are dismissed. Al-Arabiya TV news channel reports the sacking of the ministers of communication, trade and handicrafts, and religious affairs for reasons related to the uprising.