How Far Will The Jasmine Revolution Blossom?
Last Friday, the media finally woke up to the idea of The Jasmine Revolution happening in Tunisia.
Tunisia, an ex-colony of France, has recently thrown out its government and its President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and has been rioting ever since. British holidaymakers were flown out of the country over fears for their safety, and the Home Office has announced that it advises against travel to the North African country unless it is "completely necessary".
The president left with a reported fifty five million US dollars in gold bullions from the country, leading to the media to brand him and his family as “kleptomaniacs”. Understandably, too. In an attempt to reach asylum in France, Ali strangely enough dropped his two young daughters into a five star suite at Disneyland over fears for their safety in Tunisia. Really... Disneyland? Saudi Arabia eventually took him in after he spent hours in mid-air trying to find a European country that would allow him to land.
It looks like it is spreading. A man in a copycat act in Egypt tried to set himself alight outside Parliament in Cairo over the lack of services given by the police when his daughter went missing. That’s one it’s already spread to, so what about Sudan? Sudan has suffered an on-going civil war since the 1980s, and it looks like it’s only just been put to rest. A referendum was held in the state over the possibility and views of splitting Sudan into two different parts: and the response was positive. There are many issues with this split, as for example the north of the country which has many valuable natural resources such as oil and gas would be effectively “cut off” from the south.
Protests have also spread to Jordan over dissatisfaction over rising food prices in the region. Lebanon’s government fell around two weeks ago after Hezbollah left the coalition government there. Rival government groups have been talking, but to no avail. An emergency meaning was held by Qatar and Turkey over the political crisis in the Arab country.
But why does it matter to us? Well, for a start, the Middle East has a lot of the world’s oil, so transportation fees such as petrol would go up. Food may very well go up, as well. On a less serious note, it’s always interesting to see political unrest in other countries and how they deal with them on a basic note that revolutions are very interesting things. Who would have thought that the suicide of a young man in Tunisia would “get the ball rolling”, as it were?
The Jasmine Revolution has begun; now let’s just see how far it gets.
Update: The Jasmine Revolution
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2 Comments – Postiwch sylw
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Rhoddwyd sylw 16 mis yn ôl - 27th January 2011 - 14:37pm
great and informative article ! it is crazy whats going on in some countries at the moment... wonder how far it will spread!
have missed your articles lately btw!
Sprout Editor
Rhoddwyd sylw 15 mis yn ôl - 31st January 2011 - 14:18pm
Here here. Good to read your stuff again :)