Politics & Policies: Lesser Arab expectations

By Claude Salhani
UPI International Editor

Published 4/5/2005 3:25 PM

WASHINGTON, April 5 (UPI) -- Once again the Arab world has been issued a report card -- and once again it has failed, trailing behind other regions. The report found the Arab world had less freedom, less democracy, and the slowness of tectonic plates in implementing reforms.

"Why, among all the regions of the world, do Arabs enjoy the least freedom?" the authors of a United Nations sponsored report ask.

The Third Arab Human Development Report published by the U.N. Development Programme, and titled "The Time Has Come: A Call for Freedom and Good Governance in the Arab World," was released Tuesday in Amman, the Jordanian capital. The results are both depressing and worrying.

The countries of the Arab world get failing grades in democracy, failing grades in freedom of the press, failing grades in freedom of speech and failing grades in movement towards political and social reforms. In some Arab countries -- the report points to Egypt, Sudan and Syria -- the state of emergency has become permanent and ongoing, while "none of the dangers warrant it."

In Cairo meanwhile, thousands of Egyptian university students demonstrated angrily against the government Tuesday, in the largest such protest yet to be staged. Egyptian students of Al Azhar University -- some of them veiled -- held up signs saying "No Emergency Law."

Islamists, liberals and nationalists, united under the umbrella of the "Kifaya" Movement, Arabic for "enough," want an end to Egypt's 24-year-old state of emergency, as well as an end to the presidency of Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power since 1981.

Continued application of so-called "Emergency Laws," and in many cases martial law, deny the citizens many constitutional rights. Basic civil rights and privileges, often taken for granted in most of the world, such as inviolability of the home, personal liberty, freedom of opinion, expression and the press, confidentiality of correspondence, rights of movement and assembly, are widely ignored across much of the Arab world.

While political stagnation generally has been the rule, some changes are creeping in. Lebanon has campaigned for the departure of Syrian forces from its territory, and Jordan's King Abdullah II Tuesday appointed a new prime minister, instructing him to speed up reforms.

In Syria, all hope for reforms now hinges on the forthcoming Baath Party regional conference, expected to take place in May or June. Rumors have it that some "very big changes" are on the way. "The biggest change Syria has seen in 50 years," report Syrian exiles.

SyriaComment.com, a usually well-informed blog site, quotes sources outside the country saying that these changes could include emptying all prisons, allowing a free press, authorizing new political parties, allowing the return of thousands of Syrian exiles and issuing Syrian passports to Kurds. Those are indeed great expectations.

The near-complete consensus among the authors of the report is "that there is a serious failing in the Arab world," the primary cause being political and not cultural reasons.

In a systematic survey of the pace of political change in the Arab world, the report, produced by an independent group of leading Arab scholars and intellectuals, found urgent need for reform.

It warns that violence could erupt unless "a rapid acceleration of democratic reform, with specific proposals for new regional human rights institutions, robust and freely elected legislatures, and truly independent judiciaries," are put into place.

The report recommends immediate steps be taken to:

-- Respect freedoms of opinion, expression and association.

-- End all types of marginalization and discrimination against social groups and minorities.

-- Guarantee the independence of the judiciary and ending reliance on military tribunals and other "exceptional" courts.

-- The end of "states of emergency" that have become permanent features of governance in the region.

In a highly critical appraisal of progress toward democratization in the Arab world, the report issues "a call for urgent corrective action." The authors warn that unless Arab governments move at a faster pace to implement reforms, they could face "chaotic" social upheaval.

The authors of the report warn, "If the repressive situation in Arab countries today continues, intensified societal conflict is likely to follow," leading to violence in "the absence of peaceful and effective mechanisms to address injustice."

The result could be "chaotic upheavals."

"There is a change in mindsets in the region," said Dr. Rima Khalaf Hunaidi, U.N. assistant Secretary-General and director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States in UNDP and the chief overseer of the Arab Human Development Reports. "We are moving with greater confidence in a new direction now, and there is a strong awareness of the irreversibility of change -- change driven by the Arab street, not change adopted from afar."

The popular movements urging political adjustment in Egypt and Lebanon are indications that the Arab world cannot continue to stand still while the rest of the world move along at an accelerated pace.

The continued usurping of power in the hands of Arab leaders, be they royalty, military dictatorship, or civilians elected without any real competition "has created a kind of political black hole at the centre of Arab political life," the authors say.

"By 21st century standards, Arab countries have not met the Arab people's aspirations for development." This status quo "is no longer sustainable."

The U.N. report cautions that if the Arabs themselves do not take real steps towards change, the global powers will step in and lead the process of reform from outside.

"Arab countries cannot ignore the fact that the world, especially the powerful players in the global arena, will continue to safeguard their interests in the region, the report stated.

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(Comments may be sent to Claude@upi.com.)

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