إن شاء الله

One year ago almost to the day, a street vendor in an insignificant corner of western Tunisia set himself on fire. In the year that has passed since that day, hundreds of thousands of Arabs have risen up against their governments. In three states, Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, they deposed their dictators and ended decades of autocratic rule. In some states, like Bahrain, the governments won and repression continues. In others, like Syria, the struggle goes on and the outcome is still uncertain.

The Arab Spring is much more than three simple changes of government and some unrest. It inspired not only an entire region, but the entire world to say no, question their governments, and stand up for their rights. Obviously, the struggle is far from over. The challenges of forming a new, legitimate government run by the people and for the people where previously there only existed dictatorship and oppression are massive. However, the people have tasted freedom, and there is no going back now. Hope is a powerful ally. There is much left to do, but إن شاء الله the people of Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya will succeed and 2011 will mark a turning point not only for these three states, but for the Arab world and international community as a whole.

Arts and the Arab Spring: the case of Egyptian Graffiti

One of the major themes discussed during the Libya forum was the role of freedom of expression in Libyan society after the revolution. Freedom of expression was oppressed in all three states discussed here, and since the deposition of the three dictators their societies have exploded with cartoons, videos, paintings, poetry, music, blogs, and countless other forms of expression and art. For a presentation in class I studied Egyptian graffiti, and I would like to post a few pictures here and discuss how they relate to key aspects of the revolution.





The three images above demonstrate how the role of the military and people's perceptions of the military have developed over the course of the year. The first image is from Tahrir Square before Mubarak stepped down, and the graffiti calls for Mubarak to leave. It demonstrates how in the beginning of the revolution the military was seen as helping the protestors. The second image was done by a group of graffiti artists during Mad Graffiti Weekend, which took place at the end of May. It depicts a boy carrying bread representing the people going against a tank, which could represent repression in general or could represent the Egyptian military. Perceptions were beginning to change. The last image is from the most recent protests which took place at the end of November and calls for an end to the military's rule altogether. The military is no longer trusted.



One of the most common forms of Egyptian graffiti is murals depicting martyrs of the revolution. The boy in this picture is Khaled Said, who was killed by policy in 2010. Although he died before the revolution, he became a huge symbol and rallying point for protestors. The Facebook group We are all Khaled Said was a major tool for organizing protests during the revolution and continues to post updates today.



This final image touches on a lot of major themes from the revolution. The word in the center, "7orya," is the Arabic word for freedom. The logos of Facebook, Twitter, and Al-Jazeera show the importance of both social media and international media in the revolution. The policeman represents the regime and everything the protestors were fighting against. There are also religious symbols in the city skyline depicting a church and a mosque. Both are wrapped in the cord of the revolution, which shows the unity of the two religions against Mubarak and calls for peaceful coexistence between all Egyptians of all faiths. Overall, this picture captures many common themes expressed in Egyptian graffiti as well as the spirit of the revolution.

Libya's Transition to Democracy Forum at the College of William and Mary

On November 20, my wonderful school, the College of William and Mary, hosted a panel on Libya's transition to democracy. The panelists were: H.E. Ali Suleiman Aujali, the Ambassador of Libya to the United States; Mr. Aly R. Abuzaakouk, the executive director of the Libya Forum for Human and Political Development; and professor Chadia Mansour from William and Mary. The panelists all come from very different perspectives, which made for a very interesting discussion. Aujali represented the new Libyan government, so his responses were very calculated and diplomatic. Abuzaakouk, on the other hand, is a civilian who has a little more freedom to express his opinion, and is a former professor so he appealed to the academic audience. Chadia is my professor for the class I'm writing this blog for, and she brought the Tunisian perspective, showing how Libya fits into the larger Arab Spring framework and the connections between specifically the Libyan and Tunisian revolutions. Below are some of my notes from the panel organized by issue area.

New government and challenges:

Aujali explained that the plan for Libya's new government is to elect a 200-member council which will write a new constitution. However, Libya still faces many challenges. The presence of Gaddafi supporters, lack of civil society and institutions, and inexperience with elections are several key issues which will affect Libya's transition. Aujali also spoke about the rampant corruption during the Gaddafi regime but pointed out that not every single government official was corrupt. The problem now is figuring out which officials were the good ones and include them in the transition. Another potential challenge for the new Libyan government is the arms carried by civilians who fought in the war. Aujali does not seem to see this as an issue, claiming that arms in the hands of the people will be used to guard the constitution until a regular army and police forces can be developed.

Abuzaakouk has done a lot of work in Libya in an effort to develop civil society and prepare people for the election. He holds workshops and lectures about elections and the logistics of implementing a democracy. He also speaks about Islam and democracy. He spoke about the Transitional Constitution Declaration issued by the NTC on August 3rd, which will be the law of the country until the Council is elected, and its promises of a new Libya, elections, democracy, and new faces in the government. However, he also pointed out the gaps in the Declaration, especially the details of the transfer of power after elections and the role of newly created city councils in the new government. He described the NTC's interim prime minister as a technocrat focused on cleaning the corruption out of the government. He also described the explosion of organizations, newspapers, radio stations, and TV channels that have been founded since the revolution and Libyans take advantage of their new-found freedom of expression. In terms of arms, he pointed out that crime rates had decreased by 80% since the time of Gaddafi.

Professor Mansour also spoke about freedom of expression and how important it is for people's morale.

International relations:

Ambassador Aujali acknowledged that Libya needs help from the international community right now, but stressed that there must be limits to international intervention and influence, especially from the U.S. He spoke of the need to protect Libya's borders and the importance of medical services and training for a new Libyan military. He also stressed the need for relations based on respect and reciprocality which will benefit the Libyan people, not relations driven by ulterior motives. Aujali spoke about the African Union's recognition of the NTC but mentioned that relations with Sub-Saharan Africa will be difficult because of their history under Gaddafi.

Abuzaakouk spoke a little bit about Libya's relations with China, which supported Gaddafi. Instead of criticizing them, he thanked China and Russia for abstaining instead of vetoing the U.N. Security Council vote on resolution 1973, which authorized the no-fly zone over Libya in March.

Professor Mansour spoke about how "the Libyan revolution saved the Tunisian revolution" because before the unrest in Libya began Gaddafi and Laela Trabelsi, Ben Ali's wife, had threatened to attack Tunisia and overthrow the interim government. She also spoke of the potential for strong ties between the new Libyan and Tunisian states and coordination between their civil societies.

Tribalism:

Aujali did not seem to think tribalism would be an issue in Libya's transition to democracy. He pointed out how quickly the country united against Gaddafi and how the ideals of democracy, human rights, and freedom of the press and expression have the power to maintain this unification of the population. He also mentioned the role of the youth and how determined they are to "guard this revolution." As far as Gaddafi's tribe goes, the ambassador stressed the need for national reconciliation and forgiveness.

Abuzaakouk stressed the need for reconciliation between localities who were divided during the war and the issue of tribalism affecting elections. In terms of national elections, he favors allowing political parties to run instead of individuals because political parties offer less of an opportunity for tribalism to play a role. In his view, political organizations can overcome tribal divisions. Abuzaakouk pointed out that all Libyans suffered under Gaddafi's regime, even members of his own tribe.

The economy and oil:

Ambassador Aujali spoke about Gaddafi's government's accounts, which are all frozen at the moment. There is a lot of money in these accounts which belongs to the Libyan people and which the new government could use in its transition. He spoke about using oil revenues to benefit the people by, for example, raising wages. He favors a free market system but not "blind capitalism." He stressed the importance of giving the people certain economic guarantees.

Abuzaakouk spoke about the importance of controlling inflation and raising the minimum wage rate. He advocates an economic system which protects people from cartels and big companies without stifling initiative or the drive for creation.

Saif al-Islam and Abdullah Senussi:

Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi's son, and Abdullah Senussi, Gaddafi's intelligence chief, were arrested in the two days before this panel took place. Aujali spoke about whether they would be tried in a Libyan court or the ICC. He spokes about the corruption of the legal system under Gaddafi but stressed that the revolution will put an end to it. He advocated Libyan courts once a new legal system has been formed. According to Aujali, the development of a new legal system is a higher priority than the trial of these two men.

Abuzaakouk spoke of the importance of developing a new justice system as a whole and the necessity of ensuring that supporters of Gaddafi who are now in detention, including Saif al-Islam and Abdullah Senussi, are not treated unfairly.

Women's rights:

Abuzaakouk mentioned that even in Libya's most conservative areas, more women than men attended his workshops about democracy. He also pointed out that there are more women than men in higher education in Libya. He emphasized the importance of protecting women's rights without forcing Western values on Libyan society.

Professor Mansour brought up the point that during all of the revolutions and protests of the Arab Spring women were in the streets along with men. After playing such an important role in the revolutions, women will not accept a new government that does not protect their rights.

Egypt update: government resigned, new cabinet sworn in

Egypt's first interim cabinet, led by Essam Sharif, did indeed resign on November 21 in response to a new wave of protests taking place in Egypt just before the first round of parliamentary elections. The Freedom and Justice Party, which represents the Muslim Brotherhood, won the largest share of votes in the first round of parliamentary elections. However, like Ennahdha in Tunisia, the Muslim Brotherhood did not win enough seats to completely dominate the parliament. It will have to compromise to pass any laws or revisions to the constitution. Its potential allies are unknown, but will be decided after the second and third round of elections set for December 14 and January 3, respectively.

The SCAF replaced Essam Sharif with Kamal al-Ganzouri, who has been appointing a new cabinet over the course of the past few weeks. However, he is reappointing some of the ministers of the previous cabinet, such as foreign minister Mohammed Kamel Amr, and even keeping two ministers who served under Mubarak, which again brings up the question of whether or not this is real change or just for show. Ganzouri has presidential powers but does not control the military or judiciary.

In terms of transfer of power, the military did concede to protestors' demands and has agreed to transfer power to a civilian government after presidential elections in June 2012, much earlier than they originally planned. However, June is a long ways away, and it is very likely that protestors will continue to take to the streets periodically before then to keep the military honest.

See article for details.