The Tunisia Effect

by Jack Lee

The fall of the Berlin Wall became the iconic symbol in the West for swift national change and democratic reforms. In the Muslim world it may well be the Tunisia riots. They have toppled an iron fisted regime that has held absolute power for over two decades.

What makes events in Tunisia so importatnt is they are a modern nation, economically successful and their people with access to the internation stage became enamored with the dream of a democracy as found in many western nations. The academic element in Tunisia is the prime motivator for reform and the bonding catalyst for many other disparate political factions. They’re now all desperately seeking reforms and the complete removal of Islamic hardliners.

Dictators in neighboring Muslim nations are nervously watching events in Tunisia with alarm, fearing the rapid spread of pro-democracy forces. No doubt their personal jets are on standby, loaded with suitcases of money and ready for departure… if their people revolt.

And now this: (Reuters) – An Egyptian man set himself on fire near parliament on Tuesday and another tried to follow suit, following a self-immolation in Tunisia that provoked mass protests and helped to oust the president.

Similar cases have been reported in Algeria and Mauritania as Arabs in authoritarian states watched with astonishment the speed at which the Tunisian uprising toppled its ruler last week. Some have responded by calling for change at home.

In Egypt, Tuesday’s acts followed an incident a day earlier when a man set himself alight outside parliament in a sign of growing public discontent in the tightly-run country.

“This is a symptom of rising anger and frustration over socio-economic injustice,” said Hossam Bahgat, a human rights activist. ”

The timing of the democratic movement in North Africa could not be worse for Islamic despots wherever they may be found, like Iran’s fundamentalist regime which has been clashing recently a growing wave of pro-democratic reform demonstrations. It seems the more force they use, the more resistance they create. Sooner or later this will reach the flash point as it did in Tunisia.

The motivation behind the unrest has nothing to do with the CIA, Obama or the economy. It’s far more basic. This is an expression of human nature. People can only endure government oppression for so long before the desire to be free explodes with a force greatly exceeding that used to suppress them.

The narcissistic nature of all dictators won’t allow them to see that they can never be powerful enough to suppress human nature. Freedom is the greatest of all forces of human nature. All attempts to repress it, no matter how brutal, will eventually fail.