(MENAFN- Arab Times) Ahmed Al-Jarallah Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
IT IS an ordinary matter in the
Arab world for the regime to yield to populist demands, especially if the
demand is like iron as the case in Algeria. Many have expected this country to
fall into civil war.
Also, it is not strange that the
yellow vest protest in France continues; while discussions are ongoing and have
yet to reach the point that the 1968 uprising reached. Protesters vandalized
public and private properties while facing riot police, but all that did not
stop the protests.
This equation is applicable to
Sudan where the regime seems to have comprehended the message of the people;
thus, limiting the use of force which could lead to civil war similar to that
of Libya, Syria and Yemen.
This indicates the Algerians and
Sudanese have realized that violence is not the means to achieve their demands.
Instead, it will shatter the country, especially in Sudan where the security
situation is fragile, charged with separatist conflicts and armed militias are
prowling the State.
In less than a month since the
start of protests in Algeria against current President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
running in the election for the fifth time, the deputy prime minister announced
that the president has agreed to hand over power to an elected successor and
the opposition shall participate in the government in terms of overseeing the
elections.
On the other hand in Sudan,
measures are slowly being taken under pressure of protests; so far, it has not
fallen into armed violence.
Perhaps, there is nothing common
between France, Algeria and Sudan due to their cultural differences and the
political experience of each country. Nevertheless, the historical fact is that
Algeria is culturally hand in hand with France; thus, the similarities in
protests but the demands are different.
Undoubtedly, the French are
heading towards the declaration of their Sixth Republic; but they are not ready
to lose their security stability. This also applies to the Algerians who are
still enduring the 'Chronicle of the Years of Fire' which continued for a decade
with a death toll of about a million and a half.
This occurred after the political
factions of Islamists attempted to take over power in 1992 by declaring their
false victory in the election.
Egypt went through a similar
trial on Jan 25, 2011, when the Muslim Brotherhood Movement climbed to power
through the shoulders of protesters and then ended up being caught in the
biggest scam of distorting the people's will.
It took two years for the
Egyptians to decide to get rid of them. On June 30, the people took to the
street as they discovered that the movement wanted to steal their wealth. In
both uprisings, the military stood by the people.
Unfortunately, that was not the
case in Libya and Syria as the 'Brotherhood' pushed them into civil war. The
same happened in Yemen after they teamed up with the Houthis and turned against
the GCC initiative on Yemen, pulling to their side the Yemeni General People's
Congress and eventually they fell into the trap of civil war.
In brief, both the Sudanese and
Algerians took note and benefited from the experience of other nations. They
also learned from the French and walked out of Arab norms.
Therefore, the Algerian and
Sudanese leaderships must understand this fact and to rationalize based on time
to stop the protests because both cases will lead to violent confrontations and
the army in both sides will not be exempted. Perhaps, it will lead to civil
war.
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
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