AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: Head of Arab League warns regional leaders that recent political upheaval is linked to deteriorating economic situation.
The head of the Arab League has told the region's leaders that the recent upheaval in Tunisia is linked to deteriorating economic conditions throughout the Arab world, warning them that their people's anger has reached unprecedented heights.
Amr Moussa told an Arab economic summit in Egypt that "the Arab soul is broken by poverty, unemployment and general recession."
"This is in the mind of all of us," Moussa said in his opening address to the 20 Arab leaders and other representatives of Arab League members gathered in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
The summit is the first top level Arab meeting since protests fuelled by joblessness and other economic woes in Tunisia forced Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the president, to flee, bringing an end to his 23-year rule of the country.
The unrest has helped inspire similar protests around the Arab world and calls for political change, though activists face vast security forces heavily vested in the status quo backing hardline regimes ready to crack down on challenges to their rule.
"The Tunisian revolution is not far from us," Moussa warned. "The Arab citizen entered an unprecedented state of anger and frustration."
He called for an Arab "renaissance" to lift people from their frustration. >>> Source: Agencies | Wednesday, January 18, 2011
These OSTRICHES are forgetting MANY OTHER FACTORS: the GREED of their LEADERS; the CORRUPTION of their LEADERS; the INEQUALITY of the OWNERSHIP of WEALTH and the MEANS of MAKING MONEY; the FACT that their country was run as a PRIVATE BUSINESS, just as ROMANIA had been before the FALL of the Ceauşescus; the STEALING of the PEOPLE’S MONEY by the RULING CLASS; the LUXURY and EXTRAVAGANT LIVES of their RULERS whilst the ORDINARY FOLK GO WITHOUT. Then there is the SUPPRESSION of the PEOPLE by the SECRET POLICE and MACHINERY OF STATE; the LACK of FREEDOM and DEMOCRACY; the LACK of FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. The list goes on and on and on. So these TWERPS are not going to SAFEGUARD THEIR POSITIONS by limiting their FOCUS only on JOBLESSNESS and OTHER ECONOMIC WOES. This REVOLUTION was caused by far more than that; and the REVOLUTION will spread to OTHER ARAB COUNTRIES if the PEOPLE'S PLIGHT is not addressed FUNDAMENTALLY. – © Mark
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