THE GUARDIAN: Special envoy warns religious groups are focused and organised while progressives need support and unity
Tony Blair has called on the west to do more to help "liberal and democratic" elements in the Middle East and north Africa following the Arab spring – or risk the formation of new Islamist governments that are not "genuine" democracies.
Admitting countries such as Britain and the US had previously been "too reluctant to push dictatorships on a path to democracy", the former prime minister said they now had to be clearer on their view of democracy "because the trouble really in the region is the more religious and extreme elements are very well organised and the liberal and democratic types basically aren't".
Blair, the special envoy for the Quartet on the Middle East (the UN, US, EU and Russia), regretted previous failures to promote "a concept of evolutionary change", predicting the recent revolutions would cause quite a lot of difficulty, citing, as an example, Egyptian growth rates and tourism difficulties. » | James Melkie | Thursday, December 29, 2011
BBC: Sir Victor Blank has taken a keen interest in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians for many years.
The Today programme's Sarah Montague met with former prime minister and current envoy to the Middle East, Tony Blair to talk about the role that political leadership could, or should, play in the region's conflict resolution. Listen to BBC audio » | BBC Today | Thursday, December 29, 2011
