What next for North Africa/Middle East?

michaels

Slightly OT but what should happen to former dictators?

Whilst the Saddam / Ceausescu ending had a certain poetic justice it is hardly an incentive for a dictator to go peacefully - For Gaddaffi the options seem to be to fight to the last drop of his citizens blood or else submit to an inevitable lynching and scaffold...perhaps it would be better to strip them of their assets and leave them to grow old in obscurity in Slough?

Ian_W

michaels wrote: »

perhaps it would be better to strip them of their assets and leave them to grow old in obscurity in Slough?

Wouldn't that breach his human rights as a "cruel and unusual punishment"?

globalds

Watching the news tonight It would make much more sense if the UK government started loading a ship full of food and first aid and got it sat about 100 miles off Libya ready to go in and deliver it as soon as the old regime topples.

Compared to the alternative of trying to use force seems a much better use of resources ,when all it would take is one image of a child being pulled from the rubble to turn us into the enemy.

vivatifosi

I couldn't agree more globalds. It is much easier to win the goodwill of a downtrodden people by acts of kindness than enforcement of power. Besides, why does it always need to be us that volunteers to be the US's rear gunner? Libya had its closest links to Italy, shouldn't they be the ones doing the sabre rattling? There is now also a real need for humanitarian aid on the Tunisian border as lots of Egyptians, Bangladeshis etc are stuck there with nobody coming to rescue them.

The issue of leaders is a difficult one michaels. If I'd lived under Gaddafi for all of my life I'd want to see justice, particularly if his regime had killed or tortured members of my family. However there is some thought that giving a back door out of the situation means that cruel dictators are less likely to stay and fight. I don't know if it is that straightforward with Gaddafi. He goes beyond normal logic and behaves like a madman, which makes him more dangerous than any of the other leaders in the region imo.

vivatifosi

Interesting Forecasting Eye from CEBR this week. Only a bit of it is about the problems in Africa and the Middle East, but does point out the potential for unrest in Saudi Arabia. Looks like we should keep our tanks brimmed around the 10th and 22nd March...

http://www.cebr.com/wp-content/uploads/Forecasting-Eye-Impact-of-higher-oil-prices.pdf

vivatifosi

Interesting article in FT too on Saudi:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/63652c86-46a7-11e0-967a-00144feab49a.html#axzz1FfrTwnET

Also mentions day of rage next Friday.

vivatifosi

And subtle pro-democracy protests in China:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-jasmine-revolution-20110305,0,4166735.story

What makes the 2 p.m. Sunday demonstrations so difficult to stop is that the organizers of the so-called jasmine revolution, so named in homage to the Middle East and North African uprisings, are simply asking people to come out and stroll, thus circumventing the bans on public protest in China.

"No shouting or slogans, just walking and smiling," read a statement signed "The Initiators of Chinese Jasmine Revolution" posted Tuesday.

"We invite every participant to stroll, watch or even just pretend to pass by. As long as you are present, the authoritarian government will be shaking with fear," read an earlier posting.

The technique of an innocuous stroll — san bu, or making steps — was used in 2008 by Shanghai homeowners who objected to the building of a high-speed railway line and has since caught on among middle-class protesters who wish to express their grievances without facing arrest.

"The government is going crazy. It faces a high cost in trying to control this kind of demonstration because they don't know who their opponents are," said a Chinese blogger who asked not to be quoted by name because many of his peers have been arrested. "And it's safe for participants; they can just pretend they're out shopping for the day."

Blimey. We do indeed live in interesting times.

michaels

Imagine tho, you go and walk the dog in Barking and next thing you know you are a statistic on a BNP gathering.....

diable

At the end of the day it means we pay more for goods, petrol, utilities and slide deeper in to the preverbal .....................

vivatifosi

michaels wrote: »

Imagine tho, you go and walk the dog in Barking and next thing you know you are a statistic on a BNP gathering.....

:rotfl:Thank goodness the BNP doesn't know how to do subtle.