<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">It is always good to listen to Mazin Qumsiyeh, an indefatigable Palestinian. <br><div><br><div>Begin forwarded message:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);"><b>From: </b></span><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;">"Mazin Qumsiyeh" <<a href="mailto:mazin@qumsiyeh.org">mazin@qumsiyeh.org</a>><br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);"><b>Date: </b></span><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;">January 30, 2011 4:03:34 AM CST<br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);"><b>To: </b></span><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;">Mort Brussel <<a href="mailto:brussel@illinois.edu">brussel@illinois.edu</a>><br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);"><b>Cc: </b></span><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;">Human Rights Newsletter <<a href="mailto:humanrights@lists.qumsiyeh.org">humanrights@lists.qumsiyeh.org</a>><br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);"><b>Subject: </b></span><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;"><b>[HumanRights] Transformation in the Arab World</b><br></span></div><br><div>"Mubarak has been an ally of ours in a number of things and he's been very<br>responsible on, relative to geopolitical interest in the region, the Middle<br>East peace efforts; the actions Egypt has taken relative to normalizing<br>relationship with Israel.. I would not refer to him as a dictator" US Vice<br>President Je Biden ( a lackey of AIPAC)<br><br>I first visited Egypt 30 years ago in 1981 to do research for my master's<br>thesis which was later published in my first book "The Bats of Egypt". I<br>visited Egypt twice since then and I recall vividly police abuse of their<br>own people and yet the Egyptians I encountered mocked and joked about<br>dictatorship. We tried at least from a distance to support our Egyptian<br>brothers and sisters as they struggle for freedom. Arabs everywhere (yes<br>even here in occupied Palestine) are talking about a transformation and<br>about revolution. But all such transformations carry pain. Over 200<br>Egyptians were killed, thousands injured, and there is much destruction.<br>Yet in a nation of 85 million people this is still a relatively peaceful<br>transformation. While dealing with the present is critical we must also at<br>this juncture start to look post dictatorship in the Arab world and plan the<br>future.<br><br> I recall vividly a talk by a self-described "Liberal Zionist" (an oxymoron)<br>at Duke University on 1 March 198l; at 77 year old he had no inhibitions in<br>saying "Zionists do not want democracy in the Arab world." He explained<br>that if Egypt was a democracy, it would not have signed a peace deal with<br>Israel since the sentiments of the Arab people does not accept such<br>arrangements that could be done with someone like President Sadat or King<br>Hussein. On this point he was absolutely correct but in the long run such<br>short-sighted perspective is self-destructive (1). <br><br>As I watched last night Hosni Mubarak make his (hopefully last) speech, I<br>was very much reminded of the last speech of the Shah of Iran, Marcos of the<br>Philippines, Bin Ali of Tunisia. They all claimed after so many years of<br>torturing their own people that they now want to "reform". The US funded<br>and supported the brutal Mubarak regime for over 30 years even as plenty of<br>evidence from human rights organizations documented its abuse of its own<br>citizens. See example videos of torture by Egyptian police (2). This is<br>also the same police who, on the instruction of the Mubarak dictatorship,<br>beat international activists trying to provide humanitarian relief to<br>besieged Gaza (3). Mubarak then went on to for the first time appoint a<br>vice president (his intelligence chief and ex-army buddy Omar Suleiman) and<br>appoint another army officer as prime minister. It is now recognized that<br>his reign is ending and a new era is beginning. <br><br>It is rather amusing that the brutal dictator of "Saudi" Arabia (a country<br>named after a ruling family!) called to support Mubarak and stated that the<br>demonstrators are hooligans and criminals. Anyone who knows anything about<br>Egypt knows that this amazing and inspiring mostly nonviolent revolution is<br>a true expression of the will of the Egyptian people regardless of their<br>political or religious persuasions (leftist, Muslim Brotherhood, Nasserite<br>Arab Nationalist, Christians, Muslims, etc). <br><br>In other news in brief for those who don't keep up with internet news or<br>those who watch mainly the (supine) Western Media:<br>-Large demonstrations by Egyptians and human rights defenders at Egyptian<br>embassies around the world all demanding democracy<br>-Israeli embassy in Cairo essentially emptied (an apartheid state embassy in<br>the largest Arab country is an abomination)<br>-Israeli pundits very worried about how Egypt might look after Mubarak.<br>-There are many signs that the Egyptian military (like the Tunisian<br>military) may be critical in this struggle. Already there are instances<br>where the demonstrators were protected from the Egyptian police by the<br>Egyptian military. See footage (4)<br> -A number of human rights groups and Egyptian community representatives<br>abroad all called for ending the Egyptian police brutality. By contrast EU<br>and US government officials are making feeble statements to hedge their bets<br>and at best call for "peaceful" actions from "all sides". Slowly they were<br>forced to modify their retorhic to talk about "change" but must finally call<br>on their puppet Mubarak to leave power and insist that he and his sons and<br>family return the billions stolen from the Egyptian people.<br>-A number of religious and civil organizations in Egypt broke their silence<br>to support the ouster of the "last Pharaoh"<br>-The dictatorship cutting of web and mobile phone services and banning<br>reporting by groups like Al-Jazeera did little to stem the tide of protest<br>because people are living it daily in their homes and on the streets and<br>they are not being incited from outside.<br>-Protests spread to Jordan and Yemen (two other Western supported<br>governments). There are now plans for large protests in Syria and other<br>countries.<br>-On the Palestinian Authority TV news, they noted that Mahmoud Abbas called<br>Mubarak and stated his support for stability of Egypt. Other news outlets<br>stated that he fully supports the Mubarak regime. Hamas then came in to say<br>that they support the Egyptian people. Sadly, I think all rational human<br>beings know which horse to bet on in this struggle between people and a<br>western-supported dictator who accomplished nothing for his people and<br>instead enriched his family (his sons are billionaires in a country in which<br>tens of millions of people live on less than $1 a day). <br><br>I wrote seven months ago that "The political leadership in the fragmented<br>Arab countries and Palestinian authority have convinced themselves that they<br>have no option but to endlessly try to talk to politicians from Tel Aviv and<br>Washington (the latter also Israeli occupied territory) hoping for some<br>'gestures'..I know most politicians like to feel 100% safe (mostly for their<br>position of power) and are afraid of any change. But I wish they would<br>realize that daring politicians make the history books and those who hang<br>around trying to protect their seats will be forgotten. Cowardice is never<br>a virtue." And then I concluded that "In the demonstrations yesterday, a<br>child in Gaza was carrying a sign that says 'we demand freedom' and a child<br>in Cairo that says 'children in Egypt and in Gaza want the siege lifted'.<br>That is our future - not elderly politicians meeting to do media damage<br>control with empty words. "(5)<br><br>But make no mistake about it: no power transformation happens without a<br>period of unrest, instability, and pain. I believe in these difficult<br>periods, humans are tested. Some are weak and may even try to use the<br>situations to make some quick personal profit. Others are of strong and<br>decent character and this shows in their watching for their neighbors and<br>their community. I have seen countless pictures and heard countless stories<br>of acts that can only be described as heroic (e.g. people protecting the<br>national museum in Cairo or their neighbors' houses). Intellectuals are<br>stepping forward to articulate rational scenarios for the future. People<br>helping other people. So I think we will weather the transition. As to<br>what the future holds. Clearly, the era of ignoring the masses is gone. It<br>will not be easy since we have a legacy of decades of poor education (one<br>that does not emphasize civic and individual responsibility etc). Getting<br>rid of dictators is not enough. Building a civic participatory society is<br>not easy (Europe's enlightenment did not come just from removing a few<br>dictators). <br><br>People's expectation raised for change will dash against the reality that it<br>will take decades to create systems of governance, accountability, economic<br>justice, etc to allow for unleashing the great potential in the Arab world.<br>And there is great potential (natural resources, water, educated<br>hard-working middle class etc). It is critical that people begin to chart<br>this future honestly and pragmatically. Slogans will not work. We the<br>people must take responsibility for our own lives and for our communities.<br>We need to take time to educate children in a very, very different way than<br>we were educated. The beginnings may be simple. For example, in many Arab<br>countries, people were thinking that as long as the country is not theirs<br>(ruled by dictators), they can only watch over their own personal space and<br>literally dump trash in the public space. In the new era, they have to<br>learn that public space is theirs too. Order and respect for fellow<br>citizens and for the country will have to be taught very early to our<br>children. This is but one example for laying a brick in the road to real<br>freedom and real prosperity. The bricks though are many and they will have<br>to be fashioned and laid by the people. It is very hard work but it is the<br>only way forward.<br><br>(1) I challenged him on this in the Q&A and then wrote a follow-up letter<br>that was published in the Duke Chronicle. See<br><a href="http://www.qumsiyeh.org/zionistpositionfailstorecognizeotherside/">http://www.qumsiyeh.org/zionistpositionfailstorecognizeotherside/</a><br><br>(2) Torture at Egyptian police stations, here are three examples (warning<br>disturbing content!)<br>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhQRFz65M6s <br>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCHM6LYiBsY <br>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8KG5N_yq1s <br><br>3) Egyptian police beat Free Gaza convoy activist on December 30, 2009<br>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT4tk2RiNIo <br><br>4) See this associated press story about role of Egyptian military<br>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/01/29/ap/middleeast/main7296653.shtml <br>and this interesting footage of military shielding demonstrators<br>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfqcEsDwgYQ <br>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQD-X9G9xfk <br><br>5) Mazin Qumsiyeh "Of Cowardice, Dignity and Solidarity"<br>http://www.qumsiyeh.org/ofcowardicedignityandsolidarity/ <br><br>Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD<br>http://qumsiyeh.org <br><br><br>-------------- next part --------------<br>An HTML attachment was scrubbed...<br>URL: <http://lists.qumsiyeh.org/pipermail/humanrights/attachments/20110130/8661408f/attachment.htm><br>_______________________________________________<br>HumanRights newsletter<br>http://lists.qumsiyeh.org/mailman/listinfo/humanrights<br>This message was sent to brussel@illinois.edu. 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