Saturday, January 29, 2011

The drama that began in Tunisia continues to unfold in Egypt, is spreading to Yemen and Jordan, and is ringing out a number of clear messages about what the first decades of the 21st century hold for this region’s decrepit dictators.

First, the self-titled enlightened rulers of much of the Arab world have failed to see the obvious signs that they must enact political reform. The office of president-for-life is fading. Tunisians had enough – one of the first concessions that the disgraced Ben Ali gave was that he would not run again for office, but that is no longer enough. Egypt’s Mubarak and Yemen’s Saleh share – among other traits – the intention of standing again for election, and yet they seem unable to grasp that their addiction to power is driving protests against them.

In Jordan, protesters called Friday for the resignation of the prime minister and free elections. Their grievances and desires are shared broadly across the Arab world, and demands such as these – all variations of the rule of law – are percolating throughout the Middle East.

The second lesson is that repression is futile. Unrest can no longer be hidden from the world; the images of popular protest are surely only firing the yearnings of others and producing a feeling of solidarity. The inspiring contagion of protest is one iteration of the so-called global village that technology has spawned.

Blackouts of the Internet or Facebook or Twitter or cell phones will not stanch the demonstrations; digital technology offers too many avenues for people to communicate and coordinate. Despite the new tools for repression that technology also provides, this era has made the muzzling of protest harder than ever.

Arab autocrats should also learn it is too late in the game for them to undertake reform, but it is their only way forward. Without reforms, their nations will witness more civil disobedience, bloodshed and suffering.

The leaderless nature of uprisings guided by social media also require that the nominal directors of the protests realize the openness of their movements means that among their fellow travelers lurk many who have agendas incompatible with reform. There are significant groups who would like to exploit the crisis and chaos to pursue marginal religious doctrines, as well as those who seek only economic gain. Voices must be heard that spell out the democratic goals of these protests.

Whether in Tunis, Cairo, Sanaa or Amman, the paragons of the old order should not ask for whom the bell tolls; they should instead hear and heed its call for reform; they must move toward freedom and democracy, away from repression and authoritarianism. Whatever efforts they might be contemplating to conceal or quash the protests, should on the contrary be expended to improve the lives of their countries’ citizens.