In a passionate speech delivered at the "Democratic Transformation in the Arab World: A Road Map" conference, renowned human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman emphasized the critical need for democratic transition in the Arab world.
Against the backdrop of global challenges to democracy and human rights, Karman condemned the resurgence of dictatorships, coups, and armed conflicts that have hindered progress in the region.
Karman highlighted the devastating consequences of counter-revolutions, led by both regional and external forces, which have obstructed the Arab peoples' aspirations for freedom, justice, and prosperity. She cited Egypt and Tunisia as examples where state power was used to suppress dissent, undermine political life, and consolidate dictatorial rule. Additionally, she lamented the ongoing conflicts in Sudan, Yemen, Syria, and Libya, which continue to inflict suffering on Arab societies.
While some argue that democracy is no longer a priority in the Arab world, Karman rejected this notion, asserting that the retreat of democracy only reinforces the value and urgency of democratic governance. She condemned despotic systems, sectarian militias, and warfare as catastrophes that fail to address the genuine needs and aspirations of Arab societies.
Karman expressed disappointment in Western democracies for betraying the Arab Spring aspirations, which opened the door to global regression, including the decline of democracy, human rights violations, and the rise of conflicts. She questioned whether Western countries' interests in the Middle East depended on supporting oppressive regimes and sustained militias, at the expense of democracy and the well-being of Arab populations.
Undeterred by the challenges faced, Karman underscored the importance of persisting in the struggle for democratic transformation and the rule of law. She emphasized the need to establish democratic systems that foster citizen participation, accountability, equality, well-being, freedoms, and rights.
Karman also addressed the recent reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, cautioning that such alliances between anti-democratic regimes would not align with the aspirations of Arab societies for democracy and freedom.
In conclusion, Karman called for unity among Arab societies, transcending religious, ethnic, and civilizational boundaries, to defend the values of democracy and human rights. She stressed that the Arab Spring represents an ongoing journey of reshaping collective understanding and constructing political systems based on freedom, dignity, equality, justice, and democracy.
Below is the speech text:
We are gathered here today to explore the prospects of democratic transition in the Arab world, at a very critical stage that our region is going through. This is happening amidst global events that are moving in the opposite direction of democracy and human rights. A war that threatens the world with the specter of nuclear weapons is raging, along with natural disasters and a backlash towards dictatorship. Coups have returned to Africa as a result of the ongoing Western colonial legacy, and counter-revolutionary wars continue to ravage Arab peoples in Arab Spring countries.
They fought against the aspirations of our people for democracy and the rule of law, and the result was civil wars, coups, groups, armed militias, and terrorism. All of these are various forms of revenge by counter-revolutions led by regional states and external orientations that do not want our societies to move towards the modern democratic state that represents the interests, aspirations, strengths, and multiple categories of our society. Of course, this is a revenge against our societies, revolutions, and dreams of freedom, justice, and prosperity.
In Egypt and Tunisia, state power was used to persecute dissenters. Prisons were opened, mouths were silenced, political life was undermined, dictators became more powerful, judicial authorities lost their independence, unions were silenced along with civil society organizations. But all of this did not solve the crisis of power in these countries; it only exacerbated it and turned it into a real threat to their societies.
I am talking about Egypt and Tunisia while other Arab countries are still under the fires of counter-revolutions brought about by counter-revolutions in Sudan, Yemen, Syria, and Libya. Some may argue that democracy is no longer a priority in the Arab world, and that the region is reverting to a period of total despotism, brutality, and conflict. However, I see the opposite entirely. For Arabs seeking a state of law, justice, and democracy, this is not the end of history. This retreat emphasizes and restores the value of democracy.
Despotism and sectarian militias are diseases that, in our opinion, do not address the issues, goals, or aspirations of our societies. War, armed forces, and militias are not solutions; they are catastrophes in our eyes. For us, corrupt and tyrannical systems are the cause of the issue, and the only option is to remove them.
The bleak situation we are currently facing is a consequence of the counter-revolutions that have taken control of the Arab Spring countries, rather than being a result of our revolutions, which were conspired against by the entire world. However, this will not deter us from pursuing our dreams and fighting for democracy, modern governance, and the rule of law.
On the contrary, these conspiracies, setbacks, and challenges only serve to strengthen our determination and bolster our belief in persisting with our aspirations. We will continue our struggle to establish democratic systems that encourage citizen participation, ensure accountability, promote equality, foster well-being, safeguard freedoms, and protect rights.
It is unfortunate that our situation in the Arab world coincides globally with the decline of democracy, the contraction of human rights, and the emergence of various conflicts that threaten to plunge humanity into dark ages. This trend was initiated by the betrayal of Western democracies towards the Arab Spring, paving the way for these global developments. Moreover, these circumstances pose a significant danger to human civilization as a whole, with the potential for nuclear warfare becoming alarmingly familiar in the statements of major countries.
The demonization of the peaceful popular revolutions during the Arab Spring and the subsequent blaming of these movements were undoubtedly undemocratic, unjust, and a violation of human rights. Instead of being captive to fear, policies supporting democratic transformations should have been embraced by Western countries during the Arab Spring.
It was within their power to safeguard their interests in the Middle East through the promotion of democracy. This possibility exists and remains available. This raises a fundamental question: Do the interests of Western countries in our region depend on the existence of despotic systems, dictatorships hostile to their own people, and sustained militias and wars?
The global regression towards wars, racism, hatred, and extremist racial ideologies is indeed an extension of a similar global regression, with the primary factor being the betrayal of democratic Western powers towards the values of freedom, justice, and democracy that they espouse. This betrayal is evident in their support for counter-revolutions against the Arab Spring.
However, regardless of this international situation, we recognize that our struggle for democratic nations governed by the rule of law and inclusive citizenship is our own cause. Our belief in this struggle is not contingent upon the support or orientations of others.
Dear all,
The reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia is comprehensible to us, given their shared anti-democratic ideologies and their opposition to the ability of Arab societies to determine their own fate and shape their future. Our communities, who are well aware of the oppressive and authoritarian nature of these regimes, as well as their resistance to democracy and freedom, can realize the reconciliation; they recognize that these regimes are unlikely to align with their aspirations for democracy and freedom.
Hence, we hold no expectations that this reconciliation will deviate from the patterns observed where similar trends have supported anti-Arab Spring movements, undermined democracy, and violated human rights in our nations. Whether oppressive regimes engage in conflict or reconcile, we do not anticipate any positive outcomes; in both scenarios, they remain steadfast in their opposition to democracy, human rights, and the fundamental rights of people to freedom and self-determination in selecting their leaders and pursuing their best interests.
Our gathering to discuss the possibilities of democratic transformation in the Arab world serves as a chance to reiterate our cause, which initially motivated people to rise up during the Arab Spring revolutions. In 2011, individuals in Arab Spring countries, who had been marginalized from political participation and societal inclusion, united in mass demonstrations, aiming to dismantle oppressive regimes and endemic corruption that had perpetuated lifelong presidencies and familial or sectarian hereditary republics.
The voice of the Arab Spring resounds loud and clear: within this region, there exists a profound yearning among people to embrace the principles of democracy, justice, equality, welfare, and human rights. This desire is channeled through a genuine democratic transformation that shifts the role of the state from an instrument of control, oppression, and societal devastation to a platform where all citizens actively participate in shaping politics. It becomes a space where they collectively generate agreements, manage their differences and rivalries, and develop programs, all under the umbrella of an inclusive institution that unites the entire citizenry.
Our current mission is to uphold the right of our Arab societies to elect their leaders, take part in politics as citizens with equal rights and obligations, and forge an alliance across national boundaries and barriers of religion, ethnicity, and civilization in order to defend the modern value system. For reasons like these, the Arab Council organized this conference to discuss a road map. the Arab world's path to democracy.
Here, we gather to raise our voices and demonstrate our unwavering determination to rebuild a connected Arab vision that reinstates the values of democracy and human rights. We aim to redefine citizens based on their shared humanity, common interests, and a collective destiny that transcends ethnic and racist conflicts. We reject the wars imposed by fascist armed groups and the personal ambitions of tyrannical leaders, which only result in destruction, loss of life, and barren landscapes.
The turning wheel of change in our countries will not rest until it dismantles the web of tyranny, oppression, imprisonment, subjugation, persecution, arrogance, discrimination, poverty, and corruption that grips the world. The Arab Spring has exposed the hidden accumulation beneath the facade of deceptive stability, previously used to justify trading freedom and democracy for the favor of the global system and its controlling powers. Rejecting such a trade-off, the Arab Spring demands the inseparable trio of freedom, democracy, and stability as the only viable choice.
The Arab Spring has set in motion a significant and gradual transformative process that cannot be achieved overnight. It is a lengthy journey of reshaping the collective understanding of freedom, dignity, equality, justice, and democracy, while simultaneously constructing political systems, state institutions, and widespread agreement based on these newfound ideals. Confronting counter-revolutions is merely a part of the ongoing path of the popular revolution and its various stages, which emerged and will persist organically and spontaneously, resembling a natural force of existence that requires no one's permission and refuses to retreat in the face of challenges, obstacles, and sacrifices.
The Arab Spring encapsulates both our greatest struggle and our finest set of beliefs. It therefore doesn't fall. Instead, it is a perpetual spring that won't let up until we have peace, justice, prosperity, democracy, and the rule of law.
Glory to men and women, alive or dead, incarcerated or wounded, who have fought for liberty, justice, democracy, and welfare in our Arab countries and around the world.
