Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Unrest continues as the transitional government seeks to come to terms with the people's
demands.
The Tunisian riots and political and social turmoil triggered a wave of protests against in-
cumbent regimes across the Arab world. Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Sudan, Al-
geria and Morocco all felt the tail of the storm and, in Egypt particularly, after 18 days of
protests, President Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down, opening the way for a dramat-
ic regime change.
For its part, Libya has descended into what is emerging as a civil war as the people move
against the regime of Colonel Gaddafi.
King Abdullah of Jordan's response to the growing pressure from his own people occurred
on 9 February 2011, when he swore in a new Cabinet tasked with implementing social re-
forms. The reshuffle followed protests by thousands of Jordanians who had demanded jobs,
reduced prices of food and fuel and a change to an election law that they say gave govern-
ment loyalists more seats in parliament.
The new Cabinet included some holdover ministers, leftist unionists, a former member of
the Muslim Brotherhood, Jordan's largest opposition group, and a prominent activist for
women's rights.
Only time will tell whether King Abdullah's actions and subsequent reforms meet the
peoples demands and ease the pressure for regime change. The initial response by the
people is not promising for the regime.
In Syria, Tunisia's so-called 'Jasmine' revolution raised a flicker of hope in what is de-
scribed as one of the most repressive of Arab countries.
Syria suffers from similar problems of unemployment, inflation, corruption, nepotism and
authoritarian rule. However, some claim that there the similarity ends.
In support of that view, Syria has been described as comprising an heterogeneous popula-
tion divided along national, religious, sectarian, regional and socioeconomic lines. To date,
these separate and diverse elements have a balancing effect, diminishing the prospect of a
widespread popular uprising. The regime also contributes to its survival by manipulating
the mutual suspicions that exist between these social groups.
As one observer said:
