‘Arab spring’ spreads from county to country

Far from the perils of Japan, the world’s attention also focuses on Libya. There U.S. and allied warplanes and cruise missiles aim to force dictator Moammar Gadhafi from power, or at least help antigovernment rebels keep fighting.

That’s the riveting Main Event at the moment in the greater Middle East. But peel away from that military spectacle for a moment. Take a glance across the rest of the Mideast. Something remarkable is happening, or rather, still happening: The “Arab Spring” ― the uprising of pro-democracy, anti-dictator movements driven largely by young people across the Middle East ― is surging along, country by country, intensifying rather than fizzling:

―Last week in Yemen, government-linked forces killed more than 40 unarmed protesters. President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a staunch U.S. ally in the battle against terrorism, declared a state of emergency and sacked his cabinet in an effort to mollify citizens bent on his downfall. Doesn’t appear to be working. On Monday came news that several top army commanders had defected to the protesters’ side, as had one of Yemen’s key tribal leaders. By the time you read this, Saleh could be out of a job.

― In Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, another crackdown: Opposition leaders were arrested after troops drove demonstrators from the central square of Manama. The king declared a three-month state of emergency, but his grasp looks increasingly tenuous.

― In Saudi Arabia, the Sunni Muslim monarchy dispatched troops to help quell the mostly Shiite uprising in neighboring Bahrain. Two reasons: The Saudis have a restive Shiite minority of their own, and Saudi rulers are battling the malign influence of the Shiite theocracy in Iran. Protests in Riyadh prompted King Abdullah to offer more than $100 billion in added benefits to citizens. The Saudis are worried, which means the oil markets are shaky, which means $4 a gallon at the pump for Americans.

― In Syria, one of the region’s most authoritarian states, protesters set fire to a headquarters of the ruling Baath Party ― a flaming sign of dissent in a country that doesn’t tolerate much. It’s also a sign that many Syrians don’t believe President Bashar Assad’s promises of political reform. Nor should they.

― In Jordan, the king has fired the cabinet and appointed a new government, promising constitutional reform.

― In Morocco, another king, in a nationally televised speech, announced that he would meet some demands from protesters for more freedoms.

And what of the earlier revolutions? Over the weekend in Egypt, voters turned out in record numbers to approve constitutional amendments to guarantee a free and fair democratic system. “This is the first real referendum in Egypt’s history,” the chairman of the judicial committee that supervised the elections told The New York Times. People turned out, he said, because they “started to feel that their vote would matter.”

And what of Iran, one of the most repressive regimes on the planet? The mullahs have demonstrated their willingness to crack down hard, killing unarmed protesters and jailing opposition leaders. So far, the mullahs have survived. But the pro-democracy movement keeps churning. And it will, as long as there are demonstrators like Iranian college student Mohamad Mokhtari.

During an anti-government rally last month, Mokhtari was shot by the Basij ― paramilitary pro-government thugs on motorcycles. He fell but staggered to his feet and continued marching while blood soaked his shirt, witnesses told The Wall Street Journal. The next day, Mokhtari died in the hospital.

Days earlier, Mokhtari had explained on his Facebook wall why he would risk his life to protest: “God, give me death by standing for it’s better than a life of sitting under oppression.” Words like those cemented Patrick Henry’s legacy as an American patriot.

We cannot know what happens next in Iran. Just as we couldn’t predict the uprising of Arabs in one nation after another since a Tunisian street vendor immolated himself. His humiliation over the seizure of his merchandise by local officials lit the revolution that toppled President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Warplanes and cruise missiles always trump popular protests in the struggle for public attention. What’s happening in Libya, though, is but one part of this astonishing season of rebellion and rebirth, the Arab Spring.

(The Chicago Tribune, March 22)