The dream about a free and fair Arab world wasn't realized, and even turned into nightmares, as disorganized liberalism failed to defeat the Islamists.
Today is the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the 'Arab Spring', when, following the revolt in Tunisia, protests arose in other countries of the Middle East. Now there is no stability in the region, so each country is "unhappy in its own way", the Wall Street Journal writes.
The publication reminds that when the protest movement was on the rise, dissidents published an anthology of essays entitled 'Arab Spring Dreams'; the essayists described an ideal Arab world in which men and women were equal and atheists were not persecuted for their opinions. These fantasies didn't come true, since, according to the author, the West did not realize how strong the influence of the Islamists can be. It was a mistake to believe that the overthrow of local dictators wouldn't lead to an increase in extremism. Washington hadn't done enough to affect the results of the revolutions due to its incorrect position. Now the Arabs may lose confidence in the US.
Today Arab activists do not want to organize revolts, fearing a further spread of Sharia, repression against women and persecution on ethnic and religious grounds, Gazeta.ru writes.
The vice-president of the Russian Council on International Affairs, the former head of North Ossetia, Alexander Dzasokhov, said in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza that the Tunisian authorities have managed to keep control of the situation in their hands and prevent a serious destabilization of the situation in the country. It is also significant that then and now Tunisia stood out among the countries of the region by its secular nature.
Dzasokhov stressed that the Tunisian people have shown that it is possible to resist the rise of extremist forces. "Therefore, Arab and Mediterranean countries, where the level of terrorist threat is high, should be interested in the Tunisian experience," the diplomat believes.
"Today, when it is the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the 'Arab Spring', we can say that the people of Tunisia and its political forces, especially trade unions, have played a crucial role in overcoming the crisis," he said.
The expert praised the work of the current leadership of Tunisia, which has passed through parliamentary and presidential elections. "They saved the country from sinking into a state of long opposition to extremism. It seems to us that the leadership of Tunisia is doing the right thing, keeping a state of emergency, because it has a legal basis in order to anticipate possible crimes on the territory of the country," Dzasokhov said.
Later, the positive ideas of the 'Arab Spring' were misinterpreted by the extremists who came to power in Cairo, the diplomat recalled.
Due to the fact that the original purpose has changed, the concept of the 'Arab Spring' is now perceived as a negative.
Now, according to the vice-president of the Russian Council on International Affairs, the international community is making great efforts to resolve the situation in the Middle East, these questions remain on the top lines of the global agenda.
In addition, according to the diplomat, it is necessary to deeply comprehend the events in terms of science, philosophy and politics, draw lessons from them and make them accessible to all segments of society, not only in the Arab countries, but the whole of the Mediterranean, Europe and Russia.
"We would like to see a peaceful life in the Caucasus, with its cultural and religious diversity, which is absolutely unique, created by divine confluence of people, which came from the depths of the centuries," Alexander Dzasokhov concluded.
