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2. S.No. Arab Countries
Any difference: Arab World, Middle East, Muslim 1 Algeria
World? 2 Bahrain
3 Comoros Islands
 Middle East is a loosely defined geographic region 4 Djibouti
5 Egypt
 Arab is a cultural and linguistic term 6 Iraq
7 Jordan
 Arab World: Consists of 22 countries in the Middle
8 Kuwait
East and North Africa 9 Lebanon
10 Libya
 Muslim World: Organization of Islamic Countries has 11 Morocco
55 member states 12 Mauritania
13 Oman
 Of the ten countries with the largest Muslim 14 Palestine
15 Qatar
population only Egypt is an Arab country 16 Saudi Arabia
 Most Arabs are Muslims, but most Muslims are not 17 Somalia
18 Sudan
Arabs. There are also millions of Christian Arabs and 19 Syria
thousands of Jewish Arabs 20 Tunisia
21 UAE
22 Yemen

5. 1. Tunisia
2. Libya
3.
Algeria
4. Bahrain
5. Cyprus
6. Egypt
7. Iran
8. Iraq
9. Israel
10. Jordan
11. Kuwait
12. Lebanon
13. Oman
14. Qatar
15. Saudi Arabia
16. Syria
17. Turkey
18. United Arab Emirates
19. Yemen
Post Revolution Protests Sustained Violence

6. The Beginning of Arab Uprising

7.  Political Rule
◦ 1956: Achieved independence from France
◦ First President Habib Bourguiba, established a strict one-party state and
dominated the country for 31 years
◦ 1987: In a bloodless coup, Prime Minister Ben Ali assumed the presidency
 2009 National Elections
◦ Opposition candidates could not put up any posters or hold any meetings!
◦ 97% of newspaper campaign coverage was devoted to President Ben Ali
◦ Ben Ali’s government went after the country’s journalist union, bringing
down its democratically elected board
◦ Police bullied and harassed critical reporters
◦ Florence Beaugé, a correspondent for the French daily Le Monde, tried to
cover the polling but was put on a flight back to Paris
◦ No Independent observer allowed to monitor the vote
◦ Ben Ali won landslide victory with 89.62% votes!

8.  Lack of Freedom
◦ In 2008, in terms of freedom of the press, Tunisia was ranked 143 out of
173
◦ Tunisia and China as the two countries with the greatest internet
censorship
◦ Journalist Taoufik Ben Brik, who had published two articles in French
newspapers that were critical of the regime was incarcerated
 Journalists obstructed from reporting on controversial events
 In practice, no public criticism of the regime is tolerated The
state-owned 'Publinet' internet network monitors and filters
traffic

9. 17 Dec 2010: Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26 year old fruit vendor
sets himself on fire in the marginalized town of Sidi Bouzid in
front of city HQ
Dec 10 – Jan 11: Public outrage quickly grew over the
incident, leading to protests and riots. 219 people killed
2 Jan, 11: International cyberactivist collective Anonymous
launched 'Operation Tunisia' in a bid to capture the world
media's attention
14 January 2011: Ben Ali dismissed the government and fled
the country. By late January 2011 a "national unity
government" was formed
20 June, 11: Ben Ali and his wife ordered sentenced in
absentia for 35 years in prison
October 2011: Elections for a Constituent Assembly held

10.  People of Sidi Bouzid overcame heavy censorship and police repression
 December 17: Video of a peaceful protest led by the young man's mother
posted on FB. Video was aired on Al Jazeera's channel.
 Facebook and YouTube featured images of police dispersing youths who
attacked shop windows and damaged cars.
 Salhi, a lawyer became an active participant in the protests. used Facebook
to organise protests, sending out invites to his friends.
 Twitter went from being local to national in scope: #bouazizi became
#sidibouzid, then #tunisia. Check #Arabspring
 Internet and power outages in Sidi Bouzid and neighbouring towns
 Secure ‘https’ protocol became unavailable in Tunisia
 January 2: Anonymous group's DDoS attacks succeeded in taking at least
eight government websites including ‘Tunisian web’
 January 7 : Bloggers, web activists were arrested
 Tunisian authorities hijacked Facebook, blog and email accounts

11.  Elections held in October 11
◦ Seats split amongst 17 political parties’ and 32 independent candidates
◦ Enhada party won largest number of seats (37%)
◦ Voters flocked are those that emphasized co-operation and dialogue as the basis for a new
inclusive politics. Parties that based their election campaign on provoking fear of others -
particularly the Progressive Democratic Party, which stood essentially as the anti-Ennahdha
party - lost out majorly
 Inaugural session of its democratically elected 217 members constituent assembly in
November 11
◦ The new coalition government brings together Islamists (Ennahda), liberals and leftists
◦ Constituent Assembly boasts a higher percentage of women than France, Belgium, UK and US
◦ Coalition government divides top government posts
 Islamist Ennahda party: New prime minister, Hammadi Jebali spent 16 years in prison, 10
of those in solitary confinement
 Liberal Congress for the Republic: New president, Moncef Marzouqi
 Leftist Ettakol's Mustafa Ben Jaafar: Speaker of the new assembly
 Assembly has been charged with drafting a new constitution

12. Lotus Revolution

13.  1953: Declared as Republic country
 Rulers
◦ 1952: Muhammad Naguib
◦ 1956: Gamal Abdel Nasser
◦ 1970: Anwar Sadat
◦ 1981: Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak
 Mubarak’s National Democratic Party (NDS) government maintained one-party rule
under a continuous state of emergency.
 Mubarak earned the support of the West and a continuation of aid from the US by
maintaining policies of suppression towards Islamic militants and peace with Israel

14. January 25, 2011
0 Egyptian youth and opposition groups organized a "Day of Rage" campaign
Mubarak announces that he has sacked the cabinet, but he himself refuses to step down.
4 Announces VP for the first time: Omar Suleiman, Country's former spy chief
Mubarak names his new cabinet on state television. Protesters continue to defy the military-
6 imposed curfew. About 2,50,000 people gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square .
Mubarak announces in a televised address that he will not run for re-election but refuses to
7 step down from office
Egypt's government approve a 15 per cent raise in salaries and pensions in a bid to appease
14 the angry masses
17 Mubarak repeats his promise to not run in the next presidential elections and to "continue to
shoulder" responsibilities in the "peaceful transition" that will take place in September
18 Hosni Mubarak resigns as president and hands over power to the army
February 11, 2011

15. • 846 killed and 6,000 injured during the Progress Card
revolution Transition to
Held elections for
democracy has
the lower house of
been too slow and
• July 2011: Opposition discontent over inadequate
parliament
the slow pace of SCAF progress in
transitioning the government led to a
resumption of protests in Cairo and
over a dozen other cities and
continued through October
• Trial in which MUBARAK is accused of
corruption and complicity in the
deaths of nearly 900 protesters began
in early August, was temporarily
suspended in September

16. Civil War

17.  1952: Gained Independence under leadership of King Idris
 1969: Small group of military officers led by 27-year-old army officer Muammar
Gaddafi staged a coup d'état against King Idris, launching the Libyan Revolution.
 Gaddafi was referred to as the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution" in
government statements and the official Libyan press
 1973: He announced the suspension of all existing laws and the implementation
of Sharia
 Much of the country’s income from oil was spent on arms purchases and on
sponsoring paramilitaries and terrorist groups around the world

18.  15 Feb: Protests begin in Benghazi due to delays in housing units and
political corruption. This led to security forces firing on firing on the crowd
 17 Feb: the official "day of revolt," an effort to bring thousands of
protesters into the streets of multiple cities. Gaddafi forces responded by
firing live ammunition at the crowds. Gaddafi released dozens of prisoners
from jail and paid them to fight against the protesters. Gaddafi had hired
mercenaries to supplement his security forces
 March 19: NATO starts bombing Libya. UN Security Council voted to
impose a no-fly zone over Libya with 10-0 in voting “yes”. Five -
Russia, China, India, Germany and Brazil – abstained. French jets began
bombing Libya just hours after the resolution was passed, with bombers
from the US, UK and other countries joining shortly afterwards.

19.  August 16: Tripoli isolated. Libya’s rebels say they have completed moves
to cut off roads to the capital.
 August 21: Rebel fighters enter Tripoli reporting little resistance
 August 23: Libyan rebels launch massive offensive on Gaddafi's
compound. Rebel fighters mount an attack backed by captured tanks on
the compound, in the centre of the capital. Rebels also had support of
NATO jets that carried out much more intense air raids
 September 1: Libya's interim rulers meet world leaders at a conference in
Paris to discuss reshaping Libya. Gaddafi, on the 42nd anniversary of his
coming to power, urges his supporters to fight on

20.  September 15: Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president and David
Cameron, the British prime minister, land in Libya to a heroes' welcome
 September 16: The UN Security Council eases sanctions on
Libya, including on its national oil company and central bank. The UN
General Assembly approves a request to accredit interim government
envoys as Libya's sole representatives at the UN, effectively recognizing
the NTC.
 September 20: Barack Obama, calls for the last of Gaddafi's loyalist forces
to surrender as he announces the return of the US ambassador to Tripoli
 September 25: The first Libyan crude oil to be shipped in months sails
from Libya

21.  September 27: NATO says Libya's interim rulers have taken full control of
the country's stockpile of chemical weapons and nuclear material.
 October 20: NTC military chief, confirms that Muammar Gaddafi has died
of his wounds after being captured near Sirte.
 October 25: Libya's National Transitional Council buried Muammar
Gaddafi, his son Mutassim, and a former aide at a secret location
Following Gaddafi’s murder an interim government has been formed, led by
university professor Abdurrahim El-Keib.
However, bloodshed is going on. The former rebels are fighting for power and
control over the national resources. El-Keib has practically no grip over the
numerous revolutionary brigades that fight even in the capital Tripoli. Single
tribes and groups do not accept the government, saying that their
representation in it is insufficient

22.  Fight them street by street, alley by alley, house to house. With rifles and pistols they will be annihilated
 I am not going to leave this land. I will die as a martyr at the end. I shall remain, defiant. Muammar is Leader of
the Revolution until the end of time
 I am a Bedouin warrior who brought glory to Libya and will die a martyr
 Those rats ... were attacked by the masses tonight and we eliminated them
 We will fight in every valley, in every street, in every oasis, and every town. We won't surrender again; we are
not women; we will keep fighting
 I call on the Libyan people, men and women, to go out into the squares and the streets in all the cities in their
millions. ... Go peacefully... be courageous, rise up, go to the streets, raise our green flags to the skies. ... Don't
be afraid of anyone. You are the people. You have right on your side. You are the rightful people of this land
 What's going on? … What you are doing is not allowed in Islamic law [halal]. What you are doing is forbidden in
Islam [haraam]! … Do you know right from wrong?

23.  Unrest in the tiny island state started on 14 February. Demonstrators called for the removal
of the royal family, which has led since the 18th century
 The government accused Tehran of orchestrating the protests
 King Hamad clamped down hard on 16 March, clearing the protesters' camp in a show of
force . He imposed a state of emergency and used hundreds of soldiers from Saudi Arabia
and the UAE to beef up security
 Government detained more than 1,600 people - including human rights activists, doctors,
bloggers and opposition supporters - since the unrest started
 In closed-door trials, four demonstrators were sentenced to death and three others to life in
prison for the killing of two police officers during protests. 9 people were later given 20 year
jail sentences after being found guilty of kidnapping a policeman
 47 doctors and nurses have also gone on trial, accused of disseminating false information
about the casualties and attempting to topple the monarchy
 In November, an independent commission published a report stating that "excessive force"
had been used when the government crushed the protests. The report stated that detainees
had been blindfolded, whipped, kicked, given electric shocks and threatened with rape to
extract confessions

24.  In January 2011, protesters began calling for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who
had ruled Yemen since 1978
 Abdullah Saleh repeatedly held out the promise that he would step down, only to back out of
deals
 The violence against his rule escalated early on in the crisis when government forces were
confronted by fighters from the powerful Hashid tribal federation, who sided with the
protesters
 Government snipers were firing on people from rooftops, while military aircraft shelled
positions held by the protest-supporting troops.
 On 21 October the UN Security Council called on the president to sign a deal brokered by
Gulf states, under which he would step down in return for immunity from prosecution - and
his immunity was approved by parliament in January
 But after stalling for months, Mr Saleh finally signed an agreement on 23 November to begin
the transfer of power to his deputy
 In January 2012, he left the country, travelling to the US where he says he will receive
medical treatment
 The deal should eventually clear the path for elections to take place

25.  Since March, the demonstrators started calling for political freedom, an end to corruption,
action on poverty and the lifting of an emergency law imposed in 1963
 The Syrian government, led by President Bashar al-Assad, has been accused of violently
cracking down on protesters
 Al-Assad, whose family has ruled Syria since 1970, announced government changes in March
and lifted a 48-year-old state-of-emergency law in April
 The government says it is fighting "terrorists and armed gangs" and that some 2,000
members of the security forces have been killed. It also says it is facing an international
conspiracy seeking to destabilise the country.
 Arab League suspended Syria from its ranks on 12 November. Arab League, EU and US
imposed sanctions
 After weeks of tortuous negotiations on a peace plan, Syria finally agreed to allow an
observer mission
 Syria has dismissed the League's plan - modelled on the settlement reached in Yemen,
whereby the president relinquished power to a deputy and left the country
 With a leadership determined to cling to power, and a revolt shows no sign of easing, any
resolution looks a distant prospect

26. Country Summary of events
In February, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika lifted restrictions on freedom of speech when he announced the
Algeria end a 19-year-old state-of-emergency law. He announced in April that a commission would be reviewing the country's
constitution and that changes must be made to strengthen democracy.
Prime Minister Maliki announces that he will not run for a 3rd term in 2014. Resignation of provincial governors and
Iraq
local authorities
Jordan's King Abdullah II announced sweeping reforms in June, promising to establish a parliamentary majority
Jordan
government. The king also announced economic reforms, including changes to the country's tax system
Kuwait Prime Minister Nasser Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah resigns
The main protests focused on calls for political reform especially against sectarian regime. A 30-40% increase in
Lebanon
wages was announced
Young Mauritanians have been pushing for social, political and economic reforms since late February. Job creation is a
Mauritania major concern. Half the population still depends on agriculture and livestock for a livelihood. There have been two
bloodless coups in the country since 2005
King Mohammed VI announced series of political reforms. The proposal empowered the PM with the authority to
Morocco appoint government officials and to dissolve the parliament - the powers previously held by the king. However, the
king retains his position as the chair of the Council of Ministers and the Supreme Security Council. Protests continue
Oman's sultan, Qaboos bin replaced some high-level government figures and issuing a royal order that said job
Oman
seekers who register with the government will be paid 150 rials a month (about U.S. $390) until they find jobs
Saudi Arabia Economic concessions by King Abdullah
Sudan President Bashir announces he will not seek another term in 2015

28. Common Issues
 Lack of accountability
 In-built corruption
 Estranged political elite with
little connection to wider
society
 Marginalization of women from
political leadership
 Islamist entrenched through
state propaganda
Resulting characteristics of most
Arab societies:
 Poverty
 Unemployment
 Political repression

29. Tunisia Libya Egypt Syria Yemen Bahrain
Bashar al-
Ruler Mr. Ben Ali Mr. Gadaffi Mr. Mubarak Mr. Saleh King Hamad
Assad
Years in
24 42 29 21 33 12
Power
No. of days
28 250 18 274 314 303
of protest
No. of
300 30,000 846 5,000 1,480 55
deaths
No. of 14,000
700 50,000 6,400 1,000 500
injured detained

30.  Protests involving thousands
of protesters have recently
been held in:
◦ Greece
◦ India
◦ North Korea
◦ China
◦ Vietnam
◦ Croatia
◦ Oman
◦ Iraq
◦ Iran