Political Unrest in the Middle East
Protests spread to Libya
There has been a lot of political unrest in the past few weeks. Algeria in 1992 and now Tunisia, followed by Egypt and now countries in the Middle East are feeling the effect. Yemen and Bahrain are also experiencing political demonstrations. The protests now include Libya another North African country. All of these countries previously stated above, have many things in common, this is why they are often grouped together. Islam is the dominant religion, Arabic is widely spoken, and there are a lot of Arab descendents apart from Berbers, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and Maghreb etc.
The majority of the people are of Berber origin, and because Arabic is spoken so widely, Islam is the main religion and the Middle East is quite close, they share not just the same beliefs and culture but the same struggles. A lot of the people in Libya have not only seen, but have heard through the media what has happened in their “brother nations”. The demonstrations against the government of Tunisia; inspired anti-government protest in Egypt that eventually forced Hosni Mubarak out of power.
Why are all these events happening so suddenly? The people are tired of living under corrupt regimes that suppress the people. They are tired of seeing the same people in power. This has led to “anti- government sentiment has also manifested itself on the streets of Algeria, Jordan, Syria, and Yemen”.
Libya has been ruled by Moammar Gadhafi since 1969, and he does not seem to be moved by the protests. According to a Libyan elite, who is close to the government, who asked not to be identified because he did not have permission to talk to the media said that about 200 protestors came to show support for a human rights activist. Several people were arrested, after being confronted by the police. “There is nothing serious here; these are just young people fighting each other”.
The people not in favor of the government remained peaceful, while those in favor
There has been a lot of political unrest in the past few weeks. Algeria in 1992 and now Tunisia, followed by Egypt and now countries in the Middle East are feeling the effect. Yemen and Bahrain are also experiencing political demonstrations. The protests now include Libya another North African country. All of these countries previously stated above, have many things in common, this is why they are often grouped together. Islam is the dominant religion, Arabic is widely spoken, and there are a lot of Arab descendents apart from Berbers, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and Maghreb etc.
The majority of the people are of Berber origin, and because Arabic is spoken so widely, Islam is the main religion and the Middle East is quite close, they share not just the same beliefs and culture but the same struggles. A lot of the people in Libya have not only seen, but have heard through the media what has happened in their “brother nations”. The demonstrations against the government of Tunisia; inspired anti-government protest in Egypt that eventually forced Hosni Mubarak out of power.
Why are all these events happening so suddenly? The people are tired of living under corrupt regimes that suppress the people. They are tired of seeing the same people in power. This has led to “anti- government sentiment has also manifested itself on the streets of Algeria, Jordan, Syria, and Yemen”.
Libya has been ruled by Moammar Gadhafi since 1969, and he does not seem to be moved by the protests. According to a Libyan elite, who is close to the government, who asked not to be identified because he did not have permission to talk to the media said that about 200 protestors came to show support for a human rights activist. Several people were arrested, after being confronted by the police. “There is nothing serious here; these are just young people fighting each other”.
The people not in favor of the government remained peaceful, while those in favor