Welcome to the ARAB SPRING!What is it, what do the people want,

and what is going on?

LEADER Tunisia -President Ben Ali

• President 1987-2011• Took away human

rights and stole money from citizens

• International arrest warrant, charging him for money laundering and drug trafficking

The PEOPLE Tunisia

– First to protest their leader

– Wanted their human rights

– Muhammad Bouazizi set himself on fire (Martyr)

• Sentenced to life imprisonment-Living in Saudi Arabia in exile

• OUTCOME: President fled the country despite being sentenced to life in prison

LEADERPresident Hosni Mubarak of Egypt

• Provided stability for Egypt for 30 years

• Positive contributions:• Peace with Israel, no violent

attacks on either side• Stability for foreigners• Cracks down on religious

extremists and terrorists• Economic success• Re-elected by majority votes

The PEOPLE Egypt

• The truth about living under Mubarak…– Police can arrest people without charge– Police torture and cruelty– Detain prisoners indefinitely– Security forces– Limited freedoms (speech/expression/assembly)– Corruption– Monopoly on power– No free and fair elections– Opposed to worker’s rights– No one can run against him in elections– Legalized censorship – Family wealth between $40-70 billion **OUTCOME: Removed from power by his people. They forced him out!!

• http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/01/25/world/middleeast/1248069586905/day-of-anger-in-egypt.html (Anger in Egypt 2:02)

LEADERPresident Colonel Qaddafi of Libya

• Longest serving leader of Libya- 42 years and rules with an iron fist

• Positive contributions:– Thought he was providing stability to

country– Brought popular democracy to Libya– Focused on education and Islamic morals– Great Manmade River- created largest

freshwater pipeline – Believed that his countrymen loved him

and would die for him

The PEOPLE Libya

• Under his rule…– Garbage in streets– Poor infrastructure (govt. to help build up country)– High unemployment (30%)– Controls the media– Uses violence against the people– He and his family have accumulated over $60 billion – Killed Libyan dissidents abroad– Police crackdowns

**OUTCOME: His own people started to use violence to get him out of power…an 18 year old found him. People beat him and he was shot by his own people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5dF1QnqnFc (ABC News on death 3:47)

The POWERPresident Ali Abdullah Saleh al-Hashidi

of Yemen

• The people were unhappy with their leader and protested for him to resign after short three years

• Lack of democratic reform…democracy was not fair, lots of cheating

• Widespread corruption• Human rights abuses were carried

out by him and his allies

The PEOPLEYemen

Under his presidency:• Government security forces are:

killing of civilians Using excessive force randomly detaining citizenstorturing and ill treating citizens with things like suffocation

• Checkpoints• Disruption/cut off of utilities such as gas and water • Bombings of neighbors by military

**OUTCOME: Removed from office by force. Injured by a rocket attack on his palace’s mosque during prayer.

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/01/27/world/middleeast/1248069592784/

yemenis-demand-change-of-government.html (protests in Yemen 1:30)

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/09/19/world/middleeast/100000001062499/timescast-protesters-killed-in-yemen.html

The POWERBashar al-Assad of Syria

• Wants unity between government, state institutions and the people

• Created a constitution that allows demonstrations

• Is open to any suggestions by the people• Believes in a strength of the Syrian

citizens • Wants them to participate in their govt.• He wants them to know their rights but

also know their place

The People Syria

• Uses military and policing operations to control the people• Military attacks on peaceful protesters (no one has been tried

for these attacks)• Paying high taxes• Average person earns about $250.00 a month• High unemployment• He will not listen to their need for help so they protested and

he attacked them saying they were “rebels”• We know he has used chemical/biological weapons on his

people**Outcome: HE IS STILL IN POWER. Civil War in his country with

the international community getting involved. Possible attack by US!

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMtczLMjmaU (Syrian Conflict in 5 Minutes)

Syria Videos• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_hhpGSZi84 (interview with Charlie

Rose 8:00)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_88DhYEAzU Overview 2:30

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOzA0z_c0rk

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yosvahug9E&feature=relmfu

• http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/syria-crisis-government-attacks-continue-15528025 (1:10)

• http://upfront.scholastic.com/issues/09_17_12/book#/16 2:08

• http://edition.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c3#/video/world/2012/09/25/intv-syria-suffering-children.cnn Children in Syria 3:31

What about the PEOPLE?What do they want?

• Human rights• Democracy• Freedom from a dictator• Fair economic opportunities

The Situation in the Middle East• Tunisia- President Ben Ali ousted,

and government overthrown.

• Egypt- President Hosni Mubarak ousted, and government overthrown. Continued popular protest against military provisional government.

• Libya- Muammar Gaddafi killed after a civil war with foreign military intervention, and government overthrown.

• Yemen-President Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down after months of popular protests.

• Syria-Civil War

• Civil uprisings against the governments of Syria and Bahrain, despite government changes.

• Kuwait, Lebanon and Oman implementing government changes in response to protests.

• Morocco, Jordan implementing constitutional reforms in response to protests.

• Ongoing protests in Algeria, Iraq, and other countries.

Arab Spring• All these countries, all these

people wanted a change in their governments

• In the summer of 2011 the Arab Spring grew and protestors used facebook, twitter, social media to spread the word of change

• Millions took to the streets

• Violence occurred, but did it work???

• http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/year-revolutions-katie-couric-this-year-2011-special-middle-east-wall-street-protest-2020-15167202 (stop at 5:54)

The People Force Changes…Social Media is the Answer

• http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/15/7758131-how-rap-music-fueled-the-arab-spring-uprisings (rap and Arab Spring 8:07)

Arab Spring• http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/01/25/world/middleeast/1248069

586905/day-of-anger-in-egypt.html (Anger in Egypt 2:02)

• http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/15/7758131-how-rap-music-fueled-the-arab-spring-uprisings (rap and Arab Spring 8:07)

• http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/01/27/world/middleeast/1248069592784/yemenis-demand-change-of-government.html (protests in Yemen 1:30)

• http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7368428n&tag=mncol;lst;6 (2:41 current rages)

• http://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnns-amber-lyon-talks-to-mediaite-about-being-detained-in-bahrain-and-the-digital-roots-of-the-arab-spring/ (6:30 facebook)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SgkyQp7MuQNews MUSIC 3:17

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43wezG6MeGM (Arabs Unite)