Dubai: Analysts and activists from the Middle East react to the sentencing of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak with triumph — it is a people’s moment that has been a long time coming. They feel it is symbolic, as Arab Spring was finally witness to its first trial of a leader.
Tunisia’s Bin Ali has fled and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi is dead. So, what does this mean for the region?
Syrian political researcher Samir Al Taqi told Gulf News: “The trial has returned legitimacy to the people and the state. It has destroyed the absolute and sacred status of leaders in the Arab world, bringing them back to the reality of accountability.”
He felt the trial conveyed that nobody is beyond the law and leaders will be audited on human rights and economic prosperity.
Egyptian political analyst Kamal Al Helbawi agreed. He said: “This is the only trial that has taken place against a dictator who fell during the Arab Spring. The verdict in Mubarak’s trial was a mockery but has symbolic importance for the region … it symbolises the power of the people.”
Mubarak’s verdict appears to have had effect in Syria, too. Syrian opposition political activist Haitham Maleh said: “The momentum that was driving the Syrian uprising was the collapse of Mubarak’s regime. To see a leader who is backed by foreign powers stand on trial gave hope but the verdict …didn’t give satisfaction to the Arabs hoping for change.” But, he believes what affects Cairo will affect Damascus in the long run.
