Arab Spring's second wave to erupt soon: Middle Eastern scholars

Doha: The second wave of the ‘Arab Spring’ agitation is expected to rise soon, the scholars in the Middle Eastern countries have warned. While speaking at a forum organised by the Qatar based news channel ‘Al Jazeera’, Professor Mohamed Mahjoub Haroon and Professor Hmoud al-Olimat, both said that the Second Arab Spring is inevitable, pointing to the discontent brewing in the Arab youth in the Middle East.

The first ‘Arab Spring’ had started from the North African nation of Tunisia in the year 2011. A fruit vendor had committed suicide out of frustration and the video of the incident went viral on the social media. This single video caused large-scale unrest in Tunisia and resulted in bringing down the four decade old military rule. The spirit of the agitation reached the neighbouring country Egypt and there was a massive outburst of violence during the protests that occurred there. The agitation saw the end of the Hosni Mubarak regime and the anarchy and violence that followed resulted in killing 900 people.

The subsequent governments in Tunisia and Egypt prevented further downfall. However, the effects of the turmoil caused by the Arab Spring agitations can be seen even today in the countries of Libya, Yemen and Syria. The governments in these countries suffered severe shocks from this agitation. Armed rebel groups became active in Libya, Yemen and Syria, taking advantage of the situation. These groups are still fighting for gaining power in these countries. More than 500 thousand people have lost their lives in the last seven years in Syria alone. The melee continues in Libya, Yemen and their situation is not too different. The origins of the anarchy, instability and violence in other Middle Eastern Arab countries are also found in the Arab Spring.

Although the Arab Spring has transformed in a bloody conflict today, its seeds still remain embedded in the social ethos Gulf community, claimed Professor Haroon at the Al Jazeera Forum. Mohamed Mahjoub Haroon is a Professor of Sociology in the University of Khartoum, Sudan. Professor Haroon pointed out that the society is extremely dissatisfied because of three factors, namely, urbanisation happening at blistering speed, stress on the employment generation sector and economic deadlock. He further said that these factors are enough for causing an explosion of social discontent.

There are more than 400 million youths under 25 years of age in the Gulf region. The aspirations of these youths are rising and they want freedom. Professor Hmoud al-Olimat seconded Professor Haroon’s claims and stated an inference that these youths may take to agitations in order to overthrow oppressive regimes. Professor Olimat is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Qatar.

Therefore, the rise of the Second Arab Spring wave is inevitable in the North African and Middle Eastern countries, was the firm conclusion of both the scholars. While some rulers may have succeeded in protecting their regimes from the Arab Spring wave, in the coming times the scenario can change rapidly with the outbreak of social movements which is evident from the inferences drawn by these two scholars. The claims made by both the scholars predict a huge challenge before the countries of the Middle East who are already reeling under instability.