Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring: the difference
Occupy protesters have, at times, likened their efforts to the Arab Spring protesters but there is a world of difference.
The Occupy protests are petering out and very little appears to have been achieved apart from some venting of frustration on both sides and extra spending by civil authorities. The Occupy St. Pauls protest in London reportedly cost the British taxpayer £500,000 and according to the Church Times the camp has cost St Paul’s nearly £800,000.
In USA there was more action at the Black Friday department store sales than in any Occupy protest on that particular day. Nothing has changed on Wall Street and the greedy bankers and brokers are firmly entrenched, still using their questionable money making methods and receiving fat bonuses.
The latest move by the world central banks looks suspiciously like a bailout for some of the European banks so as big investors will not lose too much of their money.
It is hard to say who started it but Occupy Wall Street, which began in September, was the first to popularise the term. But #OWS was itself predated by camps in Madrid, Athens, Santiago – and even Malaysia. The day most Occupy camps got going – 15 October – was first proposed because it marked the five-month anniversary of the Spanish occupation.
What unites them? A common rage at economic and social injustice and the feeling that “the 99%” are being shafted by society’s richest 1%”. But each protest has been different; some were no more than rallies, and their demands differed from protest to protest – if they existed at all. Many protesters propose tweaks to capitalism. Others want wholesale systemic change and often, anger has a local twist. At St Paul’s Cathedral, occupiers had precise demands for the City of London.
Focus has drifted from Occupy recently – and this is because it has nothing more to add. It has been neutered by a warm reception! Beyond protest followed by violent eviction the movement has nowhere to go. The camps have simply attracted homeless and addicted people away from professional care and support such as that provided by Centrepoint.
After six weeks it seems that personal failure, unhappy family lives, broken relationships or simply consistent under achievement may have stirred many campers to hanker after extra attention. All in all it has become a bit of a circus.
It seems that the lives of the middle class are as fraught and fragile as those of the majority and it is sad to see these frustrated people milling about aimlessly or sitting in their own waste. Sadder still to see them lashing out at innocent third parties and being used by other interest groups and the media for their own ends.
The Arab Spring
The Arab Spring or Arab Awakening started in Tunisia in January when a wave of protests forced former President Zine Al-Abidine to flee to Saudi Arabia. On the 18th December 2010 following Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation in protest of police corruption and ill treatment the revolution set the standard for uprisings in Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen which have re-shaped the political landscape of the Middle East.
The largest, most organised demonstrations have often occurred on a “day of rage”, usually Friday after noon prayers. The protests have also triggered similar unrest outside the region.
As of December 2011, governments have been overthrown in three countries. Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on 14 January following the Tunisian revolution protests. In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak resigned on 11 February 2011 after 18 days of massive protests, ending his 30-year presidency. The Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown on 23 August 2011, after the National Transitional Council (NTC) took control of Bab al-Azizia. He was killed on 20 October 2011, in his hometown of Sirte after the NTC took control of the city.
During this period of regional unrest, several leaders announced their intentions to step down at the end of their current terms. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir announced that he would not seek re-election in 2015, as did Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose term ends in 2014, although there have been increasingly violent demonstrations demanding his immediate resignation. Protests in Jordan have also caused the sacking of two successive governments by King Abdullah. Another leader, President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, announced on 23 April that he would step down within 30 days in exchange for immunity, a deal the Yemeni opposition informally accepted on 26 April; Saleh then reneged on the deal, prolonging the Yemeni uprising.
Under the agreement, Mr. Saleh, who has governed Yemen for 33 years, was supposed to hand over his authority to the vice president, paving the way for the formation of a national unity government and presidential elections in February.
But since Mr. Saleh and members of the Yemeni opposition finally did sign an agreement on Nov. 23, simmering conflicts in different parts of the country have intensified. The renewed fighting has underscored a leadership vacuum in Yemen, marked by confusion over who is really in charge: Mr. Saleh or his deputy, Abed Rabbo Mansour al-Hadi, who is supposed to succeed him.
In Syria November was the deadliest month of the uprising, with at least 950 people killed in gunbattles, raids and other violence as protesters demand the ouster of President Bashar Assad. The United Nations’ human rights chief called on the international community to protect Syrian civilians Friday as violence surged across the country, with hours of intense shooting that sent stray bullets whizzing across the border.
The geopolitical implications of the protests have drawn global attention, including the suggestion that some protesters may be nominated for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. Tawakel Karman from Yemen was one of the three laureates of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize as a prominent leader in the Arab Spring.
The difference between the Occupy and Arab Spring protests is a yawning gulf and there can be no comparison between the two.