Sofia Platform: The way forward for Arab Spring
04 December 2011 News
There is no ideal path and painless transition, Ibrahim Sharqieh of the Brookings Doha Center told the final panel discussion of the "Sofia Platform: Transitional Justice" conference. More important is the belief that the last day of dictatorship is the first day of democracy, when the hope rises that a balance between peace and justice will be achieved. Bulgaria's experience of transition was relevant and timely in that sense and a great opportunity for the Arab Spring countries to learn from others' mistakes and use Bulgaria's knowledge base in the implementation of reforms.
Mohamed Salem Drah, a lawyer and human rights activist from Libya, held a similar opinion, underlining that Libya's historical experience was very similar to that of Bulgaria. He said that he hoped that the democratic transition in his country would happen as swiftly as possible. To do so, the people of Libya must break with the past and reject any foreign intervention because revolution is not a trophy that can be shared. The state needed to put people and their rights above everything else, he said.
Ahmed Abdel-Gawad from Egypt said that the transition experience shared by Eastern European countries made him feel more optimistic that Arab Spring countries will complete their own transitions peacefully and at a faster pace. He highlighted the key role that civil society plays in teaching societies how to think about the future and how to mobilise resources to build stable democratic institutions.
Sarah Ahmed of the Support for Yemen movement talked about the active role played by women during the Arab Spring revolutions, emphasising women's enormous potential and desire to be involved in the process of reforming their countries towards equality and partnership with men. For Yemeni women. it was important to ensure the that the constitution guaranteed the basic human rights for all members of society.
The main question faced by Tunisia was the direction of future change, Mohamed Selim Ben Hassen, president of the Byrsa youth civic movement, said. The main challenge facing the country – knowing its past and present – was how to find its own way towards social consensus, he said. That was the only way forward and the only institutions that made it possible to build a strong state with a strong civil society were the schools, he said.
The messages that emerged from the ensuing discussion were that the Arab Spring countries needed to avoid making the mistakes made during transition by the countries in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as highlighting the key role of women and youth in achieving an equitable future based on democratic values.
There can be no political reform without equal economic opportunities and without popular participation by people in the government of their own countries, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov said in his closing address. "We are different, but we are united by the ideas of democracy," he told participants.