ParisNair wrote: "It amazes me that people on the outside would even offer an opinion on how good Mubarek is, when the only opinions that matter are those of the Egyptian people.
"So I gave my opinion, am I not allowed to now?"
I never said that. However, when it comes to saying whether Mubarek is good for the people or not, no, I don't think you have the right to express an opinion. None of us do really. Since we don't live in Egypt, and what happens doesn't affect us, I don't think any of us have the right to express an opinion. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to deny anyone their precious freedom of speech. However we are not dealing with a political leader in Europe, America, Australia or India. Considering that the Egyptian people aren't in a position to determine whether they want to keep Mubarak, those of us who are in a position to elect our leaders should keep our opinions on how good Mubarak is to ourselves.
"Anyway, I am not saying that Mubarak is the best leader in the world. What I did say, is that, Egyptians are better off under Hosni than what the alternative has to offer."
Except that's not a decision for you to make. You live in India right? Imagine if you lived in a dictatorship, and outsiders expressed opinions on your government, do you really think you would accept that? Or imagine this was 1947, before independence, and I said that I thought that still being part of the Empire was better than the alternative, would you really accept that? Or would you dismiss me as an arrogant outsider?
I really do think that it is incredibly arrogant to say that Mobarak is better than the alternative, when not only will you be unaffected by what happens, but all the Egyptian people want is the right to determine whether they want Mobarak or an althernative. They want the rights that you have.
"Probably he should plan elections in another 2 years, giving enough time for himself and others to prepare for a political battle."
Except the Egyptian people don't want to wait for two year. They don't want to wait two months, and really, why should they? Egypt is a dictatorship, and they want to control their destinty. Would you be prepared to wait? Why should they wait when they are demanding, and are entitled to, the same rights that you and others on this board enjoy?
This really does astound me. Not only do you think that the Egyptian people should wait to enjoy the same rights that you do, but you think they should wait 2 years! Absurd, absolutely absurd.
Anyway, Mubarak is finshed. Whether or not the people would ever have voted for him should he have ran in a free and fair election (doubtful), the one thing that they want is for him to resign, and to do so now.
"In that paragraph I should have used "Arabic" instead of Islamic. I was talking about the culture/society rather than the religion. Men and women are free to mingle with each other and participate equally in the work-force in Egypt, which cannot be said of many Arabic states."
Not that it's particularly relevant to this discussion, but I still don't agree.
"Its true that people always want change, its human nature. I am also of the opinion that Hosni Mubarak should have left the presidency long ago. But I just feel it should not be in such an atmosphere where emotions are running high, and people can easily be taken for a ride by vested political interests."
The problem is that you can't force change unless emotion is running high. Mobarak would never have left on his own accord if emotions weren't running high. Until this happened, he had planned on annointing his son as successor; however that is now unlikely to take place.
"How many examples of governments, formed out of mass uprising againts a dictator/despot which has ensured stability in the country, can you give me? I give you Pakistan, Nepal (my immediate neighbours!), Indonesia."
Not many, and I would even question one (possibly two) of the countries you selected. However, that does not mean the people should do nothing.
"Such movements are always spearheaded by political interests and the common man gets a raw deal out of them."
Absolutely. I guess all we can do is hope that, no matter what happens, the common man in this case doesn't get screwed.
Amazon