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Protests provide food for thought

Feb 3, 2011, 11:03 AM

The ongoing mass protests in Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan and Algeria should provide enough food for thought for many a leader, in Africa and elsewhere.

At the risk of being killed, and despite the killing of many of them, the protestors remain defiant and committed to their cause, in calling for change, change, change!

Anyone familiar with the history of some of these countries will know that some of these leaders have overstayed their welcome.

That some of them were able to stay long in power by suppressing their people, and ruling their country as if it were their personal property, is all too evident.

Thus, the current protests should serve as an eye-opener to all who behave like dictators, for them to know that real power resides in the people, who can make autocratic rulers cut and run, when it comes to the crunch.

Indeed, those who continuously rig elections, just to remain in power, must know that the people they cheat now have a new strategy - that mass protests like what happened in Tunisia could end their misery overnight.

Another lesson learned is that the years of violation of human rights, as experienced in most African states and in the Middle East, is a phase in their history that will come to an ignominious end, in fact, sooner than expected.

As we stated in this column about the events in Ivory Coast, we again call on the African Union and the United Nations to ensure that in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere, it is the people who will win, at the end of the day, and that those in authority who commit crimes against humanity are held accountable before the International Criminal Court for their actions.

“We have decapitated him from dictatorship"

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