Trial of 94 Citizens In UAE Continues to Spur Question: Will Government Crackdown Spurn Political Dissension? |
Last
month, a mass trial of over 90 suspects began in the United Arab Emirates to
investigate whether these individuals are linked to an Islamist network seeking
to topple the UAE government.
Defense attorneys argue that this group is nothing more than judges,
lawyers, doctors who have been victims of a panic induced by the Arab Spring
series of political revolts and uprisings. The trials of these individuals continue to be under the
microscope of political analysts, activists, governments, and citizens of
Middle Eastern countries as well as key Western actors like the United
States.
The
reason there is so much scrutiny of the United Arab Emirate’s trials is in part
because of how wealthy the UAE and the fact that it has one of the heaviest
concentrations of social media users per capita outside of the United
States. We as outside observers
see a familiar recipe beginning to come together in the UAE. First, the UAE consists of a
well-educated populace with a 77% (CIA) total literacy rate. Secondly, the UAE has a fairly young
median age of 30 years of age (CIA).
Emiratis also enjoy a per capita GDP of almost $50,000 ranking 16th
in the world.
Also
present in the UAE is a government, controlled by a small group of elites,
which has recently witnessed relatively stable governments/economies like that
in Egypt and Tunisia overthrown from within. Each Imarat has to worry not only about the federation as a
whole but also about maintaining control of his emirate.
This
trial, in Associated Press writer Brian Murphy’s opinion, “Reflects a
fundamental retooling of how the Western-allied Gulf states approach the
business of using and keeping their power from the arrests to the court
sessions to the media controls on coverage” (UAE Coup Trial). With such political crackdowns, one has
to wonder, will all of this backlash by the UAE government actually accelerate
dissent? In a country that has so
many educated, wealthy, and highly sociable people how can a government
maintain that does not allow opposing political parties to form maintain
power. Not only that, but how
should the West and most importantly, America react to such blatant disregards
for the rights of individuals? The
UAE is a vital ally to the United States in the Middle East however, does America
benefit more from the current power structure or by supporting the rights of
the individuals all across the world in the hopes that when reforms come to
these countries the United States is looked at in a positive light.
The
UAE government has two options, continue to crackdown on their citizens in
hopes that they can quell them into submission or become more lax in their laws
and rules of political participation and possible lose their control of the
government. Either way, the chance
of reform in the UAE seems to be growing steadily.
Bibliography
"Central Intelligence Agency." CIA. Central Intelligence Agency - United States of America, 26 Mar. 2013. Web. 07 Apr. 2013.
Murphy, Brian. "UAE Coup Trial Offers Window Into Wider Gulf Fears." Philly.com. Associated Press, 07 Apr. 2013. Web. 07 Apr. 2013.
Sambidge, Andy. "UAE to Settle Citizens' Debts up to $1.36m." Arabian Business. N.p., 20 May 2012. Web. 07 Apr. 2013.
I think that unrest is going to continue and if the Imarat want to remain in power, it would benefit them to slowly make concessions and changes to policy. They can try and stifle the movement but change is going to happen and accepting that it will happen can lead to a more peaceful shifting of power.
ReplyDelete3rd party countries should wait to see what will happen with the trial. Trial procedures and evidence should be scrutinized to make sure that a fair trial is being conducted however there shouldn't be major intervention. UAE is a sovereign state and its boundaries must be respected.
Although I do believe that change is likely to occur in the UAE, I'm much more skeptical that a "movement" is going to occur like that of Egypt and Tunisia. Looking at the UAE, I think we'll see an economic and political reform in much the way of China where it is over the course of several decades. Additionally, like China, the UAE is swiftly increasing Western dependence on their country which helps ensure stability and less mass protest because those in good standing are less likely to want to lose that.
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