Since 17 December 2010, when the Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire for a better future, the Middle East has been turned upside down from East to West. Since then, the contagious desire for freedom and democracy has gotten to all Arab countries and, for better or for worse, the archaic ruling systems have been defied. But, what happened to their rulers? Let’s tally up some of their fates:
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (Tunisia): after a moth of demonstrations and protests in Tunisia, on 14 January 2011, the ex president dissolved his government and declared the state of emergency. On that same day, Ben Ali and his close family were forced to leave the countryand fled to Saudi Arabia. He was charged for drug trafficking and money laundry and sentenced in absentia to 35 years of prison.
Muammar el Ghaddafi (Lybia): on 20 October 2011 a NATO airstrike reached the convoy where he was travelling. Ghaddafi was wounded in the attack and tried to hide in a drainpipe. The rebels found him and after being detained and beaten, he was shot in the head. The pictures and videos of the half naked corpse were seen around the world.
Ali Abdullah Saleh (Yemen): In June 2011, during an attack led by a rival clan on his presidential compound, Saleh was badly injured. This incident forced him to fly to Saudi Arabia for treatment. After he finished his treatment in the US, he returned to Yemen and ceded power to his vice president Hadi. Saleh was granted immunity and sought exile in Ethiopia.
Mohamed Hosni Mubarak (Egypt): following weeks of massive protests, on 11 February 2011, vice president Omar Suleiman announced Mubarak had stepped down and he would hand power to the Egyptian military. In May 2011, Mubarak was referred to criminal court accused of complicity in the murder of 850 protesters. Four days ago, he was sentenced to life prison and transferred to Tora prison.
Bashar el Assad (Syria): after more than a year since the uprising started in Syria, el Assad remains in power. Despite international investigations and condemnation of the monstrous crimes committed in the country, the Alawite leader has still support of part of the population and the army. Every effort carried out by the UN and the international community to stop him seems in vane. Around 13.000 people have being killed since March 2011.
As Charles Chaplin said: “The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.”