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CTC - Topic A

The Arab Spring began in 2010 and led to revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt that overthrew their long-time authoritarian leaders. Protests and uprisings also occurred in other countries in the region. While the Arab Spring aimed to bring democracy, it created opportunities for terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda to take advantage and strengthen their influence. Terrorist groups may have gained access to weapons from conflicts in Libya. There are concerns that terrorism could emerge or expand in the region as a result of instability from the Arab Spring uprisings. The document discusses questions the committee faces in addressing this potential threat and how various international actors could help counter terrorism in the Middle East.

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486 views

CTC - Topic A

The Arab Spring began in 2010 and led to revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt that overthrew their long-time authoritarian leaders. Protests and uprisings also occurred in other countries in the region. While the Arab Spring aimed to bring democracy, it created opportunities for terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda to take advantage and strengthen their influence. Terrorist groups may have gained access to weapons from conflicts in Libya. There are concerns that terrorism could emerge or expand in the region as a result of instability from the Arab Spring uprisings. The document discusses questions the committee faces in addressing this potential threat and how various international actors could help counter terrorism in the Middle East.

Uploaded by

Ruhaan Ahmed
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Topic A Terrorism as a repercussion of the Arab Spring

The Arab Spring is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Saturday, 18 December 2010. To date revolutions have occurred in Tunisia, and Egypt; a civil war in Libya, resulting in the fall of its regime; civil uprisings in Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen; major protests in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, and Oman; and minor protests in Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Western Sahara. Clashes at the borders of Israel in May 2011 have also been inspired by the regional Arab Spring. The protests have shared techniques of civil resistance in sustained campaigns involving strikes, demonstrations, marches and rallies, as well as the use of social media to organize, communicate, and raise awareness in the face of state attempts at repression and internet censorship. Many demonstrations have met violent responses from authorities, as well as from pro-government militias and counter-demonstrators. The series of protests and demonstrations across the Middle East and North Africa has become known as the "Arab Spring", and sometimes as the "Arab Spring and Winter", "Arab Awakening" or "Arab Uprisings" even though not all participants in protests identify as Arab. It was sparked by the first protests that occurred in Tunisia on 18 December 2010 following Mohamed Bouazizi's self-immolation in protest of police corruption and ill treatment. With the success of the protests in Tunisia, a wave of unrest struck Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, and Yemen, then spread to other countries. The largest, most organised demonstrations have often occurred on a "day of rage", usually Friday after noon prayers.The protests have also triggered similar unrest outside the region. As of October 2011, revolutions have resulted in the overthrow of three heads of state. Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on 14 January following the Tunisian revolution protests. In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak resigned on 11 February 2011 after 18 days of massive protests, ending his 30-year presidency. Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown on 23 August 2011, after the National Transitional Council (NTC) took control of Bab alAzizia. He was killed on 20 October 2011, in his hometown of Sirte after the NTC took control of the city. During this period of regional unrest, several leaders announced their intentions to step down at the end of their current terms. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir announced that he would not seek re-election in 2015, as did Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose term ends in 2014, although there have been increasingly violent demonstrations demanding his immediate resignation. Protests in Jordan have also caused the sacking of two successive governments by King Abdullah. Another leader, President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, announced on 23 April that he would step down within 30 days in exchange for immunity, a deal the Yemeni opposition informally accepted on 26 April; Saleh then reneged on the deal,

prolonging the Yemeni uprising. The geopolitical implications of the protests have drawn global attention, including the suggestion that some protesters may be nominated for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. Tawakel Karman from Yemen was one of the three laureates of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize as a prominent leader in the Arab Spring.

Government overthrown Major protests

Sustained civil disorder and governmental changes Protests outside the Arab world

Protests and governmental changes

Minor protests

However, where the Arab Spring is thought of as a democracy restorer, it is thought to provide a new platform for terrorist activities. An example of this is what Gilles de Kerchove, the EU Counter-terrorism Coordinator, told a news
conference in September 2011: "You have not seen anyone demonstrating in the street referring to al Qaeda or al Qaeda rhetoric. But of course, we all agree that it has provided a huge opportunity for al Qaeda to reenergize."

He also said there was a risk al Qaeda had secured arms and ammunition looted in the Libyan conflict, including surface-to-air missiles that could pose a threat to flights in the region. "They have had the possibility to have had access to weapons, including small arms and machine guns, or certain surface-to-air missiles which are extremely dangerous," he said.

These are only some of the concerns, the rest are to be brought up and discussed by the committee with full consideration to the integrity and sovereignty of the nations and the gravity of the problem

The questions and problems which the committee faces are: In what ways can terrorism surface as a result of the spark from the Arab Spring? How would have (or can) groups like Al-Qaeda taken advantage from the massive revolts? How has the US intervention affected this case? How can the EU and the UK contribute to the countering of this type of terrorism? What can the Middle East and the Arab world do to eradicate this threat? How can this threat be countered by the CTC?

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