From Chinese Press

Turmoil in Middle East not result of oppressive autocracy

By Zhang Xinyi (peopledaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-03-25 13:51

Many people hold that the ongoing political turmoil in Middle East is occurring because authoritarian governments pushed people to the point of revolt. Is that really the case? The answer lies in the constantly changing attitudes of some Western countries.

The Western coalition, led by the United States, United Kingdom and France, jointly launched military assaults against Libya on March 19 under the pretext of the deteriorating situation, escalating violence and massive civilian casualties.

Elsewhere in Bahrain, where the conditions contrasted sharply with the situation Libya, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) announced on March 14 to offer military support to the Bahrain government. One day later, Bahrain declared a state of emergency and used force against those staging protests in Pearl Square. Over the past week, 15 protestors were killed and dozens were missing. The situation is as grave as what is happening in Libya given the fact Bahrain is merely a small country with a population of 600,000.

Western countries usually turn a blind eye to what has been going on in Bahrain. When asked about the heavy military presence in Libya while Bahrain is being ignored, a U.S. national security expert noted that the ruling classes of these countries were with the United States, though they were not exactly good. While another scholar with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said that the double standard did exist, but it was a rational act.

Such straightforward statements still did not reveal the real intentions of the United States. As a matter of fact, Gaddafi has been cooperative with the United States in recent years since 2003, when he gave up the nuclear program at the behest of the United States. He also joined the U.S.-led war on terror and compensated 1.5 billion U.S. dollars to the United States for past terrorist acts, including the bombing of Pan Am flight 103.