While the so-called Arab Spring offered a brief glimmer of hope for many, it ended with even more repressive regimes in most countries and devastating, ongoing wars in Syria, Libya and Yemen. 'Mass mobile-isation'The spark that set off the Arab Spring was the tragic suicide of Tunisian street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi, 26, who, having long been cheated and humiliated by state officials, set himself on fire. Virtual battlegroundsIf the phrase "Arab Spring" echoed the romantic hopes for freedom of the 1968 Prague Spring, it ended as tragically as that brief uprising crushed by Soviet tanks. Arab states have quickly caught up with their own cyber tools, weaponising social media and cracking down hard on online activists. "The tools that catalysed the Arab Spring, we've learned, are only as good or as bad as those who use them," said a commentary in Wired magazine.

Source: Dhaka Tribune November 30, 2020 02:15 UTC