Here is a list of Pro-democracy Protests currently going on around the world as posted by the CBC News. The problem is that this causes Western leaders some problems. Most of these protests are against long-standing non-democratic but very "stable" regimes. If the Western leaders support the push for democracy, they stand a chance of ending up with a) a radical Islamic government in some of these countries, and b) much less stability, making trade and other relations difficult for the West. On the other hand, if they support the "old regimists" they appear to be anti-democracy. Truly a pretty tough position to be in. Of course, democracy is preferred, but providing it does not go to radical terrorist governments or to governments that are anti-west and supporters of radical terrorists. Anyway, here's the list:
Pro-democracy and anti-government protests have erupted across North Africa and the Middle East this month.
- In Egypt, 20,000 protesters took to the streets of Cairo on Jan. 25 — a rare sight in that authoritarian country. They were spurred by grinding poverty, unemployment, corruption and the recent events in Tunisia,.
- In Tunisia, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted from power Jan. 14 following a month of protests against repression, corruption and unemployment.
- In Morocco, since Jan. 21, four Moroccans have attempted suicide by setting themselves on fire. These acts were allegedly inspired by the self-immolation of the 26-year-old-Tunisian that started the recent protests in that country.
- In Lebanon, protests erupted on Jan. 25 after Najib Mikati was appointed prime minister-designate. A billionaire, Mikati has backing from Hezbollah and ties to Syria.
- In Algeria, rising food prices led to several days of rioting beginning on Jan. 5 in a handful of towns, as well as the capital, Algiers. At least five people have died, and hundreds more have been injured in confrontations with police.
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