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of people out on the street protesting. The Egyptians are requesting that Hosni Moubarak resigns. He has been ruling Egypt for almost 30 years now. They are also protesting because they dont like how he has done nothing for them except oppress them and keep them in poverty. Moubarak nominated his new government on January 31st. It is mostly unlikely that these nominations could calm the protesters requests as they will probably have the opposite effect. The three first positions in the new government are held by Military men Omar Suleiman, who before, was head of the secret services who is now vice president. Mohamed Hussein Tantaoui, previous Defence minister is now remaining defence minister but is also vice prime minister and Ahmad Chafik, previous minister of aviation is now prime minister. Moubarak also tried to apply a curfew to people in Egypt but it has been repeatedly broken by the protesters as they stayed out on the streets. He also brought out the military force with tanks, to try to scare the people on the streets. But, the military force believes that the protesters have a good reason for protesting and that they will support them. There are also rumours that Moubarak has released prisoners to frighten people on the streets and also to increase looting. It is also said that there are policemen that are dressed and act as looters that have taken as well. Last week, he got his fighter jets to fly low overhead to try to scare the people off the streets. My opinion on all of this protesting that is happening is that I believe that the protesters are doing the right thing because their government has not been treating them well.
About 3 weeks ago, Tunisia had one of the most repressive governments in a region full of police states, and levels of corruption among its elite that became intolerable once the economic malaise that has gripped southern Europe spread to the country, sending unemployment and public resentment skyrocketing. In what became known as the Jasmine Revolution, a sudden and explosive wave of street protests ousted the authoritarian president, Ben Ali, who had ruled Tunisia for 23 years. On January 14, Ben Ali left the country after trying unsuccessfully to calm down the demonstrators with promises of elections. According to government figures issued later, 78 protesters died and 94 were injured during the demonstrations. Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi initially said he would take up presidential power after the president left, but he was forced to abandon this plan the next day. Ghannouchi declared on January 20 that 1,800 political prisoners had been released from jail so that he could frighten the protesters. But the demonstrations continued, as protesters raged against the domination of the new cabinet by members of Ben Ali's party, and some opposition leaders quit the unity government. Leaders of the opposition parties prepared a push to rebuild the unity government. Some protesters called for the complete elimination of the old ruling party, while complaining that outlawed parties like the once powerful Islamist groups or the Tunisian. On January 26, the interim government issued an international arrest warrant for Ben Ali and members of his family for financial offenses. And a day later, it cleared almost all the cabinet ministers, resolving a standoff that had threatened to takedown the new government. My opinion is that I believe the protesters are doing the right thing, to take down the government that does not rule well enough and also to listen to what the citizens have to say.
In Jordan, things are similar, with thousands of people flooding the streets in protests, demanding the countrys prime minister to step
down because the government has rose the prices of goods, unemployment, and corruption. It is said that the mayhem in Tunisia has inspired the people in Jordan. There were about 3,500 opposition activists from Jordans main Islamist opposition group. The trade unions and leftist organisations gathered in the capital, waving colourful banners, which said, Send the corrupt guys to court. Jordans Islamist are calling for a democratic reform that will lead to what they describe as a gradual transformation of the country. The protests are led largely by left-wing groups who call attention to the disparity between the rich and poor in Jordan. As they broke into a procession, the demonstrators chanted, In the name of God, the government must change. In good news, the government has rolled out new subsidies to bring down the prices of basic goods and announced increases in retirement pensions and pay for public servants. My opinion on this is that I believe what the protesters did was right and they were also very brave by doing this.