201131146

Aref Alhammadi

The GCC During The Arab World Revolution

Project Final, 2012 Prepared by Aref AlHammadi ID: 201131145 Supervised by Ms. Jane Hislop

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3 Background ................................................................................................................................. 4
Arab Spring .......................................................................................................................................... 4 GCC During Arab Spring .................................................................................................................. 5 Bahrain Uprising .............................................................................................................................................. 5 Omani major protests .................................................................................................................................... 6 Minor protests in Kuwait ................................................................................................................................ 7 Minor Protests in Saudi Arabia ..................................................................................................................... 7 UAE Political Activists ................................................................................................................................... 8

Economic Reasons ..................................................................................................................... 9 Employment ............................................................................................................................. 11 Wise leadership ....................................................................................................................... 13 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 15 References List ...................................................................................................................... 16

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

Introduction

The Arab world has suffered from injustices, unemployment, mistreatment, brain drain, poor quality of services, and administrative venality. Although many of the Arab countries revolutions aimed for freedom, improvement in the quality of services such as health, education, and a reduction in unemployment, some revolutions took another curve such as the Bahrain civil uprising, in which protesters aimed for religion purposes; the revolutions journey started from Tunisia where a young man set himself on fire because of his mistreatment in front of the presidents palace. The revolutions reached the GCC, (Gulf cooperation council) member states. Although all achievements show how the GCCs governments are willing to improve services and increase their citizens income, the GCC member states have faced a wave of protests and civil uprising; however, the GCC member states have overcome it very fast. The reasons behind the declining of the protests are related to GCC economy, employment, and wise leadership.

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

Background The GCC was founded on 26th of May 1981. The aim of the collective is to protect and promote all member states in all fields in order to achieve unity. The GCC consists of six member states: United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait. The GCC citizens share their language, traditions, religions, and common objectives. GCC countries are famous for oil, and their exports are considered the main income for all the GCC member states. The GCC member states faced two serious threats: one of them was the first gulf war between Iraq, which was one of the member states, and Iran, and the second war was between the two member states Iraq and Kuwait, which was in 1990-1991.

Arab Spring

The Arab Spring was a wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in Arab countries, which was started in December 2010. The flare of the demonstration started in Tunisia and reached the GCC member states.

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

GCC During Arab Spring

Bahrain Uprising

The Bahrain uprising was a series of demonstrations, amounting to a sustained campaign of civil resistance in Bahrain. The Bahrain uprising started on the14th of Feb 2011, and the demonstrations and the protests aimed to end the monarchy of King Hamad Bin Isa. The world considered it as a sectarian revolution and majority of protesters are Shia and it did not represent the Bahrainis as one nation and what happened there was not like what had happened in the other Arab countries such as Egypt and Tunisia because it was Shiites against Sunnis. Also the protests Shiites were not peaceful because Shiites attacked Sunnis, and took over their mosques, and used many kinds of weapons (Qaradawi says Bahrains revolution sectarian, 2011). After that the GCC decided to move against the pointless civil uprising and use some kind of force to stop the revolutions after all the kings attempts failed. However the entire world was satisfied and wanted to stop revolution, but the protesters were angered because they considered it an invasion and foreign interference (Bahrain: Caught Between Saudi Arabia and Iran, 2011). Still, the cost of the Arab Spring in Bahrain was comparatively low mainly because of Bahrain's significant and stable oil production, which contributes 30 per cent to the GDP. Bahrain was able to

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

limit the impact on its fiscal balance, with public revenues actually increasing. However, public expenditure increased partly due to government cash transfers of $2,660 to each family in attempts to improve living standards and compensate for declines in the banking, retail and tourism sector as well as government failure to diversify the economy. (The Arab Spring Report: Uprisings came at a hefty price, 2011)

Omani major protests

Omani demonstrations started on the 20th February 2011 and aimed to increase Omanis salaries and improve living standards and especially Omanis who work in private sectors. Also the demonstration aimed to activate the role of consumer protection and monitor the prices. After that GCC agreed to provide Oman with 10 billion dollar in order to improve the infrastructure and housing for a period of 10 years. (Omanis protest high cost of living, corruption, 2011)

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

Minor protests in Kuwait

The minor protests in Kuwait were series of on going demonstrations for government reform in Kuwait. Kuwait protests ended when the Kuwaiti prime minister resigned in response to the protests. Because of prime minister resigned, Kuwait considers one of the countries affected by Arab Spring. Also in order to improve citizens living standards the Emir of Kuwait gave every Kuwaiti citizen 1,000 K.D (Kd 1,000 To Every Kuwaiti , 2011) Minor Protests in Saudi Arabia The condition in Saudi Arabia was similar to that of Kuwait and Oman. It consisted of small demonstrations, which aimed to improve citizens life by increasing salaries, providing jobs for national workforce, and freeing some Shies political prisons. Women also demonstrated because they aimed to have the right to drive a car, participate in certain elections and activate their role in Saudis society. Saudi King Abdullah ordered 37 billion dollars as social benefits to improve living standards and

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

to satisfy protesters demand. (Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah's $37bn benefits package, 2011)

UAE Political Activists

The United Arab Emirates is one of the rich countries in the GCC where the citizens have many advantages and the government considers the best ways to improve citizens living standards by developing an exemplary infrastructure, education environments and providing scholarships, and providing health services. During the Arab spring a small number of political activists insulted President, the Vice-President and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. (Five UAE bloggers are jailed for insulting leaders, 2011). At that time all UAEs tribes members pledged full loyalty to the government and leadership of the country and rejected outright any act that violates the countrys security. They met in different places and collected members signatures in order to support the governments decision and to file a lawsuit against the political activists. (Key tribes to reaffirm the importance of national interest , 2011).

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

Economic Reasons

The first reason behind the declining wave of protests is the GCC was the GCC economy. The reasons that have made the GCC economy an important element in the decline of the protests in the GCC are the stability of the economic condition, and the benefits and the role of the GCC Custom Union and the GCC Common Market. The GCCs economy has been known for a long time for its stability and consistency and the reason behind that is the appearance of black gold or oil. The appearance of oil turned the arid desert into endless cities and activated the economic condition in the GCC. Oil plays a significant role in the worlds economy and the reason behind that is due to oil as the main element of energy production whether electricity or the production of gasoline and diesel used in transportation and manufacturing. Because the GCC states members are petroleum-exporting countries, the states members took advantage of the high demand for oil and benefited from the huge revenues and spent it on the infrastructure, and countries development. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC, 2011), mentioned that the GCC countries own about 45% of the global provision of oil and 20% of the global provision of gas, which by its turn supports the stability, and continuity of economic growth in the GCC. Owning high

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

10

amounts of oil help the GCC countries in many areas such as development, employment, improvement of services and so on.

The GCC governments aimed to meet certain objectives and one of these objectives is facilitating trade movement within member states. The GCC Customs Union plays a significant role in facilitating free movement of goods between member states and overcoming the obstacle that impedes the GCC flow of goods, and unification of customs tariffs toward international trading which leads to encouraging the investors and creating exemplary trading environment (GCC, 2010). Moreover, the high number of investments leads to a decrease in the goods prices and increases the productivity.

As all the GCC members share the same traditions, religions, and language, the GCC government sought to support all members citizens in any place within the member states. To achieve the GCC governments vision the GCC Common Market has been initiated. The GCC Common market strongly aimed to achieve realization of fully equally treatment in all fields within the states members such as education, health, and employment where the GCC nationals have freedom of movement and residence without

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

11

any restrictions, the right of ownership, and inheritance, and the right of engagement in all professions. (GCC, 2009)

To sum up all these elements contributed significantly to the GCCs economic stability and which by its turn plays a role in declining the wave of protests. Government aid shows clearly that the GCC economy is able to face the future challenges and this is proved in periods of financial crises and in the Arab spring as well.

Employment The second reason behind the declining wave of protests in the GCC was the GCC employment. The reasons that have made the GCC employment an important element in the decline of the protests in the GCC are the nationalization of jobs, and considering the private sector as an employment alternative.

H.H Lt. General Sheik Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, (Prime Minister Offical Web site, 2011) said that provision of job opportunities to UAE citizens is a national priority.

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

12

To narrow the widening gap between the demands of accelerating development and limited national workforce, gulf governments focus on the nationalization of jobs and intensifying the programs of substituting the expatriate workers with national workers. These programs aimed to prepare and qualify the new employees in order to fit the jobs required. Gulf governments are looking for the optimal use of national human resource, and provision of a livelihood and stable society. Nationalization of jobs is not easy as it needs huge investments in resources and it is accounted to the gulf countries governments, which overcome the obstacle that impedes employment process (GCC, 2009). The low salaries and wages given by the private sector compared with the public sector are one of the most important reasons for the reluctance of citizens to work in the private sector in gulf countries. Therefore, the GCC member states encouraged national workforce to work in the private sector by the provision of social insurance, and limited the in-flow of the migration labor by increasing the fees of recruitment for new expatriate workers, limiting certain professions to nationals, and linking the approval of loans and the award of contracts with the rate of national employment (Human Resources & Development In The Arabian Gulf, 2010). To sum up all these elements show how the GCC member states take the livelihood and

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

13

employment of its citizens seriously and this intention helps the protests to decline in the gulf countries.

Wise leadership

The third reason behind the declining wave of protests in the GCC was wise leadership. The reason why the wise leadership is the most important element in the decline of the protests in the GCC is shown in the direct communication between the citizens and the government. When the condition of the GCC economy was not enough to end the protests, the governments presidents showed new lessons in co-operation and leading by example. The governments accepted the protesters demands and absorbed the anger of the people by providing billions of dollars as social benefits, and providing job opportunities. As the GCCs governments operate within the framework of monarchy, the rulers are responsible for the citizens and country situation. For instance, after the protest and unstable conditions in Saudi Arabia, The Saudi Arabian King Abdulla ordered the distribution of about 37 billion dollars in social benefits, support-housing fund, supporting scholarship budget and so on, (Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah's $37bn benefits package, 2011). Although Oman and Bahrain have oil resource

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

14

limitation, rich countries in the GCC rushed to help by making pledges of 10 billion dollars in each country, (GCC pledges 20billion in aid for Oman & Bahrain, 2011). The King of Bahrain was gave each family 10,000 Bahraini Dinar. Also the Emir of Kuwait was gave 1000 Kuwaiti dinar for each citizen. (Kd 1,000 To Every Kuwaiti , 2011). The Sultan of Oman tried to control the situation, when the protesters focused on lack of job opportunities in Oman, by ordering 50000 jobs for the unemployed. (Oman Sultan Qaboos orders jobs for 50000, 2011). To sum up this evidence shows the proactive response of the government in the Gulf area and shows synergies between Gulf States.

Counter-Argument and Rebuttal In order to satisfy markets demand and cover the shortage of the national workforce, business owners are forced to be depending on expatriate workforce, hence, the number of expatriate workforce significantly increase until become the majority of the worker in the GCC total workforce. Moreover not all the GCC countries have stable economic condition. However, although this information is true, the GCC supreme console considered increasing the national workforce as one of the main concerns, so they encourage the GCC nationals to work in the private sector

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

15

by providing a pension fund, and encouraging business owners by providing some facilities to bring more expatriate workforce only if they hire and train the national workforce. Moreover the GCC Common market gives an equal opportunity for all GCC citizens to work in any GCC states. On the other hand, an expatriate workforce is one of the most effective ways to develop the national workforce. In the case that not all the GCC member states are rich, this information is true, but the poor countries got financial assistances from the rich countries, and that is what happened during the Arab Spring where the GCC member states pledged 20 billion dollars to Oman and Bahrain which shows solidarity of the GCC member states in any circumstances.

Conclusion The Golf Cooperation Council member states succeeded in overcoming the wave of protests and kept its impacts to the minimum level and the reason behind all of the was the stability of GCC economy, employment strategies used by governments, and wise leadership which play significant role during the problems.

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

16

References List
(n.d.). Middle East UAE political activists refuse to attend court hearing. (2011). Retrieved from Middle East: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Oct- 03/150322-uae-political-activists-refuse-to-attend-court- hearing.ashx#axzz1bscFceSb Abdo, G. (2011). Shia in Bahrain: Repression and regression . Retrieved from aljazeera: http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/04/20114301242374870.html ADNOC. (2011). Energy & UAE. Retrieved from abu dhabi national oil company (ADNOC): http://www.adnoc.ae/content.aspx?newid=306&mid=306 AFP. (2011). Omanis protest high cost of living corruption. Retrieved from maktoob news: http://en.news.maktoob.com/20090000548860/Omanis_protest_high_cost_of_livin g_corruption_/Article.htm bahrain death penalty shia protesters. (2011). Retrieved from World News, guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/28/bahrain-death-penalty-shia- protesters Bahrain: Caught Between Saudi Arabia and Iran. (2011). Bahrain: Caught Between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Retrieved from Time World: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2058992,00.html bahrains king to give 1000 dinars 2650 to each family ahead of planned protests. (2011). Retrieved from nfiniteunknown: http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2011/02/13/bahrains-king-to-give-1000-dinars- 2650-to-each-family-ahead-of-planned-protests/ Five UAE bloggers are jailed for insulting leaders. (2011, November 28). Five UAE bloggers are jailed for insulting leaders. Retrieved December 10, 2011, from KhaleejTimes: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2011/November/t heuae_November785.xml&section=theuae GCC. (2006). COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN THE GCC (Session 23) 2006 . Riyadh: Secretariat Of GCC. GCC pledges 20billion in aid for Oman & Bahrain. (2011). Retrieved from gulfnews: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/gcc-pledges-20billion-in-aid-for- oman-bahrain-1.774648 gcc pledges 20billion in aid for oman bahrain. (2011). Retrieved from gulfnews: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/gcc-pledges-20billion-in-aid-for- oman-bahrain-1.774648 GCC. (2010). PROCESS OF THE CUSTOMS UNION Of The cooperation council for the Arab states of the gulf. Riyadh: GCC. GCC. (2010). Statistical Bulletin 2010 . Riyadh: GCC.

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

17

GCC. (2009). The GCC : Process and Achievement 2009 . Riyadh: GCC. GCC. (2011). The Revised Long - Term Comprehensive Development Strategy For the GCC States 2010 - 2025 , 2011 . Secretariat OF GCC. irgc commander vows support for bahrain revolution. (2011). Retrieved from insideiran: http://www.insideiran.org/media-analysis/irgc-commander-vows- support-for-bahrain-revolution/ Human Resources & Development In The Arabian Gulf. (2010). Human Resources & Development In The Arabian Gulf. Abu Dhabi: The Emirates Center For Strategic Studies and Research. Haider, H. (2010). GCC focuses on integration, education & health. Retrieved from khaleejtimes: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/business/2011/Octob er/business_October27.xml&section=business&col= Health Indicator. (2007). Retrieved from Executive Board of the Health Ministers' Council for GCC States: http://www.sgh.org.sa/PDF/indicator%20English.pdf kuwait protest against the prime minister. (2011). Retrieved from globalvoicesonline: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/05/28/kuwait-protest- against-the-prime-minister/ Key tribes to reaffirm the importance of national interest . (2011, April 29). Key tribes to reaffirm the importance of national interest . Retrieved from Key tribes to reaffirm the importance of national interest : http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/key-tribes-to-reaffirm-the- importance-of-national-interest-1.800683 Kd 1,000 To Every Kuwaiti . (2011). Retrieved from arabtimesonline: http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/164 462/reftab/116/Default.aspx more than one million pledge loyalty to sheikh khalifa. (2011). Retrieved from Thenational: http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/more-than-one-million- pledge-loyalty-to-sheikh-khalifa oman sultan qaboos orders jobs for 50000. (2011). Retrieved from globalarabnetwork: http://www.english.globalarabnetwork.com/2011022810007/Oman- Politics/oman-sultan-qaboos-orders-jobs-for-50000.html Oman Sultan Qaboos orders jobs for 50000. (2011). Retrieved from globalarabnetwork: http://www.english.globalarabnetwork.com/2011022810007/Oman- Politics/oman-sultan-qaboos-orders-jobs-for-50000.html Omanis protest high cost of living, corruption. (2011, January 17). Retrieved December 10, 2011, from Khaleej Time: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/J anuary/middleeast_January322.xml&section=middleeast Qaradawi says Bahrains revolution sectarian. (2011, 03 19). Qaradawi says Bahrains revolution sectarian. Retrieved 11 22, 2011, from www.alarabiya.net: http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/03/19/142205.html

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

18

Prime Minister Offical Web site. (2011). Prime Minister. Retrieved from Prime Minister Offical Web site: http://www.uaepm.ae/en/media/news/articles/news694.html Protests break out in Omani city. (2011). Retrieved from aljazeera: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/201142215140646886.ht ml Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah's $37bn benefits package. (2011). Retrieved from BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12570842 Samir Salama. (2010). GCC must tackle unemployment. Retrieved from Gulf nEWS: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/employment/gcc-must-tackle- unemployment-1.577148 Tamimi, J. A. (2010). GCC faces workforce issues. Retrieved from Gulfnews: http://gulfnews.com/business/opinion/gcc-faces-workforce-issues-1.640695 The Arab Spring Report: Uprisings came at a hefty price. (2011, OCT 24). Retrieved Dec 5, 2011, from GulfNews: http://gulfnews.com/business/economy/the-arab- spring-report-uprisings-came-at-a-hefty-price-1.916915 THE EMIRATES CENTER FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES AND RESEARCH. (2010). HUMAN RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE ARABIAN GULF. Abu Dhabi: The Emirates Center For Strategic Studies and Research. The GCC Common Market Facts and Figures 2009 . (2009). Retrieved from gulf cooperation council: http://sites.gcc-sg.org/DLibrary/download.php?B=334 Tribal leaders pledge loyalty. (2011). Retrieved from khaleejtimes: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?section=theuae&xfile=data/t heuae/2011/may/theuae_may474.xml

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

19

Final Reflection COL 240 Prepared by Aref AlHammadi ID: 201131145 Supervised by Ms. Jane Hislop

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

20

My Assignment is an argument essay about the GCC during Arab spring. I choose this topic because I feel its not a familiar topic and its a contemporary issue. The Difficulties I have been found was in collecting data and information because I spent whole the semester looking for information, but it helped me to develop my abilities in researching, reading and writing such an extend piece of writing. In order to write such an extended writing I used various techniques, first I have made initial research, then I create list of possible broad topics, after that I choose three topics and I started the preliminary research for those topics. After that, I choose my topic and list many questions and collect the keywords for my research. Then I prepared my arguments, theses, research outlines, and sentences outline. Finally I started write my first draft and after review it by the professor I wrote my final copy. This course is significantly improved my writing skills and my ability to describe the scenarios efficiently. Vocabulary is one of my main concern and freaked me out, but after reading many articles, newspaper, and Books I got such of good amount of politics vocabularies which by it turns will helps me to talk about politics issues confidently in future. The research is covered many area such as many websites, books, and newspaper. I can said that my English is hardly improved especially in this course because the methodologies of the

201131146

Aref Alhammadi

21

professor Jane, which strongly helped me in the writing and also reduced the work pressure. Ms. Jane methodologies were advanced and she was very prepared and organized.