Former UK MP: Big changes afoot in Arab world

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The revolutions in the Arab world will last a long time but will see a huge change in the political landscape in the Middle East over the coming years, according to former British MP George Galloway.

 “The situation is complicated as any revolutions are, it will last a long time as any revolution does,” said Galloway, who is a vice-president of Stop the War Coalition, Britain's largest peace group network.

“Sometimes there will be two steps forward, sometimes there will be one step back, but none of these revolutions are finished on either side,” he said.

“The revolutionaries are not finished and those against are not finished, so there is still much to play for,” he told IRNA in an interview.

Galloway was a Labour MP before being expelled from the party due to his outspoken criticism of the Iraq war, when he formed the Respect Party.

He said that “enormous progress” had been made in Egypt and in Tunisia, against “almost impregnable dictatorships” that have fallen and where elections are due to be held.

“In Libya, the Gaddafi regime has gone but it is not clear what will emerge in its place,” the 57-year-old politician, journalist and broadcaster said.

“Obviously, the Nato bombers hope a stooge government will be able to hold power but there will be many in Libya who will reject that kind of a course so that struggle will continue.”

“In Yemen, the revolution continues, in Bahrain and elsewhere, so we will see big changes in the Arab world in the next few years,” he said.

Galloway also spoke of the obstacles in the wake of the uprisings, saying the dictatorships were powerful having been “armed to the teeth by the imperialist world.”

“There are all sorts of divisions, sectarian divisions, divisions being acted upon by the imperialist countries and sometimes confusion reigns,” he said.

The former MP expressed hope “with God's help” that the people of the Middle East and North Africa will find their right path and emphasised the importance of unity.

“There is an Islamic awakening. There is an Arab national awakening and both of these forces if they act together in a clear and unsectarian way can be decisive,” he said.

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