Year of the Arab Uprising: Impact on Southeast Asia

RSIS presents the following commentary Year of the Arab Uprising: Impact on Southeast Asia by James M. Dorsey. It is also available online at this link. (To print it, click on this link.). Kindly forward any comments or feedback to the Editor RSIS Commentaries, at  RSISPublication@ntu.edu.sg

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No. 177/2011 dated 30 November 2011

Year of the Arab Uprising:
Impact on Southeast Asia

 By James M. Dorsey

Synopsis

The popular revolts sweeping the Middle East and North Africa are part of a global demand for political openness and transparency. Southeast Asia has so far proven adept in its response but has yet to address fundamental issues.

Commentary

TUNISIAN STREET vendor Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation was not simply a cry for justice, freedom and economic opportunity. It was an act of desperation in the face of humiliation, a cry for dignity that resonated with the masses across North Africa and the Middle East.

Bouazizi's death sparked a move to end not just the yoke of tyranny but of neo-patriarchic rule in which the autocratic father figure replicates himself throughout society from head of state to village chief to the head of the nuclear family. The system franchised authoritarian rule. As a result Bouazizi’s cry for dignity was and is a quest for citizenship rather than guardianship, for legitimate authority, transparency and ultimately true sovereignty.

Arguably, more than anything else, Bouazizi’s cry integrated the relatively inward-looking region from Morocco to the Gulf into a globalised world. The region became part of a global trend and in some ways its most resilient, poised to rewrite political geography. The demand for openness and transparency, fuelled by a perceived failure of existing institutions, manifests itself in different ways in different parts of the world. In the West it's Occupy Wall Street. In the Middle East and North Africa, pushing for greater transparency often meant violence to change ossified dictatorships incapable of accommodation of people's aspirations and reform.

Southeast Asia not immune

Southeast Asia has not been immune to the global trend. Nonetheless, to suggest that the Arab Spring would spark a counterpart uprising in Southeast Asia would be far-fetched. Southeast Asia was already confronting calls for change before the Arab revolt erupted and the impact of the trend in Southeast Asia is evident.

Myanmar has cautiously relaxed strict government control, Malaysia responded to 

sharp criticism of the police by repealing two sweeping security laws and lifting restrictions on the media and Thai voters returned to power the party of deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a victory for his red-shirted supporters involved in bloody clashes with the military last year. In doing so, Southeast Asian governments have proven to be far more attuned than their Middle Eastern and North African counterparts to what was happening around them and have displayed a greater deal of vision and flexibility. Nonetheless, they will also require forward planning.

Ensuring energy security

When, rather than if, the Arab uprising inevitably spreads to the Gulf, Southeast 

Asian nations will have to define the risk to their energy security and develop alternatives in case of a disruption in oil and gas supplies as well as increase their focus on alternative energy options. Some, like the Philippines, will also have to deal with the impact of large numbers of migrant workers returning home to escape erupting turmoil.

Non-oil producing Southeast Asian nations like Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines depend on the Middle East for 70 percent of their oil and gas imports. 

In addition, Southeast Asia and the Middle East are crucial links in a seaborne commerce conveyor belt that runs from the Gulf to the Pacific. If the Straits of Malacca and Singapore were seen until now as potentially risky maritime choke points, today it is the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf and Bab el Mandeb between Somalia and Yemen that are more vulnerable.

Asia would be most affected if shipping particularly through the Straits of Hormuz were to be interrupted. The United States gets 22 percent of its oil from the Gulf, Europe about 30 percent but Asia all of 75 percent, which makes Asia having the most at stake in terms of energy security.

Southeast Asia’s strategic advantage

Almost a year into the Arab revolt, the Middle East and North Africa region is looking at up to a decade of volatility, uncertainty and bloodshed. The region may be the part of the world where resistance to change will prove to be most adamant with consequences far beyond its borders. 

Southeast Asian nations, unlike those in the Middle East and North Africa, with few exceptions have demonstrated an ability to respond to demands for openness and transparency and sought to restore confidence in institutions in ways that do not escalate tensions. Nonetheless, steps taken by Southeast Asian government are likely to prove insufficient. Those steps are by and large designed to remove immediate lightning rods and release pent-up frustration but often do not really address basic grievances, among which corruption figures prominently.

A majority of Southeast Asian governments, unlike their Middle Eastern and North African counterparts, enjoy varying degrees of popularity and legitimacy. To the extent that there is a desire for change, it is a desire to effect change with the government, not in spite of it. That is an asset few Middle Eastern rulers can claim. However to maintain that strategic advantage, Southeast Asian nations will have to develop enlightened, proactive policies that go beyond removing immediate irritants and address real concerns.

James M. Dorsey is a Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University.  He has been a journalist covering the Middle East for over 30 years

Iranian Azeri soccer protests raise spectre of Turkish-Iranian-Syrian proxy war

Nationalist fans demand unification with post-Soviet Azerbaijan

By James M. Dorsey

Nationalist and environmental soccer protests in recent months in the Bagh Shomal and Yadegar-e-Emam stadiums in Tabriz, the capital of the Iranian province of Eastern Azerbaijan, have raised the spectre of ethnic strife in the Islamic republic and a Turkish-Syrian-Iranian war using ethnic proxies.

The sporadic protests come as regional tension is mounting over the crisis in Syria as a result of President Bashar al-Assad’s eight month-old brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters.

With increasing pressure on Turkey to intervene in Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutuoglu on Tuesday appeared for the first time to leave the door open for possible Turkish military intervention, Mr. Davutuoglu warned at a news conference that Turkey was "ready for all possible scenarios" but had as yet not considered military intervention and didn’t want to.

Mr. Davutuoglu appeared in statements at his news conference and interviews with Turkish media to be deliberately creating confusion about Turkish intentions. The foreign minister told private Turkish television channel Kanal 24 that Turkey may create a military buffer zone inside Syria should tens of thousands of Syrian seek refuge in Turkey. At his news conference, Mr. Davutuoglu said that a buffer zone was "not on the agenda."

The prospect of greater Turkish involvement in the Syrian crisis coupled with Turkey’s decision this weekend to impose economic sanctions on Syria alongside the Arab League raises the spectre of a tit-for-tat proxy war that would involve not only Syria and Turkey but also Syria’s main backer, Iran. Turkish officials are concerned that Syria and Iran, both of which have effectively halted their security cooperation with Turkey, will step up support for Turkish Kurdish guerrillas of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) that in recent months has increased its attacks on Turkish targets.

Fears of a war using proxies are fuelled by Turkey’s tacit support for the Free Syrian Army (FSA) formed by Syrian military defectors who have been seeking to protect Syrian protesters and have attacked Syrian military targets. Some 1,500 of the 8,000 Syrian refugees in eastern Turkey are members of the FSA. Turkey has denied supporting the defectors but has facilitated media interviews with FSA commanders whose troops have their own camp on the Turkish side of the border.

The soccer protests in Tabriz signalling a rise in Azeri nationalist sentiment suggest that in an escalating war by ethnic proxies Turkey could support secessionist sentiments among its Turkic brethren in predominantly Azeri Eastern Azerbaijan that borders on the former Soviet Turkic republic of Azerbaijan, a close Turkish ally.

In the latest soccer incident in Tabriz, fans of Tabriz soccer club Traktor Sazi FC, a flashpoint of Iranian Azerbaijan’s identity politics that is owned by state-run Iran Tractor Manufacturing Co. (ITMCO), wore shirts with the Turkish and Azerbaijan flags and raised the Azerbaijani flag during last week’s league match against Fajr-e Sepasi of Shiraz, according to Iranian Azeri nationalists and various Iranian blogs.

The “Iranian regime will … charge them with separatism and even arrest them. The main (Iranian concern) is that the idea of Turkism is strengthening in South Azerbaijan,” News.Az quoted Saftar Rahimli, a member of the board of the World Azerbaijani’s Congress, as saying. Mr. Rahimli was referring to Eastern Azerbaijan by its nationalist Azeri name.

A conservative, pro-Iranian website, Raja News, confirmed the incident, charging that the soccer fans had employed “separatist symbols” and shouted separatist slogans during the match, according to The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. Raja News accused the fans of promoting “pan-Turkish” and “deviant objectives”. It urged authorities to ban nationalists fans from entering soccer stadiums.

The protests during the match against the Shirazi club follow similar protests in September and October sparked by a refusal by the Iranian parliament to fund efforts to save the environmentally endangered Lake Orumiyeh as well as anti-government protests in Tehran Azadi Stadium during last month’s 2014 World Cup qualifier against Bahrain and at a ceremony in May after the death of Nasser Hejazi, an internationally acclaimed Iranian defender and outspoken critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Last week’s protests in Tabriz were the sixth time this year that anti-government sentiment spilled onto the soccer pitch, one of the few places that strength of numbers and moments of intense passion encourage expressions of dissent. The Azeri protests are fuelled by an Azeri sense of being discriminated against.

A decision by security forces in early October to bar fans entry into the stadium during a match against Tehran’s Esteghlal sent thousands into the streets of Tabriz shouting “Azerbaijan is united" and ““Long live united Azerbaijan with its capital in Tabriz.” Scores were injured as security forces tried to break up the protest. Cars honking their horns choked traffic.

“Wherever Tractor goes, fans of the opposing club chant insulting slogans. They imitate the sound of donkeys, because Azerbaijanis are historically derided as stupid and stubborn. I remember incidents going back to the time that I was a teenager,” said a long-standing observer of Iranian soccer.

Iranian soccer pitches are battlefields for Mr. Ahmadinejad, a soccer fan who sees the game as a way to polish his tarnished image, and fans who view it as a venue to express dissent.

A 2009 cable from the US embassy in Tehran disclosed by Wikileaks describes how Mr. Ahmadinejad has sought with limited success to associate himself with Iran’s national team in a bid to curry popular favor.

The Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) postponed in February league matches in Tehran in a bid to prevent celebrations of the 32nd anniversary of the Islamic revolution from turning into anti-government protests inspired by the anti-government protests in Tunisia and Egypt that toppled presidents Zine el Abedine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak.

James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer.

Australian soccer boss says Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup is likely to be challenged

Challenging Qatar;s bid: Australia's Frank Lowy (Source: Theroar.com.au)

By James M. Dorsey

Australian soccer federation president Frank Lowy, speaking days after world soccer body FIFA head Sepp Blatter opened the door to an investigation of Qatar’s successful bid for the 2022 World Cup, believes that the Gulf state could be deprived of the right to host the tournament.

Speaking immediately after his re-election as Australia’s soccer czar, Mr. Lowy said that the "last word hasn't been heard yet'' on FIFA’s controversial vote last December in favour of the Qatari bid.

Mr. Lowy’s remarks followed statements by Mr. Blatter suggesting for the first time that FIFA could investigate the Qatari bid as well as demands for an investigation by the British parliament’s media and culture committee as well as German soccer federation boss Theo Zwanziger.

Australia, alongside the United States, South Korea and Japan was one of the bidders that lost out to Qatar.

Mr. Lowy declined in an interview with Australian Associated Press to explain on what grounds and with what procedure Qatar could be deprived of its right to host the World Cup, but said was it related to "the state of the FIFA executive committee.''

He went on to say that "I don't know whether you recall when I came back from that fateful day (after losing the bid) and I said 'this is not the last word about awarding the World Cup.’ Well, it wasn't the last word. Don't ask me to elaborate because I don't have a crystal ball ... but the media all over the world is talking about that, the awarding particularly of '22, the state of the FIFA executive committee - all that stuff. It's not over. I don't exactly know where it will bounce. The only thing I know is it's not over yet.''

In a series of interviews with media including Fox Soccer and Germany’s Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung, Mr. Blatter said over the weekend that FIFA’s newly created Good Governance Committee would have the authority to review the bid process that resulted last December in the awarding of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar. 

Qatar’s bid has been mired in controversy prompted by questions about its well-funded bid campaign as well as potential problems because of its searing summer temperature, sour grapes on the part of its competitors and allegations made by a disgruntled employee of its bid committee.

FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke asserted in an email leaked this summer that Qatar had "bought the World Cup.'' Allegations aired by the BBC that Qatar had bribed two members of the FIFA executive committee were deflated when a disgruntled Qatar bid committee employee came forward to say that she had fabricated evidence.

Nonetheless, the banning in July by FIFA of Asian Football Confederation president Mohammed Bin Hammam, a Qatari national, on charges of bribery in his failed FIFA presidential campaign cast a further shadow over the Gulf state’s bid campaign. The banning of Mr. Bin Hammam, who denies all wrongdoing and is appealing the ban, is part of the worst corruption scandal in FIFA’s 107-year history.

Reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy engineered UEFA head Michel Platini’s vote in favour of the Qatar at a meeting in November of last year with Qatari Crown Prince Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani in which he also persuaded that Qatari to acquire financially trouble team Paris Saint-Germain have contributed to revived questions about the Gulf state’s hosting of the World Cup. Qatar had in 2006 walked away from a possible acquisition of the underachieving club that was haemorrhaging money and was renowned for its hooligan element.

An investigation of the Qatari bid constitutes a double-edged sword for FIFA. With allegations of corruption having so far failed to stick, the unexplored issue of Qatar’s legal investment in soccer facilities and other soccer-related activities in the home countries of members of the soccer body’s executive committee looms large, raising issues about loopholes in FIFA’s bid rules rather than about the conduct of the Gulf state’s bid campaign.

A Qatar confident of the integrity of its bid has much to win from an investigation that would finally put the controversy to bed. If indeed it contributes to a tightening of FIFA’s bid rules, an investigation could prove to be a win-win exercise for both Qatar, which would put it at the cradle of improved FIFA good governance, and Mr. Blatter who could claim this as part of his fight against corruption.

James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer.

FIFA opens door to investigation of Qatar’s World Cup bid

FIFA President Sepp Blatter

By James M. Dorsey

In a worrying development for Qatar, world soccer body FIFA president Sepp Blatter has for the first time opened the door to a possible investigation of the Gulf state’s successful but controversial bid to host the 2022 World Cup.

In a series of interviews with media including Fox Soccer and Germany’s Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung, Mr. Blatter said the soccer body’s newly created Good Governance Committee would have the authority to review the bid process that resulted last December in the awarding of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar.  

Qatar’s bid has been mired in controversy prompted by questions about its well-funded bid campaign as well as potential problems because of its searing summer temperature, sour grapes on the part of its competitors and allegations made by a disgruntled employee of its bid committee.

The banning in July by FIFA of Asian Football Confederation president Mohammed Bin Hammam, Qatari national, on charges of bribery in his failed FIFA presidential campaign cast a further shadow over the Gulf state’s bid campaign. The banning of Mr. Bin Hammam, who denies all wrongdoing and is appealing the ban, is part of the worst corruption scandal in FIFA’s 107-year history.

Reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy engineered UEFA head Michel Platini’s vote in favour of the Qatari bid at a meeting in November of last year with Qatari Crown Prince Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani in which he also persuaded that Qatari to acquire financially trouble team Paris Saint-Germain have also revived questions about the Gulf state’s hosting of the World Cup. Qatar had in 2006 walked away from a possible acquisition the underachieving club that was haemorrhaging money and was renowned for its hooligan element.

French magazine So Foot reported that Mr. Platini, a former French national soccer team captain, had been dead set against Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid before being urged to change his mind at the meeting with Mr. Sarkozy. “He told me the Qataris were good people,” So Foot quotes Mr. Platini as saying.

The initial discrediting of the allegations against Qatar failed to stop the British parliament’s media and culture committee from demanding an investigation of the awarding of the 2022 tournament to Qatar. German soccer federation boss Theo Zwanziger has also repeatedly demanded an investigation.

In an article in The Huffington Post, Damien Collins, a member of the parliamentary committee noted that “six months ago, Sepp Blatter promised reform at FIFA, yet in reality little has changed. There has yet to be a truly independent investigation into allegations of corruption made against FIFA executives during the bidding process to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. In the last year, 11 of the 24 leading members of FIFA, who make up its executive committee, have faced serious allegations of corruption.”

Mr. Blatter told Fox Soccer when asked if there is a process in place to rescind a World Cup bid that "if somewhere, something appears … this committee has to have a look [at] that and report it. And then we will see what will happen."

Mr. Blatter went on to say that asking how the World Cups had been awarded "is not only a difficult question, it's a good question."

FIFA announced last week that the Good Governance Committee would be headed by Dr. Mark Pieth, a Basel professor serving as part of a United Nation's team investigating alleged corruption in the Iraqi oil-for-food aid program.

Under FIFA rules, the world body’s ethics committee would adjudicate charges stemming from irregularities uncovered by the Good Governance Committee.

Speaking in London last month, Hassan al Thawadi, the Qatar bid committee's secretary general said that the ''perception (of corruption) will always be a sense of frustration until we overcome how people view us.”

Mr. Al Thawadi insisted that the bid was conducted to the ''highest ethical and moral standards" and portrayed Qatar as the victim of a campaign in which ''baseless accusations were made against our bid. We were presumed guilty before innocent without a shred of evidence being provided.''

He said that “amid all the celebrations and joy, we knew that the work was only just beginning. What we did not know or expect was the avalanche of accusations and allegations that we would face in the immediate aftermath of what was a historic day for sport in our country and for the wider region.”

That avalanche could gain substantial momentum with Mr. Blatter shifting his position away from absolute rejection of any investigation into the Qatar bid.

At the same time, any investigation will also have to include a review of FIFA’s bid rules in an effort to tighten the process and eliminate the ability of bidders to influence the vote by for example funding soccer infrastructure in the home countries of members of the soccer body’s executive committee.

James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer.

Former national goalkeeper leads chants on Tahrir Square

Former Egyptian national soccer team goalkeeper Nader el-Sayyed leads protesters on Cairo's Tahrir Square

Play the Game – Developments in Sports in the Middle East

Filed under CHRISTER AHL COMMENTARY{NO COMMENTS}

A less sinister issue: Iran and Turkey with different ideas about proper uniforms

In the past, issues related to sports in the Middle East have often tended to focus on the impact of religion and culture on the opportunities for athletes. In particular, the impediment for aspiring women athletes have been the subject of discussion, from outright prohibitions to the complications caused between the mismatch between traditional garb and the prescribed uniforms in different sports.

There have also been reasons to discuss political aspects, including strife or tensions between different Muslim countries or in their relations with Israel or with East Asia, the latter given the importance of continental Asian competitions. But over the past year, I have had reason to write articles about the impact on sports during the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, both of which are prominent handball countries, and about the outright persecution against athletes during the political protests in Bahrain.

It was therefore with great interest that I looked forward to the theme of Sports in the Middle East on the agenda of the ‘Play the Game’ conference. To some extent it was a letdown, as some key speakers cancelled, but this was made up for by the presence of an engaging and knowledge speaker in the person of James M. Dorsey, a Singapore-based scholar who also has a great blog. I can really recommend the blog (mideastsoccer.blogspot.com), where James combines his intimate knowledge of the region with a great passion for soccer and other sports. My search efforts on the web have been greatly facilitated by the discovery of his site, and some of the tidbits below have been provided by him.

Apropos Bahrain, James has followed through on the sad situation where, among others, a major soccer star by the name of Alaa Hubail remains jailed (and apparently tortured) for no clear reason, after his brother and other friends have been released. It is also intriguing that Bahrain was drawn against Iran in the preliminary rounds of the qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in soccer. After all, one of the stated fears on the part of the Bahraini government is of course the potential Iranian influence over the Shiite population in Bahrain. (Iran easily won the home game, and the game in Bahrain resulted in a tie; Iran is through to the next round, while most likely Bahrain will be eliminated).

In countries where the population is suppressed, one of the few types of groups that could emerge as strong, determined and well-organized are the fanatic supporters of the top soccer teams. This has been particularly obvious in Egypt, where these groups played a strong role in the initial uprising and now again when in recent days Tahrir square again has become the scene of massive protests and violence. This connection has repeatedly caused the military to undertake crackdowns against the fan clubs and to cancel matches that could be suspected to fuel the flames.

Qatar has of course been in focus after the FIFA decision to award the 2022 soccer World Cup to this country with an almost surreal plans to construct a huge number of air-conditioned stadiums to deal with the +50 C (122 F) temperatures. These plans now seem to have been dismissed as unsustainable by the architect charged with designing them. At the same time, major protests from large global trade unions, such as ITUC, have become a new concern. It is well-known that 90% of the work force in Qatar consists of imported workers who live and work under extremely difficult conditions. The charge from the ITUC uses labels such as ‘modern-day slavery’.

The current uprising in Syria also has elements of politics mixing with sports. It seems that successes in soccer is such a propaganda tool, that the cynical Syrians are now accused by their Lebanese neighbors of blatant cheating in international games at the junior level. In a desperate effort to have better results, apparently the Syrians did not hesitate to insert a large number of ineligible over-age players in their line-up. A somewhat more sinister story involves the family of their young national team goalkeeper, from the town of Homs, which has been a focal point for the uprising. The goalkeeper has emerged as protest leader, after his brother and several friends were killed by government troops.

Finally, Israel has often been found in the center of conflicts in sports, when its teams and athletes have received a less than friendly reception in other countries, or when certain Arab countries have forfeited games rather than having to play against Israel. But now it seems that internal politics is having an impact. A small number of soccer teams in Israel consist primarily of non-Jewish Israeli citizens, typically of Palestinian origin. Some of the players are good enough to make it to Israeli national teams at different levels. But now there has been legislation introduced in the parliament, under which this would not be allowed, unless these non-Jewish players declare allegiance to Israel as a Jewish state, and furthermore sing along in the Israeli national anthem which talks about a Jewish state and about ‘free people in the land of Zion’.

Yes, sports can indeed be (mis)used as an effective weapon in politics!

Other face of Tahrir

Thursday, November 24, 2011

James M. Dorsey

Hürriyet Daily News

Egyptian demonstrators determined to unseat the country’s military rulers 

have found a battle-ready ally, ultras from the country’s biggest football 

clubs

Egyptian army soldiers stand guard atop a concrete block barricade while protesters chant slogans near Cairo’s Tahrir Square, which is bracing for a ‘last chance’ rally today. AP photo

It was mid-afternoon on Saturday, the 

second day of mass protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to demand 

an end to military rule, when a cry went out for help from the 

ultras, Egypt’s militant, violence-prone, highly politicized football 

fans. Under attack by security forces, protesters, unwilling to back

down, were looking at what amounts to the Egyptian revolt’s 

shock troops for protection.

“We initially stayed away when the families of the people killed 

during the uprising went back out to Tahrir. The police violence 

changed our minds. We experienced it first-hand before. We have 

zero tolerance for it,” said Abu Ala, a member of Ultras Ahlawy, 

fans of one of two of Cairo’s biggest clubs, Al Ahly SC.

Abu Ala and members of his arch enemy, Ultras White Knights

(UWK), supporters of Al Ahly’s historic rival, Al Zamalek SC, 

reached Tahrir by late afternoon. It was the second time in the

more than a century-old history of the two clubs that their 

supporters joined forces rather than faced off in violent street 

brawls to face a common enemy: first the autocratic regime of 

President Hosni Mubarak whom they helped topple early this year 

and this week to push for an end to military rule.

“The Central Security Forces had run the protesters out of Tahrir 

Square,” recalls Hassan Sharif, a protester who has been in Tahrir since 

the protests erupted a week ago. “Security forces had occupied the 

roundabout. The Ultras White Knights charged from the museum, 

yelling the chant about how they’ll f*ck the CSF up.”

Within an hour, the security forces had pulled back, only to return on 

Sunday backed by military police who briefly retook the Square. The 

battle has been raging since.

Led by ultras – angry young men with no political affiliations and 

warrior-like zeal – armed with rocks and Molotov cocktails, they have 

been battling security forces for almost a week now in the streets around 

Tahrir as they fight amid the wail of ambulances and the roar of armored 

vehicles, so far unsuccessfully, to make their way to the Interior Ministry, 

home to the hated security forces. “A red line has been crossed, there is no 

turning back. It doesn’t matter what price we pay in lives. We are not 

giving in,” vowed one ultra while speaking on a mobile phone, the sound 

of a street battle punctuating his words

Unlike other groups in Tahrir, the ultras are respected and celebrated 

by the protesters and feared by the security forces. Modeled on groups

 in Italy and Serbia, the ultras – self-defined anarchists whose militant 

support for their clubs is expressed with chanting, jumping up and 

down, fireworks, flares and smoke guns – the ultras were early this year

(and now again) the only group in Tahrir with years of street-battle 

experience garnered in weekly battles in the stadiums with security 

forces and the supporters of their rivals.

Their fearlessness, willingness to put their lives on the line and battle 

tactics gave protesters a sense of power and the courage to stand their 

man alongside the ultras.

Beyond the more than 30 people already killed in the last week and 

the more than 1,500 wounded, football may be another victim of 

the battle for Egypt’s future. Like in January when Egypt’s premier 

league was suspended for three months to prevent the pitch from 

becoming an opposition rallying point, the Egyptian Football 

Association (EFA) is considering cancelling the kick-off of 

next month’s season. “What is happening now in Egypt is 

spoiling our football,” said EFA President Samir Zaher, a 

Mubarak-era appointee whose resignation the ultras have been 

demanding for months.

That is a price the ultras were willing to pay early this year and are 

happy to pay again. “The blood of the martyrs won’t be for free,” 

chanted Nader el-Sayed, a former Egypt goalkeeper, the only player

 to have joined protesters early this year. He is now back in Tahrir Square.

BOTH SIDES OF THE COIN

Al Ahly and Zamalek are two sides of Egypt’s most heated football 

rivalry, one of the fiercest in the world.

The teams are the most successful in Egypt, with the clubs having won 

47 of the 55 seasons in the Premier League. Al Ahly is dominant with 

36 titles as opposed to Zamalek’s 11.

Fan violence is a regular part of that rivalry, while matches between 

the two sides can be so controversial that the Egyptian Football 

Federation usually hires a foreign referee to officiate the game.

Like many football rivalries, the divide between the opposing sides has 

its roots in social life. Zamalek are seen as aristocrats of the domestic 

gameand a team of “foreigners,” while Al Ahly, which translates as 

“The National,” is usually seen as the team of the common Egyptian.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Randale für die Revolution (JMD in German)

DIE WELTAutor: Tobias Heimbach|06:33

Randale für die Revolution

Vom Stadion zum Tahrir-Platz: Wie radikale Fußballfans die Umwälzungen in Ägypten beeinflussen

"Die Ultras haben eine wichtigere Rolle gespielt als alle politischen Parteien"

Wenn Fußballfans singen, möchten sie meist ihre Mannschaft unterstützen. Doch die ägyptischen Ultras, die derzeit auf Kairos Straßen grölen, haben weder Tore noch Pokale im Sinn, sondern Politik. Sie gehörten zu den wichtigsten Protestgruppen auf dem Tahrir-Platz und hatten entscheidenden Anteil daran, dass Präsident Hosni Mubarak am 11. Februar zurücktrat. "Die Ultras haben eine wichtigere Rolle gespielt als alle politischen Parteien", sagte Alaa Abdel Fattah, der prominente ägyptische Blogger, dem Fernsehsender Al Dschasira.

Dennoch stehen die Fußballanhänger selten im Fokus der Berichterstattung, viele politische Beobachter konzentrieren sich auf die islamistische Muslim-Bruderschaft. Dabei gibt es Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen Fundamentalisten und Fußballfans. "Vor dem Arabischen Frühling gab es in autokratischen Staaten im Nahen Osten nur zwei Ventile für Frustration und Wut", sagt James Dorsey, ein deutsch-stämmiger Experte für Fußball im Orient, "das eine war die Moschee, das andere war das Fußballfeld."

Inzwischen hat die Macht der Fans Ausmaße erlangt, die manchen fragen lassen, ob sie sich dauerhaft als politische Gruppe etablieren können. Längst schon sind viele Fangruppen stark politisiert, und auch die Geschichte zeigt, dass Politik im ägyptischen Fußball schon immer eine Rolle gespielt hat. Al-Ahly, der beliebteste Verein des Landes, wurde 1907 von Studenten gegründet, die den britischen Kolonialherren kritisch gegenüberstanden. Der Kairoer Lokalrivale Zamalek SC profilierte sich später als Klub der ägyptischen Monarchie. Anhänger beider Vereine beteiligten sich mit großer Leidenschaft an den aktuellen Protesten. Obwohl sie für gewöhnlich verfeindet sind, zogen sie gemeinsam auf die Straße.

Paradoxerweise scheinen sie durch ihre Feindschaft jetzt einen entscheidenden Vorteil zu haben. "In den vergangenen fünf Jahren gab es immer wieder Zusammenstöße zwischen den Fans der Vereine oder mit der Polizei", sagt Dorsey. Dadurch seien sie "im Straßenkampf erfahren und sehr gut organisiert".

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Das war bei den Kämpfen um den Tahrir-Platz zu beobachten. "Es gab zugewiesene Steinewerfer, Spezialisten für das Anzünden von Fahrzeugen und Versorgungscrews, die Projektile lieferten", erklärt der englische Fußballblogger David Lane. Sonderkommandos suchten gezielt nach Tränengaskanistern und warfen sie auf die Polizisten. Auf 20 000 schätzt Dorsey die Zahl der Ultras in Kairo, aber präzise Angaben gibt es nicht. Obwohl sie somit eine relativ kleine Gruppe darstellen, sind sie durch ihre Krawallerfahrung und Organisation eine der wichtigsten Stützen der Proteste.

Als den wohl wichtigsten Beitrag der Ultras bei den Protesten bezeichnet Dorsey das "Brechen der Angstbarriere". Die Fans von Al-Ahly und Zamalek nahmen als erste furchtlos den Kampf mit den Sicherheitskräften auf. Als die Proteste am 25. Januar, dem "Tag des Zorns", ihren Anfang nahmen, organisierten die Anhänger beider Vereine laut Dorsey Märsche in den ärmeren Vierteln Kairos. Auf dem Weg zum Tahrir-Platz durchbrachen sie Absperrungen der Polizei und waren als erste vor Ort.

Nach der erneuten Besetzung am Samstag beschreibt Dorsey die Situation so: "Um sechs standen die Ultras auf dem Tahrir-Platz, und um sieben musste sich die Polizei zurückziehen."

Ihren Einsatz bezahlen die Fans mitunter mit dem Leben. Am Mittwoch veröffentlichten die "Ultras White Knights", Fangruppe von Zamalek, das Foto eines jungen Mannes auf ihrer Facebook-Seite, der offenbar bei den Protesten gestorben war. "Wie bitten Gott um Erbarmen für ihn, der mit seinem Leben bezahlt hat für die Freiheit und die Würde seines Landes", ist dort zu lesen - verbunden mit einem Aufruf für weitere Proteste nach dem Morgengebet am Donnerstag.

Obwohl die Ultras die Proteste mittragen, sind sie im Gegensatz zu anderen politischen Gruppen schwer zu fassen, denn sie rekrutieren sich aus allen sozialen Schichten. "Von den beiden führenden Persönlichkeiten bei den Al-Ahly-Ultras ist einer Journalist und Experte für Neue Medien, der andere arbeitslos", sagt James Dorsey. Auch die Fankultur unterscheidet sich von der in Europa. "Die Ultras gehören in Ägypten zum Mainstream", so Dorsey.

Die Motive für die Teilnahme an Protesten sind ebenfalls nicht eindeutig zu identifizieren. Al-Ahlys Ultras erklärten, "dass sie keine politische Meinung vertreten, die Mitglieder aber gern an politischen Demonstrationen beteiligen können". Der Kern der Al-Ahly-Ultras soll politisch extrem sein. "Sie definieren sich selbst als Anarchisten", so Dorsey.

Die Ultras lassen sich außerdem schwer einordnen, weil sie es bisher vermieden, politische Allianzen zu schließen. Bekannt ist allerdings, dass viele Ultra-Gruppen nach dem Rücktritt Mubaraks den ägyptischen Fußball von Mitgliedern des alten Regimes säubern wollten. Bald übertrugen sie diese Forderung aber auf die gesamte Gesellschaft. Ob sie deswegen als politische Hoffnung taugen? Blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah glaubt daran, scherzhaft sagt er: "Vielleicht sollten die Ultras das Land regieren."

Allerdings ist Fußball auch ein Grund für die Proteste. Seit September gibt es eine verschärfte Fehde zwischen den Ultras von Al-Ahly und den Sicherheitskräften. "Bei einem Spiel griff die Polizei hart gegen die Fans durch und nahm viele von ihnen fest", sagt Dr. Florian Kohstall, Leiter des Kairoer Büros der Freien Universität Berlin. "Die Ultras protestieren auch für deren Freilassung."

Weder Kohstall noch Dorsey glauben, dass sich die Ultras als eine einheitliche Strömung oder gar als Partei konstituieren werden. "Daran haben sie gar kein Interesse", sagt Dorsey. Eher würden sie sich der Jugendbewegung anschließen.