CAIRO: The Secretary-General of the Arab League yesterday linked the upheaval in Tunisia to deteriorating economic conditions throughout the Arab world, warning Middle Eastern leaders that their people's anger has reached unprecedented heights.
In impassioned remarks, Mr Amr Moussa told an Arab economic summit in Egypt that 'the Arab soul is broken by poverty, unemployment and general recession'.
'This is in the mind of all of us,' he said in his opening address to the 20 Arab leaders and other representatives of Arab League members gathered in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Weeks of protests fuelled by joblessness and other economic woes in Tunisia forced its President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country last Friday after 23 years of iron-fisted rule.
The unrest has helped inspire similar protests around the Arab world, with thousands demonstrating in Jordan, Egypt, Oman, Libya and Yemen over the economic situation, some explicitly in solidarity with the Tunisians.
Calls were made for political change, though activists face the reality of security forces heavily vested in the status quo backing hardline regimes ready to crack down on dissent.
'The Tunisian revolution is not far from us,' Mr Moussa warned. 'The Arab citizen entered an unprecedented state of anger and frustration.' He called for an Arab renaissance to lift people from their frustration.
The meeting in Egypt had been intended as a platform to discuss trade, business and investment, but was overshadowed by the events in Tunisia and their reverberation around the region.
However, Tunisian Foreign Minister Kamel Morjane left Egypt yesterday before the start of the summit, sources said.
Mindful of the events in Tunisia, Arab leaders at the summit committed to a proposed US$2 billion (S$2.6 billion) programme to boost faltering economies that have propelled crowds into the streets to protest against high unemployment, rising prices and rampant corruption.
The idea of the fund was first suggested by Kuwait during the economic summit in the Gulf emirate in 2009, but has been slow to get off the ground like many Arab League initiatives requiring members to pledge money. Kuwaiti ruler Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah said the fund will 'contribute to creating new job opportunities for young Arabs'.
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, 82, who chaired the summit, stressed the importance of economic cooperation, tagging it 'a national security' requirement.
He also said investment in Arab youth will bring future rewards.
Meanwhile, in the Tunisian capital, hundreds of demonstrators continued to protest, demanding that allies of the ousted president stop clinging to power.
They chanted slogans like 'Ben Ali has gone to Saudi Arabia! The government should go there too.'
Saudi Arabia has said that their hosting of the disgraced president is not an affront to Tunisians, adding that Mr Ben Ali has been barred from any political activities related to his country while in Saudi Arabia.
The Swiss government has also ordered a freeze on any Ben Ali bank accounts, while Tunisian prosecutors opened an inquiry into his assets.
ASSOCIATED PRESS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
