Egypt and revolt in the Arab world - sometimes it's better the devil you know.
First Tunisia and now Egypt . Demonstrators forced a change of government in Tunis and now President Mubarak’s regime is being challenged in Cairo, prompting hopes that a democratic revolution could sweep North Africa and the Middle East. The usual parallels are being drawn: the fall of communism in 1989 and the so-called ‘colour revolutions’ in parts of the former Soviet Union and the Balkans. The media has already dubbed the Tunisian uprising the ‘Jasmine Revolution’. The British government, in the guise of Foreign Secretary William Hague, threw its lot in with the demonstrators in Egypt yesterday. On the FCO website he urges the authorities in Cairo to “listen to the concerns of those demonstrating” and respect freedom of speech. It's difficult to give out a substantially different message, but the overall tone is suitably cautious. Hague is careful to urge restraint from both sides. Cairo is not Tunis. Egypt is the largest Arab state and has often a...