In all countries that experienced the democratic uprisings that spread across the Arab world in 2011, except Tunisia, the moderates have long been silenced, imprisoned or driven into exile either by the extremists who took over when state authorities collapsed or by the original repressive governments that the Arab Spring protestors were fighting against in the first place. In most cases, “autocratic regimes have reasserted their control with a vengeance, clamping down on liberties even more fiercely than had been the case before the demonstrations were held.” reports Liz Sly.
One of the most prominent leaders of the early Syrian protests now wonders whether the protestors ever really had a chance, saying that they had only two equally horrible choices: “dictatorship or Islamic extremism.”
