Marzouki: UAE funds will not stop second wave of Arab Spring

Former Tunisian President Mohamed Moncef Marzouki has stressed that the UAE cannot stop the “second wave of the Arab Spring” which is taking place in Algeria and Sudan.

Marzouki said in a statement to Al-Khaleej Online that the UAE is using money to restrain the revolutions but it has not succeeded in changing the people’s spirit.

“Arabs are alive, and I reiterated on more than one occasion that the Arab Spring will not end. The second wave will inevitably occur. My words do not come from occultism or coffee cup reading, but they are rather an extrapolation of the reality of peoples who have been overwhelmed by injustice.”

Marzouki added that “political stupidity” is leading the UAE and Saudi Arabia to stand against the aspirations of the Arab people.

READ: On the events in Algeria and Sudan

He went on to say: “There is no explanation for this matter. If these regimes are really confident that they acquire legitimacy from their people, and are ruling justly, they would not have been afraid of the repercussions of the revolutions.”

Earlier this month, founding member of the opposition Algerian Rashad movement, former diplomat Mohamed Larbi Zitout also accused the UAE of working to thwart the popular movement demanding President Abdelaziz Bouteflika not to run for a fifth presidential term.

Last week, a report shown during the trial of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mosri revealed that the UAE financed an opposition group with the intention of creating chaos during his rule and assaulting police officers.

The Emirates has since been backing coup leader, then defence minister, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi pumping billions in to the country to support his reign following his ousting of the democratically elected Morsi.

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