Al Arabiya DAVOS – Reforms cannot happen overnight, Arab heads of government said in a televised debate at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Friday, World Economic Forum online news reported. In response to a question by the discussion moderator Fareed Zakaria, Anchor of GPS, prime ministers of Egypt, Morocco and Libya said women under their governments are not suffering more than they suffered under previous regimes. “It's clear that there are voices that want to limit the freedom of women, but the name of the game is that people can air their thoughts now,” said Hisham Qandil, Prime Minister of Egypt, as quoted in a news release by the World Economic Forum. Abdelilah Benkirane, Chief of Government of Morocco, said Western countries should not seek to impose their idea of women's rights. Reforms must start from within the Arab world, said Ali Zidan, Prime Minister of Libya. “We need to create an environment conducive to development and education.” Developing rural areas and institution building is the other. In a sometimes heated question-and-answer session, member of the audience Kenneth Roth, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch, USA, said both Egypt and Morocco had used criminal defamation laws to limit freedom of speech and silence journalists, including a case in the latter country in the past few days. He asked the leaders to commit to banning the practise. Qandil responded by saying that he himself had been “pounded by unfair lies” in the media, while Benkirane said he did not know the details. “But I think this shows things are much improved in Morocco, if only one year after the elections there has been just one trial,” he said. “Do you want us to turn into Switzerland overnight?” Another audience member pointed out that corruption is among the main causes behind the wave of popular discontent, and charged that little has changed. Morocco is committed to respecting the law, Benkirane said. “Some people have enjoyed immunity so far, but if these people continue, then one day they will have to face justice,” he said. Libya's Ali Zidan said: “One of our goals is to change the mentalities and certain practises, but we can't change things overnight.” Asked whether the Libyan government has control over the whole of its territory despite reports to the contrary, Zidan said, “Yes, we do.” Libya has managed to close borders that were long open to foreign fighters, and all but Tunisian, Turkish and Jordanian citizens now need a visa to enter the country. Panellists agreed that employment is a major challenge in the region and another driver of the revolutions. http://english.alarabiya.net
