Marwan Muasher writes in op-ed: "No leader is immune" from Tunisia's fate if they don't "take immediate steps to improve democratic rights."

Marwan Muasher, former foreign minister of Jordan, wrote in Sunday's Guardian that "all Arab countries are under threat" from the current protesters, and Arab leaders must learn from the coup in Tunisia.

He explains: "It's essential that Arab leaders draw the right lessons as they look to avoid the same fate as Tunisia's former president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. If they don't, crises will continue to roil the region - Egypt is not the only country at risk."

"Although the wave of protests was set off by economic complaints," Muasher explained, "it's wrong to think that it was all about the economy - the true threat to stability in the Arab world is poor governance."

Muasher says "it's critical that the region doesn't go back to business as usual," and enumerates three "unavoidable lessons" of recent events in Tunisia:

The first is that short-term steps to deal with high prices and unemployment are not enough. "Real solutions need to improve democratic and political rights, fight corruption, and defend the rule of law."

The second lesson is that "no country is safe - all Arab countries are under threat" and "no leader is immune." Muasher laments the "tendency among Arab leaders...to assume that knee-jerk handouts can easily deal with economic grievances." However, he says "this is a false sense of safety," pointing out that Tunisia was "one of the last countries in the Arab world where people expected things to go wrong."

Finally, Muasher says that the argument that "tight controls...keep Islamists from gaining power" has been undermined by the fact that, in Tunisia, the actions of a person who wasn't identified as an Islamist triggered demands for political rights. "Repressing people's opinions gives them no way to voice their complaints," Muasher explains.

"The question now," Muasher wrote, "becomes whether or not the Arab world will learn from example. The signs so far are disappointing, as it doesn't appear that Arab leaders are following the right lessons...Unless Arab leaders, who so far are reluctant to give up their absolute power and lives of privilege, take immediate steps to improve democratic and political rights, the Arab world is destined for more crises.

From jpost.com.