Arab Spring not over yet: Ex-Moroccan prime minister

By Tajuddin Al-Abdalawi

RABAT, Morocco (AA) – Former Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane said that the Arab Spring was not over yet.

Speaking at the second conference of the Arab Council via video conference late Friday, Benkirane called on Arab leaders to reconcile with their people.

“A day will come when authoritarian rulers in the Arab world will be searching for a shelter to hide in and will not find it,” he told the event, themed The Arab Spring: Lessons and Future Challenges.

"The best thing for them is to reconcile with their people,” Benkirane said.

While admitting that Morocco has still a long way to go to completely achieve the goals of the Arab Spring revolutions, Benkirane believes the North African country "was successful in dealing with the Arab Spring” and can serve as a “model” for other countries in the region.

The Arab Spring was a series of demonstrations in 2011 that started in Tunisia after a Tunisian street vendor self-immolated to protest the regime's human rights abuse.

The demonstrations spread across several Arab countries with people demanding the ousting of authoritarians, calling for employment, better living standards, as well as democracy and freedom among others.

*Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara contributed to this report