DEMOCRACY IS NOT FOR ALL.

The recent troubles in Tunisia and now Egypt are a matter of concern for us all, not least because relatively stable, if autocratic, governments may well be replaced by ones far less friendly to the western world.

Western governments seem to be welcoming the events and lauding the moves towards more democratic leadership in these countries. Have they learnt nothing from passed history ? Not that many years ago, the Shah's overthrow was welcomed as was the demise of the 'illegal' Smith regime in Rhodesia. Various other dictatorships have gone the same way, and many have been replaced by even more brutal tyrants; few can be considered friends of the west. Today, South Africa is rapidly moving towards the brink, as the power hungry factions vie for totalitarian control under the mask of 'democracy'.

Western politicians seems incapable of understanding, or unwilling to accept, that the 'one size fits all' approach cannot be applied to models of government. Democracy, or the sham that we in this country refer to as democracy, is not necessarily a model than can or should be followed by less developed nations. It may well be that benign dictatorship is the best form of government for third world countries; it doesn't seem to have done Britain much harm in the past.

While we should not condone the actions of Mubarak and his ilk, we should also recognize that whoever replaces him is unlikely to be that much different in the long term and may be substantially worse. The nature of the beast cannot be denied.