Jemma Rogers's blog

The people of Libya and other countries in the Middle East and South Asia might not be so keen on democracy after all.

The western press have celebrated the Arab Spring as the struggle for democracy against totalitarian dictatorships, but surveys have come to show that the people of Libya and other countries would prefer a ‘strong leader’.

Only 15% of 2,000 people surveyed by academics from Benghazi and Oxford universities said they wanted a democracy installed by next year and more than 40% wanted a ‘strong’ group or leader.

I was very dissapointed by the coverage of the recent Hong Kong elections by the British media.

Before I left to come back to Hong Kong, I was closely following the elections for the Hong Kong Chief Executive via British news outlets.

Is this the birth of democracy in Burma? Or just a repeat of history?

“You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been 
A place that has to be believed to be seen 
You could have flown away 
A singing bird in an open cage 
Who will only fly, only fly for freedom”