gulfnews : Why a road map is necessary to chart the course of change

The Arab Spring Report recommends that the Arab League and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) must drive the reform process internally with coordinated external support at this critical juncture in history.

A medium- to long-term road map is required and should observe that benefits will only trickle down to the public when changes are made to political freedoms, economic equality, transparency and media across the Arab world, it said.

However, it also points out that international assistance has fallen well short of expectations. "The support promised by the G8 in Deauville in May 2011 has to a large extent not materialised.

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