OIC secretary general says people in Arab world decided to get involved in history

ISTANBUL (A.A) - November 1, 2011 - The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) secretary general said on Tuesday that the people in Arab world decided to get involved in the history with developments called as "Arab Spring". OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu delivered a speech at Istanbul Forum held at Conrad Hotel in Istanbul. Expression of "spring" was not appropriate for what happened in Arab world, but developments were like "fall" of dictators, he said. Ihsanoglu said that he described developments there as "to get involved in course of history." Slogans of uprisings were living prosperously and freely, and getting rid of totalitarian regimes, he said. These developments showed that change could take place when people wanted, he said. Ihsanoglu said that basic values such as human rights, democratization, transparency and fight against corruption were mentioned for the first time in the 10-year action plan approved by OIC in 2005. OIC expressed its support to opposition forces and conducted political and humane works to assist transformation in Arab countries, he said. The people in Arab world decided to get involved in the history and this would bring more harmony between Islam and democracy, he added.