Indonesians, and possibly a great number of the world population, have watched in despair the latest developments in world affairs — particularly in Libya — over the past week. The week-long uprising has halted Libya’s oil exports and driven world oil prices up to around US$120 per barrel. What is more worrying is that Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi’s crackdown on the people’s revolt is believed to have killed over 1,000 Libyans thus far.

The longer the Libyan crisis lasts — which is widely believed to be a domino effect from the preceding crisis which had led to the downfall of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak — the more severe the impact on Libyans and the world population will be, with no guarantee that oil prices will not continue to increase.

So strong is the atmosphere for freedom worldwide that the domino effect will unlikely stop at Libya, as many other Middle Eastern and North African countries, particularly those governed by monarchs and authoritarian rulers, are experiencing the same trend of potential revolution, including Bahrain, Syria, Yemen, Iran and even Saudi Arabia.