You are in the the 130th Child Diary of the Liveblog of the 2011 uprisings throught North Africa and the Middle East. We stand with our international friends and their courageous struggle for dignity, self-determination and human rights.
PLS REC this diary. PLS UNREC the previous diary.
The liveblog is for witnessing, for other actions see the group page.
Here is the latest Intervention Diary by conchita. (comment in lieu of diary today.)
Their Revolutions: What Can We Do, a place to discuss how you assess for yourself whether you are called to witness, intervene or both.
LIBYA: On Friday, the ferry with US passengers arrived in Malta, while the streets of Tripoli were terrorized by Gaddafi's forces. It's said that navy has defected. The list of diplomats who have defected is quite long now. Folks in the east are determining how and when they can help their compatriots in Tripoli. And the world watches with trepidation.
Obama freezes Gadhafi's assets
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration on Friday shuttered the U.S. Embassy in Libya and froze all assets held in the U.S. by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, his government and four of his children, ending days of cautious condemnation.
President Barack Obama said the sanctions were justified by Libya's "continued violation of human rights, brutalization of its people and outrageous threats" that have drawn condemnation from the world.
"By any measure, Moammar Gadhafi's government has violated international norms and common decency and must be held accountable," Obama said in a statement.
Demonstrators remain on the streets as leader remains defiant amid international condemnation
Crackdown after prayers
Those worries were compounded as security forces loyal to Gaddafi reportedly opened fire on anti-government protesters in the capital, Tripoli, after Friday prayers.
Follow more of Al Jazeera's special coverage here
Heavy gun fire was reported in the districts of Fashloum, Ashour, Jumhouria and Souq Al, sources told Al Jazeera.
...
The official death toll in the violence remains unclear. Francois Zimeray, France's top human rights official, said on Thursday that it could be as high as 2,000 people killed.
More regional tidbits after the fold....bold section names indicate fresh content...
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GENERAL ANALYSIS: (thank you NYBritExpat)
the project for a new Arab century: good piece of analysis, read: http://english.aljazeera.net/....
pan-arabism's revival: http://english.aljazeera.net/....
Dan Hind, from protest to revolution:http://english.aljazeera.net/....
EGYPT: There was a bit of shock today as the army violently dispersed protesters in Tahrir Square who still to have their original demands met. The shock had a second wave when we all realized that Al Jazeera did not have cameras there or their feed was blocked. All eyes are Libya right now, but today's event in Egypt may foreshadow how difficult it will be to keep our eyes on so many protests at once. Our eyes offer the protesters a level of protection. How will they fare if we can't attend to them all?
Egyptian army shows its true colours
On January 25th, various Egyptians across different spectrums took the streets in peaceful protest demanding the removal of the regime, bread, freedom and human dignity. The 18 days of protests that inspired people around the world caused my changes, the most notable of them was the resignation of Mubarak. Egypt’s streets spent the night of his departure in endless celebrations since he handed over the country to the army. If you thought the revolution was over then, think again.
At exactly midnight on Feburary 25th, exactly one month since the revolution started, the Egyptian army cordoned then attacked people in Tahrir with sticks, electric shocks and by detaining people. Not to mention the thugs that were fighting the protesters. The army was chasing people down the street and beating them up, claiming that they were doing this because they were out after curfew.
Human rights activist Ramy Raoof, was there during the attacks and he streamed a few minutes live on bambuzer here
- Mubarak Figures Arrested
Egyptian authorities arrested Anas al-Fiqqi , the country's former information minister, and Osama el-Sheikh, the chairman of state TV and radio on corruption allegations. The arrests were the latest move made by the country's military rulers against figures in the regime of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
Tens of thousands in Tahrir call for removal of government
CAIRO: Tens of thousands gathered in Tahrir Square in what was dubbed the “Friday of Cleansing and Protecting the Revolution,” demanding the resignation of the current government headed by Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq.
SYRIA: Syria is now cracking down on peaceful protesters:
Tensions are mounting in the Syrian capital, Damascus, after the third peaceful demonstration in three weeks was violently dispersed on Wednesday. There are increasing reports of intimidation and blocking of communications by secret services in the wake of violent unrest in neighbouring Arab countries.
Fourteen people were arrested and several people beaten by uniformed and plainclothes police on Tuesday after about 200 staged a peaceful sit-in outside the Libyan embassy to show support for Libya's protesters.
Witnesses said at least two women were among those beaten.
BAHRAIN:
(h/t JustJennifer) - A government spokeswoman says a prominent opposition leader will not be arrested if he returns to Bahrain, but it remains unclear whether he is free to travel.
The possible return of Hassan Meshaima after months of voluntary exile in London could mark a new phase for the protest movement as the Gulf island's monarchy tries to open talks to end the most severe political crisis in decades in the strategic nation, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.
U.S. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is in the kingdom for meetings with ruling officials, a sign of Washington's deep ties to Bahrain.
YEMEN:
(h/t Richard Lyon) - In Yemen, a Wary Alliance of Students and Tribes
A revolution can't happen without tribal support, but do tribes really want democracy?
Much of Yemen is rural, illiterate, and tribal. There is a very small middle class here, a nascent civil society, and little in the way of a common vision of what a democratic Yemen would look like. Less than a fifth of the country, at the very most, has regular access to organizational tools such as Twitter and Facebook, which have facilitated revolutions elsewhere. Perhaps most damning, the consensus seems to be, is that the power structure in this country is largely dependent on tribes, a formidable and fickle force that pro-democracy revolutionaries can't live with -- and they can't live without.
IRAN:
(h/t JustJennifer) - Iranian Opposition Schedules New Protests
article
BEIRUT—Iran's opposition announced a plan for nationwide street protests every Tuesday for the next three weeks as a way to increase pressure on the government.
The Green Movement's Organization Committee, which is based abroad and organizes protests via the Internet, said Thursday that the plan for "Tuesdays of Protest" was a result of consultations with advisers and suggestions from supporters inside Iran who wanted to keep the protests' momentum going.
A statement published on opposition websites said that protests would continue and move to other phases such as sit-ins, strikes, boycotts and civil resistance.
Iran's opposition has appeared invigorated in recent weeks amid the wave of Arab pro-democracy uprisings. The collapse of the governments in Tunisia and Egypt, and the unrest in Libya, has stirred many Iranians to push for change.
ALGERIA:
h/t JustJennifer - Algeria officially lifts a state of emergency in place for the past 19 years.
The official APS news agency says the ordinance doing away with the restrictive measure is published in the Official Journal, a move that did away with it.
The Cabinet decided in a meeting earlier this week to take the step with the approval of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The state of emergency was put in place as Algeria embarked on an era of violence that ballooned into a deadly Islamist insurgency.
SAUDI ARABIA:
(h/t JustJennifer) - A/P Arab Anti-Government Update
Updated Feb 25th
About 300 Shiites protest against the Sunni-led government in a march in the east of the country. They disperse peacefully under the close watch of Saudi security forces. The kingdom had been largely quiet, and its ruler earlier this week promised a massive package of economic aid, including interest-free home loans, in hopes of forestalling unrest.
MOROCCO:
(h/t ninkasi23) - Various tweets are calling for Sat.Sun. protests on Feb.26/27.
"Protests planned all over #Morocco for the 26th and 27th to finish what we started on #feb20"
JORDAN:
(h/t Richard Lyon) -
Jordanians Politely Demand Reforms
But unlike violent clashes that have plagued many of the protests in the Arab World, and injured eight in Jordan last week, this Friday’s demonstrations were notably polite.
Police handed out juice boxes and bottled water, and protesters dispersed swiftly when the demonstration officially ended in the early afternoon. A cleaning crew in orange suits swept the streets, finding little trash had been left behind.
MAURITANIA:
UnaSpenser:
The waves of protests have even spread to the impoverished state of Mauritania, where hundreds of people took to the streets of the capital Nouakchott.
Reuters has a correspondent there:
A handful in the crowd of 1,000-1,500 mostly young people who took part in the peaceful protest demanded the departure of President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, but they were in the minority and there was only a light security presence.
"The president has to respect his people. Aziz has always said he's the president of the poor; now the poor are in front of you asking for dialogue," said Mocktar Mohammed Mahmoud, a social worker who said he had got involved through Facebook.
According to Reuters, a number of protesters "said they had heard about the march through Facebook and other social networking sites".
TUNISIA:
(h/t Richard Lyon) - Major rally in Tunisia capital
Police have cleared crowds of Tunisians who marched through the capital Tunis on Friday demanding the resignation of interim PM Mohammed Ghannouchi, a long-time ally of the ousted leader.
It was the biggest rally since Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia last month after 23 years in power, after being toppled by weeks of unrest.
Tunisia to hold elections by mid-July
TUNISIA'S government has declared it will hold elections in mid-July as tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets demanding the resignation of its prime minister, an ally of ousted leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
One young protester was injured when warning shots were fired at protesters, a witness said.
The government "has decided that consultations with different political parties should not exceed mid-March.... Elections will be organised at the latest in mid-July 2011," the official TAP news agency said, quoting a cabinet statement.
LEBANON:
(h/t NYBritExpat) - Lebanon Against Itself (Again)
http://www.merip.org/... mero020411.html
The protests erupted on the evening of January 25 after news reports made it clear that a majority in Parliament would side against the incumbent premier, billionaire Saad al-Hariri, whose fractious “national unity” government collapsed on January 12 after more than a third of its ministers resigned. The resignations were an expression of protest over Beirut’s collaboration with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, a hybrid UN-Lebanese body investigating the 2005 bomb blast that killed Saad al-Hariri’s father, former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri, and 23 others (including one who died weeks later). All but one of those who walked out came from the opposition March 8 alliance, which had warned for months that the Tribunal was preparing to frame figures belonging to one of its key member parties, Hizballah, for the assassination, and that it would bring down the government if the latter continued to cooperate with the Tribunal.
PALESTINE: is the west bank next?: http://english.aljazeera.net/ indepth/opinion/2011/02 2011222211617377989.htm
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Our Egyptian brethren articulated what people around the region are fighting for, though variations to the theme may exist from country to country. banner held by protesters and translated to English:
1 The departure of Mubarak
2 An end to the current Parliament
3 An end of the state of emergency
4 The creation of a national united government
5 A parliament elected by the people to modify the constitution and run the presidential elections
6 Put those responsible for the killings on trial
7 Put those responsible for stealing the country's money and other acts of corruption on trial
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Resources:
Note: The Mothership Diary is the place to go for a complete list of resources.
Al Jazeera English - Watch Live (the Youtube link below should work for Mac users unable to load this.)
Al Jazeera live also available on
Dish Network channel 9410
DirecTV: Channel 375 Link
Al Jazeera on Facebook:
http: //www.facebook.com/aljazeera
Al Jazeera Live on YouTube
English Stream http://www.youtube.com/...
Arabic Stream http://www.youtube.com/...
BBC Reports
BBC Middle East is doing specific Egypt coverage
WorldWideTahrir{NEW} : Worldwide protests being organized to coincide with the upcoming ones in Egypt.
bicycle Hussein paladin - Why Iran 1979 Went to the Islamists and This One Won't
weasel - Updates on the Egyptian Protests
People to follow on twitter:
@sharifkouddous
@monasosh
@ioerror
@ElBaradei
@SultanAlQassemi
@evanchill
@glcarlstrom
@nolanjazeera
@3arabawy
@shadihamid
@bencnn
@arabist
@speaktotweet: Egyptian Voice Tweets on Twitter
Previous Child Diaries:
Egypt and the Region Liveblog Archive by unaspenser
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