You are in the the 128th 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.
Lefty Coaster writes US Press Ignores How Neoliberal Policies are Driving Middle East Popular Uprisings.
LIBYA:
U.S. imposing sanctions on Libya. Meantime, Gadhafi's militias reportedly open fire on protesters in Tripoli
Militias loyal to Gadhafi opened fire on protesters streaming out of mosques and marching across the Libyan capital to demand the regime's ouster, witnesses said, reporting multiple deaths. In rebellious cities in the east, tens of thousands held rallies in support of the first Tripoli protests in days.
One witness reported seeing three protesters killed in the Souq al-Jomaa area near the square, and another reported a fourth death in another district, Fashloum. The reports could not be immediately confirmed.
More regional tidbits after the fold....bold section names indicate fresh content...
PLS REC THIS DIARY! We are changing the "mothership" practice, for now, as we navigate our new DK4 environment and the changing nature of events which we are following. Will you please do the following to keep our dKos community eyes on our international friends risking their lives for self-determination:
1. Rec this diary. (click that star just under the title)
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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/....
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:
Security forces open fire on thousands of demonstrators in the southern port city of Aden, wounding at least 19 people, in the latest confrontation with crowds pressing for the U.S.-backed president's ouster. Tens of thousands of protesters march in different parts of the country. President Ali Abdullah Saleh has promised to step down after national elections in 2013, but the demonstrators want him out now.
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.
MOROCCO:
(h/t lotlizard) - Morocco: Visions of a Revolution in Progress
This a translation of a February 16 interview with four Moroccan journalist-activists, conducted in French by Hind Aissaoui Bennani for the online alternative news site Le Grand Soir.
It's all a sort of socio-economics that is used to buy people's silence and does not even begin to address the principle of meritocracy, as debatable as it may be. The whole economy exists by the king's whim. He who dares suggest otherwise can see his work destroyed overnight. The problem is that these people are supposed to form a petit-bourgeoisie or to use liberal terminology, middle class, and thus represent an opinion. While most of the time the voice of change comes from the middle class, any attempt to represent its interests is reduced to zero. Moroccan society: a middle class that has been bought off, many rich and many more poor. And the poor have no choice but to fight for survival.
JORDAN:
(h/t) JustJennifer -In Jordan, King Abdullah II getting earful from tribal leaders
article
At the heart of the discontent is Jordan's growing Palestinian population, which threatens to erode the tribes' hold on money and power. The king also faces pressure to end corruption and his grip on political power.
The U.S. Embassy issues a warning message to Americans to avoid potentially large anti-government protests in Jordan.
The country is bracing for nationwide demonstrations on Friday to protest against physical attacks by so-called "thugs." Eight activists were wounded in clashes with pro-government protesters last Friday.
Jordan has seen street protests in the last eight weeks, but with much smaller crowds than in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.
MAURITANIA:
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".
EGYPT:
( h/t JustJennifer) Egyptian authorities arrest the country's former information minister and the chairman of state TV and radio on corruption allegations, the latest moves by the country's ruling military against senior officials of Hosni Mubarak's ousted regime.
The arrest of Anas al-Fiqqi, the ex-information minister and long-time confidant of Mubarak, and Osama el-Sheikh, the state TV boss, were widely expected. Al-Fiqqi was placed under house arrest earlier this month and el-Sheikh was banned from traveling abroad, steps that often precede a criminal investigation or a trial.
In south Cairo, an angry crowd of some 500 people torch two police cars and beat up a young officer who shot a minibus driver in the heat of an argument over the right of way. The incident highlights the tension between police and Egyptians, many of whom are still bristling over years of police brutality and corruption.
Meanwhile, Egypt's foreign minister confirms that former Vice President Omar Suleiman was targeted in an assassination attempt during the recent democracy uprising when assailants firing from an ambulance riddled his car with bullets. One of Suleiman's bodyguards was killed and his driver seriously wounded in the attack.
TUNISIA: Thousands March for Secularism in Tunisia
A 43-year-old Tunisian man was arrested on Tuesday (February 22nd) in connection with the murder of a Polish Catholic priest, which stunned the nation.
The alleged killer, Chokri Ben Mustapha Bessadek Mestiri, worked as a carpenter at the school in Manouba where Marek Marius Rybinski was serving. According to TAP, Mestiri confessed to the homicide, saying he did it to cover up the theft of funds used to buy building materials.
The killing outraged many Tunisians and led activists to organise a march for secularism and religious tolerance on Facebook. The first-of-its-kind rally took place on Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis on Saturday and was reportedly attended by more than 15,000 people.
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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