NOTE: We have renamed the liveblog "Witnessing Revolution". What started in Egypt has spread rapidly. It's not clear that it will be limited by geography or ethnicity. So, we wanted a name which states what is happening yet allows us to grow with the movement, wherever that will be. The number sequence will be continuous. The group name will remain the same. Only this particular diary series within the group will have a name change.
You are in the the 137th diary of the liveblog of the 2011 uprisings throughout 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 primarily for witnessing, for other activities see the group stream.
We are in the process of collecting suggested readings for background reference materials in support of the Eyes on Egypt and the Region group. These readings may be either non-fiction or fiction, general to the region or specific to a country or issue. If there are resources which you believe aid our understanding of the events and processes we are witnessing, please either a) post a comment in the Liveblog with the title "Suggested reading:" and a brief description of the reading in the body of the comment, or b) send your suggestions via the dKos internal mailer to angry marmot.
Libyan Doctors for Hospitals in Libya an impressive new aide organization launched by one of our own: StepLeftStepForward.
Please place links and info for intervention ideas (humanitarian and beyond) in comments titled "Intervention". We encourage you to provide information without imploring, disrespecting those who might not pursue the intervention, or engaging long debates about the merits. With uniform content labeling, those interested can readily find them and those who want to produce intervention diaries can gather the data efficiently. Please post the link if you do produce an intervention resource diary. We'll include it in the next updated liveblog. Thank you.
The group is producing a series of diaries that provide background and analysis on the region in general and on individual countries. We hope to provide a context for interpreting current events in the news. The published diaries in the series are:
A Region in Protest and Revolt
Will Arab Nationalism Shape the Course of the Reviolutions?
Saudi Arabia Background.
Oman Background
LIBYA: Fierce fighting in Zawiya Saturday morning. It sounds like Gaddafi's forces were not successful in taking it back from the people, but there many more dead and injured. Boatsie did some live reporting here.
(h/t jnhobbs ) - LibyaFeb17 gets a report from a resident of Zawiya
Mohammed, a resident of the city of Zawiya, 70km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, tells the BBC World Service: “There was heavy fighting until about 10 minutes ago. But Zawiya was never falling to Gaddafi’s troops. Let me repeat: It was never falling to Gaddafi’s troops. They came from the east and west, and they took up positions in high-rise buildings… and started shooting. Some tanks went to the main square and were captured and burnt. There are some casualties among Gaddafi’s troops and our troops – but Zawiya was never captured.”
Mohammed says: “[The government forces] were trying to take the square. They knew if they could take the square Zawiya would fall. But they could not. I am outside the square. Gaddafi’s troops are nowhere to be seen. They have all fled. Some lost their vehicles so they had to walk from one street to another, hiding in buildings. But the rebels got them, some were killed, some captured.”
“The fighting was all around us. But right now the fighting is over. It has stopped. It started at 0600 local time, and finished before 1100 – that’s how long it took. I assume the pro-Gaddafi forces are now on the outskirts of the city – perhaps 5 miles in each direction,” Mohammed adds.
(h/t MeteorBlades ) -
Libya’s Hidden Wealth May Be Next Battle
With a sizable pot of ready cash and stakes in a few elite European companies — including the British publisher Pearson and the Italian soccer club Juventus — the fund served as an emphatic calling card for its founder, Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, a son of the Libyan ruler who was once regarded as the reformer in the family. Established in 2006, the fund was used by Mr. Qaddafi in an effort to make the case that Libya was ready to open itself to the West. It helped draw into Mr. Qaddafi’s orbit a range of powerful figures, including the Rothschild family, Prince Andrew of Britain, the former European trade commissioner Peter Mandelson, the cream of corporate society in Italy and the American private equity investors Stephen A. Schwarzman of Blackstone and David M. Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group.
(h/t Richard Lyon ) -
Libya Unrest Holds Threat of Economic Toll for Italy
But Italy — which gets nearly a quarter of its crude oil and 10 percent of its natural gas from Libya, has billions of dollars in lucrative contracts with the Libyan government and receives billions more in Libyan investments — has held back on freezing any assets. Officials say they are waiting for a “coordinated” response from the European Union about whether the measure applies to Libyan sovereign funds, a ruling that Italy said it hoped would come as soon as next week.
(h/t Richard Lyon ) -
Experts Fear Looted Libyan Arms May Find Way to Terrorists
Security analysts say the armed uprising in Libya poses a long-term security threat — that weapons looted from government stockpiles could circulate widely, including heat-seeking antiaircraft missiles that could be used against civilian airliners.
More regional tidbits after the fold....bold section names indicate fresh content...
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GENERAL ANALYSIS:
(h/t Richard Lyon)BACKGROUND: The changing face of the Arab world
For decades, political stagnation was a common theme in the Arab world. However, since the outbreak of mass protests in Tunisia 10 weeks ago, the region's political landscape has changed beyond recognition.
ALGERIA:
(h/t Richard Lyon ) - Algeria keeps lid on social unrest—for now
Algeria's leadership, riddled by corruption and at the mercy of the army, is sitting in a circle of fire, with a restive populace at home and pro-democracy uprisings in neighboring Tunisia and Libya that are shaking the Arab world to the core.
Two months of strikes, sit-ins and attempted protest marches are raising questions about whether Algeria, which waged a brutal battle against insurgents for nearly two decades, can satisfy myriad and mounting demands for jobs, housing, higher salaries, proper medical benefits—and, trickier still, answer calls to end the army's dominance and build a real democracy.
BAHRAIN:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) - How a broken social contract sparked Bahrain protests
The longstanding social contract among many countries in the Persian Gulf is simple: the ruling monarchy offers free housing, health care, education, food subsidies, and a government job for life. In return, the people defer to a system of tribal autocracy that gives little or no political representation to the masses.
In short, lucre begets loyalty, and vice-versa.
But the current protests in Bahrain indicate that, in the eyes of much of the population, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has failed to keep his side of the unwritten social contract that binds the Gulf Cooperation Council's six sheikhdoms of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
COTE d'IVOIRE:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) -
Ivorian women fatally shot at rally
Security forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, Cote d'Ivoire's disputed president, have shot dead at least five women at a demonstration in support of his rival, Alassane Ouattara.
Thursday's shooting took place after several hundred women gathered in the Abobo neighbourhood of Abidjan, the country's commercial capital, shouting "Gbagbo, get out!" and "Alassane for president", a resident told the AFP news agency.
Mohamed Dosso, an assistant to the mayor of Abobo, said an armoured personnel carrier and several pickup vehicles showed up as the women were protesting and opened fire.
The US denounced Gbagbo's "moral bankruptcy" follwing the incident.
"Disputed" is an interesting choice of words. He lost the election and refused to step down. "Illegitimate" would be more apt.
DJIBOUTI:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) - HEADLINE
DJIBOUTI, March 3 (Reuters) - Djibouti has ordered its opposition to postpone an anti-government protest set for Friday after a previous rally turned violent, a cabinet minister said on Thursday, as a wave of political unrest sweeps north Africa.
Opposition supporters have been calling for the departure of President Ismail Omar Guelleh, in power since 1999 and facing mounting opposition after he oversaw a change to the constitution that allows him to seek a third term in office.
The opposition later says that it still plans to protest.
EGYPT:
((h/t Richard Lyon ) - Competing Muslim Brotherhood visions for Egypt
The Muslim Brotherhood is vying to become an official party in post-Mubarak Egypt. The conservative Islamist views of some of the group's members scare many in Egypt and the West, but, as Tim Whewell has been finding out, many members, particularly young activists, are much more moderate.
(h/t dmac) - Egypt Stock Regulator to Demand Disclosure Amid Mubarak Probe
Egyptian securities regulators may require brokerages and fund managers to disclose the owners of financial assets traded in the country as part of a probe of officials linked to ousted PresidentHosni Mubarak.
(h/t dmac) -
Should Egypt's next president be old guard or vanguard?
Amr Moussa is very popular with Egyptians and is ready to stand. The problem is, he's part of a discredited past
After years in the political wilderness heading up the glorified talking shop known as the Arab League, Amr Moussa is back on the national scene in Egypt. Following weeks of public speculation and private deliberation, the popular and charismatic one-time foreign minister has announced his intention to run for Egypt's recently vacated top job.
(h/t dmac) -
Egypt's revolution has been 10 years in the making
Hosni Mubarak's wall of fear began to crumble once people were able to see that others shared their desire for liberation
In the 1990s, one could only whisper Hosni Mubarak's name. Political talk or jokes were avoided in phone calls. This year, millions ofEgyptians fought for 18 days against their ageing tyrant, braving the police troops firing teargas, rubber bullets and live ammunition. People in Egypt have lost their fear, but it did not happen overnight. The Egyptian revolution, rather than coming out of the blue on 25 January 2011, is a result of a process that has been brewing over the previous decade – a chain reaction to the autumn 2000 protests in solidarity with the Palestinian intifada.
IRAN:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) - Continued Disappearance of Opposition Figures Raises Concerns of Torture
(3 March 2011) Iranian officials should immediately end the illegal, incommunicado detention of four leading opposition figures: Mehdi Karroubi; Mir Hossein Mousavi; Fatemeh Karroubi; and Zahra Rahnavard, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.
The Campaign warns that the incommunicado nature of their eighteen day long detention in an undisclosed location increases the likelihood that the four are facing psychological and physical torture for the purposes of extracting false confessions.
IRAQ:
(h/t Richard Lyon ) - Kurdish leader calls for new vote in northern Iraq
The president of the self-ruled region in northern Iraq is calling for new elections to be held there following weeks of anti-government protests.
In a televised address Thursday, Massoud Barzani asked the Kurdish parliament to study the possibility of early general elections in the Kurdish region..
(h/tunaspenser) - U.S. Silent on Deadly Iraqi Gov’t Crackdown on Protests
While the United States has sharply criticized the Libyan government for brutally cracking down on opposition protesters, it has remained noticeably silent on the recent attacks against Iraqi dissidents. On Friday, tens of thousands of people participated in Iraq’s largest protest in years. Although the protests were largely peaceful, authorities fired water cannons, sound bombs and live bullets to disperse crowds as Iraqi army helicopters buzzed overhead, killing an estimated 29 people. Then, on Sunday, U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces detained about 300 people, including prominent journalists, artists and lawyers, who had taken part in the rallies.
JORDAN:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) -
Jordan's PM tells lawmakers stripping King Abdullah II of powers violates constitution
AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan's prime minister rejected opposition calls for stripping King Abdullah II of his powers and establishing a constitutional monarchy, telling lawmakers Thursday that such a move would violate the constitution. Jordanians, emboldened by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, have taken to the streets over the past two months to demand Abdullah relinquish some of his powers, including the right to appoint prime ministers. Muslim opposition groups have called for a constitutional monarchy that would leave the king as a nothing more than a figurehead. "The constitution is clear and gives the king absolute powers," Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit said in a speech to parliament. He also rebuffed demands for a transition to a constitutional monarchy, saying it is "a violation of the constitution and bypasses political reforms."
So, the people want to change the constitution and the PM's response is, "that's unconstitutional." Is it me or is he missing the point?
LEBANON:
((h/t UnaSpenser ) - Lebanon: The forgotten revolution
Although the Middle East is saturating news reports at the moment, Lebanon has been mostly ignored since the uprisings began in Tunisia in mid-January. However, it was in Lebanon where the first Middle Eastern revolution was quietly staged in early January 2011, and Lebanon whose future is most uncertain.
MAURITANIA:
(h/t mali muso ) - Top Mauritanian MP urges politicians to draw lessons from Tunisia, Egypt
Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, the President of the National Assembly in Mauritania and leader of the Opposition People’s Progressive Alliance (APP), has called on Mauritanian leaders to learn from the lessons of the youth revolutions which toppled the Tunisian and Egyptian presidents as well as from the current situation in Libya....Political dialogue in Mauritania, recommended in an agreement signed in June 2009, has still not taken firm root following endless media “warfare” between the ruling party and the opposition although President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, in late 2010, formally invited opposition parties, under the umbrella Democratic Opposition Coordination (COD), for dialogue....Political observers are waiting to see how fairly and openly the Mauritanian leaders will organize legislative elections in November.
MOROCCO:
((h/t ninkasi23)
Note: March 2 is the anniversary of Morocco's independence from France in 1956. Independence from Spain followed on April 7 that same year.
Amnesty Condamne la Dispersion Violente de Manifestants Pacifiques
This referenced article from Mamfakinch (also worth following on Twitter if you can read French) is in French so if there is anyone who would like to translate and add an excerpt that would be fantastique! I do get the gist of the article though:
Amnesty International has issued a public declaration condemning the violence used against the peaceful protestors in the capitol city of Rabat on Feb. 21 & 22.
Morocco: The Tranquil Kingdom?
Following the protests, Mohamed VI announced in a televised speech, a wide set of reforms. He nonetheless added that he would carry them out of his own initiative and not as a result for coercion or ‘demagoguery’. It is still too early to understand what these promises mean and how they will take shape. What is however certain is that effectiveness and speed in carrying out these reforms will prove decisive over whether or not the Moroccan street will keep the Kingdom tranquil or demand more.[. . .]
Meanwhile, in the occupied Western Sahara, yesterday marked the 35year anniversary of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). This anniversary was however tainted by bloodshed and intimidation. Hoping to benefit from international coverage of a local music festival several days ago, hundreds of Saharawis had protested against Moroccan occupation and chanted pro-independence slogans.
By Friday and Saturday, dozens of Moroccan settler groups went on a rampage against what they identified as Saharawi nationalists in the occupied cities of Dakhla, Laayoune and Smara. When the Moroccan state’s police and armed forces are too busy to deal with dissent in the north, it hires local thugs to deal with the ‘southerners’.
(h/t ninkasi23 )
Can Morocco and Algeria long remain exceptions?
The king cannot duck the biggest decision of his 12-year reign. The two faces of protest suggest two diverging paths open to the monarch. He can listen to the articulate demands for constitutional reform, reducing his own powers and conferring greater sovereignty on parliament. The downside would be losing grip on the financial tiller, as policy and the requirements of the king’s burgeoning personal fortune have intermingled. It wouldn’t have to be humiliating as King Mohammad could use Morocco’s established parties to set out reasonable but limited demands for new rules to the game. The question is whether this would go far enough to engage Moroccans, half of whom do not even participate in the electoral process.
OMAN:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) - Oman: Sultan Qaboos still popular despite discontent
"We are not Tunisia, we are not Libya. Our leader is loved, he is not corrupt and I would be willing to lay out my life on the line for him."
We were talking at the heart of a 3,000-strong march beside the towering Grand Mosque in central Muscat.
It was the biggest demonstration yet in Oman: men and women draped in flags and Omani football scarves, carrying portraits of the sultan and chanting slogans of praise and patriotism.
....
So far, so predictable.
But what is more surprising is that the activists who have been holding marches and staging sit-ins - protesting against government corruption, cronyism and indifference in the face of rising unemployment among the young - are equally emphatic in their declarations of undying loyalty to the sultan.
PALESTINE:
Toward Palestine's 'Mubarak moment'
The slow collapse of Palestinian collective leadership institutions in recent years has reached a crisis amid the ongoing Arab revolutions, the revelations in the Palestine Papers, and the absence of any credible peace process.
The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) controlled by Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah faction has attempted to respond to this crisis by calling elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and the PA presidency.
Abbas hopes that elections could restore legitimacy to his leadership. Hamas has rejected such elections in the absence of a reconciliation agreement ending the division that resulted from Fatah's refusal (along with Israel and the PA's western sponsors, especially the United States) to accept the result of the last election in 2006, which Hamas decisively won.
But even if such an election were held in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, it does not resolve the crisis of collective leadership faced by the entire Palestinian people, some ten million distributed between those living in the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank, inside Israel, and the worldwide diaspora. read on...
(h/t NYBritExpat) Is the West Bank next? (Al Jazeera op-ed)
SAUDI ARABIA:
(h/t Richard Lyon ) - Saudi interior ministry says protests illegal
Saudi Arabia's interior ministry said on Saturday that protests are illegal, amid various calls for demonstrations demanding change in the ultra-conservative kingdom, state media said.
"Regulations in the kingdom forbid categorically all sorts of demonstrations, marches and sit-ins... as they contradict Islamic Sharia law and the values and traditions of Saudi society," said a ministry statement carried by SPA state news agency.
The statement said police were "authorised by law to take all measures needed against those who try to break the law."
SYRIA:
Lack of protests in Syria blamed on internet crackdown
Beirut - While much of the Arab world continues to see thousands of people taking to the streets with calls for political change, a 'Day of Rage' planned in Syria this month drew only a few dozen protesters.
Hundreds of Syrians did later demonstrate, but to demand an investigation into the alleged police beating of a young man in the capital Damascus - not to seek the toppling of the government, as protesters have successfully done in Tunisia and Egypt.
Government officials attribute the lack of upheaval to President Bashar al-Assad's popularity.
'Such protests are useless in Syria because the president is not hated as much as Hosny Mubarak in Egypt. Our president has started to make reforms a few years ago,' a Syrian source loyal to the president told the German Press Agency dpa.
But rights groups and activists blame the low turnout on an internet crackdown initiated by the government.
One Syrian activist, who spoke to dpa on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, said that a number of bloggers have been detained recently in an attempt to stop people from using the internet to share information and organize protests.
TUNISIA:
(h/t Richard Lyon ) - Growing Debate Centers on Tunisia's Islamist Party
Tunisia's Islamist party was legalized this week after 20 years in the political wilderness. Under the pro-Western, but hardline, government of ex-president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Ennahdha was branded a terrorist organization. Now, the party is at the center of a growing debate on the role of Islam in Tunisia's budding democracy
YEMEN:
((h/t UnaSpenser ) - Army kills four, wounds seven
The Yemeni army killed four and injured at least seven Friday when they opened fire with heavy machine guns on demonstrators calling for the end of the president’s three-decade long rule, witnesses said.
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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:
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Al Jazeera English - Watch Live (the Youtube link below should work for Mac users unable to load this.)
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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: - please suggest people for specific countries. Thank you!
@ArabRevolution - Region
@Dima_Khatib - Region
@JNovak_Yemen - Yemen
@WomanfromYemen - Yemen
@Gheblawi - Libya
@ShababLibya - Libya
@feb17voices - Libya
@DrsForLibya - Libya
@libyanexpat - Libya
@lissnp - Iran
@prsianbanoo - Iran
@sandmonkey - Egypt
@JRamyRaoof - Egypt
@Elazul - Egypt
@Ssirgany - Egypt
@sharifkouddous
@monasosh
@ioerror
@ElBaradei
@SultanAlQassemi
@evanchill
@glcarlstrom
@nolanjazeera
@3arabawy
@shadihamid
@bencnn
@arabist
@speaktotweet: Egyptian Voice Tweets on Twitter
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Egypt and the Region Liveblog Archive by unaspenser
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