You are in the the 145th diary of the liveblog bearing witness to the 2011 populous uprisings. We stand with our international friends and their courageous struggle for dignity, self-determination and human rights. (see more about the work of our group below)
PLS REC this diary. PLS UNREC the previous diary.
LIBYA: Out attention got grabbed by events in Japan this weekend. (unfathomable, really) Still, the people of Libya fight on. Reports are that the Gaddafi Regime has pushed east. They've taken Brega and, perhaps, Ras Lanuf. Still, the people remain optimistic, somehow:
(h/t jnhobbs) -
Updates from the Feb. 17th blog
12:10 AFP A reporter says he watched dozens of revolutionaries pulling out of the coastal town of Brega, and heading for Ajdabiya after heavy shelling by Gaddafi’s forces.
12:08 @Libyan4life tweets “Reports of Heavy shelling and heavy aircraft on the city of Brega”
12:08 AFP Mobile phone communications are said to be cut in Benghazi for unknown reasons. It’s not known if other areas were affected.
11:51 State TV cites a military source saying that “Brega has been cleansed of armed gangs”
10:17 Al Jazeera‘s Nick Clark reports from Tobruk that, “The frontline is moving eastwards in favour of Gaddafi. But there is huge amount of resilience still, they still think they can see Gaddafi off without a doubt. They are all proclaiming that ultimately they will win.”
(h/t jnhobbs) - Gaddafi offensive rolls up rebel-held towns
By Mohammed Abbas
AJDABIYAH, Libya | Sun Mar 13, 2011 12:27pm EDT
(Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's troops seized the strategic Libyan oil town of Brega on Sunday forcing rebels to retreat under a heavy bombardment while world powers considered imposing a no-fly zone.
Losing Brega and its refinery further limits rebel access to fuel after the insurgents were pushed out of Ras Lanuf on Sunday, another major oil terminal some 100 km to the west along the coast road where all of Libya's important towns are located.
(h/t jnhobbs ) Human Rights Watch to Libya: end violent crackdown in Tripoli
(New York) – Libyan security forces controlled by Muammar Gaddafi have launched a wave of arrests and disappearances in Tripoli that has gripped the city with fear, Human Rights Watch said today.
According to credible and consistent accounts given by Tripoli residents to Human Rights Watch, security forces have arrested scores of anti-government protesters, suspected government critics, and those alleged to have provided information to international media and human rights organizations. Some detainees have apparently been subjected to torture.
...
The government has released some people after brief periods of detention, Human Rights Watch said, but the location and fate of many others remain unknown. The Libyan government has not released any information on the number or location of those detained, or the charges they face, if any.
(h/t Claudius Bombarnac )Tears for Journalist. Change in the Middle East comes at a high cost.
There are more than sixty of leading young activists from revolts and revolutions throughout the Middle East at the 6th Annual Al Jazeera Forum. I am attending this fascinating meeting as a guest of Al Jazeera.
...
Tonight, while sitting in a private meeting with Wadah Khanfar, Director General of Al Jazeera Network, I saw him get called out for an emergency call. I watched his face. I eavesdropped a little -- and I instantly knew that a tragedy had happened.
One of Al Jazeera's cameramen, a person whose name I wish I could post here because he deserves a salute from all of us but which I don't yet have (since writing this it has been made public that his name was Ali Hassaon Al Jaber), was ambushed and executed inside Libya.
...
Journalists are so vital in times of great change because they are the portals through which citizens around the world get to see and hopefully understand the issues and players that matter.
The same is true here in the Middle East -- especially now for Arabic journalists trying to cover how their world is shifting.
Once most of the people in the private meeting left the room, I saw Khanfar turn to a corner of the room and start sobbing, tears running down his cheeks. I touched his shoulder and told him how sorry I was for the member of his team who had been lost. What I didn't say was murdered.
He cried. He took a deep breath. He sat down -- and then I could see that his resolve to keeping this story going was strengthened.
I cried, yet again, upon reading this whole piece.
The Libyan National Transitional Council has been requesting that the international community recognize them as representing the Libyan people. our own StepLeftStepForward writes about that
(h/t jnhobbs ) - Arab League supports a no-fly zone
On Saturday morning, wire services are reporting that the Arab League has decided to back a no-fly zone over Libya. Earlier reports indicated divisions in the Arab League, as Libyan protesters demonstrated outside the HQ in Cairo. Secretary-General Amr Moussa was among those supporting the move. Even before the vote, he had told the German news magazine Der Spiegel, “”The United Nations, the Arab League, the African Union, the Europeans – everyone should participate.”
The report on the Arab League vote is also being carried by CNN but is not confirmed. It is not clear what mechanisms would be invoked to implement it. NATO states have insisted that a no-fly zone would need the authorization of the United Nations Security Council, where Russia and China are said to be reluctant..
(I keep this list here to remind us of these options. A no-fly zone is not the only thing to pursue.)
one ex-diplomat's suggestions:
Libya: Eight Nonmilitary Options
1. Establishment of an escrow account for Libyan oil revenues
2. Listing all Libyan personnel involved in repression for sanction under SCR 1970
3. Seek public declarations from all commercial companies that they will not do business with the Gadhaffi regime.
4. Immediately position monitoring units on all borders and a naval blockade to ensure that the military embargo under UNSCR 1970 is enforced, and that regime members under ICC investigation or subject to paras 22-23 of UNSCR 1970 do not escape.
5. Electronic jamming of all regime communications [why aren't we doing this already??]; interference with internet communications, Stuxnet-like attacks on regime IT infrastructure.
6. Provide immediate and substantial humanitarian assistance in rebel-held areas.
7. Set up publicly accessible websites using satellite and other reconnaissance data to inform anti-Gaddafi forces of the disposition of regime military and irregular units.
8. Consider making the Libyan currency non-convertible
More regional tidbits after the fold....bold section names indicate fresh content...
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.
conchita has a diary up responding to Libyan requests for a no-fly zone
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:
Eyes on Egypt and the Region Background Resources
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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.
GENERAL ANALYSIS:
(h/t suejazz ) - From Saudi Arabia to Oman, a revolution of boldness
From Saudi Arabia’s “Day of Rage” today to an explosion of free speech in Oman, Arab unrest is making ever-larger waves in the oil-rich Gulf region. Most of the protesters in these Gulf nations are seeking reform, not the overthrow of the royal ruling families. But citizens’ willingness to express their discontent – even after their leaders have made unprecedented concessions – signals what may be the beginning of the end for the monarchies’ strategy of buying compliance with generous social welfare benefits.
“We’re told they’re stable regimes that manage to buy off protests,” says Toby Jones, a Middle East historian at Rutgers University in New Jersey. “But they’re characterized by deep disillusionment, and disappointment, about the nature of the political system.... There was always a simmering level of frustration, and that’s going to be there five years from now, 10 years from now, just like it has been.”
ALGERIA:
h/t ny brit expat - Algeria's Rebellion by Installments
In mid-February, with autocratic rulers deposed in Tunisia and Egypt, and another tottering in Libya, a coalition of opposition political parties, human rights activists and others took to the streets in the capital of Algeria. Their broad call, as elsewhere in North Africa, was for "change and democracy." The Algerian demonstrations, however, have not found the mass popular constituency that has propelled them forward elsewhere. Why not?
(h/t suejazz ) - Algerian police stifle small pro-democracy demonstration
Police in Algeria's capital Algiers on Saturday swarmed a small pro-democracy demonstration, forcing the protesters to disperse in a by-now weekly show of force against people rooting for democratic reforms.
Hundreds of police surrounded a small group of around 200 demonstrators from the National Coordination for Change and Democracy (CNCD), who assembled in the city's May 1 square to call for greater civic freedoms and institutional reform.
The CNCD is a grouping of opposition parties, trade unions and human rights groups formed in the aftermath of anti-government riots in January that left at least five dead and hundreds injured.
(h/t suejazz) - Libya: Algiers hopes there will be no intervention
Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mourad Medelci said Friday that Algeria was "against foreign intervention" in Libya, which would feed terrorism, but that a "mediation" between the regime of Colonel Gaddafi and the armed opposition would be better.
"We are concerned because there is an armed opposition between a portion of the population and another, and because the use of weapons has become uncontrollable," the minister said in an interview with French daily Le Monde.
"We are against foreign intervention, but we are not alone and I can understand that the messages of the international community are becoming firmer. If the situation continues, we know very well that sooner or later, the Security Council (UN) would take decisions. Let them assess the situation, but hopefully there will be no intervention," said Mourad Medelci.
BAHRAIN:
(h/t suejazz) - Bahrain protesters 'facing death threats'
As demonstrations continue in Bahrain, three prominent civil rights activists say they have been targeted with death threats.
The threats came on the eve of an anti-government march on the Royal Court.
Protesters say the march was halted by what they called stone-throwing thugs, while security forces and police looked on.
The threats were allegedly made against Mohammed al-Maskati and Naji Fateel of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, and Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, of Human Rights Defenders.
Anonymous groups published full personal identification details including their names, phone numbers, home and work addresses, car registration and ID numbers along with their photos on Facebook and other social networking sites.
"These are the instigators of disorder who have organised the movements of sabotage. The heads of agitation and disorder in our beloved Bahrain need to be killed and liquidated," one of the threats read.
(h/t suejazz) -
If Bahrain fails to reform, Iran will meddle: US
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Saturday that Bahrain's leaders needed to move quickly to adopt major reforms or else risk interference from Iran.
After talks with Bahrain's king and crown prince, Gates said he was hopeful the government would take "far-reaching steps" but warned that countries across the region could no longer ignore popular demands for democracy.
Although there were no signs Shiite-led Iran was behind unrest in the Gulf kingdom or elsewhere in the region, Tehran would likely work to meddle in Bahrain's politics amid sectarian tensions, Gates told reporters on his plane after a visit to Manama.
"I expressed the view that we had no evidence that suggested that Iran started any of these popular revolutions or demonstrations across the region," said Gates, recounting his talks with the country's king and crown prince.
"But there is clear evidence that as the process is protracted, particularly in Bahrain, the Iranians are looking for ways to exploit it and create problems," Gates said.
"So I told them, in this instance, time is not our friend."
(h/t suejazz) - Violence flares in Bahrain’s Sunni heartland
Clashes broke out in Bahrain’s Sunni heartland of Riffa on Friday as pro-democracy youths were attacked by rock-throwing pro-government demonstrators.
In a move aiming to escalate demonstrations as political stalemate continues, largely Shia anti-government protesters were met by a wall of riot police standing behind barbed wire before reaching their goal of demonstrating peacefully in front of *the king’s royal court.
The stand-off ended when pro-government supporters moved from behind police lines to confront pro-democracy demonstrators as they moved back.
Street skirmishes ensued as police attempted to push back what the pro-democracy protesters described as Baltagia, after the thugs hired by the Egyptian regime to confront demonstrators in the North African state, **whose revolution* has inspired the movement in Bahrain.
Thousands of protesters rushed back to the barbed-wire fence separating the two sides, with some throwing rocks back.
(h/t suejazz) - Ten injured as protesters clash with Bahrain police
At least 10 people were injured Friday in clashes between Bahraini riot police and anti-government protesters in the city of Riffa on Friday.
The clashes took place after the protesters were able to get through police lines and attack government supporters, forcing police to fire tear gas and rubber bullets.
The protest march in Riffa - which is south of capital Manama, predominately Sunni and seen as the governing capital of the royal family - drew thousands of people, despite divisions between opposition groups.
Friday's clashes come amid heightened tensions between Sunnis and Shiites. Scores of Shiite-owned businesses were forced to shut down late Thursday by Bahraini pro-government supporters in Sunni strong- hold areas.
COTE D'IVOIRE:
(h/t suejazz ) - Gbagbo forces launch I. Coast offensive: army
Ivory Coast presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara stepped up his drive Saturday for diplomatic support, as forces loyal to rival Laurent Gbagbo launched a "make or break" offensive in one of his Abidjan strongholds.
The army began a "major offensive" to "get rid" of insurgents from the Abobo district in the north of Abidjan, military headquarters said, with local people reporting firing by heavy weapons.
Meanwhile, Ouattara, the internationally recognised victor in last November's presidential election, continued his overseas tour to gather support from African leaders.
He held talks with the current head of regional bloc ECOWAS, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, late Friday in Abuja.
Earlier in Addis Ababa, Ouattara had met a panel of African presidents tasked by the African Union (AU) with finding a lasting solution to the Ivory Coast crisis.
(h/t suejazz) - Fears of Ivorian conflict grow as mediation fails
Senegal's leader, Abdoulaye Wade, said on Friday Ivory Coast was "entering a phase of war" after the latest attempt by the African Union to resolve a power struggle by diplomacy failed.
Incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo rejected an AU proposal at a summit on Thursday offering him a safe exit in return for ceding power to rival Alassane Ouattara, winner of a disputed November poll according to U.N.-certified results.
Ouattara said on Friday he could not in any case have accepted the power-sharing pact because it would be illogical for him to form a unity government with Gbagbo allies still in control of the top cocoa grower.
"Ivory Coast is entering a phase of war," Wade, president of nearby Senegal, told French-language Africa news website Slateafrique.com.
Djibouti
(h/t suejazz ) - Djibouti suspends US election mission
Djibouti has told the United States that an independent election observer mission is “illegal” and suspended its partnership with the US-funded mission. The news came amid reports that the north-east African coastal state had arrested two opposition leaders on Friday.
Democracy International (DI), which has a $2.2m, eight-man team in the tiny strategic state, provides the only international technical assistance and observation group in the country, which has been ruled by the same dynasty since independence.
The increasing visibility of the Djibouti’s anti-democratic leanings is awkward for the US, which relies on the country for its only military base on the continent and last year doubled aid to the country, funding DI’s Djibouti operation. Many of its 3,000 troops are dedicated to fighting piracy and terrorism in neighbouring Somalia.
(h/t suejazz ) - Djibouti Forces Arrest Opposition Leaders, Scuppering Protests
Djibouti’s security forces detained four opposition leaders, scuppering a planned demonstration against President Ismail Guelleh, a member of the opposition said.
“They were gathered in one place about to go out to the demonstration,” Halimo Ismael, a member of the Union for a Democratic Alternative, said today by phone from Djibouti city. “Then the police, without any papers, came and took them away.”
Those arrested included leaders of the UDA, the Djibouti Party for Development, the Union for a Democratic Movement and the Movement for Democratic Renewal, Ismael said. Calls seeking comment to the mobile phones of Interior Minister Yacin Elmi Bouh and Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Yousef weren’t answered or didn’t connect.
EGYPT:
(h/t UnaSpenser) - In Egypt, signs that the revolution has only just begun
A week of violent clashes has underscored a growing perception among Egyptians that the regime they overthrew a month ago today is alive and well, working in the shadows to sow instability in a country scrambling to create the credible democratic institutions it has lacked for more three decades.
....
Said Sadek, a sociology professor at the American University in Cairo, said that only agents from Egypt’s intelligence agency could be pitting these two sides against each other right now.
“State security is acting as a counter-revolutionary force,” he said. “Their tactics are to spread fear and chaos.”
(h/t UnaSpenser) - Christians in Egypt stage protest
Thousands of Christian Copts in Cairo protested outside the offices of the Egyptian state broadcaster, witnesses said on Friday.
It was the seventh day of protests over what they're calling the "marginalization and lack of representation" of their concerns in state media.
There have been longstanding tensions between Muslims and Copts in Egypt, and 13 Copts were killed in sectarian clashes last Tuesday.
(h/t angry marmot) - Ministry calls for speeches on national unity in all mosques
In an attempt to curtail sectarian violence, the Ministry of Religious Endowments decided to unify Friday’s prayer speech to talk about national unity.
IRAN:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) - Iran expels AFP reporter for covering protests
Iran has expelled a reporter of the French news agency AFP for trying to cover a protest gathering, news media sources in Tehran said Friday.
...
Since July 2009, the foreign media has officially been banned by the foreign press department of the culture ministry from directly covering the protests and contacting opposition figures.
Any violation of the ban would lead to prohibition from work or even expulsion.
The Iranian judiciary last month established a special prosecution office for offences related to media.
IRAQ:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) - Iraq Kurds protest, man tries to set himself ablaze.
A protester tried to set himself on fire in Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish zone on Friday, where demonstrators have camped out on a square to call for the ouster of the powerful regional administration.
Protests were also held in several other Iraqi cities, although numbers were smaller than in previous weeks and there was no major violence.
Nasik Qadir, spokeswoman for protesters in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya, said one demonstrator had doused himself in kerosene and tried to set himself ablaze. He was rescued by other demonstrators and suffered no major injuries.
(h/t UnaSpenser) - Top Sunni figure calls protesters' demands "reasonable". Meet protest demands or go, deputy tells Iraq leader
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki should step down if his government fails to meet his own 100-day target to improve its performance in the wake of Egypt-inspired protests, one of his deputies said.
The remarks, by Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, reveal the deep divisions remaining in a fractious coalition government formed in December after nine months of wrangling following an inconclusive election.
Like other countries in the Arab world inspired by the fall of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, Iraq has seen a steadily growing wave of demonstrations this year among a public angry about corruption, a lack of public services and jobs.
JORDAN:
(h/t suejazz ) - Jordanians Call for Dissolution of Parliament
Protests continued on Friday in the Jordanian capital Amman and other major cities despite bad weather conditions, demanding a quick dissolution of the country's parliament and holding national elections to choose new one
The demonstrations were called by opposition parties, former lawmakers, independent activists and largely by the powerful Islamic Action Front, or IAF, which has threatened to boycott a political reform dialogue called by King Abdullah II and the new government of Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit.Inspired by popular revolts in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and elsewhere in the Arab World, thousands of Jordanians have held protests for weeks to demand greater political reforms that would curb swelling poverty and unemployment. The protests have been largely peaceful and haven't reached the level of violence seen elsewhere in the region.
(h/t suejazz ) - Hundreds Rally for Reform in Jordanian Capital
Hundreds of Jordanians have taken to the streets of the capital, demanding sweeping political and economic reforms.
The protesters gathered in Amman following Friday prayers. A demonstration has also been reported in at least one other Jordanian city.
Some of the protesters called for the dissolution of Jordan's parliament.
The protests followed new calls by opposition leaders Thursday to relieve King Abdullah of many of his powers and turn Jordan into a constitutional monarchy.
KUWAIT:
(h/t suejazz) - Kuwait urged to free stateless detainees
The independent Human Rights Asscoaition called for the "release of all those arrested during the events on March 11 without delay and without pressing charges against them."
Media reported Saturday that security forces arrested dozens of stateless Arabs, locally known as bidoons, during and after the protest.
The rights association also accused security forces of using excessive force in dispersing the protest and using tear gas canisters inside people's homes.
About 500 demonstrators took to the streets in Jahra, west of Kuwait City, immediately after Muslim prayers Friday, while hundreds protested in two other locations.
Stateless Arabs, estimated at more than 100,000, protested last month for three consecutive days until officials gave them assurances their grievances would be addressed.
But parliament refused on Tuesday to debate a bill that would give them civil rights because the government, backed by many MPs, said it prefered to issue executive decisions granting those rights rather than a law.
(h/t suejazz) - Riot police break up protests by stateless Arabs
Police in anti-riot gear descended Friday on a small protest rally near Kuwait City that was staged by stateless Arabs demanding greater rights, media reports said.
According to the Reuters news agency, despite a stern warning from the new minister of the interior, about 200 protesters had congregated for a peaceful demonstration in an area west of the Kuwaiti capital after Friday prayers. Other media reports put the number of protesters a bit higher, at about500.
Rally-goers carried banners reading "Stateless since 50 years, we demand citizenship," and chanted "we will not leave without a solution,"reported Agence France-Presse.
But when riot police began firing tear gas into the crowd, the protesters quickly ran for cover.
LEBANON:
(h/t suejazz ) - As March 14 Approaches, Tensions Rise in Lebanon
On March 13, 2011, Lebanon's March 14 Forces plan to hold a mass demonstration in Beirut to mark the sixth anniversary of the movement's establishment. In anticipation of the demonstration, Lebanon's two rival camps, the March 14 Forces and the March 8 Forces, have scaled up their attacks. The recent speeches of Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister S'ad Al-Hariri focused on three central issues: Hizbullah's arms, the "coup" that had been perpetrated against him, and the international tribunal investigating the murder of his father Rafiq Al-Hariri. Hizbullah responded by threatening that turning its arms into a main point of dispute could lead to civil war.
Tensions in Lebanon are high in anticipation of the demonstration, the speeches expected to be delivered there, any actions the March 14 Forces may take regarding Hizbullah's arms, and Hizbullah's reaction to these moves.
MAURITANIA:
(h/t mali muso) - Mauritania protesters want better salaries, lower food prices
Hundreds of people took to the streets after Friday afternoon prayers, demanding more jobs and decent food prices. What was initially meant as a peaceful protest, ended with protesters throwing stones at security forces and setting fire to car tires.
...
Protesters distributed bottles of fresh water to security forces surrounding them, while the authorities continued to deny any access to Blokat square. Demonstrators prevented Mauritania TV from covering the protests, fearing the station would use the footage for political propaganda. Protesters earlier complained about police women pretending to be journalists. The videos were reportedly used by intelligent forces to identify youth leaders and facilitate future arrests.
MOROCCO:
(h/t UnaSpsner)
Morocco demo barred, several hurt: witnesses
Security forces prevented about 100 people from holding a pro-reform demonstration Sunday in Morocco's biggest city, Casablanca, leaving several people wounded, witnesses said.
Security forces sealed off Mohammed V Square, the site of most demonstrations in the city, and forcefully kept protesters and pedestrians away, an AFP journalist and witnesses said.
The activists were from the Islamist Justice and Charity movement, which is banned but tolerated in Morocco and is one of the most important political parties in the country.
"There were a dozen wounded, including a journalist with the Al Ahdath Almaghribia daily, during the forceful dispersal of the demonstrators," one witness said.
OMAN:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) - Oman sultan to cede some powers after protests
Oman's ruler has decided to cede some legislative powers to a partially elected council, the state news agency reported on Sunday, in an apparent effort to quell protests in the Gulf Arab sultanate.
The ONA agency also said Sultan Qaboos bin Said would double monthly welfare payments and increase pension benefits, becoming the latest Gulf ruler to offer handsome incentives to citizens in the wake of unrest that has rocked much of the Arab world.
The normally tranquil Oman, an oil-producing nation at the mouth of the Gulf, was stunned by protests in at least two cities last month that left one person dead.
PALESTINE:
(h/t Flyswatterbanjo ) - Human Rights Watch Urges Hamas to End Attacks on Demonstrators
Hamas authorities in Gaza should investigate claims that security officials tortured a blogger and activist and prosecute any officials responsible, Human Rights Watch said Friday.
Ahmad Arar, 31, a blogger who had called for demonstrations in favor of ending the split between Fatah in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza, was detained and tortured, witnesses told the rights group.
"The Hamas government has shown time and again that it cares little about the rights of Palestinians who peacefully challenge its policies," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Hamas says it's fighting for liberation from occupation but is repressing people living under its control."
QATAR:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) -
Qatar may feel impact of regional unrest: Nomura
Qatar may feel the economic impact of regional political unrest, even though a popular uprising in the tiny Gulf Arab state itself is unlikely, the head of emerging markets research at Nomura said.
“I don’t sense that investors are very concerned about Qatar specifically. With such a high per-capita gross domestic product, as well as the notion that the wealth is fairly well spread, it’s hard to envision a groundswell of support for a popular revolution here,” Ann Wyman told Reuters in Doha.
“But appetite for Middle East assets broadly has diminished, as part of the general notion that people just can’t justify exposure to the region. Inevitably that means appetite for future [bond] issuance will face challenges.”
SAUDI ARABIA:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) - Saudi protests outside Interior Ministry
More than 200 Saudis were allowed to protest outside the Interior Ministry on Sunday to demand the release of detainees in the largest demonstration in the capital since the regional outbreak of pro-democracy unrest.
Saudi authorities ban demonstrations and are increasingly determined to prevent the unrest, particularly Shiite protests in neighboring Bahrain, from spreading to the oil-rich Kingdom.
A massive show of force snuffed out a Facebook-based effort to stage unprecedented pro-democracy protests in Riyadh on Friday. But in heavily Shiite eastern Saudi Arabia, hundreds of protesters marched in at least four different locations, calling for the release of political prisoners and demanding reform. Saudi police opened fire to disperse one of the protests, wounding at least one man.
The protesters Sunday demanded information on the fate of mostly Sunni detainees held on security and terrorism-related charges, and their immediate release.
"My brother is 18, he has beein in detention for four years and until now we don't know anything about his fate or even the charges against him," said Ahmed Ali, one of the protesters.
Another said his 70-year-old father suffers from cancer of the colon and has been in detention for 10 years without receiving medical attention or a trial. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
SYRIA:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) - 3 Syrians missing after protest call in Lebanon
Three Syrian brothers have been missing for two weeks after handing out pamphlets in Beirut urging demonstrations for democratic change in Syria, an international human rights group said Thursday, calling on Lebanon to investigate.
The men's family said they disappeared early on Feb. 25 after they distributed fliers in the Lebanese capital calling for change back home, where the regime of President Bashar Assad closely controls the media and routinely jails critics of the regime.
The family told Human Rights Watch they are concerned the men might have been forcibly transferred to Syria.
"We fear that Lebanon may be back to doing Syria's dirty job of shutting up its critics," said Nadim Houry, Beirut director at Human Rights Watch.
TUNISIA:
(h/t suejazz ) - Kacem charged over Tunisia deaths
An arrest warrant has been issued for Tunisia's former interior minister, Rafik Belhaj Kacem, on charges of murder, the country's state news agency reports. Kacem was interior minister during the popular uprising that ousted long-term president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January.
He's accused of being complicit in the killings of scores of protesters and has been in police custody since February.The move follows a court order on Wednesday dissolving Ben Ali's former ruling party.
(h/t suejazz ) - Tunisia court dissolves ousted president's party
A Tunisian court has dissolved the party of deposed President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, ousted on 14 January.
The dismantling of his Rally for Constitutional Democracy party had been one of protesters' main demands.
The ruling blocks the party - whose activities were suspended after Mr Ali left the country - from putting forward a candidate in future elections.
The decision to disband the party triggered a burst of applause from a packed courtroom.
(h/t suejazz) - Kerry bill will aid Egyptian and Tunisian entrepreneurs
Senator John Kerry will file legislation to funnel U.S. aid to Egyptian and Tunisian entrepreneurs to boost their economies and nurture democracy – but do so without stirring antagonism toward the United States.
In the wake of massive protests that unseated the governments of both countries, the legislation will create two funds that will be “an investment in the future of the Arab world and in the future of America’s national security,” the Massachusetts Democrat said.
“They will tell people across the Arab world that the United States is willing to help them build strong economies and strong democracies," Kerry said.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
(h/t suejazz) - Saudi Arabia, UAE Call Gadhafi's Regime "Illegitimate"
Gulf nations including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have withdrawn any sort of support for Muammar al-Gadhafi calling his regime “illegitimate” and condoning its use of organized violence against a civilian population. The move comes as many Western nations have stepped up their rhetoric, with France officially recognizing the rebel governing-council and advanced talks of a no-fly zone in the UN Security Council and NATO. Reports that Saudi police dispersed protestors by shooting into crowds sent oil stocks on a steep jump ahead of what could be massive protests in the context of a “day of rage” in Saudi Arabia, which, for now, hasn't been reported have seen escalating violence.
YEMEN:
(h/t UnaSpenser) -Schoolboy dies in latest Yemen protests
The assault with gunfire and teargas - which two doctors at the scene said was nerve gas - was the toughest yet by theYemeni government in a month of protests aimed at unseating President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years.
....
In Sanaa people were passed out in the street and convulsed after inhaling gas.
"This isn't teargas," said Iraqi doctor Hussein al-Joshaai, a nerve specialist who was at the scene. "This is poison gas that disables the nervous and respiratory systems. People hit by (it) pass out."
Another doctor said: "Those wounded today couldn't have been hit by teargas grenades. They are suffering spasms." The Interior Ministry denied the allegations as "baseless slander".
Britain, the EU and the UN condemned the crackdown.
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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 Middle East reporting
BBC Middle East and Arab Unrest
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
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
Previous Child Diaries:
Egypt and the Region Liveblog Archive by unaspenser
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