You are in the the 176th entry of the Witness Revolution diaries, bearing witness to pro-democracy movements in North Africa, the Middle East and beyond. We aim here to simply report, from as many reliable worldwide resources as possible, on the successes, challenges or failures as brave people strive against oppression for representative democracy with civil and human rights. One small bit of assurance that they do not strive in obscurity.
TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
A little bit of the lighter side today, but, of course, we can't forget how serious this all is.
THE CREATIVE SIDE OF REVOLUTION
editorial cartoon about the Saudi influence in the region.
Benghazi Beetle
ITwitius 1 day ago
#Libya Rebel car. Benghazi. http://yfrog.com/...
A little Egyptian wisdom.
Anatomy of a Libyan
Deposed Dictator Daycare
YEMEN
The Yemeni's have their own inspirational music video now:
SYRIA - WARNING: graphic
so little comes out of Syria due to the lack of a free press that we can only report what we see. It is very difficult to actually know what it is we're seeing however.
Will someone translate this for us? Thank you.
More news listed country by country below the fold...
This group produces a series of diaries which provide background and analysis on the region in general and on individual countries. We hope these provide context for you as you read about current events. The published diaries in the series are:
Eyes on Egypt and the Region Background Resources
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Libyan Doctors for Hospitals in Libya is an impressive new aide organization launched by one of our own: StepLeftStepForward.
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GENERAL ANALYSIS
(h/t JustJennifer 4/15)Arab summit unlikely to convene
“There is going to be a very long process of consultation, but I think that at the end the summit will be put off. It might be deemed ‘delayed’ not ‘cancelled,’ but it would be an indefinite delay,” said an Arab diplomat who asked for his identity to be withheld.
Speaking to Ahram Online following a series of contacts made by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari with several Arab capitals, in response to the motion of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to cancel the Arab summit, this diplomat shared the assessment of a depressed Iraqi foreign minister.
“He knows that he can try, but he also knows very well that when Saudi Arabia throws its weight around, it is hard for Iraq to face it, especially with so many Arab countries caught in political turmoil,” the diplomat said.
(h/t Dibsa 4/15)
Stifling online critics
GOVERNMENTS in the Middle East are getting increasingly twitchy about their citizens' activities online. In Egypt, on Sunday April 10th, a blogger, Mikael Sanad Nabil, was sentenced to three years in prison for "insulting the military" in his blog postings, after a brief trial by a military court with no defence lawyers present. Other bloggers worry they may be next. Campaigners say the mainstream media are already fearful of criticising the army.
ALGERIA
(h/t JustJennifer 4/15) -
Algeria protests challenge president's authority
Algeria's leaders risk losing control of a tide of strikes and protests that has been gaining momentum and outpacing the government's attempts at reform.
Unlike the nationwide uprisings which toppled leaders in Egypt and Tunisia, Algeria's protests are localised and have yet to turn into a national political movement.
But the protests, some of them leading to small-scale clashes with police, have become a daily occurrence in the capital and the government has so far failed to seize back the initiative from the people in the streets.
(h/t JustJennifer 4/15) - Algeria's president to announce new policies boosting democracy, helping poor
Reports say Algeria's president will announce new policies to open up politics and improve economic prospects for the poor in a speech to the nation, after weeks of simmering protests.
The state news agency APS says Abdelaziz Bouteflika will make the televised address Friday night to unveil "important decisions concerning the deepening of the democratic process.... reducing disparities and speeding up economic development."
BAHRAIN
(h/t jnhobbs 4/16) -
Bahrain arrests prominent lawyer, doctors-opposition
Bahrain has detained a human rights lawyer and at least two doctors as part of a crackdown on pro-democracy protestors in the Gulf Arab kingdom, campaigners said Saturday.
The Sunni-led state saw the worst sectarian clashes since the 1990s last month after mainly Shi'ite protestors, emboldened by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, took to the streets.
Manama imposed martial law and invited in troops from Saudi Arabia and other Sunni allies to keep order.
(h/t Dibsa 4/15) -
Is Bahrain Creating a New Terrorist Threat?
On April 4, the Saudi cabinet issued a statement claiming that "peace and stability" had returned to Bahrain "as a result of the wisdom of its leadership in dealing with its internal matters and because of its people giving priority to national interests." Nearly three weeks earlier, the Saudi-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) had sent some 1,200 troops across the 16-mile causeway linking the two countries. Their official mission was to secure key government facilities from the thousands of protesters who had taken to the streets since Feb. 17. Unofficially, they were there to send a chilling, unequivocal message: Game over
(h/t Dibsa 4/15) -
Bahrain says will not disband opposition groups: minister
Bahrain's foreign minister said on Friday the Gulf Arab state was not trying to dissolve the biggest opposition party, in comments that came after the United States criticized legal action against the group, Wefaq.
Bahrain's Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs said on Thursday it would dissolve Wefaq and another group in Bahrain's toughest crackdown yet on Shi'ite dissidents who led an uprising to demand more say in the Sunni-ruled monarchy.
"A clarification: Bahrain is not seeking to dissolve political societies, official statement was incorrect," Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa wrote in a Twitter message
(h/t dibsa 4/15) -
Second Blogger to Ever Die in Prison: This Week in Online Tyranny
In the midst of protests in that Gulf country that have already seen casualties, and following the arrest of a poet, Bahraini blogger Zakariya Rashid Hassan al-Ashiri died Saturday while in custody of the country's security services.
According to Al Jazeera, the official statement said that al-Ashiri was "held since the second of this month on charges of inciting hatred against the regime and the promotion of sectarian" and his death was a result of "sickle cell anemia." His family vehemently denied he had this condition.
Al-Ashiri follows Omid Reza Misayafi, the Iranian blogger, who died from neglect (at least) two years ago, as the second blogger to die in custody.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the diagnosis was contested by his family. There are also photos alleged to be of al-Ashir, that indicate he was beaten to death. (These are terrible photos. Be warned.) The man responsible for posting the photos, Nabeel Rajab, was subsequently arrested by the Bahrain government for allegedly doctoring them.
(h/t Dibsa 4/15) -
Health of Bahrain hunger striker slumps as regime comes under pressure
Britain and the EU have heaped diplomatic pressure on Bahrain over the alleged killing of pro-democracy activists in custody, while the health of a hunger striker protesting against the beating and arrest of her dissident father has deteriorated markedly.
In a meeting with interior minister Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, the British ambassador to Bahrain, Jamie Bowden, raised concerns over the deaths of four dissident prisoners in the last week. Catherine Ashton, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs, speaking through a spokesman also called on the Bahrain regime to immediately release all those who have been detained for peacefully expressing themselves. Ashton announced she is to visit Bahrain next week and her spokesman called on the authorities to "investigate all recent events which have resulted in loss of life and injuries".
COTE D'IVOIRE
(h/t dibsa 4/15) -
Ouattara Government Forms New Ivory Coast Army
n Ivory Coast, President Alassane Ouattara's new government is recruiting more security forces to improve conditions in the commercial capital after more than four months of political violence. Life is increasingly returning to normal less than a week after the arrest of former president Laurent Gbagbo.
In the fight to bring President Ouattara to power after he won November's vote, groups of young men rose up in pro-Ouattara neighborhoods of Abidjan to confront former president Gbagbo's army.
DJIBOUTI
(h/t Dibsa 4/13 ) -
Djibouti validates presidential poll results
Djibouti's constitutional council on Wednesday validated results of last week's presidential poll which showed that incumbent Ismael Omar Guelleh won 80 percent of votes in a contest boycotted by the opposition.
The 63-year-old Guelleh faced a single independent candidate, Mohamed Warsama Ragueh, who took 19 percent in last Friday's elections.
Opposition groups had stayed out of the polls in protest at constitutional changes overseen by Guelleh that allowed him to run for a third term, but which he said would be his last.
Turnout from the 152,000 registered voters was 75 percent.
Guelleh has ruled the small but strategic country since 1999.
Djibouti hosts the largest oversees French military base as well as the only US army base in Africa
(h/t JustJennifer 4/12 ) - Djibouti: President Ismael Omar Guelleh wins third term
The president of Djibouti has secured a third term in office after a landslide election victory, despite recent protests against his rule.
Ismail Omar Guelleh has won 80% of the votes cast, according to the country's electoral commission.
The opposition had urged a boycott of Friday's polls, alleging irregularities.
EGYPT
(h/t jnhobbs 4/16) - Egypt dissolves former ruling party
An Egyptian court has dissolved the former ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and ordered its funds and property to be handed over to the government.
The Higher Administrative Court issued the order on Saturday, meeting one of the key demands of the protest movement that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak in February.
"The administrative court issued a ruling to dissolve the NDP and seize its money, and its headquarters and buildings will be handed to the government," a judicial source said.
(h/t JustJennifer 4/15) - Muslim Brotherhood denies backing ElBaradei as presidential candidate
Sobhi Saleh, lawyer and member of the Constitutional Amendments Committee, has quashed reports that the Muslim Brotherhood group backs the former International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei as a candidate for the upcoming presidential elections.
Saleh, a former MP of the Islamic group, said that the news circulated by Egyptian daily newspapers Al-Shrouk and El-Dostour is groundless.
“When I was asked, by one of the attendees, about ElBaradei’s possibilities as a candidate for the upcoming presidential elections, I said he, as an Egyptian, has the right to contend the post, but the people will say the final word,” Saleh said.
(h/t JustJennifer 4/15) - Mubarak's arrest appeases protesters, for now
The arrest and detainment of Mubarak and his sons seems to have appeased many of the country's revolutionaries with only around 300 protesters making it to Tahrir Square today.
The sight of the relatively empty square this week stands in stark contrast with the image of millions of protesters filling its every inch last week. However, it seems that the decision by the prosecutor-general to arrest Mubarak and his sons, a long-time demand of the revolution, has had an impact.
Some of the protesters who made it to the square today are calling for a speedy trial for Mubarak, who was given a 15 day jail sentence last Tuesday. A huge banner calls for him to be handed the death sentence for killing the protesters during the 18 days of protests leading up to his ouster. Another has an image of Safwat El Sherif, former secretary-general of the NDP, behind bars in celebration of his imprisonment in Tora Prison, south of Cairo. Other protesters in the square repeat the old line of solidarity between the people and the army.
(h/t Dibsa 4/15) - Prosecutor orders Mubarak back from Red Sea
Egypt's top prosecutor has ordered deposed President Hosni Mubarak to be moved from a hospital at a Red Sea resort to a military hospital for questioning about the deaths of protesters and allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
Prosecutor General Abdel Maguid Mahmoud did not name the hospital in Friday's announcement, but the Armed Forces International Center, 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Cairo, is known to be one of Egypt's best hospitals. Reporters noticed an unusual number of guards there.
Since his Feb. 11 ouster, Mubarak and members of his family have been under house arrest at their compound in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The 82-year-old Mubarak was taken to a hospital there for unspecified heart problems on Tuesday, the day his questioning began
IRAN
(h/t Dibsa 4/13) - US welcomes EU sanctions on 32 Iranian officials
The US has welcomed the European Union's sactions on 32 Iranian officials who were allegedly involved in human rights abuses.
The European Union yesterday had imposed assets freezes and travel bans on the Iranian officials, saying they had been involved in human rights violations.
"These designations are an important reminder to Iran that the international community will continue to hold accountable those responsible for abuses against the Iranian people," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said.
In a statement, Carney asked Iran to respect and protect the universal rights of its citizens.
"We will continue to work closely with the EU and other like-minded partners to ensure that the cause of human rights remains at the forefront of our efforts in support of the Iranian people," he said.
IRAQ
(h/t Dibsa 4/14) - Iraqi Youths’ PoliticalRise Is Stunted by Elites
On the streets, the voices of young demonstrators and journalists have been muted by the batons and bullets of elite security units that answer only to a prime minister who officials say personally sends orders by text message.
An Iraq spring it is not.
In a country where the demographics skew even younger than in places like Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, the wave of political change in the region has laid bare a generation gap here split by old resentments nurtured by dictatorship and war and a youthful grasping for a stake in the new Iraq. “The younger generation is ready to go forward; they are carrying less resentments,” said Rawaz M. Khoshnaw, 32, a Kurdish member of Parliament, in a recent interview
(h/t Dibsa 4/13) - Iraqi authorities must halt attacks on protesters
The Iraqi authorities must stop attacks on peaceful protesters calling for an end to unemployment, poor services, and corruption and demanding political reforms, Amnesty International said today in a new report.
Days of Rage: Protests and Repression in Iraq documents how Iraqi and Kurdish forces have shot and killed protesters, including three teenage boys, threatened, detained and tortured political activists, as well as targeting journalists covering the protests.
“The Iraqi authorities must end the use of intimidation and violence against those Iraqis peacefully calling for political and economic reforms,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“Eight years on from the end of Saddam Hussain’s long and grossly oppressive rule, it is high time that Iraqis are allowed to exercise their rights to peaceful protest and expression free from violence at the hands of government security forces. The authorities in both Baghdad and the Kurdistan region must cease their violent crackdowns.”
JORDAN
(h/t Dibsa 4/15) -
Dozens wounded as protesters clash in Jordan
Hundreds of protesting Islamic hard-liners clashed with supporters of Jordan's king on Friday, wounding dozens, in the latest move by the extremist movement to assert itself amid the country's wave of anti-government demonstrations.
A crowd of about 350 extremist Salafi Muslims faced off with a slightly smaller group of pro-king loyalists in the town of Zarqa. Salafis beat the government supporters with clubs and fists, and the two sides hurled stones at each other, leaving people bloodied on the ground.
The Salafi movement — an ultra-conservative version of Islam with an ideology similar to al-Qaida's — is banned in Jordan, but it has grown in strength in recent years and Salafis have held a series of rallies in various parts of the country in recent weeks
KUWAIT
(h/t UnaSpenser 04/06 ) - Rally against Kuwait PM's reappointment sees poor turnout
A protest against the prime minister this week failed to attract a large crowd after Sheikh Nasser Mohammed al Sabah was appointed to the post for the seventh consecutive time.
Sheikh Nasser was reappointed by the emir, Sheikh Sabah al Ahmed al Jaber al Sabah, on Tuesday, five days after the government resigned to prevent ministers from facing questions in parliament.
"We can't accept this. We didn't expect it," said a member of the youth group Kafi, requesting anonymity, at the protest in the "Square of Change" on Tuesday. Kafi is one of several organisations, supported by opposition members of parliament, which have called for a new prime minister at public rallies since March.
"They're taking a big chance by appointing him for the seventh time," the protester said. The groups want a new prime minister to put a stop to the country's economic decline, he said. Some of the protests have attracted several hundred supporters, but on Tuesday, just two dozen Kuwaitis gathered in the square. "We have a low turnout because this wasn't planned," another member of Kafi, who also asked to remain anonymous, said, adding that the media's critical treatment of protesters has put people off.
LEBANON
(h/tUnaSpenser 04/06) - Protests in Lebanon Spread Southward
Tyre and Sidon, South Lebanon's largest cities, are both witnessing open protests in their centers. The protests which started in the capital Beirut on February 27th have now reached the south.
Hundreds of protesters in these cities are demanding an end to the countries' current political power-sharing system. Demonstrators say that this system has done nothing but strengthen the roots of religious discrimination in the community and at the same time has failed to provide them with the most basic needs such as education, employment and medical care.
Although the majority of these protestors believe, there is little chance that their demands will be met by government officials, the recent popular uprisings in other parts of the Arab World have given them hope.
On the other hand, some believe that this system which goes a long way back in history, was first formed to preserve the rights of the minorities in the country.
LIBYA
(h/t Dibsa 4/15) - Qaddafi Troops Fire Cluster Bombs Into Civilian Areas
Military forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, who have surrounded this city and vowed to crush its anti-Qaddafi rebellion, have been firing into residential neighborhoods with heavy weapons, including cluster bombs that have been banned by much of the world and ground-to-ground rockets, according to the accounts of witnesses and survivors and physical evidence on the ground.
(h/t Dibsa 4/15) -
NATO leaders say Kadhafi must go
The leaders of Britain, France and the United States said a Libyan future including Moamer Kadhafi is "unthinkable", as the defiant fist-pumping strongman toured the streets of Tripoli.
On the ground, Libyan rebels fired off barrages of rockets from west of Ajdabiya Friday as they advanced towards the key eastern oil refinery town of Brega to see if pro-regime forces had been rolled back by NATO warplanes.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and US President Barack Obama penned a joint article dismissing a Libyan future with Kadhafi as "unthinkable" and saying his staying on would represent an "unconscionable betrayal" by the rest of the world
(h/t Dibsa 4/15) -
Gadhafi's daughter sends defiant message
From her father's compound, struck by U.S. bombs exactly 25 years ago, Moammar Gadhafi's daughter sent a defiant message early Friday: Libya was not defeated by airstrikes then and won't be defeated now, she told a cheering crowd.
The daughter, Aisha, pumped her right fist as she led the audience in late-night chants from the second-floor balcony of the badly damaged Bab Aziziyah compound, targeted by U.S. warplanes in 1986. "Leave our skies with your bombs," she said, referring to NATO airstrikes that had struck Tripoli just hours earlier.
Gadhafi, in power for 42 years, has been testing the international community's resolve on the battle field. On Thursday, his forces shelled the besieged western Libyan town of Misrata, where rebels are clinging to positions near the port area, their only link to the outside world
RESOURCES:
The full text of UN Resolution 1970 on Libya.
The full text of UN Resolution 1973 on Libya.
President Obama's letter to Congress regarding commencement of operations in Libya. (h/t greenbird)
Al Jazeera Libyan live blog. (h/t jnhobbs)
UK Telegraph Libyan live blog. (h/t bee tzu)
BBC Libyan live blog found here. (h/t greenbird)
The New Yorker Dispatches from Libya. (h/t suejazz)
BBC's Libyan crisis mapped. (h/t phil S 33)
revolutionology is a blog from an American in Benghazi
MAURITANIA
(h/t UnaSpenser 04/06 ) - Mauritania Opposition Wants Senatorial Election Postponed
The polls should only take place once “an agreement between the political parties to assure the transparency and the regularity of the ballot” is secured, the Coordination of the Democratic Opposition said in an e-mailed statement today from Nouakchott, the capital.
MOROCCO
(h/t Dibsa 4/14 ) - Moroccan king pardons prisoners
Morocco's Justice Ministry says the king has granted pardons or lightened sentences for 190 prisoners in response to a request from an official human rights body.
King Mohammed VI took the step as this country is seeing small-scale but regular protests by activists demanding greater democratic freedoms, amid demonstrations around the Arab world.
The ministry said in a statement carried by the MAP news agency that the king's decision meant 190 people had their sentences commuted, had death penalties converted to limited prison terms, or had prison terms reduced. The statement did not say what they were convicted for.
Independent activists have said suspects detained under Morocco's counterterrorism laws are routinely subjected to human rights violations
(h/t JustJennifer 4/12) - Is Morocco next in line for mass uprisings?
Pro-democracy activists in Morocco are gearing up for more mass demonstrations this month, unsatisfied with the king's pledge to carry out "comprehensive" constitutional reform.
Inspired by the success of protesters elsewhere in North Africa, tens of thousands of Moroccans took to the streets on 20 February.
King Mohammed VI responded three weeks later, promising changes that would dilute his absolute hold on power.
The prime minister calls it a "peaceful revolution". But the protest leaders insist the proposals fall far short of their demands.
OMAN
(h/t JustJennifer 4/12) - Two Omani activists abducted by masked men
Two prominent democracy activists in Oman were abducted and abused by masked men in what they say was an effort to stop their protest activities, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.
“We were heading to Rusayl (district of Muscat) when a group of masked men waylaid us. They came in two vehicles — one was a saloon taxi and the other was a van,” Saeed Al-Hashmi was quoted as saying in the English-language Times of Oman.
He said he and colleague Basma Al Rajhia were roughed up in a remote area before being released.
QATAR
(h/t lotlizard 3/26 ) -
Why Qatar seems immune from the Arab world's revolutionary fever
Qatar, which has a population of around 1.5 million, approximately 200,000 of whom are Qatari citizens, has an unemployment rate of half a percent. Its GDP per capita of $145,300 is the highest in the world and its 2010 growth rate was 19.4 percent, also ranking it No. 1 in 2010.
Its comparably small, docile population allows Sheikh al-Thani to operate a rentier state: Qataris don't pay income tax, and they're provided with free utilities and health care. Education is also heavily subsidized, with Qatari students often receiving full scholarships to attend universities. In exchange for these perks, Qataris allow Sheikh al-Thani to rule unopposed.
The country's migrant laborers, primarily from Southeast Asia, are frequently underpaid and abused. The controversial Sponsorship Law, which other Gulf countries have recently abolished, prohibits them from leaving the country without permission from their sponsor, essentially dictating a relationship of indentured servitude. Southeast Asian laborers have virtually no political voice in Qatar. If they were to take to the streets and protest, they'd be deported
SAUDI ARABIA
(h/t Dibsa 4/12)Why the United States should push Saudi Arabia toward democracy
For the sake of both countries, the United States should press for democratic reforms in Saudi Arabia, rather than looking the other way.
This story was originally covered by PRI's The Takeaway. For more, listen to the audio above.
The democracy protests that have broken out across the Middle East have not toppled the ruling family in Saudi Arabia, but it has many of them scared. "Essential you've got a gerontocracy that doesn't function very well at the moment," Martin Indyk, former US Ambassador to Israel and Director of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution told PRI's The Takeaway, "and when it looks out at its borders, it sees the flames of revolt licking at every one of them."
"In Yemen, you've got a revolt," Indyk points out, "the country is imploding, probably to the benefit of al Qaeda." Protests have broken out in neighboring Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq. And the King's ally, Honsi Mubarak, has already fallen from power. On top of that, King Abdullah is "in his mid 80s, he's not well," according to Indyk, and "his crown prince could well die before he does."
(h/t Dibsa 4/12) - Saudi Arabia sees fresh protests
Protesters staged fresh demonstrations in Saudi Arabia on Friday, calling on the government to release Shiite prisoners and grant more rights, human rights activists said.
The protests, which were peaceful, also called for the withdrawal of regional forces from neighboring Bahrain, according to the activists, who requested their names not be used because they had concerns for their safety.
All the protesters were Shiite. The protests took place in the city of Qatif and the village of Awamiyya, both in the country's Eastern Province, and each the scene of similar protests in March
SYRIA
(h/t Dibsa 4/15) -
Tear gas fired in further Syrian protests
The violence in the Damascus suburb of Douma was the only major unrest reported during protests in several *Syrian* cities on Friday, the main day for demonstrations across the Arab world.
The protesters in Douma held up yellow cards, which they said was a football-inspired warning to the regime.
"This is our first warning, next time we will come with the red cards," said one protester.
The largest protests were in Douma and in the southern city of Daraa, which has become the epicentre of the protest movement. Witnesses said there were up to 100,000 people outside the capital and at least 20,000 in Daraa.
Meanwhile in Jordan, dozens were injured when hundreds of protesting Islamic hardliners clashed with supporters of the king, in the latest move by the extremist movement to assert itself amid the growing wave of unrest
(h/t Dibsa 4/15) -
Amateur video of Syrian security abuses
The first amateur video posted on a social website on Friday shows a crowd of Syrians running in Homs, the scene of recent crackdowns by the President Bashar al-Assad's regime, as gunshots in the background.
The other video posted on a social website shows Syrian security forces beating protesters while they are tied up and lying on the ground in the coastal city of Banias.
President Bashar al-Assad is battling a wave of protests across his tightly-controlled state in which rights groups say more than 200 people have been killed.
The demonstrations for greater freedoms have swept Syria for weeks despite a fierce security crackdown and vague promises of reform
(h/t Dibsa 4/15) -
Thousands protest across Syria against regime
Thousands of protesters massed across Syria after weekly Muslim prayers on Friday as a global outcry widened over a deadly crackdown on month-old, anti-regime demonstrations.
The protesters took to the streets of the restive city of Daraa as well as other centres in the Kurdish-populated northwest, a day after embattled President Bashar al-Assad unveiled a new government.
Activists said up to 3,000 protesters marched to the centre of Daraa and more were on their way to the southern city, where security forces shot dead at least seven people last Friday
(h/t Dibsa 4/15) -
Security forces fire tear gas on Syrian protesters
Eyewitnesses say Syrian security forces have fired tear gas at thousands of protesters who were marching toward the Syrian capital.
The eyewitnesses says tens of thousands of protesters were marching peacefully from the suburb of Douma when security forces tried to stop them by beating them and firing tear gas.
Crowds gathered in several Syrian cities on Friday, chanting "Freedom!" and demanding far greater reforms than the limited concessions offered by President Bashar Assad over the past four weeks.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below
(h/t JustJennifer 4/14) -
When AK-47s meet mobile phones: Syria's web activists
In Tunisia and Egypt, "Facebook" vied with "Down with the regime" on graffiti-filled walls -- so central were social media to mobilising mass protests that overthrew their authoritarian rulers.
But in tightly-controlled Syria, with a pervasive security apparatus, Internet penetration of less than 20 percent and heavy restrictions on foreign media, cyber activists are mostly using the web just to illustrate the extent of unrest.
"What we saw in Egypt and Tunisia was huge online activism turning offline (onto the streets)," said Wissam Tarif, a human rights activist who has been closely following the protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.
(h/t JustJennifer 4/14) -
Assad names government, frees detainees to defuse tension
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad unveiled a new cabinet on Thursday and ordered the release of detainees arrested during a month of unprecedented protests in an attempt to defuse tension ahead of demonstrations on Friday.
Assad's gestures were unlikely to appease protesters calling for greater freedoms, especially as the cabinet has little power in Syria. The release of detainees excluded those who committed crimes "against the nation and the citizens.
Hours after Assad's decrees, a pro-democracy demonstration erupted in Sweida, Syria's Druze heartland, a witness said.
TUNISIA
(h/t Dibsa 4/14) - Prominent member of Tunisian old guard arrested
Tunisian authorities have jailed a prominent ally of the longtime president who was ousted earlier this year.
The state news agency TAP said Thursday that Abderrahim Zouari was jailed after questioning by an investigating judge in the capital's main courthouse. It is unclear what charges he faces.
Zouari headed different government ministries and for several years led the country's ruling party, the RCD or Constitutional Democratic Assembly.
The RCD under President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali quashed dissent and imprisoned political opponents.
Ben Ali was ousted by a popular revolt in January. Tunisia's protest sparked uprisings around the Arab world.
The RCD has since been dissolved. Zouari is the latest of several Ben Ali allies to have been arrested.
(h/t dibsa 4/13) - Ben Ali ordered air strikes on Tunisia, says probe
Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ordered air strikes on a city involved in an uprising that led to his toppling in January, according to an investigator quoted by the media on Wednesday.
Ben Ali ordered strikes on the Ezzouhour area of the western city of Kasserine days before he quit on January 14 after weeks of protests, the head of a commission probing abuses during the revolt said in various reports.
The "intention was clearly to break the region and bring its people to their knees through collective and premeditated murder," commission head Taoufik Bouderbala was quoted as saying.
The order came days before Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia, ending 23 years in power, and was never carried out. The army had reportedly refused some orders from Ben Ali to crack down on protesters
(h/t Dibsa 4/12) - Tunisian ex-president's brother arrested
Slah Ben Ali was detained on Sunday evening in Sousse, to the south of the capital Tunis. He had been the subject of three arrest warrants, although their contents have not been revealed.
The former president, who has taken refuge in Saudi Arabia since he was forced from office on January 14 by a nationwide uprising, has three brothers who are still alive.
The interim authorities in Tunisia have also demanded the former president's extradition, along with his second wife Leila Trabelsi
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
(h/t Dibsa 4/13 ) - UAE blogger is in prison, but is being treated well, wife says
An Emirati blogger who has called for reform in the United Arab Emirates is being held in Al Wathba prison in Abu Dhabi, his wife said Wednesday
Ahmed Mansoor is being treated well, according to wife Nadia, who said she spoke to him Tuesday evening.
Mansoor's attorney, Abdul Hamid Al Kumity, said he is not aware of any charges against his client, but will meet with the prosecutor's office Wednesday.
Dubai police have told Al Kumity that two bottles of whiskey were found in Mansoor's house. Alcohol is available at hotels and select stores in the UAE, but Muslims are not allowed to buy or possess it
(h/t Dibsa 4/12 ) - Arrested UAE blogger accused of possessing alcohol
A prominent blogger and activist who called for democratic reform in the United Arab Emirates has been charged with possession of alcohol after being arrested last week, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
Ahmed Mansoor had received death threats online, which he said were for joining a petition demanding wider political representation and legislative powers for the Federal National Council, a parliamentary-style body
WESTERN SAHARA
(h/t Dibsa 4/14) - Morocco court frees Sahara activists after two years
A Casablanca court released from jail Thursday three activists for the independence of Western Sahara detained for more than two years and on trial for undermining Morocco's internal security.
Ali Salem Tamek, Ibrahim Dahhane and Ahmed Naciri were released just before they were to announce a hunger strike, their lawyer Mohamed Sadqo said.
Their trial has been postponed several times since they were arrested in October 2009 at Casablanca airport on their return from Algeria's western town of Tindouf, a base for the Western Sahara independence movement, the Polisario Front.
"We submitted the request for provisional liberty a long time ago. This decision of the court shows that there is not enough evidence to convict them," Sadqo said
YEMEN
(h/t angry marmot 4/16) - Thousands denounce Yemen leader's remarks on women
On Friday, President Ali Abdullah Saleh said in a speech that the mingling of men and women at "Change Square," where daily anti-government protests take place in the capital, was against Islamic law.
On Saturday, demonstrators countered that his comments were an insult to women and the people of Yemen as a whole.
Thousands of women marched in Sanaa and several other cities to denounce the comments.
The revolutionary youth who have been behind the two months of anti-government protests in this impoverished country, urged the people to come out to the streets in millions on Sunday for a day of "honor and dignity."
(h/t UnaSpenser 4/15) - Yemen opposition sets deadline for Saleh exit
Yemen's opposition has set a two-week deadline for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step aside, rejecting a Saudi-brokered, Gulf-backed initiative to end the country's political turmoil.
"We have renewed our emphasis on the need for speeding the process of (Saleh) standing down within two weeks. Therefore we will not go to Riyadh," Mohammed al-Mutawakkil, a prominent opposition leader, said on Thursday, referring to the proposed talks in the Saudi capital.
This comes a day after five people were killed in the Yemeni capital Sanaa as forces loyal to a defected army general and pro-government fighters clashed, Al Jazeera's correspondents said.
(h/t Dibsa 4/15) -
Massive rival Yemen rallies for, against president
Yemenis have turned out in massive crowds across the country to demand their embattled president immediately step down, while his loyalists are rallying in his support in the capital Sanaa.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh told tens of thousands gathered near his presidential office that their huge number gives him legitimacy and is a "rejection of chaos."
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands held an anti-regime protest after Friday prayers outside Sanaa University. There are also massive protests demanding Saleh's ouster in southern Taiz city, the port of Aden and eastern Hadramawt province
It bears repeating - Please Rec this diary.
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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you choose 1 or more countries you wish to gather citations for
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It's really that simple! Please join us.
Resources:
Note: The old Mothership Diary has good 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 OR 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
@March15Syria - Syria
@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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