You are in the 191st Witness Revolution diary, 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 of the brave people striving 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
SYRIA
Syrian demonstrators raise an effigy of Bashar as the death toll of those murdered by the regime for speaking out against oppression reaches over 1,000:
Libya
NZ family grieves photographer's slaying in Libya
Anton Hammerl, 41, who lived in London, was shot in the stomach and abandoned in the Libyan desert by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi on April 5, family friend Bronwyn Friedlander said in London.
Two American journalists and a Spanish photographer, who were with him at the time, were taken captive.
His family believed Mr Hammerl was detained, but his colleagues confirmed his death after being released in Tripoli on Thursday.
"From the moment Anton disappeared in Libya we have lived in hope as the Libyan officials assured us that they had Anton," his family said in a statement.
"It is intolerably cruel that Gaddafi loyalists have known Anton's fate all along and chose to cover it up."
YEMEN
Friday May 20th saw huge rallies throughout Yemen. It has been reported that over 1.5 million people were in Taiz alone:
More news listed country by country below the fold...
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ABOUT OUR GROUP
Eyes on Egypt and the Region produces a different series of diaries which provide background and analysis on the region in general and on individual countries. We hope those provide context for you as you read about current events. The published diaries in that series are:
Eyes on Egypt and the Region Background Resources
See the group stream for even more diaries.
DO YOU KNOW OF GOOD READING MATERIAL?
We collect suggested readings for background reference materials in support of the Eyes on Egypt and the Region group. These may be non-fiction or fiction, general to the region or specific to a country or issue. If there are resources which you believe could 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 message to angry marmot.
Libyan Doctors for Hospitals in Libya is an impressive new aide organization launched by one of our own: StepLeftStepForward.
NEWS UPDATES
GENERAL ANALYSIS
(h/t Dibsa 5/17)
Obama's Reset: Arab Spring or Same Old Thing?
This week, the words will take center stage. On Thursday, according to administration officials, President Obama will “reset” American policy in the Middle East with a major address offering a comprehensive look at the Arab Spring, “a unified theory about the popular uprisings from Tunisia to Bahrain,” and possibly a new administration approach to the region.
ALGERIA
(h/t Dibsa 5/20) - Algeria to hold reform talks, boycotted by opposition
ALGIERS (AFP) – Algerian political leaders are preparing to start talks on democratic reforms on Saturday, but the opposition plans a no-show to protest what they call a feeble attempt at real change
BAHRAIN
(h/t Dibsa 5/20) - Rage as Cameron welcomes Bahrain crown prince
London, May 20 (IANS) The British prime minister has invited ire by welcoming the crown prince of Bahrain in a high-profile photo call on the steps of 10 Downing Street.
(h/t Dibsa 5/20) - Kingdom of Bahrain Welcomes Obama's Speech
MANAMA, Bahrain, May 19, 2011 -- PRNewswire-USNewswire -- (BNA) The Cabinet of the Kingdom of Bahrain welcomed today the principles contained in the speech delivered by the U.S. President Barack Obama that included visions and principles that agree with democratic strategy adopted by Bahrain under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
(h/t Dibsa 5/20) - The Bahrain Dilemma: Obama's Speech No Solution, but a Step Closer
With his address on the Middle East, President Obama surprised many observers by condemning the Bahraini government, a close U.S. ally. But will it be enough?
(h/t Dibsa 5/20) - PR Mercenaries, Their Dictator Masters, and the Human Rights Stain
Maryam al-Khawaja took the stage at the Oslo Freedom Forum last Tuesday and stunned the audience with her experiences of government violence in the Kingdom of Bahrain. She described the killing of student protestors, the torture of democracy advocates, and how human rights defenders are "disappeared." Maryam also detailed how troops from a neighboring dictatorship, Saudi Arabia, rushed into Bahrain to prop up the crown prince's regime.
BURKINA FASO
(h/t Dibsa 5/19 ) - Two dead, 25 injured in Burkina ethnic clashes
OUAGADOUGOU — An outbreak of ethnic violence left two people dead and 25 injured in Burkina Faso's Solenzo region, prompting authorities to impose a nightime curfew, officials said Wednesday.
(h/t Dibsa 5/17 ) - Burkina Faso's long-serving president moves to placate critics
Taking advantage of a lull in the widespread unrest that has rocked the country since February, the president of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaoré, has launched a counter-attack to placate critics at home and reassure the international community. It will be an uphill struggle.
(h/t Dibsa 5/16 ) - Gunfire reported at Burkina Faso barracks
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso -- Witnesses are reporting gunfire at an army barracks in the West African nation of Burkina Faso.
The latest unrest erupted Saturday evening and continued early Sunday at the Po barracks near the Ghanaian border. The facility hosts a training center for senior officers and commanders
COTE D'IVOIRE
(h/t Dibsa 5/20 ) - Ivory Coast set for party but can Ouattara clean up?
Supporters of Ivory Coast's new President Alassane Ouattara are preparing for a massive ceremony to mark his inauguration this weekend, but for some it has come at a heavy price
(h/t Dibsa 5/20 ) - Rights Group: Justice Needed for Grave Crimes in Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara is being called on to bring to justice to those who allegedly committed human rights abuses and crimes against humanity.
DJIBOUTI
(h/t UnaSpenser 4/14 ) -
JIBOUTI: WHY NO ONE CARES
section of article which covers pro-democracy movements throughout Africa
Whilst the world was watching Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt and Libya, Djibouti had an election on 8 April. With no opposition, a state-controlled media and no civil society movement, it was easy enough for President Omar Guelleh to change the constitution allowing him to run for a third term - thereby continuing 35 year rule by the same family. But this little dictatorship is strategically central to the US Africa Command (2,000 US troops are based here) and the NATO countries. Unlike in Libya, Djibouti's 1 million population can expect no support from the West in their small attempts to have a voice.
EGYPT
(h/t Dibsa 5/20) - Torture and imprisonment of Egypt protesters still rife, says human rights activist
The most worrying development of the past few months has been the detentions and trials conducted by the military. It's a very worrying precedent at the very time when people are looking to see how Egypt is going to manage the transitional process in terms of issues of justice and accountability.
IRAN
(h/t JustJennifer 5/12 ) - Ahmadinejad and the Ayatollahs
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may soon be ousted from office by the ayatollahs who control Iran. More importantly, there may be a split within the principal Iranian military/terrorist force that is destabilizing the regime.
This is not another popular uprising like the one that led to the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. But it may be related to the so-called "Arab spring" in an oddly Iranian way.
IRAQ
(h/t Dibsa 5/19) - Anger Lingers in Iraqi Kurdistan After a Crackdown
SULAIMANIYA, Iraq — The protesters are gone from the central square, pushed out by the brutal tactics of the security forces. The jails have been emptied of the young students and journalists who were rounded up for speaking their mind in public. The wounded are home, quietly nursing their injuries
ISRAEL
(h/t Dibsa 4/21 ) - Israeli leftists call for Palestinian state
TEL AVIV (AFP) – Some 300 Israeli left-wingers, including prominent cultural leaders, gathered in Tel Aviv on Thursday to call for the Jewish state to embrace the creation of a Palestinian state.
The activists met to sign a petition, which is endorsed by 17 winners of the prestigious Israel Prize, in a symbolic ceremony in front of the building where the state of Israel was proclaimed on May 14, 1948.
The ceremony was met with anger by several dozen right-wing protesters who also gathered at the site and had to be kept away by a heavy police presence, an AFP photographer at the scene said
JORDAN
(h/t Dibsa 5/20) -
Jordanians want 'corrupt, oppressive' govt sacked
AMMAN (AFP) – Thousands of Jordanians demonstrated on Friday across the kingdom, calling for regime reforms as well as the sacking of what they called the "corrupt and oppressive" government
KUWAIT
(h/t JustJennifer 5/10) - Kuwaiti legislators walk out in protest at old faces in new cabinet
At least 15 Kuwaiti lawmakers withdrew from Tuesday's parliamentary session as the cabinet was sworn in, to protest the re-appointment of former ministers.
The swearing-in comes two days after Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al- Ahmad al-Sabah appointed the new cabinet, in which he retained all the former key ministers.
LEBANON
(h/t UnaSpenser 04/19 ) - Turkish envoy to Lebanon: Democracy will spread
Turkey's ambassador to Lebanon, Inan Ozyildiz, believes that despite the recent political uncertainty, all political actors in Lebanon are "engaging in dialogue," and expects democracy to take root in every country in the Arab world.
"Although every country in the region has its own characteristics and political history, the people of the Middle East have a common demand: Democracy," said Ozyildiz.
According to Ozyildiz, the Arab world's transition to democracy is late in coming. "These uprisings were kind of late, they should have started immediately after the end of the Cold War," said Ozyildiz.
LIBYA
(h/t Dibsa 5/20) - Obama likely to miss deadline for congressional approval of Libya operations
President Obama appears likely to miss a legal deadline Friday — set under the terms of a 1973 law — that requires him to obtain congressional approval for U.S. military operations in Libya.
(h/t Dibsa 5/20) - NATO hits eight Libyan warships
TRIPOLI (AFP) – NATO said on Friday that its warplanes had hit eight vessels of Moamer Kadhafi's navy, after US President Barack Obama predicted the veteran Libyan strongman would "inevitably" leave or be forced from power
RESOURCES:
A vision of a democratic Libya an 8-point plan from the National Transitional Council
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 dibsa 4/26) - Mauritanian police use teargas to break up protest
NOUAKCHOTT, April 25 (Reuters) - Security forces using teargas and batons dispersed several hundred anti-government protesters in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott on Monday, the most serious clash in the West African state for nearly two months.
MOROCCO
(h/t Dibsa 5/19 ) - Besieged monarchs
The announcement last week in Riyadh that the Gulf Cooperation Council welcomed bids by Jordan and Morocco to join the organisation was met first with grunts of derision and then guffaws of mockery across the Arab world. But analysts are now realising that this is serious initiative by the six-nation member states of the GCC to counter the growing influence of Iran in the region and to find alternative ways of defending their common interests, following successful popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, without having to rely on the United States.
(h/t Dibsa 5/18 ) - Morocco says no secret torture at intelligence HQ
RABAT, May 18 (Reuters) - Morocco's national prosecutor inspected the headquarters of the domestic intelligence service on Wednesday and later denied protesters' claims that it contained a secret prison where detainees are tortured
OMAN
(h/t Dibsa 5/19) - The world's enduring dictators: Qaboos bin Said, Oman
This is an installment in the WorldWatch series, "The world's enduring dictators," inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, in which CBSNews.com takes a look at the men who continue to rule their lands unimpeded by law. See a complete explanation of the series and a list of others profiled here.
(h/t Dibsa 5/18) - Oman must charge or release detained protesters
The Omani authorities must say where and why they are holding some six people arrested during a recent peaceful protest in the capital Muscat, Amnesty International said today, as more than two dozen others faced trial on protest-related charges.
PALESTINE
(h/t Dibsa 5/20 ) - Palestinian protesters injured by Israeli fire in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Two young Palestinians were moderately wounded in Gaza on Friday when Israeli troops opened fire at a protest near the border fence, a medical source said
QATAR
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Protests planned in Oman over failure to act on jobs pledge
MUSCAT Protest organisers in Oman were planning demonstrations outside the civil service offices in the capital yesterday, claiming the government has failed to fulfil its promise to create tens of thousands of jobs
SAUDI ARABIA
(h/t Dibsa 5/20) - Saudi Arabia Appoints Officials as Protests Sweep Through Region
Saudi Arabia named officials in several departments amid a wave of demonstrations across the Middle East by protesters demanding civil rights.
SYRIA
(h/t Dibsa 5/20) - Syrian Police Open Fire on Protesters, Killing 26
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Thousands of Syrians defied a ferocious crackdown and took to the streets Friday in what appeared to mark new momentum and a potentially dangerous turn in the nine-week uprising against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. Human rights activists said at least 26 people were killed when security forces opened fire in several cities
TUNISIA
(h/t Dibsa 5/18) - Tunisian capital curfew lifted
TUNIS (AFP) – An overnight curfew imposed on the Tunisian capital this month after several days of unrest has been lifted, the interior ministry announced Wednesday.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
(h/t Dibsa 5/5 ) - FACTBOX-Political risks to watch in the United Arab Emirates
(Reuters) - As political upheaval sweeps through the Arab world, the federation of seven emirates remains one of two unaffected Gulf Arab states, in addition to Qatar.
The per capita incomes of the UAE and Qatar remain among the highest in the world -- eighth and third, respectively -- thanks to their relatively small populations and oil and gas wealth.
(h/t Dibsa 5/4 ) -
UAE: Human rights officials condemn government crackdown
Human rights advocates decried what they called a “crackdown on civil society” in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday after authorities replaced the leadership of the country's teachers association, a well-established group that had called for democratic reforms, with government officials sympathetic to the administration.
“This attack on civil society is further proof that those in power in the UAE see anyone calling for reform as fair game,” Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director of the New York-based nonprofit organization Human Rights Watch, said in a Tuesday statement. “UAE authorities should immediately stop their hostile takeover of civil society and free the peaceful democracy activists.”
WESTERN SAHARA
(h/t Dibsa 5/17) - Killed in Western Sahara by a bomb shaped like a ball
Twenty years after a ceasefire brought a halt to a long-running conflict in Western Sahara, cluster bombs used by the Moroccan armed forces are still claiming victims - among them children attracted by their toy-like size and shape
YEMEN
(h/t Dibsa 5/20) - Yemen's Saleh says wants early presidential vote
SANAA (AFP) – Embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh told thousands of supporters on Friday that he wants an early presidential election to end a political crisis after months of deadly anti-regime protests.
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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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
NOTE: We renamed the original "Egypt Liveblog" to "Witnessing Revolution". From Egypt the pro-democracy fire 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 changed names.
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