NOTE: Soon we will rename 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. EoE&R is an acronym for the previous name, which is also the group name, so it seems redundant. The number sequence will be continuous. The group name will remain the same. Only this particular diary series within the group will have a name change.
You are in the the 136th diary of the liveblog of the 2011 uprisings throughout North Africa and the Middle East. We stand with our international friends and their courageous struggle for dignity, self-determination and human rights.
PLS REC this diary. PLS UNREC the previous diary.
The liveblog is primarily for witnessing, for other activities see the group stream.
We are in the process of collecting suggested readings for background reference materials in support of the Eyes on Egypt and the Region group. These readings may be either non-fiction or fiction, general to the region or specific to a country or issue. If there are resources which you believe aid our understanding of the events and processes we are witnessing, please either a) post a comment in the Liveblog with the title "Suggested reading:" and a brief description of the reading in the body of the comment, or b) send your suggestions via the dKos internal mailer to angry marmot.
Libyan Doctors for Hospitals in Libya an impressive new aide organization launched by one of our own: StepLeftStepForward.
Please place links and info for intervention ideas (humanitarian and beyond) in comments titled "Intervention". We encourage you to provide information without imploring, disrespecting those who might not pursue the intervention, or engaging long debates about the merits. With uniform content labeling, those interested can readily find them and those who want to produce intervention diaries can gather the data efficiently. Please post the link if you do produce an intervention resource diary. We'll include it in the next updated liveblog. Thank you.
The group is producing a series of diaries that provide background and analysis on the region in general and on individual countries. We hope to provide a context for interpreting current events in the news. The published diaries in the series are:
A Region in Protest and Revolt
Will Arab Nationalism Shape the Course of the Reviolutions?
Saudi Arabia Background.
LIBYA:
(h/t Richard Lyon ) - Arab League opposed to any foreign intervention in Libya
The Arab League on Wednesday said it was opposed to forms of foreign intervention in Libya, as reports emerged that two US warships passed through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean.
'The Libyan crisis was an internal Arab affair that did not require foreign intervention,' an Arab League statement said.
(h/t unaspenser ) - Interactive map of action in Libya
(h/t unaspenser) - Libya: Col Gaddafi to face ICC war crimes probe
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, his sons and Libya's most senior security officials are to be investigated for war crimes against the Libyan people by international prosecutors.
More regional tidbits after the fold....bold section names indicate fresh content...
PLS REC THIS DIARY! Will you please do the following to keep our dKos community eyes on our international friends risking their lives for self-determination?
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GENERAL ANALYSIS:
(h/t Richard Lyon)BACKGROUND: The changing face of the Arab world
For decades, political stagnation was a common theme in the Arab world. However, since the outbreak of mass protests in Tunisia 10 weeks ago, the region's political landscape has changed beyond recognition.
EGYPT:
(h/t Richard Lyon ) - Egyptian prime minister resigns; demonstrations for reform still planned
The prime minister appointed by ousted President Hosni Mubarak resigned Thursday as Egypt's revolutionary movement prepared for mass demonstrations against him. The resignation of Ahmed Shafik, a former air force general and one of the most potent holdover symbols of the Mubarak regime, was announced on the ruling military council's website. He had been criticized for his condescending air toward young protesters and a lack of vision.
(h/t dmac)Egypt Military Accepts Shafik Resignation, Asks Sharaf to Form Government
Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik resigned, caving in to protesters who are insisting that all Cabinet members named by former President Hosni Mubarak leave office.
The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said it accepted the resignation and asked former minister of transportation Essam Sharaf to form a new Cabinet, the council said on its Facebook page.
(h/t angry marmot) - Youth coalition's demands and time-table
The January 25 youth coalition committee has presented its demands to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Some were listed as urgent and others as long term demands.
(h/t Richard Lyon ) - Egypt's revolution has been 10 years in the making
In the 1990s, one could only whisper Hosni Mubarak's name. Political talk or jokes were avoided in phone calls. This year, millions of Egyptians fought for 18 days against their ageing tyrant, braving the police troops firing teargas, rubber bullets and live ammunition. People in Egypt have lost their fear, but it did not happen overnight. The Egyptian revolution, rather than coming out of the blue on 25 January 2011, is a result of a process that has been brewing over the previous decade – a chain reaction to the autumn 2000 protests in solidarity with the Palestinian intifada.
IRAQ:
(h/t Richard Lyon ) - Kurdish leader calls for new vote in northern Iraq
The president of the self-ruled region in northern Iraq is calling for new elections to be held there following weeks of anti-government protests.
In a televised address Thursday, Massoud Barzani asked the Kurdish parliament to study the possibility of early general elections in the Kurdish region..
(h/tunaspenser) - U.S. Silent on Deadly Iraqi Gov’t Crackdown on Protests
While the United States has sharply criticized the Libyan government for brutally cracking down on opposition protesters, it has remained noticeably silent on the recent attacks against Iraqi dissidents. On Friday, tens of thousands of people participated in Iraq’s largest protest in years. Although the protests were largely peaceful, authorities fired water cannons, sound bombs and live bullets to disperse crowds as Iraqi army helicopters buzzed overhead, killing an estimated 29 people. Then, on Sunday, U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces detained about 300 people, including prominent journalists, artists and lawyers, who had taken part in the rallies.
OMAN:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) - Oman: Sultan Qaboos still popular despite discontent
"We are not Tunisia, we are not Libya. Our leader is loved, he is not corrupt and I would be willing to lay out my life on the line for him."
We were talking at the heart of a 3,000-strong march beside the towering Grand Mosque in central Muscat.
It was the biggest demonstration yet in Oman: men and women draped in flags and Omani football scarves, carrying portraits of the sultan and chanting slogans of praise and patriotism.
....
So far, so predictable.
But what is more surprising is that the activists who have been holding marches and staging sit-ins - protesting against government corruption, cronyism and indifference in the face of rising unemployment among the young - are equally emphatic in their declarations of undying loyalty to the sultan.
SYRIA:
Lack of protests in Syria blamed on internet crackdown
Beirut - While much of the Arab world continues to see thousands of people taking to the streets with calls for political change, a 'Day of Rage' planned in Syria this month drew only a few dozen protesters.
Hundreds of Syrians did later demonstrate, but to demand an investigation into the alleged police beating of a young man in the capital Damascus - not to seek the toppling of the government, as protesters have successfully done in Tunisia and Egypt.
Government officials attribute the lack of upheaval to President Bashar al-Assad's popularity.
'Such protests are useless in Syria because the president is not hated as much as Hosny Mubarak in Egypt. Our president has started to make reforms a few years ago,' a Syrian source loyal to the president told the German Press Agency dpa.
But rights groups and activists blame the low turnout on an internet crackdown initiated by the government.
One Syrian activist, who spoke to dpa on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, said that a number of bloggers have been detained recently in an attempt to stop people from using the internet to share information and organize protests.
BAHRAIN:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) - How a broken social contract sparked Bahrain protests
The longstanding social contract among many countries in the Persian Gulf is simple: the ruling monarchy offers free housing, health care, education, food subsidies, and a government job for life. In return, the people defer to a system of tribal autocracy that gives little or no political representation to the masses.
In short, lucre begets loyalty, and vice-versa.
But the current protests in Bahrain indicate that, in the eyes of much of the population, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has failed to keep his side of the unwritten social contract that binds the Gulf Cooperation Council's six sheikhdoms of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
YEMEN:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) - Yemen opposition hands president peaceful transition map amid protests
The five-point deal stipulates canceling the latest amendments to the constitution that proposed unilaterally by the ruling party earlier this year, rewriting the election laws, dismissing relatives of President Saleh from leadership positions in the army and security forces, guaranteeing the right of peaceful protest, and allowing the exiled opposition figures to take part in the national dialogue.
"The road-map deal will guarantee a peaceful transition of power, but it must be achieved before the end of this year and Saleh must keep his promise not to re-elect himself after his term ends in 2013," al-Mutawakil added.
"If President Saleh accepts our offer, then we will start resuming the dialogue that has been halted since last September and we will submit the names of our representatives for a unity government which was proposed by Saleh two days ago," he added.
There was no immediate comment from the government.
COTE d'IVOIRE:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) -
Ivorian women fatally shot at rally
Security forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, Cote d'Ivoire's disputed president, have shot dead at least five women at a demonstration in support of his rival, Alassane Ouattara.
Thursday's shooting took place after several hundred women gathered in the Abobo neighbourhood of Abidjan, the country's commercial capital, shouting "Gbagbo, get out!" and "Alassane for president", a resident told the AFP news agency.
Mohamed Dosso, an assistant to the mayor of Abobo, said an armoured personnel carrier and several pickup vehicles showed up as the women were protesting and opened fire.
The US denounced Gbagbo's "moral bankruptcy" follwing the incident.
"Disputed" is an interesting choice of words. He lost the election and refused to step down. "Illegitimate" would be more apt.
IRAN:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) - Continued Disappearance of Opposition Figures Raises Concerns of Torture
(3 March 2011) Iranian officials should immediately end the illegal, incommunicado detention of four leading opposition figures: Mehdi Karroubi; Mir Hossein Mousavi; Fatemeh Karroubi; and Zahra Rahnavard, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.
The Campaign warns that the incommunicado nature of their eighteen day long detention in an undisclosed location increases the likelihood that the four are facing psychological and physical torture for the purposes of extracting false confessions.
ALGERIA:
(h/t Richard Lyon ) - Algeria keeps lid on social unrest—for now
Algeria's leadership, riddled by corruption and at the mercy of the army, is sitting in a circle of fire, with a restive populace at home and pro-democracy uprisings in neighboring Tunisia and Libya that are shaking the Arab world to the core.
Two months of strikes, sit-ins and attempted protest marches are raising questions about whether Algeria, which waged a brutal battle against insurgents for nearly two decades, can satisfy myriad and mounting demands for jobs, housing, higher salaries, proper medical benefits—and, trickier still, answer calls to end the army's dominance and build a real democracy.
SAUDI ARABIA:
Could the next Mideast uprising happen in Saudi Arabia?
Tunisia. Egypt. Yemen. Bahrain. And now the uprising and brutality in Libya. Could Saudi Arabia be next?
The notion of a revolution in the Saudi kingdom seems unthinkable. Yet, a Facebook page is calling for a "day of rage" protest on March 11. Prominent Saudis are urging political and social reforms. And the aging monarch, King Abdullah, has announced new economic assistance to the population, possibly to preempt any unrest.
DJIBOUTI:
(h/t UnaSpenser ) - HEADLINE
DJIBOUTI, March 3 (Reuters) - Djibouti has ordered its opposition to postpone an anti-government protest set for Friday after a previous rally turned violent, a cabinet minister said on Thursday, as a wave of political unrest sweeps north Africa.
Opposition supporters have been calling for the departure of President Ismail Omar Guelleh, in power since 1999 and facing mounting opposition after he oversaw a change to the constitution that allows him to seek a third term in office.
The opposition later says that it still plans to protest.
MOROCCO:
((h/t ninkasi23)
Note: March 2 is the anniversary of Morocco's independence from France in 1956. Independence from Spain followed on April 7 that same year.
Amnesty Condamne la Dispersion Violente de Manifestants Pacifiques
This referenced article from Mamfakinch (also worth following on Twitter if you can read French) is in French so if there is anyone who would like to translate and add an excerpt that would be fantastique! I do get the gist of the article though:
Amnesty International has issued a public declaration condemning the violence used against the peaceful protestors in the capitol city of Rabat on Feb. 21 & 22.
Morocco: The Tranquil Kingdom?
Following the protests, Mohamed VI announced in a televised speech, a wide set of reforms. He nonetheless added that he would carry them out of his own initiative and not as a result for coercion or ‘demagoguery’. It is still too early to understand what these promises mean and how they will take shape. What is however certain is that effectiveness and speed in carrying out these reforms will prove decisive over whether or not the Moroccan street will keep the Kingdom tranquil or demand more.[. . .]
Meanwhile, in the occupied Western Sahara, yesterday marked the 35year anniversary of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). This anniversary was however tainted by bloodshed and intimidation. Hoping to benefit from international coverage of a local music festival several days ago, hundreds of Saharawis had protested against Moroccan occupation and chanted pro-independence slogans.
By Friday and Saturday, dozens of Moroccan settler groups went on a rampage against what they identified as Saharawi nationalists in the occupied cities of Dakhla, Laayoune and Smara. When the Moroccan state’s police and armed forces are too busy to deal with dissent in the north, it hires local thugs to deal with the ‘southerners’.
(h/t ninkasi23 )
Can Morocco and Algeria long remain exceptions?
The king cannot duck the biggest decision of his 12-year reign. The two faces of protest suggest two diverging paths open to the monarch. He can listen to the articulate demands for constitutional reform, reducing his own powers and conferring greater sovereignty on parliament. The downside would be losing grip on the financial tiller, as policy and the requirements of the king’s burgeoning personal fortune have intermingled. It wouldn’t have to be humiliating as King Mohammad could use Morocco’s established parties to set out reasonable but limited demands for new rules to the game. The question is whether this would go far enough to engage Moroccans, half of whom do not even participate in the electoral process.
JORDAN:
Activists demand change in peaceful Jordan protest
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Anti-government protesters want faster political reform
Pro and anti-government groups clashed last week
This week, police kept the two groups separated
The protest comes as demonstrations spread across the Middle East and Africa
MAURITANIA:
(h/t mali muso ) - Top Mauritanian MP urges politicians to draw lessons from Tunisia, Egypt
Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, the President of the National Assembly in Mauritania and leader of the Opposition People’s Progressive Alliance (APP), has called on Mauritanian leaders to learn from the lessons of the youth revolutions which toppled the Tunisian and Egyptian presidents as well as from the current situation in Libya....Political dialogue in Mauritania, recommended in an agreement signed in June 2009, has still not taken firm root following endless media “warfare” between the ruling party and the opposition although President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, in late 2010, formally invited opposition parties, under the umbrella Democratic Opposition Coordination (COD), for dialogue....Political observers are waiting to see how fairly and openly the Mauritanian leaders will organize legislative elections in November.
TUNISIA:
(h/t Richard Lyon ) - Growing Debate Centers on Tunisia's Islamist Party
Tunisia's Islamist party was legalized this week after 20 years in the political wilderness. Under the pro-Western, but hardline, government of ex-president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Ennahdha was branded a terrorist organization. Now, the party is at the center of a growing debate on the role of Islam in Tunisia's budding democracy
Tunisia to hold elections by mid-July
TUNISIA'S government has declared it will hold elections in mid-July as tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets demanding the resignation of its prime minister, an ally of ousted leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
One young protester was injured when warning shots were fired at protesters, a witness said.
The government "has decided that consultations with different political parties should not exceed mid-March.... Elections will be organised at the latest in mid-July 2011," the official TAP news agency said, quoting a cabinet statement.
LEBANON:
((h/t UnaSpenser ) - Lebanon: The forgotten revolution
Although the Middle East is saturating news reports at the moment, Lebanon has been mostly ignored since the uprisings began in Tunisia in mid-January. However, it was in Lebanon where the first Middle Eastern revolution was quietly staged in early January 2011, and Lebanon whose future is most uncertain.
PALESTINE:
Toward Palestine's 'Mubarak moment'
The slow collapse of Palestinian collective leadership institutions in recent years has reached a crisis amid the ongoing Arab revolutions, the revelations in the Palestine Papers, and the absence of any credible peace process.
The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) controlled by Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah faction has attempted to respond to this crisis by calling elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and the PA presidency.
Abbas hopes that elections could restore legitimacy to his leadership. Hamas has rejected such elections in the absence of a reconciliation agreement ending the division that resulted from Fatah's refusal (along with Israel and the PA's western sponsors, especially the United States) to accept the result of the last election in 2006, which Hamas decisively won.
But even if such an election were held in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, it does not resolve the crisis of collective leadership faced by the entire Palestinian people, some ten million distributed between those living in the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank, inside Israel, and the worldwide diaspora. read on...
(h/t NYBritExpat) Is the West Bank next? (Al Jazeera op-ed)
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Our Egyptian brethren articulated what people around the region are fighting for, though variations to the theme may exist from country to country. banner held by protesters and translated to English:
1 The departure of Mubarak
2 An end to the current Parliament
3 An end of the state of emergency
4 The creation of a national united government
5 A parliament elected by the people to modify the constitution and run the presidential elections
6 Put those responsible for the killings on trial
7 Put those responsible for stealing the country's money and other acts of corruption on trial
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Resources:
Note: The Mothership Diary is the place to go for a complete list of resources.
Al Jazeera English - Watch Live (the Youtube link below should work for Mac users unable to load this.)
Al Jazeera live also available on
Dish Network channel 9410
DirecTV: Channel 375 Link
Al Jazeera on Facebook:
http: //www.facebook.com/aljazeera
Al Jazeera Live on YouTube
English Stream http://www.youtube.com/...
Arabic Stream http://www.youtube.com/...
BBC Reports
BBC Middle East is doing specific Egypt coverage
WorldWideTahrir{NEW} : Worldwide protests being organized to coincide with the upcoming ones in Egypt.
bicycle Hussein paladin - Why Iran 1979 Went to the Islamists and This One Won't
weasel - Updates on the Egyptian Protests
People to follow on twitter: - 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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