TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Protests escalate in Yemen as Saleh continues to refuse to step down. Protests continue in Syria despite the government’s efforts to downplay their importance and the number of citizens participating.
You are in the 188th 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 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.
YEMEN
Yemen back on the brink of chaos
SYRIA
Demonstrators in Damascus 5/13
Demonstrators in Homs 5/13
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
See the group stream for other diary series.
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.
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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Thank you!
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.
GENERAL ANALYSIS
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Syria, Libya, Yemen and Middle East unrest - live updates
This the Guardian MiddleEast Live Blogging the Uprisings in the MiddleEast and North Africa
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Internet is double-edged sword in Arab revolts: Amnesty
LONDON (AFP) – Dictators in the Arab world could crush uprisings against their iron-fisted rule using the same social media that have been credited with boosting the revolts, Amnesty warned in a new report Friday.
BAHRAIN
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - UK Government concerned by reports of human rights abuses in Bahrain
The UK Government remains deeply concerned by reports of human rights abuses in Bahrain, particularly the widespread arrest of political activists and a large number of doctors and nurses.
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Bahrain: From hospital to prison
In the kingdom of Bahrain, to be wounded by security forces has become a reason for arrest, and providing healthcare has become grounds for a jail sentence. During the current civil unrest, Bahraini health facilities have consistently been used as a tool in the military crackdown, backed by the Gulf Cooperation Council, against protesters. The muted response from key allies outside of the region such as the US - who has significant ties to Bahrain, including a vast naval base in the country - can only be interpreted as acceptance of the ongoing military assault on the ability to provide and receive impartial healthcare.
(h/t Dibsa 5/1) - Time for legislation on Bahrain
On Friday, Congress’ Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission will hold a hearing on Bahrain’s deteriorating human rights conditions following its February crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. Such hearings have rarely catalyzed change in U.S. foreign policy vis-à-vis oppressive regimes, especially those symbiotically related to the U.S. such as China
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Annual Report 2011
Scores of anti-government activists were arrested. Twenty-five leading opposition activists were on trial, two in their absence, accused of plotting to overthrow the government; the 23 were initially denied access to lawyers after their arrest and some said they were tortured. Other unfair trials took place
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Bahrain topples its own people
March 14, 2011, will go down in history as the infamous day when the House of Saud launched - with full United States backing - a vicious counter-revolution designed to smash the Gulf chapter of the great 2011 Arab revolt. (See Exposed: The US/Saudi Libya deal Asia Times Online, April 2, 2011
COTE D'IVOIRE
(h/t Dibsa 5/13 ) - Ivory Coast president: 'no one is above the law'
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Ivory Coast's president on Friday said no one is above the law and vowed to investigate all war crimes committed in the five months following last year's election — including massacres blamed on fighters loyal to him
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 5/13) - Egyptians urge rulers to step up Palestinian support
CAIRO (Reuters) – Thousands of Egyptians took to the streets on Friday to push their military rulers to do more to help Palestinians following the overthrow of the country's president Hosni Mubarak
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Egypt holds Mubarak wife in 'illegal wealth' probe
CAIRO (AFP) – The wife of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was remanded in custody on Friday pending investigations into the illegal acquisition of wealth, the official MENA news agency reported
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Thousands rally for Egypt unity after church attacks
CAIRO (AFP) – Thousands of people rallied in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday calling for national unity after attacks on Egyptian churches, and solidarity with the Palestinians
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 5/13) - Iraqi protesters demand better services, jobs
BAGHDAD – More than 500 Iraqi protesters have gathered in downtown Baghdad, demanding better government services and more jobs.
The demonstration Friday at Baghdad's central Tahrir Square was one of the largest in Iraq in recent weeks.
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 4/27) - Jordan king creates panel to review constitution
AMMAN (AFP) – Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday asked a former prime minister to head a committee to review the constitution and consider amendments, in a bid to face growing demands for reforms.
The king asked Ahmad Lawzi and the 10-member committee, which includes other former premiers, to "look into constitutional amendments that would be suitable for Jordan in the present and future," said the state-run Petra news agency.
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 5/13) - Italy: Gadhafi likely fled Tripoli, not Libya
ROME – Moammar Gadhafi may have fled Tripoli and at least one Catholic official in Tripoli reports that the Libyan strongman has been hurt, the Italian foreign minister said Friday
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Libya says 11 clerics killed in NATO airstrike
TRIPOLI, Libya – Eleven Muslim clerics were killed in their sleep by a NATO airstrike Friday on the eastern oil town of Brega, a Libyan government spokesman said
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Qatari military advisers on the ground, helping Libyan rebels get into shape
AJDABIYA, LIBYA — The United States, European allies and other nations have dispatched representatives to the Libyan opposition’s ruling council. But on the ground here, credit for helping to get the rebel army into shape goes to military advisers from the tiny Arabian Peninsula emirate of Qatar
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - 1,200 migrants feared dead during Libya sea exodus
GENEVA (AFP) – The UN refugee agency said Friday it feared that up to 1,200 people fleeing Libya have died in the Mediterranean Sea so far, as it found evidence that a military vessel refused to rescue one boat.
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Warcrimes court to seek Libya arrest warrants on May 16
THE HAGUE (AFP) – International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said on Friday he would seek arrest warrants on May 16 for three people considered most responsible for crimes against humanity in Libya.
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Libya rebels seek US ties
BENGHAZI, Libya (AFP) – Libyan rebel leader Mahmud Jibril was headed for the White House on Friday to press for US recognition, as the prospect loomed of strongman Moamer Kadhafi being charged with war crimes.
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Libyan capital buffeted by airstrikes, protests
TRIPOLI, Libya – NATO launched more airstrikes Friday in Tripoli as Moammar Gadhafi's regime faced open defiance on the ground, with activists reporting gunfights between protesters and soldiers in several of the capital's neighborhoods
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 mimi 4/30 ) -
CIA Part of Investigation of 'Düsseldorf Cell'
The arrest of three suspected al-Qaida members in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia on Friday followed a months-long investigation that, in addition to the German authorities, also included the participation of the CIA and Moroccan secret service. The German Federal Office of Criminal Investigation (BKA) created its own special "Comet" investigative unit to look into the case.
...
The detainees are suspected of being members of the international terrorist organization al-Qaida. According to information obtained by SPIEGEL, the main suspect in the so-called "Düsseldorf Cell" is Abdeladim K. of Morocco. He is believed to have been in regular contact with an allegedly high-ranking al-Qaida official in the Afghan-Pakistan border region.
...
Meanwhile, the report in Die Welt claimed that the three Moroccan men, who have German passports, are part of a larger group of terror suspects
PALESTINE
(h/t Dibsa 4/27 ) - Palestinian officials: Unity agreement reached
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians have reached initial agreement on reuniting their rival governments in the West Bank and Gaza, officials from both sides said Wednesday, a step that would remove a main obstacle in the way of peace efforts with Israel.
Even before the agreement was to be signed, however, key questions about how to unify rival security forces remained unsolved. Israel immediately rejected the prospect of a Palestinian government including Hamas, and the U.S. expressed similar concerns
(h/t UnaSpenser ) -
Hamas-Fatah reconciliation a Palestinian form of Arab spring
Reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas is a historic achievement for the Palestinians, whose rivalries and divisions have weakened them and been exploited by their enemies.
Agreement to form an interim government and fix a date for elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip next year is also a real triumph for Egyptian mediation – and a surprise given the momentous changes in Cairo in the past few months.
But above all it is a challenge to Israel, the US and EU, which have all shunned Hamas as a terrorist organisation since its shock victory in Palestinian elections in 2006.
The agreement is, in its way, a version of the Arab spring shaking regimes from Libya to Syria and giving hope of change after years of impasse.
OMAN/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 JustJennifer 5/12 ) - A Few Brave Women Dare Take Wheel in Defiance of Saudi Law Against Driving
Manal, a 32-year-old woman, is planning something she’s never done openly in her native Saudi Arabia: Get in her car and take to the streets, defying a ban on female drivers in the kingdom.
Manal and 10 other people are organizing a campaign on Facebook and Twitter urging Saudi women with international driver’s licenses to join them starting June 17, risking their jobs and their freedom. The coordinated plan isn’t a protest, she said.
“I’m doing it because I’m frustrated, angry and mad,” Manal, who asked to be identified only by her first name, said in an interview from the eastern city of Dhahran. “It’s 2011 and we’re still discussing this insignificant right for women.”
SYRIA
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Up to 850 killed in Syria: U.N. rights office
GENEVA (Reuters) – Up to 850 Syrians may have been killed in a two-month military crackdown and thousands of demonstrators have been arrested, the United Nations human rights office said on Friday
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Thousands protest across Syria; at least 1 killed
BEIRUT – Syrian security forces opened fire on thousands of protesters Friday, killing at least one person with a gunshot to the head as soldiers tried to head off demonstrations by occupying mosques and blocking public squares, activists said
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Clinton blasts `brutal' crackdown by Syria's Assad
NUUK, Greenland – In some of her strongest remarks yet on Syria, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham said Thursday the brutal crackdown against protesters demonstrated the government's weakness, though she stopped short of saying President Bashar Assad must quit.
TUNISIA
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Tunisia's dissident blog stays true to form
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's regime may have been more-or-less ousted, but Tunisia's leading dissident website is staying true to form in the country's new era.
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - ANALYSIS - Tunisia under pressure to stick to vote timetable
(Reuters) - Renewed street protests in the Tunisian capital have put pressure on authorities to hold elections in two months' time even if this could risk more instability in the long run.
(h/t Dibsa 5/12) - Despite recent riots, Tunisians are still on the road to democracy
WHEN they tossed out Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali on January 14th after 23 years of his kleptocratic presidency, Tunisians launched not only their own revolution but a wave of change across the region. Yet four months later there are wobbles in Tunisia itself
(h/t Dibsa 5/12) - Tunisia gripped by unrest
Fewer than four months after former president Zein Al-Abidine bin Ali was toppled in the so-called "Jasmine Revolution", Tunisia is once again under curfew following days of unrest, reports Mourad Teyeb from Tunis
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 5/13) - Western Sahara talks set to resume
Negotiations between Morocco and the Western Sahara rebel group the Polisario Front will resume in the United States next month, Morocco's foreign minister said on Thursday.
YEMEN
(h/t dibsa 5/13) - Three Yemen protesters dead, Saleh rejects US call
SANAA (AFP) – Republican Guards killed at least three anti-regime protesters on Friday as Yemen's embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh vowed to hold on to power despite US calls for his rapid departure.
(h/t dibsa 5/13) - Yemeni troops open fire at protest march, kill 3
SANAA, Yemen – A Yemeni doctor says security troops opened fire at a protest march in a southern town, killing three people and wounding scores.
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
Will you help us gather updates?
Many hands make light work and we rely on teamwork for timely posting.
Here's how it works:
1. we invite you to join our wiki. (we'll need an email address from you)
2. you choose 1 or more countries you wish to gather citations for
3. go to the page of that country, click EDIT,
4. copy the mini template and fill in what the red text prompts
5. click SAVE
We're working on a publication schedule: Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday. Ideally we would see fresh citations in the wiki by late evening the day before. That is, posts from late Monday evening would be published in Tuesday morning's diary. (If you'd like produce a diary on a different day of the week, we'd love to show you how to update the template and paste it into your diary!)
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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