and other news from Today in the Middle East:
Photo above is from Muhammad Nusair, 21, an activist and engineering student in Egypt. He blogs at <politirature.wordpress.com>. Cf. Muhammad Nusair, “From Tahrir to Wisconsin” (19 February 2011).
2009- Israeli army attack funeral of Mohammed Khawaje, the second martyr from Ni’lin in four days
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/01/3761/
Libya
Libyan protesters return to street after Saturday’s ‘massacre’
Government forces loyal to Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi reportedly opened fire on a funeral procession Saturday, killing more than 20.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/pYQqe8YJ_fA/Libyan-protesters-return-to-street-after-Saturday-s-massacre
Libya unrest death toll ‘tops 200’
Dozens of Muslim leaders call for end to civilian deaths after security crackdown on funeral procession of protesters.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/02/20112206386812127.html
Libyan anti-government protesters describe “massacre”
Al Jazeera talks to two witnesses in the eastern coastal city of Benghazi, where more than 100 have reportedly died, including young people. In the United States, activist Mohamed Eljahmi says he has been told longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi is using mercenaries from Chad, Niger and Bangladesh to put down proteseters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD8NPeJ7vGM&feature=youtube_gdata
‘Intense violence’ in Libyan city
Security forces in Libya use machine-guns and mortars against anti-government protesters in Benghazi, reports say, amid ongoing rallies against leader Muammar Gaddafi.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-12516156
Libyan forces step up crackdown
As fresh violence grips Libya – there are claims that some of those cracking down on demonstrators are foreign mercenaries. Al Jazeera’s Hazem Sika reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDfVWc7Gbkk&feature=youtube_gdata
‘Many killed’ in Libya’s Benghazi
At least 15 mourners reportedly killed in eastern city as anti-government protests continue unabated.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/02/2011219232320644801.html
Libyan Forces Again Fire on Residents at Funerals
Residents of Libya’s second-largest city were attending funerals Sunday when they were attacked on a fifth day of protests against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s rule.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=084a03679ce3738eddb14271125dfdfe
Libya forces ‘open fire’ at funeral
At least 15 mourners reportedly killed in eastern city of Benghazi, as anti-government protests continue unabated.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/02/2011219811665897.html
African Mercenaries say they were promised 30K each
As fresh violence grips Libya – there are claims that some of those cracking down on demonstrators are foreign mercenaries.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDfVWc7Gbkk&feature=player_embedded
Videos of the killings in Libya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uixaMQKibMw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuGd4AaA9lY&feature=player_embedded
the killing of protesters in benghazi libya with open gun shot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUyIS5kGl98&feature=youtu.be
Libya revolution resistance Fighters on street
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4eGuUbQarg&feature=player_embedded
Libyan Youth Movement’s Photos – Wall Photos
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=137139319685226&se
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=137139319685226&set
Libya Muslim leaders tell security: stop “massacre”
TRIPOLI, Feb 20 (Reuters) – Libyan Muslim leaders told security forces to stop killing civilians, responding to a spiralling death toll from unrest which threatens veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi’s authority.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libya-muslim-leaders-tell-security-stop-massacre
Libya arrests Arab “network” for destabilizing state
Libyan authorities have arrested dozens of members of a “network” of Arab nationals allegedly seeking to destabilize the country, the official Jana news agency reported Saturday. Those detained in several Libyan cities were members of a “foreign network (and were) trained to damage Libya’s stability, the safety of its citizens and national unity.” Sources close to the investigation, quoted by the agency, said the group included Tunisian, Egyptian, Sudanese, Palestinian, Syrian and Turkish citizens.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/02/20/138375.html
Congratulations Gaddafi
Nearly 25 years ago, U.S. air strikes on Libya killed 41 people in Tripoli and Benghazi, including the adopted daughter of Muammar Gaddafi, in what Noam Chomsky has referred to as the “major single terrorist act” of 1986.
http://pulsemedia.org/2011/02/20/congratulations-gaddafi/
Show of solidarity from Libyan Americans
The anti-government protesters in Libya have been getting support from a coalition of demonstrators in the United States. Hundreds of Libyan-Americans made their voices heard outside the White House on Saturday. Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett reports from Washington DC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOnOAkaAHSM&feature=youtube_gdata
Bahrain
Protesters in Bahrain return after deadly clashes
In Bahrain, thousands of people have returned to Pearl Roundabout, the centre of anti-regime protests and the scene of two separate attacks by security forces. But police and soldiers have now left the area and the government says talks with opposition groups are under way. Al Jazeera’s James Bays reports from Manama where many protesters say they won’t be attending.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UWkbkVGq2k&feature=youtube_gdata
Bahrain government says dialogue started with opposition
Anti-government protesters swarmed into a symbolic square in their thousands, putting riot police to flight in a striking victory for their cause.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/bahrain-government-says-dialogue-started-with-opposition-1.344463?localLinksEnabled=false
Bahrain protesters shot as heir promises talks
MANAMA (AFP) – Bahraini security forces opened fire Friday on anti-regime protesters in the capital, with reports of up to 55 wounded, after the army vowed “strict measures” to restore order after a deadly police raid.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/19/bahrain-protesters-shot-as-heir-promises-talks/
50,000 Protest in Bahrain Before Another Bloody Crackdown, Juan Cole
Breaking News: Bahrain security forces appear to have run out of ammunition at the downtown Pearl Roundabout, as thousands of Shiite protesters flooded in Saturday morning. The demonstrators took the square and a festive mood settled in. The Wifaq Party, which had represented the majority Shiites in parliament until its members resigned en masse on Thursday, had announced that it would not enter talks with the Sunni monarchy as long as police were attacking peaceful protesters.
http://www.juancole.com/2011/02/50000-protest-in-bahrain-before-another-bloody-crackdown.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+juancole%2Fymbn+%28Informed+Comment%29
Protesters retake Bahrain centre
Anti-government protesters reoccupy Pearl roundabout after troops and police withdraw from protest site in capital.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/02/201121914336940622.html
Pictures from the Protests in Bahrain
http://blog.flickr.net/en/2011/02/19/protests-in-bahrain
General Strike in Bahrain
When the General Strike was announced yesterday, I didn’t give it much heed. I guess I’m conditioned to ignore trade unions as they have very little and smooth teeth which tickle more than cause injury. Well, it seems that today, they’ve sharpened them a bit and they’re starting to leave a mark.
http://mahmood.tv/2011/02/20/general-strike-in-bahrain/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MahmoodsDen+%28Mahmood%27s+Den%29
WikiLeaks: Bahrain FM planned to meet Israeli officials in support of peace process
Evidence of Bahrain’s moderate attitude appeared in a 2007 cable about a meeting between Khalifa and U.S. Jews, at which he told them that Palestinian refugees should return to Palestine, not to Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/wikileaks-bahrain-fm-planned-to-meet-israeli-officials-in-support-of-peace-process-1.344488
Notes from the Bahraini Field
As of Saturday February 19, 2011, several people have been killed and hundreds more have been brutally injured in Bahrain. The Bahraini police and military’s violent oppression of the peaceful demonstrators was further escalated after the GCC’s 28th extraordinary meeting that took place in Manama last Thursday, February 17. The GCC ministers’ message was clear: The Bahraini monarchy (and by extension all other Gulf state regimes) will not tolerate such acts of resistance to its rule and will put down the protests at any cost. The grave media and internet restrictions that the al-Khalifa regime imposed since the beginning of the demonstrations on February 14th has compounded the already-deplorable coverage that the Gulf island has received. The absence of Al-Jazeera coverage, dubbed the “Arab Spring’s News Channel” by revolutionaries in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, sent a clear message to everyone: revolutions, and the mainstream media that cover them, stop at the doors of the oil monarchies.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/677/notes-from-the-bahraini-field
Bahrain: Oppression, Murder, and Myths of Reform, Ali Jawad
In the early hours of Thursday morning a brutal and utterly heartless assault was carried out by the security forces of the Bahraini regime against peaceful citizens. Having taken to the streets to protest against the discriminatory policies of the Al-Khalifa monarchy, the demands of the protestors were evidently met not only with outright denial, but rather, the nature of the crackdown was to be read as an adherence to a scorched-earth policy on the part of the regime. There would be no Tahrir Square in Bahrain – whatever the costs. State-sanctioned murder and a policy of intimidation and terror were to be the primary weapons in the arsenal of a regime adamant to intimidate and crush all forms of protest.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2011/02/bahrain-oppression-murder-and-myths-of-reform/
Blood on the Streets of Bahrain, RANNIE AMIRI
February 14th was Bahrain’s turn for its “day of rage” against the striking social, political and economic inequities found in the tiny island kingdom. For those familiar with its modern history, however, they know there was no need to dub it such; Bahrainis have long raged against policies of exclusion, marginalization and sectarianism embodied in al-Khalifa family rule.
http://www.counterpunch.com/amiri02182011.html
The role of women in Bahrain protests
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/16/live-blog-bahrain
Sunni Shia unity in Bahrain
http://twitpic.com/41hlg2
Ahlulbayt TV, “Bahrain: This Is NOT a Sectarian Revolution” (Video)
Shias and Sunnis, we stand as brothers, chanting, “We Will Not Sell Our Nation!”
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/ahlulbayt200211.html
Fisk on Bahrain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvng_cY-N4Y
Morocco
Thousands protest in Morocco
Demonstrators demand large-scale political and economic reforms in the North African kingdom.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/02/201122013428971616.html
Riots in Moroccan city over utility costs
RABAT, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Protesters attacked a police station and premises linked to French firms in the Moroccan city of Tangier late on Friday in a dispute over the local utility firm’s management, organisers and residents said on Saturday.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/riots-in-moroccan-city-over-utility-costs
Casablanca Demonstrations
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzKG5CTTpzI
Palestinian flag at Moroccan protests
http://twitpic.com/41twg3
More pics from Morocco
http://yfrog.com/h0snavnj
http://yfrog.com/h33njuhj
Rabat
http://twitpic.com/41sxak
Iraq
Gunmen attack Iraqi TV station that showed protest (AP)
AP – Gunmen burst into a Kurdish television station in northern Iraq on Sunday, shooting up the equipment and setting fire to the building, apparently in retaliation for footage they aired earlier in the week of a deadly protest, station officials said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110220/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
Iraqis protest in Kurdish region, capital (Reuters)
Reuters – Hundreds of people rallied for political reforms in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region on Saturday while demonstrators in Baghdad protested demanding better rights for widows and orphans.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110219/wl_nm/us_iraq_protests
At least 8 wounded in protest in northern Iraq
BAGHDAD, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) — At least eight protestors were wounded on Saturday in a demonstration in the province of Sulaimaniyah in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, a local security source said. Hundreds of Iraqi Kurds demonstrated during the day in central the city of Sulaimaniyah, located some 330 km northeast of Baghdad, and marched towards the city government building, demanding the release of people detained earlier by the Kurdish security forces after Thursday’s demonstration, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-02/20/c_13740077.htm
4 Kurdish protesters killed in N Iraq
Video: A peaceful protest in northern Iraq against the local government of Iraqi Kurdistan President Masud Barzani has ended in violence with 4 dead and over 50 injured.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/165817.html
Iraqi forces shoot Sulaymanieh students
Security forces have opened fire on students in the Iraqi University of Sulaymanieh after they joined popular protests in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, PressTV reported.
http://en.trend.az/regions/met/iraq/1832558.html
Thousands protest in Iraq’s Kurdish north over shooting; orphans, widows rally in Baghdad
Demonstrators thronged streets in northern Iraq Saturday to demand justice over a deadly shooting at a protest earlier this week. In Baghdad, hundreds of orphans and widows rallied to call on the government to take care of them.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jXkUlhwYfaCg8IIn8sMyp3DqZ7LA?docId=6004225
Yemen
Shots fired at Yemen demonstration
Leader of Yemen’s separatist movement arrested in Aden amid countrywide protests against President Saleh.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011220132734826964.html
Saleh Supporters Break into University, Students Hurl Stones
New clashes between pro-democracy protesters and Yemeni government supporters have left at least one protester martyred and five wounded near the capital Sanaa’s university campus. The Saturday death came as “government supporters, armed with guns, batons and rocks, tried to break into the campus and students responded by hurling stones,” AFP reported.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=3071&cid=23&fromval=1&frid=23&seccatid=31&s1=1
Djibouti
Two killed in Djibouti protest: ministry
A protester and a policeman were killed in Djibouti when an unprecedented opposition demonstration demanding regime change flared up, the interior ministry said on Saturday.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5juoQKC-EAIfWZgRl6-_FuwoOeBvw?docId=CNG.30a7eb6de98a36de2dbb441ffee98187.341
A Word on Africa: Djibouti
“Arab world unrest reaches Horn of Africa” was how the Israeli website Ynet led off its coverage of the demonstrations that began in Djibouti yesterday. On Friday, thousands of protesters — 6,000, according to the Independent, in a country with a population of less than a million people — demanded the resignation of President Ismail Omar Guelleh, among other political reforms. Authorities used batons and fired tear gas grenades at demonstrators; by the end of the day, according to official reports, one protester and one policeman had been killed.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/684/a-word-on-africa_djibouti
Other Mideast Protests
Jordan’s Islamists condemn assault against demonstrators
AMMAN, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) — Jordan’s Islamic Action Front (IAF) on Saturday condemned an assault by “gangs of thugs” against demonstrators who took to streets Friday demanding political and economic reforms. The IAF, which is the political arm of Muslim Brotherhood, said the government should live up to its responsibilities and punish all those behind the “barbaric” attack, which contradicts the government’s pledges to realise comprehensive political reform.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-02/20/c_13740099.htm
Palestinians Plan ‘Day Of Rage’ To Protest U.S. Veto on UN Settlement Resolution
“They are liars who pretend to support democracy and peace. Far from it,” Fatah official and former Palestinian intelligence chief Tawfik Tirawi, referring to the U.S., told the news agency.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinians-plan-day-of-rage-to-protest-u-s-veto-on-un-settlement-resolution-1.344425
Omanis rally against corruption, low wages
About 500 Omanis, mostly youths, staged a peaceful Green March on Friday in the ministry area in the Al Khuwait District of Muscat, demanding better wages, lower prices and an end to corruption.
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/oman/omanis-rally-against-corruption-low-wages-1.764024
Egypt
Egyptian officials: Iran warships to cross Suez Canal on Monday
Israel is following the movement of the warships closely, although it does not believe the Iranian vessels have hostile intentions toward Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/egyptian-officials-iran-warships-to-cross-suez-canal-on-monday-1.344508?localLinksEnabled=false
Iran says its warships completed Suez Canal crossing
Iran’s state broadcaster says vessels reach Mediterranean, despite recent reports that the controversial crossing, the first since 1979, would only take place later this week.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/iran-says-its-warships-completed-suez-canal-crossing-1.344542?localLinksEnabled=false
Egypt is no longer committed to an alliance with Israel against Iran
There is growing concern in Israel that Egypt will become a hostile front, adding to the feeling of international isolation which has only intensified since Benjamin Netanyahu became prime minister.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/egypt-is-no-longer-committed-to-an-alliance-with-israel-against-iran-1.344482
Rafah crossing to open for Gazans to enter Egypt
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Rafah crossing will be open for Gaza residents to enter Egypt starting on Tuesday, Palestinian crossings officials said. Around 300 Palestinians will be allowed to cross to Egypt every day, officials in Gaza said Sunday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=361528
Egypt releases 14 Palestinians
GAZA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) — Egypt released 14 Palestinians from its prisons for the first time since former President Hosni Mubarak stepped down this month, a Palestinian spokesperson said Saturday. Imad Al-Sayed of the gathering of families of Palestinians detained in Egypt said that they are waiting the 14 to arrive in the Gaza Strip. He added that after the release of the 14, the number of Palestinians jailed in Egypt has dropped to 31.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-02/19/c_13740014.htm
Egypt Prisoners To Be Released, According To Prime Minister
CAIRO Feb 19 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq said on Saturday Egypt would release more than 200 political prisoners, saying only a few were detained during a popular uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/19/egypt-prisoners-being-rel_n_825617.html
Egyptian caretaker government to reshuffle soon: PM
CAIRO, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) — Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq said Saturday a reshuffle will soon be carried out in his caretaker government. The reshuffle will be presented to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces for approval in conformity with the law, Egyptian official news agency quoted Shafiq’s words at a meeting with the country’s chief editors, reporters and some other media staff.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-02/20/c_13740092.htm
Egypt’s constitutional amendments almost done: committee
CAIRO, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) — Egypt’s constitutional amendment committee said Saturday it has almost completed its task to amend a number of controversial articles in the country’s constitution, official MENA news agency reported. The committee, which was formed by Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, is expected to complete its mission within a few days, the committee’s chairman Tarek al-Bishri said in a statement following its third session.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-02/20/c_13740094.htm
Any action over Mubarak wealth up to military: PM
Egypt’s prime minister said on Saturday he was not aware of any action taken regarding ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s wealth and that any procedures would be in the hands of the country’s military rulers.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/02/19/138354.html
Military tactics
What role did Egypt’s army play in ousting Mubarak?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-12514316
Egyptians from slum protest over fire
CAIRO, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Hundreds of Egyptians from a slum on the edge of Cairo protested on Saturday after a fire tore through their tightly packed homes, joining a wave of complaints about the state set off by the downfall of Hosni Mubarak. Residents of the slum affected by the fire, emboldened to speak out by their new-found freedom of speech, said they had been neglected by officialdom, witnesses said.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/egyptians-from-slum-protest-over-fire
Regarding the Constitutional Amendments “Myth And Reality”
Since army’s constitutional announcement or declaration or whatever you can call it and there is a huge debate about the constitution amendments and the constitutional amendments committee.
http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/02/regarding-constitutional-amendments.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EgyptianChronicles+%28Egyptian+chronicles%29
VIDEO: Egyptian activist: ‘We can kick anyone out’
Egyptians are celebrating their new found freedom. The state news agency is reporting that the country’s emergency laws will be cancelled within six months. This was one of the protester’s demands. The BBC’s Jon Leyne has visited four key activists and asked them how they felt about the situation.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-12515970
Women of the revolution
Egyptian women describe the spirit of Tahrir and their hope that the equality they found there will live on
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aljazeeraenglish/sets/72157626073684128/
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/02/2011217134411934738.html#
TIME Exclusive Photos: Uprising in Cairo
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2045373,00.html#ixzz1ESHCEXjh
Best banners of the Egyptian Revolution
http://english.ahram.org.eg/UI/Front/MultimediaInner.aspx?NewsContentID=5925&newsportalname=Multimedia
Foreign policy goals of Egyptian democrats…, Helena Cobban
Many U.S. commentators have tried to “sanitize” the foreign-policy impact of Egypt’s still-ongoing revolution, by claiming that Egypt’s current democrats have no foreign policy goals (unlike all those “uncivilized” Egyptians in the past who had dreams of Arab nationalism and such.)
http://justworldnews.org/archives/004166.html
Rebranding Egypt’s Revolution, Mamoon Alabbasi
The revolution in Egypt came in spite of (or because of) a long-standing US backing of the dictatorship there. It was clear from the beginning that the protestors were united on one demand: namely that the unelected regime stands down or allows for genuine political reform to be carried out.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16665
Dictators are “Disposable”: The Rise and Fall of America’s Military Henchmen
The Western media in chorus pointed to “democratization”: the “King of Java” had been deposed by mass protests, much in the same way as Hosni Mubarak, described by today’s media as “The Pharaoh of Egypt”.
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=23252
Tunisia
Tunisia forces fire in air, fail to end rally
TUNIS, Feb 20 (Reuters) – Tunisian security forces fired in the air on Sunday in a vain attempt to disperse tens of thousands of demonstrators in the capital calling for a new interim government, a Reuters witness said.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/tunisia-forces-fire-in-air-to-disperse-rally
Protests clog downtown Tunis after weeks of calm
* Main protest group seeking religious tolerance
* Security forces thin on the ground, govt issues warning
* Ends weeks of relative calm in Tunisia’s capital
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/protests-clog-downtown-tunis-after-weeks-of-calm
Thousands of Ben Ali’s political prisoners released under amnesty
An amnesty for political prisoners held under ousted president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali came into force on Saturday and some 3,000 prisoners have already been conditionally released. The amnesty was approved at a cabinet meeting on Friday.
http://www.france24.com/en/20110219-thousands-political-prisoners-held-under-ben-ali-released-under-general-amnesty-tunisia
Revolution/Uprising News
Arab world protests at a glance (AP)
AP – A summary of Saturday’s developments in the Arab world, as instability and anti-government protests inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia spread in the region.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110219/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_mideast_protests_glance
Nayef bin Abdul Aziz: “Saudi Arabia is “immune” to the protests because it is guided by religious law that its citizens will not question
The Saudis are completely encircled by the problem, from Jordan to Iraq to Bahrain to Yemen,” said one Arab diplomat, voicing a view that is common in the halls of power in Riyadh, the capital. “Saudi Arabia is the last heavyweight U.S. ally in the region facing Iran.” He spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with diplomatic protocol. The Saudis tend to see any threat to the established order in the region as a gain for their nemesis Iran, and its allies Syria and Hezbollah. They have grown increasingly worried that the Obama administration is drifting away from this perspective and supporting movements for change whose outcome cannot be guaranteed. Those worries were heightened by the crisis in Egypt, where the Saudis felt that Mr. Mubarak should have been allowed to stay on…
King Abdullah had at least two phone conversations with President Obama to convey his concerns in the weeks before Mr. Mubarak’s ouster, and the last conversation ended in sharp disagreement, according to officials familiar with the calls.
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2011/02/nayef-bin-abdul-aziz-saudi-arabia-is.html
Morocco on the Eve of the Demonstrations
“When I go out in the street, no cares about #feb20, I connect and boom, the revolution is brewing” (Qd je sors ds la rue, no one cares about #feb20, je me connecte et boom c’est la révolution qui couve). The above, tweeted yesterday in the style of much that’s being produced on the internet about the demonstrations on Sunday — a combination of text message French and English (and often transliterated Darija) — is a perfect encapsulation of the immediate situation, at least in Rabat (as I write this, demonstrations have just turned to riots in Tangier, to which I’ll return below).
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/676/morocco-on-the-eve-of-the-demonstrations
Photos of the Day: Feb. 14
http://blogs.wsj.com/photojournal/2011/02/14/pictures-of-the-day-feb-14/
Arab and Middle East protests – in pictures
Bahraini protesters take back the area around the Pearl monument in central Manama
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2011/feb/19/middle-east-protests-bahrain
Analysis/Op-ed
Robert Fisk: These are secular popular revolts – yet everyone is blaming religion
Mubarak claimed that Islamists were behind the Egyptian revolution. Ben Ali said the same in Tunisia. King Abdullah of Jordan sees a dark and sinister hand – al-Qa’ida’s hand, the Muslim Brotherhood’s hand, an Islamist hand – behind the civil insurrection across the Arab world. Yesterday the Bahraini authorities discovered Hizbollah’s bloody hand behind the Shia uprising there. For Hizbollah, read Iran. How on earth do well-educated if singularly undemocratic men get this thing so wrong? Confronted by a series of secular explosions – Bahrain does not quite fit into this bracket – they blame radical Islam. The Shah made an identical mistake in reverse. Confronted by an obviously Islamic uprising, he blamed it on Communists.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-these-are-secular-popular-revolts-ndash-yet-everyone-is-blaming-religion-2220134.html
News Analysis: Unrest Encircles Saudis, Stoking Sense of Unease
The rulers are feeling more isolated and worried that the United States may no longer be a reliable backer, officials and diplomats say.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=5261b81456a58019037e5c51f27a720c
Ban all weapons sales to authoritarian regimes | Observer editorial
British governments have been deeply selective in what they profess to know about human rights abuses when it comes to approving arms deals. When it comes to approving the sale of arms to unpleasant regimes, as the cases of Bahrain and Libya displayed depressingly last week, British governments, Labour and coalition, have been deeply selective in what they profess to know about human rights abuses and their criteria for refusal. It is to be welcomed that the government has now revoked the licences, but in the case of Bahrain there should have been no excuse. In the past two years, as each batch of new arms licences was waved through, Bahrain’s government and its National Security Service committed well-documented abuses. In 2009, Bahraini police used shotguns twice to disperse people demonstrating against the seizure of their land by the military. Last year, in the run-up to elections, 250 opposition activists were arrested on “terrorism” charges.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/20/observer-editorial-arms-deals-bahrain
Cycle of Suppression Rises in Libya and Elsewhere
A deadly cycle is emerging: Security forces fire on funerals, killing more people, creating more funerals.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=63eb919e8de14c47256d8baa14baa854
How Mideast Autocrats Win Friends And Influence People In Washington
NEW YORK — Shortly after 20 Shiite opposition leaders, including clerics and human rights activists, were arrested on the eve of elections in Bahrain last September, U.S. State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley was asked about the situation, including allegations of police torture, “given the close relations between Bahrain and the United States.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/19/how-mideast-autocrats-influence-washington_n_825574.html
Next Stop: The House of Saud, Pepe Escobar
The Gulf Cooperation Council – the scandalously wealthy club of local kingdoms which holds over US$1 trillion stashed away in foreign reserves and almost 50% of the world’s proven oil reserves still underground – issued, what else, a bland statement supporting Bahrain.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MB19Ak01.html
The Middle East is Changing, RAMZY BAROUD
Low that the Egyptian people have finally wrestled their freedom from the hands of a very stubborn regime, accolades to the revolution are pouring in from all directions. Even those who initially sided with Hosni Mubarak’s regime, or favored a neutral position, have now changed their tune.
http://www.counterpunch.com/baroud02182011.html
The Tweet and Revolution, ALEXANDER COCKBURN
President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton rushed to contrast the repressive brutality of the Iranian authorities with what they now seek to present as the bloodless, US-managed triumph of pro-democracy forces in Egypt. By any measure this was brazen impudence, starting with the fact that across the past few weeks the 300 dead, slaughtered by security forces and government-hired thugs fell in Tahrir Square and the streets of Cairo, not in Teheran, with more dead piling up in Bahrein, home of the US Fifth Fleet.
http://www.counterpunch.com/cockburn02182011.html
From Cairo to Madison: the New Internationalism the Re-Mystification of the Middle East
After being glued to Al-Jazeera for what seemed like decades, I returned to semi-normal life and found that there was breaking news in the academic circles as well. In the last three weeks, the popular overthrow of Ben Ali and Mubarak seems to have brought about the demise of another oppressive foe of the Arabs: Islam. Once fixated on Muslim psychology and Qu’ranic exegisis, commentators now have no choice but to emerge from their essentialist slumber to return to the Clintonian adage (not Hillary, the other one): it’s the economy stupid. It struck me that finally Marxists and liberals, literary critics and political scientists, beltway pundits and Russian revolutionaries, can agree on something.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/678/from-cairo-to-madison_the-new-internationalism-the-re-mystification-of-the-middle-east
Muhammad Nusair, “Photo from Egypt: ‘Egypt Supports Wisconsin Workers'”
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/nusair190211.html
