And more news from the Arab uprisings:
Qadhafi Advances/Crimes
Gaddafi forces in new attacks on Misrata:rebels
ALGIERS, March 29 (Reuters) – Rebels in the Libyan city of Misrata were trying to fight off fresh attacks by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi on Tuesday, and eight civilians were killed overnight, a rebel spokesman said. “Gaddafi’s forces tried this morning to get into Misrata through the western gate but the youths repelled them,” the spokesman, called Sami, told Reuters by telephone from the city.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/gaddafi-forces-in-new-attacks-on-misratarebels
Gaddafi troops reverse Libyan rebel charge
TRIPOLI, March 29 (Reuters) – Muammar Gaddafi’s better armed and organised troops reversed the westward charge of Libyan rebels as world powers met in London on Tuesday to plot the country’s future without the “brother leader”.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/gaddafi-troops-reverse-libyan-rebel-charge
Libyan forces claim ‘liberated’ Misratah, but rebellion abounds
All the Libyan military could show on Monday was that they controlled a portion of a main thoroughfare in the city, which lies 125 miles from Tripoli and has seen weeks of clashes.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/Fw2NgfM3oK4/Libyan-forces-claim-liberated-Misratah-but-rebellion-abounds
Rebel Advance Halted Outside Qaddafi’s Hometown
Rebel forces’ westward charge was repulsed by tank and artillery fire from forces guarding one of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s most crucial bastions of support.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/world/africa/29libya.html
Gaddafi lies pushed us to fight, captured soldiers say
Their bodies are broken – as broken as their loyalty now to their one-time leader, Moamar Gaddafi, whom they say lied to push them into battle against rebellious compatriots in eastern Libya.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/28/3175282.htm
Amnesty International Libya: Campaign of enforced disappearances must end
Libyan forces loyal to Colonel Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi have carried out a campaign of enforced disappearances in an attempt to crush growing opposition to his rule, Amnesty International said today in a new briefing paper.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/libya-campaign-enforced-disappearances-must-end-2011-03-29
The Case of Iman Al-Obaidi
Human Rights Watch: Libya: Immediately Release Woman Who Alleged Rape
(New York) – The Libyan government should immediately release Eman al-‘Obeidy, the Libyan woman who accused government forces of raping her last week in Tripoli, and allow her family and international media to confirm independently that she is free and safe, Human Rights Watch today.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/03/28/libya-immediately-release-woman-who-alleged-rape
Mother “offered cash” if Libya woman changes story
LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) – The mother of a Libyan woman who said she had been raped by pro-government militiamen said she had been asked to convince her daughter to retract the allegations in return for her freedom and cash or a new home.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/mother-offered-cash-if-libya-woman-changes-story
Libya Woman Who Claimed She Was Raped Being Held Hostage At Gaddafi’s Headquarters: Report
CAIRO — Parents of a Libyan woman who claimed she was detained by Moammar Gadhafi’s troops and later gang raped said in interviews aired Monday that their daughter is being held hostage at the Libyan leader’s compound in Tripoli. Iman al-Obeidi made headlines when she rushed distraught into a Tripoli hotel on Saturday, seeking to tell foreign reporters about her rape. She was tackled by waitresses and government minders and dragged away from the site in an ensuing melee.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/28/libya-woman-gaddafi-hostage-_n_841430.html
Libyan Woman Is Sued Over Rape Accusation
Eman al-Obeidy, who told journalists that she had been raped by members of the Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s militia, has been sued by those she accused.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=488c71143d2ebc8e270ff70260b71f0f
Al Jazeera English: Anger over detention of Libyan woman
Eman Al Obeidi, the Libyan lawyer who burst into a Tripoli hotel claiming to have been raped by Gaddafi troops, is still missing. Officials tried to silence her in the immediate aftermath of the incident, later distributing statements that she was “drunk” and “mentally ill”. Obeidi’s family say she was targeted by security forces after participating in anti-government protests. They are defiantly facing the government, calling for her return – something that would have been unheard of just a few months ago. Al Jazeera’s Anita McNaught reports from Tripoli.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKowBBKRVps&feature=youtube_gdata
Interview with Eman Al-Obeidi’s Mother (English Subtitles)
On March 27, 2011: Al-Jazeera interviewed Eman Al-Obeidi’s mother in Tobruk, Libya. She talks about her daughter and is clearly distraught at her disappearance. She calls Gaddafi a Criminal and explains what the Gaddafi regime offered her family in return for them to change the story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FSfFlVvLwtI
Video: Secret Footage of Eman Al-Obeidi from Libyan TV (Translated) [Whether this is her or not, showing it on State television is psychological war]
This video was shown on Libyan TV. It doesn’t show Eman Al-Obeidi, just a photo of her and you can hear Eman (what we think is Eman’s voice) speaking. In the middle of the ‘secret footage’, they show a woman lying on the floor. This woman is supposedly Eman.
http://feb17.info/media/video-secret-footage-of-eman-al-obeidi-from-libyan-tv-translated/
The Libyan Resistance
Al Jazeera’s James Bays reporting on the panic amongst the pro-democracy fighters
“Everyone is making a hasty retreat at the moment, there were scenes of absolute panic all vehicles are heading back to bin Jawad from Nawfaliya. There is a bit of panic amongst the pro-democracy fighters. “There was some shelling from the pro-Gaddafi forces near the opposition fighters. They then responded by firing artillery against the pro-Gaddafi forces. The pro-democracy fighters confused their own people for pro-Gaddafi forces which caused panic and led the hasty retreat by the pro-democracy forces.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2tedQU2oAY&feature=youtube_gdata
James Bays describes the rebel retreat from Bin Jawad
Troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi shelled rebels heading west on the coastal road to Sirte on Tuesday, forcing them to pull back to the small town of Bin Jawad. The retreat reversed a rapid, two-day advanced that saw the pro-democracy fighers push from Ajdabiya to Nawfaliya, where they met strong resistance. The mostly young, untrained fighters have not been able to adapt to combat and do not take standard military precautions to defend themselves, Bays reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rrDAt-ejL4&feature=youtube_gdata
Libyan rebels pledge free and fair election
LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) – Libya’s rebel interim National Council said on Tuesday it would hold free and fair elections to ensure a transition to democracy if leader Muammar Gaddafi were forced from power. The council, based in the rebel-held eastern city of Benghazi, said it aspired to create a “modern, free and united state” in a statement issued ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers in London to discuss the future of Libya.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libyan-rebels-pledge-free-and-fair-election
Coalition Attacks
Coalition targets one of Gaddafi’s most loyal units
WASHINGTON, March 28 (Reuters) – The coalition enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya carried out strikes against the command headquarters of one of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s most loyal units, which has been one of the most active attacking civilians, U.S. Admiral Bill Gortney said on Monday.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/coalition-targets-one-of-gaddafis-most-loyal-units
Developments
Turkey to monitor Libya airspace as rebels advance westward
Turkish PM announces plans to deploy naval forces on corridor between Crete and Benghazi; clashes continue as anti-Gadhafi forces move on Sirte, the Libyan leader’s hometown.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/turkey-to-monitor-libya-airspace-as-rebels-advance-westward-1.352360?localLinksEnabled=false
Rice: US has not ruled out arming Libyan rebels
WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) – U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said on Tuesday that the Obama administration has not ruled out arming Libya’s rebels as an option for trying to end Muammar Gaddafi’s 41-year rule.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/rice-us-has-not-ruled-out-arming-libyan-rebels
Diplomats discuss Libya’s future as Italy plots Gaddafi’s escape route
A senior American official signalled that a solution in which Gaddafi flees to a country beyond the reach of the international criminal court (ICC), which is investigating war crimes charges against him, would be acceptable to Washington, pointing out that Barack Obama had repeatedly called on Gaddafi to leave.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/28/diplomats-meet-italy-gaddafi-escape?CMP=twt_fd
Libya TV says shows live footage of Khamis Gaddafi
Libyan television broadcast on Tuesday what it said was live footage of leader Muammar Gaddafi’s son Khamis greeting supporters at his father’s compound in Tripoli., A TV anchor said the images, which showed a man with a striking resemblance to Khamis Gaddafi, refuted reports in the Arab media and on the Internet that he was killed by a disaffected air force pilot who flew his plane into Gaddafi’s Tripoli compound., Libyan officials say such reports are part of a deliberate campaign of misinformation by the country’s enemies., Khamis is the commander of the military’s elite 32nd brigade, seen by many analysts as the best-trained unit in Libya., The televised footage showed a man in military uniform standing in the back of a heavily guarded pickup truck that drove through the Bab al-Aziziyah compound. He waved to supporters and bodyguards tried to prevent some from getting too close., Separately, Tunisia’s official TAP news agency said Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa had crossed the border into Tunisia on Monday afternoon, quoting its own correspondent and a security source at the main transit point of Ras Jdir., It quoted a source at the Tunisian Foreign Ministry as saying his visit was “private … not official”.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libya-tv-says-shows-live-footage-of-khamis-gaddafi
Obama defends military intervention in Libya
US president says world will be better off with Gaddafi out of power, but removing him by force will be a mistake.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2011/03/201132823265977825.html
West willing to strike immunity deal with Gaddafi to end conflict
Britain and other coalition countries would be prepared to allow Muammar Gaddafi to escape prosecution and be granted safe haven as part of a deal to end the conflict in Libya.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/west-willing-to-strike-immunity-deal-with-gaddafi-to-end-conflict-2255919.html
U.S. says Libyan rebels may sell oil
WASHINGTON, March 28 (Reuters) – The United States on Monday gave a green light to sales of Libyan crude oil from rebel-held territory, giving a potential boost to forces battling Muammar Gaddafi. A U.S. Treasury Department official said Libyan rebels would not be subject to U.S. sanctions if they avoid entities linked to Gaddafi’s regime, which would allow them to sell oil under their control.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/us-says-libyan-rebels-may-sell-oil
INTERVIEW-Libya rebels say seeking to lift oil sanctions
BENGHAZI, Libya, March 28 (Reuters) – A senior Libyan rebel official said on Monday rebels were in “active discussions” to have sanctions lifted on purchases of crude produced from east Libyan fields no longer in Muammar Gaddafi’s control. “We hope they will be lifted for the liberated areas as quickly as possible,” Ali Tarhouni, a rebel official in charge of economic, financial and oil matters in rebel-held Benghazi, told Reuters. “Not with everybody, but with some countries.”
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/interview-libya-rebels-say-seeking-to-lift-oil-sanctions
Libya Poll: Plurality Of U.S. Public Supports Airstrikes, But Majority Unsure of Goal
WASHINGTON — According to a poll released Monday by the Pew Research Center, a plurality of Americans support U.S. airstrikes in Libya, but a majority say they see no clear goal to international involvement. The new survey found that 47 percent of adult respondents thought that the United States and its allies made the right decision by conducting military airstrikes in Libya, while 36 percent thought it was the wrong decision. However, half of all respondents said the United States and its allies had no clear goal in their involvement. Thirty-nine percent said they did think the coalition had a clear goal.The poll also found disagreement over what the goal of international involvement should be. While 46 percent said it should be to remove Qaddafi, 43 percent said that it should be to protect civilians from violence.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/28/libya-poll-us-public_n_841661.html
Hoda Abdel Hamid making a quick escape
Al Jazeera’s Hoda Abdel Hamid making a hasty escape in Nawfaliya amid fear of approaching pro-Gaddafi forces.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MT_ljJWFnE&feature=youtube_gdata
Al Jazeera’s Anita McNaught on the latests from Libya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lutDYuTKuYw&feature=youtube_gdata
Analysis/Op-ed
Libyan Revolution : Eman of Libya
Eman El-Obeidi has become of the one faces of Libyan revolution just like late Mohamed Nabbous . We do not know if she is alive or dead or rather was killed like what one of her cousin implied but still her proud mother told the reporters that she talked to her on the phone. Eman’s mother Mrs. Aisha Ahmed , the lady who lives currently in Tobruk revealed that the regime contacted her and offered money if she changed her story the thing which she totally refused. Now some officials in Libya claim in the Washington Post that Eman is a prostitute and that it was a wild night that went totally wrong so Eman is not mentally unstable now !! Same thing was implied at Sky News’ report about those arrests in Tripoli after the incident at the Rixos hotel. Regarding foreign media , you must know that Arabs admire the action of the foreign reporters and many comments online praise their bravery against the Qaddafi men.
http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/03/libyan-revolution-eman-of-libya.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EgyptianChronicles+%28Egyptian+chronicles%29
Stephen Zunes: Libya, the ‘Responsibility to Protect,’ and Double Standards
Reasonable people can disagree on the appropriateness of the decision by the United States and its NATO allies to attack Libya in the wake of the Gadaffi regime’s offensive against rebel-held cities under the doctrine of “the responsibility to protect.” Though the intervention likely prevented a slaughter, there is no guarantee that it won’t simply protract a bloody military stalemate that could result in at least as many civilian deaths. There are any number of other legitimate concerns raised by those distressed over the fact that there is now a third country in the greater Middle East in which the United States has found itself at war. At the same time, there are also legitimate arguments being made by prominent human rights advocates arguing that there is still a moral imperative for the use of force to avoid a large-scale massacre by a criminal regime.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-zunes/libya-the-responsibility-_b_841168.html
Obama on Libya vs. Trump, Palin, Bachmann, Romney, Gingrich and Carrot Top, Juan Cole
President Barack Obama in his Monday evening address to the nation on Libya outlined an effort of limitations. The US could not intervene everywhere, but it could intervene to good effect here. America is acting in concert with the Arab League, the United Nations and NATO, not striking out unilaterally. The most important US contribution will be up front, after which the Pentagon will turn the endeavor over to NATO. There will be no effort led by ground troops to overthrow Qaddafi. It is up to the Libyans to deal with him once his armor is neutralized (presumably in the way that the Romanians dealt with Ceausescu and the Serbs dealt with Milosevic). The US simply doesn’t have the wherewithal to do more trillion-dollar Iraq-style operations, Mr. Obama said– another limitation.
http://www.juancole.com/2011/03/obama-on-libya-vs-trump-bachmann-romney-gingrich-and-carrot-top.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+juancole%2Fymbn+%28Informed+Comment%29
Libya is another case of selective vigilantism by the west | Tariq Ali
Bombing Tripoli while shoring up other despots in the Arab world shows the UN-backed strikes to oust Gaddafi are purely cynical. The US-Nato intervention in Libya, with United Nations security council cover, is part of an orchestrated response to show support for the movement against one dictator in particular and by so doing to bring the Arab rebellions to an end by asserting western control, confiscating their impetus and spontaneity and trying to restore the status quo ante.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/29/libya-west-tripoli-arab-world-gaddafi
Further thoughts on Libya, Issandr El Amrani
Incidentally I generally liked the speech, outlining as it does a flexible policy that incorporates a reluctance to dedicate too many resources to this kind of humanitarian interventionism. I largely agree with what Michael Tomasky says about it in the Guardian. Nonetheless, it is worth noting the perhaps unavoidable inconsistencies.
http://www.arabist.net/blog/2011/3/29/further-thoughts-on-libya.html
Syria
Syrian authorities urged to lift repressive laws amid violence
The Syrian government’s pledge to lift the country’s long-standing state of emergency must be swiftly backed up with concrete steps, Amnesty International said.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/syrian-authorities-urged-lift-repressive-laws-amid-violence-2011-03-28
Syrian protesters dispersed after clashes
Crackdown follows unrest in which protesters demanding an end to emergency law have been killed by security forces.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/201132818173548579.html
Syrian president offers olive branch to protesters as violence escalates
The president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, is expected to announce reforms today including the end of the 50-year-old state of emergency, to try to defuse protests as thousands of people continue to confront troops.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrian-president-offers-olive-branch-to-protesters-as-violence-escalates-2255736.html
Syrian VP: Assad to Announce Important Decisions in 48 Hours
Calm returned to Syria on Monday as Syrian Vice President Farouq Shara said that President Bashar Assad would announce important decisions that will “please the Syrian people” in the next two days.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=8083&cid=23&fromval=1&frid=23&seccatid=20&s1=1
Reuters: Journalists detained in Syria freed
International news agency Reuters says two of its journalists detained by Syrian authorities have been released. Reuters said Monday its television producer Ayat Basma and cameraman Ezzat Baltaji, both Lebanese nationals, have returned to Lebanon. It says they were detained by Syrian authorities on Saturday. The agency’s Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler said Monday that he and his colleagues were delighted by the men’s release. Reuters also says that a foreign correspondent based in Damascus has had his accreditation withdrawn after Syrian officials accused him of falsifying his reporting of the events in Syria, which has been rocked by killings and civil unrest. The news agency said it stood by its coverage.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014620010_apsyriamissingjournalists.html
Syrian cabinet quits amid unrest
The Syrian cabinet resigns, says state-run television, after more than a week of mass protests.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-12897223
Syrian opposition figures urge peaceful change
AMMAN, March 28 (Reuters) – Leading Syrian opposition figures issued a declaration on Monday denouncing sectarianism and committing to non-violent democratic change in the wake of disturbances in the port city of Latakia. President Bashar al-Assad dispatched troops to Latakia late on Saturday in a sign of doubt about the ability of security police to maintain order there. Latakia’s population is a potentially explosive cocktail of Sunni Muslims, Christian and Alawites, who constitute Assad’s core support.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/syrian-opposition-figures-urge-peaceful-change
Mass pro-Assad rallies in Syria
Tens of thousands of Syrians rally in several cities in support of President Bashar al-Assad, who has faced a wave of unrest in recent days.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-12892870
Palestinian groups deny involvement in recent unrest in Syria
DAMASCUS, March 28 (Xinhua) — Damascus-based Palestinian political groups denied on Monday accusations that some Palestinians were behind recent unrest in Syria. In a statement, the groups warned of “attempts of division between Syria and the Palestinian factions.” Khaled Abdul Majeed, secretary of the national follow-up committee and the Palestinian forces coalition, said in the statement that “Syria will overcome the current crisis and will be able to foil external attempts to undermine its national stability. “
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-03/29/c_13802179.htm
Will Syria Lift Decades-Old Emergency Law? Street Protests & Deadly Crackdown Force Assad Regime to Consider Political Changes
Scores of protesters have been killed in Syria during 10 days of protests against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. In an attempt to appease protesters, Assad’s administration has reportedly vowed to lift the emergency law, which for nearly 50 years has allowed the government to detain people without charge. “For more than 40 years, people have been politically suppressed,” says Bassam Haddad, the director of the Middle East Studies Program at George Mason University. “That suppression was coupled more recently in the past 20-some years with neoliberal-like economic policies that have created huge gaps between different segments of Syrian society.” [includes rush transcript]
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/28/will_syria_lift_decades_old_emergency
Bahrain
Bahrain: Investigate Deaths Linked to Crackdown
(Manama) – The Bahraini government should urgently investigate the killing of at least 18 people during violent crackdowns since protests began on February 14, 2011, Human Rights Watch said today. Most were killed by security forces using excessive force, namely crowd-control equipment at extremely close range and live gunfire, Human Rights Watch said. Four government security officers were also killed, according to the Interior Ministry. The authorities admitted holding four missing persons in the Bahrain Defense Force hospital only after they had succumbed to their injuries. This raises serious concerns regarding the missing persons’ treatment and whether authorities are holding other people without notifying their families, Human Rights Watch said.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/bahrain-investigate-deaths-linked-to-crackdown
Bahrain opposition says 250 detained, 44 missing (Reuters)
Reuters – Bahrain’s leading Shi’ite opposition party Wefaq said on Monday 250 people have been detained and 44 others went missing since a security crackdown crushed weeks of protests, more than double last week’s figures.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110328/wl_nm/us_bahrain_arrests
Bahrain accepts resignation of opposition MPs (AP)
AP – Bahrain’s parliament has formally accepted the resignations of 11 lawmakers from the Shiite opposition.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110329/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_bahrain_protests
Yemen
Yemen: 40 killed in clashes in northern governorate of Al-Jawf
The anti-government uprising, backed by opposition parties, has sparked clashes between pro- and anti-government tribesmen in the northern Yemeni governorate of Al-Jawf where at least 40 people have been killed in the past few days.
http://www.yementimes.com/defaultdet.aspx?SUB_ID=35827
Yemen president scraps offer to step down as Islamic militants take advantage of unrest to seize towns
The militants moved in with no resistance because police had withdrawn weeks earlier – as they did in several other parts of the country – in the face of challenges by anti-government protesters.
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1370660/Yemens-leader-drops-offer-leave-years-end.html
Pentagon urged to find ‘Plan B’ for base as Yemeni crisis grows
The Pentagon is being urged to move its counterterrorism operations from Yemen across the Gulf of Aden to Djibouti should the government in Sanaa fall.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/24/pentagon-urged-to-find-plan-b-for-base-as-yemeni-c/
Saleh tried to get Saudis to kill Yemeni rival: WikiLeaks
OSLO: Yemen President Ali Abdallah Saleh tried to get Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, now a leading dissident officer, killed last year by tricking Saudi forces into bombing his headquarters, a Norwegian daily said Monday, quoting a leaked U.S. cable. “In the winter of 2010,” Saudi fighter jets bombing Shiite rebellion targets in Yemen were directed to bomb a building.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=126530
Jordan
Human Rights Watch: Jordan: Set Independent Inquiry in Attacks on Protesters
(New York) – Civil prosecutors should open an independent investigation into serious allegations of excessive use of force by security forces during protests on March 25, 2011, in Amman, Human Rights Watch said today. The investigation should include the security forces’ failure to prevent violence by government supporters against protesters demanding reform.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/03/28/jordan-set-independent-inquiry-attacks-protesters
People that should be protesting but aren’t…
Saudi Women Vote Ban Remains In Place During Municipal Elections
RIYADH (Reuters) – Women in Saudi Arabia will not be allowed to vote in the long-delayed municipal elections to be held in September, the election commission said on Monday. Saudi Arabia announced last week it will hold the elections, in the first political concession since protests sweeping the region reached the kingdom.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/28/saudi-women-vote-ban_n_841711.html
