News

Medical centres in Bahrain raided & more news from the Arab spring and Saudi counter revolutions


Mattar Ibrahim Mattar, a former member of parliament for Wefaq, the country’s leading opposition group, told Al Jazeera that the families of medical staff who have been providing treatment to injured protesters were being arrested. Human rights groups have accused Bahrain of arresting patients and medical staff suspected of taking part in protests, and sacking hundreds of public workers. Bahrain says it targets only those who committed crimes during the unrest in March.

and other news from the Arab spring:

Bahrain
Bahrain Detaining Over 1,000 Pro-Democracy Activists‎
Saudi-backed Bahraini forces injured a woman who was part of a group of women trying to prevent the destruction of a religious site. In addition, two female student and four female medics have been detained. Bahrain’s Human Rights Center reports that 1,041 people have been detained since protest began, including 64 women.
http://pulsemedia.org/2011/04/26/bahrain-detaining-over-1000-pro-democracy-activists%e2%80%8e/

US voices concern over detainees’ fate in Bahrain (AFP)
AFP – The United States expressed concern Tuesday over the fate of members of the opposition detained in Bahrain, noting that some prisoners have died in custody.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110426/pl_afp/bahrainpoliticsunrestus

Bahrain expels Iran diplomat, Iran warns of response
MANAMA, April 26 (Reuters) – Bahrain has ordered the expulsion of an Iranian diplomat for alleged links to a spy ring in fellow Gulf Arab state Kuwait, state media said, in a further deterioration of relations with Tehran. The Arab kingdom also sought criminal charges against 30 health ministry staff, extending a crackdown against public employees suspected of participating in pro-democracy protests that Bahrain crushed last month with outside military help.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/bahrain-expels-iran-diplomat-iran-warns-of-response

Bahrain cracks down abroad
Bahrain’s authorities have cancelled the scholarships of several students who have demonstrated against the government in Britain. Students in the UK now face the prospect of having to return home at the end of the summer, once they are unable to pay tuition fees for the next academic year. The Bahraini Embassy in London says the decisions are not final and affect a relatively small number of students, but Bahraini opposition groups in the UK say they know of at least 35 students who have been affected and expect many more to come forward. Charlie Angela reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAK3b69iMJ0&feature=youtube_gdata

Bahraini Regime Strangling Dissent
Trade union members, journalists and opposition parties are being systematically silenced by the authorities. In the past month, hundreds of workers have been fired from government ministries for opposing the regime by taking part in strikes and protests.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/bahraini-regime-strangling-dissent?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+iwprstories+%28IWPR+Stories%29

Brutal State Terror in Bahrain
Saying sporadic protests began last summer, major ones began for regime change on February 14, the tenth anniversary of the public referendum on the Bahrain National Action Charter – a monarchy reform initiative to end years of 1990s political unrest. Wanting constitutionally mandated elected government, greater parliamentary authority, political freedom, social justice, and ending discrimination against majority Shias, many thousands defied government demands for weeks, braving police attacks with tear gas, beatings, rubber bullets, live fire, arrests, torture, and disappearances until March 14 when over 1,500 Saudi Arabia-led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) military and police security forces invaded Bahrain guns blazing.
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2011/04/brutal-state-terror-in-bahrain.html

Bahrain update
From a source who should remain anonymous:  ”Yesterday the total count of political prisoners reached 1048.  That means that around 1 in every 550 Bahrainis is a political prisoner.  Today the government announced that they will release 312 detainees “after sufficient duration of arrest” whatever that means.  The rest of the 1048 will be put on trial.  Meanwhile they are arresting more people today.  Also the trial of 7 protestors (I believe it is 7) begins today for supposedly killing a policeman.  The prosecutor is seeking the death penalty.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/04/bahrain-update.html

Sectarian segregation and repression in Bahrain: but royal family does not discriminate in its repression
“We can call this now a regime of sectarian separation that is working on a sectarian purge” of Shiites, Rajab charged, citing raids on schools and medical centres where Shiites were told to line up separately from Sunnis.” and “Police raid medical centres and separate employees based on their sects, then order Shiites to stand by the wall and put their arms up… while masked informers point out” those who joined the protests, he said.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/04/sectarian-segregation-and-repression-in.html

Egypt
Explosion rocks Egypt gas pipeline
Security official blames armed gang for “attack” at terminal that supplies natural gas to Jordan and Israel.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/201142734443313150.html

Israel prepares for Egyptian gas halt
TEL AVIV, April 27 (Reuters) – State-owned Israel Electric Corp said on Wednesday it was preparing to keep its power plants running after saboteurs blew up an Egyptian pipeline that supplies natural gas to Israel and Jordan. “The company’s management will use all resources at its disposal to guarantee the continued orderly supply of electricity, including using other fuels in accordance with regulations and in cooperation with the Infrastructure Ministry and the Environment Ministry,” the utility said in a statement.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/israel-prepares-for-egyptian-gas-halt

Mubarak Faces More Questioning on Gas Deal With Israel
The investigation surrounding a secretive deal to export natural gas to Israel at a low price has already resulted in the arrests of Egypt’s former oil minister and five other top officials.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/23/world/middleeast/23egypt.html

Mubarak ally on trial for deaths
Former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly pleads not guilty to charges of ordering the killing of unarmed protesters during Egypt’s uprising.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-13198627

Poll: Over half of Egypt wants end to Israel peace
Survey conducted by US-based research center shows 54% of Egyptians would like to see 1979 peace treaty scrapped.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060559,00.html

Egyptians are demonstrating against the Israeli occupation embassy in Cairo
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/04/this-is-egyptian-revolution.html

Egypt’s Darkest Corner Was The Forerunner to Guantanamo
The Scorpion Prison is a hellish institution that former prisoners told me was the blueprint for America’s Guantanamo, the world’s most notorious jail. It is reasonable to say that this is Egypt’s very own Guantanamo.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27971.htm

So much for the Facebook theory of Arab revolts
“Role of Social Networking Nearly a quarter of Egyptians (23%) say they have used social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to obtain news about their country’s political situation; 6% access these sites but have not used it as a source of political news. About two-thirds (65%) do not use the internet or email.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/04/so-much-for-facebook-theory-of-arab.html

New song of Egypt’s elite
They hail the revolution as easily as they praised Mubarak. But they’re still Mister President’s men. What makes revolutionary thought unique is its clarity and dignity, and its clear grasp of freedom and justice: simple, clear words that are understood without the need for any help from elite writers or thinkers. In the columns of many of Egypt’s national newspapers, the same face-lifted, hair-dyed dignitaries who spent years justifying and beautifying the corruption of past rulers still write regularly. They now praise Egypt’s revolutionaries just as they once praised Hosni Mubarak and his ministers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/26/egypt-elite-still-presidents-men

Iraq
Iraq’s own Arab spring | Jonathan Steele
Stretched close to the limit by combat in Afghanistan and determined not to get into a ground war in Libya, the Pentagon is stepping up the pressure to maintain a huge US troop presence in today’s largely peaceful Iraq. What might seem at first sight strange and unnecessary is in fact fully in line with the ambitions of those who planned the invasion eight years ago. Whether neocons or “realists”, they always wanted to have a long-term political and military footprint in the northern sector of the Middle East, strategically placed between Syria and Iran.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/25/united-states-troop-presence-iraq-long-term

Libya
Pro-Gaddafi forces bombard Zintan-rebel spokesman
ALGIERS, April 27 (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi fired Russian-made Grad rockets into the centre of the rebel-held town of Zintan on Wednesday, a rebel spokesman in the town told Reuters. “There was intense bombardment this morning. Around 15 Grad rockets landed in the town centre, two of them landed where I’m standing now,” the spokesman, called Abdulrahman, said by telephone from Zintan, in the Western Mountains region. “Five houses were destroyed. Nobody was killed, luckily, but some children were slightly wounded,” he said.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/pro-gaddafi-forces-bombard-zintan-rebel-spokesman

Rebels battle Gaddafi forces in western Libya
Government forces bombard port in Misurata and Berber towns in the western mountains as NATO allies mull way ahead.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/04/2011426162624441291.html

Gaddafi’s Grip On Western Libya May Be Slipping
TRIPOLI, Libya — Moammar Gadhafi has suffered military setbacks in recent days in western Libya, a sign that his grip may be slipping in the very region he needs to cling to power. His loyalists were driven out of the center of the city of Misrata, a key rebel stronghold in Gadhafi-controlled territory. A NATO airstrike turned parts of his Tripoli headquarters into smoldering rubble. And rebel fighters seized a border crossing, breaking open a supply line to besieged rebel towns in a remote western mountain area.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/26/gaddafis-western-libya_n_854089.html

Rare view from Libya’s western mountains shows rebel gains against Qaddafi
The picture emerging from this rugged terrain along Libya’s southern border with Tunisia is that of a heavily outgunned rebel militia winning unlikely victories over Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/AhZsA9fW5_w/Rare-view-from-Libya-s-western-mountains-shows-rebel-gains-against-Qaddafi

Libya opposition: Over 300 Gadhafi troops killed in Misrata
State media says NATA has launched fresh air strikes to weaken Gadhafi forces, as many Libyans fear fighting between rebels and government forces will go on for months.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/mideast-in-turmoil/libya-opposition-over-300-gadhafi-troops-killed-in-misrata-1.358231?localLinksEnabled=false

Tripoli hit again by NATO
Five loud explosions rocked the eastern part of the Libyan capital Tripoli late on Monday night, witnesses said. “We heard three loud explosions and we saw flames and smoke billowing close to us,” a resident of Ain Zara neighborhood in eastern Tripoli told Agence-France Press.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/04/26/146772.html

Libyan town under new bombardment
Misrata comes under renewed attack by Libyan government forces, despite Nato military strikes enforcing a UN resolution to protect civilians.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-13200839

UK in Libya ‘for the long haul’
The UK “must prepare for the long haul” in Libya, Downing Street has said, as Royal Air Force aircraft attack vehicles used by pro-Gaddafi forces.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-13196875

Italy ‘to join attacks in Libya’
Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi approves the use of his country’s air force in Nato military strikes enforcing a UN resolution to protect civilians in Libya.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-13188951

Gaddafi forces pound Libyan towns
Artillery fire continue to hit Misurata and Berber towns in the Nafusa mountain range as NATO bombs Gaddafi’s compound.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/04/201142662453882710.html

Gaddafi forces dig in around Brega oil town – rebel
AJDABIYAH, Libya, April 26 (Reuters) – The Libyan army has reinforced positions around the eastern oil town of Brega and dug in its long-range missile batteries to conceal them from attacks by NATO warplanes, a rebel army officer said on Tuesday. Rebels intent on overthrowing Muammar Gaddafi fought battles with government loyalists for weeks after an uprising erupted in February, but fighting has reached stalemate on the desert road between Brega and Ajdabiyah, 80 km (50 miles) further east.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/gaddafi-forces-dig-in-around-brega-oil-town-rebel

Misurata residents cope with shortages
Muammar Gaddafi’s forces may have been driven out of Misurata, but everyday life in the shattered city is tough. People formed long queues as essential goods have been in shortage in this besieged city in Libya’s west. Uncertain days lie ahead for the city’s population as the port, the lifeline of the city, too comes under attack. Al Jazeera’s Nick Toksvig reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PgZpqjIsbY&feature=youtube_gdata

Chavez says Libyan officials in Venezuela
CARACAS, April 26 (Reuters) – A delegation of Libyan officials is in Venezuela to discuss possible peaceful solutions to the war in the North African country, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez said on Tuesday. Chavez is a close ally of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and has proposed talks between rebels and the government.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/chavez-says-libyan-officials-in-venezuela

In Libya’s rebel stronghold, whispers of disagreement
Libya’s rebels, based in Benghazi, are determined to fight Qaddafi’s forces to the end – no matter how long it takes. But can they maintain unity?
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/C5Ae3qkgwFQ/In-Libya-s-rebel-stronghold-whispers-of-disagreement

White House approves $25 million for Libyan rebels
The White House finally approved the $25 million in non-lethal aid to the Libya rebels that the State Department had notified Congress about on April 15. The White House released a memo late Tuesday from President Obama to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates officially authorizing them to “drawdown” up to $25 million of “non lethal aid and services” to give to the Libyan Transitional National Council “to support efforts to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under threat of attack in Libya.”
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/04/26/white_house_approves_25_million_for_libyan_rebels

Inside War-Torn Libya: As NATO Intensifies Air Strikes, Rebels Struggle to Break Gaddafi’s Control of Libya
Anti-Gaddafi rebel fighters in Libya have called on NATO to offer them more assistance to try to end the military stalemate in the country. NATO patrols and airs trikes are still trying to break the hold of forces loyal to Col. Muammar Gaddafi. Pro-government troops have been shelling the port area in Misurata, the only city in western Libya that is in rebel control. There are reports Gaddafi’s forces are using human shields in the city. Leila Fadel, Washington Post Cairo bureau chief, joins us from Benghazi.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/4/27/inside_war_torn_libya_as_nato

Saudi Arabia
A Brave Saudi : “Where is Khaled?”
Video – Khaled, father of four children and a teacher, has been missing since he made this interview with foreign journalists on March 11th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxinAxWxXo8

Syria
Syria Protests: U.S. State Department Orders Some Embassy Staff To Leave Country
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department said on Monday it has ordered some non-essential U.S. embassy officials in Damascus and all embassy dependents to leave Syria because of the “uncertainty and volatility” in the country.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/25/syria-protests-us-state-department-orders-leave_n_853611.html

Turkish PM advises reform in Syria, sending envoy
ISTANBUL, April 26 (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan voiced concern on Tuesday over Syria’s violent crackdown on demonstrators and said he was sending an envoy to meet President Bashar al-Assad and encourage him to move towards democracy. Erdogan has friendly relations with Assad and has since the early days of the unrest urged him to show restraint and make reforms desired by the Syrian people, or risk the fate suffered by Arab leaders who have been toppled by uprisings this year.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/turkish-pm-advises-reform-in-syria-sending-envoy

Syrian military assault against protesters must end
Tanks shell civilian areas as brutal crackdown on protesters continues. The Syrian government’s brutal reaction to its people’s demand for change has reached a new and outrageous low, Amnesty International said today, as army tanks continued to shell residential areas in the southern city of Dera’a. After the Syrian army deployed in Dera’a early on Monday, tanks were used to shell civilian buildings, sources told Amnesty International.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/syrian-military-assault-against-protesters-must-end-2011-04-25

Syria intensifies crackdown on protests
At least 500 pro-democracy activists arrested, rights group says, after authorities deployed troops to quell protests.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/04/20114265855623958.html

Syria Update: US considering more sanctions
The United States says it is planning to increase pressure on Bashar al-Assad’s government. That includes targeted sanctions against the president, his family and inner circle. The US has also ordered some of its embassy officials and their families to leave Syria because of what it calls the “uncertainty and volatility” in the country. Al Jazeera’s Patty Culhane has more on Washington’s response.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5Sdh7yTMEk&feature=youtube_gdata

Influential brother of Syria’s Assad to be targeted by US sanctions
The brother of President Bashar al-Assad will probably top the list of Syrian officials to be hit by economic sanctions from the United States, according to Al Arabiya sources.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/04/27/146904.html

Syria: Deraa witness says ‘snipers are everywhere’
A resident of Deraa, who we are not naming for security reasons, described to Al Jazeera, through a translator, a desperate situation on the ground in the restive southern city.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aug5EbWpXo4&feature=youtube_gdata

Analysis: Syria neighbors fear future without Assad family (Reuters)
Reuters – From Israel to Iran, Syria’s neighbors are starting to contemplate the possibility of a future without the Assad family as Lords of Damascus, and, whether friends or foes, some don’t like what they see.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110427/wl_nm/us_syria_assad

After Syria’s “Great Friday”: Al-Jazeera Interview with Bassam Haddad (conducted on April 23)
Below is Al-Jazeera’s interview on Syria with Jadaliyya Co-Editor Bassam Haddad after the events of “Great Friday” on April 22nd, the bloodiest day that Syria witnessed since the beginning of the uprisings. In this interview, conducted on Saturday April 23rd, Bassam discusses the events as a turning point in the confrontation and the prospects for cohesion on all sides. He also addresses the role of the media, and media wars.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/1331/after-syrias-great-friday_al-jazeera-interview-wit

Mulhim Ad-Durubi
The guy who read the statement of the Syrian opposition movement in Istanbul is named Mulhim Ad-Durubi.  He is one of the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria.  I really worry that the lousy Brotherhood will steal the valiant efforts of the Syrian people over the years to rid themselves of Ba`thist rule.  With Saudi-Qatari intervention, I worry that the Brotherhood will prevail as the “official opposition.”  And no, this does not make me support the regime but I worry about the sinister Brotherhood.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/04/mulhim-ad-durubi.html

SYRIA: What they are saying about the protests
DUBAI, 27 April 2011 (IRIN) – Hundreds of people have reportedly died in unrest in Syria since mid-March, many at the hands of the security forces, leading to growing international condemnation of the use of excessive force by President Bashar al-Assad’s government to suppress protests.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/syria-what-they-are-saying-about-the-protests

Quelling the Revolt: Will the Opposition Take up Arms?
Bashar al-Assad is determined to quell the Syrian revolt, which is why he has sent in the military with tanks and is now arresting the network of opposition activists and leaders that his intelligence agencies have been able to track. There is an element of “shock and awe” to the operation. Tanks are clearly not useful for suppressing an urban rebellion, but they demonstrate the superior firepower of the state and the determination of the president. It is a classic military strategy – go hard and quick. Take out the opposition before t has a chance to harden and develop a durable command a reliable cell structure. This is precisely what the US military tried to do in Iraq. It is what it failed to do in Libya, when it allowed Qaddafi to regroup and regain control of Tripoli and Western Libya after his initial confusion and weakness.
http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=9383&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Syriacomment+%28Syria+Comment%29

Joshua Landis, “The Man behind ‘Syrian Revolution 2011’ Facebook Page Speaks Out”
Administrator of the “Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook Page” Speaks Out. The official spokesman of the site lives in Sweden and leads Sweden’s chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood according to the Syrian press. His name is فداء الدين طريف السيد عيسى Fida’ ad-Din Tariif as-Sayyid ‘Isa, born 1985. The Syrian Revolution 2011 is the most important webpage of the Syrian revolution. It has over 130,000 members. It is the major source of news and YouTube videos about the Syrian revolution.
http://bit.ly/gIwdCc

From Syria with doubt (Part II)
I told comrade Ziad that his message which I posted here infuriated many people especially in Syria.  He responded here:  ”The beauty of what happened in Tunisia and Egypt is that the U.S, Israel and Saudi Arabia were caught unprepared they were taken off-guard; reactionary and colonial powers did not have the time to plan.
Yes I know my opinion on this matter is always received negatively, even in here among my friends, nobody wants to believe that sometimes a gun might fire backward. I have a question to all those who discredit the talk of the role of Islamists in the demonstrations, why was a law forbidding the burqa3 in schools issued few years ago if it was not becoming a widespread problem?  Now they will deaf our ears with talks about the national unity, and the “secular Syrian society”; as if we did not live those lies in Lebanon back in 2005. We have seen this movie before haven’t we? Let me predict: the regime falls…a bomb is planted in a Sunni neighborhood…another one in an alawite neighborhood…tribes loyalty bought by Saudi\U.S intelligence (does anybody remember “Abou elrich” in iraq? we’ll have feathers all over)….ethnic massacres….foreign intervention….resistance under siege…sunni and shia massacring each other from Lebanon to Iraq….and the whole dream of a better future that saw light with the Egyptian revolution shattered into pieces.  We don’t give colonial power any incentive to be creative….same plan…same trap…same result (we still brag about the Arab revolution against the ottoman empire…nobody broke it to us that we helped France and Britain to colonize the whole region – it was shareef Hussein and the familia no? all of our problems come from Mecca J) Now, anyone who voices out those concerns will be categorized\labeled as a regime supporter and won’t be heard…..I know that voicing out those concerns will be received by many people as a support to the regime’s policies\corruption\dictatorship…yet it is not, it only intends to raise the question, will the total collapse of regime be beneficial to our aims and goals of a better future? Same thing happened in 2005, many people tend to live in their own imaginary bubble thinking that a democratic society will emerge only to discover later on that they were fooled…once again.  Today the Syrian people is drawing the future of the whole region for a long coming period…one can only hope they don’t give us a surreal one.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/04/from-syria-with-doubt-part-ii.html

(another) Response to “From Syria with Doubt”
Another response: “I’ve read with dismay the two letters from your leftist comrade about the situation in Syria (from Syria with doubt). There are many contradictions and logical fallacies in his analysis, but let me first start by assuring you (and him) that the Syrian society at large is a tolerant one. And this tolerance and acceptance of diversity goes deep into our political history – the history that the regime tried to eviscerate in the last 40-50 years. My dad tells me that when he was a kid (he’s now in his seventh decade) supporters of the Ba’ath, Muslim brotherhood, Nasserists and communists would all protest together AT THE SAME time in the village square all day, and when it’s time to go home, each group would depart peacefully. (and yes, we can only rely on anecdotal evidence because the regime repression doesn’t allow for neutral polls and free expression of thought). Your friend asks a question: why was the niqab banned if it wasn’t becoming a problem? this doesn’t make any sense at all. The banning of the niqab was an arbitrary decision taken on some level of the Syrian leadership in order to: 1- Appear as if they’re struggling against an extremist population (total number of niqabi teachers are 1200 out of probably a hundred thousands). 2- Try to stifle a form of expression and protest by a section of the Syrian society that feels left out and abandoned. We know quite well that when people do not find means of applied
justice on earth, they turn for the divine one. If The Muslim Brotherhood has any popularity in Syria, it’s because they’re (wrongly) PERCEIVED among some as honest and non-corrupt. So in a nutshell, the rising religiosity in Syria is a side effect of the regime repression and its marginalization of the people.  Personally, I do not wish for the regime to fall. Although I realize this is going to be very difficult, I really wish that Dr. Bashar would opt for real reforms and maneuver the country out of this bottle neck with minimal loss of life, but also with rewards to the citizens in terms of freedoms, dignity and justice. But even then, I can’t accept the tarnishing of protesters as salafists or jihadists like your friend is doing. Especially when they’re risking their lives to go out and protest. It goes against all democratic (and moral) values to disregard people aspirations. I’m also troubled by your friend’s assumption that Syrian people can’t
succeed where the Lebanese failed. I also think,  with all due respect, that his drawing parallels with Lebanon 2005 is laughable. If you decide to post, please keep my name (and my email address) anonymous.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/04/another-response-to-from-syria-with.html

A Syrian woman responds to “From Syria with Doubt”
A reader kindly translated the response by the Syrian woman (from yesterday) to the letter “From Syria with Doubt”.  Here it is:
“I am a Syrian woman, and I write to you about the letter of that Lebanese person who wrote to you about his observations in Syria, and I hope that you publish my letter or some of it.
1. The Syrian people are not sectarian in their character, and this is a real truth, and the history and demographic distribution in Syria proves it. I personally am from a religious Muslim family, and when I went to Damascus to study, I lived with a Christian family in Bab Tuma. I grew up in school with Alawites and they were my friends and neighbors. The Syrian people are very tolerant when it comes to religion. Perhaps the greatest evidence of this is the ascension of Faris al-Khoury to the office of prime minister in Syria and the ascension of Hafez al-Assad himself to the position of defense minister.
2. The one who circulates the sectarian viewpoint and sectarian thinking is the regime itself, for it acts in line with the logic of “divide and conquer.” The minorities fear the rule of the majority. We call for choosing a president from any religion or sect (according to elections) and that the presidential term be term-limited (No lifetime presidency!).
3. We are revolting in the face of oppression and corruption and tyranny and one-party rule and the rule of the Assad family and its entourage over the country’s destiny. We are revolting against the absence, in any way, shape, or form, of human freedoms. The mere belief that our noble struggle for the sake of our freedom [is not, in fact, so comes from] stupid, fictitious stories like that which the regime circulates, like foreign conspiracies and Salafi gangs and the like nonsense. It is a betrayal of the blood of the righteous innocent while they faced, with bared chests, a fascist regime on a killing frenzy.
4. We are calling for a secular, civil, democratic state that respects all of its citizens.
5. If there is some ignorance in some of the protesters’ circles, let’s ask ourselves: who worked for 48 years to sanctify ignorance, to spend hundreds of millions on building the branches of state security and intelligence and idols and ugly images? Who brought the education level to the bottom in order to ban [free] thought and expression? Isn’t it the regime of the Ba’ath Party? I don’t recall one instance of modernization or one time that new books were added to the cultural center in my small town. And they ask why the youth fall victim to some of the Salafis and the people who circulate suicidal discourses. But even if some Salafis or Muslim Brothers were found amongst the demonstrators, that doesn’t mean, in any case, that they will come to power or that Syria will become a religious state. So who said that the Salafis and the Muslim Brothers will be more bloody and more savage than the current regime that claims to be secular and socialist!?
6. Religious or racial or sectarian bigotry is present in all societies, and immunity against bigotry comes from justice and equality and the rule of law and an independent judiciary. This is exactly what the regime in Syria has failed to do since the Ba’ath raped authority and Hafez al-Assad overthrew his friends!
7. I don’t agree with your idea that Saudi Arabia or Qatar have a personal interest in the success of the Syrian Revolution. For the interest of Saudi Arabia and Qatar now, at least, is in the Syrian regime staying because they [the Saudis and Qataris] are well aware that their turn is coming. They know that the success of the revolution in Syria will lead to their own downfalls sooner or later. Unfortunately for the Syrian people, the interest of Saudi Arabia and Hizbullah and Iran and America and Israel and Hamas – all of them – is in the continuance of the Syrian regime. For the sake of that, we see the shameful silence towards the killing of hundreds. We Syrians must count on ourselves and our patience and our strength on the path to our freedom.
8. The Syrian Revolution is a noble, popular revolution for the sake of overthrowing the regime that has shamed us from history and violated our humanity.
9. This is a very personal opinion. The Middle East will not be completely liberated until the downfall of all of the religious regimes that trade in God and religion like Saudi Arabian and Iran. Syria will not be a religious state and the regime will fall. Thank you.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/04/syrian-woman-responds-to-from-syria.html

The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood
I detest the Muslim Brotherhood all over the Arab world, nay all over the world.  This is a most reactionary and dangerous (for Arabs and Muslim) organization and I don’t trust it one bit (they now support peace with Israel, by the way:  ”Mr. Saleh of the Muslim Brotherhood, however, said he supported maintaining the treaty.”  So people ask me: what if the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood takes over?  I worry about that especially that this mercenary and reactionary organization has served as a tool for many governments, especially Saudi Arabia.  It has served loyally as a Hariri tool and for a fistful of dollars they even aligned themselves with the despised (despised by the Syrian people) `Abdul-Halim Khaddam.    But I hope that the Syrian people would not opt for this lousy organization. I can only hope but I can’t support the regime either.  I know many progressive and secular Syrian intellectuals in Syria and abroad and hope that those views would dominate in the future.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/04/syrian-muslim-brotherhood.html

Debate about Syria among Lebanese progressives: summing it up
Comrade Laure sent me this (I cite with her permission):  ”Reading Al Alakhbar and your blog on Syria, I came to the conclusion that the uncertainty among people in the same camp, mainly leftists, about Syria is simply about whether the Salafists/ Islamists in the protests are the minority or the majority, and so for some they are a majority and hence who cares about democracy and for others they are a minority so the fight is worth it but those same leftists never cared about democracy anyway. It is so ironic. You for example are supporting the toppling of the regime for obvious reasons despite the Saudi counter revolution, others are against the toppling of the regime despite Israel sharing the same position for fear of the Muslim brotherhood. So Saudi and Israeli interests diverged on Syria? This is so confusing and I don’t know what to think anymore. Now your theory of chaos is an interesting one but it is frightening!! I thought of sharing this with you because I don’t know what to think anymore. Everyone here is only discussing Syria, some with genuine fear about its spillover on Lebanon.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/04/debate-about-syria-among-lebanese.html

More News from Joshua Landis
http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=9392&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Syriacomment+%28Syria+Comment%29

On the Saudi ‘offer’ to Assad (the one he rejected)
“… While few expected the revolt against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak early this year to dramatically shift his country’s generally pro-Western policies, Syria maintains a wider range of contacts with countries that include Iran and Russia. For decades, it has been a key player in volatile Lebanon. It has its own unresolved dispute with Israel over the Golan Heights, but is also important to Israel and the United States because of its alliance with Iran and Hezbollah, a relationship that both American and Israeli officials have encouraged Assad to break. Iran has been chalking up diplomatic victories as pro-U.S. Arab regimes such as Mubarak’s have either fallen or been challenged by democratic movements this year. But now that trouble has come to Syria, Tehran has suddenly cooled to the Arab Spring. “We are worried about the resistance against Israel,” said Asad Zarei, a pro-government political analyst in Tehran. “If the changes in Syria happen in a way that the resistance is undermined, we are very worried.” Some Iranians appear to be realizing that the government’s official position is untenable, and are calling on Damascus to reform. “The Syrian regime should heed the demands of people in Syria and manage the current crisis in the country,” former Iranian Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki was quoted as telling students Tuesday…
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2011/04/on-saudi-offer-to-assad-one-he-rejected.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+friday-lunch-club+%28%22friday-lunch-club%22%29

Tunisia
Tunisia bans ex-ruling party leaders from ballot
TUNIS, April 26 (Reuters) – Senior members of Tunisia’s former ruling party will be banned from a July 24 election and the vote will be run by an independent body for the first time, Prime Minister Beji Caid Sebsi said on Tuesday. After the ousting of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in a “Jasmine Revolution” that triggered upheaval across the Arab world, interim authorities have announced the ballot for a new assembly to rewrite the North African country’s constitution.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/tunisia-bans-ex-ruling-party-leaders-from-ballot

Yemen
Yemen protesters block port as sides inch toward deal
SANAA, April 27 (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Yemenis stepped up protests on Wednesday, blocking access to a key port as Gulf mediators appeared close to sealing a deal for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to cede power.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/yemen-protesters-block-port-as-sides-inch-toward-deal

Two more die as Yemeni forces fire on protesters
Forces loyal to Yemen’s embattled President opened fire at protesters demanding his removal yesterday, killing two demonstrators at two separate rallies and wounding at least 10 people at a third protest, activists said.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/two-more-die-as-yemeni-forces-fire-on-protesters-2274714.html

Yemen’s opposition ‘agrees to Gulf plan’
Opposition bloc backs Gulf-brokered deal under which president Saleh would resign in a month in exchange for immunity.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/201142523156122610.html

Analysis/Op-ed
Juan Cole: An Arab Spring for Women: The Missing Story From the Middle East
That the female element in the Arab Spring has drawn so little comment in the West suggests that our own narratives of the Arab world — religion, oil, Israel — have blinded us to the big social forces that are altering the lives of 300 million people.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/juan-cole/middle-east-women_b_853959.html

Top Ten Arab Spring Advances this Week, Juan Cole
With the horrid crackdowns on dissent in Syria and Bahrain and the vicious shelling by Qaddafi brigades of the port of Misrata in Libya on Tuesday, it would be easy to concentrate solely on the negative news. But the Arab Spring is still producing some positive reforms and questioning of past corrupt practices, and even major governmental change. Tuesday’s positive developments…
http://www.juancole.com/2011/04/top-ten-arab-spring-advances-this-week.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+juancole%2Fymbn+%28Informed+Comment%29

Arab uprisings may boost economies: IMF (AFP)
AFP – Political changes in the Arab world could boost the region’s economies in the long term through inclusive reforms that would render them more dynamic, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110427/wl_mideast_afp/mideasteconomyimfgrowthpolitics

God save the Arab kings?, Brian Whitaker
Arab monarchies underpinned by religion have been unscathed by the Middle East uprisings – but they may yet be toppled.
One of the less-discussed facts about the wave of uprisings in the Middle East is that the Arab monarchies are still relatively unscathed. The regimes most seriously challenged by popular protests – in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Syria – have all been republics. This may seem odd to Europeans whose revolutions over the centuries have been mainly about overthrowing kings.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/27/arab-kings-middle-east-uprisings

Arab Spring: A Discussion on Libya, Egypt and the Mideast with Palestinian Writer Rula Jebreal, Author of “Miral” & Journalist Issandr El Amrani
With former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in detention and Libyan Leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi under attack, we discuss the state of the region with two leading Middle Eastern writers. Rula Jebreal, a former broadcast journalist in Italy, reflects on Italy’s decision to join the NATO bombing of Libya. Issandr El Amrani of Arabist.net talks about Libya and post-revolution Egypt.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/4/27/arab_spring_a_discussion_on_libya

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