and other news from the Arab uprisings:
Bahrain
Bahrain opposition leaders appear in court martial (AFP)
AFP – Bahraini opposition leaders appeared Sunday in a military court charged as part of a group of 21 with forming a terrorist organisation and attempting to overthrow the monarchy, a rights activist said, citing lawyers.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110508/wl_mideast_afp/bahrainpoliticsunresttrial
Bahrain accuses activists of plots to topple state (AP)
AP – Bahrain’s military prosecutor accused 21 political activists Sunday of seeking to overthrow the ruling monarchy with the help of a foreign terrorist group — an apparent reference to Iranian-backed militants — in a widening crackdown on a pro-reform uprising by the island nation’s Shiite majority.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110508/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_bahrain
Bahrain opposition crackdown continues
Al Jazeera now provides the clearest look yet at just how authorities in Bahrain are cracking down on the protest movement. The Shia majority has been demanding more freedoms from the Sunni leadership. But the government has all but shut down the widespread demonstrations that began in February. May Welsh explains in this exclusive report.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch9jLMMOUYY&feature=youtube_gdata
Bahrain’s medics are the targets of retribution
The arrest and disappearance of Bahraini medics is part of a policy of retribution against those who helped protesters. At about 11pm on 2 May, Bahrain’s criminal investigations directorate summoned Dr Nedhal al-Khalifa, a 42-year-old dermatologist. Her father dropped her off at their headquarters at the ministry of interior at about midnight. Her family, including her four young children, didn’t hear anything from her until she was released two days later. Her husband, Dr Sadiq Abdulla, a vascular surgeon, also 42, was detained in the same fashion on 14 April. His whereabouts and condition remains unknown, as does the reason for his detention.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/05/bahrain-medics-arrest-retribution
Bahrain sentences Shiite activist to 5 years (AP)
AP – Bahrain’s security court on Thursday convicted a Shiite opposition activist and sentenced him to five years in prison for the attempted murder of a policeman during anti-government protests in the Gulf kingdom.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110505/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_bahrain
Bahrain doctors to be tried for helping protesters (AP)
AP – Several doctors and nurses who treated injured anti-government protesters during the months of unrest in Bahrain will be tried in a military court on charges of acting against the state, the justice minister said Tuesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110503/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_bahrain
See news item below: Bahrain says ready to host postponed Grand Prix (AFP)
AFP – Bahrain Grand Prix chiefs on Saturday said they are hopeful and ready for their Formula One race to be reinstated on the Grand Prix calendar this year.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110507/wl_mideast_afp/autoprixturbrn
U.S. labor urges trade pact with Bahrain be suspended (Reuters)
Reuters – The largest U.S. labor group wants President Barack Obama’s administration to suspend a free trade pact with Bahrain over human rights abuses in the kingdom’s crackdown on anti-government protests.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110506/pl_nm/us_bahrain_usa_trade
Bahrain king is press ‘predator’: RSF
Media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) added Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa to its latest blacklist of “predators” against press freedom on Tuesday.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20110502/twl-bahrain-king-is-press-predator-rsf-3cd7efd.html
Bahrain: Arbitrary Arrests Escalate
Ex-Members of Parliament, Physicians Held Without Charge; Activist Reported Tortured. Also on May 3 Human Rights Watch received credible reports that a human rights and opposition activist, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who was arrested on April 9 and whose whereabouts and well-being were unknown, had been admitted to Bahrain Defense Force hospital for six days for treatment of injuries, including to his jaw and head. One person who saw him said he was unrecognizable as a result of apparent beatings in detention.
http://www.hrw.org/node/98637
Physicians Urge Obama Admin to Pressure Mideast Ally Bahrain to End Repression of Doctors, Patients
The Gulf nation of Bahrain has announced that 47 medical workers who treated pro-democracy protesters during the nation’s popular uprising will be tried before a military court on charges of acting against the state. Some could face the death penalty for providing medical assistance to protesters. Human rights groups say the arrests are part of a campaign of intimidation that runs directly counter to the Geneva Convention, which guarantees medical care to people wounded in conflict. We speak with Richard Sollom of Physicians for Human Rights. He recently traveled to Bahrain to document the situation there and is the co-author of a new report, “Do No Harm: A Call for Bahrain to End Systematic Attacks on Doctors and Patients.” [includes rush transcript]
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/5/5/physicians_urge_obama_admin_to_pressure
Bahrain: Set Aside Martial Law Death Sentences
(Washington, DC) – Bahraini authorities should set aside a military court ruling on April 28, 2011, sentencing four defendants to death and three others to life in prison for their alleged involvement in the murder of two police officers, Human Rights Watch said today.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/02/bahrain-set-aside-martial-law-death-sentences
UN urges Bahrain to free detained activists
UN human rights chief calls for political prisoners be released and for independent probe into allegations of torture.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/05/201155155822502904.html
While Bahrain demolishes mosques, U.S. stays silent
Nothing, however, has struck harder at the fabric of this nation, where Shiites outnumber Sunnis nearly 4 to 1, than the destruction of Shiite worship centers. The Obama administration has said nothing in public about the destruction. Bahrain — and its patron, Saudi Arabia — are longtime U.S. allies, and Bahrain hosts the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/while-bahrain-demolishes-mosques-us.html
Egypt
Egypt’s foreign minister on the way forward after Mubarak
Hamas is on the U.S. terrorist list.
You want my answer? So was George Washington for the British. So was Nelson Mandela in South Africa. So were Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir. Begin was one of the biggest terrorists and was responsible for the bombing of the King David Hotel. Shamir was responsible for the assassination of Count Bernadotte. And they worked for peace after that. Allow someone who is fighting for a cause to see the light of day at the end of the tunnel and to enter into peace. That is the history of the world.
Didn’t they have a big Hezbollah cell aimed at Egypt a few years ago?
They are not an enemy. If you want me to say it — Iran is not an enemy…
I heard that some Arab countries were upset about the Mubarak situation. Is that true?
Some Arab countries, yes. They liked the guy, and they were not happy about him being prosecuted.
Were the Saudis upset?
The king did express that he is loyal to his friends.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/egypts-foreign-minister-on-the-way-forward-after-mubarak/2011/05/05/AFRI3BCG_story.html
Egypt’s new foreign policy tests old alliances
Cairo is reaching out to Iran and the militant group Hamas, a new agenda that angers Israel and will pose a challenge to U.S. ties as it threatens to upend the balance of power in the Middle East.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/middleeast/la-fg-egypt-diplomacy-20110508,0,4841600.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fmiddleeast+%28L.A.+Times+-+Middle+East%29
Major protest against the Israeli occupation embassy in Cairo
The big protest is planned for this Friday. (Oh, and tell Thomas Friedman not to worry because he assured Zionists that Egyptian youth have no foreign policy goals).
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/major-protest-against-israeli.html
Egypt groups to hold first meeting
Egyptian protest groups that helped overthrow President Hosni Mubarak are to meet in an effort to formulate a plan ahead of elections.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-13319696
Report: Mubarak’s son benefited from deal with Israel
Egyptian prosecutors suspect that ousted president’s son took share of earnings in gas deal with Israel.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4065715,00.html
Prosecution begins questioning of Alaa and Gamal Mubarak
Prosecutors from the Illicit Gains Authority on Thursday began questioning Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, sons of deposed President Hosni Mubarak, on charges of abusing their father’s power and that of Gamal in the former ruling party in order to illgally accrue wealth. The questioning took place amidst heavy security at the Tora prison where the defendants are detained pending investigation. Faced with the testimonies of their wives, the defendants were asked about Alaa’s accounts at ten different banks, amounting to LE100 million, and his brother’s accounts at eight other banks. They were also asked about the family’s joint account at the National Bank’s Heliopolis branch, in which LE250 million was held, and their mother’s accounts in six different banks, as well as her access to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina account, in which there was US$145 million of foreign donations to the library. The defendants were also charged with profiteering from manipulating the stock exchange.
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/425231?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Egypt’s former interior minister sentenced
Habib al-Adly, the face of the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, convicted for money laundering and profiteering.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/05/2011558227614979.html
Egypt coroner sacked, said to have hidden torture
He was blamed for having covered up details of the death of 28-year-old Khaled Said in June. The death sparked public protests and was one of the main catalysts in galvanising anger that eventually toppled Mubarak on February 11.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/egypt-coroner-sacked-said-to-have-hidden-torture
Report: Egypt to double price of Israel-bound natural gas
Egyptian sources tell Al Masry Al Youm that the 2009 contract between Egypt and Israeli firm EMG allows the renegotiation of prices in the event international demand rises beyond an agreed-upon level.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-egypt-to-double-price-of-israel-bound-natural-gas-1.360013?localLinksEnabled=false
Egypt Front-Runner Seeks Israel Reset
Amr Moussa, Top in Polls for President, Wants to Reassert Cairo’s Dominance. CAIRO—The leading candidate in Egypt’s presidential race said that if he was elected he would break with former President Hosni Mubarak’s reliably amenable policies toward Israel.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703992704576305423166596598.html
Iran, Egypt to discuss reopening embassies
http://lincolntribune.com/?p=10991
Egypt rejects an American grant: the new Egypt
The new Egyptian government turns down a grant by the US because there are strings attached. In other news, Israeli leaders continue to weep for Mubarak.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/egypt-rejects-american-grant-new-egypt.html
Egyptian court postpones hearing of lawsuit against Olmert
The Compensations Department of Cairo North Court has postponed the hearing of a lawsuit filed against former Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, and the head of Israeli television, to June 27th. The lawsuit has been filed by families of Egyptian prisoners of war killed by the Israeli army in the 1967 war. In the upcoming hearing, the court is due to discuss completion of the suit’s papers with the lawyers concerned so that a time for the sentencing hearing can be fixed.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/2314-egyptian-court-postpones-hearing-of-lawsuit-against-olmert
Mishaal meets with Egyptian elites in Cairo
Head of Hamas’s political bureau Khaled Mishaal met on Friday with a galaxy of Egyptian noted figures and intellectuals.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%
Cairo to oversee Palestinian security talks
GAZA CITY (AFP) – A senior Egyptian intelligence official will oversee talks between Hamas and Fatah on reshaping their security forces, a Palestinian official said Friday. The unity agreement signed this week called for a security oversight committee to work out the details of the thorny issue of reforming the partisan security forces who have battled each other in the past.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=385335
Mishaal meets Egyptian revolutionary youths
Supreme leader of the Hamas movement Khaled Mishaal met on Sunday night with a delegation of the Egyptian youth who took part in the revolution that toppled the former regime of Hosni Mubarak.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7
Haneyya lauds Egyptian role in phone call with Sharaf
Palestinian premier Ismail Haneyya reached his Egyptian counterpart Esam Sharaf over the telephone on Wednesday night and thanked him for his country’s patronage of the Palestinian reconciliation.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Q
Egypt studies reopening consulate in Gaza, official says
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Ma’an) — Gaza’s caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs and Planning Mohammad Awad told Ma’an on Sunday that Egypt’s transitional leadership was seriously studying the option of opening a consulate in Gaza City to facilitate communication with Gaza officials.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=385951
Egyptians denounce ‘normalization’ at embassy in Cairo
Demonstrators praise bombing of gas pipeline in Sinai, demand Egyptian government end all cooperation with Israel, open Gaza crossing.
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=219543
Hundreds protest in front of Israeli consulate in Alexandria
ALEXANDRIA: Over 300 protesters organized Friday a march from Al-Qae’d Ibrahim Mosque to the Israeli embassy in Kafr Abdo district in Alexandria in support of Palestine. Protesters demanded putting an end to gas exports to Israel, sacking the Israeli ambassador and closing down the embassy, ending all forms of normalization with Israel and opening the Rafah crossing with Gaza. “We don’t war with Israel, we only want to support the Palestinians and demand the Egyptian government stop all forms of cooperation with Israel,” said Abdel Rahman Maarouf, member of the Alexandrian Youth to Support the Palestinian Uprising and one of the protest organizers.
http://thedailynewsegypt.com/egypt/hundreds-protest-in-front-of-israeli-consulate-in-alexandria.html
From Tahrir Square to Palestine
Following this week’s reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, newly energized demonstrations began in Cairo. The protesters called for pan-Arab unity and the severing of all diplomatic Egyptian ties with Israel. Over two hundred demonstrators marched from Tahrir Square to the Israeli embassy this afternoon after jumu’ah, the afternoon prayer for Muslims. The march was coordinated through various Facebook pages; over twenty organizations attended.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1798
Egypt’s new diplomacy worries Washington
By brokering a unity deal between Palestinian factions, Egypt’s interim government has raised ire from US politicians.
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/05/2011558547182776.html
Egypt breaks from US, Israel by brokering unity deal
Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement in Cairo on Wednesday, paving the way for the formation of a Palestinian national unity government. The move, say local analysts, reflects the changing political equation in the Middle East amid the ongoing wave of Arab popular uprisings.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/egypt-breaks-us-israel-brokering-unity-deal/9918?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Egypt and Israel Headed for Crisis, JONATHAN COOK
Nazareth. Israeli officials have expressed alarm at a succession of moves by the interim Egyptian government that they fear signal an impending crisis in relations with Cairo. The widening rift was underscored yesterday when leaders of the rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation pact in the Egyptian capital. Egypt’s secret role in brokering the agreement last week caught both Israel and the United States by surprise. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called the deal “a tremendous blow to peace and a great victory for terrorism”.
http://www.counterpunch.org/cook05052011.html
Egypt, I like your style, Issandr El Amrani
The Fatah-Hamas reconciliation that was inked in Cairo on 4 May is important mainly for Palestinian reasons: For the first time since 2006, an opportunity exists to form a united Palestinian position to address the impasse of the peace process. But the deal also reflects a new style of Egyptian foreign policy and, with time, perhaps a new direction too.
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/427443
Attack on a church in Imbaba leaves 12 dead, hundreds injured
Many are angry, horrified and anxious in Egypt today after a (at least partly Salafi) crowd attacked two churches in Imbaba last night, and fighting took place that left 12 people dead and over 200 (!) wounded. Zeinobia has a good account of the way the rumour that a Muslim woman was being held in the Mar Mina Church in Imbaba started online. This rumour appeared just hours after the appearance of Kamelia Shehata (another alleged Muslim convert supposedly being held by the Church against her will, her case a Salafi rallying cry) on a Christian satellite TV station to try to lay the furor over her case to rest. Sarah Carr has penned a good eye-witness account for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. She explored the neighborhood a bit and found other violence and looting taking place around the church. A lot of people are wondering why the army and the police didn’t do a better, more aggressive job of controlling the mob. Today the army has announced it has arrested 190 people who will be referred to military courts and that it will protect houses of worship.
http://www.arabist.net/blog/2011/5/8/attack-on-a-church-in-imbaba-leaves-12-dead-hundreds-injured.html
Sharif Abdel Kouddous Reports From Cairo on Rising Sectarian Tension in Egypt After Deadly Attack on Coptic Christian Church
In Egypt over the weekend, 12 people died and more than 180 were wounded during clashes between Muslims and Christians in Cairo. Egypt’s army has said that 190 people were detained after the fatal clashes and that they will face military trials. Saturday’s violence started after several hundred conservative Salafist Muslims gathered outside the Coptic Saint Mena Church in Cairo’s Imbaba district. They were reportedly protesting over a months-old allegation that a Christian woman was being held there against her will because she had married a Muslim man and wanted to convert to Islam. The woman had dismissed the allegations in an interview on a Christian TV channel. Coptic Christians account for about 10 percent of Egypt’s population. We’re joined on the phone from Cairo by Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Democracy Now! correspondent and longtime Senior Producer. “This was a major attack,” says Kouddous. “What many people, many Coptic people in particular, do not understand is why the military, who was present at the scene while the violence was happening stood by while the worst of it took place and did not intervene.”
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/5/9/sharif_abdel_kouddous_reports_from_cairo
Dirty hands of House of Saud in Egypt
“Some protesters think that Saudi Arabia is supporting the Salafis in Egypt. “We were never like this, all this is planned by the Saudis,” Ashraf Tarek, one of the protesters, told Ahram Online.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/dirty-hands-of-house-of-saud-in-egypt.html
Egyptian children tell revolution tales
Cairo schools were closed during the Egyptian revolution in January and February. Many young people and children took part in the protests with their families – some have told their stories as part of the BBC World Service and British Council’s World Class initiative.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13312429
Jordan
What Happened to Protests in Jordan
In the wake of the “Arab Spring,” Jordan witnessed nine consecutive weeks of Friday protests as well as numerous sit-ins calling for political and economic reforms. But as NATO’s intervention in Libya deepened, civil society in Bahrain was brutalized, protests in Syria expanded, and struggles over the limits of regime change in Egypt and Tunisia continued, a tense calm eventually prevailed in Jordan. There are no more Friday protests. In fact, there are almost no more manifestations of contentious politics of any sort.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/1469/what-happened-to-protests-in-jordan
Kuwait
The Political Underpinnings of Kuwaiti Sectarian Polemics
I am hesitant to write about sectarianism because I once heard that writing about divisions only increases awareness of them and deepens them. But regional commentators—and some international ones—seem to be writing about sects in the Middle East in a purely polemical manner. However, the Kuwaiti case is instructive for understanding that sectarianism isn’t necessarily a fact of life in the Gulf, and that the polemics employed throughout the region at present, while they take on religious overtones, largely stem from political goals.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/1449/the-political-underpinnings-of-kuwaiti-sectarian-p
Libya
Raids on Libyan weapons depots reported
Accounts of Nato strike in Zintan and explosions in Tripoli follow “government attacks on fuel depots” in Misurata.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/05/201158135733735559.html
Libya rebel leader retracts Italy weapons claim
BENGHAZI, Libya, May 7 (Reuters) – The head of the rebel forces in eastern Libya retracted on Saturday an assertion by a rebel spokesman that Italy had agreed to supply them with weapons to aid in their fight to oust leader Muammar Gaddafi.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libya-rebel-leader-retracts-italy-weapons-claim
Gaddafi planes ‘destroy Misurata fuel tanks’
Rebels say Nato was alerted but failed to respond to raid by small aircraft on besieged city’s “only source” of fuel.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/05/201157112432539341.html
Qaddafi Forces Spreading Land Mines in Misurata
Forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi scattered land mines on the city’s port, threatening once more to close the city’s only route for evacuation and supplies.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=ecfed20b1bc22a6c42fe1f479b1ba5db
The ICC arrest warrants will make Colonel Gaddafi dig in his heels
The international criminal court wants to arrest key Libyans. With Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in the frame, negotiated peace is less likely
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/04/icc-arrest-warrants-libya-gaddafi
Libya: Attacks against Misratah residents point to war crimes
New Amnesty International report reveals bleak situation in city besieged by forces loyal to Colonel al-Gaddafi.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/libya-attacks-against-misratah-residents-point-war-crimes-2011-05-05
686,000 Libya refugees flee to Egypt, Tunisia
Trucks were piled high with household items as Libya refugees crossed the border into Tunisia seeking safety from an escalation in random bombings.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/VtGKNJhCCwQ/686-000-Libya-refugees-flee-to-Egypt-Tunisia
No end to Misurata suffering
Misurata, the rebel held western Libyan city, has been besieged by pro-Gaddafi forces for more than two months now and public frustration there is boiling over. Thousands are said to have been killed and wounded by Gaddafi’s bombardment in the country’s third largest city amid growing shortages of basic food and medical supplies. Even Misurata’s port – which is their only channel to the outside world – has suffered heavy shelling, preventing much needed aid from reaching them. Tony Birtley reports from Benghazi, the rebel stronghold in eastern Libya. [May 5, 2010]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLxjsif2UTg&feature=youtube_gdata
U.S. sanctions 3 firms owned by Libyan government
WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday sought to increase pressure on the Libyan government by imposing financial sanctions on three companies owned by Muammar Gaddafi’s government. London-based Dalia Advisory Ltd, Libya’s state broadcasting company and Lafico Algeria Holdings, an Algeria-based subsidiary of the Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company, were added to the U.S. sanctions blacklist.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/us-sanctions-3-firms-owned-by-libyan-government
Eman Al-Obeidy, Alleged Rape Victim, Leaves Libya
“I still do not know what I am going to do,” Eman al-Obeidy told CNN in an exclusive interview. But at least now, she has escaped from Libya. Al-Obeidy made international headlines in March, after she ran into a hotel full of journalists in Tripoli, and told reporters that 15 of Gaddafi’s men had beaten and raped her. After she was dragged from the hotel by Libyan officials, journalists pressed for answers as campaigns rose up across the world to “free al-Obeidy.” In an audio interview with Anderson Cooper last month, al-Obeidy described how she was abducted at a government checkpoint and held for days. She said that she was bound, beaten, had alcohol poured over her eyes, and was gang raped repeatedly. She said one of the soldiers sodomized her with his Kalishnikov. A government spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, said the men accused by al-Obeidy planned to sue her.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/08/eman-al-obeidy-rape-victim-libya_n_859204.html
Gaddafi forces accused of rape
Many women in Libya say they have been sexually assaulted by troops loyal to the Libyan leader.
http://english.aljazeera.net//video/africa/2011/05/20115381016787271.html
Libya rebels remake schools for Gaddafi-free thought
BENGHAZI, Libya, May 8 (Reuters) – How do you teach in schools where history books omitted revolutions, geography books had few maps and children learned never to question authority?
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libya-rebels-remake-schools-for-gaddafi-free-thought
Young men of Misurata feel the rush of war
The Libyan rebel fighters are living as if in an action movie, dismayed when their friends are killed but getting a kick out of wielding weapons and explosives. They moved through the night with names like “the Birds.” The fight was primal, about survival from block to block. But at the same time, it was fun for the young men of Misurata, an adrenaline rush, like a Jean-Claude Van Damme film come to life.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/4t9LReuXrPc/la-fg-libya-young-rebels-20110507,0,5730189.story
In Libya, a long-dead hero rises again in east
Omar Mukhtar, a resistance fighter executed by Italian occupiers 80 years ago, has become the spiritual leader of the Libyan revolution. In eastern Libya, the spectral image of an elderly, bearded man in a skullcap or Bedouin cloak is everywhere — on bumper stickers and posters, military vehicles and checkpoints, even press IDs issued by the rebel government here.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/WmXwUXFUucM/la-fg-libya-hero-20110506,0,4260985.story
Arab Awakening – Libya: Through the fire
Through the eyes of a Libyan-born filmmaker, we investigate the dark stories emerging from a country fast unravelling into civil war.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAclhhHv43s&feature=youtube_gdata
Morocco
Thousands demand reform in Morocco rally
MARRAKESH, Morocco, May 8 (Reuters) – Thousands of protesters marched in Morocco on Sunday to demand reform in the Arab world’s longest-serving dynasty and to oppose militant violence after a deadly bomb attack. The rally in Marrakesh is the latest in a series organised by the February 20 youth movement and presents a challenge to the government of King Mohammed, wary the protests could build into an Egypt-style revolt.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/thousands-demand-reform-in-morocco-rally
Oman
Hundreds rally for reform in Oman
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets after Friday prayers in Oman’s southern port of Salalah, in a peaceful rally calling for democratic reform and an end to corruption, activists and residents said.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=433017&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17
Syria
Sweeping arrests in Syria as tanks roll in
Syrian security forces arrested more than 200 people — including a 10-year-old boy — as President Bashar Assad expands a campaign to crush the country’s seven-week, nationwide uprising, activists said.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/sweeping-arrests-in-syria-as-tanks-roll-in-2281073.html
Syrian tanks enter ‘protest hub’ Baniyas
Residents form a human chain in a bid to halt troops from sweeping into the coastal town of Baniyas.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/05/20115765059910917.html
Threats force Syrian activists underground amid nationwide protests
Syrian human rights activists have gone into hiding, fearing for their lives and liberty amid a crackdown on pro-reform protests.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/threats-force-syrian-activists-underground-amid-nationwide-protests-2011-05-06
UN: Reject Syria’s Human Rights Council Candidacy
(New York) – The UN General Assembly should strongly reject Syria’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch said today. Syria’s attempt to join the council in the midst of its brutal crackdown on largely peaceful protests is a travesty, Human Rights Watch said.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/06/un-reject-syria-s-human-rights-council-candidacy
Syria: Lift the Siege of Daraa
(New York) – Syria’s government should immediately lift its 10-day siege of the southern town of Daraa and allow movement in and out of the city, including access for independent observers, Human Rights Watch said today. Syria’s security forces should also immediately stop the nationwide campaign of arbitrary arrests against protesters and activists, Human Rights Watch said.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/05/syria-lift-siege-daraa
SYRIA: Allow humanitarian access to Deraa – ICRC
DUBAI 05 May 2011 (IRIN) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has called for better humanitarian access to the southern Syrian city of Deraa, which has been hit by political violence, and where food, water and medical supplies have also run short.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=92646
16 killed in Syria protests, says rights group
Syrian security forces opened fire on protesters, killing at least 16 people as thousands joined demonstrations across the country calling for an end to President Bashar Assad’s regime, witnesses and activists said.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/16-killed-in-syria-protests-says-rights-group-2280101.html
Captured journalist’s fiancé speaks to Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera journalist Dorothy Parvaz disappeared six days ago, when she arrived in Syria to cover the protests. Todd Barker, her fiancé, gave this statement on behalf of her family. Parvaz is an American, Canadian and Iranian citizen. Syria has confirmed that they have detained Parvaz. Her family and employer demand her release. A Facebook page campaigning for her release has attracted more than 4,000 fans, while on Twitter many people around the world are using the hastag #FreeDorothy to call for her release.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oNGm05eXco&feature=youtube_gdata
Exclusive: Fu`ad Sanyurah’s real reason for visiting the US
So I have learned that Sanyurah’s real reason to visit the US is not for “lectures”, as is being claimed, but for lobbying the US government to support the overthrow of Bashshar’s regime.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/exclusive-fuad-sanyurahs-real-reason.html
Amid Syria’s turmoil, Israel sees Assad as the lesser evil
While Syria’s 40-year Assad regime has fought multiple conflicts with Israel, it has also been a stable neighbor – making Israelis uneasy about the prospects of Islamists gaining power next door.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/v2I0iL3BEks/Amid-Syria-s-turmoil-Israel-sees-Assad-as-the-lesser-evil
Day 53 of the Syrian Uprising; over Six Killed; Fewer Demonstrators; Clinton Says Reform Still Possible
Death tolls for this Friday have been hard to quantify, according to the Guardian. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least six people had been shot dead after security forces opened fire in Homs and Hama. The National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria put the toll at 16 people nationwide.
http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=9443&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Syriacomment+%28Syria+Comment%29
Syria Crackdown: Syrian Dissident Haitham Al Maleh Speaks From Hiding As Al Jazeera Journalist Dorothy Parvez Remains Locked Up
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has sent tanks into the country’s third city, Homs, escalating a military campaign to crush a seven-week-old popular uprising against his autocratic rule. According to the Syrian human rights organization, Sawasiah, as many as 800 civilians have been killed since the uprising began. More than 10,000 people have been arrested. Today, we look at two cases. One of Syria’s most prominent human rights defenders Haitham Al Maleh speaks from hiding, and we look at the case of detained Al Jazeera reporter Dorothy Parvez, an American, Canadian and Iranian citizen who used to work at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/5/9/syria_crackdown_syrian_dissident_haitham_al
Syria’s activists reach out to Assad: “You will be the pride of contemporary Syria … You’re not Kadhafi!”
AFP – “Syrian opposition figures called on President Bashar al-Assad Saturday to embrace democracy and hold elections within six months, saying he could transform the country and become a source of pride. Addressing Assad, The Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook page said “The solution is simple: Stop shooting at demonstrators, allow peaceful demonstrations, remove all your photos and those of your father, release all political prisoners, allow political pluralism and free elections in six months.” The page, a motor of anti-regime protests, said “you will be the pride of contemporary Syria if you can transform Syria from a dictatorship into a democracy. Syrians would be grateful for that, and it is possible to do.” This is the first time that anyone in the opposition has offered such detailed proposals in seven weeks of protests in which hundreds have been killed in a violent crackdown. “You have been the head of the government for 11 years, and that is enough for a democrat,” the statement said. “You are not Kadhafi,… You are young, civilised, intelligent and open. Why do you act like him. Why do you want blood flowing? Why do you want Syria to fall into the an abyss?” It also asked Assad to sack his advisers… “If you do this, you will save Syria, and Israel will tremble with fear. Otherwise it is Israel which wins and Syria who loses. You have always talked about resistance against Israel. The time has arrived to confirm this with action not words.”
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2011/05/syrias-activists-reach-out-to-assad-you.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+friday-lunch-club+%28%22friday-lunch-club%22%29
Fu’ad Sanyruah’s host in Washington, DC
This Likudnik member of Congress was the host of Fu’ad Sanyurah in Washington, DC. Sanyurah lobbied him for the overthrow of the Syrian regime but the Israeli government is not on board with the plan.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/fuad-sanyruahs-host-in-washington-dc.html
On sectarianism in Syria
A reader sent me this: “ I’ve been waiting to leave Syria to write you. I’m an American who has been living in Damascus for the past year. It’s been incredibly frustrating to be over there and reading blogs like…which have become hugely focused, obsessive even, about the prospect of a fitna in Syria. I remember one article..which basically said if you are a well-off Christian or Alawi Syrian, you aren’t against the regime. While I think there was a more basic truth to that before, a problem with these analysts is they are not living in Syria and can’t see the events changing on the ground. I have seen so many of my Christian and even some Alawi friends change camp so fast it made my head spin. While the events in Egypt were happening I asked many of them “Do you think something like that could ever happen here?” and they all tutted their tongues and said “Never, we love our president, the only ones who don’t are the Muslim Brotherhood.” Those same people, literally just 2 months later, were subscribing to opposition newspapers (communist mostly), organizing meetings, and cursing Assad. It’s strange, and it’s unpredictable, but I doubt that it’s a phenomenon restricted to my group of contacts. I’d also like to point out, that of this group of friends, only the ones living in Latakia have gone out to protest. My friends in Damascus, especially the ones who changed camp complain “We want to do something but we don’t know how yet!” They don’t have the contacts to know where the protests will begin or how to get in touch with the larger opposition. If they are at all representative of the larger population, there are still tons and tons of people ready to take to the streets in Damascus that haven’t found the opportune moment yet. I would guess that once Damascus gets to that tipping point of chaos like Homs, Daraa or Latakia, you will see that the opposition is much bigger than a lot of these analysts imagined. At the same time, I have to admit there have been several events which point to the great tension and possibilty for violent conflict laying beneath the surface, which haven’t been reported on. 2 weeks ago I was sitting with friends in Souk Sarooja (which usually has about 400 people sitting in it), smoking argeela, when we heard yells coming from the side of the square. All we could see from behind a car was a mans arm, holding a giant dagger, going up and down as if he was stabbing or trying to stab something. Everyone rose from their seats. Some men ran to the scene, and there was a huge melee, at least 100 young men, attacking each other with brooms, chairs, whatever was around. We saw men running away with blood gushing from their heads. The whole fight suddenly dissapeared to a side street, and people were trying to flee in the other direction. The entire place was cleared out in under 3 minutes. I saw nothing about this incident written in the news.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/on-sectarianism-in-syria.html
Elias Muhanna, “No Revolution in Syria: An Interview with Camille Otrakji”
Camille Otrakji: Despite weekly calls from opposition figures for millions to demonstrate, based on the numbers of people we have seen in the streets of Syria thus far, it is clear that less than 1.0% of the country (about 150,000 Syrians) has joined the protests. This is not Egypt or Yemen, where you had hundreds of thousands or even millions of people protesting every day. In Syria we’ve seen a few thousands here, a few hundred there, mostly on Fridays. And yet western governments, the Syrian opposition, and the media covering Syria are all enthusiastically and casually using the term “the Syrian people” from the first day a few young men demonstrated in the Ummayad mosque. This implies they have the support of the entire Syrian population, which is a very serious distortion of the facts. How do you think the pro-stability Syrians feel when everyone, from Western officials to journalists, implies that they are automatically on the side of regime change? No one reported that for weeks Syrians were demonstrating each night in many cities supporting their President. These daily demonstrations, festive and loud, stopped only when interior ministry told the supporters to stop showing their support because they were too noisy. The only time millions demonstrated in Syria was the day Assad’s supporters went to the street in most of Syria’s large cities. It was bizarre that most of the media decided that all these Syrians were chanting and dancing in the streets because they were afraid of the regime, simply because schools and some government offices were given the day off on that day. Ironically, some of the same journalists were also making the point the revolution is bound to succeed because “the barrier of fear has been shattered.”
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/otrakji030511.html
The Complexities of Syria’s Violence, ANNA HAQ
The “Arab Spring” has reached Syria. Coded phone conversations and postings on Facebook feed the speculations about events and their meaning. Without journalists in the country, Facebook has become one of the main informative venues. In Egypt, Facebook helped to mobilize youth against the Mubarak government. In Syria,Facebook provided a platform to call for national unity and to condemn the foreign “terrorists” who supposedly started the unrest a few weeks ago. Over the past few weeks, a considerable number of Syrians on Facebook has changed their profile pictures to either the Syrian flag or the picture of President Assad next to a lion (Assad means lion in Arabic). On April 27th, pro-government activists created an electronic page for the Syrian Army and invitations were sent around Facebook to join that page in support of the army’s efforts to defeat the destructive attempts of these terrorists. On the same day, a Syrian intellectual described Dar’aa as a “cancer that has to be removed to ensure the well-being of the whole Syrian nation.” The Syrian events do not belong in the same category as the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions.
http://www.counterpunch.com/haq05022011.html
SYRIA: Who is Behind The Protest Movement?
Fabricating a Pretext for a US-NATO “Humanitarian Intervention” What the media failed to mention is that among the demonstrators there were armed gunmen as well as snipers who were shooting at both the security forces and the protesters.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHO20110502&articleId=24591
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Rights Activist, Bloggers Arrested
(Munich) – The Saudi interior minister should immediately release Fadhil Makki al-Manasif, a human rights activist arrested on May 1, 2011, in ‘Awwamiyya in the Eastern Province for taking part in peaceful demonstrations, Human Rights Watch said today. Al-Manasif’s arrest follows amendments to the Press and Publications Law on April 29 that further restrict the right to free speech in Saudi Arabia, and days after the authorities arrested at least 20 peaceful protesters, including two bloggers.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/03/saudi-arabia-rights-activist-bloggers-arrested
From a Saudi colleague
A Saudi colleague sent me this (I cite with her/his permission): “Yes so many Arabs hate the Saudis. I was in Morocco a couple of weeks ago and I couldn’t believe how much they hate the regime. I had to conceal my identity and say that I am Lebanese to avoid hostility. Even among the Berbers who can hardly speak Arabic, I found anger. I am not surprised, the saudis have turned their country into a seasonal bordello for regime geriatrics, suffering from permanent impotency! Tunisians in paris hate our guts for sheltering their dictator. I think all this reveals good signs, the end is approaching.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/from-saudi-colleague.html
Tunisia
Tunisian PM hints at election delay
Beji Essebsi suggests planned July vote for drafting constitution could be pushed back as reform protests continue.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/05/20115942135682699.html
Violence and censorship fuel Tunisia tensions
Journalists beaten during protests calling for a “new revolution” and online censorship makes a comeback.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/05/20115718233603222.html
Tunisia: More charges for Ben Ali
Tunisia’s ex-leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his wife are to face new charges over the killings of protesters during January’s uprising, officials say.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-europe-13294799
Tunisian police clash with protesters
Police break up protests in central Tunis as dozens call for “a new revolution” after politician warns of risk of coup.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/05/201156135627360322.html
And Zionists want to believe that Palestine is irrelevant: let them dream
“Students, robed lawyers, jobless men, Islamists, and parents toting young children gathered in loose groups to sing the Tunisian national anthem or Palestinian revolutionary songs with lyrics adapted to the sit-in’s cause.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/and-zionists-want-to-believe-that.html
Tunisian website turns down a Bahraini “honor”
Tunisian website turns down an award from the Bahraini government.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/tunisian-website-turns-down-bahraini.html
Tunisia Gets to Grips With Democracy, JEAN-PIERRE SÉRÉNI
The Tunisians have been torn between revolution and democracy for almost four months. After January’s revolution came a spring of anxious anticipation. Some Tunisians believe the priority should be to sweep away the former regime and its legacy, in order to draw a clear line under political authoritarianism that had lasted since 1956. Others passionately hope for elections to a national constituent assembly on July 24 , a date many feel to be premature, to end this potentially volatile period of change.
http://www.counterpunch.com/sereni05062011.html
UAE
UAE: Civil Society Crackdown Widens
(London) – The United Arab Emirates expanded its crackdown on civil society on May 2, 2011, by dissolving the elected board of directors of the Teachers’ Association, Human Rights Watch said today. This was the second prominent civil society organization to face a hostile government takeover in less than two weeks. read more
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/03/uae-civil-society-crackdown-widens
What is happening in UAE?
“Among the countries where this threat is believed to exist is the United Arab Emirates, as recent developments have indicated. In March this year, 133 UAE academics, journalists and civil society activists signed a petition addressed to the UAE president calling for an elected parliament with legislative powers. UAE national observers commented in private that this petition that was signed by individuals was most likely going to be stillborn as a number of those whose names appears on the list are suspected of being members of the UAE branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The logic went that should the UAE government acknowledge the demands of a petition that included these individuals it would automatically be acknowledging and conferring legitimacy on the demands of elements of the Muslim Brotherhood. In the following weeks, up to five activists including Ahmad Mansour, an engineer and blogger who serves on Human Rights Watch’s Middle East advisory committee, as well as Dr Nasser Bin Gaith, a university lecturer whose articles appear on an Islamic leaning portal, were arrested and charges were brought against them. The London registered portal Middle East Online published comments from an unnamed source at the UAE Jurist Union whose board was dissolved and replaced by government appointees. The source told Middle East Online that a number of Jurist Association members including its chairman, banned from writing in local newspapers, vice-chair and a board member were ‘known Muslim Brotherhood members’ and that the union members refused to keep them as representatives.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/what-is-happening-in-uae.html
Yemen
Yemeni forces kill 2 student protesters
The casualties occurred on Saturday in the southeastern city of Taizz — the capital of a province of the same name, where tens of thousands of students staged anti-government marches.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/178700.html
GCC-backed Yemen deal ‘postponed’
Indefinite delay comes after Saleh refused to sign resignation agreement backed by six Gulf nations.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/05/20115601713251894.html
Yemeni president vows to resist opposition’s demands
SANAA, May 6 (Xinhua) — Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Friday told a rally of his supporters that he would remain ” steadfast” in resisting his opponents’ demand of his immediate ouster. “I will remain steadfast like mountains, facing backward, reactionary and terrorist projects,” Saleh told the crowds who gathered near the presidential palace in the capital of Sanaa. “Those (opposition) lead a backward project, but there would be no place for projects of revenge, anarchy and sabotage,” he said.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/06/c_13862780.htm
Yemenis continue protest rallies amid growing fuel crisis
SANAA, May 6 (Xinhua) — Protest rallies demanding Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s immediate ouster continued on Friday amid a growing fuel crisis that rocked the fragile impoverished country. As long queues of trucks and buses waiting at some petrol stations in Sanaa to fuel up, tens of other stations closed after their storages of petroleum products ran out. Many of drivers parked their cars on the side of roads. “It’s fuel crisis, my car is out of fuel, ” Naji Haidar told Xinhua.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/06/c_13862761.htm
Osama Bin Laden Death/Al-Qaidah
Al Jazeera’s package on first Osama tape
US officials say this and other material was seized when they raided his compound in Pakistan and shot him dead in the early hours of Monday morning in Abbottabad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zENGlpcZlV8&feature=youtube_gdata
Al-Qa’ida confirms Bin Laden’s death
Al-Qa’ida confirmed the killing of Osama bin Laden and warned of retaliation, saying Americans’ “happiness will turn to sadness.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/alqaida-confirms-bin-ladens-death-2280118.html
Osama bin Laden death: How family scene in compound turned to carnage
Osama bin Laden‘s daughter cradled the head of her wounded mother in the room where the al-Qaida leader had just been killed. “I am Saudi,” she told Pakistani security officials shortly after US special forces had flown away with the terrorist’s bloodied body. “Osama bin Laden is my father.” The 12-year-old had herself been injured by a piece of flying debris in her foot or ankle during the night-time raid on Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, northern Pakistan, but she was comforting her father’s fifth wife, Amal Ahmed al-Sadah, 29, who was shot in the calf by commandos as they closed in on Bin Laden.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/05/bin-laden-death-family-compound
Photos from the Bin Laden Compound
Photographs acquired by Reuters and taken about an hour after the U.S. assault on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad in Pakistan show three dead men lying in pools of blood, but no weapons.
http://www.reuters.com/subjects/bin-laden-compound
Pakistan ‘Told US About Osama Home In 2009’
Pakistan government and intelligence services have insisted they shared key information about Osama bin Laden’s compound up to two years ago with their American counterparts.
http://www.capitalfm.com/on-air/news-travel/uk-world-news/pakistan-told-us-about-osama-home-in-2009/
US troops were yards from Osama bin Laden house in 2008
Wikileaks: US Embassy Cables: US forces were stationed just a few hundred yards from Osama Bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound in October 2008, according to reports within the WikiLeaks embassy cables.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/may/03/us-bin-laden-hideout
Bin Laden wife confined to Pakistan house for 6 years
Bin Laden wife: She and bin Laden’s other two wives are being interrogated in Pakistan after they were taken into custody following Monday’s American raid on bin Laden’s compound
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/tGv0jeFIU9Y/Bin-Laden-wife-confined-to-Pakistan-house-for-6-years
Newly released docs show over a decade of U.S. frustration with Pakistan over bin Laden
U.S. officials had been frustrated by Pakistan’s refusal to cooperate in the mission to apprehend Osama bin Laden for over 10 years, according to government documents released Thursday by the National Security Archive.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/05/06/newly_released_docs_show_over_a_decade_of_us_frustration_with_pakistan_over_bin_lad
‘Geronimo’ Code Name For Osama Bin Laden Offends Native Americans
The demise of Osama bin Laden is being hailed as a triumphant moment for the Obama administration, but one group isn’t quite feeling the glory. Navy SEALs confirmed the death of bin Laden in Pakistan with the now-iconic transmission: “Geronimo EKIA,” or “Geronimo, Enemy Killed in Action.” But as the Washington Post is reporting, the use of “Geronimo” — also the name of a legendary 19th century Apache chief — in connection with the Al Qaeda leader’s death has offended Native Americans, who call the decision both painful and insulting.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/05/osama-bin-laden-geronimo-code-offensive-_n_857669.html
Noam Chomsky: My Reaction to Osama bin Laden’s Death
We might ask ourselves how we would be reacting if Iraqi commandos landed at George W. Bush’s compound, assassinated him, and dumped his body in the Atlantic.
http://www.guernicamag.com/blog/2652/noam_chomsky_my_reaction_to_os/
Al Qa’eda was always a fringe group with no roots in the Arab world, Nir Rosen
On Monday night, in celebration of the death of Osama bin Laden, thousands of Americans took to the street waving flags and revelling in what was both righteous justice and jingoism. That same day I saw hundreds of thousands of communists, leftists and workers take to the streets of Istanbul and Ankara to commemorate May Day and demand more rights. Some sang an old communist guerrilla song about taking to the mountains to fight. Some saluted martyred student leaders from the 1970s. Others shouted “long live the worker’s struggle!” and “hunger, poverty and us, this is your capitalist system”.
http://nirrosen.tumblr.com/post/5232614788
Empire – The long search for Osama bin Laden
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBFJSAYte_4&feature=youtube_gdata
Listening Post – Smoke and mirrors: The bin Laden death story
What do we really know about the Osama bin Laden death story, and how do we know it? Also, a before and after look at the media movement that brought down the Tunisian regime.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3kZEzWXJ2U&feature=youtube_gdata
Empire – Beyond bin Laden
Osama bin Laden is dead. The world’s most wanted man has finally been killed after a hunt that lasted more than a decade, triggered global wars, and cost the lives of tens of thousands of people. What does it mean for US wars in the Muslim world? And will the US actions unleash a new wave of attacks around the world?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD1ke67lr50&feature=youtube_gdata
The Fateful Choice
When 19 al-Qaeda hijackers attacked New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, the United States faced a strategic dilemma that was unique in magnitude, but not in kind. Terrorists had killed numerous civilians before, in the US and elsewhere, with and without state sponsorship. Al-Qaeda was not the first non-state actor to present no coherent demands alongside its propaganda of the deed or to have no single fixed address. Nor were Americans the first victims of unprovoked terrorist assault to set aside political differences, at least for a time, in search of a unified self-defense.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/1510/the-fateful-choice
Killing the Golden Goose, TARIQ ALI
Blinded by the thirst for vengeance, the United States targets and kills another enemy. Its citizens celebrate. And functionaries of the George W Bush period tell us that what it proves is torture at Guantánamo worked, after all. Europe applauds. Vassals elsewhere (including Pakistan’s president) congratulate the US on mission accomplished.
http://www.counterpunch.com/tariq05062011.html
Bin Laden and the Palestinians
Killing Osama Bin Laden might have been sweet revenge and given a boost to President Obama’s re-election chances. But the US’ disregard for the consequences its actions have recalls the Palestinian example to mind.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/bin-laden-and-palestinians/9922?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Al-Qa`idah’s statement on Bin Laden’s death
The statement issued by Al-Qa`idah (or Qa`idah of Jihad–General Command, as it calls itself) reveals something to me: it reveals a new man (certainly not a woman). There is a new literary style that I have not read before. Certainly it is not the language of Aymand Adh-Dhawahiri. The statement talks about a future audio message from Bin Laden and concludes with three lines of poetry that it said that Bin Laden concluded his message with:
“فقول الحق للطاغي — هو العز هو البشرى
هو الدربُ إلى الدنيا — هو الدربُ إلى الأخرى
فإن شئتَ فمتْ عبداً — وإن شئتَ فمت حرّا”
(Speaking the truth to the tyrant, it is dignity it is (good) omen
It is path to life, and to afterlife
If you wish, die a slave, or die free, if you wish)
Who told Bin Laden that he is a poet? And who toled Saddam and Qadhdhafi that they are novelists? Bin Laden insisted on writing poetry, as bad as it was. It does not even reflect classical poetry, but modern (but not too modern, a la free verse movement). I say that he is influenced by Egyptian poets of the early 20th century, people like Ahmad Shawqi (although he has none of this talents). But this statement by Al-Qa`idah has a new literary influence. There is a new person writing now, I feel. The statement concludes with a warning to the American regarding any abuse of the body of Bin Laden. Somebody needs to tell them that is body has been already tossed into the water. The statement states that Bin Laden was not a prophet but then compares him to the prophet and to the rightly-guided caliphs.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/al-qaidahs-statement-on-bin-ladens.html
A tribute to Bin Laden in the mouthpiece of Hariri
This is amazing, if you think about it. The allies of US/Saudi Arabia in Lebanon have been the most vocal in praising Bin Laden and in mourning him. Just as supporters of Hariri in Lebanon (those Salafites who have been cultivated and funded by Saudi Arabia) have mourned Zarqawi and Saddam. But look at this: it is not some lone Salafite. He (Muhammad `Ali Al-Juzu) is a major cleric and Mufti of Mount Lebanon and is a prominent figure in the propaganda department of Hariri family (he also reportedly had close ties to Egyptian intelligence during the Mubarak regime). He denies that Bin Laden is a terrorist and argues that the US posses “a long and wide history in making terrorism and causing its formation”. He said that terrorism is falsely attributed to Bin Laden, and that Bin Laden abandoned his wealth to go and “support” a victim Muslim population. This cleric (who is notorious in Lebanon for his regular vomit production of hate and sectarianism) denies that Al-Qa`idah was behind Sep. 11 and said that “a Western mind” was behind the deed. He concludes his emotional tribute to Bin Laden by saying that “Bin Laden entered history from its wide doors.” You see why I always mock Western media references to “pro-West March 14 coalition”? This dude is prominent figure in the March 14 sectarian coalition. But Hariri family don’t roll out those characters to speak to Western reporters in Lebanon. They choose different characters to present different images.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/tribute-to-bin-laden-in-mouthpiece-of.html
Al-Qa`idah really hearts and protect Israel
It is known that Al-Qa`idah never ever attacked Israel. In fact, it seems that Bin Laden did not adhere to boycott of companies that helped Israel. I read in the New York Times that he drank Coke.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/al-qaidah-really-hearts-and-protect.html
Other News
Teacher tells 9th grade Muslim girl: ‘I bet you’re grieving’ for ‘uncle’ Osama
A ninth grade algebra teacher was suspended from a Texas school district after making offensive comments to a Muslim student in front of the entire class. “The teacher told the student that ‘I bet you’re grieving,'” the mother of a student in the same class told ABC13. “And she basically looked at him and said what are you talking about? And he said I heard about your uncle’s death and she said wow, because she understood that he was referring about Osama bin Laden being killed and was racially profiling her.” She added that the teacher “just kind of smirked and giggled and walked away” after the Muslim student ended up crying over the comments.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/04/teacher-tells-9th-grade-muslim-girl-i-bet-youre-grieving-for-uncle-osama/
Muslim Leaders Kicked Off Flight
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two Muslim religious leaders say they were removed from a commercial airliner in Memphis on Friday and were told it was because the pilot refused to fly with them aboard. Masudur Rahman, who is also an adjunct instructor of Arabic at the University of Memphis, said by telephone from the terminal at Memphis International Airport that he and another imam had already been allowed to board their Delta Connection flight to Charlotte, N.C., before they were asked to de-board.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/06/muslims-taken-off-flight_n_858822.html
Analysis/Op-ed
Aljazeera’s political coverage
It has become a joke, really. I liked and praised Aljazeera Arabic all along. I always returned their calls and went out of my way to respond to their invitations, even for brief interviews. But the role of the network in the Arab counter-revolution (alongside Saudi Arabia) is leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. Early this week, they called me for a phone interview (I am sure on Syria) and I could not even return the calls. I feel that it has gone too far. Forget about the politics, it has become so sensational and unreliable relying for their coverage on the likes of “eye-witness Abu Muhammad”. The political agenda is not even masked. Today, they clearly want to have a day of rage and protests in Syria: so they keep airing the same phone video footage. They tell viewers that there were massive demonstrations, and then you count like 40 or 50 in the protests. I am in no way denying or belittling the existence of protests against the repressive regime in Syria: and the Syrian regime media are as offensive if not more. But you can’t learn the news from Aljazeera anymore. It reverted to a typical regime TV station. And notice that Yemen is no longer covered ever since Yemeni dictator accepted on principle the GCC lousy initiative. It is a very disturbing picture of Arab media and may usher in the rise of new media, especially with Egypt charting a new open course, politically.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/aljazeeras-political-coverage.html
The Muslim Brotherhood
I really really believe that the Arab counter-revolution has officially recruited the various branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in its plot. There is evidence all over, and I would not be surprised if Hamas joins the Arab counter-revolution especially after its reconciliation with the puppets of Israeli occupation. Supporters of resistance to Israeli occupation should insist on the official and categorical rejection and isolation of the Fath Movement because it has become a mere too of the Israeli occupation.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/muslim-brotherhood.html
Rami Zurayk, “Feeding the Arab Uprisings”
I’ll be talking about the relationship between food and the uprisings. I call them uprisings, I don’t call them revolutions, for a multitude of reasons that I will address. . . . One of the most common assertions is that these uprisings were triggered, at least partly, by high food prices. I would like to address this claim. . . . The Arab regimes immediately realized the danger that food riots could pose, so they went into the subsidy mode. They started buying, stockpiling, and distributing food to people. It didn’t do anything. . . . Even when food was made available, people still rose. They rose against the class of people who controlled the regimes and created inequalities. They rose against those who created the system that kept them food-insecure, that kept them hostage to the benefaction of the ruler who offered them food or withdrew it. They rose because the moral economy of the state had collapsed, and with this collapse came food insecurity. Food security is a key determinant of dignity. It is a determinant of freedom. It is a basic right, not a charity. People want food security because it’s a component of citizenship. We are not bellies waiting to be fed, we are humans seeking freedom. This is the relationship of food with the uprisings from the point of view of the protesters. But there is another side to this: regimes come, regimes go, but the problems remain. In the regime changes we are seeing today in the Arab world, nobody is yet addressing the issues that I have raised. What is the use of sovereignty, citizenship, freedom if there is no food sovereignty? When we rise, as in uprising, what do we do next? . . . Is it not time for those who participated in the uprisings to work on ideas? Can we even have a revolution that is not based on ideas? Here, I’d like you to remember with me the words of one of Africa’s foremost revolutionaries Amilcar Cabral: “[E]very practice produces a theory, and that if it is true that a revolution can fail even though it be based on perfectly conceived theories, nobody has yet made a successful revolution without a revolutionary theory.”
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/zurayk060511.html
