(Photo: Sharif Kaddous)
Thousands gather in Egypt’s Tahrir Square
Protesters rally in support of the Palestinian cause and for national unity, while Suzanne Mubarak will be detained.
Thousands rally for Egypt unity after church attacks (AFP)
AFP – Thousands of people rallied in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday calling for national unity after attacks on Egyptian churches, and solidarity with the Palestinians.
Egyptians urge rulers to step up Palestinian support (Reuters)
Reuters – Thousands of Egyptians took to the streets on Friday to push their military rulers to do more to help Palestinians following the overthrow of the country’s president Hosni Mubarak.
Marking The Nakba Day On May 15, Egyptians Plan To March To Gaza
As the Palestinians prepare to mark the Nakba (Catastrophe) Day on May 15, thousands of Egyptians are said to be preparing to march to the Gaza Strip to challenge the illegal Israeli siege on the coastal enclave. They intend to attempt to cross into the coastal region via the Rafah Border Terminal, between Gaza and Egypt.
Egypt prepares to reopen mission in Gaza
The Egyptian embassy in Gaza is reportedly preparing to reopen its office in Gaza city as a high-profile delegation from the Egyptian intelligence is set to visit the Gaza Strip soon..
Egypt and Israel discuss Palestinian prisoner exchange deal
Media sources have claimed that the new regime in Cairo has made efforts to revive discussions of an exchange of prisoners between the Palestinians and Israelis. Israel currently holds around 6,000 Palestinians in its jails, while soldier Gilad Shalit is the only Israeli being held by the Palestinians. The Director of the Centre for Palestine Studies, Ibrahim Aladrawi, told Quds Press that Cairo recently hosted the leader of the Hamas military wing who has responsibility for the exchange deal.
EGYPT: Jury out on promise to open Rafah
JERUSALEM 13 May 2011 (IRIN) – Egypt’s new leadership has promised to open the Rafah crossing into Gaza permanently after more than five years of partial and occasionally full closure, but observers wonder how far this will go to ease the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT).
And more news from the Arab uprisings:
Mubarak’s wife detained in Egypt
Suzanne Mubarak, wife of the ousted Egyptian president, is detained for 15 days pending further investigations into corruption allegations.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-13392099
Egypt: Mubarak, wife interrogated over corruption
Deposed president, wife questioned over suspicion of corruption, misuse of power. Reports claim Mubarak illegally amassed tens of billions of dollars stashed in numerous foreign bank accounts
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4068008,00.html
Egypt extends Mubarak’s detention
Egypt’s authorities order a 15-day detention of ousted President Hosni Mubarak on charges of profiteering, media reports say.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-13385399
Egypt’s anti-graft agency to question Mubarak for first time
State news agency says Mubarak and his wife face accusations of taking advantage of the president’s influence to illegally accumulate massive wealth.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/egypt-s-anti-graft-agency-to-question-mubarak-for-first-time-1.361344?localLinksEnabled=false
Israel still doesn’t understand the new reality: Shin Bet: Egypt doing little to stop Gaza arms smugglers
New security agency report says Cairo’s grip on Gaza border lax; Strip’s militant groups’ weapon caches pose growing threat to Israel.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4068013,00.html
Egypt businessman accused of inciting violence freed
CAIRO, May 12 (Reuters) – Egypt’s military prosecutor has decided to release a prominent businessman who had been accused of inciting violence against anti-government protesters, the state news agency said on Thursday. Ibrahim Kamel, a senior member in the old ruling National Democratic Party, had been arrested on April 10 on charges of inciting thugs to attack protesters in Tahrir Square, the site of demonstrations that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. The prosecutor decided to release Kamel because of a lack of evidence against him, the agency MENA said, without adding details.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/egypt-businessman-accused-of-inciting-violence-freed
Political change in Egypt to boost Nile cooperation
The fall of Hosni Mubarak may improve Ethiopia’s ties with Egypt and boost chances of a deal to share the Nile’s waters.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/analysis-political-change-in-egypt-to-boost-nile-cooperation
Egypt Brotherhood to Expel Any President Runner
A senior official of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood said on Thursday that the group would expel any member who runs for president, after a leading Brotherhood reformer was quoted as saying he might stand.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?fromval=1&cid=23&frid=23&eid=15343
Emad Mekay, “Egypt Seeks End to Foreign Wheat Dependence”
The new strategy is centred on offering prices competitive with international rates to lure Egyptian farmers to shift back to growing more wheat, which is essential for making bread, a staple for most people here. The government said it is buying wheat for 350 Egyptian pounds (59 dollars) per erdab (150 kilogrammes), up from only 270 pounds (47 dollars) last year under Mubarak — a rate so low that farmers had complained that they could not afford new seeds or spend on technologies to compete in the market. Wheat acreage dropped by 5 percent. . . . The government promised to remove red tape that discouraged the creation of new agricultural companies that grow grains, especially wheat. Immediately after that announcement, a group of Egyptian expatriates in the Gulf, Europe and the U.S. announced that they would start a new company that would offer shares directly to the public to raise 3 billion Egyptian pounds. The money will be used to grow 500,000 acres of wheat next year. Egypt has turned to the neighbouring African nation of Sudan for extra arable land, and Sudan has offered one million acres for wheat growing by Egyptian farmers and companies. For the first time, Egyptian farmers said Tuesday that they have organised to create their own unions, a step they say will help them communicate better with the local authorities rather than leaving the government susceptible to foreign pressures.
http://bit.ly/kuHNu7
Was Mubarak a Zionist?
“… being called a Zionist is about as nasty a charge as there is in many parts of the Arab world, the dark corners of the blogosphere and a few other places. To many Israelis, calling the deposed Egyptian president a Zionist is an insult to their country, as they quickly and correctly cite a long list of affronts that made for a cold peace, … Mubarak refused to visit Israel (he said his trip to Yitzhak Rabin’s funeral didn’t count) … He was the go-to Arab leader when Israel needed help dealing with other Arabs, particularly with the Palestinians. He was a better ally than he got credit for. Some observers say that by keeping the peace cold he was able to do more for Israel, as well as for Egypt. … He joined Israel’s blockade of Gaza in order to weaken the Islamist terror group’s hold there, and began the construction of a security barrier along the Gaza-Sinai border to prevent smuggling….”
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2011/05/was-mubarak-zionist.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+friday-lunch-club+%28%22friday-lunch-club%22%29
Bahrain
Trial of Bahraini opposition activists adjourned as independent observers barred
A military trial is under way for 21 porminent opposition activists in Bahrain charged with alleged crimes during recent pro-reform protests.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/trial-bahraini-opposition-activists-adjourned-independent-observers-barred-2011-03-
BAHRAIN: Activists tortured before trial, rights group alleges
One person who claimed to have seen him said he was at that point unrecognizable as a result of apparent beatings in detention,” the statement said. Two other detainees entered court limping on Sunday, the rights group said. “When the defendants asked to speak about the abuse they allegedly experienced in detention, security forces forcibly removed them from court,” the statement said. Bahrain is a party to the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits torture, and its leaders have ratified the U.N. Convention Against Torture.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/05/bahrain-activists-tortured-before-trial-rights-group-alleges.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BabylonBeyond+%28Babylon+%26+Beyond+Blog%29
Bahrain: From hospital to prison
While medical staff in Bahrain are being unfairly targeted by government forces, the rest of the world remains silent.
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/05/201151285040679763.html
Bahrain targets Shia religious sites
Part three in our exclusive series on Bahrain reveals that the government destroyed Shia mosques and religious institutions as part of its crackdown on dissent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqPv4bFuBz0&feature=youtube_gdata
Bahrain’s Sunni rulers target Shiite mosques
The Bahraini regime has bulldozed dozens of Shiite mosques or other religious structures in the crackdown on a mainly Shiite opposition movement.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/dpoMnVgmZEc/Bahrain-s-Sunni-rulers-target-Shiite-mosques
Security forces target Bahrain medics
Part two of our exclusive report on Bahrain looks at the abuse of medical workers as part of the government’s crackdown.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/05/2011512111835943173.html
Bahrain opposition leaders plead not guilty (AFP)
AFP – Bahraini opposition leaders pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday to charges of belonging to a terrorist group and attempting to overthrow the monarchy, state news agency BNA reported.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110512/wl_mideast_afp/bahrainpoliticsunresttrial
Saudi troops to stay in Bahrain
Saudi-led forces sent to Bahrain to help crush anti-government protests will remain even after emergency rule is lifted next month, the kingdom’s military said, in a move likely to deepen regional tensions with Iran.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-troops-to-stay-in-bahrain-2283237.html
After crushed protests, Bahrain is accused of increased oppression of Shiites
The opposition says Bahrain’s government is going after majority Shiites, trying to turn a call for wider political freedom into a regional struggle between Sunni countries and Shiite-controlled Iran. Hassan Mohamed ran his finger over bumps of birdshot beneath his skin. He is nearly blind in his left eye, but is scared to go to the emergency room. The wounds would betray him as a protester. His sister arranged to sneak him into a hospital to visit a doctor she trusts. Mohamed was worried.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/VxyaAfO9OHo/la-fg-bahrain-shiites-20110502,0,6437434.story
Bahrain to try guards over activist’s death -BNA
DUBAI, May 12 (Reuters) – Bahrain has said it will try five prison guards over the death in police custody of a Shi’ite activist during protests by the Gulf kingdom’s Shi’ite majority.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/bahrain-to-try-guards-over-activists-death–bna
Inside Story: Bahrain – the black hole of Arab uprisings?
This episode of Inside Story aired from Thursday, May 11, 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uee3DuzyRnU&feature=youtube_gdata
Interview: Sabah al-Mukhtar discusses Bahrain
Sabah al-Mukhtar, from the Arab Lawyers Association, spokes to Al Jazeera about the health workers that are facing trial on charges that include inciting hatred against the Bahraini government.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYRZkc9D2kU&feature=youtube_gdata
Iraq
Iraqi protesters demand better services, jobs (AP)
AP – More than 500 Iraqi protesters have gathered in downtown Baghdad, demanding better government services and more jobs.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110513/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
Jordan
Jordanians and Egyptians take to streets for pro-Palestinian protests
Protesters in Egypt and Jordan call for establishment of Palestinian state, end to displacement of refugees; demonstrations take place days before Nakba Day; Jordanian protesters call for end of peace with Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/jordanians-and-egyptians-take-to-streets-for-pro-palestinian-protests-1.361537?localLinksEnabled=false
Jordanians protest for Palestinian right of return (AP)
AP – Heeding a call from Palestinian Facebook organizers, several hundred Jordanians took to the streets of the capital Friday demanding a sovereign Palestinian state and that refugees be given the right to return home.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110513/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_jordan_palestinian_refugees
Jordan/EU: Torture Prevention Insufficient
(Berlin) – Jordan should take steps to prevent torture in light of recent allegations of severe abuse there, Human Rights Watch said today. European and Arab national human rights institutions are discussing the subject on May 11, 2011, in Berlin, with the German Institute for Human Rights and the Jordanian National Center for Human Rights opening the discussion.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/11/jordaneu-torture-prevention-insufficient
Lebanon
Political Communiqué for “The Return to Palestine March-May 15th”
The Organizing Committee for the “Return to Palestine March” issued the following political communiqué on its blog marking 63 years since 1948 Nakba Day (catastrophe): From the suffering caused by the Nakba, from our aspirations for return and liberation, from the inspiration brought about by the Arab people’s revolutions, and from our longing to return to the land and the skies of Palestine, we rise. Marking the 1948 Nakba and restating our commitment to the Right of Return of all Palestinians to historical Palestine, the Palestinian people and all the free men and women who support the Palestinian cause will rally on May 15, 2011 in various countries around the world to commemorate the day in a massive Palestinian, Arab and global revolution. In Lebanon the Return to Palestine March will set out towards the Palestinian/Lebanese borders on Sunday May 15, 2011, on the day commemorating the 1948 Nakba. The March will include various Palestinian and Lebanese civil and popular organizations and associations, professional associations, federations, NGOs, political parties and groups, in addition to independent activists from different regions and refugee camps around Lebanon.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=15383&cid=23&fromval=1&frid=23&seccatid=23&s1=1
Libya
Muammar Gaddafi Most Likely Wounded: Italy
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has very likely left the capital Tripoli and has most likely been wounded, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Friday. Frattini told reporters in Tuscany that he believed what he had been told by Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, the Catholic bishop in Tripoli, that “Gaddafi was most probably outside Tripoli and probably even wounded” by NATO airstrikes.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/13/muammar-gaddafi-wounded_n_861609.html
Libya: NATO kills 3 civillians in attack on Kadhafi compound
“Three people died — two of them are journalists and one was their guide who was helping them film a documentary,” government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told a news conference in the Bab al-Aziziya compound that was held next to a large, water-filled crater.
http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-world/three-dead-in-natoled-strike-on-kadhafi-compound-20110512-1ekad.html
Libya: White House to meet Islamic insurgent leader Mahmoud Jibril
The leader of a Libyan, Islamic insurgency group is to meet senior US officials and members of Congress on Friday, the White House has said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13380426
Gaddafi Arrest Warrant Expected By Italy
ROME — Italy’s foreign minister says he expects the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi at the end of the month. Franco Frattini said Thursday that would be a “key moment” in the Libya crisis, suggesting that after the warrant is issued it would be impossible for Gadhafi to agree to an exile.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/12/gaddafi-arrest-warrant-ex_n_861245.html
Libyan capital rocked by explosions
Rockets fired on Ajdabiya in retaliation but no lives were claimed, say medics in rebel stronghold.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/05/20115123318113711.html
Libyan Rebels In Misrata Say They Have Pushed Back Gaddafi’s Forces
TRIPOLI, Libya — Pressing to break a two-month siege, rebels in the port city of Misrata said they had captured the local airport and pushed Moammar Gadhafi’s forces ever further from the city’s western outskirts. The reported advances were the latest in a recent flurry of accounts of rebel victories, coinciding with intensified NATO airstrikes on Gadhafi’s forces in several areas of Libya. In all, NATO said Wednesday, the alliance has carried out more than 2,400 airstrikes since March 31 as part of the effort to assist the rebels and pressure Gadhafi to end his 42-year authoritarian rule.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/12/libyan-rebels-misrata-push-back-gaddafi-forces_n_860904.html
Gaddafi Compound Bombed After Libya Leader Makes Appearance
TRIPOLI, Libya — NATO airstrikes struck Moammar Gadhafi’s sprawling compound in Tripoli and three other sites early Thursday, hours after the Libyan leader was shown on state TV in his first appearance since his son was killed nearly two weeks ago. Explosions thundered across the capital and wailing ambulances raced through the city as the last missile exploded.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/12/gaddafi-compound-bombed-libya-news_n_860949.html
Muammar Gaddafi Makes First Appearance Since Son’s Death
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libyan television showed Muammar Gaddafi meeting officials in a Tripoli hotel, ending nearly two weeks of doubt over his fate since a NATO air strike that killed his son. The Libyan leader, who had not been seen in public since an April 30 strike killed his youngest son and three grandchildren, made his appearance on Wednesday in trademark brown robe, dark sunglasses and black hat.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/12/muammar-gaddafi-libya-appearance_n_860939.html
The Lede: Qaddafi’s Visit Puzzles Journalists
Journalists staying at the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli, where the Libyan government hosts – or confines – the foreign press corps, are asking how Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi manged to hold a meeting at the hotel on Wednesday night without any of them noticing.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=96ef29f9ebe1caa632ec080baf5534c5
Libyan consul in Cairo joins rebel ranks – TV
CAIRO, May 12 (Reuters) – Libya’s consul in Cairo told Al Arabiya television in remarks aired on Thursday that he was quitting his post to join rebel ranks. “In response to the souls and blood of the martyrs of the February 17 revolution, I, Faraj Saeed al-Aribi, the Libyan consul in Cairo, declare my resignation and my joining of the February 17 revolution,” al-Aribi told the television channel.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libyan-consul-in-cairo-joins-rebel-ranks-tv
Libyan opposition leader: Please recognize us, Obama!
Mahmoud Jibril, the prime minister of the Libyan opposition’s Transitional National Council (TNC), called on the United States to formally recognize Libya’s rebels as the country’s legitimate representative body so that urgent financial assistance can begin to flow. The Obama administration has repeatedly called for Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi to step down from power but the State Department has not abandoned its official recognition of the Qaddafi government and transferred recognition to the TNC, as did France, Italy, and Qatar. Without that recognition, the TNC can’t begin to draw from the billions of dollars in assets that had belonged to the Qaddafi regime and were frozen by the international community shortly after the revolution began, Jibril said during his Thursday visit to Washington.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/05/12/libyan_opposition_leader_please_recognize_us_obama
Libyan rebels to open London office – UK’s Cameron
LONDON, May 12 (Reuters) – Libyan rebels are to open an office in London as part of renewed efforts to rally international support behind their fight to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Thursday. After meeting rebel leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil, Cameron said other countries must step up the financial and military pressure to force Gaddafi to stand down.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libyan-rebels-to-open-london-office-uks-cameron
LIBYA: How online mapping helped crisis response
NAIROBI 12 May 2011 (IRIN) – Soon after the Libyan crisis broke, decision-makers and humanitarian workers faced a critical challenge: lack of information about events inside the country.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=92686
Morocco
Middle East: Moroccan Youth Demands Action, Not Words
Protesters have been left unconvinced by government promises and remain determined to intensify their fight for real democratic change.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=bb1fc8e185f12f5444feff87b85fe7cd
Syria
700 dead in Syria crackdown, jurists’ group says
GENEVA, May 12 (Reuters) – Syrian authorities have killed more than 700 people and rounded up thousands while shelling cities indiscriminately in their military crackdown on protesters, an international jurists’ body said on Thursday.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/700-dead-in-syria-crackdown-jurists-group-says
Syria ‘to halt firing on rallies’
The Syrian opposition says an adviser to President Bashar al-Assad has pledged government forces will not fire on protesters on Friday.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-13383002
Army shells homes in besieged Syrian city
The Syrian army shelled residential areas in the country’s third-largest city yesterday, killing at least one person in a sharp escalation in the government’s attempts to crush a popular revolt against President Bashar al-Assad’s autocratic rule.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/army-shells-homes-in-besieged-syrian-city-2282578.html
Activists: Syrian gov’t crushing dissent town by town
DAMASCUS (AFP) – Syrian security forces kept crushing dissent town-by-town and rounding up opposition leaders on Thursday, activists said, in an unrelenting crackdown that Washington has slammed as “barbaric.” The army and security services arrested dozens of people in the flashpoint coastal city of Banias and the neighbouring villages of al-Beyda and al-Qariri, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/12/activists-syrian-govt-crushing-dissent-town-by-town/
Students in Syria face police crackdown
Young people beaten with batons as they defy police orders.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r41bOvr1SW4&feature=youtube_gdata
‘The suspicious re-emergence of a Syrian track in the Hariri investigation’
According to Naharnet‘s source, Bellemare now has new evidence of Syrian complicity in the Hariri murder, which was made available to him by Syrian witnesses who defected to The Hague. The report in as-Safir discusses negotiations between the STL and French intelligence, part of an alleged effort to reach “the Syrian masterminds” behind the crime.
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2011/05/suspicious-re-emergence-of-syrian-track.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+friday-lunch-club+%28%22friday-lunch-club%22%29
Syrian ambassador in Damascus
The fellow is only concerned about Syrian support for Hizbullah. It was a signal: that if Syrian regime ends its support for Hizbullah, the US will allow to kill as many people as it wishes–not that the US government really cares about victims of Arab tyrannies.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/syrian-ambassador-in-damascus.html
Syria’s ambassador in Washington, DC
“I wish to inform you that Rami Makhlouf, a businessman whom you interviewed at length, is a private citizen in Syria. He holds no official position in the Syrian government and does not speak on behalf of the Syrian authorities. The opinions he expressed are exclusively his and cannot be associated in any way with the official positions of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic.
IMAD MOUSTAPHA
Ambassador of Syria”. Oh, come on, Imad. Private citizen? Did he accumulate his wealth as a private citizen too? Does he hold monopolies in Syria as a private citizen too?
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/05/syrias-ambassador-in-washington-dc.html
Rami Makhlouf’s daily blasts Turkey; Draws MB link
From the Makhlouf owned daily… translated in today’s Daily briefing from Mideastwire.com. For a trial please email info@mideastwire.com
http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=9733&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Syriacomment+%28Syria+Comment%29
What Will a Post Assad Syria Look Like?, Joshua Landis
I am a pessimist about Syria’s future because the regime will dig in its heels and fight to the end. The Syrian opposition has successfully established a culture of resistance that is widespread in Syria and will not be eliminated. Even if demonstrations can be shut down for the time being, the opposition will not be defeated. Syria’s youth, long apolitical and appathetic, is now politicized, mobilized, and passionate. All the same, the opposition remains divided and leaderless, which presents great dangers for a post-Assad Syria.
http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=9752&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Syriacomment+%28Syria+Comment%29
Tunisia
Knowledge Liberation Front, “Liberation Without Borders Tour” (Video)
“The activists in Tunisia who have been organizing this meeting since mid-February are very clear about one fundamental point: Let’s not call this project a caravan because we don’t need your help or in other words your Western solidarity, which often bears the stamp of colonial charity, and because we have demonstrated that we are capable of revolution without anyone teaching us how to do it. Moreover, they have added in recent weeks: What we see coming, labeled ‘humanitarian,’ from the other shore of the Mediterranean are bombs and war. Instead, we need your struggles to unite the two shores of the Mediterranean through conflict and transformation, ousting all tyrants — from Ben Ali to the tyrants of financial capitalism. . . . We will go to Tunisia to understand and to do activist inquiry, because the social composition of insurgents there — highly educated young people, precarious or unemployed workers impoverished by the crisis and by a system that produces corruption, women reclaiming their liberty and putting it in practice, people who want to live and move without borders — is very similar to that of the movements in revolt against austerity and education and welfare cuts across Europe.” — Knowledge Liberation Front
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/tunisia120511.html
Tunisians Relishing New Freedoms
Artist whose song became the anthem for the uprising describes how people’s fear of expressing themselves has vanished.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/tunisians-relishing-new-freedoms?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+iwprstories+%28IWPR+Stories%29
Yemen
“Friday of Decisiveness in Yemen”: Tens of Thousands Protest as President Saleh Defiantly Rejects Demands to Resign
Tens of thousands of Yemenis have taken to the streets today for what organizers have called the “Friday of Decisiveness,” days after Yemeni forces opened fire on demonstrators. The death toll from weeks of protests has surpassed 160. The violence comes as Qatar has pulled out of international talks on a deal that would see Saleh voluntarily resign. We are joined on the phone by Iona Craig, a Times of London correspondent, based in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/5/13/friday_of_decisiveness_in_yemen_tens
Qatar quits Yemen mediation attempt
Qatar has pulled out of the effort to mediate an end to Yemen’s political crisis, blaming the country’s embattled president for the impasse.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/qatar-quits-yemen-mediation-attempt-2283567.html
Gulf Cooperation Council: Revoke Immunity Promise to Saleh
(New York) – Negotiators should immediately remove a promise of immunity from any resignation deal for President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen in light of repeated, lethal attacks by his security forces on peaceful protesters, Human Rights Watch said today.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/12/gulf-cooperation-council-revoke-immunity-promise-saleh
Protesters wounded in Yemen clashes
Security forces open fire at rally in Taiz as demonstrators continue to call for the ouster of president Saleh.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/05/2011512114245752696.html
The youth will win in Yemen
Yemen is a fertile land with beaches that stretch for more than 1,700km. It is also a country in which more than 10 million people are threatened by starvation, where thousands spend their lives sneaking into neighbouring countries in search of better opportunities, and where children are violated in forced labour markets. In an age of extraordinary medical advances, the greatest hope of 24 million Yemenis is that their children are not crippled by polio. Man landed on the moon more than 40 years ago, but in Yemen, many still dream of travelling by car rather than donkey. In an age of Facebook and Twitter, many Yemenis simply wish they could read a letter from a loved one.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/12/ali-abdullah-saleh-yemen-youth-democracy
Osama
Bin Laden was Operational Leader, Juan Cole
Kimberly Dozier of the Associated Press got the scoop. USG analysts going through the material captured at Usamah Bin Laden’s residence in Abbotabad described to her some of what they were finding.
http://www.juancole.com/2011/05/bin-laden-was-operational-leader.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+juancole%2Fymbn+%28Informed+Comment%29
Bin Laden journal reveals his calculations for another 9/11-style attack
The release of more information seized from Osama bin Laden’s compound revealed that he thought only another 9/11-scale attack would force the US out of the Arab world.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/oRjJtqYbhLA/Bin-Laden-journal-reveals-his-calculations-for-another-9-11-style-attack
Bin Laden’s wife: I’ll stand with you
(AP) – Osama bin Laden once gave his wives the option of leaving Afghanistan, but his young Yemeni bride was determined to stay and be “martyred” alongside him.
http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=25144
‘Pakistan wasn’t bin Laden’s only hideout,’
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, in an exclusive interview with TIME on Wednesday one of the first he has given since the raid on Abbottabad thinks bin Laden may have visited his ancestral homeland, Yemen, in search of a new bride.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=185493
Dalai Lama ‘sad’ about bin Laden killing (AFP)
AFP – The Dalai Lama said Thursday he was saddened by the killing of Osama bin Laden by US commandos, which he likened to the 2006 hanging of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110512/ts_alt_afp/usattacksbinladentibetchina
Other Analysis/Op-ed
Amnesty says Arab uprising ‘on knife edge’
The struggle for freedom has entered a decisive phase as brutal Arab regimes try to regain control, rights group says.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/05/201151301734114107.html
VIDEO: Amnesty’s Arab Spring warning
A fightback by repressive governments is putting at risk a historic struggle for freedom and justice in the Arab world, Amnesty International says.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-13392234
Al Jazeera Journalist Dorothy Parvaz Remains Missing After Being Detained in Syria, Then Deported to Iran
Al Jazeera English reporter Dorothy Parvaz, an American-Canadian-Iranian citizen, was detained in Syria on April 29 when she arrived to cover the ongoing unrest. She has not been seen since. On Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported she had been deported to Iran, although there has been no direct contact with her. The Committee to Protect Journalists is calling for her immediate release from Iranian authorities. We are joined by Kim Barker, the sister of Parvaz’s fiancé, Todd Barker, who introduced the couple. She has known Parvaz for 12 years—they met as colleagues at the Seattle Times. Kim Barker is now a ProPublica reporter who has reported from Pakistan and Afghanistan. “Dorothy is an amazing journalist, and an amazing human being,” Kim Barker says.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/5/13/al_jazeera_journalist_dorothy_parvaz_remains
