and other news from the Arab uprisings:
Bahrain
Bahrain Shiite cleric: No talks under clampdown (AP)
AP – Bahrain’s most senior Shiite cleric says there is no chance for talks with the Gulf nation’s Sunni rulers while security forces maintain their clampdowns on protesters demanding equal rights and political freedoms.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110610/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_bahrain
Obama Hides Meeting with Top Bahraini Leader—And Mutes Criticism of Ongoing Crackdown
Amidst an intensifying crackdown on anti-government protesters in the tiny Gulf island kingdom of Bahrain, President Obama met Tuesday with Crown Prince Salman bin Isa al-Khalifa, a visit that was not announced beforehand. We speak with Nabeel Rajab, president of Bahrain’s Center for Human Rights, based in Manama. “On the ground, we don’t see anything, any signal, that makes us optimistic that the government has the willingness to go for a dialogue with the opposition and to listen to the grievances and the demands of the people,” says Rajab, noting that soldiers from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain continue to arrest protesters and the doctors treating those injured during pro-democracy demonstrations. [includes rush transcript]
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/6/9/obama_hides_meeting_with_top_bahraini
Bahrain bans human rights seminar
Bahrain’s leading opposition party says the government has imposed a ban on a seminar detailing abuses committed by the ruling regime during its brutal crackdown of anti-regime protests.
http://presstv.com/detail/183836.html
Opposition: 400 Bahrainis on trial after protests (Reuters)
Reuters – About 400 people have been put on trial in Bahrain for their roles in weeks of protests that rocked the Gulf island kingdom this year, a leading opposition group said on Thursday, but the government disputed the figure.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110609/wl_nm/us_bahrain_trials
Bahrain’s unseen protests fall on deaf ears (Reuters)
Reuters – In a poor district of Bahrain’s capital, a few hundred people marched through cramped, crumbling alleyways banging pans and screaming, “Down with the regime.”
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110609/wl_nm/us_bahrain_protest
Bahrain bans human rights seminar
Bahrain’s leading opposition party says the government has imposed a ban on a seminar detailing abuses committed by the ruling regime during its brutal crackdown of anti-regime protests. “Authorities have banned a presentation on ‘the atrocities of human rights violations since February 14’,” the Islamic National Accord Association (al-Wefaq) announced on Wednesday.
http://presstv.com/detail/183836.html
Regular flights to Baghdad resume
Austrian Airlines has resumed flights to Baghdad after 21 years, becoming the first major Western carrier offering a regular service to the Iraqi capital. The Austrian Airlines plane touched down yesterday afternoon at Baghdad International Airport.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/regular-flights-to-baghdad-resume-2294871.html
Bahrain to resume Lebanon flights
Bahraini carrier Gulf Air has announced its flights to Lebanon will be resumed on June 12, following its suspension in late March, Deutsche Press Agenture has reported.
http://www.ameinfo.com/267452.html
The U.S. and Bahrain: How to Talk Just Tough Enough with an Ally (Time.com)
Time.com – After some blunt language in May, the President and the Secretary of State issue more conciliatory words to Bahrain’s visiting Crown Prince. Will that help ease the repression?
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20110609/wl_time/08599207655900
Ghazi Farhan
TO APPRECIATE how all-encompassing the dragnet sweeping Bahrain to quash the island’s Arab awakening has been, consider Ghazi Farhan. A dapper 31-year-old property executive, Mr Farhan manages three restaurants and a set of stables. Amid his pictures on Facebook is one of him at a tea party with Prince Charles.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/06/repression-bahrain
Egypt
Mussa wants peace with Israel but not at any price (AFP)
AFP – The Arab League’s outgoing chief and Egyptian presidential candidate Amr Mussa told French television on Thursday that he wants to work for peace between Israel and Palestinians but not at any price.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110609/wl_mideast_afp/arabegyptisraeldiplomacy
Egypt denies resuming gas supply to Israel
The Egyptian oil ministry has denied media rumors that Egypt resumed Tuesday pumping gas to Israel.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq
Egypt: A new constitution first?
A group of Egyptian NGOs, echoing calls from various political parties and youth groups, have issued a statement backing the Tunisian model of transition, namely that a new constitution should be drafted before parliamentary and presidential elections take place. This is a position that is gaining traction among a lot of people, reflecting in part a lack of trust in the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and in part the fear of Islamist-dominated parliament in the next elections.
http://www.arabist.net/blog/2011/6/9/egypt-a-new-constitution-first.html
Egypt’s unfinished revolution
Hundreds of families were evicted from their homes in Egypt, in January. Promised to be moved into government housing quickly, these Egyptians still live in tents. If the revolution was about reclaiming Egyptian dignity — then what happens to these homeless citizens remains its unfinished business. Al Jazeera’s Sherine Tadros reports from Cairo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzlYInlyBtQ&feature=youtube_gdata
Tahrir Square documents: for Zionists to freak out some more
Raed sent me this: ”Thought you might be interested in this archive of documents from the revolutionaries in Egypt. My favorite of course is the one that states that “the liberation of Cairo is not complete without the liberation of Jerusalem”. Wonder if Friedman or Ajami will ever understand…”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/06/tahrir-square-documents-for-zionists-to.html
Samir Amin, “Middle Classes, American-style ‘Democracy,’ and the Muslim Brotherhood”
The middle classes as a whole rally around only the democratic objective, without necessarily objecting to the “market” (such as it is) or to Egypt’s international alignment wholesale. Not to be neglected is the role of a group of bloggers who take part, consciously or not, in a veritable conspiracy organized by the CIA. Its animators are usually young people from the wealthy classes, extremely Americanized, who nevertheless present themselves as “opponents” of the established dictatorships. The theme of democracy, in the version required for its manipulation by Washington, is uppermost in their discourse on the “Net.”
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/amin100611.html
How Do You Finance Social Justice in Egypt? Jadaliyya Interview With Journalist Wael Gamal
This is our third in a series of interviews we conducted in Cairo during our recent trip. We had the fortune to meet with a friend and prominent journalist, Wael Gamal, whose column in al-Shurouq’s economy section is closely followed in Egypt and beyond–and is also published here on Jadaliyya (see video below). We discussed the overarching question of “social justice” after the revolution. In particular, how do you finance social justice in a country like Egypt?
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/1820/-how-do-you-finance-social-justice-in-egypt-jadali
Jordan
Jordan Tries to Remake Its Political Machinery
Whether Parliament approves recommendations from a National Dialogue Committee on reforming politics is an open question.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=d1c1757405d417cafb70199a2f4590ad
Libya
Gaddafi no longer in charge of anything in Libya except army – Libyan rebel deputy leader
Dubai, Asharq Al-Awsat – Deputy leader of the Libyan rebel National Transitional Council [NTC], Abdul Hafiz Ghoga, stressed that Gaddafi is no longer in charge of anything inside Libya, except for the army, which he is using to crush the Libyan people. Ghoga claimed that Gaddafi was no longer even in control of the capital Tripoli, and stressed that the NTC forces are approximately 70 km from Tripoli, and gaining ground every day.
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=25487
Gaddafi A Legitimate Target, Says NATO Official
(CNN) — A U.N. resolution justifies the targeting of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, a senior NATO military official with operational knowledge of the Libya mission told CNN Thursday.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/09/gaddafi-legitimate-target_n_874608.html
Fresh NATO airstrikes rock Tripoli
Fresh airstrikes hit Tripoli late on Wednesday as NATO continue to pound targets in the Libyan capital.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/06/201168223922140673.html
$1.1 Billion in Aid Pledged to Libyan Rebels
The nations intervening in Libya promised the funds as senior officials continued to predict that the collapse of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s government could be imminent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/10/world/africa/10diplo.html
Libya fears boom over land mines
There is growing concern in Libya about munitions left behind by military factions following months of conflict between Gaddafi’s forces and rebels. Safety teams inspecting the aftermath of battle zones have found an alarming number of unexploded rockets and mines around the eastern city of Ajdabiya and are trying to dispose all of them. Sue Turton reports from Ajdabiya.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Neb4UXolnpE&feature=youtube_gdata
Libya rebel council may include extremists, Panetta says
CIA Director Leon Panetta told lawmakers that worries about some members of the Libyan rebels’ ruling body are ‘legitimate.’ President Obama’s nominee for secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, told the Senate that he is concerned that some leaders of Libya’s opposition may be extremists, even as officials disclosed that U.S. aid for those fighting Moammar Kadafi will fall far short of what the rebel group says it needs.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/GMjGJlnwYNk/la-fg-libya-panetta-20110610,0,7949381.story
Visual diary shows Libyan soldier at war
Al Jazeera has obtained exclusive pictures taken by a young Libyan soldier before he died in battle. The images give a telling insight into the reality of the war in Libya from the perspective of the government troops. Tony Birtley reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3GN1fxA-B0&feature=youtube_gdata
Qaddafi ordered sex drugs for Libya rapes, ICC prosecutor says
Investigators have evidence that Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi ordered mass rapes and bought containers of sex drugs to encourage troops to attack women, the chief ICC prosecutor said. Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he may ask for a new charge of mass rape to be made against the Libyan strongman.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/06/09/152527.html
Opposition forces edge towards Tripoli
Gaddaffi forces are advancing towards the opposition-held city of Misrata. But rebel fighters are continuing their campaign on several fronts, their progress has been slow but steady as they continue to take ground from Gaddafi forces. Al Jazeera’s James Bays reports from Yafran in the western mountain region of Libya.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpqE9MqVqLI&feature=youtube_gdata
We’ll turn our guns on Libyan rebels if they attack civilians, Nato threatens
UK and Nato forces would be prepared to turn their guns on their present allies, Libya’s rebels, if they attacked civilians loyal to Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, British officials stated yesterday.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/well-turn-our-guns-on-libyan-rebels-if-they-attack-civilians-nato-threatens-2294933.html
Women in the Crossfire
Iman Obeidi became famous in March when she burst into the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli and accused Libyan forces of raping her. She was quickly taken by authorities, but eventually found her way to Qatar to seek refugee status in the West.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/06/08/women-crossfire
Saudi Arabia
In Saudi Arabia, Royal Funds Buy Peace for Now
This oil-rich kingdom is spending $130 billion to pump up salaries, build housing and finance religious organizations, effectively neutralizing any opposition.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=7aeabf490d401d366532df05a0917d9c
Saudi fear of revolutions
“Little did Riyadh know that the most severe strategic blow to its regional influence would come not from Tehran, or Tehran’s agents in Baghdad – but Cairo, its closest Arab friend. The ousting of Mubarak did not only mean the loss of a strong ally, but the collapse of the old balance of power. The region could no longer be divided on a Riyadh-Cairo v Tehran-Damascus axis. Revolutions have struck in both camps: in “moderate” Egypt and Tunisia, as in “hardline” Damascus and Tripoli. The principal challenge for the Saudi regime is no longer the influence of Syria, Iran or Hezbollah, but the contagion of revolutions.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/06/saudi-fear-of-revolutions.html
This Saudi propagandist is bragging about Saudi military strength
A bunch of Hawthi rebels with primitive weapons chased Saudi elite forces who can still be seen on Youtube running for their lives: ”The foundation for this more robust strategic posture is Saudi Arabia’s investment of around $150 billion in its military. This includes a potential expansion of the National Guard and Armed Forces by at least 120,000 troops, and a further 60,000 troops for the security services at the Interior Ministry, notably in the special and various police forces. A portion of these will join units that could be deployed beyond the Kingdom’s borders. In addition, approximately 1,000 new state-of-the-art combat tanks may be added to the Army, and the Air Force will see its capabilities significantly improve with the doubling of its high quality combat airplanes to about 500 advanced aircraft. A massive new missile defense system is in the works. Finally, the two main fleets of the Navy will undergo extensive expansion and a complete refurbishment of existing assets. As part of this new defense doctrine, the leadership has decided to meet the country’s growing needs for new equipment by diversifying among American, European and Asian military suppliers.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/06/this-saudi-propagandist-is-bragging.html
Syria
‘Many killed’ amid fresh Syria protests
Activists say at least 23 people have been killed, most of them after the army shelled town in northern Idlib province.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/06/2011610162535580409.html
Syrian army starts crackdown in northern town
Troops deployed in Jisr al-Shughur, as deaths are reported in protests elsewhere in the country after Friday prayers.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/06/201161064328691559.html
Syria: What happened at Jisr al-Shugour?
A few days ago a battle took place in the northern Syrian town of Jisr al-Shugour that drove refugees into Turkey for the first time since the uprising started and was possibly a first sign of defection or mutiny from the security services.
http://www.arabist.net/blog/2011/6/10/syria-what-happened-at-jisr-al-shugour.html
Fears for Syrian child protesters amid fresh reports of deaths
New reports of child protesters being tortured and killed in Syria raise concerns about the treatment of those still in detention.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/fears-syrian-children-detention-amid-fresh-reports-torture-death-2011-06-09
Turkey Syria Refugees Now Number About 1,600: Official
GUVECCI, Turkey — About 1,000 Syrians fleeing violence crossed into Turkey overnight, raising the total number of refugees in the country to 1,600, a Turkish official said Thursday. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his country will continue to accept all Syrians who flee, but he also has urged Syria’s government to adopt reforms aimed at ending the unrest.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/09/turkey-syrian-refugees-_n_873815.html
Syrian soldier ‘ordered to fire’ on peaceful protesters
A former member of the Republican Guard has told Amnesty International that he and other soldiers were ordered to open fire on unarmed pro-reform demonstrators.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/syrian-soldier-ordered-fire-peaceful-protesters-2011-06-09
The Lede: Videos Show Defectors From Syrian Army, Activists Say
Two videos uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday purport to show defectors from Syria’s security forces. If genuine, the accounts they give offer an insight into the behavior of the Syrian security forces and the internal strains they face.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=b2d56205d8e27cd885784c289f766aae
Syrian reports suggest divisions in security forces
An official Syrian news report says the gunmen who killed soldiers in Jisr Shughur were wearing military uniforms. If true, it lends credence to reports of clashes between security forces loyal to Assad and others who oppose the crackdown on protesters. Gunmen in “military uniform and government cars” were responsible for the recent killings of as many as 120 Syrian security forces in the northwestern city of Jisr Shughur, the official Syrian Arab News Agency said Wednesday.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/2GrugRrLXP8/la-fg-syria-jisr-shughur-20110609,0,6559193.story
Syrians decry ‘torture’ of teenage protester
Video emerges appearing to show body of Syrian boy killed in crackdown, as Russia rejects Security Council resolution.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/06/2011696563111657.html
Has Syria’s peaceful uprising turned into an insurrection?
The Syrian regime’s claims that 120 soldiers and security personnel were killed in Jisr al-Shughur over the weekend have intensified the debate over who is behind the uptick in armed resistance.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/h5aEyHzuoKM/Has-Syria-s-peaceful-uprising-turned-into-an-insurrection
Day of the clans in Syria
Elements of the Syrian opposition movement have marked tomorrow as the Day of the Clans. When I hear of any revival of the reactionary clans or tribes and their polygamous male elders, I always detect the hand of colonial powers. They always rejuvenate, empower, fund, and arm the tribes to push their agenda: this is true of Western colonial powers and of Israel. Am I saying that the protests in Syria are the making of outside colonial powers? No, I will repeat what I say: there are two forces going on in Syria: there is a genuine, real, and sincere domestic protest movement, and there is an outside external conspiracy managed by Saudi Arabia through the reactionary Syrian Muslim Brotherhood. It is the task of progressives who want the downfall of the Syrian regime (people like me) to stress the need for regime change (not reform) and for fierce opposition of the Saudi-managed elements of the Syrian opposition. Finally, the notion that all protests in Syria are part of an outside conspiracy, as is claimed by the Syrian regime, should be dismissed out of hand.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/06/day-of-clans-in-syria.html
Syrian Communist Party (the Bakdash branch)
The Syrian Communist Party and the Iraqi Communist Parties are among the worst in the region. Both have lent support to the Ba`thist rules, and both have stood by why the regimes killed and tortured communists. The Syrian Communist Party (Bakdsah branch) has issued a communique enthusiastically supporting regime oppression and repression.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/06/syrian-communist-party-bakdash-branch.html
Is there really a ‘Gay Girl in Damascus’?
Probably not.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/7k6vPknIitA/Is-there-really-a-Gay-Girl-in-Damascus
Yemen
Yemen Protesters Continue To Demand Wounded President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s Ouster
SANAA, Yemen — Nearly 100,000 Yemenis protested Friday in a main square of the capital demanding that the wounded president, currently outside the country, be removed from power. The rally, held after weekly Muslim prayers, was the biggest since President Ali Abdullah Saleh was wounded in a blast that hit a mosque where he was praying in his presidential palace on June 3. Heavily burned, Saleh was rushed to Saudi Arabia for treatment along with a number of top officials from his regime who also were wounded in the blast.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/10/yemen-protests-demand-ali-abdullah-saleh-resignation-_n_874740.html
Ahmed Ali Saleh, Yemen President’s Son, Fights To Maintain Father’s Power
SANAA, Yemen — Yemen’s president, out of the country recuperating from wounds from an attack on his palace, still has a powerful hand on the ground at home: his son. Ahmed Ali Saleh commands Yemen’s most highly trained troops, has them deployed in the streets of the capital and seems determined to preserve his father’s rule against enormous pressure at home and abroad. The grip of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s son – and his nephews, who also command major military units – locks Yemen into a standoff between his forces and the opposition that, if it drags on, will almost inevitably collapse back into new violence. It also appears to be a major obstacle in U.S.-backed efforts to negotiate an end to the crisis while the president is away.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/10/ahmed-ali-saleh-yemen-president-son-_n_874815.html
Yemen’s Saleh out of intensive care: state media
SANAA (AFP) – Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is out of intensive care in neighbouring Saudi Arabia where he is being treated for bomb blast wounds, state media said, prompting celebratory gunfire.
http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=25468
YEMEN: The human cost of the conflict
DUBAI 09 June 2011 (IRIN) – Political violence has displaced thousands in Yemen, while a three-fold increase in the cost of food and water, combined with fuel shortages, is straining the ability of families to cope, aid workers warn.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=92944
Abalysis/Op-ed
Out of Arabia
I have a piece in this week’s roundtable in Bitterlemons International, on US foreign policy in the Middle East after the Arab spring. In it I make a radical argument (at least within foreign policy circles, outside of Chalmers Johnson and Andrew Bacevich anyway) that America needs to end its imperial posture in the Middle East, that the Arab spring provided an opportunity to articulate this and that Obama failed to do so clearly in his speech. I call this argument “Out of Arabia” and the piece is here. The other contributions are by Dan Kurtzer, Joel Beinin and Chuck Freilich, and all but Kurtzer’s are fairly critical of the Obama administration. Kurtzer’s piece argues that Obama introduced a new idea of individual self-determination in his recent speech, with possible far-reaching consequences. All are worth a gander.
http://www.arabist.net/blog/2011/6/9/out-of-arabia.html
AMERICA’S ON-AGAIN / OFF-AGAIN LOVE AFFAIR WITH IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Seymour Hersh, the acclaimed journalist who, in 1970, won a Pulitzer Prize for uncovering the My Lai massacre in Vietnam and has subsequently broken many other important stories dealing with America’s foreign and national security policies (e.g., prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib), has published his most recent article, on U.S. intelligence assessments of Iran’s nuclear […]
http://www.raceforiran.com/americas-on-again-off-again-love-affair-with-irans-nuclear-program
