But first in Libya…
Gaddafi forces accused of torture
Bahrain hospitals ‘used as bait’ to snare rebels (AFP)
AFP – Medical charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) said on Thursday that hospitals in Bahrain are being used as bait to snare wounded pro-democracy protestors after security forces took over health facilities.
Fear stalks Bahrain hospitals: medical charity (Reuters)
Reuters – Hospitals in Bahrain, where the government has cracked down on protests and imposed martial law, have become places to be feared where wounds can identify people for arrest, a medical charity said Thursday.
Bahrain hospitals ‘paralysed’ by unrest
In new report, Medecins Sans Frontieres accuses Bahrain’s military of deliberately targeting doctors and hospitals.
And more news from the Arab uprisings:
Libyan rebels hit by NATO air attack
Second such incident in less than a week leaves five fighters dead, in country’s eastern oil town of Brega.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/04/20114711651619495.html
Pro-Gaddafi shelling kills 5 in Misrata-rebels
ALGIERS/BEIRUT, April 7 (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi killed five people and wounded 25 on Wednesday when they shelled rebel-held areas in the city of Misrata, two rebel spokesmen said. The spokesmen told Reuters by telephone that NATO air strikes on Wednesday hit positions held by pro-Gaddafi forces in and around the city. One of the spokesmen also said pro-Gaddafi forces had shelled Misrata’s port, the rebel’s only lifeline to the outside world, forcing it to close temporarily
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/pro-gaddafi-shelling-kills-5-in-misrata-rebels
Gaddafi forces shell Misrata, explosions heard -rebels
TUNIS, April 6 (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi shelled Misrata on Wednesday and one resident was killed in clashes, rebels said, calling for tougher NATO action as loud explosions rocked the besieged city. Like many cities, Misrata rejected Gaddafi’s rule in a revolt in February. In a violent crackdown, Gaddafi forces retook most of western Libya, leaving Misrata cut off and surrounded, with dwindling supplies.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/gaddafi-forces-shell-misrata-explosions-heard–rebels
Libyan rebels regain ground near Brega
Rebels claim regaining new ground in port town as Gaddafi’s forces cripple oil production in eastern Libya.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/04/201146203751775276.html
Gadhafi using human shields, says NATO as U.S. rejects cease-fire plea
BENGHAZI: Moammar Gadhafi is using human shields to foil airstrikes on his forces, NATO said Wednesday, as Washington dismissed a letter by the Libyan leader in which he appealed directly to President Barack Obama to halt military strikes.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=126897
Live Call from Misrata: Father and doctor in anguish
April 6, 2011: Via Feb17Voices: Live Call from Misrata. Father and doctor in anguish in a war zone speaks about how war has changed his family’s life. Listen!
http://feb17.info/media/live-call-from-misrata-father-and-doctor-in-anguish/
Video: Injured 16 year old ordered to fight revolutionaries in Misrata (English Translation)
April 6, 2011: A 16 year old Libyan boy from Tripoli being treated by the revolutionaries in Misrata was taken from his highschool and told by Gaddafi supporters to go to Misrata and fight the people that are causing problems …
http://feb17.info/media/video-injured-16-year-old-ordered-to-fight-revolutionaries-in-misrata-english-translation/
Defected soldiers attempt to impose order on Libyan rebels
NEAR BREGA, Libya: Rebel soldiers erected a checkpoint at the gate of the eastern Libyan town of Ajdabiya Wednesday to prevent a convoy of eager but mostly unarmed civilians from reaching the front.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=126871
Rebels say Gaddafi, not British, attacked oilfield
BENGHAZI, Libya, April 7 (Reuters) – An oil official in rebel-controlled east Libya said on Thursday forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi had attacked the Sarir oilfield, denying a Libyan government charge it was hit by a British air strike. A rebel official earlier said production at Misla and Waha oil fields, also in rebel-held east Libya, had stopped because of attacks by Gaddafi’s forces.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/rebels-say-gaddafi-not-british-attacked-oilfield
US rebuffs letter sent by Gaddafi
The US rejects a personal appeal from Muammar Gaddafi, repeating that he must resign, as new fighting is reported in Libya.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-12993962
Gaddafi to Obama: End air strikes
Libyan leader asks US president to end military campaign, wishes him luck in next elections; letter replete with errors, Gaddafi refers to Obama as ‘Abu oumama’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4053298,00.html
U.S. to suggest Gadhafi to become honorary chairman of African Union
Former U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon said he is set to meet with Moammar Gadhafi . Weldon said that in addition to Gadhafi stepping down, he is proposing a cease-fire on both sides; a withdrawal of government forces from key cities; no further advances by rebel forces; a joint interim government run by Libya’s current prime minister and the an opposition leader.
http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/world/news/66454/
Libya: Allow Eman al-‘Obeidy to Leave Tripoli
(New York) – Libyan authorities should immediately allow Eman al-‘Obeidy, the woman who alleged that she was raped by Muammar Gaddafi’s security forces, to leave Tripoli for her safety and to receive medical care, Human Rights Watch said today.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/06/libya-allow-eman-al-obeidy-leave-tripoli
18 more Palestinians leave Libya
CAIRO (Ma’an) — Egyptian Authorities agreed Tuesday to allow 18 Palestinians from Libya to enter the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian embassy reported. Eighty Palestinians still remain on the crossing waiting for Egyptian authorities’ approval on their leaving for their obtaining documents without national numbers. Consulate representatives are waiting with the stranded Palestinians until they get approval.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=375670
EGYPT-LIBYA: Stranded at the border – and frustrated
SALOUM 07 April 2011 (IRIN) – Liberian migrant James Saah, 40, sells bottles of perfume and soap from a makeshift stall in no-man’s land between Libya and Egypt, near the Egyptian border town of Saloum. He fled Libya, where he was working in a foundry, three weeks ago, and is fed up.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=92398
Libya Rebel Oil Production Halted by Gaddafi Attacks
BENGHAZI, Libya — Three days of attacks by supporters of Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi have halted oil production in rebel-held fields in the country’s east, a rebel spokesman said Wednesday. The rebels had just begun exporting oil again after a weekslong hiatus in an effort to raise funds for their struggle against Gadhafi, who still controls the western half of the country.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/06/libya-oil-production-rebel-forces_n_845813.html
Libyan rebels bide their time
A long standoff could allow the rebels to gain strength, perhaps with help from foreign advisors. Here in Moammar Kadafi’s capital, embassies continue to close down. Gas lines get longer. Fear and uncertainty grow. Spring has arrived, but there are no short-sleeve shirts for sale at the market because supply lines to Tripoli are cut.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/n31F-RVYQKs/la-fg-libya-rebels-advantage-20110407,0,5066673.story
Old Benghazi reveals pre-Gaddafi days
Before Muammar Gaddafi took control of Libya in 1969, it was the Italians who ran the show, and their Mediterranean architecture still colours Benghazi’s side streets. But the Italians aren’t the only foreign force to have asserted themselves over Libya’s second city. Only under Gaddafi has Benghazi been wrestled into subservience to Tripoli, and the new leader did his best to erase meaningful traces of the old. Now, those who have lived through both eras hope to see a new one that will be Benghazi’s own. Al Jazeera’s Laurence Lee reports from Benghazi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZMvmfh4cPA&feature=youtube_gdata
Staying power
John Simpson on how Col Gaddafi is able to hang on.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-12986764
Understanding Libya, Dispelling the Myths
There are many things that are misunderstood about the so-called ‘civil war’ raging in the sands of Libya. Even if Gaddafi is stopped tomorrow and there is ceasefire, my fear is that the false impressions will remain. Firstly, the term “civil war” is misleading, because in reality “civil war” means that a nation is at war with itself. And having spent time in Libya in March with the Gift of the Givers Relief Organization, I can vouchsafe that Libya is not at war with itself.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16781
The deep roots of Qaddafi’s psychology of violence
For more than four decades, Libya’s self-declared ‘Brother Leader,’ Muammar Qaddafi, has waged a brutal form of psychological warfare against his own people, analysts say.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/yPpPlJxB8dI/The-deep-roots-of-Qaddafi-s-psychology-of-violence
Libya mission creeps dangerously all over the place | Peter Beaumont
There is a whiff of panic about Cameron and Hague’s strategy on Libya. To say it has been clueless is almost to be too kind. Since the beginning of the crisis in Libya there has been a whiff of panic about the diplomatic, humanitarian and military strategy pursued by the government of David Cameron. Acting on media reports of the bombing of peaceful demonstrations and widespread atrocities allegedly carried out by mercenaries – not all of which proved to be true – Britain pushed for sanctions against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi at the UN.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/07/libya-cameron-hague
Bahrain
The Crisis Group: The Bahrain Revolt
http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/105-%20Popular%20Protests%20in%20North%20Africa%20and%20the%20Middle%20East%20-III-The%20Bahrain%20Revolt.ashx
‘Island of fear’
Bahrain uses brute force to quell protests.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-12975832
Bahrain police trying to run over protesters: Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-tP_k80yXA&feature=player_embedded
Amid unrest, Bahrain companies fire hundreds of Shiites
At least 16 Bahraini companies or government ministries have fired hundreds of mostly Shiite workers during the past week. Employees speak of being dismissed despite being on pre-approved leave or having received approval to stay home due to the unrest.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/GvoCL-ZRhO4/Amid-unrest-Bahrain-companies-fire-hundreds-of-Shiites
Bahrain’s Rulers Tighten Their Grip on Battered Opposition
The splintered Shiite opposition in Bahrain is seeking ways to regain momentum after the nation’s Sunni rulers crushed opposition protests last month.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=08592fc6e82705d9c5ed63731f894212
Iranian MPs condemn Saudi crackdown on Bahrain protesters
TEHRAN: More than 200 Iranian parliamentarians Wednesday condemned the “frightening crimes” of Saudi troops in Bahrain and demanded their exit, state television’s website reported. “Today the protest shouts of Muslims in Iraq, Lebanon, Kuwait, Afghanistan, even in Saudi Arabia and many other countries are being heard due to the frightening crimes of Saudi.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=126875
US and Saudi Arabia discuss Iran ‘meddling’
Gulf countries accuse Iran of interference in the affairs of Bahrain and Kuwait in a campaign to destabilise the region.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/04/201146233625445108.html
Why Zogby is Wrong About Bahrain, RANNIE AMIRI
In the March 28, 2011 online edition of CounterPunch, Arab American Institute President James Zogby authored an article titled “The Roots of Bahrain’s Crisis.” In it, he relays data from a years-old McKinsey & Company survey of middle class residents in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. He argues that the economic disparities between citizens of the first two nations and the “distressed” ones in the latter were “yellow flags” heralding Bahrain’s current unrest.
http://counterpunch.org/amiri04052011.html
Yemen
Tensions run high in Yemen as 19 killed
Police shot dead two people in the Red Sea city of Hudaydah in overnight protests over the killings of 17 demonstrators earlier the same day in Taez, south of the capital.
http://thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Tensions+run+high+in+Yemen+as+19+killed+&NewsID=282773
No plans to suspend military aid to Yemen
US: Asked at a news conference if the US administration was considering withholding military aid due to unrest and violence against demonstrators, press secretary Geoff Morrell said: “As far as I know, it has not been (considered).”
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hq0gdrn-os3ilYBa3iak9cKQFbsw
Protesters flood the streets in Yemen’s second city in ongoing defiance of government
Defying a deadly government crackdown, tens of thousands of protesters on Wednesday poured into the streets of Yemen’s second largest city in the latest demonstrations against the long serving president.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/mass-protests-a-general-strike-in-southern-yemeni-city-sealed-off-by-saleh-troops/2011/04/06/AFzXyFoC_story.html
‘Tsunami Of Taiz’ Protests Rock Southern Yemen
SANAA, Yemen — Defying a deadly government crackdown, tens of thousands of protesters on Wednesday poured into the streets of Yemen’s second largest city in the latest demonstrations against the long serving president. Two groups of protesters met up in the city center where a general strike had closed shops and banks in what activists were calling the “Tsunami of Taiz” and the largest demonstration in this troubled southern city to date.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/06/tsunami-of-taiz-yemen-protests_n_845722.html
Saudi Arabia, allies coaxing Saleh to step down, hand over power
SANAA/DUBAI: Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies are trying to broker a deal to have Yemen’s president step down and hand over power, possibly to an interim council of tribal and political leaders, sources told Reuters Wednesday.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=126873
Gulf states to usher transition in Yemen
Talks over exit of President Saleh, welcomed by government and opposition, will convene in Saudi Arabia soon.
http://english.aljazeera.net//video/middleeast/2011/04/201146173025215266.html
OSC: Yemeni Tribes, Movements, Youth, Organizations Decry Regime’s ‘Bloody Massacres’
The USG Open Source Center translates reactions of major political groupings in Yemen to the massacre of protesters in Taiz [Ta’izz] by security forces on Monday and the wounding of some 50 with live fire at al-Hodeida the same day.
http://www.juancole.com/2011/04/osc-yemeni-tribes-movements-youth-organizations-decry-regimes-bloody-massacres.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+juancole%2Fymbn+%28Informed+Comment%29
Syria
Assad overturns ban on face veil
Embattled Syrian leader reaches out to conservative groups, as protests against his 11-year rule continue to grow.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/201146191822918801.html
Syrian lawmakers plan to adopt major reforms in May: politician
DAMASCUS: Syrian lawmakers plan to adopt major reforms in May, including an end to emergency rule, a politician close to the regime said Wednesday, as Syria lifted a ban on teachers wearing the full face veil and ordered the closure of the country’s only casino.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=126874
Syria grants key Kurdish demand
Kurds in the eastern Syrian region of Hasaka are to be granted a key demand – the right to Syrian nationality – via a decree by President Assad.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-12995174
Paul Jay, “Who Rules Syria and How? Interview with Joshua Landis”
Paul Jay: One final question. To what extent are there unions? And to what extent are there demands for more independent unions as part of this struggle? In Egypt that was one of the central themes. Joshua Landis: Yes. Well, there are unions. There is an agricultural union, a peasants union, workers unions that are run by the Ba’ath Party and that are part of the single-party state. And by and large they cling to the Ba’ath Party, because the reformers, the economic reformers within the state — Abdullah Dardari and others — want to withdraw all subsidies. That means subsidies for fuel, which is highly subsidized in Syria, all your heating oil, your gasoline for your taxis, and so forth. Subsidies for food — wheat, oil, rice. The basic commodities are highly subsidized by the state. The poor, the working class, are still dependent on those subsidies. They’re dependent on a social sector, on jobs that come through state factories that are often inefficient and should be sold and shut down if you’re going to follow, you know, the magic hand of capitalism. So there is a big working class that is dependent on the state, and they cling to the Ba’ath Party. The working class is divided in the same way that other people are divided: pro-Bashar, pro-Ba’ath Party; anti-Ba’ath Party.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/landis060411.html
Other Mideast
Top Algerian Islamists call for release of up to 7,000 prisoners
ALGIERS: Two prominent Algerian Islamists called on the president Wednesday to release up to 7,000 Islamists from prison, a move they said would draw a line under a conflict that killed an estimated 200,000 people.
Most of the thousands jailed during Algeria’s nearly two-decade conflict between Islamist insurgents and government forces were freed under an amnesty.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=126870
Amid Arab turmoil, Morocco charts quiet path to reform
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI says Moroccans will vote on proposed constitutional changes in a national referendum. The country’s reform movement wants to lessen the monarchy’s power.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/zlFHFNUhVZg/Amid-Arab-turmoil-Morocco-charts-quiet-path-to-reform
Middle East: Oman Offers Some Lessons to a Region Embroiled in Protest
Oman has a lot of work to do to create jobs for its young people, but when protests began to sweep the Arab world last month, they quickly fizzled out there. Why?
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=753c75f389727824cd1450e029ae8e6c
