NOTE: Soon we will rename the liveblog "Witnessing Revolution". There will be a transition name: EoE&R Witnessing Revolution". (that's an acronym for the current name, which is also the group name and seems redundant.) The number sequence will be continuous.
You are in the the 133rd Child Diary of the liveblog witnessing the 2011 uprisings throughout North Africa and the Middle East. We stand with our international friends and their courageous struggle for dignity, self-determination and human rights.
PLS REC this diary. PLS UNREC the previous diary.
The liveblog is for witnessing, for other actions see the group page.
Here is the latest Intervention Diary by conchita. (comment in lieu of diary today.)
LIBYA: After the UN sanctions announced on Saturday, we're hearing more talk amongst international communities about the value of a no-fly zone. While there are mixed analysis of whether it would be effective and who would enforce it, one message is clear from the Libyans about doing anything further:
(h/t greenbird)
@ShababLibya LibyanYouthMovement
The Libyan people will NOT accept foreign military intervention and will NOT accept foreign military bases, read the situation #Libya #Feb17
45 minutes ago
they also request that we quite legitimizing Gaddafi by continuing to broadcast their messages:
(h/t greenbird)
@ShababLibya LibyanYouthMovement
MEDIA: Stop broadcasting/interviewing Gaddafi and his sons. It's already establish that they are lunatics. #libya #gaddaficrimes #feb17
9 minutes ago
UN Security Council slaps sanctions on Libya
New York: The UN Security Council late on Saturday unanimously approved sanctions against Libya, including an arms embargo and the referral of the situation to International Criminal Court.
The council voted 15-0 to adopt Resolution 1970 imposing a comprehensive arms embargo, a travel ban and freeze of assets on the Gaddafi regime.
(h/t username ) - Rebels down Libyan aircraft
It is difficult for reporters to move around western Libya and reports of fighting were hard to verify independently.
But witnesses in both Misrata, a city of a half a million people 200 km (125 miles) to the east of Tripoli, and Zawiyah, a strategic refinery town 50 km (30 miles) to the west, said government forces were mounting or preparing attacks.
"An aircraft was shot down this morning while it was firing on the local radio station. Protesters captured its crew," a witness in Misrata, Mohamed, told Reuters by telephone.
"Fighting to control the military air base started last night and is still going on. Gaddafi's forces control only a small part of the base. Protesters control a large part of this base where there is ammunition."
More regional tidbits after the fold....bold section names indicate fresh content...
PLS REC THIS DIARY! We are changing the "mothership" practice, for now, as we navigate our new DK4 environment and the changing nature of events which we are following. Will you please do the following to keep our dKos community eyes on our international friends risking their lives for self-determination:
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We are in the process of collecting suggested readings for background reference materials in support of the Eyes on Egypt and the Region group. These readings may be either non-fiction or fiction, general to the region or specific to a country or issue. If there are resources which you believe aid our understanding of the events and processes we are witnessing, please either a) post a comment in the Liveblog with the title "Suggested reading:" and a brief description of the reading in the body of the comment, or b) send your suggestions via the dKos internal mailer to angry marmot.
Please place links and info for intervention ideas in comments titled "Intervention". These can be collected for discussion and dissemination in conchita's intervention diaries.
GENERAL ANALYSIS:
(h/t username ) - Mona Eltahawy’s speech signals shift in mainstream discourse that Zionists don’t want (go to the link to hear her speak and hear the standing ovation)
Egyptian journalist Mona Eltahawy’s speech at the J Street conference was more than just another good speech–it’s a further indication of the shift in discourse on the Middle East following the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and around the region. Slowly but surely, alternative narratives about the Middle East and Israel/Palestine, voiced by Arabs, are making a dent on how Americans think about the region.
Eltahawy didn’t mince words in speaking to the liberal Zionist lobby group, and she received a standing ovation. She called the 2008-09 assault on Gaza a “massacre” and told the audience that Arab “hatred for Israel… will not end until you lift the siege on Gaza and treat Palestinians with freedom and dignity.” It’s a message that, coming from a woman who has become one of the corporate media’s go-to people on the Middle East, is significant, and not something you would hear at some of the other J Street panels (Nachman Shai of Kadima said that Israel won’t lift the siege until Gilad Shalit is freed).
Eltahawy’s star speech at the conference is part of what is shattering the Zionist narrative on Israel/Palestine, and they’re not liking it one bit.
Ron Radosh at the neoconservative Pajamas Media goes after Eltahawy here. And Ben Sales, writing for the Jewish student magazine New Voices, derides the response Eltahawy got by saying the J Street crowd was “clapping for hate.”
Eltahawy’s speech is concerning to Radosh and others because it exposes Israel as what it is to an American audience: a state that is in deep trouble, a state that is an occupier state, a state that committed war crimes in Gaza. Indeed, as Phil Weiss put it, “the Egyptian revolution is coming–to the USA.” And Eltahawy is one of the leaders.
always good to check in with Juan Cole (may he finally get the respect he is due):
(h/t jnhobbs ) - he World Oil Politics of the Libyan Revolt
...
Some 80% Libya’s developed petroleum fields are in rebel-held territory, and the Benghazi leadership is making plans to pump the oil and receive the proceeds. If the standoff with Qaddafi goes on very long, the oil politics could prove decisive. With Qaddafi’s own foreign funds increasingly frozen, and 3/4s of the country’s oil facilities idled (it ordinarily exports 1.7 million barrels a day), his cash on hand to pay mercenaries and bribe clients will rapidly decline, whereas the Benghazi rebels may reap a windfall. Reports about the situation at the oil fields are chaotic and contradictory, but it seems clear that some oil workers are pumping the oil themselves as expatriate companies flee, and it is possible that the Benghazi leadership could export by tanker truck despite the closing of the Italian pipeline.
The oil politics could also provoke NATO or other intervention. Although Saudi Arabia is pumping extra petroleum (500,000 barrels a day), it is probably not actually replacing what has been lost from Libyan production. Brent crude hit $114 a barrel on Sunday. The world is skating on the edge of petroleum prices so high that they could push the global economy back into recession. Will NATO governments really risk taking a bath in their next elections because they declined to implement a no-fly zone over Libya and bring a quick end to what is for them not only a humanitarian crisis abroad but also a potential oil crisis at home?
...
EGYPT:
(h/t angry marmot) - Experts say presidential elections should precede parliamentary poll
Several legal experts and politicians have suggested that the presidential election be held before the parliamentary poll so no single power can seize parliament to mobilize support for a presidential candidate who serves its agenda.
Failing to proceed in this order would risk returning Egypt to its pre-revolutionary state, they say.
(h/t angry marmot) - Army tells activists parliamentary elections will be held in June
During a marathon five-hour meeting last night with members of the January 25 coalition, a trio of generals said they want to follow the elections with a presidential poll two months later.
But the proposal has been met with dismay by activists, who believe that such early elections will not give Egypt enough time to develop robust political parties without links to the old regime.
Shady El-Ghazaly, who represents the liberal opposition Democratic Front in the coalition, said: “If we have early elections it will probably mean just the Muslim Brotherhood and former NDP members getting into power.”
Instead the coalition has proposed a 12-month interim government, with a “presidential council” of two lawyers or judges and one military figure ruling alongside a cabinet of technocrats.
IRAQ:
(h/t lotlizard ) - Curfew called after protests erupt in Iraq
The Iraqi capital Baghdad is now under curfew following nationwide protests which have called for more government accountability.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Baghdad on Friday to demand more from their elected leaders.
While most of the gatherings were conducted peacefully, there were sporadic reports of violence.
Security measures have since been tightened with a curfew now in place.
Many of the people demonstrating said they weren't against the current government but wanted it to eradicate unemployment and tackle corruption in the instability and shoddy public services in the country.
Prior to the marches, top clerics had warned against participating in the protests, saying that terrorists could possibly launch attacks against protesters.
OMAN:
(h/t JustJennifer ) - Deaths in Oman Protests
At least two people have been killed in an industrial town in the northeast of Oman, after police fired rubber bullets on anti-government protesters.
QATAR
Qataris launch online freedom movement
A group of Qatari activists has created a page on the social networking website Facebook demanding the ouster of Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
More than 18,000 people have already joined the page on Facebook, AFP reported on Saturday.
Under the title "Freedom Revolution, March 16, Qatar," the page calls on the "Qatari nation to hit the streets to demand change."
The activists are demanding that Qatar cut off relations with Israel, with which it maintains informal ties, and the United States, which has a military base in the Persian Gulf state.
The web page is part of the latest cyber campaign seeking to effect change in the Arab world.
SYRIA:
Lack of protests in Syria blamed on internet crackdown
Beirut - While much of the Arab world continues to see thousands of people taking to the streets with calls for political change, a 'Day of Rage' planned in Syria this month drew only a few dozen protesters.
Hundreds of Syrians did later demonstrate, but to demand an investigation into the alleged police beating of a young man in the capital Damascus - not to seek the toppling of the government, as protesters have successfully done in Tunisia and Egypt.
Government officials attribute the lack of upheaval to President Bashar al-Assad's popularity.
'Such protests are useless in Syria because the president is not hated as much as Hosny Mubarak in Egypt. Our president has started to make reforms a few years ago,' a Syrian source loyal to the president told the German Press Agency dpa.
But rights groups and activists blame the low turnout on an internet crackdown initiated by the government.
One Syrian activist, who spoke to dpa on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, said that a number of bloggers have been detained recently in an attempt to stop people from using the internet to share information and organize protests.
BAHRAIN:
(h/t JustJennifer) - Bahrain Shia leader home from exile.
Hassan Mushaimaa, a Bahraini Shia opposition leader who was being tried in absentia in an alleged coup plot, has arrived home from exile after receiving a royal pardon.
London-based Mushaimaa flew to Manama, the capital, from Lebanon on Saturday.
The prominent leader of the Shia Haq movement had said on his Facebook page on Monday that he would be trying to return to the Gulf Arab country after a week of unprecedented protests by majority Shia Muslims against the Sunni monarchy.
Mushaimaa said he wanted to see if the island nation's leadership was serious about dialogue or not.
He was stopped during a stopover in Beirut by Lebanese authorities, who said his name was on an international arrest warrant, and his passport was seized.
Sheikh Khalid ibn Ahmad al-Khalifa, Bahrain's foreign minister, said on Thursday that Mushaimaa, who was among 25 people charged over an alleged coup plot and who was being tried in absentia, had been pardoned and would be allowed to return home to join a national dialogue.
YEMEN:
(h/t DRo) - Tribal Leader’s Resignation Is Blow to Yemeni President
SANA, Yemen — A leading tribal figure in Yemen announced his resignation from the ruling party on Saturday, signaling a major blow to the embattled leadership of President Ali Abdullah Saleh as demonstrations calling for his resignation continue across the country.
“The Yemeni people would not keep silent on the blood of martyrs shed in Aden and will avenge it,” Sheikh Hussein Al Ahmar said in a speech before a large gathering of tribesmen in northern Amran province, referring to deaths of antigovernment protesters in the southern city of Aden, according to local press reports. He also called for the overthrow the Saleh regime, and the gathering broke out in antigovernment chants.
(h/t FORUS50) - Decoding Yemen
excerpts:
Over the past 2 weeks, tens of thousands have taken to the streets in the biggest wave of protests the country has ever seen. The demonstrators have tended to be youthful – the average age in Yemen is 17 - but the demographics involved have become increasingly diverse over the past week, suggesting a broadening of support for the movement. Although Western reporting has focused on the capital, Sana’a, mostly due to a lack of reporters in other locations, the uprising has reverberated across the country.
snip
As with Egypt and Tunisia, the protests have been notable for a lack of organised activity on the part of formal political organisations. Since democratic structures are weak and repression levels high, parties have struggled to establish a of foothold over the past decade, negating any claim they might have to being representatives of the popular revolt. As a result, tribal leaders still represent the most effective players in a country where 70% of the population live in rural areas. Although Saleh has retained the tenuous support of most tribal leaders, this tacit alliance seems to be crumbling. Eyewitnesses have reported armed tribesmen loyal to the leader of the Hashid tribal bloc protecting anti-government protesters against their regime-sponsored opponents. This is a certainly a dynamic to monitor closely over the coming days. The actions of Hamid al Ahmar, leader of the Hashid, could yet prove particularly important.
snip
Nevertheless, the outcome of this uprising could well hinge on the smallest of events. Yesterday, it is reported that a single panicking soldier almost changed the course of events by firing into a peaceful crowd before his superiors were able to wrestle the gun from him. The evidence of Tunisia suggests that the turning point can just as easily come from the actions of an individual. After all, it took the burning of just one desperate man to ignite the spark of revolution that has spread across North Africa and the Middle East. The turning point is drawing ever closer; do watch Yemen in the coming days.
IRAN:
Iranian opposition plans new protest demonstrations
Berlin - The Iranian opposition plans to hold new protest demonstrations next week, opposition websites reported Saturday.
The movement known as the Green Wave said in a statement that the protests are aimed at forcing an end to the house arrest of the opposition leaders Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi.
Moussavi and Karroubi have been under house arrest for almost two weeks, their telephone and internet links cut.
At least three people were killed and an unknown number of protesters arrested in two demonstrations held earlier this month
ALGERIA:
First Algeria protests since lifting of emergency law
Algiers/Paris, Feb 26 (DPA) Hundreds of protesters Saturday took part in the first demonstrations held in Algeria since the lifting of the 19-year-old state of emergency earlier this week, witnesses said.
The protesters gathered in the centre of the capital Algiers, despite the protest ban which is still in place.
Security officers maintained a large presence. In the past they have used violence to break up such demonstrations.
Supporters of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika had also gathered on the city's central square and chanted pro-government slogans.
The country's state of emergency, in place since Feb 9, 1992, was officially ended Thursday. It had allowed the state wide-reaching powers to interfere in political activity.
Its lifting was one of the key demands of opposition protesters, who took to the streets over the past weeks inspired by the anti-government protests in Tunisia and Egypt, which led to the respective toppling of presidents Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak.
SAUDI ARABIA:
(h/t soysauce ) - A Call From Saudi Intellectuals to the Political
The people’s consent is the basis for the legitimacy of authority, and the only guarantee for unity, stability, and the efficiency of public administration, as well as the protection of the country from foreign intervention. This requires a reformulation of the state-society relationship, whereby the people will be a source of authority, and a full partner in deciding public policies through their elected representatives in the Shura (Consultative) Council, and whereby the purpose of the state is to serve society, secure its interests, improve its standard of living, and ensure the dignity of its members, their pride, and the future of their children.
We therefore look forward to a royal declaration that clearly demonstrates the state’s commitment to becoming a “Constitutional Monarchy,” and that puts in place a timeline that delineates the beginning, implementation, and finalizing of the desires reforms. The royal declaration should also confirm the adoption of the major reform goals, namely: the rule of law, full equality between members of the population, the legal guarantee of individual and civil freedoms, popular participation in decision-making, even development, the eradication of poverty, and the optimal use of public resources.
I highly recommend a full read. It's a clear and strong statement recognizing the social and economic contexts driving the demonstrations throughout the region and a wise plan to avoid violence in Saudi Arabia. Will the king heed the call?
(h/t Richard Lyon ) -
Could the next Mideast uprising happen in Saudi Arabia?
The notion of a revolution in the Saudi kingdom seems unthinkable. Yet, a Facebook page is calling for a "day of rage" protest on March 11. Prominent Saudis are urging political and social reforms. And the aging monarch, King Abdullah, has announced new economic assistance to the population, possibly to preempt any unrest.
Is the immovable Saudi regime, a linchpin of U.S. security interests in the region, actually movable?
(h/t Richard Lyon ) -
Leading Saudis call for constitutional monarchy
More than 100 Saudi academics, activists and businessmen have called for reforms in the conservative kingdom, including the establishment of a ''constitutional monarchy'', in a statement published on the internet.
''We will submit these requests to King Abdullah at a later stage,'' said Khaled al-Dakhil, a teacher of political science at the King Saud University and one of the 123 signatories of the petition.
''We have high hopes that these reforms will be implemented. Now is the time.''
MOROCCO:
(h/t ninkasi23 ) Sun. 2/27
Fadoua Laroui: The Moroccan Mohamed Bouazizi
Last week, Fadoua Laroui, a twenty-five-year old woman doused herself with gasoline in front of the town hall in Souq Sebt, and lit a match. According to newspaper reports, the local government destroyed the shack in which she lived with her children and later denied her access to replacement social housing because she was a single mother. She died in a Casablanca hospital two days later.
Like Mohamed Bouazizi, Fadoua Laroui was not known to be part of any political party; she was not asking for political reforms. She was simply crying out against injustice, in a country where her status as a single mother made her a second-class citizen.
(h/t ninkasi23 ) -Sat. 2/26
Morocco: Imminent Cabinet shuffle
Several Moroccan Websites are reporting an imminent Cabinet shuffle in Morocco. According to a reliable online newspaper, King Mohammed VI will announce the selection of Mustapha Tarab as a new Prime Minister to replace Mr. Abbas EL-Fassi. The same source indicated that the Moroccan Monarch will replace several key ministers with some new faces while some former cabinet members will be brought back.
A new non-partisan government will be the right decision in light of the preparations for the 2012 elections. Mr. Tarrab, who is currently the CEO of the very important Moroccan Office of Phosphate (OCP), is a well respected economist who worked at the World Bank. Mr. Tarrab is known for his intelligence, integrity, humility and discipline.
Mostly peaceful protests in Morocco today
The call for renewed protests has been heavily censored in Moroccan media. Also access to the few foreign media reports about the AMDH's protest call, including by afrol News, has been restricted.
Nevertheless, the protesters managed to recruit several thousand people in most major Moroccan cities. According to the Moroccan media 'Yabiladi' - the only one covering today's protests - the largest protests had gathered in Casablanca, Morocco's largest city. The 'Yabiladi' journalist present estimated the crowd at around 4,000, while organisers put it at 6,000.
Western Sahara:Protests against Moroccan Violence
Protesters gathered Saturday in the centre of Dakhla in the disputed territory of Western Sahara to protest against police inaction when Moroccan youths went on a violent rampage overnight. Witnesses told RFI that about 100 people were injured.
Saturday some 100 Sahraouis gathered in the centre of the city, many of them wielding sticks and stones, reports RFI's Daniel Brown, who is in Dakhla, the second city in Western Sahara, which was annexed by Morocco in 1975.[. . .] Protesters are angry that police remained passive as youth went on a violent rampage overnight.
JORDAN:
Activists demand change in peaceful Jordan protest
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Anti-government protesters want faster political reform
* Pro and anti-government groups clashed last week
* This week, police kept the two groups separated
* The protest comes as demonstrations spread across the Middle East and Africa
MAURITANIA:
'Facebook Generation' continues Mauritania protests
Nouakchott, Mauritania (CNN) -- Young Mauritanians pushing for social and political reforms continued a sit-in Saturday in the capital a day after a street protest demanding change.
Police dispersed hundreds of protesters early Saturday, but after a few hours the crowd returned to spend the night at Blocat Square in Nouakchott's city center, despite one earlier arrest and the possibility of forces returning.
"The purpose of the youth demonstrations that we are leading (is) aimed at pushing the ruling regime to make urgent social, economic and political reforms for the sake of better life conditions," said protester Mohamed Ould Sidie. "We don't belong to any one of the political parties, and we don't want to.
"Mauritania is a very rich country, but unfortunately the huge riches of the country, including gold, oil, minerals, fish, are mismanaged by the corrupt, political regimes," said Sidi. "It's time to make a change."
TUNISIA:
(h/t JustJennifer ) - Tunisia PM resigns
Mohammed Ghannouchi, Tunisia's interim prime minister, has resigned, as security forces clashed with protesters in Tunis, the capital, who were demanding some of his minsters be removed.
Hours later it was announced that Beji Caid Essebsi, a former minister, would take over the premiership. Essebsi was foreign minister under Habib Bourguiba, Tunisia's president after independence,
(h/t Richard Lyon ) - Another Tunisia minister quits
Mohamed Afif Chelbi, Tunisia's industry and technology minister, has resigned from the government, the official TAP news agency has reported.
Chelbi, who resigned on Monday, was one of only two remaining ministers who had previously served in the cabinet under ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
His departure leaves Mohamed Nouri Jouini, the minister for international co-operation, as the only survivor in the cabinet from the Ben Ali era.
LEBANON:
(h/t ) - Secular activists plan protest in bid to topple sectarian regime
“It will be a special, peaceful march that will include unique activities. It won’t be another ordinary march,” said Nehmat Badreddine, a spokesperson for one the groups taking part.
....
The aim of the campaign, organizers say, is to topple the sectarian system and liberate the Lebanese people from the dangerous policies of sectarian leaders, and years of government performance that have failed to alleviate pressing socio-economic problems.
PALESTINE:
Toward Palestine's 'Mubarak moment'
The slow collapse of Palestinian collective leadership institutions in recent years has reached a crisis amid the ongoing Arab revolutions, the revelations in the Palestine Papers, and the absence of any credible peace process.
The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) controlled by Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah faction has attempted to respond to this crisis by calling elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and the PA presidency.
Abbas hopes that elections could restore legitimacy to his leadership. Hamas has rejected such elections in the absence of a reconciliation agreement ending the division that resulted from Fatah's refusal (along with Israel and the PA's western sponsors, especially the United States) to accept the result of the last election in 2006, which Hamas decisively won.
But even if such an election were held in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, it does not resolve the crisis of collective leadership faced by the entire Palestinian people, some ten million distributed between those living in the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank, inside Israel, and the worldwide diaspora. read on...
(h/t NYBritExpat) Is the West Bank next? (Al Jazeera op-ed)
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It bears repeating - Please Rec this diary.
Our Egyptian brethren articulated what people around the region are fighting for, though variations to the theme may exist from country to country. banner held by protesters and translated to English:
1 The departure of Mubarak
2 An end to the current Parliament
3 An end of the state of emergency
4 The creation of a national united government
5 A parliament elected by the people to modify the constitution and run the presidential elections
6 Put those responsible for the killings on trial
7 Put those responsible for stealing the country's money and other acts of corruption on trial
HOW TO HELP OUT:
We're watching 21 countries right now and many hands make light work. Our group has 3 pieces of work it's doing:
1. A witnessing liveblog
2. Background research on the different countries and the region.
3. Building a resource library
If you'd like to help with news update gathering for the liveblog, contact UnaSpenser and she'll invite you into the (very simply) wiki and show you the ropes. (Mini-templates with the coding built in makes it easy for you to just copy and past links, headlines and text.)
If you'd like to help with the more in-depth .
Resources:
Note: The Mothership Diary is the place to go for a complete list of resources.
Al Jazeera English - Watch Live (the Youtube link below should work for Mac users unable to load this.)
Al Jazeera live also available on
Dish Network channel 9410
DirecTV: Channel 375 Link
Al Jazeera on Facebook:
http: //www.facebook.com/aljazeera
Al Jazeera Live on YouTube
English Stream http://www.youtube.com/...
Arabic Stream http://www.youtube.com/...
BBC Reports
BBC Middle East is doing specific Egypt coverage
WorldWideTahrir{NEW} : Worldwide protests being organized to coincide with the upcoming ones in Egypt.
bicycle Hussein paladin - Why Iran 1979 Went to the Islamists and This One Won't
weasel - Updates on the Egyptian Protests
People to follow on twitter: - please suggest people for specific countries. Thank you!
@Gheblawi - Libya
@sharifkouddous
@monasosh
@ioerror
@ElBaradei
@SultanAlQassemi
@evanchill
@glcarlstrom
@nolanjazeera
@3arabawy
@shadihamid
@bencnn
@arabist
@speaktotweet: Egyptian Voice Tweets on Twitter
Previous Child Diaries:
Egypt and the Region Liveblog Archive by unaspenser
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