You are in the the 181st Witness Revolution diary, bearing witness to pro-democracy movements in North Africa, the Middle East and beyond. We aim here to simply report, from as many reliable worldwide resources as possible, on the successes, challenges or failures as brave people strive against oppression for representative democracy with civil and human rights. One small bit of assurance that they do not strive in obscurity.
TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
:
Bahrain prosecutes protesters with execution and life sentences. Pictures continue to emerge of people tortured in Bahraini custody. A small child is wounded in Libya. More carnage from armed attacks on unarmed protesters in Syria.
WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO FROM SYRIA
BAHRAIN
As the formally organized political opposition groups have agreed to a plan giving Saleh immunity, the protesters are angry. Here's why:
jazeeri2010 7:51am via Twitter for BlackBerry®
http://bit.ly/... pic of 6 convicts ,red frame:death penalty, blue frame:Life imprisonment #bahrain #kuwait #usa #uk #iran
free_doctors 9:57am via web
at |6:30| http://goo.gl/... they are showing Ali Saqer who died in custody due to torture (check his pic)= http://goo.gl/... #Bahrain
(the video link is pro-gov't propaganda)
Libya
libyans_revolt Apr 26, 7:58pm via TweetDeck
http://yfrog.com/... #Misrata : a pic of injured child by a Bullet from one of Gaddafi's Snipers. #Gaddaficrimes #Libya
there is something particularly eerie about the mundaneness of a child with a boo-boo which happens to be from a government sniper
SYRIA - WARNING: GRAPHIC
Tending to the wounded:
I'm not sure where this is and I assume the wounded were unarmed protesters. Here is the tweet from which I got the link:
MuazJ77 10:07am via web
Vid evidence #syria crimes http://youtu.be/... #homs #daraa #latkia #damascus @cnn @ac360 @bbc @ap @hw @aje conviction will be easy
More news listed country by country below the fold...
This group produces a series of diaries which provide background and analysis on the region in general and on individual countries. We hope these provide context for you as you read about current events. The published diaries in the series are:
Eyes on Egypt and the Region Background Resources
See the group stream for other diary series.
We collect suggested readings for background reference materials in support of the Eyes on Egypt and the Region group. These may be non-fiction or fiction, general to the region or specific to a country or issue. If there are resources which you believe could 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 message to angry marmot.
Libyan Doctors for Hospitals in Libya is an impressive new aide organization launched by one of our own: StepLeftStepForward.
PLS REC THIS DIARY! 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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Thank you!
NOTE: We renamed the original "Egypt Liveblog" to "Witnessing Revolution". From Egypt the pro-democracy fire spread rapidly. It's not clear that it will be limited by geography or ethnicity. So, we wanted a name which states what is happening yet allows us to grow with the movement, wherever that will be. The number sequence will be continuous. The group name will remain the same. Only this particular diary series within the group changed names.
GENERAL ANALYSIS
((h/t Dibsa 4/27)Middle East Revolts Show Need to Create Employment, Shield Poor, IMF Says
Political turmoil in the Middle East shows that the growth-oriented policies pursued by countries such as Tunisia and Egypt failed to meet the needs of their populations, the International Monetary Fund said.
“The unfolding events make it clear that reforms, and even rapid economic growth as seen periodically in Tunisia and Egypt, cannot be sustained unless they create jobs for the rapidly growing labor force and are accompanied by social policies for the most vulnerable,” the Washington-based IMF said in its Regional Economic Outlook for the region, published today
(h/t Dibsa 4/26)Collective courage fuels protests across Arab world
(CNN) -- Mohamed Bouazizi couldn't have known when he struck that match he would spark the "Arab spring," but it's tough to imagine he'd be disappointed.
(h/t Dibsa 4/26)An Arab Spring for Women
The “Arab Spring” has received copious attention in the American media, but one of its crucial elements has been largely overlooked: the striking role of women in the protests sweeping the Arab world. Despite inadequate media coverage of their role, women have been and often remain at the forefront of those protests.
ALGERIA
(h/t Dibsa 4/27) - UN rights expert urges Algerian Government to probe killing of political activist
27 April 2011 – The independent United Nations expert on the right to freedom of opinion and expression today called on the Algerian Government to investigate the killing of a political activist he had met on a recent official visit to the North African nation and to bring those responsible to justice.
Ahmed Kerroumi reportedly disappeared on 19 April and his body was found in his office four days later. He was a professor at the University of Oran, and member of the opposition party Democratic and Social Movement and the Oran section of the National Coordination for Change and Democracy.
BAHRAIN
(h/t Dibsa 4/28) - Bahraini sentences four Shiite protesters to death
DUBAI (AFP) – A Bahraini military court sentenced four Shiite protesters to death and three others to life in prison Thursday over the of killing two policemen when security forces crushed a pro-democracy protest last month, a Shiite opposition official said.
Ali Abdullah Hasan, Qasim Hassan Mattar, Saeed Abdul Jalil Saeed, and Abdul Aziz Abdullah Ibrahim, were sentenced to death, ex-MP from Al-Wefaq Shiite opposition group, Matar Matar, told AFP
(h/t Dibsa 4/28) - Why Bahrain is Trying Civilians Before a Military Court
The seven men who will go on trial in Bahrain on Thursday will make history as the country's first-ever civilians to be tried before a military court. Facing the death penalty, they've been sequestered in an unknown location for weeks and accused of murdering two policemen by running them over with a car. They've had no communication with family or friends since being taken into custody last month. Human rights activists fear they have been subjected to torture. More worrisome, they have been denied access to legal counsel and face trial proceedings sealed to the public. The Bahrain News Agency said the seven men have pleaded not guilty to all charges against them
BURKINA FASO
(h/t Dibsa 4/27) - Burkina Faso town hit by fresh violence in wave of protests
OUAGADOUGOU — Violent protests erupted anew in the troubled town of Koudougou in Burkina Faso where angry shopkeepers and students set fire to the mayor's home and a police headquarters, witnesses told AFP.
Koudougou, 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of the capital, was the birthplace of a wave of protests in the west African country two months ago, placing growing pressure on long-serving leader Blaise Compaore, in power for 24 years
COTE D'IVOIRE
(h/t Dibsa 4/27) - Ivory Coast: Pro-Ouattara forces clash in Abidjan
Fighting has broken out in the Ivorian city of Abidjan between forces loyal to the new president and the "Invisible Commandos", a rival militia.
The Invisible Commandos helped Alassane Ouattara to power and gained control of parts of Abidjan during the four-month dispute after November's poll
DJIBOUTI
(h/t UnaSpenser 4/14 ) -
JIBOUTI: WHY NO ONE CARES
section of article which covers pro-democracy movements throughout Africa
Whilst the world was watching Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt and Libya, Djibouti had an election on 8 April. With no opposition, a state-controlled media and no civil society movement, it was easy enough for President Omar Guelleh to change the constitution allowing him to run for a third term - thereby continuing 35 year rule by the same family. But this little dictatorship is strategically central to the US Africa Command (2,000 US troops are based here) and the NATO countries. Unlike in Libya, Djibouti's 1 million population can expect no support from the West in their small attempts to have a voice.
EGYPT
DailyKos Diary from someone in Egypt doing political organizing consulting:
Challenges with Democracy in Egypt by katienaranjo
Note: For the last year and a half, I have been working on-and-off with Egyptian political parties and youth activists. Below is the first blog post in a series of reports on the upcoming Egyptian elections. This series represents my views from interactions with activists, party leaders, and candidates on the ground in Egypt. I am currently in Cairo after a week of traveling around Egypt meeting with eager activists.
I am a week into my efforts to train Egyptian political activists on how Americans campaign, and it is clear the challenges facing political parties and youth activists here are daunting. In addition to high illiteracy rates, limitations on election resources, and a politically-uninitiated populace, Egypt’s troubles are mounting as its parliamentary elections draw near.
(h/t Dibsa 4/27) - Egypt minister pleads not guilty over protester deaths
CAIRO (AFP) – Egyptian ex-interior minister Habib al-Adly pleaded not guilty as he went on trial in Cairo Tuesday accused of ordering the shooting of demonstrators during protests that toppled the former regime.
Adly and six former aides made a brief appearance in a packed Cairo courthouse before Judge Adel Abdelsalam Gomaa, who postponed the trial until May 21 to allow more time for defence lawyers as well for legal experts acting for families of victims
(h/t Dibsa 4/26) - Egypt adjourns trial of former interior minister
CAIRO, April 26 (Reuters) - A court adjourned on Tuesday the trial of Egypt's former interior minister on charges of killing anti-government protesters, delaying the verdict in a case seen as a test for the country's ruling generals
IRAN
(h/t UnaSpenser 4/20) - Iranian blogger: 'Hell' and 'hopelessness' in his country
Recent protests in Iran have failed to gain traction -- despite growing demonstrations in neighboring countries and Iran's own 2009 massive protest movement.
What's the status of the Iranian opposition movement, what challenges does it face and could a regime change ever happen peacefully? A blogger from Iran weighs in.
Peyman Bagheri is a blogger whose articles against the Iranian government have prompted him to flee his native land for fear of being arrested and imprisoned. He recently spoke via phone from Europe with CNN's Asieh Namdar.
(h/t UnaSpenser 04/20) - Inside Iran: the art of resistance
But if Iran’s “Green Movement” has indeed inspired the “Arab Spring” — which began in Tunisia and blossomed in Egypt, but now faces the heat of summer in Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain and elsewhere — it might not bode well for those who support reform.
Recent attempts to revive the movement on the streets of Tehran have yet to succeed in any tangible way.
...
In the nearly two years since the June 2009 presidential election, artists say that it seems fewer and fewer permits to produce art — be it music, photography or painting — have been granted to applicants. In Iran, artists are officially required to have permits from the Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance to work professionally.
But many have ignored these restrictions, creating and exhibiting their work underground.
Despite this effort to control freedom of expression, there is a flourishing of art in Iran, some of it pointed in its critique of the government and the clerical establishment. This kind of dissent is also often delivered with a flourish of humor that pokes fun at the ruling clerical establishment.
Often artists go to great lengths to stay within the boundaries of laws and restrictions to create the kind of work that attempts to undermine the very meanings of those laws. Others simply create art as if no such restrictions were in place, suffering a sad fate for any artist: being barred from displaying their work.
IRAQ
(h/t Dibsa 4/26) - Kurd officers killed in clash with Iraqi forces
KIRKUK, Iraq (AFP) – Two Kurdish security officers died and four other people were wounded in armed clashes between Iraqi soldiers and Kurdish forces in the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk Monday, officials said.
The city is at the centre of a tract of disputed territory claimed by both the central government in Baghdad and Kurdish regional authorities in Arbil
(h/t Dibsa 4/25) - Arab unrest: Iraq's struggle a warning for protesters
In January, when the flames of revolt were starting to spread through the Arab world, Iraqi leaders rather smugly assumed they would be immune, but they were wrong.
"It can't happen here - we've got democracy already," said one.
A month later there were serious disturbances in Baghdad and many other cities in all parts of the country.
More than a dozen people were killed and hundreds injured
ISRAEL
(h/t Dibsa 4/21 ) - Israeli leftists call for Palestinian state
TEL AVIV (AFP) – Some 300 Israeli left-wingers, including prominent cultural leaders, gathered in Tel Aviv on Thursday to call for the Jewish state to embrace the creation of a Palestinian state.
The activists met to sign a petition, which is endorsed by 17 winners of the prestigious Israel Prize, in a symbolic ceremony in front of the building where the state of Israel was proclaimed on May 14, 1948.
The ceremony was met with anger by several dozen right-wing protesters who also gathered at the site and had to be kept away by a heavy police presence, an AFP photographer at the scene said
JORDAN
(h/t Dibsa 4/27) - Jordan king creates panel to review constitution
AMMAN (AFP) – Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday asked a former prime minister to head a committee to review the constitution and consider amendments, in a bid to face growing demands for reforms.
The king asked Ahmad Lawzi and the 10-member committee, which includes other former premiers, to "look into constitutional amendments that would be suitable for Jordan in the present and future," said the state-run Petra news agency.
KUWAIT
(h/t UnaSpenser 04/20) - ANALYSIS-Kuwait faces reform stalemate after cabinet falls
Kuwait has mostly escaped the unrest sweeping the Arab world, but its dysfunctional politics once again risk blocking economic reform and foreign investment.
...
The cabinet resigned this month to avoid the questioning of three ministers in parliament. Kuwait's ruler has asked outgoing Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammed al-Sabah to form a new cabinet -- his seventh since he was first appointed in 2006.
In this context, small protests by pro-democracy activists seem less worrying for the Sabahs than prospects of a return to stalemate between the legislative and executive arms after a two-year lull in a cycle of crises and short-lived cabinets.
LEBANON
(h/t UnaSpenser 04/19 ) - Turkish envoy to Lebanon: Democracy will spread
Turkey's ambassador to Lebanon, Inan Ozyildiz, believes that despite the recent political uncertainty, all political actors in Lebanon are "engaging in dialogue," and expects democracy to take root in every country in the Arab world.
"Although every country in the region has its own characteristics and political history, the people of the Middle East have a common demand: Democracy," said Ozyildiz.
According to Ozyildiz, the Arab world's transition to democracy is late in coming. "These uprisings were kind of late, they should have started immediately after the end of the Cold War," said Ozyildiz.
LIBYA
(h/t Lawrence 4/27) -
Misrata rebels given chance to act their age during lull in fighting
an insightful peace on who the rebels are
The young men of the Black Car Brigade were sprawled across the living room, chessboard on the table, guitar on the sofa, guns leaning against the wall.
For the first time in weeks they had enjoyed a full night's sleep, a shave and a shower. Coffee had been brewed, and bread rolls delivered. Muammar Gaddafi's forces had been kicked out of the city centre in Misrata, allowing them a rest – and a chance to act their age.
"This is Mr al-Qaida," said Abdulfatah Shaka, 22, a student of refrigeration engineering, Pink Floyd aficionado, tank destroyer and leader of the small rebel cell, pointing to his cousin and classmate Mohamed, 21.
Next he gestured towards Alsallabi, 20, whose university studies have also been interrupted by the revolution in February. "That is the Taliban."
The joke was on Gaddafi, who has blamed the uprising on Islamist terror groups. Everyone laughed: Bashir the seaman, unemployed Ahmed, Abdulmajid the floor tile salesman and Bassam the student. At 23, he was the oldest in the room – until 30-year-old Abdulhamid strolled in after a 10-hour sleep: "My best in two months." In better times he was a chef. "I swapped my spoon for a Kalashnikov," he said.
(h/t Dibsa 4/28) - Libyan doctor says NATO airstrike killed 12 rebels
MISRATA, Libya – A doctor in a besieged Libyan city says a NATO airstrike the previous day killed 12 rebels.
Dr. Hassan Malitan said Thursday he was with the men minutes before two missiles slammed into the building they were holed up in for days in Misrata.
Malitan says he was driving away from the house on Wednesday afternoon when he heard a loud boom and felt the ground shake
(h/t Dibsa 4/28) - Libyan rebels set sights on Misrata airport
MISRATA, Libya (AFP) – Libyan rebels fought to take Misrata's airport on Thursday after pushing back Moamer Kadhafi's forces from the city's lifeline sea port as the oil-rich country's tribes urged the strongman to quit.
As a UN panel arrived in Libya to investigate violence and human rights abuses, rebels in Misrata said they were confident victory was "very close" for them in the strategic port city
(h/t Dibsa 4/27) - Libyan tribes call on Kadhafi to go
MISRATA, Libya (AFP) – Libya's tribes on Wednesday urged Moamer Kadhafi to cede power, as rebels backed by NATO air strikes said they forced the strongman's missiles out of range of the lifeline port of Misrata.
Chiefs or representatives of 61 tribes from across the North African country called for an end to Kadhafi's four-decade rule, in a joint statement released by French writer Bernard-Henri Levy
(h/t Dibsa 4/27) - Libyan port quiet after government bombardment
MISRATA, Libya – The port of a rebel-held city in western Libya was quiet Wednesday after NATO airstrikes drove back a determined government assault on the besieged city's lifeline.
The relative calm allowed an Albanian ship, the Red Star 1, chartered by the International Organization of Migration, to dock at the port of Misrata with 10 shipping containers of aid and two ambulances
(h/t Dibsa 4/27) - Gadhafi's grip on western Libya may be slipping
TRIPOLI, Libya – Moammar Gadhafi has suffered military setbacks in recent days in western Libya, a sign that his grip may be slipping in the very region he needs to cling to power.
His loyalists were driven out of the city of Misrata, a key rebel stronghold in Gadhafi-controlled territory. A NATO airstrike turned parts of his Tripoli headquarters into smoldering rubble. And rebel fighters seized a border crossing, breaking open a supply line to besieged rebel towns in a remote western mountain area
(h/t dibsa 4/27) - From a Qaddafi Daughter, a Glimpse Inside the Bunker
“To make them ready,” she said, “because in a time of war you never know when a rocket or a bomb might hit you, and that will be the end.”
In a rare interview at her charitable foundation here, Ms. Qaddafi, 36, a Libyan-trained lawyer who once worked on Saddam Hussein’s legal defense team, offered a glimpse into the fatalistic mind-set of the increasingly isolated family at the core of the battle for Libya, the bloodiest arena in the democratic uprising that is sweeping the region
RESOURCES:
The full text of UN Resolution 1970 on Libya.
The full text of UN Resolution 1973 on Libya.
President Obama's letter to Congress regarding commencement of operations in Libya. (h/t greenbird)
Al Jazeera Libyan live blog. (h/t jnhobbs)
UK Telegraph Libyan live blog. (h/t bee tzu)
BBC Libyan live blog found here. (h/t greenbird)
The New Yorker Dispatches from Libya. (h/t suejazz)
BBC's Libyan crisis mapped. (h/t phil S 33)
revolutionology is a blog from an American in Benghazi
MAURITANIA
(h/t dibsa 4/26) - Mauritanian police use teargas to break up protest
NOUAKCHOTT, April 25 (Reuters) - Security forces using teargas and batons dispersed several hundred anti-government protesters in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott on Monday, the most serious clash in the West African state for nearly two months.
MOROCCO
(h/t Dibsa 4/28 ) - Moroccan king extends pay hike to armed forces
(Reuters) - Morocco's King Mohammed has ordered public and private sector wage and pension rises also benefit the army, paramilitary police, auxiliary forces and civil rescue services.
Morocco on Tuesday agreed to raise public sector salaries in a handout estimated at more than $5 billion over three years as demands for reform put pressure on the Arab world's longest-serving dynasty
(h/t Dibsa 4/27 ) - Morocco plans to hike state payrolls amid unrest
Moroccan government plan to raise the public sector's employees salaries next month to meet demands of the protests calling for social justice and political reform
PALESTINE
(h/t Dibsa 4/27 ) - Palestinian officials: Unity agreement reached
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians have reached initial agreement on reuniting their rival governments in the West Bank and Gaza, officials from both sides said Wednesday, a step that would remove a main obstacle in the way of peace efforts with Israel.
Even before the agreement was to be signed, however, key questions about how to unify rival security forces remained unsolved. Israel immediately rejected the prospect of a Palestinian government including Hamas, and the U.S. expressed similar concerns
(h/t UnaSpenser ) - Hamas-Fatah reconciliation a Palestinian form of Arab spring
Reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas is a historic achievement for the Palestinians, whose rivalries and divisions have weakened them and been exploited by their enemies.
Agreement to form an interim government and fix a date for elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip next year is also a real triumph for Egyptian mediation – and a surprise given the momentous changes in Cairo in the past few months.
But above all it is a challenge to Israel, the US and EU, which have all shunned Hamas as a terrorist organisation since its shock victory in Palestinian elections in 2006.
The agreement is, in its way, a version of the Arab spring shaking regimes from Libya to Syria and giving hope of change after years of impasse.
OMAN/QATAR
(h/t JustJennifer 4/23) - Protests break out in Omani city
At least 1,000 protesters have taken to the streets in Oman's southern port city of Salalah in one of the biggest pro-reform demonstrations since scattered unrest began in the Gulf Arab sultanate two months ago.
The protesters assembled in a car park across the street from the governor's office on Friday, where a preacher led mid-day prayers and led them on a march across the city.
"The Omani people are not afraid of protesting for as long as it takes for reform, [but] first and foremost is to get government officials, who have been embezzling funds for years, to stand trial," Amer Hargan, the leader, told the crowd.
(h/t Dibsa 4/21) - Oman pardons 234 arrested during protests
(CNN) -- Oman's ruler has pardoned 234 people who were arrested during anti-government protests earlier in the year, the Gulf state's news agency said.
Sultan Qaboos bin Said pardoned only those who were taken into custody for "the crimes of crowding in public streets," the Oman News Agency said Wednesday
SAUDI ARABIA
(h/t Dibsa 4/28) - Saudi Arabia detains bloggers over protest: activists
(Reuters) - Authorities in Saudi Arabia have detained two Shi'ite bloggers this week for taking part in demonstrations in the country's oil-producing Eastern Province, a Shi'ite website and activists said on Wednesday
SYRIA
DailyKos diary on the Ba'athist resignations in Syria:
Meanwhile, In Syria: Mass Resignations By Ba'ath Party Officials
Over the last few days tanks have been deployed in Deraa and other cities inside Syria. The various security forces have opened fire with live ammunition on protesters with more than 400 reported dead. It is hard to know exactly what is going on in Syria as the Assad government had expelled all foreign journalists. However in the days of the internet reports and video are leaking out.
Today there is a major development. The Christian Science Monitor is reporting that 400 members of the Ba’ath Party have resigned the government and the party over the killing and oppression of the protesters. Here are excerpts from two of the mass resignation letters:
From the Deraa officials:
"In view of the negative stance taken by the leadership of the Arab Socialist Baath Party towards the events in Syria and in Deraa, and after the death of hundreds and the wounding of thousands at the hands of the various security forces, we submit our collective resignation."
(h/t Dibsa 4/28) - More shooting in city where Syrian uprising began
BEIRUT – Tanks rolled into the northern port of Latakia — a key city in the heartland of Syria's ruling elite — and security forces opened fire on anti government demonstrators, while heavy shooting rang out again Thursday in the southern protest hotbed of Daraa, witnesses said.
(h/t Dibsa 4/28) - US caught in Syrian dilemma
TEL AVIV - "Let Obama come and take Syria," a resident of the city of Daraa told the BBC in despair on Tuesday in reference to United States President Barack Obama. "Let Israel come and take Syria. Let the Jews come - anything is better than [Syrian President] Bashar Assad."
(h/t Dibsa 4/28) - Assad under pressure as hundreds of Baathists quit
DAMASCUS (AFP) – Foreign pressure mounted on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and hundreds of members resigned from his party, as troops kept their grip on the flashpoint town of Daraa.
Syria's opposition warned Assad that he would be toppled unless he ushered in democratic reforms, although the UN Security Council failed to agree on a condemnation of the violence.
(h/t Dibsa 4/27) - Tanks, reinforcements sent to besieged Syrian city
BEIRUT – The Syrian army sent more tanks and reinforcements into Daraa on Wednesday as part of a widening crackdown against opponents of President Bashar Assad's authoritarian regime, and gunfire and sporadic explosions were heard in the tense southern city
(h/t Dibsa 4/27) - Daraa in grip of Syria troops as more deaths reported
DAMASCUS (AFP) – Syrian troops tightened their grip on Daraa Wednesday as the global community raised alarm over the military assault on the restive town which according to rights activists has claimed at least 30 lives.
(h/t Dibsa 4/27) - UN rights council to hold special session on Syria
GENEVA (AFP) – The UN Human Rights Council will hold a special session on Syria on Friday, a UN spokesman said, amid alarm over the military's assault on the pro democracy stronghold of Daraa.
The special session "will be held on Friday 29 April at 11 am," said Cedric Sapey, spokesman at the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(h/t Dibsa 4/27) - International Pressure Mounts on Syria as Military Siege Continues
International diplomatic pressure is mounting on Syria amid reports of more military tanks and troops fanning out to stop an anti-government backlash.
Members of the U.N. Security Council are due to meet Wednesday to discuss a joint statement condemning the continuing violence against protesters in Syria
(h/t Dibsa 4/26) - Rights group: More than 400 killed in Syria
(CNN) -- More than 400 people have been killed in Syria across several weeks as the government has cracked down on protesters seeking reform, a human rights group in the country said Tuesday
(h/t Dibsa 4/26) - Syrian protesters under attack in Izraa
It is claimed the footage was filmed in the southern town of Izraa where Syrian government forces have been trying to suppress the final remnants of protest.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has increased efforts to dissuade protesters from taking to the streets in recent days and the attack on Izraa seems designed to keep the population cowed
TUNISIA
(h/t Dibsa 4/26) - Tunisia bans ex-ruling party leaders from ballot
TUNIS, April 26 (Reuters) - Senior members of Tunisia's former ruling party will be banned from a July 24 election and the vote will be run by an independent body for the first time, Prime Minister Beji Caid Sebsi said on Tuesday.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
(h/t Dibsa 4/27 ) - UAE quiet on streets but Web reformers face heat
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – No protesters have taken to the streets calling for reforms. There's been barely a public whisper about whether the Arab uprisings could intrude on the cozy world of the United Arab Emirates' rulers.
The main challenge to authority so far has been a modest online petition urging for open elections and the creation of a parliament
WESTERN SAHARA
(h/t Dibsa 4/26) - Moroccan police disperse rampaging W. Sahara students
RABAT — Dozens of students from Western Sahara were dispersed by Moroccan security forces Friday in a Rabat campus violent protest after the murder of a comrade the night before, witnesses told AFP.
Students went on the rampage at the Rabat-Souissi university campus in the morning and "burnt several buildings, including the administration," a student said
YEMEN
(h/t Dibsa 4/28) - Yemen's Saleh should not get immunity: Amnesty
SANAA (AFP) – Yemen's embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh should not be granted immunity from prosecution under a Gulf plan that seeks to end months of bloodshed, Amnesty International said Thursday.
The London-based human rights watchdog said the transition plan proposed by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) appeared to provide a blanket immunity to Saleh as well as those who served under him
(h/t Dibsa 4/28) - Yemenis rally outraged at deaths of 12 protesters
SANAA, Yemen – Tens of thousands are rallying across Yemen, denouncing the killing of 12 protesters the previous day in the capital Sanaa and insisting the country's long-time ruler step down.
Demonstrators defied heavy rains Thursday to condemn the brutal crackdown by forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh in several central cities, as well as in Taiz and in Saada
(h/t Dibsa 4/27) - Yemenis start civil disobedience campaign
SANAA, Yemen – Yemeni residents in scores of cities and towns across the nation launched a civil disobedience campaign Wednesday to bring down the country's long-serving president, activists said.
The campaign is the latest in Yemen's uprising that started in early February, inspired by revolts across the Arab world. Massive near-daily protests have called for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the country's ruler of 32 years.
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
Will you help us gather updates?
Many hands make light work and we rely on teamwork for timely posting.
Here's how it works:
we invite you to join our wiki. (we'll need an email address from you)
you choose 1 or more countries you wish to gather citations for
go to the page of that country, click EDIT,
copy the mini template and fill in what the red text prompts
click SAVE
We're working on a publication schedule: Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday. Ideally we would see fresh citations in the wiki by late evening the day before. That is, posts from late Monday evening would be published in Tuesday morning's diary. (If you'd like produce a diary on a different day of the week, we'd love to show you how to update the template and paste it into your diary!)
It's really that simple! Please join us.
Resources:
Note: The old Mothership Diary has good 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 OR 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 Middle East reporting
BBC Middle East and Arab Unrest
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
People to follow on twitter: - please suggest people for specific countries. Thank you!
@ArabRevolution - Region
@Dima_Khatib - Region
@March15Syria - Syria
@JNovak_Yemen - Yemen
@WomanfromYemen - Yemen
@Gheblawi - Libya
@ShababLibya - Libya
@feb17voices - Libya
@DrsForLibya - Libya
@libyanexpat - Libya
@lissnp - Iran
@prsianbanoo - Iran
@sandmonkey - Egypt
@JRamyRaoof - Egypt
@Elazul - Egypt
@Ssirgany - Egypt
@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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