TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Mass graves are discovered in both Yemen and Syria. Arab Spring is budding in Palestine as Syrians cross the border into Golan and Alice Walker speaks about a US "Freedom Ride" boat to Gaza.
You are in the 189th 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 of the brave people striving against oppression for representative democracy with civil and human rights. One small bit of assurance that they do not strive in obscurity.
YEMEN
Dismembered bodies are found in bags in a mass grave in Yemen:
HOOD uncovers Mass Grave in Yemeni Capital, Sana'a
Medical sources at the Military Hospital in Sana’a have revealed that dozens of corpses of protesters who were killed by security forces were hidden by the Yemeni authorities in unknown places in an attempt to conceal evidence of crimes committed against peaceful demonstrators.
SYRIA
A mass grave in Syria. The one which the government denies the existence of:
PALESTINE
bebekhaled
May 15, 11:09pm via web
a great dramatic vid shows Syrians & Palestinians entering Golan.. Allah Akbar .. http://youtu.be/... #Nakba #May15 #intifada
A painful picture of what those peaceful protesters ended up facing:
RaNoOOoD
May 15, 11:29am via webhttp://tinyurl.com/... what a painful Pic :( #Nakba#Syria #May15 #Paltweet #Palestine #Intifada #3rdIntifadamay god bless their souls
Alice Walker calls boat to Gaza "freedom ride":
More news listed country by country below the fold...
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ABOUT OUR GROUP
Eyes on Egypt and the Region produces a different series of diaries which provide background and analysis on the region in general and on individual countries. We hope those provide context for you as you read about current events. The published diaries in that series are:
Eyes on Egypt and the Region Background Resources
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DO YOU KNOW OF GOOD READING MATERIAL?
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.
NEWS UPDATES
GENERAL ANALYSIS
(h/t Dibsa 5/17)
The Saudi-Iranian Cold War: Is This the Future of the Middle East?
It's easy to overlook the killing of a single person in violence-plagued Pakistan, not least in Karachi, a seaside metropolis ever in danger of boiling over into sectarian bloodshed. But the murder of a Saudi diplomat by unknown assailants ought to raise eyebrows. Saudi Arabia's tangled, pervasive influence in Pakistan has been well documented (including by me), so an attack on one of the kingdom's officials is not just surprising, but a possible harbinger of larger tensions. Before the shooting, bombs had earlier been hurled at the gates of the Saudi consulate (those caused no injury). Declan Walsh, the Guardian's Pakistan correspondent, suggests the attacks may have something to do with a deeper geo-political conflagration
(h/t Dibsa 5/17)Obama's day: Middle East diplomacy
Good morning from The Oval. On this day in 1954, the Supreme Court struck down racially segregated schools in the case of Brown vs. Board of Education.
(h/t Dibsa 5/16)US 'crucial' to Mideast outcome: Jordan king
WASHINGTON — King Abdullah II of Jordan, during a visit to Washington, said Monday the United States will play a "crucial" role in shaping the outcome of pro-democracy revolutions in the Middle East.
(h/t Dibsa 5/16)Arab spring puts Palestine back on agenda
Thousands of protesters marched on Israel’s northern borders on Sunday, bearing flags, stones and an unequivocal message: the Palestinian issue is back on the Arab agenda.
(h/t Dibsa 5/16)Amnesty: Arab freedom struggle 'on knife edge'
A fightback by repressive governments is putting at risk a historic struggle for freedom and justice in the Arab world, Amnesty International says
ALGERIA
(h/t JustJennifer 5/12 ) - Algerian forces block protest by doctors, students
Algerian security forces Wednesday blocked a demonstration in Algiers by some 1,500 striking doctors and students of health care in the latest clampdown on protests in the north African country.
The protesters, dressed in the white jackets of health workers, had gathered Wednesday morning at the Mustapha Bacha hospital, the largest in the Algerian capital.
BAHRAIN
(h/t Dibsa 5/17) - Witness: Expelled from Bahrain, a nation now in fear
MANAMA (Reuters) – When I got the usual call to visit Bahrain's Information Ministry, I braced myself for complaints about my coverage of the crackdown on Bahraini Shi'ites protesting against the kingdom's Sunni-led government.
(h/t Dibsa 5/17) - Bahrain parliament accepts Shiite MP resignations
MANAMA, Bahrain – Bahrain's parliament accepted the resignations Tuesday of the last seven lawmakers of the Shiite opposition in a move that could exacerbate sectarian tensions in the strategic Gulf island kingdom.
(h/t Dibsa 5/16) - BAHRAIN: Students required to sign pledge of allegiance to government
The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights released a statement Sunday saying it was “deeply concerned” the country’s leading university had started requiring students to sign a pledge to support the embattled government of King Hamed ibn Isa Khalifa
(h/t Dibsa 5/16) - Bahrain rights activist's wife details torture, unfair trial
Bahrain's crackdown on the pro-democracy uprising has shifted from the streets to courtrooms, workplaces, and schools. One prisoner's wife describes sexual assault and psychological abuse
(h/t Dibsa 5/16) - POMED Notes: “Human Rights in Bahrain”
On Friday, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hosted a hearing on the human rights situation in Bahrain. The commission – chaired byJames McGovern (D-MA) and Frank Wolf (R-VA) – requested the testimony of the following individuals: Joe Stork, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa programs at Human Rights Watch (HRW); Maryam Al-Khawaja, Head of Foreign Relations Office at the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR); andRichard Sollom, Deputy Director of Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).
(h/t Dibsa 5/16) - Bahrain's Brutal Crackdown on Doctors
Bahrain has been conducting a systematic attack on doctors and other medical personnel, ostensibly because they are providing care to Arab Spring protesters
(h/t Dibsa 5/16) - Hospitals no haven for Bahrain's wounded demonstrators
In the kingdom of Bahrain, to be wounded by security forces has become a reason for arrest and providing healthcare has become grounds for a jail sentence
COTE D'IVOIRE
(h/t Dibsa 5/13 ) - Ivory Coast president: 'no one is above the law'
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Ivory Coast's president on Friday said no one is above the law and vowed to investigate all war crimes committed in the five months following last year's election — including massacres blamed on fighters loyal to him
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
(h/t Dibsa 5/17) - Suzanne Mubarak, ailing, freed after agreeing to hand over assets to state
Suzanne Mubarak, former First Lady of Egypt, was released on Tuesday after handing over her assets to the state, the justice ministry's illicit gains department said in a statement
IRAN
(h/t JustJennifer 5/12 ) - Ahmadinejad and the Ayatollahs
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may soon be ousted from office by the ayatollahs who control Iran. More importantly, there may be a split within the principal Iranian military/terrorist force that is destabilizing the regime.
This is not another popular uprising like the one that led to the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. But it may be related to the so-called "Arab spring" in an oddly Iranian way.
IRAQ
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Iraqi protesters demand better services, jobs
BAGHDAD – More than 500 Iraqi protesters have gathered in downtown Baghdad, demanding better government services and more jobs.
The demonstration Friday at Baghdad's central Tahrir Square was one of the largest in Iraq in recent weeks.
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 5/16) - Jordan police say 25 hurt in Nakba clashes
AMMAN - JORDAN'S public security department said on Monday 25 people, including 11 policemen, were injured in clashes when authorities barred demonstrators from marching on Israel's border
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Jordanians protest for Palestinian right of return
AMMAN, Jordan – Heeding a call from Palestinian Facebook organizers, several hundred Jordanians took to the streets of the capital Friday demanding a sovereign Palestinian state and that refugees be given the right to return home
KUWAIT
(h/t JustJennifer 5/10) - Kuwaiti legislators walk out in protest at old faces in new cabinet
At least 15 Kuwaiti lawmakers withdrew from Tuesday's parliamentary session as the cabinet was sworn in, to protest the re-appointment of former ministers.
The swearing-in comes two days after Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al- Ahmad al-Sabah appointed the new cabinet, in which he retained all the former key ministers.
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 Dibsa 5/17) - Tunisian source: Libyan oil minister defects
TUNIS, Tunisia – Libya's oil minister has defected and fled to Tunisia, a Tunisian security official said Tuesday, one of the highest profile figures to abandon Moammar Gadhafi's government
(h/t Dibsa 5/17) - Official: 4 reporters held in Libya to be freed
TRIPOLI – A Libyan government spokesman says four reporters detained since early April will be released Tuesday or Wednesday following an administrative hearing
(h/t Dibsa 5/17) - UN: Signs Libya is encouraging migrants to board unseaworthy boats for Europe
GENEVA — The U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday that Libyan authorities appear to be encouraging African migrants to board unseaworthy boats bound for Europe
(h/t Dibsa 5/17) - How ICC warrants could change NATO strikes in Libya
The potential that the International Criminal Court (ICC) could issue an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi is unlikely to marginalize him at home. But such a warrant could give NATO more latitude to target the dictator directly.
(h/t Dibsa 5/17) - Mad Dog in The Hague?
It might seem quixotic for the International Criminal Court to indict Libya's unrepentant leader, Muammar al-Qaddafi. But the call for justice can have a pragmatic effect too
(h/t Dibsa 5/16) - Special report: In Libyan oil shipment, sanctions prove dumb
(Reuters) - The deal was struck in early April. Two weeks after the U.N. Security Council vote that saved rebel-held Benghazi from near-certain defeat, Libya's ragtag rebels agreed to the first shipment of oil from the chunk of territory they held
(h/t Dibsa 5/16) - Libya: ICC prosecutor seeks warrant for Gaddafi
The International Criminal Court chief prosecutor is seeking the arrest of Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi and two others for crimes against humanity
RESOURCES:
A vision of a democratic Libya an 8-point plan from the National Transitional Council
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 mimi 4/30 ) -
CIA Part of Investigation of 'Düsseldorf Cell'
The arrest of three suspected al-Qaida members in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia on Friday followed a months-long investigation that, in addition to the German authorities, also included the participation of the CIA and Moroccan secret service. The German Federal Office of Criminal Investigation (BKA) created its own special "Comet" investigative unit to look into the case.
...
The detainees are suspected of being members of the international terrorist organization al-Qaida. According to information obtained by SPIEGEL, the main suspect in the so-called "Düsseldorf Cell" is Abdeladim K. of Morocco. He is believed to have been in regular contact with an allegedly high-ranking al-Qaida official in the Afghan-Pakistan border region.
...
Meanwhile, the report in Die Welt claimed that the three Moroccan men, who have German passports, are part of a larger group of terror suspects
OMAN
(h/t Dibsa 5/17) - Oman 'continues crackdown on activists'
MUSCAT (AFP) – Omani authorities have carried out a wave of arrests against human rights activists calling for reforms in the Gulf monarchy, a group of activists says in a statement received by AFP on Tuesday
PALESTINE
(h/t UnaSpenser 05/17) - Palestinian 6-Pronged Protest marks 63rd Nakba
An attempted rescue operation May 15, 2011 saw Palestinians from all neighbouring borders attempting to 'liberate Palestine' through the weapon of peaceful protest. The Nakba day incidents on Israel's borders showed that the Palestinians have finally entered the fray of the Arab revolutinary Spring. This was a 6 pronged challenge to Israel from multiple borders - Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, West Bank and Gaza.
(h/t UnaSpenser 05/17) -
Palestinian refugee camps bury Nakba martyrs
Lebanon’s 12 Palestinian refugee camps declared Monday a day of mourning, as Palestinians laid to rest six of the 11 refugees killed Sunday when Israeli forces opened fire on protesters who had marched to the Lebanese-Israeli border to mark the 63rd anniversary of the “Nakba.”
QATAR/OMAN
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Protests planned in Oman over failure to act on jobs pledge
MUSCAT Protest organisers in Oman were planning demonstrations outside the civil service offices in the capital yesterday, claiming the government has failed to fulfil its promise to create tens of thousands of jobs
SAUDI ARABIA
(h/t Dibsa 5/17) - Human rights issues in Saudi Arabia
I recently criticized Western governments for continuing to support dictators in the Arab world, although I did not criticize Westerners and I did point to some recent progress in upholding human rights by the current US administration. Now, I must speak candidly on the status of human rights in Saudi Arabia
SYRIA
(h/t Dibsa 5/17) - Syrian opposition calls general strike
DAMASCUS (AFP) – Syria's opposition has called for a general strike on Wednesday in defiance of a government campaign to crush pro-democracy protests, as the army presses its siege of the restive town of Tall Kalakh, the latest target of its brutal crackdown
(h/t Dibsa 5/17) - Syrian crosses border, hitchhikes to Tel Aviv
JERUSALEM – A Syrian man who crossed into Israel in a large crowd that breached a border fence hitchhiked across the country, even sitting beside Israeli soldiers on a public bus, to find the home he said his family lost during Israel's 1948 establishment
(h/t Dibsa 5/17) - Syrian forces beat dozens of university students
BEIRUT, Lebanon – Syrian government agents chased students who were protesting against President Bashar Assad's regime at a northern campus Tuesday, beating them with batons and injuring dozens, a human rights activist said.
(h/t Dibsa 5/16) - Syria frees prominent dissident on bail: NGO
DAMASCUS (AFP) – Syria on Sunday freed several dissidents detained in connection with the unrest roiling the country, including prominent opposition figure Riad Seif and rights activist Catherine Talli, rights activists told AFP.
(h/t Dibsa 5/16) - 'Mass grave found' in Syrian protest hub
DAMASCUS — Syria's brutal crackdown against pro-democracy protests took a chilling turn on Monday with activists claiming a mass grave had been discovered in Daraa, the town at the heart of protests roiling the country for two months
(h/t Dibsa 5/16) - 'Catastrophic' picture emerges of Syrian town
WADI KHALED, Lebanon – Carrying mattresses and bags of clothing, Syrians fleeing their homeland described a "catastrophic" scene Monday in a besieged border town that has been largely sealed off as the army tries to crush a two-month uprising
TUNISIA
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - Tunisia's dissident blog stays true to form
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's regime may have been more-or-less ousted, but Tunisia's leading dissident website is staying true to form in the country's new era.
(h/t Dibsa 5/13) - ANALYSIS - Tunisia under pressure to stick to vote timetable
(Reuters) - Renewed street protests in the Tunisian capital have put pressure on authorities to hold elections in two months' time even if this could risk more instability in the long run.
(h/t Dibsa 5/12) - Despite recent riots, Tunisians are still on the road to democracy
WHEN they tossed out Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali on January 14th after 23 years of his kleptocratic presidency, Tunisians launched not only their own revolution but a wave of change across the region. Yet four months later there are wobbles in Tunisia itself
(h/t Dibsa 5/12) - Tunisia gripped by unrest
Fewer than four months after former president Zein Al-Abidine bin Ali was toppled in the so-called "Jasmine Revolution", Tunisia is once again under curfew following days of unrest, reports Mourad Teyeb from Tunis
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
(h/t Dibsa 5/5 ) - FACTBOX-Political risks to watch in the United Arab Emirates
(Reuters) - As political upheaval sweeps through the Arab world, the federation of seven emirates remains one of two unaffected Gulf Arab states, in addition to Qatar.
The per capita incomes of the UAE and Qatar remain among the highest in the world -- eighth and third, respectively -- thanks to their relatively small populations and oil and gas wealth.
(h/t Dibsa 5/4 ) -
UAE: Human rights officials condemn government crackdown
Human rights advocates decried what they called a “crackdown on civil society” in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday after authorities replaced the leadership of the country's teachers association, a well-established group that had called for democratic reforms, with government officials sympathetic to the administration.
“This attack on civil society is further proof that those in power in the UAE see anyone calling for reform as fair game,” Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director of the New York-based nonprofit organization Human Rights Watch, said in a Tuesday statement. “UAE authorities should immediately stop their hostile takeover of civil society and free the peaceful democracy activists.”
WESTERN SAHARA
(h/t Dibsa 5/17) - Killed in Western Sahara by a bomb shaped like a ball
Twenty years after a ceasefire brought a halt to a long-running conflict in Western Sahara, cluster bombs used by the Moroccan armed forces are still claiming victims - among them children attracted by their toy-like size and shape
YEMEN
(h/t Dibsa 5/16) - Yemen Opposition Says Plan to Remove Saleh
Yemen’s Joint Meetings Party, a coalition of six opposition groups, said a plan to end the country’s political crisis is dead following a visit by the chief envoy of Arab Gulf states seeking to broker a deal.
(h/t Dibsa 5/16) - Yemen Is the Next Big Battleground
Osama bin Laden is dead and Americans are rightfully taking a victory lap. But the greatest threat to the nation's safety and security over the past five years has not been from bin Laden's al-Qaeda, dug into Afghanistan and Pakistan. It's been from a Yemen-based offshoot called al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
(h/t Dibsa 5/16) - Russia opposes to foreign interference in Yemen
SANAA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian ambassador to Yemen Sergei Kozlov on Sunday reaffirmed his country's stance against foreign meddling in Yemen's power-transition crisis between the ruling party and the opposition, official Saba news agency reported
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
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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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