Arab regimes on edge

[freepalestine]

Arab regimes on edge

</U>Marc Lynch


</B>
http://www.uruknet.info/pic.php?f=12arab107977297.jpg (http://www.uruknet.info/pic.php?f=12arab107977297.jpg)
</U></I></B></STRONG>FP (http://lynch.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/11/arab_regimes_on_edge), January 12, 2011

It's very clear that most Arab regimes are on edge over the possibility of the spread of the protests in Tunisia (http://www.uruknet.info/posts/2011/01/02/tunisia_s_protest_wave_where_it_comes_from_and_wha t_it_means_for_ben_ali) and Algeria (http://www.uruknet.info/posts/2011/01/09/algeria_s_national_protesta). Arab columnists and TV shows have been excitedly debating the real causes of the protests and what they might mean, while in country after country warnings are being sounded of a repeat of the "Tunisia scenario." It's not at all clear whether these protests actually will spread yet, as regimes on high alert will not be taken by surprise and local conditions vary dramatically.

The protests have already sparked a region-wide debate about the prospects for political change and the costs of political repression and economic stagnation. The discussion of the "Tunisia scenario" is everywhere. In Jordan, the Muslim Brotherhood warned today that the impending price rises planned (http://www.uruknet.info/posts/2011/01/06/jordans_troubling_new_parliament) by the new government will lead to an unprecedented explosion (http://aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/DC13D82E-94BC-4200-94CE-34049F1CDFE6.htm) along the North African model -- which is the lead story (http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/1552) in Lebanon's al-Akhbar. In Egypt, Trade and Industry Minister Rashid Mohammed Rashid ruled out (http://www.almasryalyoum.com/news/%D8%B1%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%AA%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B1-%C2%AB%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B1%D 9%8A%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%86%D8%B3%D9%8A%C2%BB-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1-%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%83-%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%B9%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%85%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8A%D 8%A9) a "Tunisia scenario" in his country over the economy, though many columnists and political activists disagree. Leading Saudi columnist Abd al-Rahman al-Rashed today seems worried (http://www.aawsat.com//leader.asp?section=3&article=603341&issueno=11732), rather than excited, that protesters may have broken the psychological barrier against demonstrating and raises the specter of a "domino theory" by which even currently calm Arab states may soon be threatened.
The debate is being carried by social media and by satellite television, despite the outsized efforts by most of the regimes to silence whatever media falls under their control. From Kuwait and Tunisia's moves to ban al-Jazeera to traditional repression of local journalists to the escalating crackdown against Facebook, Twitter, and other social media, Arab regimes are trying to keep control of the narrative. But it doesn't seem to be working. Even status quo media outlets are being forced to discuss the events and to entertain unsettling questions.
It still is not at all obvious that these protests will sustain themselves, lead to revolutions, or even force major changes in the policies of their regimes. But they have already seared themselves into Arab political discourse. Defenders of the regimes generally try to define the events as food and price riots, or else as externally fomented terrorism. Few independent columnists or activists agree with the idea that these are simply food and price riots, or external terrorism. They point to the underlying political problems which have enabled the economic mismanagement and corruption and lack of opportunity. How the events are framed will have real significance for the response.
In the meantime, I'd like to throw out two interesting questions about the developing events. First, as I raised (http://www.uruknet.info/posts/2011/01/06/obamas_arab_spring) last week, as best I can tell the protests still lack any clear political direction or leadership -- primarily because the regimes have so thoroughly decimated the integrity of their political institutions that few citizens see any way to voice their grievances through formal political channels. Few political parties seem to be playing any significant role, even Islamists. Do the protests need to be channeled into an organized political or social movement in order to press clear political demands? If they did continue to escalate in the face of regime repression, without any clear leadership, what kind of change might they produce? The great hope here is that Arab regimes might respond as they did in the late 1980s, where economic protests in countries such as Jordan led to unprecedented democratic openings. But many of the regimes point instead to Algeria in the early 1990s, where such an opening led to Islamist advances, a military coup, and years of horrific bloodshed. Which will it be?
Second, it is striking how little role there has been for international actors such as the United States and the European Union in these protests. Where they have been involved at all, the United States and the EU have been cautious and reactive. While many will see this as a criticism, I'm not so sure. Americans tend to exaggerate the importance of U.S. rhetoric on Arab popular movements and governments. The Bush administration's "freedom and democracy" rhetoric from 2004 to 2006 may have had some marginal impact, but the real driver of contentious politics in those years came from internal factors: the protest momentum and networks shaped by demonstrations in support of the Palestinians (from 2000-2002) and against the Iraq war (2003); the novelty of al-Jazeera satellite TV and internet-based new media; the timing of political openings, from the series of elections scheduled for Egypt to the Hariri assassination.
That the rising wave of protest today comes in the near-complete absence of United States or international support presents an intriguing variable. Tunisians and Algerians didn't need an Obama speech to begin their protests, even if they anxiously watch Washington now for signs of support. I'd guess that the best way for the outside to have an impact now is by restraining violent repression by their allied autocratic regimes -- though, if they feel that their survival is threatened they won't likely listen.



:: Article nr. 73845 sent on 12-jan-2011 23:38 ECT


www.uruknet.info?p=73845 (http://www.uruknet.info/?p=73845)</I>

[Prometheus Unbound]

Tunisia: IMF “Economic Medicine” has resulted in Mass Poverty and Unemployment
Nawaatorg | Jan 02, 2011 | 2 comments
Protest by Suicide as a Symbol of Resistance

by Prof. Basel Saleh *

Mass and spontaneous demonstrations erupted on Friday, December 17th in the city of Sidi Bouzid (central Tunisia) when Mohammad Bouazizi , a 26 year-old, doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire after a female police officer slapped and spat on him. The only crime Bouazizi committed was that of being a street vendor selling vegetables and fruits without a permit, in a country where neoliberal economic policies failed to provide economic opportunities to Bouazizi and thousands of others like him.[1] Bouazizi’ s attempted suicide, which comes hard on the heels of police humiliation and confiscation of his only source of income, reveals the utter despair prevalent today among Tunisia’s population especially college graduates. Twenty-four years of ruthless corruptions, dictatorship, and neoliberal economic policies led to wealth being concentrated in the hands of very few people connected to President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his wife’s family. Bouazizi, a college graduate,[2] was trying to live in dignity and provide for his family by becoming a street vendor despite living in a country that is considered an economic miracle and one of the African lions by western economic monitors and analysts.[3]

The miserable economic conditions in the interior of the country, lack of employment opportunities and political freedoms pushed Bouazizi, like thousands of other young men and women in the Maghreb countries, to the margins of society. Tunisia’s national unemployment rate, which understates the true unemployment situation, stands at 14%.[4] However, the youth unemployment rate (those between15-24 year-old) is at 31%. The income share of the top 10% is approximately 32%, and the top 20% of the population controls 47% of Tunisia’s income. Tunisia’s inequality is so severe that the bottom 60% of the population earns only 30% (the top 40% take home 70% of the income).[5] Still, the IMF describes the government management of the economy and the uneven economic growth which benefited mainly northern and coastal cities while marginalizing the interior of the country as a “prudent macroeconomic management.”[6]

The despicable behavior of the police officer described above is not uncommon in Tunisia and is condoned by the police state that ignores basic human rights, shows no respect for the dignity of its citizens, and does not tolerate any signs of dissent. Poverty, unemployment and oppression have pushed yet another young man to commit suicide just few days later after Bouazizi’s attempt. On Wednesday, December 22nd, Hussein Nagi Felhi, also unemployed, unfortunately succeeded in committing suicide by climbing a high-voltage electric power line. He was electrocuted and died on the scene. Witnesses say the young man was shouting “no for misery, no for unemployment” as he climbed the electric pylon.[7]

The epidemic of youth unemployment, inequality, political repression, and lack of any meaningful freedoms inflamed solidarity among the population which took to the streets in a spontaneous and unplanned organic protests. Within days of the attempted suicide by Bouazizi and the suicide of Felhi, protests spread across the country and reached the capital Tunis and are still ongoing even in the face of total national media blackout and police brutality which resulted in the killing of an 18 year-old. This is not the first time the dictator of Tunisia Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has faced street anger over joblessness and economic misery during his 24-year reign, but this is by far the most serious challenge to his rule. About three years ago in January 2008, his security apparatus crushed protesters in the southern mining town of Redhayef when workers and young people protested wages and unemployment.[8]At that time, over 300 people were arrested as a result of the protests.[9] However, this time the desperation among the population has reached the boiling point. Aided by social media, some protesters launched a Facebook page to document riots and share news although the government promptly shuts down any protest-linked websites.[10] The demonstrations are increasing in intensity and show no signs of abating. The protesters are fed up with the status quo of a self-enriching and corrupt ruling family which is the de facto governing system in the Middle East and North Africa.

A Western Ally: The Hypocrisy of Western Neoliberal and Foreign Policies

Respect for human rights and freedom of the press is almost nonexistent in Tunisia. The Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom labels Tunisia as ‘mostly unfree’ nation and marginally close to being repressed—its lowest score.[11] Transparency International ranks Tunisia among its seriously corrupt nations with a score of 4.3 out of 10 (10 being free of corruption and 1 as most corrupt), and Tunisia is considered ‘not free’ according to Freedom House Index.[12] This is no surprise in a country where the government controls almost all aspects of people’s lives. Young people are especially tightly controlled and monitored. Even fields of study in post-secondary education are decided by the government where the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research decides in which field of study students will be placed.[13]

Although the protests that are spreading across the country took on the form of social unrest for the first few days, they rapidly metamorphosed over the last ten days to become a mass political rally by the people. The protesters are now on the streets calling openly for the president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to leave office by holding signs in Tunisian Arabic dialect that read “Yezzi Fock” (Ben Ali, it is enough) which has become the protesters’ political slogan. Labor and industry unions which played an active role in public life since independence from France are also supporting the protesters. President Ben Ali, nearing 80, is very aware of the gravity and the real threat to his grip on power. His first reaction was to preempt the protesters by firing some local officials, replace some ministers in his cabinet, and then immediately promising more investment and job creation completely oblivious to his record after 24 years in power. When these empty promises failed to deflate the protesters’ anger, he resorted to the routine policies of riot police and explicit threats directed to his citizens. Facing the most serious unrest in the history of his rule, he took to the airways and gave a televised address in response to the demonstrations. He vowed to punish “the minority of extremists” whom he blamed for the riots (as he calls them) and also indicated that these protests “will have a negative impact on creating jobs. It will discourage investors and tourists which will hit jobs.”[14] It appears that the President’s main concern is the tourism industry which is tightly controlled by his family and that of his wife as revealed by several Wikileaks concerning the economic and financial corruption of the first family.

The Tunisian dictator and his family are touted by Western governments as an example of a stable and progressive North African Muslim nation. The neoliberal economic policies are hailed as prudent and wise by the IMF yet these policies primarily benefited his family, that of his wife in addition to other well-connected wealthy Tunisians. In one incident of corruption revealed by Wikileaks, the Son-in-Law of the President purchased a 17% share of a bank just before it was to be privatized and then sold the shares at a premium. Readings from Wikileaks U.S. diplomatic cables underscore that success in the Tunisian economy is directly related to connection to the first family. Income and regional inequalities are on the rise in Tunisia. Job creation and widespread prosperity promised by defunct orthodox economic dictates never trickled down to the masses or even materialized for most unemployed college graduates where net migration has been steadily increasing rising from -16,000 in 1980 to -80,000 in 2005.

The Tunisian Government is an important ally for the U.S. in its resource-driven colonial wars with Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. A United Nations report on secret detention practices lists Tunisia as having secret detention facilities where prisoners are held without International Red Cross access. [15] Intelligence services in Tunisia cooperated with the U.S. efforts in the War on Terror and have participated in interrogating prisoners at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan and in Tunisia. Recent Wikileaks diplomatic cables reveal that the U.S. not long ago was concerned about the growing anger on the streets and the corruption of Ben Ali and the Trabelsi family (his wife’s family) who treat everything in the country as theirs. A list of Wikileaks cables from the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia posted on The Guardian newspaper website indicate that the U.S. considers Tunisia as a police state “with little freedom of expression or association, and serious human rights problems,” and the Ben Ali family as a “quasi mafia.”[16] Nevertheless, the State Department boasts about the active support the Tunisian security forces receive from the U.S. in spite of the Ben Ali’s government record of serious human rights violations. According to the State Department website:

“The United States and Tunisia have an active schedule of joint military exercises. U.S. security assistance historically has played an important role in cementing relations. The U.S.-Tunisian Joint Military Commission meets annually to discuss military cooperation, Tunisia’s defense modernization program, and other security matters.”[17]

The fate of the protests is unclear at this point. The Ben Ali government is frantic to control the situation by sending police and security enforcements in the cities affected by the protests. The protesters have been peaceful and have not resorted to any violence or destruction of property. Some protesters simply held a loaf of bread and others are simply holding signs that call for jobs and dignity. In the meantime, the IMF is continuing to push Tunisia to more austere economic policies on the expenditure side, recommending that the government ends its support for food and fuel products and reform its social security system, a code word for privatizing the pension system in Tunisia which benefits the masses of poor Tunisians.[18]The greatest hypocrisy in all of this is that the IMF recommends these policies in the name of greater employment and growth which is the IMF’s cut-and-paste recipe for all nations it studies.

In the meantime, the Western international community has been largely silent about the protests. The U.S. corporate-run media is as usual busy selling air time to corporations eager to cash in on the Christmas holiday while simultaneously raising their prices to squeeze more out of their customers.[19] The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal didn’t report on the Tunisian protests at all. The U.S. State Department remains tight-lipped on the issue and has yet to release any statement on the situation. The U.S. government’s deafening silence confirms the inherent hypocrisy in U.S. diplomatic and foreign policy that is widely known, detested, and recently confirmed by Wikileaks released U.S. diplomatic cables.

[Revolutionair]

I think this is the article that Prometheus Unbound quoted:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=22587

[Garret]

Announcement soon, according to Al-Jazeera. Either General Habib Ammar or Speaker Fu'ad Mbazaa has taken over. I do hope that any military administration would be short-lived, but based on Tunisia's history of leaders 'seizing power', I shalln't hold my breath.

EDIT: News report from al-Jazeera: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/01/2011114172228117723.html


The Tunisian president is reported to have left the country and the army has taken control, reports say.
Friday's developments come amid violent clashes in the capital, Tunis, over unemployment and rising food prices.
State media earlier reported that Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the president, had imposed a state of emergency in the country and promised fresh legislative elections within six months in an attempt to quell the wave of dissent sweeping across the country.
It was also said that gatherings of more than three people had been banned.


Also, the press conference in Tunis is taking place now. The PM is saying that Ben Ali is 'temporarily unable to exercise his duties', according to Sky News.

[The Local Loser]

It said on the news Islamist and communist groups are both strong there, hopefully either the communists will get voted in, or a revolution will sieze control.

[Hoipolloi Cassidy]

First, as I raised (http://www.uruknet.info/posts/2011/01/06/obamas_arab_spring) last week, as best I can tell the protests still lack any clear political direction or leadership -- primarily because the regimes have so thoroughly decimated the integrity of their political institutions that few citizens see any way to voice their grievances through formal political channels. Do the protests need to be channeled into an organized political or social movement in order to press clear political demands?

Second, it is striking how little role there has been for international actors such as the United States and the European Union in these protests.



Second: the French Minister of Foreign Affairs (Michele Alliot-Marie, also known as Cruella) has proposed sending French police units to Algeria and Tunisia, "so that the right to demonstrate may be assured along with the strengthening of security." Mighty white of her, eh? BTW - France has close to one million citizens with dual Tunisian/French or Algerian/French extraction.

First: protests always get channeled, the only question is, who does the channeling, and how long do the channellers stay in the saddle? It's clear that the Islamist movements have failed to do so, though French President Sarkozy's been hoping they would; there have been liberal groups in Tunisia rushing to "cooperate" with Ben Ali's offers of reform, and finding themselves high and dry. And then there's the Communist union leader Hamma Hammami, who got busted early on, along with others. The only issue is, where does it all go, and when does it stop. Western govts. would dearly love to have a say in that, witness Hillary Clinton.

[scourge007]

This is not surprising. The Arab world has long been controlled by military strongmen , who are very repressive and greedy. The old blame the Zionists and American infidels speech could only work for so long anyway.

[freepalestine]

This is not surprising. The Arab world has long been controlled by military strongmen , who are very repressive and greedy. The old blame the Zionists and American infidels speech could only work for so long anyway.
well they are blaming the americans-and also the europeans.the regime in tunisia ,like other arab countries are basically u.s. puppet govt's.

[Tommy4ever]

So what are we to expect from a wave of unrest against the dicatorships of the Arab world?

Are they likely just to reassert authority with the military? Are Islamists likely to take control? Can we hope for leftists?

Things really do seem very unclear.

[~Spectre]

So what are we to expect from a wave of unrest against the dicatorships of the Arab world?

Are they likely just to reassert authority with the military? Are Islamists likely to take control? Can we hope for leftists?

Things really do seem very unclear.

Depends on the country. If the Saudi government falls, you might get a state that makes the Taliban look liberal. If the old military then fails to regain control, then you'd get a guaranteed full on U.S. invasion.

[Rafiq]

Depends on the country. If the Saudi government falls, you might get a state that makes the Taliban look liberal. If the old military then fails to regain control, then you'd get a guaranteed full on U.S. invasion.

I don't think that will be the case, actually, I expect quite the opposite.

Friends of mine have been to Saudi Arabia, and the average people are sick of the theocracy.

[freepalestine]

Egypt Is Not Tunisia, But…

</U>By Emad Mekay


</B>

</U></I></B></STRONG>CAIRO, Jan 15, 2011 (IPS) (http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=54143)- "Where can I find a Tunisian flag?" The question flooded Egyptian blogs, tweeter and Facebook pages minutes after news that popular protests had forced out long-time Tunisian dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.

Egypt is feeling the ripple effect from Tunisia already. Egypt’s 85 million people constitute a third of the Arab population. Until Tunisians ousted their autocratic ruler Friday evening after his 23 years in power, Egypt, a regional trendsetter, was seen as the first candidate for regime change by popular uprising in the Arab world.

John R. Bradley penned a book in June 2008 predicting a revolution in Egypt. He said the country was slowly disintegrating under the twin pressures of "a ruthless military dictatorship" at home and a flawed Middle East policy in Washington.

In his book, 'Inside Egypt: The Land of the Pharaohs on the Brink of a Revolution’, Bradely argued that Egypt was "the most brutal Arab state where torture and corruption are endemic" and it would therefore be "the next domino to fall" to popular anger. The book was banned in Egypt.

Today the view from Cairo is that the military-backed regime of 82-year-old President Hosni Mubarak is far more formidable, and more subtle, than the brutal regime of Ben Ali that alienated its own people, and failed to handle the unrest when it first erupted Dec. 17. Mubarak’s supporters say he carries the public with him, and has a wide support base that includes the army and many businessmen.

"We should remember that he has survived at least three assassination attempts and hundreds of protests and demonstrations against food prices and other issues," says Khaled Mahmoud, an independent analyst. "Mubarak is simply much stronger than Ben Ali, and enjoys the backing of the country’s most powerful institution; the army."

Mahmoud argues that Ben Ali was shown up during the protests as a "weak" president. "His performance was very weak. Tunisians sensed his fragility and realised that what they were afraid of was just an illusion."

Mubarak is credited with a "smart" grip on power – occasionally allowing freedoms that help vent anger.

"The regime channels some anger through talk shows, tolerating some street protests, critical opinion pieces in newspapers, strikes and sits-in," Amr Elshobaki, political analyst with the semi-official Al-Ahram Centre for Strategic Studies in Cairo told IPS. "That helps release some frustration rather than leaving it to build up into a major sweeping force."

Elshobaki points to another difference between Egypt and Tunisia. Labour unions in Tunisia had appeased the regime to a degree, but they kept their structure and some of their integrity, he says. Unions in Egypt "have become like a government entity. Their leaders are government staff."

Moreover, the Egyptian regime has used religion cleverly to keep the young under control through proxy players. The Islamic Salafi movement, that does not believe in challenging a Muslim ruler, turns passion among the young into "passive religion", Elshobaki says.

The Salafi trend and the Christian Coptic church are both pro-government. "I do not see much resemblance between Tunisia and Egypt," Elshobaki says.

But this view is widely disputed especially among human rights activists, bloggers, Islamists, some university professors and independent journalists, who say that Egypt is flirting with revolt. Tunisia comes as a major boost to the idea, they say.

"Like Ben Ali, Mubarak offers nothing to his people but tyranny, emergency law and armies of security troops. They are alike in that nobody wants them and nobody likes them," says Ibrahim Issa, editor of the online daily Al-Dostor and one of the main critics of the regime in Egypt.

"What the Tunisians showed us is that change will inevitably come to sweep away all the stooges of Washington and Tel Aviv in all Arab states."

Others argue the similarity between ruthless police tactics in both nations, which in part led to the Tunisian unrest. "The expulsion of Ben Ali shows how his model of governing, which exists in many other Arab countries including here in Egypt, is fragile," says Bahai El-Deen Hassan, head of the Cairo Centre for Human Rights. "Police states are not sustainable."

Gagging trade and labour unions, containing political parties, and stifling civil society organisations do not carry a regime for long, he said.

"The rationale for revolt is the same. The people are the same. The general atmosphere is the same," says Abdelmonem Amer, editor of the Islamist- leaning Arab News. "Tunisia’s tyrant ran away. It is Egypt’s Pharaoh’s turn. Today, it is Tunisia and tomorrow it is Egypt." (END)





:: Article nr. 73953 sent on 16-jan-2011 02:44 ECT


www.uruknet.info?p=73953 (http://www.uruknet.info/?p=73953)</I>

[Tommy4ever]

Depends on the country. If the Saudi government falls, you might get a state that makes the Taliban look liberal. If the old military then fails to regain control, then you'd get a guaranteed full on U.S. invasion.

It seems unlikely that the US would want to invade Saudi, even if Islamists took over. More likely they would just give the old regime so much backing that they would be gaurunteed victory against any wave of revolt.

[Prometheus Unbound]

I think this is the article that Prometheus Unbound quoted:
Thanks. I still can't post links, you see. Had to delete the article's sources, too.

People in the Middle East, as far as I can tell, are very excited about these developments. Not just talking about radicals here, but people who are reactionary as hell, too. And though I'm not holding my breath for socialism in Tunisia any time soon (despite the commendable efforts of the banned communist party), I think this is one of the most exciting political events of my adult life.

[Rafiq]

Islamists in the middle east are actually quite unpopular among the educated.

The media just makes a big deal out of them. Really, they're just losers.

[freepalestine]

Libya protest over housing enters its third day



Frustrations over corruption and incompetence in government housing schemes for poor families spills over into protests across the country





Mohamed Abdel-Baky, Sunday 16 Jan 2011



Protests in several cities in Libya continued for a third day over the late completion of government subsided housing.

Last night hundreds of people broke into vacant houses and took over about 800 vacant units in Bani Walid city (180 kilometres south east from the capital, Tripoli).
Several activists on social network sites reported that over 600 units in similar projects in Benghazi were taken over yesterday by protesters that have been waiting for years to move in to their homes.


The Libyan government has run subsided housing projects for poor families in several cities for years. However local authorities in some projects postponed the delivery of hundreds of housing units to the owners who have already signed contracts and paid most of the installments.

A statement released by the National Front for Salvation of Libya, an opposition movement established in 1981, described the frustration of the protesters in Bani Walid: “Bani Walid has no basic services; thousands of people are without houses and the local authority is corrupted, it only delivers services with bribes. Nothing will make Bani Walid calm but freedom, justice and transparency.”


Witnesses said that hundreds of policemen were observing the protests but did not intervene, even when hundreds of people broke in to some buildings under construction.

Information and videos posted on Twitter and YouTube show hundreds of Libyans protesting in the east of the country in the cities of Bidaa, Darna and Sabhaa late Saturday.

Qourina, an independent news website, reported several lootings during the protests in Darana city.
Qourina also reported that two of its reporters were beaten by protesters on Saturday.

There are no reports of injuries or clashes with the police.
Al Jazeera TV network reported that police have been instructed by the government to avoid any clashes with protesters and to only protect government buildings and contain the protesters' anger

The government response came in a statement on Saturday by the Revolutionary Committee, an influential policy making body within the government, that described the protests as “demagogy” that undermine the legitimate authority.

“We have formed a committee to investigate every complaint, all the problems will be solved soon through the legitimate authorities,” the statement added.
Libyan state media did not mention the protests; however the Revolutionary Committee's statement condemning the protests was reported on television.


http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/4032/World/Region/Libya-protest-over-housing-enters-its-third-day.aspx

[KurtFF8]

Muammar Gaddafi condemns Tunisia uprising (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/16/muammar-gaddafi-condemns-tunisia-uprising)




The Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/muammar-gaddafi), has condemned the uprising in neighbouring Tunisia (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/15/tunisia-protests-zine-al-abidine-ben-ali) amid reports today of unrest on the streets of Libya (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/libya).


In a speech last night Gaddafi, an ally of the ousted president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/zine-al-abidine-ben-ali), said he was "pained" by the fall of the Tunisian government. He claimed protesters had been led astray by WikiLeaks disclosures detailing the corruption in Ben Ali's family and his repressive regime (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/217138).


The leaked cables were written by "ambassadors in order to create chaos", (http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/africa/news/article_1612073.php/Libya-s-Gaddaffi-pained-by-Tunisian-revolt-blames-WikiLeaks) Deutsche Press-Agentur reported Gaddafi as saying.


His remarks came as Tunisian politicians hold talks to form a unity government to help maintain a fragile calm two days after violent protests forced Ben Ali from office.
Tanks were stationed around the capital, Tunis, and soldiers were guarding public buildings, but after a day of drive-by shootings and jailbreaks in which dozens of inmates were killed, residents said they were starting to feel more secure.


"Last night we surrounded our neighbourhood with roadblocks and had teams checking cars. Now we are in the process of lifting the roadblocks and getting life back to normal," said Imed, a resident of the city's Intilaka suburb.


Gaddafi's comments reflect a nervousness among other long-serving Arab leaders that the uprising in Tunisia (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/tunisia) will embolden anti-government protests elsewhere in the region.
There were reports today, backed up by video evidence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqXmRzcNCkY&feature=youtu.be), of protests in the Libyan city of al-Bayda, (http://www.al-bab.com/blog/2011/blog1101b.htm#trouble_in_libya) according to the Guardian's Middle East (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middleeast) specialist Brian Whitaker, writing on his blog al-bab.com (http://www.al-bab.com/). Protesters clashed with police and attacked government offices, in a demonstration about housing conditions, according to an opposition website.


Whitacker writes: "We can expect to see many more incidents like this over the coming months in various Arab countries. Inspired by the Tunisian uprising, people are going to be more assertive about their grievances and start probing, to see how far they can push the authorities. In the light of Tunisia we can also expect a tendency, each time disturbances happen, to suggest (or hope) that they are the start of some new Arab revolution. The reality, though, is that almost all of them will quickly fizzle out or get crushed."


In Egypt (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/egypt), a human rights activist, Hossam Bahgat, said the protests in Tunisia had encouraged those opposed to the regime of the long-time Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak. "I feel like we are a giant step closer to our own liberation," he said. "What's significant about Tunisia is that literally days ago the regime seemed unshakable, and then eventually democracy prevailed without a single western state lifting a finger."
Writing on Twitter, the Egyptian opposition leader and former chief UN weapons inspector, Mohamed ElBaradei said: "Violence in Tunisia now is a product of decades of repression. Regime in Egypt must understand that peaceful change is only way out (http://twitter.com/ElBaradei/statuses/26590393109839872)."
In his statement, broadcast last night on Libyan TV, Gaddafi said: "Tunisia now lives in fear. Families could be raided and slaughtered in their bedrooms and the citizens in the street killed as if it was the Bolshevik or the American revolution."


In attempt to placate protesters Ben Ali had pledged to stand down in 2014 before he decided to flee to Saudi Arabia (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/14/tunisian-president-flees-country-protests).


"What is this for? To change Zine al-Abidine? Hasn't he told you he would step down after three years? Be patient for three years and your son stays alive," Gaddafi said.
Gaddafi, who has been Libyan leader since 1969, urged Tunisia to adopt Libyan model of government. He said this model "marks the final destination for the peoples' quest for democracy. If this is what the events [in Tunisia] are for, then it has to be made clear".

[freepalestine]

Yemen: Students call for Arabs to rise up




Yemeni students demonstrate in the streets of Sanaa to mark the ousting of Tunisian President Ben Ali and call for Arabs to rise up against their "scared and deceitful leaders"





AFP, Sunday 16 Jan 2011







http://english.ahram.org.eg/Media/News/2011/1/16/2011-634307779000665408-66.jpg

Students in Sanaa shout slogans during a demonstration in support of the ousting of Tunisia's President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali 16 January 2011. (Reuters)





About 1,000 students marched through the streets of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Sunday urging Arabs to rise up against their leaders in the wake of Tunisian strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's ousting.

The students headed from Sanaa University's campus to the Tunisian embassy flanked by human rights activists.

They called for Arab peoples to wage a "revolution against their scared and deceitful leaders" and chanted: "Liberty's Tunisia, Sanaa salutes you a thousand times."

"Leave before you are toppled," read one banner, without naming Yemen's own President Ali Abdullah Saleh. "Peaceful and democratic change is our aim in building a new Yemen."

In power for the past 32 years, Saleh was re-elected in September 2006 to a seven-year mandate.

A draft amendment of the constitution, under discussion in parliament despite opposition protests, could further stretch the president's tenure by allowing a life-long mandate.

Becoming the first Arab leader to cave in to popular pressure and step down, Ben Ali, in power for 23 years, fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday after unprecedented popular protests in which dozens of people were killed.


http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/4021/World/Region/Yemen-Students-call-for-Arabs-to-rise-up.aspx

[Palestine]

And the great Colonel Qaddafi thinks the Tunisians made a mistake by revolting against the Ben Ali regime. What a fucking shameless dictator??? He says that if it was up to him he'd vote Ben-Ali president for life. I am so glad that for the first time in the history of the Arab world a totally popular revolution takes place. And this should make a great example for the Arabs that revolting against the stupid dictators who rule with a firm fist can be gone.

[~Spectre]

I don't think that will be the case, actually, I expect quite the opposite.

Friends of mine have been to Saudi Arabia, and the average people are sick of the theocracy.

Saudi Arabia isn't a theocracy.

[Fulanito de Tal]

Shits getting good in the Arab world. I saw on the news a feed from Tunisia and one person was carrying a red flag with :che: on it.

[Rafiq]

Saudi Arabia isn't a theocracy.

Actually, it is.

[Prometheus Unbound]

Actually, it is.
Depends on how you define "theocracy", really. While Saudi Arabia heavily draws from the so-called Sharia law, there's a fundamental (and structural) difference between Saudi Arabia and, say, Iran. The rulers of Saudi Arabia are not religious clerics; they lean on a strictly subordinated religious establishment for political legitimacy. The same cannot be said about Khamenei, who is both a political figure and issues fatwas. For this reason, it'd be more accurate to call the former a monarchy.

[Rafiq]

Depends on how you define "theocracy", really. While Saudi Arabia heavily draws from the so-called Sharia law, there's a fundamental (and structural) difference between Saudi Arabia and, say, Iran. The rulers of Saudi Arabia are not religious clerics; they lean on a strictly subordinated religious establishment for political legitimacy. The same cannot be said about Khamenei, who is both a political figure and issues fatwas. For this reason, it'd be more accurate to call the former a monarchy.

Honestly, I define a theocracy as a system in which religion and the state are heavily intertwined.

[Crimson Commissar]

I define a theocracy as any state in which religion holds a lot of political power and can influence the way society is run. By this definition, even the USA, probably the first state to call itself secular, is a theocracy IMO.

[Tommy4ever]

Well your definition is a bit silly though.

[Das war einmal]

Depends on how you define "theocracy", really. While Saudi Arabia heavily draws from the so-called Sharia law, there's a fundamental (and structural) difference between Saudi Arabia and, say, Iran. The rulers of Saudi Arabia are not religious clerics; they lean on a strictly subordinated religious establishment for political legitimacy. The same cannot be said about Khamenei, who is both a political figure and issues fatwas. For this reason, it'd be more accurate to call the former a monarchy.


The Saudi's might be the representatives for Arabia, but the domestic affairs in Arabia are controlled by the Wahhabi fundamentalists.

[apawllo]

And the great Colonel Qaddafi thinks the Tunisians made a mistake by revolting against the Ben Ali regime. What a fucking shameless dictator??? He says that if it was up to him he'd vote Ben-Ali president for life. I am so glad that for the first time in the history of the Arab world a totally popular revolution takes place. And this should make a great example for the Arabs that revolting against the stupid dictators who rule with a firm fist can be gone.

Hopefully people around the rest of the world for that matter. I've wondered if this movement has the potential to result in the formation of some sort of pan-Arabist, Nasserist type of state or alliance though.

[Prometheus Unbound]

The Saudi's might be the representatives for Arabia, but the domestic affairs in Arabia are controlled by the Wahhabi fundamentalists.
That's flatly false. If it's the so-called "Mutawa'een" -- or the "moral" police -- you're referring to, these too are under the thumb of Al Saud. As for the rest of the religious establishment, any of its members can be sacked at any time by the monarchs. Their very scope of authority (issuing "fatwas", etc") is defined by the monarchs as well, as a matter of fact.