Updates on protests in Egypt, Yemen, Jordan and the Sudan

[the_future_modernes]

TRIGGER WARNING FOR POLICE BRUTALITY ETC...



EGYPT

Pro-govt protestors attack anti-govt protestors and journalists in Egypt with kinives and whips and camels and horses and petrol bombs and other weapons in wake of Mubarak stating that he will step down in September, at the end of his term.

Mubarak, in a defiant speech, announced he would not seek re-election in September, when his presidential term comes to an end.

But protesters reacted angrily, jeering him and once again calling for an immediate end to his 30-year reign.

"The speech is useless and only inflames our anger," said Shadi Morkos in Tahrir square. "We will continue to protest."

"We will not leave! He will leave!" others chanted at the time.MORE

So far the anti-government protesters have managed to gold off the pro-government ones, which include plainclothed policemen and some bribed workers as well, though the cost has been high.

Clashes rage in Tahrir Square

At least one person has been killed and another 600 injured in continuing clashes between pro- and anti-government demonstrators in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

Protesters from both sides fought pitched battles on Wednesday in Tahrir [Liberation] Square, the epicentre of ongoing opposition demonstrations against President Hosni Mubarak for the past nine days

Al Jazeera correspondents, reporting from the scene, said clashes were still raging and that petrol bombs were being hurled.

"Someone - a few people actually - are dropping homemade bombs into the square from the buildings surrounding it," our online producer said.

Gunshots are also regularly ringing out of the square.

Earlier, witnesses said the military allowed thousands of pro-Mubarak supporters, armed with sticks and knives, to enter the square. Opposition groups said Mubarak had sent in thugs to suppress anti-government protests.MORE

The army is saying that they want the protesters to go home now as their voices have been heard. Sulieman, the new VP is saying that negotiations will not begin until people go home. The pro-goverment protesters are specifically trying to attack reporters as well. Al Jazeera LiveBlog @3:20 and 3:17pm



Somebody firebombed the Egyptian Museum and people were trying to get the fire out. Ambulances had serious trouble trying to get to the wounded:Al Jazeera LiveBlog TRIGGER WARNING FOR VIOLENT DESCRIPTIONS AND DISTURBING PICS.

The internet is coming back online and so more Egyptians are writing out what they have seen.

Global Voices Egypt

A guide:How not to say stupid stuff about Egypt

From the Grave

Exactly 41 years ago to the day the great British philosopher Bertrand Russell died. Among the countless works that will continue to bring him posthumous recognition, are his various treatises on human psychology and the one thing he considered the principle driving force in social life - power.

As Hosni Mubarak addressed the millions of Egyptian people, marching, protesting, bursting with revolutionary fervour intent on seeing him vacate a Presidential seat he's occupied for 30 years, I pondered over what Russell would think of Mubarak, and his address, wherein he promised to step down - eventually.

Below are extracts from Russell's articles on political power and the book, "The Conquest of Happiness", offset with extracts of Mubarak's latest speech:

BR: The statesman who has gradually concentrated all power within himself in order that he may be able to carry out the high and noble aims which have led him to eschew comfort and enter the arena of public life, is amazed at the ingratitude of the people when they turn against him.http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/02/grave">MORE

YEMEN


Meantime, Yemen's President took one look at this and ahead of his own country's planned Day of Rage:

Ahead of planned 'Day of Rage':Yemen's Saleh rules out new term or inheritance

SANAA (Agencies)
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a key U.S. ally against al-Qaeda, said on Wednesday he will not seek to extend his presidency in a move that would end his three-decade rule when his current term expires in 2013.

Eyeing protests that brought down Tunisia's leader and threaten to topple Egypt's president, Saleh also vowed not to pass on the reins of government to his son.

"I present these concessions in the interests of the country. The interests of the country come before our personal interests," Saleh told his parliament, Shoura Council and members of the military, according to Reuters.

"No extension, no inheritance, no resetting the clock," he said, making reference to ruling party proposals to institute term limits that had been seen as allowing him to run again.

...

"I call on the opposition to freeze all planned protests, rallies and sit-ins," Saleh said.

...

Saleh had already offered some smaller concessions on presidential term limits and pledged to raise salaries of civil servants and military personnel by around $47 a month, no small move in a country where about 40 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day.MORE

JORDAN



Jordan's Prime Minister Rifai Resigns; King Asks Bakhit to Form Government More about Jordan

“The king of Jordan has traditionally used the government as a pressure valve to alleviate some of the stresses on the regime,” said Ali Al-Saffar, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit in London. He called the changes “a pre- emptive move to protect the monarchy from criticism.”

Jordan’s king has replaced prime ministers 15 times since 1990.

“The regime in Jordan is under pressure,” said Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center. “They are trying to respond in some way. It’s just that their response is not matching the gravity of the situation.”

‘New Process’

Hamzah Mansour, secretary general of the Islamic Action Front, said his group wants “an entirely new process, we don’t want new names.”

He called for “real reforms like the manner in which the government is formed, the way lawmakers are elected and the issue of taxes.”

The Front, which hasn’t called for regime change, is the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition group in Jordan.

“There are protests in Jordan, however, they are not like those in Tunisia and Egypt,” said Mohammad Masri, a researcher at Jordan University’s Center for Strategic Studies. “What you have in Jordan are protests organized by political parties and social groups, it’s not a popular uprising.”MORE

SUDAN

2011-01-31 Protests In Sudan


SudaneseStudent dies in clashes



Sudan's protests triggered by long-term economic, political frustrations :The protests in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, were against politics as usual, not only the government of President Omar al-Bashir.

According to news sources, “several thousand” demonstrators rallied in Khartoum and the neighboring city of Omdurman while hundreds protested in major cities El-Obeid and Wad Medani, to the west and east.

The protests were organized by a number of youth groups and students through social networking sites and cell phones. One Facebook page publicizing the protests gave this call to action:

“It is about time we use our god given voice to demonstrate against an injustice government that is willing to sacrifice its people and its land to remain on the higher power.”

Seventy people were reportedly arrested and one demonstrator, Mohamed Abdelrahman, reportedly died from injuries inflicted by security forces.

By Monday, the Sudanese government appeared to have the situation under lockdown. According to Reuters, “hundreds of heavily armed police” had surrounded several universities while two papers wereshut down. Youth groups reportedly issued a statement saying demonstrations would resume February 3.

Economic and political frustrations have long been mounting. In mid-January, similar protestsbroke out in response to the government’s decision to cut subsidies for petroleum and sugar – austerity measures taken to mitigate the economic impact of losing the oil-rich South. Southern secession has also inspired political opportunism by northern opposition groups, many of whom have been threatening to overthrow the regime if new elections and a constitutional review were not held.

MORE