World Uprisings Update

[the_future_modernes]

COTE D' IVOIRE

Street battles continue in Abidjan

Heavy fighting continued on Monday in Abidjan amid an ongoing power struggle between forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, Cote d'Ivoire's incumbent president, and those backing his political rival Alassane Ouattara.

Pro-Ouattara fighters were reported to have moved into the Yopougon neighbourhood held by Gbagbo loyalists. Gun battles raged near the home of army chief of staff Phillipe Mangou who has remained loyal to Gbagbo since November's presidential elections. Ouattara is internationally recognised as the winner of that vote.

The state-run RTI television station denied local reports that Mangou's house had been attacked. A spokesman for the pro-Gbagbo army, Col. Hilaire Gohourou, confirmed that the battle in Yopougon was ongoing, but refused to give any further details.MORE

GABON

Gabon: Two Rival Presidents, One Accused of Embezzlement

After spending one month in refuge at the offices of the United Nations Program for Development (UNDP) in Libreville, Gabon, self-proclaimed president André Mba Obame and his government finally left the building on February 27. An agreement was reached with the official government of President Ali Bongo thanks to mediation by the UN, but this has not stilled the movement for change in Gabon. The unrest has been ongoing since January 25, when the unofficial president Mba Obame took his oath.
Bongo in trouble at World Bank
As the power struggle continues, Ali Bongo now stands accused of “misappropriation of shares for personal profit” during his time as the chairman of the board of directors of the Office of Ports and Harbors of Gabon (OPRAG). French businessman Jacques Dupuydauby filed a legal complaint on February 22 with the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). According to the news weekly ‘Jeune Afrique', deals Bongo made regarding two Gabonese ports are under scrutiny (via A bas le masque [fr] ).MORe

MAURITANIA

Mauritania protesters want better salaries, lower food prices

Mauritania security forces have again crushed a protest in the streets of the capital Nouakchott. The police reportedly used teargas to disperse the crowd. Fourteen protesters were arrested, four were severely beaten up.
By Seyid Ould Seyid, Nouakchott
Hundreds of people took to the streets after Friday afternoon prayers, demanding more jobs and decent food prices. What was initially meant as a peaceful protest, ended with protesters throwing stones at security forces and setting fire to car tires
Isselmou Ould Sidi Mohamed, a leader of the ‘Facebook Youth Movement of 25 February’ explained that since their initial peaceful protests had been crushed, they would continue to develop a long-term revolution. “The police is now denying us access to our Freedom Square because the square was sold to businessmen who are cousins of President Aziz.”MORe

LIBYA

Key town 'falls' to Gaddafi forces

Libyan rebels are retreating from the strategic town of Ajdabiya under heavy bombardment by Muammar Gaddafi's forces, according to reports, as the international community continues to debate a possible no-fly zone to protect an anti-government uprising.

The town on Libya's east coast is all that stands between the advance of Libyan government troops and the rebel stronghold of Benghazi and lies on a road junction from where Gaddafi's forces could attempt to encircle the city.

Libyan state television claimed on Tuesday pro-Gaddafi forces were now "in total control" of the town. However, rebel fighters told Al Jazeera that Ajdabiya is still under their control.

Meanwhile, Gaddafi's forces, who have halted and reversed last month's rebel advance along the east coast, also appear to be gaining control of the nearby oil town of Brega.MORE

MOROCCO

Police break up Morocco protest

Dozens injured in unusually violent crack down on demonstrators in city of Casablanca.

Dozens of protesters have been injured in the Moroccan city of Casablanca as security forces broke up a rally of several hundred people demanding political reforms.

Riot police armed with truncheons broke up the protest on Sunday in an unusual show of violence - rallies have been held in Casablanca's main King Mohammed Square every week for the past month.

"This was a peaceful rally, we don't know what made the police attack a peaceful protest," Ghizlaine Benameur, an
opposition activist who took part in the rally, was reported by the Reuters news agency as saying.

"This has been their most violent intervention since the start of the protests last month," she said.

The AFP news agency reported a witness as saying they had seen police beating a pregnant women amid the clashes.

Many protesters sought refuge in the offices of the Unified Socialist Party (PSU) to escape the clashes.MORE

SOUTH SUDAN

South Sudan suspends Khartoum talks

Southern Sudan has suspended talks on independence with the north's National Congress Party, accusing the north of planning to overthrow the south's administration.

Pagan Amum, the secretary-general of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), reiterated the accusation on Sunday, saying that the northern government was arming local tribes to use as proxy forces.

"The country is in a crisis because the [National Congress Party, or NCP] has been planning and working to destabilise Southern Sudan,'' he told reporters in the southern capital of Juba.

Amum said that the northern government wanted "to overthrow the government of Southern Sudan before July and to install a puppet government".

He offered to provide documentary evidence on Monday and called on the United Nations Security Council to investigate the allegations.MORE

BAHRAIN

Yesterday: Bahrain declares a state of emergency for three months

Bahrain's king Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa declared a three-month state of emergency on Tuesday as his government struggled to quell an uprising by the island's Shiite Muslim majority that has drawn in troops from fellow Sunni-ruled neighbor Saudi Arabia.

An uneasy calm fell on Bahrain overnight, and a defense ministry statement suggested action against protesters camped out for weeks at Pearl roundabout could be swift. Forces may impose curfews, disperse gatherings and evacuate areas, it said.MORE

Today Bahrain forces attack protesters

Security forces in Bahrain have launched an assault on pro-democracy demonstrators camped out at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama, the capital.

Troops backed by tanks gathered in the area early on Wednesday in order to push out the protesters demanding political reforms, an Al Jazeera correspondent said.

Many explosions were heard in the Bahraini capital and smoke was seen billowing over the main square.

Our correspondent, reporting from the Bahraini capital, said the police backed by the military attacked the protesters from all sides and used tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd which lighted the tents.

Protesters, intimidated by the shear numbers of security forces, retreated from the main square, he said.

Hospitals have reported hundreds of injuries as protesters clashed with security forces.MORE

Bahrain: Bloody Crackdowns on Villages

On Tuesday, before King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa announced a State of National Security giving powers to the army and other forces to secure the country, police carried out crackdowns across a number of villages in the central area in Bahrain.MORE

YEMEN

Tribes previously acted as counterweight to govt power
Yemen’s tribesmen add muscle to Sanaa protests

Hundreds of Yemeni tribesmen have joined raging protests at Sanaa University which for weeks have been demanding the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, an AFP correspondent saw Tuesday.

On the roads leading to university square, members of Yemen's tribes pitched tents marked with the names of their home provinces which are concentrated in the north of the trouble-torn country.

Student-led protests demanding the ouster of Saleh, 32 years in power, erupted in the Yemeni capital since late January inspired by the toppling of Arab autocrats in Egypt and Tunisia.

Dozens of anti-regime demonstrators were wounded on Sunday at the Sanaa University square, which has become nerve center of the the capital's popular revolt, as police and regime loyalists unleashed tear gas and bullets in a bid to scatter protesters. MORE

PALESTINE


Palestine: Demonstrations For Unity Begin

Palestinians were not at first mentioned on the Arab “revolution timetable“, but a date for protests was indeed set for 15 March. These protests are taking place in towns and cities throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and the focus is Palestinian unity – a stand against the political divisions that have riven Palestinian society for many years.
The call is first for unity and reconciliation, but other demands include the release of all political prisoners held by the government in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and full democratic representation for Palestinians all over the world. The protests, as in other parts of the Arab world, are decentralised and organised by a coalition of youth groups, including Gaza Youth Breaks Out. However, there are fears that political factions will attempt to co-opt the movement.
Laila El-Haddad explains why Palestinians are demonstrating:MORE

Region | Palestinian Territories Abbas proposes key Palestinian elections to end split

Ramallah: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas proposed on Tuesday simultaneous elections for the Palestinian presidency, parliament and the Palestinian National Council if Hamas accepts the idea.

"Elections are the only way out to overcome the current Palestinian division," he said during a joint press conference with the President of Cyprus, Dimitris Christofias, at the Palestinian Presidential Headquarters in Ramallah.

Abbas said that the Palestinian leadership strongly supports Palestinian voices across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, demanding an end to the Palestinian split. "We fully respect the will of the Palestinian public and fully support the demonstrations all over the Palestinian Territories demanding an end to the Palestinian division," he said. MORE

DIJIBOUTI

Djibouti Bans a U.S-Backed Democracy-Advocacy Group One-Month Before Vote

Djibouti’s government ordered a U.S.-backed democracy-advocacy group to leave the country, less than a month before the country holds a presidential election.
Democracy International, based in Bethesda, Maryland, had attempted to resolve problems with President Ismael Guelleh’s administration that began after opposition protests started in the country last month, Chris Hennemeyer, head of the group’s electoral-observation mission, said in an e-mailed statement.

“Unfortunately my earlier optimism proved to be unfounded,” Hennemeyer said. “The Djiboutian government has confirmed its order that DI cease all activities and we are complying with their directive.”


...

Djibouti is scheduled to hold a presidential election on April 8. The Horn of Africa nation has been ruled by Guelleh’s People’s Rally for Progress party since independence in 1977. Guelleh, first elected in 1999, amended the constitution in March 2010 to allow him to extend his rule by two more six-year terms.
Opposition parties staged a protest on Feb. 18 demanding the 63-year-old leader’s resignation. Subsequent demonstrations have been blocked by security forces. The opposition Union for a Democratic Alternative and Union for a Democratic Movement plan to boycott the vote, saying conditions for a fair election don’t exist. They have vowed to protest every Friday until Guelleh resigns.MORE

TUNISIA


Tunisia dissolves Ben Ali party


Tunis court announces the end of the Rally for Constitutional Democracy in accordance with demands from protesters.

A Tunisian court has dissolved the former ruling party of the country's deposed leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
The court in Tunis, the capital, announced the end of the Rally for Constitutional Democracy (RCD) on Wednesday, but the party said it would appeal against the decision.

The chamber "decided to dissolve the Rally for Constitutional Democacy and to liquidate its assets and funds," the court said in its ruling, triggering a burst of applause.

...

The party, which claimed a membership of two million people out of a population of around 10.4 million, was accused of violating the constitution to set up a one-party "totalitarian regime" under Ben Ali.

Since it was created in 1988, the party had never been audited and had never filed annual accounts, the interior ministry said.
MORE

Tunisia disbands state security

Feared establishment, notorious for torturing detainees under former president, dissolved as new PM unveils cabinet.

Tunisia's interim authorities have disbanded the country's feared state security apparatus, notorious for human rights abuses under the ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Seeking to assert their authority and gain legitimacy in the eyes of protesters who forced Ben Ali to flee in January, the authorities appear to be attacking the remaining vestiges of his 23-year rule, one-by-one.

Meanwhile, Beji Caid Sebsi, Tunisia's new interim prime minister, unveiled a cabinet of technocrats on Monday, rather than career politicians. None of the new ministers had served in previous governments under Ben Ali.

Sebsi told a press conference the ministers had been chosen in the public interest to see through a delicate transition until Tunisians elect a national constituent assembly on July 24.

"This is a temporary government which will be in office for only 4-1/2 months, to save the country from the grave situation
it finds itself in," he said.MORe

Kacem charged over Tunisia deaths

Former interior minister, already in police custody, accused over deaths of scores of protesters during January revolt.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Tunisia's former interior minister, Rafik Belhaj Kacem, on charges of murder, the country's state news agency reports.

Kacem was interior minister during the popular uprising that ousted long-term president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January.

He is accused of being complicit in the killings of scores of protesters and has been in police custody since February.

The move follows a court order on Wednesday dissolving Ben Ali's former ruling party.MORE

EGYPT

Egyptian state security disbanded

Interior minister disbands country's hated state security agency, which was accused of torture and human rights abuses.

Egypt's interior minister has disbanded the country's feared state security agency, which was accused of torture and human rights abuses during the 30-year rule of former president Hosni Mubarak.

Major General Mansour el-Essawy, a former Cairo security chief and the new interior minister, announced the dissolution of the security apparatus in a statement on Tuesday.

He said a new agency in charge of keeping national security and combatting terrorism will be formed "in line with the constitution and principles of human rights".

Officers for the new agency will be chosen in the coming few days, the statement said, adding that the new agency will "serve the country without intervening in the lives of citizens while they practice their rights and political life".

The move meets one of the main demands of activists who led an 18-day uprising against Mubarak, who stepped down on February 11.MORE

MArch 07 Egypt cabinet takes oath of office

New prime minister and ministers for key porfolios expected to win the approval of pro-reform groups.

Egypt's new prime minister and his cabinet have been sworn in by the country's military rulers.

Egyptian state television on Monday showed members of the government taking their oath before Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of Egypt's armed forces supreme council.

Headed by Essam Sharaf, the prime minister, the cabinet includes new faces in the key foreign, interior and justice ministries.MORE

Women Workers Helped Lead People’s Revolution in Egypt

Interview with Rahma Refaat, Center for Trade Union and Workers’ Services, March 8, 2011

Rahma Refaat is the program coordinator at the Center for Trade Union and Workers’ Services (CTUWS), an Egyptian non-governmental worker rights organization. Refaat also serves on the executive committee of the International Federation of Workers’ Education Associations. Since its establishment in March 1990, CTUWS has been working to develop and strengthen Egypt’s independent union movement. The Solidarity Center conducted an interview with Refaat via e-mail.
Solidarity Center: How would you describe the role of women in the revolution?
Rahma Refaat: Women have been engaged in the revolution since its beginning. They took to the streets in the first four days and, angered by the government’s violent response during the Day of Rage [January 28], they did not back down but continued to challenge violence, even with their bodies. Women’s participation in the sit-ins at Tahrir Square helped frame the revolution in conformance with principles of equality, democracy, and non-discrimination on the basis of gender, race, or religion.

SC: It was obvious from media coverage that women were part of both the revolution and strike action in support of the revolution. Was this true beforehand? Do you think women will play leadership roles in the reform of the Egyptian government and labor structures? Is there support for women to play a leadership role from inside the reform movement?

RR: Of course, women were part of both the revolution and strike action in support of revolution. But I am not sure that they can play a leadership role in the reform of the Egyptian government. We have a saying: Women always pay the price but never take the fruit!

MORE

Will Egypt vote 'Yes' or 'No' to constitutional amendments?

The constitutional amendments proposed by a council of legal experts and set to go before a referendum on 19 March is stirring much debate and discussion in Egypt. As campaigning heads into its last few days, opposition groups and figures from the ranks of the revolution have come out against the amendments while some established political actors are with the “Yes” campaign.

Political organizations and parties have all declared their stand with most supporting the “No” campaign. The Muslim Brotherhood and the National Democratic Party (NDP), on the other hand, are both in favour of the amendments. Social blocks such as the Salafis and the Copts are leaning one way or the other, with the latter mostly campaigning for a “No” vote and the former for “Yes”.

However, the reasons given for each stand are not only related to the content of the amendments but to their limitations, consequences, timing and the identity of the council which formulated them.

The proposed amendments are limited to nine articles, which many deem to be insufficient as they fail to limit the power of the president, the very same powers which could create another “Mubarak”, the dictator ousted by the revolution. Conversely, others argue that the amendments are only a temporary measure and as such do not need to include all the changes that have been requested as the Constitution will be completely redrafted after parliamentary and presidential elections are held. This point has proven to be the most contentious; those opposing the amendments say that a redrafted Constitution will not be representative.
MORe

Revolution Youth Coalition refuses to meet Clinton

Coalition calls on US administration to revise its foreign policies towards Egypt after decades of propping up the ousted dictatorship of Mubarak MORE

SYRIA

Mid-East unrest: Syrian protests in Damascus and Aleppo

Hundreds of Syrians have staged a rare protest in the capital, Damascus, calling for democratic reforms and the release of all political prisoners.

Six protesters were reportedly detained by the security forces, a witness told the BBC Arabic Service.

The AP news agency said government supporters later broke up the rally by punching and attacking the protesters.

A Facebook group, The Syrian revolution against [President] Bashar al-Assad 2011, is said to have called the march.

A similar appeal on Facebook last month failed to bring protesters to the streets, but critics blamed a heavy security presence for the failure of that campaign.MORe

Syria dismisses "rumors" it backed Libyan regime

Damascus pledges political reform amid protests

Syria on Tuesday dismissed allegations it had provided military support to the regime of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi which is battling a deadly insurgency.

"We are not taking sides in favor of one party or the other," said Foreign Minister Walid Muallem at a news conference with his Spanish counterpart Trinidad Jimenez.MORE

SAUDI ARABIA


On March 6 Saudi Arabia: Protests Reach Eastern Province

The flame of protests raging across the Arab world, from the Ocean to the Gulf, has reached the Saudi Arabian cities Al Qatif and Al Hafouf. More than 100 people gathered in each of the two cities for the release of Shiite cleric Tawfiq Al Amir, who was arrested on Friday, March 4, after calling for a constitutional monarchy and a war against corruption.
YouTube user Arabia Today uploads this video of the demonstration in Qatif, where protesters are chanting: “Our presence is peaceful, our demands are legitimate,” and “We will never forget those being imprisoned”:>MORE

Saudi Arabia: 'Day of Rage'

Several hundred people protested in Shia-majority eastern Saudi Arabia last Friday after a call for a ‘Day of Rage’. But hundreds of police prevented protests calling for democratic reforms inspired by the wave of protests sweeping the Arab world, in the capital Riyadh and other major cities.

In the eastern city of Qatif and nearby areas where the country’s minority Shiites live, several hundred people staged protests, shouting slogans calling for reforms and equality between Shiites and Sunnis. In Qatif, armoured personnel carriers and dozens of riot police in full gear surrounded the protesters. Several small protests also took place in two towns in the oil-soaked Eastern Province, where most of the country’s two million Shi’ites are concentrated.

More than 34,000 people had indicated support for the protest on an anti-government Facebook page created a few weeks ago. Protesters had planned to hold a second "day of rage" on 20 March, but it’ is unclear if that will go ahead given Friday’s turnout.


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Protests have been forbidden for decades, along with political parties, and there is little in the way of ‘civil society’—or the activist networks that had matured in Egypt in advance of that country’s recent unrest. The are no independent trade unions or organised working class. There are hardly any organised youth groups. The overwhelming majority of workers in the industries and in the private sector are expatriate workers from different Arab and Asian countries. But in the public sector, the majority of the workers are indigenous Saudis. In the absence of trade unions, there is no link between the workers of different sectors.MORE

KUWAIT


Kuwait’s stateless demand citizenship

Rights organizations slam government

After several years of silence, the stateless of Kuwait are now demonstrating for their rights and calling upon the government to grant them Kuwaiti citizenship while parliament stays divided on the legitimacy of the demands of the Gulf’s emirate’s most marginalized group.

Kuwaiti security forces used force and tear gas to disperse demonstrations staged by a group of stateless protesters, also called “bedoun” (Arabic for “without”), after the Friday prayers. The demonstrations were mainly staged from the governorates of al-Jahra in the northwest and al-Ahmadi in the south.

The demonstrators, whose numbers were estimated to be around 500, carried Kuwaiti flags and pictures of the Kuwaiti Emir and crown prince and marched calling for equality with Kuwaiti citizens. International media was there to cover the event even though this was not the case in previous “bedoun” protests.MORe

LEBANON

Lebanon pro-Western opposition protests against Hezbollah arms

Tens of thousands of supporters of outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri gathered in Beirut on Sunday to protest the weapons arsenal held by the rival Shiite movement Hezbollah.

In a rally which marked the 2005 uprising that ended Syria's 30-year domination of Lebanon, the country's pro-Western opposition waved Lebanese flags and posters of Saad Hariri's father and former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri. MORE

Grasp of social media not enough to instigate change in Lebanon

BEIRUT: Lebanese youth will require more than just a good grasp of social networking if they wish to replicate the revolutions of Egypt and Tunisia, the director of an international conflict organization center said Tuesday.

Rowaida Mroue, executive director of the International Training and Conflict Resolution Center, said the Internet alone was not enough to bring about reform craved by some Lebanese youth.

“Most of the time with [Lebanese] Facebook pages, they encourage people to say they are either with or against something but when you come to the end, to the practical life, it is just easier to click,” she told The Daily Star on the sidelines of an event discussing the role social media plays in modern popular uprisings.

Mroue said that the sectarian and divided nature of Lebanese youth partisanship rendered it difficult to use social media to mobilize young people through a common goal, as seen in protests this year which ousted Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.MORE