Uprisings: Swaziland blows up, shit gets realer in Yemen, Saudi Arabia tries bribery: $93 bil

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TURKS AND CAICOS

Protests in Turks & Caicos VS British Rule

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands, CMC – Supporters of the Turks and Caicos Islanders United for Justice and Equality (TCIUJE) took to the streets here on Tuesday demanding an end to British rule and a return to parliamentary democracy that was halted by London in 2009. “We are on the streets today looking for an election date, we need a date for the elections, “ said TCIUJE spokesman Devon Williams, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

“By and large elections were four years ago and we are ready for another election. The British have been here for two years to do whatever they had to do, give us back an election so that we can put our own people back into office,” he added.MORE

Revolutions and Protests continue against British Occupation of Turks and Cacios

The UK taking elections and the imposition of taxes are the main point of contention of the local people. The group labels the new taxes as "taxation without representation". According to a leader within the group:"The British are taxing us but we can't vote so how can we decide how the money is spent? It is wrong. For the taxes we are paying, where are the benefits? Tell us how the taxes will help us and what we will get out of it. The is a classic and arrogant case of taxation without representation."

The answer to that tax question comes from the UK governor Gordon Wetherell, who claims that the taxes will be used for the new bailout package of $417 million dollars, which, he claims will buy {Turks and Caicos} time the time we need to tackle the dire fiscal emergency


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Citizens are also almost literally up in arms with the UK's plan to completely do away with the island's former constitution by passing a new constitution that will dramatically diminish the rights and powers of the people over their government. MORE

Protests in the Turks and Caicos

The demonstrations are part of a long-running battle over control in the British overseas territory following a corruption scandal which led to a change in the status of the islands. Demonstrators are also complaining about what they say are harsh economic policies, including pay cuts to civil servants and price increases for utilities. Britain suspended the constitution of the territory in 2009 after an official investigation found systemic corruption within the then administration. Changes were then made to the TCI constitution which brought the dependency back under direct rule.MORE

SWAZILAND

Swazi Government Challenged

MBABANE, Mar 19
, 2011 (IPS) - Thousands of protesters brought the Swazi capital of Mbabane to a standstill Friday as they took to the streets to oppose imminent salary cuts to civil service wages - and demand changes to the country's government.

Swaziland's autocratic government is facing a growing challenge as a sharp decline in customs revenue forces budget cuts.

Over 7,000 people, including public service workers and members of civil society organisations, marched to the office of the prime minister, Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini, demanding that the entire cabinet be removed because they have failed the country.

"No to salary cuts," read one placard. "No to salary freeze," screamed another.MORE

SENEGAL

Senegal united by Anger\

Momodou Ba, Asse Sylla and thousands of others met at Dakar’s Independence Square this morning where they have gathered for one of the biggest anti-government protests in Senegal.

Holding placards with messages like ‘Enough is enough: Senegalese are fed up with lies’, Ba and Sylla stand shoulder-to-shoulder among the crowd. It is the first time they have ever met but it doesn’t take long before they become true friends. The two men are united by one thing: unemployment.MORE

Anti-Government Rally Disturbs Normal Calm of Senegal's Capital

Protesters staged a large anti-government rally in Senegal's capital Saturday just hours after the government said it had arrested several suspects accused of planning a coup d'etat.

Several dozen riot police stood watch over Dakar's main square as groups of mostly young men shouted and chanted their grievances against the government of President Wade.MORE

Senegal opposition deride plot accusation

DAKAR — Opponents of the government in Senegal on Saturday derided allegations that there was an organised plot to overthow it as thousands rallied in anti- and pro-government demonstrations.

In central Dakar 4,000 to 5,000 people gathered, burned a portrait of President Abdoulaye Wade, who came to power exactly 11 years ago, and threw stones at the security forces who did not riposte.

"It's plain to see," Moustapha Niasse, one of the leaders of the Benno Siggil Senegal (Together for the Renewal of Senegal) coalition and head of the Alliance of Forces for Progress (AFP) said during a demonstration in Rufisque, to the east of Dakar.

"Coups are perpetrated by the military and not by civil activists. So it is utterly ridiculous," he added.MORE

COTE D'IVOIRE

UN appoints new force commander of the UN Cote D' Ivoire Operation

United Nations. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday appointed Togolese Major General Gnakoude Berena as the new force commander of the United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI), Xinhua informs.

"Major General Berena brings to this position a distinguished military career," said a UN press release issued here Tuesday.

Berena replaces Major General Abdul Hafiz of Bangladesh, whose tour of duty ends on March 22, 2011. "The secretary-general is grateful to Major General Hafiz for his exemplary service and contribution to the work of UNOCI," said a UN press release.

Since joining the Togolese Army in 1976, Berena has commanded a motorized rapid reaction regiment in 1993, a paratrooper regiment from 1994 to 1998 and an infantry regiment from 1998 to 1999, said the UN press release.MORE

Thousands flee Cote d'Ivoire violence

Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee to Liberia due to fresh unrest in the West African country.


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Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee to neighbouring Liberia due to the conflict, but many of them have been unable to reach the safety of refugee camps as a result of difficult terrain.MORE

YEMEN

Yemen's leader fails to stop uprising

SANAA, Yemen - A crackdown that killed dozens failed to stop massive demonstrations against Yemen's U.S.-backed president, as crowds of thousands clashed Saturday with security forces smashing their protest camps and even seized control of one southern city.

In the capital, the government had to bring out tank units and other military forces to protect key buildings as crowds swelled. Protesters also stood their ground in the southern city of Mualla, surging out of their destroyed encampment and encircling a police station.

In the same province, witnesses said protesters chased security authorities out of the city of Dar Saad and were now in control. Dar Saad is considered the gateway to the key port of Aden.MORE

SYRIA

Syrian mourners call for revolt

Thousands of people gathering in Syria's southern city of Daraa to mourn the deaths of two people killed by security forces have called for "revolution" in the country.
Police sealed off the city and fired tear gas to disperse the crowds who had turned out for the funerals of Wissam Ayyash and Mahmoud al-Jawabra, two of five people killed when security forces opened fire on protesters a day earlier.
Mazen Darwish, a prominent Syrian rights activist, said police had sealed the city with people being allowed out but unable to enter and other activists reported dozens of arrests.
The latest crackdown follows protests on Friday where, inspired by the revolts sweeping through the Arab world, demonstrators had called for political freedoms and an end to corruption in Syria.
MORE

SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia's week of shame

Since King Abdullah returned to Riyadh last month, members of his ruling family have resorted to myriad political, economic, and personal measures to prevent public expressions of dissent against the Al Saud. The Ministry of Interior issued a statement warning that any act of public protest is prohibited in Saudi Arabia and punishable by law. The country’s senior ulema were quick to legitimize this criminalization of protest with religious justifications, reminding everyone that “conspiring” against the political leadership is an unIslamic act akin to conspiring against god. The ulema then issued an official memorandum requesting that preachers at mosques discuss the importance of loyalty to the Al Saud during Friday sermons and to discourage people from calling for or joining protests. Minister of Foreign Affairs Saud al-Faisal then held a press conference in which he threatened against any foreign interference-- mainly implying the “influence” of Iran-- and called for national dialogue and the importance of continuing the project of reform peacefully. MORE

Saudi Arabia's king announces huge jobs and housing package

Saudi Arabia's king promised a multibillion-pound package of reforms, pay rises, cash, loans and apartments on Friday in what appeared to be the Arab world's most expensive attempt to appease residents inspired by the unrest that has swept two leaders from power.
He also announced the creation of 60,000 jobs in the security forces, a move that would employ huge numbers of otherwise jobless young men, while bolstering his kingdom's ability to snuff out protests.
The ailing 86-year-old King Abdullah, his soft voice trembling, rarely looked up from his notes in the speech, broadcast live on Saudi television.

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But the changes announced by Abdullah did not loosen the monarchy's tight hold on power, a key demand of Saudi opposition figures. He thanked residents and security forces and asked them to remember him in their prayers.

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Newsreaders – rather than the king – read series of royal decrees promising a minimum wage increase, cash gifts and an anti-corruption drive.MORE

Saudi Arabian intervention in Bahrain driven by visceral Sunni fear of Shias

Saudi Arabia and the UAE between them sit on tens of billions of dollars worth of state-of-the-art military equipment. They have both backed calls for UN-sponsored "no-fly zones" over Libya.
Even if they are now willing to risk their expensive toys against the relatively meagre threat from Colonel Gaddafi's air defences, they will play a junior role to western forces.
It will be the second military intervention by the Gulf states in a few days, but the first was on a far more primitive level: teargas grenades fired at point-blank range into the faces of unarmed demonstrators; punishment beatings for injured protesters in their hospital beds; violence and intimidation against the wives and children of opposition activists in their village homes.
Hypocrisy is one word for the motives behind the deployment of the "Peninsula Shield" forces in Bahrain last week. Cowardice is another.MORE

EGYPT

Deep Divisions Over Egypt's Referendum

CAIRO, Mar 18, 2011 (IPS/Al Jazeera) - Egyptians go to the polls Saturday to vote on a package of constitutional amendments which, in some ways, mirrors the longtime demands of the Egyptian opposition.

The changes would make it easier for independent candidates to run for office. They would bar the president from transferring "terrorism suspects" to emergency courts, a common practice in Mubarak-era Egypt, and re-establish judicial oversight over Egypt's fraud-riddled elections. MORE

Egypt crowd attack ElBaradei at voting station

A crowd of people blocked Mohamed ElBaradei from entering a polling station in Cairo on Saturday to cast a vote in Egypt's constitutional referendum, shoving him and smashing his car window with rocks as he left.

"We don't want you, we don't want you," a crowd of youths chanted at ElBaradei, who has said he wants to run for president. He was shoved after joining a queue of people seeking to vote.

"We don't want an American agent," said another.
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BAHRAIN


Bahrain eases curfew

In an effort to bring life gradually back to normal, the authorities cut back by four hours on Saturday a 12-hour curfew that had been imposed on large areas of the capital Manama.

The curfew now runs from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. from the Seef Mall area in Manama, through the Pearl roundabout and the financial district to the diplomatic area.

The government also urged public employees and both public and private schools and universities to return to work after days of closures and shortened hours.

Some of the larger malls began to reopen on Saturday, after days of closures and there were fewer checkpoints in the streets, though helicopters still buzzed over Shi'ite areas.

"When people go back to work tomorrow, how will they face each other? How will they be able to look at each other in the office and pretend none of this happened?" said Ahmed, 50.MORE

ALGERIA


Algeria's president promises political reform

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika promised to introduce wide-ranging reforms Saturday after police blocked anti-government protests in the capital, the APS news agency reported.

The lifting of the state of emergency last month "will be a new page opened on the path to comprehensive reforms ... which cannot be fruitful in the absence of political reforms," the APS news agency quoted Bouteflika as saying.MORE