Middle East protests - live updates
Bahraini protesters wave their national flag and chant slogans as they gather at Manama's Pearl roundabout today. Photograph: Phil Weymouth/AFP/Getty Images
5.00pm Egypt: Egypt's health ministry says 365 people have been killed since the anti-government protests began.
Minister Ahmed Sameh Farid said it was only a preliminary count of civilians killed and did not include police or prisoners.
A
previous estimate by the United Nations put the total at around 300.
4.52pm Libya: This
video on Facebook is purportedly protests in Banghazi, Libya. Apparently they are saying: "Gaddafi, we don't want your flats, we want the truth."
4.37pm: The Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has been on the phone to Bahrain's king to express support for the king, as both countries face protests. Saleh blamed people with "foreign agendas" for trying to spread chaos across the region, Reuters reports, citing Yemen's state news agency. Saleh reportedly said to King Hamad:
There are plans to try and sink the region into a fervour of chaos and violence, and they have targeted the security of the region and stability of our countries. The people creating these works of chaos and sabotage are only implementing suspicious foreign agendas.
4.34pm Iran: My colleague
Saeed Kamali Dehghan has written a story about the death of Saane Zhaleh (
see 3.34pm), whose family says is being is being falsely described as a pro-government militia member.
A family member of Saane Zhaleh, a 26-year-old theatre student at Tehran University of Arts, told the Guardian that the Iranian authorities had launched a campaign to depict the pro-opposition protester as a member of the government-sponsored basiji militia who had been killed by what they described as terrorists.
"They [security forces] have killed him and now they want to hijack his dead body and exploit his funeral for their own purposes. His family is totally devastated and inundated in sorrow," said the family member, who asked not to be identified.
4.27pm Yemen: The BBC World Service is reporting two dead in Aden, Yemen.
4.23pm: Here is an evening summary:
Bahrain: Thousands of protesters have continued to demonstrate at Pearl roundabout in the capital Manama. Our reporter there says there are
signs of growing anger at King Hadad, who is seen as responsible for propping up the Sunni-based establishment. Thousands of people took part in a funeral for Fadhel Al-Matrook, a protester shot dead at funeral of another protester yesterday. The US, Britain and the UN have expressed concern about the violence. A government minister reportedly acknowledged that the two killings were "catastrophic" (
see 3.11pm).
Yemen: A sixth day of protests against Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president, was broken up by pro-government supporters bussed in to the capital Sana'a. Up to four protesters were injured, and 2,000 police deployed to break up the clashes. There have also been protests in other cities such as Aden and Taiz (
see 3.01pm). Saleh responded by saying "chaos, wrong mobilisation and irresponsible utterance via media" was not the way to "reach the power" (
see 3.38pm).
Iran: Students and academics have been arrested in a raid at a university in Tehran. A state news agency reported clashes between government supporters and protesters after the funeral of Saane (or Sanee) Zhaleh, who was killed in protests on Monday (
see 3.34pm). Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president, said the protests were doomed to fail.
Egypt: Protesters are planning to gather in Tahrir Square on Friday to mark a week since Hosni Mubarak, the president, stood down (
see 3.03pm). A coalition of activists have released a list of candidates they would like to see in the transitional government (
see 3.14pm). Both moves are intended to put pressure on the army, which took control after Mubarak's fall.
Libya: Up to 38 people have been injured in the city of Benghazi after protests about the arrest of a civil rights campaigner and critic of Muammar Gaddafi. There are reports that
critics of Gaddafi have been arrested.
Morocco: Protests are planned for Sunday (
see 3.23pm).
4.04pm: France will not allow in Tunisian immigrants without a valid visa, the government has said, according to Reuters, days after thousands of illegal migrants from the country began arriving in Italy."Visa rules will apply to Tunisia, all visa rules and nothing but visa rules," government spokesman Francois Baroin told reporters following a cabinet meeting. "There is no question of welcoming other immigrants who do not respect the rules on visas."
3.59pm: Commenter Numa, who has been posting several updates reportedly from within Bahrain, posts
this report about the internet in Bahrain, which we can't confirm:
Internet extremely slow in Bahrain. When I called to my provider to complain I was told it was a "global problem" all over the island with every service provider. I asked if it had to do with the demonstrations. I was told it had. I asked further. Is the govt controlling the internet access "Yes sir, sorry sir."
3.47pm: Nabeel Rajab from the
Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, has uploaded
disturbing footage of a protester badly injured on Monday. He said the man was victim of the police.
Warning: graphic content.
Supporters of the Yemeni government shout slogans as they try to enter Sana'a University, where anti-government protesters gather in Yemen. Photograph: Hani Mohammed/AP
3.38pm Yemen: In a barely veiled threat to protesters in Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, the country's president, has said that the time of coups, chaos and creative anarchy has gone, according to the Yemeni state news agency
Saba news. Saleh was quoted as saying:
Anybody wants to reach the power, he should pass through the ballot boxes, which are the only way, but not chaos, wrong mobilisation and irresponsible utterance via media.
3.34pm Iran:This (below) is a death announcement for Saane (or Sanee) Zhaleh, a student who was shot dead during an opposition rally on 14 February, created by his classmates at Tehran University of Arts. The announcement has been circulated among Iran's blogging community and social networking websites.
It reads:
From the students of Tehran University of Arts. With sorrow and regret we announce the martyrdom of our courageous, passionate friend Saane Zhaleh and we express our condolences on his death. Peace be upon his soul / and we will remember him.
_
3.30pm Egypt: My colleague Mark Tran writes about a fact sheet the US embassy in London has just sent out "to show it's on the side of the angels", giving a breakdown of US funding to promote "a vibrant civil society in Egypt" and in the Middle East.
The US says since 2006, it has provided approximately $210m (£131m) to support democracy activities in Egypt:
"In FY [financial year] 2010, we more than doubled our support to civil society activities (from $9.5m to $25m). Our FY 2011 request maintains this strong support ($21m). We also significantly increased support for the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) in FY 2011 to support civil society and democratic reform across the Middle East. The US government has increased its direct support for indigenous Egyptian organisations. In FY 2010, Egyptian NGOs received $14m in US assistance, significantly above the $9m provided in FY 2009 and $8.5m in FY 2008. These funds went to support core civil society activities such as rights education, as well as democracy and building civil society capacity to expand the impact of Egypt's active citizens' groups."
To put this into context, however, US military aid for Egypt runs at $1.3bn a year. On the subject of US aid to Egypt, here is
an article from the Carnegie of Endowment in Washington arguing why Egyptians are unlikely to appreciate US economic aid.
It says: "The current focus on helping businessmen, particularly powerful ones, and on US-chosen infrastructure projects that create few permanent job opportunities will keep USAID unpopular in Egypt, especially in light of the aid's small size."
3.29pm Libya: Social networking sites and al-Jazeera are now
reportedly back online again in Libya (
see 2.51pm).
3.27pm Bahrain: Pro-government Twitter users in Bahrain are posting updates/propaganda under using the term #silentmajority,
Global Voices has spotted.
It picks out a selection of updates from
Hussakhalid, described as "a tech-savvy MBA graduate who knows a thing or two (maybe three)".
Do you know that Bahrain provides free K-12 Education for all citizens? #Bahrain #silentmajority
Do you know that there are no income taxes in Bahrain? #Bahrain #silentmajority
Do you know that #Bahrain provides free healthcare for all citizens? #Feb14 #silentmajority
3.23pm Morocco: There is a lot of discussion in the comments of
this YouTube video about protests planned for Morocco on Sunday, my colleague Giles Tremlett notes. #Feb20 and #20Fev are the hashtags being used on Twitter, and this is
a popular Facebook protest site.
3.14pm Egypt: Jack Shenker sends some more from Cairo. A coalition of independent activists, bloggers and professional groups have released a shortlist of candidates that they would like to see make up a new transitional government in Egypt.
There's a lot of anger that despite the supreme military council's takeover, most of Mubarak's old cabinet (which had only been in place for a few weeks before he was forced out) remain in place. The army says this is essential to ensure that the country can function normally until fresh elections are called (likely to be in about six months time).
But many of those who participated in the revolution feel differently; hence they've drawn up a list of acceptable caretaker ministers for each government department and are demanding that the military take notice.
The list is currently only in Arabic, but it lays down in some detail the criteria by which each nominee has been selected: there are no members of Mubarak's NDP party, no leaders of other political parties, and nobody tainted by corruption scandals. None of those appointed should be allowed to run for office in future elections, claim the organisers of the list thus ensuring that they act only in the interest of Egypt throughout the transitional period, instead of seeking to maximise their own position.
3.11pm Bahrain: A government minister in Bahrain has admitted that killing two protesters was "catastrophic",
according to New York Times columnist Nick Kristof.
Just interviewed the foreign minister here in #Bahrain. He acknowledges that killing protesters was catastrophic.
The
UN has expressed alarm at the killing of protesters in Bahrain.
Navi Pillay, the high commissioner for human rights, said:
Too many peaceful protesters have recently been killed across the Middle East and North Africa. Authorities everywhere must scrupulously avoid excessive use of force, which is strictly forbidden in international law. They must conduct prompt, impartial and transparent investigations where there have been breaches of this obligation.
I have been urging the authorities to curb the excesses of the security apparatus and to undertake serious investigations into allegations of torture and abuse of detention rights of hundreds of political and human rights activists. These activists, including numerous children as young as 10, were reportedly arrested and detained without meaningful access to lawyers and their families, and subjected to ill-treatment in detention.
I urge the authorities to immediately cease the use of disproportionate force against peaceful protesters and to release all peaceful demonstrators who have been arrested.
3.03pm Egypt: Jack Shenker reports from Cairo on calls for a mass rally on Friday, the one-week anniversary of Hosni Mubarak's departure.
Some claim it will be a festival of celebration over the dictator's fall, while others are planning a more sombre event to honour the memory of those who lost their lives in the recent struggles (that number currently stands at approximately 300, though many others remain missing).
But whatever form Friday's demonstration takes, the sight of Tahrir Square the iconic heart of Egypt's revolution once again being transformed from a
traffic-choked interchange into a sea of people, drums and flags is likely to send a strong message to the military council currently overseeing Egypt's "transition" to democracy.
Opinions are split on the genuine intentions of the army, and many will be keen to take this opportunity to remind officers that they have been mandated by the people to help establish a sustainable civilian government, not to hang on to the reins of power themselves. After issuing a series of recent communiques calling for all protests and strikes to end, it will be interesting to see how the military who still have forces stationed in and around the square respond to Friday's gathering.
3.01pm Yemen: The Associated Press has filed some more on the conflict between police and protesters in Yemen today. The news agency says Facebook and Twitter spread the word that Yemenis should join a series of "one million people" rallies on a so-called "Friday of rage" in all Yemeni cities.
A statement posted on Facebook said: "We will remain in the streets until the regime departure." The news agency reported: "Copies signed by a group named the February 24 Movement were distributed among youth via e-mail. The group is taking that name because organisers hope to have their biggest protest on that day next week." AP had this to say about Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president against whom the protesters are demonstrating:
Saleh has tried to defuse protesters' anger amid the unprecedented street demonstrations by saying he will not run for another term in 2013 and that he will not seek to set up his son, Ahmed, to succeed him in the conflict-ridden and impoverished nation. Protesters still chanted slogans against the president's son Wednesday.
Saleh has become a key US partner in battling al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the terrorist network's offshoot in Yemen. The group's several hundred fighters have battled Saleh's US-backed forces and have been linked to attacks beyond Yemen's borders, including the failed attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner in December 2009. The US military plans a $75m training program with Yemen's counterterrorism unit to expand its size and capabilities in the nation's mountainous terrain.
It's a difficult balancing act for Saleh, who has been criticised as being too close to the United States.
Yemeni state TV reported that Saleh has been holding meetings since Sunday with heads of tribes to prevent them from joining the anti-government protests.
Saleh's government is weak its control barely extends beyond the capital and is dependent on fragile alliances with powerful tribes and it faces other serious challenges.
For more than six years, government forces have been battling a sporadic armed rebellion in the north. A secessionist movement by once-independent southern Yemen also is heating up.
Yemen's main source of income oil could run dry in a decade, and the country is also rapidly running out of water. Much of the population suffers from malnutrition.
Yemen has been the site of anti-U.S. attacks dating back to the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Aden harbour, which killed 17 American sailors. Radical US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, thought to be hiding in Yemen, is suspected of having inspired some attacks, including the deadly 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas.
Of the Sana'a University protests, AP says police chained the university's iron gates to prevent students from streaming into adjacent streets. About 120 judges protested in front of the Ministry of Justice, calling for independence of the judiciary and better salaries, the first such protest by judges. Demonstrations also took in Yemen's port city of Aden where protesters set fire to tyres, "fierce clashes" took place between riot police and thousands of protesters, injuring three, and there was "heavy gunfire" and in Taiz, where thousands shouted: "Down with Ali Abdullah Saleh." Protesters have been camping in Safir Square in central Taiz, about 270 miles south of Sana'a, saying they will not leave until Saleh steps down.
Just like in Cairo's Tahrir Square, protesters [in Taiz] have organised a makeshift camp in the city centre, with medical teams, cleaning crews and security to protect them from outside attacks, said Ghazi al-Samie, a lawyer and activist. Al-Samie said thousands have joined the protests in the last few days in Yemen's second-biggest city.
2.51pm Libya: The Libyan security apparatus is doing its best to stop any further protests, according to Libyans on the ground.
ShababLibya
according to Libya Today,there have been a large number of arrests in the eastern city of Al Beida, families have lost contact #Feb17 #Libya
taimurian[Confirmed] .. Facebook, Twitter, Aljazeera.Net, Alarabiya.Net and Youtube are blocked now in Libya #libya #feb17 #benghazi #egypt
2.38pm Bahrain: Othman Janahi, an investment officer in Bahrain, is sending out pro-government updates on Twitter.
They include
pictures of a rally in support of the king.
He also complains of bias in the international media:
2.31pm Egypt: Fidel Castro has weighed into Egypt's febrile post-Mubarak politics, backing protesters' demands that the former president return the fortune he is suspected of having removed from the country.
2.27pm Libya: A
Libyan blogger and activist is claiming that families of victims of the 1996 killings at Abu Salim prison in Tripoli will stage a protest in a few hours in Benghazi.
The Abu Salim killings are a notorious incident in Libya's history when Libyan groups outside the country said up to 1,200 prisoners had died. A massacre was reported to have taken place after prisoners unhappy about conditions seized a guard.
Human Rights Watch investigated the atrocity. One of those it spoke to was a former prisoner, Hussein al-Shafa:
Around 5am on June 29, security forces moved some of the prisoners between the civilian and military sections of the prison. By 9am they had forced hundreds of prisoners from blocks 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 into different courtyards. They moved the low security prisoners in block 2 to the military section and kept the prisoners in blocks 7 and 8, with individual cells, inside. Al-Shafa, who was behind the administration building with other kitchen workers at the time, told Human Rights Watch what happened.
"At 11:00 a grenade was thrown into one of the courtyards. I did not see who threw it but I am sure it was a grenade. I heard an explosion and right after a constant shooting started from heavy weapons and kalashnikovs from the top of the roofs. The shooting continued from 11:00 until 1:35."
He continued: "I could not see the dead prisoners who were shot, but I could see those who were shooting. They were a special unit and wearing khaki military hats. Six were using kalashnikovs.
"I saw them, at least six men, on the roofs of the cellblocks. They were wearing beige khaki uniforms with green bandanas, a turban-like thing."
Around 2pm the forces used pistols to finish off those who were not dead, he said.
Abu Salim prison held between 1,600 and 1,700 prisoners at the time, and the security forces killed around 1,200 people, al-Shafa said. He calculated this figure by counting the number of meals he prepared prior to and after the incident.
Photograph: Ray Tang/Rex Features
2.01pm Yemen:The British government has pledged its support for political reform in Yemen, according to the Press Association news agency.
Alan Duncan (left), the international development minister, said:
Recent events demonstrate more than ever the importance of the Friends of Yemen process to prevent state failure in their country. We will work to support political reform and the right of all Yemenis to participate legitimately and democratically in their political future.
MPs were today told the Friends of Yemen group will meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in six weeks to discuss how best to help the nation. Duncan, who visited Yemen last week, said there had been "substantial progress on many fronts" in recent months. He added: "Preventing state failure is much less costly than dealing with a failed state afterwards."
1.55pm Bahrain: The protests in Bahrain are so organised that they even have a media centre,
according to this picture (below) by Maryam Alkhawaja, head of foreign relations at the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights.
Media centre at Bahrain protests, 16 February 2011. Photograph: maryamalkhawaja
From a distance the protest camp looks like a car boot sale.
Hundreds of Bahraini protesters shout slogans as the attend the funeral of Fadel Salman Matrouk, who was shot dead in front of a hospital yesterday. Photograph: Adam Jan/AFP/Getty Images
1.41pm Bahrain: More from Bahrain from another of our commenters,
SandyBh, who says people are calling Lulu/Pearl roundabout "the martyr square". He/she says people there have confirmed "there are some Sunnis out there, but not a lot, which is natural considering that the Shiites are the majority and the ruling family is Sunni":
Many Sunnis are either too afraid to go out and protest or they are prevented by their Sunni ideologies that declare people should have complete loyalty to the "wali" or a governing ruler, even though one who is an oppressor (this is to the best of my knowledge and how I see things when I talk with Sunnis). Moreover, you should account for the fact that many of the Sunnis here are actually not Bahrainis for they have been imported from places like Pakistan, Baluchistan, Jordan, or Yemen to work in the Ministry of Defence.
SandyBH went on, in another comment:
You should hear what the people in the roundabout are saying ... They are hailing now and again that their movement is not only for Shiites but Sunnis as well. This is a movement by the people for the people no matter their sect. A lot of people are refusing to call it a Shiite uprising.
As for being afraid of change since they are a minority, no one should have such fears in a democratic government that is well-representative of the population.
As for the foreigners being employed in the Ministry of Defence and police forces, there is a reason behind it. The government has long mistrusted Shiites in Bahrain, and despite being the majority, they are not employed in these two sectors simply because of this mistrust. The percentage of Shiites in the Ministry of Defence is almost non-existent. Even some Sunnis are being aware now of the situation of foreigners in the defence forces and are expressing resentment.
Footage broadcast by Libya's state television showing Libyans holding portraits of Muammar Gaddafi during a demonstration in support of him in the southern city of Sebha. Protesters say that state TV is not showing footage of large, anti-Gaddafi protests. Photograph: Libyan TV/AFP/Getty Images
1.20pm - Libya:Reuters has a
fuller report on the clashes in Benghazi.
Here's an edited version:
Reports from Benghazi, about 1,000 km (600 miles) east of the Libyan capital, indicated the city was now calm but that overnight, protesters armed with stones and petrol bombs had set fire to vehicles and fought with police.
The protesters were angry about the arrest of a human rights campaigner and demanded his release. Quryna newspaper, which is based in Benghazi, quoted Abdelkrim Gubaili, the director of a local hospital, as saying 38 people were injured in the clashes, most of them members of the security forces. He said they had all been discharged.
"Last night was a bad night," a Benghazi resident, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters by telephone.
"There were about 500 or 600 people involved. They went to the revolutionary committee (local government headquarters) in Sabri district, and they tried to go to the central revolutionary committee ... They threw stones," he said.
"Now Benghazi is quiet. The banks are open and the students are going to school," the same witness said later.
1.01pm: Summary time:
Libya: Up to 38 people have been injured in the city of Benghazi after protests about the arrest of a civil rights campaigner and critic of Muammar Gaddafi. There are reports that
critics of Gaddafi have been arrested.
Bahrain: Thousands of protesters have continued to demonstrate at Pearl roundabout in the capital Manama. Our reporter there says there are
signs of growing anger at King Hadad, who is seen as responsible for propping up the Sunni-based establishment. Thousands of people took part in a funeral for Fadhel Al-Matrook, a protester shot dead at funeral of another protester yesterday. The US and Britain has expressed concern about the violence.
Yemen: A sixth day of protests against president Saleh was broken up by pro-government supporters bused in to the capital Sana'a. Up to four protesters were injured, and 2,000 police deployed to break up the clashes.
Iran: Students and academics have been arrested in a raid at a university in Tehran. A state news agency reported clashes between government supporters and protesters after the funeral of Sanee Zhaleh, who was killed in protests on Monday. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the protests were doomed to fail.
12.55pm - Libya: Our Middle East editor Ian Black has this instant analysis on the significance of today's clashes in Benghazi.
Libya's "day of rage," inspired by the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, was due to have take place on Thursday but began prematurely with clashes overnight in the eastern city of Benghazi, where 38 demonstrators were injured in clashes with security forces.
Libyan opposition sources say they believe the trouble was deliberately provoked by the authorities to undermine tomorrow's main event and intimidate people into keeping off the streets.
Sporadic trouble has been reported from Benghazi, the country's second city, in recent weeks, and the latest outbreak was linked to protests over the infamous massacre of over 1000 prisoners at Abu Salim in 1996 a bloody landmark in Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule. But like previous unrest, it remains local and has not coalesced into opposition at the national level. So far.
"This could snowball into something big," says Ashour Shamis, a veteran Libyan opposition activist. "There are grievances all over the country. But this looks like a spoiler by the government."
Libya's experience of the "Arab spring" may be different from that of its North African neighbours for several reasons. Its enormous oil and gas reserves and small population (6.5m) mean it is relatively wealthy four times as rich as Egypt and can afford to buy off dissent.
It is also far less free than either of its neighbours, with a pervasive secret police and little in the way of a free media or independent institutions. Behind the facade of the popular committees the security state still looks unassailably powerful.
Gaddafi's Jamahiriya or "state of the masses" has seen a revolution in its foreign relations over the last decade since it surrendered the Lockerbie bombing suspects, stopped supporting terrorism and gave up its wepaons of mass destruction.
Economic liberalisation has benefited a small middle class but otherwise there has been little domestic change. Libya is extremely corrupt by international standards, though there is less of the flaunting of wealth by the elite than in Tunisia. Its army and security services, based on strong tribal loyalties, would almost certainly step in with force in the event of serious political upheaval and possibly take over the country completely.
Gaddafi now the longest-serving of all Arab leaders remains as vigorous and eccentric as ever. Talk of the succession of his reformist-minded son, Saif al-Islam, has faded recently in the face of resistance by the old guard. Another son, Mutasim, is a rising star as his father's national security adviser.
Like other Arab regimes it is capable of easing tensions by concessions such as raising subsidies to keep food prices down. But plans to release the remaining prisoners of the long-banned Libyan Islamic Fighting Group who have renounced violence pre-date the current unrest.
12.53pm - Bahrain: One of our commenters below the line, goonerinoman, has provided
another update from Bahrain:
Just got back from the Pearl roundabout. I was there for about 30 minutes. I would say there are about 3-4 thousand there. A lot of people were on their way after attending the funeral. I was surprised how different things were from yesterday. I was at the roundabout for the start of the protests yesterday and the roads around were all closed and there were hundreds of police and vehicles. Today there were no police anywhere to be seen and now the roundabout was covered in tents and a mock stage has been erected, all the roads are open as normal and cars are driving round the roundabout. Whereas yesterday people were milling around and it was more of a carnival atmosphere, today it seemed more politicised. There were people addressing the crowds and it was more like a western protest. The crowd were a lot more fired up. I could not understand what was being said as my Arabic is not very good but there was a lot of mentions of Mubarak. Around the edge of the roundabout people had written slogans using stones such as Khalifa r we loud enough for you, a CND symbol, peaceful protest and others in Arabic.
It is weird because about 150 metres [away] is the main highway and it has a flyover, it is the perfect vantage point to stop and watch - it is like a drive thru protest. It seems like the protesters are not giving up easily. I imagine they may be joined by some Saudi Shias as the Saudi weekend starts now. I think with the US Naval base here it can't go on for too long and the F1 race looming on the horizon. I can't imagine the Shias giving up without a fight. I am by no means an expert but I think the Shias are not afraid of martyrdom because of events like Ashoora. I really hope I am wrong but I think it will get messy. I guess Friday like in Egypt will be the crunch day. I am also amazed by the normality of it all.
12.46pm - Libya: Some
reports on Twitter are saying two people were killed in Benghazi but we have no way of verifying them at present.
12.40pm - Egypt: The Guardian is compiling
a database of the missing and detained in Egypt since the recent protests. If you have any information please use
the form provided to help us to update it.
12.34pm - Libya: There's limited information coming out from Benghazi, with reporters not on the ground there and not much in the way of first-hand accounts online. But the Libyan youth movement
tweets that violence against protesters is continuing:
right now in #benghazi, tear gas being thrown in the city center and have blockaded the city center #Libya #Feb17
Pro-regime protesters holding posters of their president gather near Sana'a University, Yemen. Photograph: Mohammad Huwais/AFP/Getty Images
12.26pm - Yemen: Pro-Saleh supporters are being bused in to the Yemeni capital Sana'a to beat anti-government protests,
Tom Finn reports.
People have seen them arriving in buses, and they have also seen people handing out signs and sticks and weapons to plain clothes men from the back of SUVs and trucks at the protests.
The danger in Yemen is that it is a heavily armed country. There are three times as many guns as people here. What people are very worried about is that if things become violent it may escalate.
There were three or four students injured today. The pro-Saleh guys have been pre-empting the demonstrations. They have been arriving in the morning at the places that the anti-government protests are due to take place. It sounds like the numbers are similar [on both sides].
The protests are much much smaller than anything that happened in Egypt. The difference now is that they are becoming more violent. And also, importantly, they are no longer under the control of the opposition.
President Saleh is worried and he's making efforts to calm these protests. He has cancelled a trip to Washington. But he does have more support than Mubarak had in Egypt.
As things stand it is still a small group that is protesting [in Sana'a]. The real concern is taking place in Taiz, a city in the south. There you have seen demonstrators staying out over night, and people being arrested, and larger protests. People are saying that if something is going to happen it may well happen in the south, as opposed to in the capital.
Listen! Turn off auto refresh to listen to full audio -
12.23pm - Egypt: Labour unrest is continuing in Egypt despite the ruling military council's call for "noble Egyptians" to end all strikes immediately, the Associated Press reports:
Hundreds of Cairo airport employees were protesting inside the arrivals terminal Wednesday to press demands for better wages and health coverage. In the industrial Nile Delta city of Mahallah al-Koubra, workers from Egypt's largest textile factory went on strike over pay and calls for an investigation into alleged corruption at the factory.
In Port Said, a coastal city at the northern tip of the Suez canal, about 1,000 people demonstrated to demand that a chemical factory be closed because it was dumping waste in a lake near the city.
12.10pm- Libya: The Guardian's Twitter network of Arab and Middle East protests has been updated to include Libya.
12.04pm - Libya: Al-Arabiya TV and AFP (
via Zawya.com) are both now reporting 38 injured in the violence in Benghazi, citing medical sources in the city.
11.56am - Libya:The artist, Muhammed Al-Amin, and the author and poet Habib Al-Amin have been arrested in Benghazi,
according to @EnoughGaddafi on Twitter. Another writer, Idris al Mesmari, was reportedly arrested in Libya's second largest city, hours after
a telephone interview with al-Jazeera in which he told the television station:
I am scared, really scared. The regime's cars and thugs are attacking us. They're attacking Libya's youth. They're using hot water cannons.
Iranian government supporters hit an image of opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi with their shoes in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Stringer/EPA
11.36am - Iran: Ten students and academics were arrested at a raid on a university in Tehran, according to Omid Habibina, a former journalist with BBC Arabic and a state news agency.
He tweets:
He also posts a link to a
Facebook video of the raid.
11.30am Libya: There seems to be a sense of frustration that the protests in Benghazi, Libya's second biggest city, have not caught on in the capital Tripoli, even though tomorrow is supposed to be the big day for demonstrations to commemorate the failed uprising against Gaddafi in 2006:
ShababLibyaguys in Tripoli get out onto the streets, start with 100, or we will see a massacre in #Benghazi, its now or never, #Libya #Feb17
EEE_Libya@freetelw yes in Tripoli #libya. Nothing but staged [pro-Gaddafi] protest now going on here. Tripoli wake up!!!!!!
11.24am Bahrain: Protesters arranged themselves on the Pearl roundabout to spell out the slogan "down with the regime", according to Maryam Alkhawaja, head of foreign relations at the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights.
She
posted this picture to Twitter with the caption:
They wrote with humans "yasqe6 alnedham" down with the regime in #martyrssquare #bahrain #feb14
Protesters in Bahrain spell out "down with the regime" 16 February 2011. Photograph: maryamalkhawaja _
11.16am Bahrain: By most accounts the protests in Bahrain were peaceful before shots were fired by the security forces, and yet the British Foreign Office has called on both sides to exercise restraint (it trotted out the same line on Egypt at the start of the protests).
Alistair Burt, the minister for the Middle East and north Africa, said:
I am concerned by the reports of excessive use of force by police during demonstrations in Bahrain that led to the death of two protesters. I call on all sides to exercise restraint and refrain from violence.
The UK will always support, and speak out in defence of, the right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression. It is now critical that the Bahraini government moves quickly to carry out its commitment to a transparent investigation into yesterday's deaths and any alleged human rights abuses.
When he was in Bahrain last week the foreign secretary raised the importance of open, plural societies, and of promoting universal values. I welcome the progress that the government of Bahrain has made on political reform in the recent past, but it is essential that this process continues to meet legitimate aspirations for greater political and social freedoms.
11.11am Bahrain: The Bahrain government and monarchy are "clearly rattled" by the demonstrations,
Martin Chulov reports from Pearl roundabout in Manama.
At the roundabout this morning there at least 5,000-10,000. This is a group that has got itself organised there are marquees and first aid tents everywhere. It has a sense of a protest movement that is gaining momentum. The police are staying away ... All access points to this area are being coordinated by citizens.
It is predominantly Shia. They are saying they have been pushed into a sectarian corner. They are looking for a greater role in society in Bahrain. They feel emboldened by what's happened in Egypt and Tunisia. A secondary concern, fast becoming a dominant one, is that the king should leave.
They are not placated. The monarch has been largely responsible for buttressing the Sunni-based establishment. The lightening rod for the discontent is the monarch.
It does have a feel of a movement that is going somewhere. The government and the monarchy are clearly rattled by it. Instinctively it feels like one to watch.
Listen! Turn off auto-refresh above to listen in full
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11.10am Libya: The
Libyan youth movement says there are reports of a first death in Benghazi, that of a teenager.
Alot of reports coming out of the first to be killed in benghazi, 17 year old from well known family #Feb17 #Libya
Meanwhile,
freetelw tweets that it is quiet in the Libyan capital at the moment with just some organised pro-Gaddafi protests:
#Tripoli just got back from Green Sq (12.30 pm)..bunch of 'pro-Gaddafi protesters' are chanting..they brought high school students in groups
10.38am Libya: Like the other countries in the Middle East and North Africa in revolt,
Libya has its own Facebook protest page.
A recent post (in Arabic) is urging "all the youth of Tripoli" to go immediately to Omar Mukhtar Street. It seems to be saying that there are no military battalions in the Libyan capital at the moment, only security forces, which would tie in with comments on Twitter that the regime has been taken by surprise by the protests.
10.26am Yemen: The Associated Press news agency has a bit more on the protests in Yemen today (
see 9.57am). According to AP, Yemen has sent 2,000 policemen into the streets to try to stem the demonstrations, which are in support of political reforms and against the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The policemen, including plainclothes officers, fired in the air and blocked thousands of students at Sanaa University from joining thousands of other protesters elsewhere in the capital. They are holding a sixth straight day of demonstrations ...
Witnesses say at least four protesters were wounded in scuffles with police on Wednesday.
Yemen is a conflict-ridden and impoverished nation. Its president has cooperated with the US in battling al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
10.24am Bahrain: Blogger Redha Haji has
posted a series of photographs of today's funeral of Fadhel Al Matrook.
One shows that the Bahrain flag was placed over his coffin before he was buried.
10.22am Libya: The
Guardian wrote yesterday about how young people in the Arab world use rap as a way to express themselves and as a rallying call.
This rap track is promoting tomorrow's protests in Libya. One image featuring Gaddafi says: "Send the devil back to hell," while there are also numerous images of the protests in Egypt and Tunisia, showing the influence of the revolutions in those two countries.
Turn off auto-refresh above to watch in full _
10.11am Bahrain: The respected Middle East analyst
Juan Cole predicts what might happen if the Shia majority were granted more representation and power, as protesters are demanding.
A Shiite-dominated government in Bahrain might well demand a closure of the US naval base. It would not be an Iranian puppet, insofar as Arab Shiites are jealous of their independence and most Bahraini Shiites don't follow ayatollahs; but it would certainly have warm relations with Tehran. A Shiite victory there would politically embolden other Gulf Arab Shiites, in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (Shiites are a minority in all three). Insofar as Iran enjoys soft power with the region's Shiites, the net result would certainly favour Iran and at least somewhat disadvantage the United States, which already shot itself in the foot by helping install a Shiite government in Baghdad that has excellent relations with Iran. For the Bahrain government to become more democratic and more Shiite-influenced would annoy the Wahhabi Saudi state, which now sees the Sunni Bahraini king as a strategic asset.
If, like me, you are on a steep Bahrain learning curve, the piece also provides a useful backgrounder. Did you know that more than half the people in Bahrain are guest workers?
9.57am Yemen: There are reports of clashes between pro-government supporters in Libya, Iran and now Yemen.
Reuters has this:
Government loyalists wielding batons and daggers clashed with anti-government protesters in the Yemeni capital on Wednesday. Police were unable to keep the two sides apart as protesters gathered for a demonstration at Sana'a University to demand the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Hundreds of Saleh backers charged at protesters, who quickly fled. One student was wounded, a Reuters reporter said.
A few hundred more student demonstrators emerged from inside the university to try to restart the rally. When police locked them inside the campus, they began throwing rocks at the government loyalists from the campus gate.
"We'll keep protesting until this regime leaves," said Murad Mohammed, a Yemeni university student at the disrupted protest. "We have no future under current conditions."
The opposition coalition has agreed to negotiate with Saleh, but many young protesters are getting frustrated.
"We want change and we want to make that change the way the Egyptians and Tunisians did," said Meshaal Sultan, a Sanaa University student, referring to the revolts that ousted the presidents of Egypt and Tunisia over the last month.
9.50am Egypt: Jack Shenker has written about how political activists in the country
fear the revolution is being hijacked by the army but the April 6 Youth Movement has put out
a statement to followers of its Facebook page declaring its "full faith in our honourable military forces". However, the group of online activists also called on the army to expedite the release of political prisoners:
April 6 Youth Movement calls on the Egyptian armed forces to speed up the release of political detainees who were arrested in the era of the former regime, as well as the immediate release of all detainees who participated in the uprising of January 25th.
The sources inside the armed forces had told April 6 Youth Movement through the meetings that has [sic] been going on Thursday, February 10, that those who were arrested since January 25th will be released within days, but we are calling for fast release of all detainees to maintain the security in Egypt ...
April 6 Youth Movement has full faith in our honourable military forces and we are sure that they will release all the innocent victims of our former oppressive regime.
9.46am Libya: The Associated Press is coming under fire on Twitter for a line in its story about the Libyan protests (picked up by various news outlets) that says: "The crowds, however, did not appear to direct their anger at Muammar Gaddafi."
Libyan4life:
SMH @HuffingtonPost @AP Protests in #Benghazi were solely towards #Gaddafi despite direct evidence, continue to report misinformation #Feb17
Cyrenaican:
They say the revolution will not be televised. Fine. Can we at least get it reported correctly? @AssociatedPress #Benghazi #Feb17 #Libya
Incidentally, it appears that a big demonstration is planned for tomorrow in Libya the hashtag #Feb17 is being used on Twitter but protests started early in Benghazi. There is
a lot of video emerging of last night's protests in the city.
9.33am - Bahrain:
This photograph has emerged of Fadhel Al-Matrook the protester who was killed in yesterday's clashes. It shows Matrook with his son and daughter, according to the Facebook group
True Royal Democracy.
Thousands of people have gathered for his funeral today where he is being hailed as a martyr.
9.11am - Bahrain: Below the line in the comments section,
goonerinoman claims to be witnessing events in Bahrain.
Going to have a wander down to the Pearl roundabout in an hour. Will keep you all informed as to what's going on there. People back at work today but from what I have heard there are still lots of people at the roundabout. Bahrain is a small place and the Pearl roundabout is right in the middle of the shopping malls and the main highway and very near the financial centre.
Global Voices has a typically-thorough round-up of the latest
social media updates on the protests in Bahrain. It reports:
Similar to Tuesday, hundreds of protesters headed towards Salmaniya hospital to collect the fallen man's body and begin the procession to Sheikh Maytham cemetery in Mahooz in Manama. Unlike yesterday, the procession was allowed to move smoothly without police interference.
9.02am - Egypt: Harriet Sherwood has more on the speculation about the whereabouts and health of the former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
The Al Arab news site claims that Hosni Mubarak is now holed up in a luxury hotel in the Israeli resort of Eilat.
Apparently there is a big Israeli security presence around the unnamed hotel, and aircraft are hovering above monitoring activity. Indeed, an anonymous hotel employee "revealed" that Mubarak was a guest.
The ousted president has also been reported to be in Sharm el Sheikh, in Germany, in Dubai, in a coma, in a state of severe depression and at death's door.
8.47am - Iran: It is getting hard to keep track of the various protests across the Middle East. Now Iran's state broadcaster IRIB is reporting clashes between government supporters and protesters in Tehran.
"Students and the people attending the funeral ceremony of the martyred student Sanee Zhaleh have clashed with a limited number of people apparently linked to the sedition movement and forced them out by chanting slogans of death to hypocrites," it said, according to Reuters.
Zhaleh was shot dead during an opposition rally on Monday, a killing the government blamed on anti-government protesters but which opposition websites say was done by security forces.
Activist
Saeed Valadbaygi is running a Facebook commentary on the latest unrest. One of his updates says:
University doors have been closed and chants of "down with Khatami and Down with England" is seen around Valiasr.
Another says:
A largely organised group of Basij is being transferred to the funeral place through the BRT line.
8.31am - Bahrain: Protesters are holding their ground at the Pearl roundabout, AP reports.
Security forces have pulled back sharply apparently on orders to ease tensions after clashes that left at least two people dead and dozens injured.
Police helicopters, however, flew low over a major funeral procession for one of the victims in which mourners called him a "martyr" and pledged more protests in the island nation home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet.
Thousands of people spent the night in a makeshift tent camp in Manama's Pearl Square, which was swarmed by demonstrators a day earlier. One demonstrator used a bullhorn to call on protesters to remain until their demands are met, as the Arab wave for change takes hold in the Gulf.
The protests began Monday as a cry for the country's Sunni monarchy to loosen its grip, including hand-picking most top government posts, and open more opportunities for the country's Shia majority, who have long complained of being blocked from decision-making roles.
US State Department spokesman
PJ Crowley has expressed concern about events in Bahrain. In a statement last night, he said:
The United States is very concerned by recent violence surrounding protests in Bahrain. We have received confirmation that two protesters in Bahrain were recently killed, and offer our condolences to the families and friends of the two individuals who lost their lives.
The United States welcomes the government of Bahrain's statements that it will investigate these deaths, and that it will take legal action against any unjustified use of force by Bahraini security forces. We urge that it follow through on these statements as quickly as possible. We also call on all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from violence.
Mobile phone footage of the protests at the Pearl roundabout is being streamed to the video sharing site Bambuser.
8.10am - Libya: Video has emerged of protesters in Benghazi demanding the release of a human rights lawyer and critic of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.
The state news agency Jana reports a series of pro-Gaddafi rallies, including in Benghazi, the Middle East expert Scott Lucas reports on his Enduring America blog.
A video from Benghazi, dated yesterday, appears to show a protest being broken up by gunfire.
(Note: there is some dispute over when this video was filmed.)
To watch the video in full turn off auto-refresh at the top of the page _
Meanwhile, a human rights group claimed that a 110 prisoners jailed for membership of banned militant organisation the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group will be released today.
Reuters has this:
The prisoners are the last members of the group still being held and will be set free from Tripoli's Abu Salim jail, chairman of the Libya Human Rights Association Mohamed Ternish told Reuters.
Hundreds of alleged members of the group have been freed from jail after it renounced violence last year.
8.04am: Protests continue in the Middle East and North Africa. The latest flashpoints are Bahrain, where demonstrations continue for a third day despite the intervention of King Hadad, and Libya where the arrest of a human rights campaigner sparked clashes with police in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Up to 2,000 people were involved in the clashes in Libya, according to the BBC.
Eyewitnesses told the BBC that the unrest had been triggered by the arrest of a lawyer who is an outspoken critic of the government.
The lawyer was later said to have been released, but the demonstrations reportedly continued..
They [the witnesses] say stones were thrown at police who are said to have responded with water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets.
In Bahrain protesters have occupied Pearl roundabout, a landmark in the capital Manama. Thousands of people are expected to take part in a funeral procession for Fadhel Matrook who was killed at a funeral yesterday.
Here's a round-up by country of yesterday's events in the region:
Bahrain
King Hamad tried to quell unrest by promising to investigate the killings of opposition protesters. Ali Abdulhadi Mushaima was killed in Monday's protests. Fadhel Matrook was shot when security forces fired at crowds of people who had gathered yesterday for Mushaima's funeral.
The opposition Shia party al-Wifaq, announced that it was withdrawing from parliament in protest against the crackdown. This was
a key event, writes our Middle East editor Ian Black, because political participation al-Wifaq party is seen as crucial to political stability, as a
leaked US embassy cable revealed.
Yemen
Protests calling for removal of President Ali Abdullah Saleh have been taking place for last five days in the capital Sana'a. Yesterday
pro-government supporters clashed with protesters yesterday amid alarm about increasing violence.
Egypt
Elements of Egypt's fractured political opposition are concerned that the army will hijack the revolution. They are alarmed by the army's unilateral declarations of reform and the apparent unwillingness of senior officers to open up genuine negotiations with activists.
The Muslim Brotherhood announced that it plans to set up a political party.
The Guardian is compiling a
database of those missing and detained during the unrest in Egypt.
Barack Obama said his administration was "on the right side of history" for its response to the downfall of the Mubarak regime.
CBS News journalist Lara Logan is recovering in hospital after being violently attacked and sexually assaulted by a mob in Egypt's Tahrir Square on Friday.
Iran
The authorities confirmed that a second person had died in Monday's unrest, in which security forces used teargas, pepper spray and batons against the protesters. Around 1,500 were arrested in the protests. M
Ps have branded opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi "corrupt on earth" a charge that carries the death penalty.
Jordan
The government sought to head off trouble by easing restrictions on public gatherings. Jordan's interior minister Saed Hayel Srour said that protesters would still have to inform authorities of any gathering two days in advance to ensure public safety.
Tunisia
The
new government extended a state of emergency in place since Zine al Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia, but ended a curfew imposed during the protests.
Morocco
The
government appears to be trying to calm fears over price hikes on basic goods ahead of a Facebook-arranged protests planned for next Sunday. It has doubled the money it sets aside for state subsidies to counter rising global commodity prices.
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goonerinoman 16 February 2011 8:32AM
Going to have a wander down to the pearl roundabout in an hour. will keep you all informed as to whats going on there. people back at work today but from what I have heard there are still lots of people at the roundabout. Bahrain is a small place and the Pearl roundabout is right in the middle of the shopping malls and the main highway and very near the financial centre.
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LauraOliver 16 February 2011 8:59AM
@goonerinoman we'd really appreciate your updates. Are you from Bahrain or living/working there?
@orlandobeetle great links - thanks again.
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whizgiggle 16 February 2011 9:06AM
How long before Hilary Clinton comes out and praises the Libyan demonstrators?
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teaandchocolate 16 February 2011 9:11AM
Matthew Weaver
The Al Arab news site claims that Hosni Mubarak is now holed up in a luxury hotel in the Israeli resort of Eilat.
Apparently there is a big Israeli security presence around the unnamed hotel, and aircraft are hovering above monitoring activity. Indeed, an anonymous hotel employee "revealed" that Mubarak was a guest.
The ousted president has also been reported to be in Sharm el Sheikh, in Germany, in Dubai, in a coma, in a state of severe depression and at death's door.
Someone I know reckons they saw him in our local Marks and Spencer yesterday.
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goonerinoman 16 February 2011 9:15AM
@ LauraOliver I am working here at a University and I took this week off work as is the semester break. Lots of my students are already there.
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kookoobean 16 February 2011 9:21AM
The truth is always a good place to start a report. Maybe the newspapers should find a few sunni people who could tell you that truth. The King and his monarchy have done so much for these people and still they want more. They are never satisfied! They talk about not having jobs but you only have to take a look in the banking sector of Bahrain to see that they have a high majority working there, and believe me they get paid a whole lot more than a ministry employee. So why do they want to be employed in the ministry of interior or the Bahrain Defence Force where the pay is peanuts in comparison to their very cushy little numbers in the banks? Its all to do with control. They arent happy having a little, like the rest of us, noo, they want it all. But the people of Bahrain know that if they give up that power to them that this lovely, peace loving country will be no more. It seems inbred in them to hate, to want to feel depressed, to be forever fighting. I tell you that even if we give them what they want today, they will find something new to be angry about tomorrow. Why destroy this lovely land. Its a beautiful place and welcomes everyone to its shores. Why kill that reputation and surround it with terror and hate. Arabs have a tradition whereby they invite you into their homes, to sit and eat at their tables after 5 minutes of knowing you. Not anymore, its all gone, its all lost and we dont want Bahrain to change, we love it the way it is now. God bless the king, may he reign for many years, and carry on doing what he does best and thats protecting his people. Thank you
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Nighthood 16 February 2011 9:30AM
@kookoobean
You're not going to dissuade people by posting on a comments thread populated mainly by westerners. The live-blog is reporting what is happening, not asking for opinion pieces, and even then, it appears the sunni group in Bahrain is actually very much the minority.
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goonerinoman 16 February 2011 9:33AM
the Mahooz cemetary is not a million miles from the American Naval base. Anyway going out to see what I can lots of roads blocked but i will try my best
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prometheancaliban 16 February 2011 9:40AM
@ orlandobeetle,
Thanks for those links, esp. the one re. army's economic holdings. This obviously throws the strikes into a whole different perspective: the army's not just the government, it's the boss...
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LauraOliver 16 February 2011 9:45AM
@goonerinoman Thanks again - do post when you can, or if you're tweeting or sharing updates elsewhere let us know.
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happytolive 16 February 2011 9:55AM
Lets face it; the popular opposition is as infected as what they are opposed to.
Opposition in the ME is growing because of weaknesses in their dictatorial governments on one hand and the increasing awareness and confidence of the people on the other. The weaknesses of the peoples independent organisations and their political parties however make any popular uprising fail in the short term. Take the Egyptian revolution for example. The revolution forced the symbol of dictatorship to fall. Capitalism and its political advocates inside and outside the country are taking measures to contain and direct the results to their benefit. What they rely on and what their power is based upon are exactly the facts on the ground created by the old dictator: lack of an organised force based on a progressive agenda. This cannot be created overnight; it takes years of continuous hard work, promoting a progressive agenda within the people.
The real fight for such an agenda has just started with strikes and demonstrations for grievances; all a sign of that long journey. The military government is trying to put the derailed political system back on track. And the political figures and organisations, some correctly and some with an obvious illusion are trying to get involved and force the government to take them onboard. Regardless of what the result of this would be, something is absolutely clear; a progressive force will not have any role in any government to come in any foreseeable future. On the contrary their advocates will be the first victims of the revolution. People who oppose the same thing do not necessarily share the same aims and alternatives for the future.
Another example is the opposition in Iran. The West is trying all they can to stir up and strengthen an uprising in the country. It is very obvious that with every demonstration all their media work overtime tenfold to report what is happening in the country. And that is not enough - Clinton and Obama are explicitly declaring their support for toppling the current regime. But their actions do not end here; most importantly they are preparing their alternatives after the regime. The just grievances people have will be the first thing that is forgotten. The current opposition leaders, at least those who the Western media talk about, have their root either in the current government or the Shah with no progressive agenda whatsoever.
This mirrors also the fact in other regions including the western countries. The UK and the US are typical examples. In the UK oppressive governments one after another have been either in power or in opposition maintaining the existence and power of a very strict circle of elite beneficiaries. They do not tolerate any serious opposition against them following a similar model of oppression as in the ME.
All in all it is the progressive agenda which is their enemy number one, not the opposition in parliament who is trying to show that they are more competent in suppressing that agenda or opposition in the street who have succeeded in taming the wild masses under their leadership.
A progressive agenda requires hard work within the people, creating their true democratic and independent organisations. People can understand each other and get united if the discussion is concentrated on what the alternative is instead of what they are opposed to; something which has been postponed because of the oppressive measures taken by the political representatives of capitalism, or the illusion which exists in the true opposition that they can soon get a share in power without even the platform in place, forgetting their main role as organiser and advocator for true change.
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orlandobeetle 16 February 2011 10:01AM
Damn! I forgot a plug for the Egyworkers Daily. Comprehensive roundup of news and comment plus some great songs, (cough, cough). It usually goes online mid-evening.
The # EgyWorkers Daily
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usini 16 February 2011 10:12AM
We are reading reports about some very brave people who are taking on the security forces at the risk of their live and freedom.
I nothing else, these people have changed the perception of Arabs in the western world. That at least will never be the same again.
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SandyBh 16 February 2011 10:19AM
@ kookoobean
all the people are asking for is freedom of speech and a new constitution that is a social contract between people and their government and they want a government that is representative of the whole population of Bahrain.
Isn't it strange that Shiis are underrepresnted in the government and in most ministries despite being the majority of the population here?
If you want the untarnished truth, go out to the streets of the villages in Bahrain to see the abject poverty of Bahrainis. There are some houses with twenty people living in them because most people, when they get married in bahrain, cannot afford to buy a house or rent a flat so they are forced to live at their parents' with their wives and kids. It's not strange at all to find some people living with their families of four or five in two small rooms. Those people have to wait fifteen to twenty years to get a house by which time they are too old to enjoy a life of independence.
It is only fair that people go out into the streets and ask for fairness. It is so unjust for us to live homeless when new housess are given to newly-Bahrinized people who are imported from other countries to work in the ministry of defense.
We are not asking for the rights of only one sect in Bahrain, we are asking for the rights of all the people living here. we are all brothers and sisters in Bahrain and we all belong to our BELOVED BAHRAIN.
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checanary 16 February 2011 10:21AM
Gooner, I may be being a bit paranoid but I wouldn't give too much personal information out. Take care.
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blueblossom 16 February 2011 10:22AM
Hello everyone,
I haven't been following the recent set of Live Blogs as closely as I was following the protests in Egypt up to Mubarak's departure. And whilst I'm relatively up to speed with Iran and Jordan, I know next to nothing about the politics of Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria and Morocco (except for the obvious stuff like general nature of the regimes, names of leaders, etc) - so I don't have a clear idea of how significant these protests are, how out of the ordinary they are, what their potential is. Can anyone paint a simple picture for me? Is this Big News? and is there a real contagion effect here? - or does it just look big because of the spotlight that Egypt has brought to the region?
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Kritik 16 February 2011 10:26AM
Since this is the protest page, I'd like to ask why the Guardian isn't covering the protests in Gabon which have been happening since late January? Of course this started as a North Africa blog, but Sidibouzid's infectious spirit of protest has spread on the African Continent as well as to the Middle East. Surely somebody needs to write a story about this. Not on the MENA blog but as a separate news story. It needs to be done because the less a story is publicized the greater the chance the government (with French support) has of using all its might to crush protests, slaughtering innocents without it being known. With the Bongos (father & son) legacy, I put nothing past them.
<a href=http://globalvoicesonline.org/specialcoverage/gabon-unrest-2011/>Global Voices have been covering this story, I think other bigger media organisations in the English-speaking world need to do the same.
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upnorth 16 February 2011 10:32AM
This could get interesting as certain types on the left get tied up in knots wondering which side to support. The Iranian regime is widely praised by certain sections due to it's anti Western and anti Israel stance. Ditto Lybia who's leader has always had a place in the heart of those who don't actually have to live under the regime, sort of an Arab Castro to some.
If these regimes are replaced by democratic governments who are less likely to declare war on the west and all it stands for, plus a healthy dose of capitalism , after all the Arabs were international traders and business tycoons whilst we were sitting around rubbing dung in our hair, can we look forward to hysterical denouncements of the modernisers as tools of the West or middle class sell outs? Will we see learned articles demanding that they do as the Western left wishes? will it be like the sense of betrayal felt by the left after the Berlin wall came down? Interesting times indeed.
As one who travels often in the Middle East I wish them all the best and I sincerely hope that they do not go down the extreme religious road. I also hope that they tell the Western metro agitators where to shove their ideas.
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agreewith 16 February 2011 10:35AM
Having left residency in Libya many years ago, there is little which fills me with as much anticipated pleasure as the thought of the Colonel and his ilk being removed from power.
حظا سعيدا
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Redsockspaxman 16 February 2011 10:44AM
The 'respected' analysis of Juan Cole is very mis-informed, like so much of what gets written about Bahrain.
For starters, almost all Bahraini Shia follow an Ayatollah - be that Ayatollah Bahraini, Lebanese, Iraqi, Iranian or other by birth. They do this spiritually first (for guidance on daily life, when religious festivals start, what is haram and halal etc) and them MAYBE in terms of political sensibilities second. It also depends on the Shia, whether they are Baharna (originally from Bahrain/Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia) or Ajam - originally from Iran.
Bahrainis as a people are fiercely independent and proud of their nation and don't underestimate the efforts being made from all sides to resolve what are very difficult social problems, not just today but over many recent years.
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LauraOliver 16 February 2011 10:46AM
@Kritik thanks for that link and for your comment. You're right that this live blog wouldn't be the right place for coverage of Gabon, but I'll be sure to let our teams here know of the reports you've highlighted.
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johnandanne 16 February 2011 10:52AM
krustytheKlown
I've read some of your recent contributions about the Middle East. You are very knowledgable and perceptive (sounds like a school report - it's not) and I agree wholeheartedly with almost all your sentiments and analysis.
And yet again you are right when you say "There is nothing more dangerous than when a corrupt regime tries to reform itself" But there is no reason at all why people anywhere in the World shouldn't make reasonable demands in support of their basic rights, irrespective of the possible reactions and consequences they might encounter as a consequence. If you don't do that - life ain't worth living?
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LauraOliver 16 February 2011 10:53AM
@agreewith I'm not sure how long ago you were living in Libya, but it would be interesting to hear more of your views as a former resident on the protests there.
There was some doubt amongst commenters and commentators earlier in the week that any protests in Libya would bring about much change and concerns that any would be quickly quashed by Gaddafi. But today we hear reports of clashes in the country.
In your opinion what would need to happen in Libya for protests/demonstrations to have an impact on the existing regime?
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Numa 16 February 2011 10:56AM
Rumours here in Bahrain are that the King is to go to address protesters at the Pearl Roundabout. More demonstrations planned for 14.00 local time.
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alexweir1949 16 February 2011 11:02AM
Fraud Proof Voting Systems would obviate all these problems - dictators would topple like dominos. Why does the West not want this to happen? Hypocrisy is too small a word to describe what our leaders are up to. Time for us to call our leaders to account - as Tunisia and Egypt have done.
Alex Weir, London and Harare
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Numa 16 February 2011 11:09AM
Yes Redsockspaxman - you are quite correct about the Bahrainis and the Shia. You only have to drive through some of the villages in the Northern Governate to see a very different Bahrain from that reflected by award winning skyscrapers and the Grand Prix.
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LauraOliver 16 February 2011 11:09AM
@blueblossomI haven't been following the recent set of Live Blogs as closely as I was following the protests in Egypt up to Mubarak's departure. And whilst I'm relatively up to speed with Iran and Jordan, I know next to nothing about the politics of Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria and Morocco (except for the obvious stuff like general nature of the regimes, names of leaders, etc) - so I don't have a clear idea of how significant these protests are, how out of the ordinary they are, what their potential is. Can anyone paint a simple picture for me? Is this Big News? and is there a real contagion effect here? - or does it just look big because of the spotlight that Egypt has brought to the region?
Thought you might be interested in a few of the analysis pieces that we've published since the protests have spread from Egypt:
A good starting point is this piece from Ian Black.
And from Comment is Free El Hasan bin Talal 'Don't fear the Middle East's new wave'.
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Kritik 16 February 2011 11:11AM
LauraOliver
Thank you for replying and for passing this important story on to your colleagues.
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LauraOliver 16 February 2011 11:11AM
@Numa - thanks for your commments. Where are you hearing these reports from about the King addressing protestors? Do you know if this is via a particular TV channel or in person?
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Nighthood 16 February 2011 11:18AM
Are the pro-government protesters mostly plants as they were in Egypt? I get that impression, but can't be sure.
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nickmavros 16 February 2011 11:25AM
Time for Qaddafi, one of the evilest tyrant, to be toppled! Good luck Libyans!
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orlandobeetle 16 February 2011 11:25AM
Egypt; It looks as though Mahalla is really moving; @3arabawy reporting that 20000 now on strike at Ghazl el-Mahalla. This is the biggest textile plant & a centre of revolt since 2006. Some of his photos of the strikers have just been posted:
Ghazl el-Mahalla Textile Workers Strike
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nickmavros 16 February 2011 11:28AM
President Ahmadinejad says protests are doomed - democracy is never doomed! One day, you will be doomed Ahmadinejad - let's hope it's in the very near future! Good luck Iranians.
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blueblossom 16 February 2011 11:29AM
Thanks for the links, Laura. I definitely need to read up!
Quick question to anyone who knows: are there any Sunnis involved in the Bahrain protests? And more generally, is there much Sunni discontent with the regime?
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Temascos 16 February 2011 11:34AM
It's amazing that people are losing their fear over the regimes that have ruled them for so long. I hope, like many others do, that it works out for them and that democratic societies emerge with representation of multiple groups, both ethnic and political. Of course it could go horribly wrong for generations but its better to have overthrows through (Largely) peaceful protests rather than through violance.
That's my opinion anyway. Will be keeping up to date on these protests!
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agreewith 16 February 2011 11:39AM
My time in Libya is a distant memory, although I am still in touch with a few people from there who came over at the time of the coup. As a generalisation, something which I tend to avoid, Libyans are wary of revolutions, with good cause, they are wary of Green Book like proclamations too. It is the events in the rest of the Arab world that will have the most profound effect, and perhaps the people of Benghazi, who have a history of dissent. Al-Ahly Benghazi الأهلي بنغازي (Football Club) has been banned before now.
Libya is very different from Egypt, a poor net and comms system, poor population. Morozov's theories as put forward in 'The Net Delusion', will be interesting to review when the revolutionary momentum of Egypt and Libya are compared.
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relish 16 February 2011 11:39AM
Here's a podcast called "The Arab Revolutions of 2011 from a Historical Perspective" ... Algerian specialist Martin Evans and Eugene Rogan, Middle Eastern expert, talk about how Tunisia and Egypt both have historical legacies to live up to, in leading Arab reform. It's free (from the History Today magazine website):
The Arab Revolutions of 2011 | History Today
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