February 8, 2011 :: staff :: Comments Off
This video shows the second segment of series of YouTube posts showing Egyptian democracy activist Wael Ghonim’s emotional interview with DreamTV, just hours after his release from 12 days of secret detention. Ghonim was abducted from a Cairo street in broad daylight on the 28th of January; on Sunday, Amnesty International published information it had received that Ghonim was still in custody of the secret police, was being set up for prosecution on false charges and was likely to face torture.
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February 8, 2011 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The people of Egypt today mark 14 days of nonviolent uprising against a brutal military regime that has ruled with near total power for 30 years. The peaceful protests are an astonishing coalition of educated and working-class, Muslim and Christian, secularist and religiously driven, old and young, male and female, and yet they are in fact a peaceful citizen-driven revolution against tyranny. The Mubarak regime has waged a brutal assault on peaceful demonstrators, human rights monitors and international press, and now there is concern the international attention may turn away.
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February 7, 2011 :: staff :: Comments Off
A video from Alexandria reportedly shows Mubarak’s police force shoot an unarmed pro-democracy demonstrator in cold blood. The man was walking in a street, and there were reportedly other demonstrators behind him, encouraging him to walk toward the armed police. The video clearly shows the man shot by the police, without any violent provocation whatsoever.
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February 7, 2011 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
After intense pressure from Amnesty International, foreign governments, private business and the press, Egypt’s new vice president Omar Suleiman pledged yesterday that Wael Ghonim, a Google executive who is reputed to have launched a Facebook page denouncing police brutality and political persecution, would be freed. He was abducted by regime police near the beginning of the pro-democracy demonstrations, on 28 January, and was not heard from publicly till today.
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February 7, 2011 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
It has recently become fashionable to say the US is not expressing a consistent policy on Egypt, that the policy has been changing every day or is noncommittal. This is patently untrue and distorts the very consistent message of support for the pro-democracy movement coming from the White House. Pres. Obama and his administration have consistently supported the just cause of the demonstrators, while urging the Egyptian government to take substantive reforms without delay.
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February 6, 2011 :: staff :: Comments Off
Even as the government has begun to agree to concessions and to begin a process of democratization, there are concerns an employee of Google, reportedly abducted by the regime at the beginning of the pro-democracy protests, faces “serious risk of torture”. There is video showing the moment of his abduction by plainclothes security officers working for the Mubarak regime.
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February 6, 2011 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
On Tuesday, more than one million Egyptians turned out for mass demonstrations in cities across the country. On Friday, crowds massing in central Cairo and Alexandria were reported to be even larger than the Tuesday crowds, despite brutal and bloody assaults by pro-Mubarak militia on Wednesday and Thursday. It is now day 13 of the Egyptian transition to demonstrations, and opposition leaders are reportedly negotiating with the government to shape an orderly and peaceful process of transition.
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February 5, 2011 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
The news from Egypt this Saturday suggests pro-democracy demonstrators have begun negotiations with the authorities on ways to ease Hosni Mubarak out of power. Under pressure from foreign governments and diplomats across the region, as well as the UN, EU and US, Egyptian government officials and the military have reportedly begun planning for a process [...]
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February 5, 2011 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
The Guardian’s Jack Shenker has sent forward a list of human rights activists and pro-democracy leaders taken into custody by the Mubarak regime during the last week. The list, which is not considered to be complete, as it is difficult to get information on who has been arrested, and under what circumstances, includes the affiliation [...]
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February 4, 2011 :: staff :: Comments Off
Friday, for the planned “day of departure”, hundreds of thousands of non-violent pro-democracy demonstrators again massed at Midan Tahrir —Cairo’s Liberation Square—, despite two days of brutal pro-Mubarak militia attacks on demonstrators and journalists. The military today began to play a more active role in securing the square against armed gangs and pro-government cadres. They [...]
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February 4, 2011 :: staff :: Comments Off
Al Jazeera says the campaign of persecution has escalated dramatically, as a “gang of thugs” broke into their offices, destroyed equipment and set fires, threatening the staff and carrying out what appeared to be a concerted effort by government forces to shut down international media reporting on the protests in Tahrir Square. According to the [...]
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February 4, 2011 :: staff :: Comments Off
Video from the Guardian newspaper shows massive crowds, described by some as the single largest public pro-democracy protest in the history of the Arab world, at Tahrir Square in central Cairo. Demonstrators urge embattled Pres. Hosni Mubarak to “please, leave now”; one says “Everything is destroyed. What more do you want? Just leave,” while another says “Please, Mr. Mubarak, if you love this country, leave this country.
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February 4, 2011 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
Over the last two days, Hosni Mubarak has made Cairo the most dangerous place in the world for journalists. After Mubarak’s new prime minister issued an “apology” for the lethal violence waged by pro-Mubarak gangs on Wednesday and into Thursday’s pre-dawn hours, the government appeared to be engaged in an even more intense campaign of violent assaults on unarmed pro-democracy demonstrators and journalists.
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February 4, 2011 :: staff :: Comments Off
The “Day of Departure” rally has swelled the ranks of pro-democracy demonstrators occupying Tahrir Square. Reuters reports the prime minister has instructed the army to “assist” journalists and protect them from the armed pro-Mubarak gangs roaming the city. The Guardian’s Peter Beaumont gave an interview describing a harrowing experience of being detained multiple times by armed men, some wielding machetes, being forced “to kneel in front of a wall”, being detained for 2 hours by the army, which he described as “polite and disciplined”.
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February 3, 2011 :: staff :: 2 Comments
Ahmed Shafiq, the new prime minister installed over the weekend by embattled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, has made public apology for the violence that occurred yesterday in Cairo’s Midan Tahrir, or Liberation Square. Shafiq addressed the nation, saying “As officials and a state which must protect its sons, I thought it was necessary for me to apologize and to say that this matter will not be repeated”. He called the bloodshed “a disaster”.
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February 3, 2011 :: staff :: Comments Off
Pro-democracy demonstrator tells Al Jazeera about the senseless chaos at Tahrir Square. She explained that they cannot leave the square, because if they abandon the cause, they will be “hunted one by one”. She described watching a fellow demonstrator “shot right through the head”, and urged the military, which is on the scene but not intervening. She urged the military to stand with the people and for Egypt and the world to come together and persuade Mubarak to resign.
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February 2, 2011 :: J.E. Robertson :: 4 Comments
The suspicion now seems to have been demonstrated to be fact: news media across the world have shown images from Cairo of police ID cards recovered from rioting pro-Mubarak forces allegedly paid to assault journalists and pro-democracy demonstrators. The Mubarak regime has seized control of state media, is lying the Egyptian people, and is paying “goon squads” to brutally assault journalists and unarmed pro-democracy demonstrators.
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February 2, 2011 :: staff :: Comments Off
Al Jazeera reports sounds of gunfire heard echoing across Tahrir Square, as “pro-Mubarak activists seize control of three military armored vehicles, escalating what appears to be a Mubarak-led crackdown on the pro-democracy movement. The assault on military personal may provoke a military response against the pro-Mubarak faction.
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February 2, 2011 :: staff :: Comments Off
King Abdullah II of Jordan responded yesterday to mass pro-democracy demonstrations in his nation’s capital Amman by dismissing the unpopular government, as protesters had urged. The move is considered a “pre-emptive” maneuver designed to show the King aligned with the democratic rights and interests of the Jordanian people. In Yemen, today, the president, in power for 32 years, announced he would not seek another term in office.
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February 2, 2011 :: staff :: Comments Off
Less than 12 hours after Pres. Hosni Mubarak gave a defiant address on national television, and announced he would not seek another term as president but would remain in office until elections later this year, a group of “pro-Mubarak demonstrators” have reportedly clashed with pro-democracy demonstrators in Tahrir Square. Some are now calling the protest movement a “war of stamina”.
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February 2, 2011 :: staff :: One Comment
Reporting from Tahrir Square in central Cairo, this reporter for Al Jazeera’s English service finds protesters are camped in the square and say they will not leave until more substantive change is made. Pres. Mubarak’s declarations last night are considered insufficient, and they say “nothing has come of this regime of 30 years”, that Mubarak [...]
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February 1, 2011 :: staff :: Comments Off
United States president Barack Obama addressed the nation and the world on live television this evening, explaining that first of all the United States supports non-violence. He commended the Egyptian military for showing restraint and coexisting peacefully with demonstrators. He added that second, the United States believes in universal rights.
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February 1, 2011 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
Marking one full week of mass demonstrations, on the 8th day of the pro-democracy popular uprising, the Egyptian people staged the largest demonstration to date. Estimates for the size of the crowd at Midan Tahrir —or Liberation Square— range from 500,000 to 2 million. Some say more may have come to central Cairo but were unable to enter the square. The military pledged not to attack or interfere with demonstrators and the rally was peaceful. Security, both military and civilian, checked people entering the square to ensure there would not be violence.
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January 31, 2011 :: J.E. Robertson :: 3 Comments
A new body, called the People’s Parliament, is planning a process of peaceful and orderly transition to an electoral democracy in Egypt. The People’s Parliament has 100 delegates, representing every major opposition party, including the Muslim Brotherhood (which holds 16 seats), and is reported to also have caucuses representing youth, academia, labor unions and professionals. The People’s Parliament has grown out of the National Assembly for Change, a coalition of opposition groups that has been organizing since 2009, to bring about this transition.
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January 31, 2011 :: Eva Scherson :: 6 Comments
Bashar al-Assad, who inherited the hardline regime that has ruled Syria for nearly four decades, and whose government imposed strict Internet controls after the beginning of the uprising in Egypt, has announced he will move to implement political reforms in his country. It is not clear how those reforms would affect his government’s control on power, or whether his office would be up for a national election, but the announcement is the latest sign of how pervasive an effect the Egyptian protest movement is having across the region.
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January 31, 2011 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Thousands of Egyptian protesters are holding Tahrir Square, which has repeatedly been closed by security forces. Reports from Cairo suggest embattled Pres. Hosni Mubarak is moving to reassert control over major sections of the capital, but has yet to order an offensive against protesters in the main square. Mubarak told the nation he has asked his new prime minister to engage in dialogue with the opposition to promote democratic reform in Egypt.
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January 30, 2011 :: staff :: 4 Comments
A pro-democracy student movement has staged pro-democracy demonstrations in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, and at two universities. According to VoA: “Hundreds of students took part in the protests, shouting slogans that criticized high prices, the government, and President Omar al-Bashir.” Security forces clashed with demonstrators, and reports suggest stones were thrown and police attacked demonstrators with batons.
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January 30, 2011 :: J.E. Robertson :: 5 Comments
NBC journalist Richard Engel told the weekly program Meet the Press today that Egypt is experiencing a “basic collapse of law and order” and that looting overnight, prison breaks and street violence are being blamed on Pres. Hosni Mubarak, whom many say is using the unrest to make freedom appear undesirable. There are rumors that prison breaks have been “allowed” in order to frighten the people and that police have been withdrawn in order to justify their return with extreme brutality.
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January 29, 2011 :: staff :: 7 Comments
This video from Daily News Egypt shows a street leading to Tahrir Square, where early Saturday morning, demonstrators were confronted by armed police. The police fired shots into the air, apparently a warning to go no further. Three armored military personnel carriers are seen moving into position between the protesters and the police, apparently in an effort to prevent injury to demonstrators and/or to prevent an attack by police.
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January 29, 2011 :: J.E. Robertson :: 5 Comments
Day 5 of the Egyptian pro-democracy uprising against the 30-year rule of Pres. Hosni Mubarak saw massive crowds of tens of thousands marching through Cairo, Alexandria and other cities across the country. While many images show demonstrators standing with or even riding joyously with military personnel on security vehicles, there were clashes near the Interior Ministry, where government snipers killed at least 12 demonstrators.
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January 29, 2011 :: staff :: 8 Comments
Thousands of protesters, demanding democratic reforms in Jordan, have taken to the streets. The wave of public outcry, across the Arabic-speaking world, that started with one protest in a small Tunisian city, has roiled the political landscape of Egypt, sparked an organized movement for democratic change in Yemen, and inspired protesters in Jordan to demand [...]
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January 29, 2011 :: J.E. Robertson :: 5 Comments
Two days ago, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was similarly artful in her response to the protests: she called on “both sides” to refrain from violence and urged the administration of Hosni Mubarak to honor the “universal rights” of the people of Egypt, including the rights to assembly, association and expression. Mubarak has not been seen or heard from publicly since the crisis began, and observers speculate he may be considering concessions that would allow him to remain in power, at least temporarily.
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January 28, 2011 :: J.E. Robertson :: 7 Comments
Pro-democracy protests are spreading across the Arabic-speaking world. After popular middle-class protests ended the authoritarian reign of Pres. Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, Egypt has been gripped by mass street demonstrations, in Cairo, in Alexandria, in Suez. Hosni Mubarak’s regime has responded with brutal attacks in demonstrators and an expanding ban on Internet usage and other forms of communication. Now, a pink revolution has flooded the streets of Sana’a, the capital of Yemen.
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January 26, 2011 :: Evelyn Winston Perez :: 8 Comments
Yesterday, in defiance of a total ban on public gatherings, tens of thousands of Egyptians marched in Cairo, decrying the authoritarian methods of the regime of long-time president Hosni Mubarak. Organizers said they planned to repeat and expand the protests today, but thousands of military and riot police are reported to be lining the streets of Cairo, and the government has shut down all access to Twitter inside Egypt, in an effort to prevent social media organizing.
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October 25, 2010 :: staff :: Comments Off
Daniel Ellsberg —who worked for the State Department, the Pentagon and the RAND Corporation and who leaked secret documents (the ‘Pentagon Papers’) spanning the history of the Vietnam war and bringing to light the truth about behind-the-scenes planning that went on at the highest levels of the government— speaks to DemocracyNow! about the WikiLeaks release of over 391,000 secret documents relating to the prosecution of the Iraq war from 2004 through 2009.
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September 1, 2010 :: staff :: Comments Off
Pres. Barack Obama appeared today at the White House, alongside Pres. Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, King Abdullah II of Jordan, PM Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Pres. Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian National Authority, to relaunch intensive peace negotiations between the government of Israel and the leadership of the Palestinian people. The event was a major breakthrough, considering the tensions that had earlier arisen between the US and Israeli administrations and the ongoing hostilities in the region.
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September 1, 2010 :: staff :: Comments Off
The following is a transcript of remarks by President Obama, President Mubarak, His Majesty King Abdullah, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas before a working dinner on Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations White House, East Room, 1 September 2010 7:05 P.M. EDT PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good evening, everyone. Tomorrow, after nearly two years, Israelis and Palestinians will resume [...]
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June 4, 2010 :: J.E. Robertson :: 2 Comments
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev has said Israel will attempt to intercept the MV Rachel Corrie, a ship carrying humanitarian cargo and aid workers into the Gaza Strip. Tensions with Turkey are reaching fever pitch, as Turkey’s prime minister vows the killing of Turkish nationals by the IDF will never be forgotten, and there is now heated political discussion in Turkey about whether to send warships to escort the next flotilla of aid-bearing ships that sail for Gaza.
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June 2, 2010 :: Eva Scherson :: One Comment
The humanitarian aid vessel known as the Rachel Corrie —named for the American activist killed when she refused to move from an attempt to block the Israeli military (IDF) from a bulldozing operation— is now en route to Gaza, and will likely face the Israeli military blockade, which seeks to maintain an absolute embargo on any cargo and any persons entering Gaza except by way of the IDF. Israel has said it will not “seek confrontation”, but it will “defend Israeli citizens threatened by this terror from the sea”.
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May 31, 2010 :: Eva Scherson :: Comments Off
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long been known as “hawkish” on security. He has long been a staunch defender of Israel’s right to use force to defend its interests, even preemptively. He defended and justified the two aggressive, and ultimately counterproductive, aggressive campaigns waged by his predecessor, Ehud Olmert, first against Lebanon, then against Gaza. Now, after a commando raid killed 9 unarmed aid workers, there are questions about whether Netanyahu’s radicalism may be eroding, not promoting, Israel’s security.
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March 19, 2010 :: staff :: Comments Off
A prominent muslim scholar and cleric has issued a 600-page fatwa, or religious edict, drawing from authoritative historical sources and scripture, to rule that true Islam bars any form of bloodshed. Dr. Tahir ul-Qadri, a muslim theologian from Pakistan, who lives and teaches in Britain, said an honest examination of the teachings and doctrines of Islam demonstrates an absolute prohibition on the shedding of blood for political or religious purposes.
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January 9, 2010 :: Denver Lessing :: Comments Off
Former Vice President Dick Cheney has been a relentless defender of the most aggressive tacts used during the Bush era to combat terrorism. The word aggressive applies to the attitude, of course, not the thoroughgoing nature or effectiveness of those policies. He is now attacking Pres. Obama for his response to the alleged terror plot that involved a Christmas Day bombing over Detroit, which was foiled. Yet Senator Richard Lugar, the ranking Republican on the Senate foreign relations committee, has called Cheney’s criticism unfair, and says Obama’s response has been “strong” and “decisive”.
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December 28, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Iran’s supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamene’i, has reportedly been transported by military helicopter to a secure location, on a military base outside Tehran. Reports emerging from Iran suggest the security forces’ brutal crackdown on unarmed civilians during the festival of Ashura has sparked active resistance. There are now reports of ongoing clashes across the capital.
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December 27, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Iranian police have fired on crowds of unarmed civilians demonstrating in Tehran on the feast day of Ashura, the commemoration of the most sacred martyr of the Shi’a strain of Islam. At least four people are reportedly confirmed killed, including one nephew of the leading opposition politician, Mir Hossein Mousavi, whose supporters —along with numerous international observers— believe he won the disputed presidential elections in June of this year.
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December 24, 2009 :: Evelyn Winston Perez :: Comments Off
The Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri died this past weekend, opening a period of seven days of mourning for one of the nation’s most influential clerics. The seventh day of mourning happens to coincide with the Shi’a holy day of atonement, Ashura. Ashura marks the killing of Hossein, grandson of the prophet Mohammed, by the Caliph Yazid, in the year 680. Yazid is often portrayed as a tyrannical ruler in Shi’a tradition, and the festival lends itself to an expression of the very anti-dictatorship language used by the reformist opposition.
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November 28, 2009 :: Eva Scherson :: Comments Off
Dubai is the jewel of the Arabian peninsula, the region’s financial capital and a city of global importance. Exorbitant wealth has become something like a national sport there, and major institutions there took the position that they could outlast the global financial panic without substantial government intervention.
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November 11, 2009 :: Anjika Sridhar :: Comments Off
Lebanon has formed a new government of “national accord”, which will include majority leader and prime minister designate Saad Hariri and also representatives of Hezbollah, the militia group seen as a terrorist threat by Israel, and which was the target of an Israeli bombing campaign in 2006. The UN Security Council congratulated Lebanon on moving forward with national unity and wished the new government well.
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November 11, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
This report alleges widespread routine abuse of foreign-born domestic workers in Lebanon. Domestic workers are excluded from Lebanese labor regulations and does not monitor treatment in the home. It is reportedly common for employers of foreign domestic workers to illegally seize their passports upon arrival and forbid them to leave the home.
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October 16, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
There are rumors circulating that Iran’s supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamene’i, is dead, or in a coma. The rumors are unconfirmed, which also means not proven false, and this has spurred still further speculation that the rumors might be true and Iran’s government struggling to determine how to see a smooth transition to a successor’s reign. The most prominent cleric after Khamene’i is a staunch opponent of the government of Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.
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October 15, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
School taxes are soaring, but schools are losing funding. States are going bankrupt and teachers are being threatened with mass layoffs. Property taxes are high, but property values are falling, and banks won’t refinance and won’t make new loans. The federal government is working to foster economic recovery through targeted investment, lending and community-building projects. But states are dealing with the budget crisis by hiking property taxes and shifting more responsibility to municipalities.
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