مجند شريف من الحرس الجمهوري السوري
Saturday, April 30, 2011
الخوف السعودي من الثورات العربية
تبدو السياسة السعودية كأنها داخلة في حرب ضروس ضد زحف الثورات الشعبية العربية. والسبب مفهوم. فالحكم السعودي يخشى اقتراب النار من بيته، ومن حرق حكم العائلة، في بلد يمتاز عن كلّ دول العالم بأنّ اسمه مشتقّ من اسم عائلة تحكمه، وكأنّ كلّ السكان لا شيء يميّزهم، لا من جغرافيا ولا من تاريخ، إلا أن يكونوا رعايا ومن بقية أملاك العائلة التي تفرض عليهم اسمها، وتحتكر السلطة لأمرائها، وتأخذ نصف الثروة فوق البيعة.
فزع العائلة السعودية من الثورات غريزيّ وتاريخي معاً، وكلّنا يتذكر ما جرى في الخمسينيات والستينيات من القرن العشرين. فقد توالت وقتها موجات وانقلابات حركات الضباط الأحرار، وتحول بعضها إلى ثورات سياسية واجتماعية فوارة، وظهرت حركة القومية العربية مؤثرة على مسرح الحوادث، وبدا أن الحياة العربية تتغير على نحو عاصف كاسح، وأن المنطقة تخرج من معادلات القرون الوسطى الكسيحة، وتهدد الممالك التي وجدت سندها وحاميها في عواصم الاستعمار. وكانت الثورة المصرية في القلب مما يجري، وبدت أقواس حركتها للشام واليمن، ولحركات تحرير على حواف الخليج العربي. بدت أقواس حركة الثورة المصرية كأنها تحاصر مملكة العصور الوسطى في الرياض
فزع العائلة السعودية من الثورات غريزيّ وتاريخي معاً، وكلّنا يتذكر ما جرى في الخمسينيات والستينيات من القرن العشرين. فقد توالت وقتها موجات وانقلابات حركات الضباط الأحرار، وتحول بعضها إلى ثورات سياسية واجتماعية فوارة، وظهرت حركة القومية العربية مؤثرة على مسرح الحوادث، وبدا أن الحياة العربية تتغير على نحو عاصف كاسح، وأن المنطقة تخرج من معادلات القرون الوسطى الكسيحة، وتهدد الممالك التي وجدت سندها وحاميها في عواصم الاستعمار. وكانت الثورة المصرية في القلب مما يجري، وبدت أقواس حركتها للشام واليمن، ولحركات تحرير على حواف الخليج العربي. بدت أقواس حركة الثورة المصرية كأنها تحاصر مملكة العصور الوسطى في الرياض
Al-Jazeera Video: The Arab awakening - Seeds of revolution
A VERY GOOD PROGRAM
"A film following the activists who led Egypt's revolution, as they attempt to capitalise on their unexpected success."
"A film following the activists who led Egypt's revolution, as they attempt to capitalise on their unexpected success."
Brave Syrian in Daraa challenging regime thugs
He keeps yelling "peaceful peaceful" as fascist troops storm the center of the town
Doctors arrested Daraa
My two cousins both are Doctors living Daraa and have been tending and treating the wounded. The security forces arrested them among other medical personnel because of a mandate by the regime to punish civilians collectively and those who help.
A SAMPLE OF UP-TO-DATE VIDEOS FROM INSIDE SYRIA EXPOSING THE BLOODY REGIME'S LIES
شام - كوباني تخرج لنصرة المدن المحاصرة 30-4
شام - كوباني تخرج لنصرة المدن المحاصرة 30-4 ج1
شام - كوباني تخرج لنصرة المدن المحاصرة 30-4 ج2
شام- حمص - الحولة - إطلاق نار قريب و إصابات و شهداء
شام - كوباني تخرج لنصرة المدن المحاصرة 30-4 ج1
شام - كوباني تخرج لنصرة المدن المحاصرة 30-4 ج2
شام- حمص - الحولة - إطلاق نار قريب و إصابات و شهداء
THE ARAB SPRING AND U.S. POLICY: THE VIEW FROM JERUSALEM
Israeli officials want a public commitment from Washington to protect the Saudi regime should it come under threat..
By Ted Koppel
Wall Street Journal
Courtesy of Angry Arab
"...The canary in the coal mine on such matters is Israel. None of America's allies is more sensitive to even the most subtle changes in the international environment, or more conscious of the slightest hint of diminished support from Washington.....
On a recent visit to Jerusalem, I met with a number of very senior current and former government officials who spoke on a not-for-attribution basis. They were anything but restrained in voicing their concerns, and some of the views expressed in this article reflect the outlook of the prime minister himself....
The Israeli government is so concerned that America's adversaries may miscalculate U.S. intentions that it is privately urging Washington to make it clear that the U.S. would intervene in Saudi Arabia should the survival of that government be threatened. That is, after all, what President George H.W. Bush did more than 20 years ago when Saddam Hussein ordered Iraqi forces into Kuwait and moved forces in the direction of Saudi Arabia. "This," President Bush said on more than one occasion, "will not stand." And it didn't.
Given the current wide range of U.S. responses to public upheavals throughout North Africa and the Persian Gulf, the Israelis are convinced that the principle needs to be unambiguously restated, if only as a reminder that Washington knows where its critical national interests lie....."
By Ted Koppel
Wall Street Journal
Courtesy of Angry Arab
"...The canary in the coal mine on such matters is Israel. None of America's allies is more sensitive to even the most subtle changes in the international environment, or more conscious of the slightest hint of diminished support from Washington.....
On a recent visit to Jerusalem, I met with a number of very senior current and former government officials who spoke on a not-for-attribution basis. They were anything but restrained in voicing their concerns, and some of the views expressed in this article reflect the outlook of the prime minister himself....
The Israeli government is so concerned that America's adversaries may miscalculate U.S. intentions that it is privately urging Washington to make it clear that the U.S. would intervene in Saudi Arabia should the survival of that government be threatened. That is, after all, what President George H.W. Bush did more than 20 years ago when Saddam Hussein ordered Iraqi forces into Kuwait and moved forces in the direction of Saudi Arabia. "This," President Bush said on more than one occasion, "will not stand." And it didn't.
Given the current wide range of U.S. responses to public upheavals throughout North Africa and the Persian Gulf, the Israelis are convinced that the principle needs to be unambiguously restated, if only as a reminder that Washington knows where its critical national interests lie....."
Al-Jazeera Video: Syria Update: Reports of renewed gunfire in Deraa
"Malik al-Adeh, a Syrian journalist and member of the Movement for Justice and Development - a political opposition group based in the UK - spoke to Al Jazeera about the continuing unrest in Syria."
UN: Syria Should Heed Call to End Violence
Human Rights Council Should Act on Bahrain and Yemen
Human Rights Watch
April 30, 2011
"(Geneva) - Syria should end its violent repression of peaceful protests following unequivocal condemnation of its actions by the United Nations Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch said today. The council's resolution, adopted by a large majority on April 29, 2011, also calls for an urgent investigation by the UN high commissioner for human rights into killings and other human rights violations in Syria.
"The Human Rights Council's strong action puts President Bashar al-Asad on notice that Syria needs to stop killing and abusing protesters," said Julie de Rivero, Geneva director at Human Rights Watch. "The planned investigation will shine a spotlight on Syria's abuses, and those accountable for them.".....
While the Human Rights Council has addressed violence in Côte d'Ivoire, Libya, and Syria this year, it has not taken up the violent suppression of protests and subsequent arbitrary detentions and mistreatment in custody in Bahrain and Yemen. Several countries, including the United States, Brazil, and Mexico, mentioned Bahrain and Yemen in their statements at the Syria special session, but there is no immediate plan for the council to discuss those situations.
"Those facing heavy-handed government repression and violence in Bahrain and Yemen deserve the same attention from the Human Rights Council that it gave to Syria," de Rivero said. "The fact that those situations grab fewer headlines today is no excuse for inaction."....."
Human Rights Watch
April 30, 2011
"(Geneva) - Syria should end its violent repression of peaceful protests following unequivocal condemnation of its actions by the United Nations Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch said today. The council's resolution, adopted by a large majority on April 29, 2011, also calls for an urgent investigation by the UN high commissioner for human rights into killings and other human rights violations in Syria.
"The Human Rights Council's strong action puts President Bashar al-Asad on notice that Syria needs to stop killing and abusing protesters," said Julie de Rivero, Geneva director at Human Rights Watch. "The planned investigation will shine a spotlight on Syria's abuses, and those accountable for them.".....
While the Human Rights Council has addressed violence in Côte d'Ivoire, Libya, and Syria this year, it has not taken up the violent suppression of protests and subsequent arbitrary detentions and mistreatment in custody in Bahrain and Yemen. Several countries, including the United States, Brazil, and Mexico, mentioned Bahrain and Yemen in their statements at the Syria special session, but there is no immediate plan for the council to discuss those situations.
"Those facing heavy-handed government repression and violence in Bahrain and Yemen deserve the same attention from the Human Rights Council that it gave to Syria," de Rivero said. "The fact that those situations grab fewer headlines today is no excuse for inaction."....."
Egypt marks May Day
By Hossam El-Hamalawy
(Please see related news item, by Amnesty International, posted just below)
انضموا لنا: يوم 1 مايو عيد عمال مصر، بناة مصر
"Tomorrow, we celebrate May Day in Tahrir Square. It’ll be probably the first real celebration of that event since 1951.
The July 1952 coup which brought Nasser to power had inaugurated its rule with the execution of two communist workers in Kafr el-Dawwar textile mill, Khamis and el-Baqri. May Days under Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak were nothing but hallow celebrations, where the president was expected to make a “surprise gift” to the workers, decreeing some bonus or raise, in a closed conference room with the stooges of the state backed Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions (EFTU).....
This year is different.
Some are hoping tomorrow there will be a one million worker protest in Tahrir. I do not think our mobilization at this point will bring out those numbers. I’m hoping for at least “thousands” to show up. But to be honest, the numbers are not the main issue here, despite their importance. Tomorrow is a historical day, where independent trade unionists, after years of fighting, will get the chance in Tahrir to declare their new federation, where left wing groups can state publicly and freely their different views on the current situation and which step to take next, where young Egyptians who were not necessarily connected to the labor movement will get the opportunity to meet labor organizers and campaigners and see how they could help.
And while we celebrate in Tahrir tomorrow, the state-backed EFTU is also throwing a party, “under the sponsorship of the army” somewhere else (either at the Military Production training center or the EFTU main headquarters). The EFTU had initially announced it was canceling its celebrations of May Day this year, following the imprisonment of their boss, Hussein Megawer, pending investigation into his role in the 2 February thugs’ attacks on Tahrir protesters. But then the EFTU changed its mind and announced they were holding the celebrations, sending invitations to Field Marshall Tantawi, our “revolutionary” PM Essam Sharaf–whose “revolutionary” cabinet has already criminalized strikes and prosecuting independent trade unionists [See post below]–and Ahmad el-Borei, the labor minister.
Will Essam Sharaf accept the EFTU invitation, or will he come to Tahrir to celebrate with us? Who brought him to power, Megawer’s thugs or the Tahrir revolutionaries? And why hasn’t the EFTU been dissolved by now? The dissolution of this corrupt institution, whose head is officially a thug, has been one of the central demands of the labor movement for years, not just during the revolution. And even after overthrowing Mubarak, the EFTU continues to play its role in controlling and sabotaging the labor movement, with their agitation against independent unions.
Dr. Sharaf, do NOT honor those thugs with your presence tomorrow. Those thugs should be in jail and this institution should be immediately dissolved.
Long live Egypt’s working class… The revolution continues… See you tomorrow in Tahrir…"
(Please see related news item, by Amnesty International, posted just below)
انضموا لنا: يوم 1 مايو عيد عمال مصر، بناة مصر
"Tomorrow, we celebrate May Day in Tahrir Square. It’ll be probably the first real celebration of that event since 1951.
The July 1952 coup which brought Nasser to power had inaugurated its rule with the execution of two communist workers in Kafr el-Dawwar textile mill, Khamis and el-Baqri. May Days under Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak were nothing but hallow celebrations, where the president was expected to make a “surprise gift” to the workers, decreeing some bonus or raise, in a closed conference room with the stooges of the state backed Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions (EFTU).....
This year is different.
Some are hoping tomorrow there will be a one million worker protest in Tahrir. I do not think our mobilization at this point will bring out those numbers. I’m hoping for at least “thousands” to show up. But to be honest, the numbers are not the main issue here, despite their importance. Tomorrow is a historical day, where independent trade unionists, after years of fighting, will get the chance in Tahrir to declare their new federation, where left wing groups can state publicly and freely their different views on the current situation and which step to take next, where young Egyptians who were not necessarily connected to the labor movement will get the opportunity to meet labor organizers and campaigners and see how they could help.
And while we celebrate in Tahrir tomorrow, the state-backed EFTU is also throwing a party, “under the sponsorship of the army” somewhere else (either at the Military Production training center or the EFTU main headquarters). The EFTU had initially announced it was canceling its celebrations of May Day this year, following the imprisonment of their boss, Hussein Megawer, pending investigation into his role in the 2 February thugs’ attacks on Tahrir protesters. But then the EFTU changed its mind and announced they were holding the celebrations, sending invitations to Field Marshall Tantawi, our “revolutionary” PM Essam Sharaf–whose “revolutionary” cabinet has already criminalized strikes and prosecuting independent trade unionists [See post below]–and Ahmad el-Borei, the labor minister.
Will Essam Sharaf accept the EFTU invitation, or will he come to Tahrir to celebrate with us? Who brought him to power, Megawer’s thugs or the Tahrir revolutionaries? And why hasn’t the EFTU been dissolved by now? The dissolution of this corrupt institution, whose head is officially a thug, has been one of the central demands of the labor movement for years, not just during the revolution. And even after overthrowing Mubarak, the EFTU continues to play its role in controlling and sabotaging the labor movement, with their agitation against independent unions.
Dr. Sharaf, do NOT honor those thugs with your presence tomorrow. Those thugs should be in jail and this institution should be immediately dissolved.
Long live Egypt’s working class… The revolution continues… See you tomorrow in Tahrir…"
Egyptian authorities must allow peaceful protest and the right to strike
Amnesty International
30 April 2011
"The Egyptian authorities must abolish a recent law criminalizing peaceful protests and strikes, Amnesty International said ahead of tomorrow’s planned protests for International Workers’ Day in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
The organization called for workers’ rights to be protected, as protesters gather to demand the lifting of restrictions on forming trade unions, the introduction of an adequate minimum wage and the reinstatement of co-workers dismissed for their trade union activities.
“The authorities must seize this historic moment of reform in Egypt and commit to protecting workers’ rights in the country,” said Amnesty International.
“The protesters’ legitimate demands are not new, but this is a fresh opportunity for the Egyptian authorities to abide by their obligations and act positively on them”.
“A first step would be to scrap the law banning strikes and to allow independent trade unions to operate freely.”
Sunday’s gathering is being planned by trade unions, political parties and women’s groups, human rights organizations as well as the “popular committees for the defence of the revolution”.
Among the triggers of the 25 January uprising in Egypt that led to the fall of former President Mubarak were calls for an end to poverty, and demands for social justice and dignity.
During 2010, thousands of protests, strikes and sit-ins were staged by Egyptian workers in both the public and private sectors, protesting the rising cost of living and demanding better wages and working conditions.
But a new law which entered into force on 12 April this year criminalizes demonstrations and strikes and places protesters at risk of imprisonment and heavy fines.
Law No. 34 of 2011 stipulates a prison sentence and a fine of up to 50,000 Egyptian Pounds (about US$8,400) for anyone who takes part in or encourages others to join a sit-in or any other activity that prevents, delays or disrupts the work of public institutions or public authorities......"
"The Egyptian authorities must abolish a recent law criminalizing peaceful protests and strikes, Amnesty International said ahead of tomorrow’s planned protests for International Workers’ Day in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
The organization called for workers’ rights to be protected, as protesters gather to demand the lifting of restrictions on forming trade unions, the introduction of an adequate minimum wage and the reinstatement of co-workers dismissed for their trade union activities.
“The authorities must seize this historic moment of reform in Egypt and commit to protecting workers’ rights in the country,” said Amnesty International.
“The protesters’ legitimate demands are not new, but this is a fresh opportunity for the Egyptian authorities to abide by their obligations and act positively on them”.
“A first step would be to scrap the law banning strikes and to allow independent trade unions to operate freely.”
Sunday’s gathering is being planned by trade unions, political parties and women’s groups, human rights organizations as well as the “popular committees for the defence of the revolution”.
Among the triggers of the 25 January uprising in Egypt that led to the fall of former President Mubarak were calls for an end to poverty, and demands for social justice and dignity.
During 2010, thousands of protests, strikes and sit-ins were staged by Egyptian workers in both the public and private sectors, protesting the rising cost of living and demanding better wages and working conditions.
But a new law which entered into force on 12 April this year criminalizes demonstrations and strikes and places protesters at risk of imprisonment and heavy fines.
Law No. 34 of 2011 stipulates a prison sentence and a fine of up to 50,000 Egyptian Pounds (about US$8,400) for anyone who takes part in or encourages others to join a sit-in or any other activity that prevents, delays or disrupts the work of public institutions or public authorities......"
Friday, April 29, 2011
Who will reshape the Arab world: its people, or the US?
Phase one of the Arab spring is over. Phase two – the attempt to crush or contain genuine popular movements – has begun
A SUPERB PIECE (posted in full)
Tariq Ali
guardian.co.uk, Friday 29 April 2011
"The patchwork political landscape of the Arab world – the client monarchies, degenerated nationalist dictatorships and the imperial petrol stations known as the Gulf states – was the outcome of an intensive experience of Anglo-French colonialism. This was followed after the second world war by a complex process of imperial transition to the United States. The result was a radical anticolonial Arab nationalism and Zionist expansionism within the wider framework of the cold war.
When the cold war ended Washington took charge of the region, initially through local potentates then through military bases and direct occupation. Democracy never entered the frame, enabling the Israelis to boast that they alone were an oasis of light in the heart of Arab darkness. How has all this been affected by the Arab intifada that began four months ago?
In January, Arab streets resounded to the slogan that united the masses regardless of class or creed: "Al-Sha'b yurid isquat al-nizam!" – "The people want the downfall of the regime!" The images streaming out from Tunis to Cairo, Saana to Bahrain, are of Arab peoples on their feet once again. On 14 January, as chanting crowds converged on the ministry of interior, Tunisia's President Ben Ali and his family fled to Saudi Arabia. On 11 February the national uprising in Egypt toppled the dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak as mass rebellion erupted in Libya and the Yemen.
In occupied Iraq, demonstrators protested against the corruption of the Maliki regime and, more recently, against the presence of US troops and bases. Jordan was shaken by nationwide strikes and tribal rebellion. Protests in Bahrain spiralled into calls for the overthrow of the monarchy, an event that scared the neighbouring Saudi kleptocrats and their western patrons, who can't conceive of an Arabia without sultans. Even as I write, the corrupt and brutal Ba'athist outfit in Syria, under siege by its own people, is struggling for its life.
A SUPERB PIECE (posted in full)
Tariq Ali
guardian.co.uk, Friday 29 April 2011
"The patchwork political landscape of the Arab world – the client monarchies, degenerated nationalist dictatorships and the imperial petrol stations known as the Gulf states – was the outcome of an intensive experience of Anglo-French colonialism. This was followed after the second world war by a complex process of imperial transition to the United States. The result was a radical anticolonial Arab nationalism and Zionist expansionism within the wider framework of the cold war.
When the cold war ended Washington took charge of the region, initially through local potentates then through military bases and direct occupation. Democracy never entered the frame, enabling the Israelis to boast that they alone were an oasis of light in the heart of Arab darkness. How has all this been affected by the Arab intifada that began four months ago?
In January, Arab streets resounded to the slogan that united the masses regardless of class or creed: "Al-Sha'b yurid isquat al-nizam!" – "The people want the downfall of the regime!" The images streaming out from Tunis to Cairo, Saana to Bahrain, are of Arab peoples on their feet once again. On 14 January, as chanting crowds converged on the ministry of interior, Tunisia's President Ben Ali and his family fled to Saudi Arabia. On 11 February the national uprising in Egypt toppled the dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak as mass rebellion erupted in Libya and the Yemen.
In occupied Iraq, demonstrators protested against the corruption of the Maliki regime and, more recently, against the presence of US troops and bases. Jordan was shaken by nationwide strikes and tribal rebellion. Protests in Bahrain spiralled into calls for the overthrow of the monarchy, an event that scared the neighbouring Saudi kleptocrats and their western patrons, who can't conceive of an Arabia without sultans. Even as I write, the corrupt and brutal Ba'athist outfit in Syria, under siege by its own people, is struggling for its life.
The dual determinants of the uprisings were both economic – with mass unemployment, rising prices, scarcity of essential commodities – and political: cronyism, corruption, repression, torture. Egypt and Saudi Arabia were the crucial pillars of US strategy in the region, as confirmed recently by US vice-president Jo Biden, who stated that he was more concerned about Egypt than Libya. The worry here is Israel; the fear that an out-of-control democratic government might renege on the peace treaty. And Washington has, for the time being, succeeded in rerouting the political process into a carefully orchestrated change, led by Mubarak's defence minister and chief of staff, the latter being particularly close to the Americans.
Most of the regime is still in place. Its key messages are the need for stability and a return to work, putting a stop to the strike wave. Fevered behind-the scenes negotiations between Washington and the Muslim Brotherhood are continuing. A slightly amended old constitution remains in force and the South American model of huge social movements producing new political organisations that triumph at the polls and institute social reforms is far from being replicated in the Arab world, thus not posing any serious challenge, until now, to the economic status quo.
The mass movement remains alert in both Tunisia and Egypt but is short of political instruments that reflect the general will. The first phase is over. The second, that of rolling back the movements, has begun.
The Nato bombing of Libya was an attempt by the west to regain the "democratic" initiative after its dictators were toppled elsewhere. It has made the situation worse. The so-called pre-empting of a massacre has led to the killing of hundreds of soldiers, many of whom were fighting under duress, and permitted the ghastly Muammar Gaddafi to masquerade as an anti-imperialist.
Here one has to say that whatever the final outcome, the Libyan people have lost. The country will either be partitioned into a Gaddafi state and a squalid pro-west protectorate led by selected businessmen, or the west will take out Gaddafi and control the whole of Libya and its huge oil reserves. This display of affection for "democracy" does not extend elsewhere in the region.
In Bahrain, the US green-lighted a Saudi intervention to crush local democrats, enhance religious sectarianism, organise secret trials and sentence protesters to death. Bahrain today is a prison camp, a poisonous mixture of Guantánamo and Saudi Arabia.
In Syria the security apparatus led by the Assad family is killing at will, but without being able to crush the democratic movement. The opposition is not under the control of Islamists: it is a broad coalition that includes every social layer apart from the capitalist class that remains loyal to the regime.
Unlike in other Arab countries, many Syrian intellectuals stayed at home, suffering prison and torture, and secular socialists like Riad Turk and many others are part of the underground leadership in Damascus and Aleppo. Nobody wants western military intervention. They don't want a repeat of Iraq or Libya. The Israelis and the US would prefer Assad to stay as they once did Mubarak, but the dice are still in the air.
In Yemen, the despot has killed hundreds of citizens but the army has split, and Americans and Saudis are trying desperately to stitch together a new coalition (as in Egypt) – but the mass movement is resisting any deals with the incumbent.
The US has to contend with an altered political environment in the Arab world. It is too soon to predict the final outcome, except to say it is not over yet."
Most of the regime is still in place. Its key messages are the need for stability and a return to work, putting a stop to the strike wave. Fevered behind-the scenes negotiations between Washington and the Muslim Brotherhood are continuing. A slightly amended old constitution remains in force and the South American model of huge social movements producing new political organisations that triumph at the polls and institute social reforms is far from being replicated in the Arab world, thus not posing any serious challenge, until now, to the economic status quo.
The mass movement remains alert in both Tunisia and Egypt but is short of political instruments that reflect the general will. The first phase is over. The second, that of rolling back the movements, has begun.
The Nato bombing of Libya was an attempt by the west to regain the "democratic" initiative after its dictators were toppled elsewhere. It has made the situation worse. The so-called pre-empting of a massacre has led to the killing of hundreds of soldiers, many of whom were fighting under duress, and permitted the ghastly Muammar Gaddafi to masquerade as an anti-imperialist.
Here one has to say that whatever the final outcome, the Libyan people have lost. The country will either be partitioned into a Gaddafi state and a squalid pro-west protectorate led by selected businessmen, or the west will take out Gaddafi and control the whole of Libya and its huge oil reserves. This display of affection for "democracy" does not extend elsewhere in the region.
In Bahrain, the US green-lighted a Saudi intervention to crush local democrats, enhance religious sectarianism, organise secret trials and sentence protesters to death. Bahrain today is a prison camp, a poisonous mixture of Guantánamo and Saudi Arabia.
In Syria the security apparatus led by the Assad family is killing at will, but without being able to crush the democratic movement. The opposition is not under the control of Islamists: it is a broad coalition that includes every social layer apart from the capitalist class that remains loyal to the regime.
Unlike in other Arab countries, many Syrian intellectuals stayed at home, suffering prison and torture, and secular socialists like Riad Turk and many others are part of the underground leadership in Damascus and Aleppo. Nobody wants western military intervention. They don't want a repeat of Iraq or Libya. The Israelis and the US would prefer Assad to stay as they once did Mubarak, but the dice are still in the air.
In Yemen, the despot has killed hundreds of citizens but the army has split, and Americans and Saudis are trying desperately to stitch together a new coalition (as in Egypt) – but the mass movement is resisting any deals with the incumbent.
The US has to contend with an altered political environment in the Arab world. It is too soon to predict the final outcome, except to say it is not over yet."
Syrians continue to protest as unrest spreads to Damascus
• 24 killed in Deraa after thousands take to streets
• UN approves inquiry into government violence
Julian Borger and Foreign Staff
guardian.co.uk, Friday 29 April 2011
"Thousands of Syrians defied their government's bloody attempts to suppress protests, braving gunfire from security forces to demonstrate in Damascus and across the country.
Initial reports said at least 24 people had been shot dead, most of them in the opposition stronghold of Deraa, where villagers tried to break through the security cordon to relieve its besieged population.
Further deaths were reported in Latakia and Homs after the security forces opened fire on demonstrators. There was news of protests in 50 towns and villages including Hama, Aleppo, the coastal cities of Latakia and Banias, Deir Ezzor in the east, and Qamishli in the north-east. Unrest was also reported from the Syria-Jordan border, which is straddled by the Haurani tribes.
Despite the government crackdown, the demonstrations – many starting as Friday worshippers left mosques – appeared to be at least as big as last week. Even more significantly, activists said, the protests spread closer into the centre of Damascus.....
Meanwhile, the international community stepped up its pressure on Damascus. The UN human rights council in Geneva approved an investigation of the Syrian use of violence against protesters and called for the immediate release of political prisoners and the lifting of restrictions on the press and the internet....
Human rights monitors in Damascus said the protests were significant, coming in the wake of the most brutal week yet. The government had warned against holding any demonstrations on Friday. Syrian media said the interior ministry had not approved any "march, demonstration or sit-ins".
"It is significant that people came out today," said Razan Zeitouneh, a lawyer and activist in Damascus. "After all the violence, after bringing the military inside and around the cities, cutting water, electricity and communications, still people came out.""
• UN approves inquiry into government violence
Julian Borger and Foreign Staff
guardian.co.uk, Friday 29 April 2011
"Thousands of Syrians defied their government's bloody attempts to suppress protests, braving gunfire from security forces to demonstrate in Damascus and across the country.
Initial reports said at least 24 people had been shot dead, most of them in the opposition stronghold of Deraa, where villagers tried to break through the security cordon to relieve its besieged population.
Further deaths were reported in Latakia and Homs after the security forces opened fire on demonstrators. There was news of protests in 50 towns and villages including Hama, Aleppo, the coastal cities of Latakia and Banias, Deir Ezzor in the east, and Qamishli in the north-east. Unrest was also reported from the Syria-Jordan border, which is straddled by the Haurani tribes.
Despite the government crackdown, the demonstrations – many starting as Friday worshippers left mosques – appeared to be at least as big as last week. Even more significantly, activists said, the protests spread closer into the centre of Damascus.....
Meanwhile, the international community stepped up its pressure on Damascus. The UN human rights council in Geneva approved an investigation of the Syrian use of violence against protesters and called for the immediate release of political prisoners and the lifting of restrictions on the press and the internet....
Human rights monitors in Damascus said the protests were significant, coming in the wake of the most brutal week yet. The government had warned against holding any demonstrations on Friday. Syrian media said the interior ministry had not approved any "march, demonstration or sit-ins".
"It is significant that people came out today," said Razan Zeitouneh, a lawyer and activist in Damascus. "After all the violence, after bringing the military inside and around the cities, cutting water, electricity and communications, still people came out.""
Inside Syria's torture chambers: 'This regime is brutal but also stupid
'Adnan, a young Syrian professional in his thirties, tells of his experience as one of hundreds detained in President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on dissent
guardian.co.uk, Friday 29 April 2011
"Adnan was arrested last Friday in Moudamiyeh, a town near Damascus, after protests in which he did not take part.
....
We were trying to leave the town when someone shouted "Stop!" and ordered us to kneel down. It was troops from the Fourth Division [the elite unit commanded by President Bashar al-Assad's brother Maher, which has been involved in suppressing protests in Deraa, the south-western town that has become a focus for unrest].
....
We were thrown in the back of an army truck and taken to the base on the outskirts of Damascus. We were put in a room and beaten from 4pm to 4am. Can you imagine? For 12 hours without sleep. It would stop for 15 minutes and then someone else would come in and start. They accused us of working for [former Lebanese prime minister] Saad al-Hariri and the Saudi prince Bandar bin Sultan. There was no point in arguing – they would only beat us more....
The whole experience is built around humiliation [just like in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib!]. We were blindfolded. We were shouted at. We were only allowed to the toilet once a day, for three seconds. We had to strip down to our underwear and someone would stand outside the door counting. If you didn't finish within three seconds you were beaten. I often didn't go; I was too worried. We were given water and food, but you don't want to drink when you can't go to the toilet.
We were taken out of the cell to be beaten and I was interrogated several times. One time they took us to a room with an electric chair. I said no, this is too much, not this. They didn't use it but they have one – I saw it with my own eyes. They accused me of working for foreign gangs. They were angry about videos of the protests being leaked [For that reason alone I am going to post all the good leaked videos I can get my hands on!] and they searched everyone's phones. They finally decided to let me go in the early hours of the morning, exhausted and bruised and battered. It was a horrible experience. This regime is brutal but also stupid. Everyone in there said they were angrier, not more afraid. You cannot forgive a regime that does this to you.""
guardian.co.uk, Friday 29 April 2011
"Adnan was arrested last Friday in Moudamiyeh, a town near Damascus, after protests in which he did not take part.
....
We were trying to leave the town when someone shouted "Stop!" and ordered us to kneel down. It was troops from the Fourth Division [the elite unit commanded by President Bashar al-Assad's brother Maher, which has been involved in suppressing protests in Deraa, the south-western town that has become a focus for unrest].
....
We were thrown in the back of an army truck and taken to the base on the outskirts of Damascus. We were put in a room and beaten from 4pm to 4am. Can you imagine? For 12 hours without sleep. It would stop for 15 minutes and then someone else would come in and start. They accused us of working for [former Lebanese prime minister] Saad al-Hariri and the Saudi prince Bandar bin Sultan. There was no point in arguing – they would only beat us more....
The whole experience is built around humiliation [just like in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib!]. We were blindfolded. We were shouted at. We were only allowed to the toilet once a day, for three seconds. We had to strip down to our underwear and someone would stand outside the door counting. If you didn't finish within three seconds you were beaten. I often didn't go; I was too worried. We were given water and food, but you don't want to drink when you can't go to the toilet.
We were taken out of the cell to be beaten and I was interrogated several times. One time they took us to a room with an electric chair. I said no, this is too much, not this. They didn't use it but they have one – I saw it with my own eyes. They accused me of working for foreign gangs. They were angry about videos of the protests being leaked [For that reason alone I am going to post all the good leaked videos I can get my hands on!] and they searched everyone's phones. They finally decided to let me go in the early hours of the morning, exhausted and bruised and battered. It was a horrible experience. This regime is brutal but also stupid. Everyone in there said they were angrier, not more afraid. You cannot forgive a regime that does this to you.""
شام - درعا - الشهيد عبدالمحسن شحاده عواد أبازيد
شام - الشهيد عبدالمحسن شحادة عواد أبازيد و الذي يبلغ من العمر 83 عاما ، سقط نتيجة القصف الذي تمارسه قوى الإجرام التابعة لنظام البعث في سوريا
شام درعا - فزعة أهالي قرى حوران لفك الحصار 29-4
شام - درعا - شهداء مجازر درعا بثلاجات الخضروات
شام - القامشلي - مظاهرات جمعة الغضب 29-4
شام - حوران - إقتحام بلدة الشيخ مسكين بالدبابات 29-4
شام - الشهيد عبدالمحسن شحادة عواد أبازيد و الذي يبلغ من العمر 83 عاما ، سقط نتيجة القصف الذي تمارسه قوى الإجرام التابعة لنظام البعث في سوريا
شام درعا - فزعة أهالي قرى حوران لفك الحصار 29-4
شام - درعا - شهداء مجازر درعا بثلاجات الخضروات
شام - القامشلي - مظاهرات جمعة الغضب 29-4
شام - حوران - إقتحام بلدة الشيخ مسكين بالدبابات 29-4
Scores killed on Syria's 'day of rage'
Reports of gunfire and deaths as thousands rally across country, including biggest gathering to date in Damascus.
Up to 50 killed by security forces, activists say, as thousands defy government repression to call for freedom in Syria.
Al-Jazeera
"Deaths are reported in Syria where the government has once again sent army units onto the streets of several cities, including Damascus, as protesters rally in solidarity with victims of a weeks-long crackdown.
Friday brought the largest anti-regime protest in the Syrian capital since protests against president Bashar al-Assad's decade-long rule began last month.
Gunfire was reported in Damascus and in the coastal city of Latakia, with witnesses claiming that security forces have fired on protesters, according to the Associated Press news agency.
Clashes are occurred in the southern city of Deraa where more than 100 protesters were killed a week ago. The AFP news agency says seven civilians have been killed...."
Up to 50 killed by security forces, activists say, as thousands defy government repression to call for freedom in Syria.
Al-Jazeera
"Deaths are reported in Syria where the government has once again sent army units onto the streets of several cities, including Damascus, as protesters rally in solidarity with victims of a weeks-long crackdown.
Friday brought the largest anti-regime protest in the Syrian capital since protests against president Bashar al-Assad's decade-long rule began last month.
Gunfire was reported in Damascus and in the coastal city of Latakia, with witnesses claiming that security forces have fired on protesters, according to the Associated Press news agency.
Clashes are occurred in the southern city of Deraa where more than 100 protesters were killed a week ago. The AFP news agency says seven civilians have been killed...."
شام - حمص - باب السباع يموج بجمعة الغضب 29-4
شام - دمشق - جمعة الغضب قرب جامعع زيد 29-4
شام - ريف دمشق - قطنا - يوم الغضب 29-4
شام - حماه - مدينة ابي الفداء بجمعة الغضب 29-4 ج1
شام - داريا - مظاهرات جمعة الغضب 29-4 ج2
شام - دمشق - الميدان مظاهرات جمعة الغضب 29-4 ج1
شام - دمشق - الكسوة - مظاهرات جمعة الغضب 29-4 ج2
شام - دمشق - جمعة الغضب قرب جامعع زيد 29-4
شام - ريف دمشق - قطنا - يوم الغضب 29-4
شام - حماه - مدينة ابي الفداء بجمعة الغضب 29-4 ج1
شام - داريا - مظاهرات جمعة الغضب 29-4 ج2
شام - دمشق - الميدان مظاهرات جمعة الغضب 29-4 ج1
شام - دمشق - الكسوة - مظاهرات جمعة الغضب 29-4 ج2
Selective Vigilantism
The New Karzai is Already Here.....
The West and Libya
A VERY GOOD PIECE
By Tariq Ali
CounterPunch
"The US-Nato intervention in Libya, with United Nations security council cover, is part of an orchestrated response to show support for the movement against one dictator in particular and by so doing to bring the Arab rebellions to an end by asserting western control, confiscating their impetus and spontaneity and trying to restore the status quo ante.
...... We're expected to believe that the leaders with bloody hands in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan are defending the people in Libya.......
A VERY GOOD PIECE
By Tariq Ali
CounterPunch
"The US-Nato intervention in Libya, with United Nations security council cover, is part of an orchestrated response to show support for the movement against one dictator in particular and by so doing to bring the Arab rebellions to an end by asserting western control, confiscating their impetus and spontaneity and trying to restore the status quo ante.
...... We're expected to believe that the leaders with bloody hands in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan are defending the people in Libya.......
The Saudis entered Bahrain where the population is being tyrannised and large-scale arrests are taking place. Not much of this is being reported on al-Jazeera. I wonder why? The station seems to have been curbed somewhat and brought into line with the politics of its funders......
They can rely on the French as well. Sarkozy was desperate to do something. Unable to save his friend Ben Ali in Tunisia, he's decided to help get rid of Gaddafi. The British always oblige and in this case, having shored up the Libyan regime for the last two decades, they're making sure they're on the right side so as not to miss out on the division of the spoils. What might they get?
....... The US state department is busy preparing a new government composed of English-speaking Libyan collaborators. We will now never know how long Gaddafi's crumbling and weakened army would have held together in the face of strong opposition. The reason he lost support within his armed forces was precisely because he ordered them to shoot their own people. Now he speaks of imperialism's desire to topple him and take the oil and even many who despise him can see that it's true. A new Karzai is on the way.
The frontiers of the squalid protectorate that the west is going to create are being decided in Washington. Even those Libyans who, out of desperation, are backing Nato's bomber jets, might – like their Iraqi equivalents – regret their choice.
All this might trigger a third phase at some stage: a growing nationalist anger that spills over into Saudi Arabia and here, have no doubt, Washington will do everything necessary to keep the Saudi royal family in power. Lose Saudi Arabia and they will lose the Gulf states. The assault on Libya, greatly helped by Gaddafi's imbecility on every front, was designed to wrest the initiative back from the streets....."
They can rely on the French as well. Sarkozy was desperate to do something. Unable to save his friend Ben Ali in Tunisia, he's decided to help get rid of Gaddafi. The British always oblige and in this case, having shored up the Libyan regime for the last two decades, they're making sure they're on the right side so as not to miss out on the division of the spoils. What might they get?
....... The US state department is busy preparing a new government composed of English-speaking Libyan collaborators. We will now never know how long Gaddafi's crumbling and weakened army would have held together in the face of strong opposition. The reason he lost support within his armed forces was precisely because he ordered them to shoot their own people. Now he speaks of imperialism's desire to topple him and take the oil and even many who despise him can see that it's true. A new Karzai is on the way.
The frontiers of the squalid protectorate that the west is going to create are being decided in Washington. Even those Libyans who, out of desperation, are backing Nato's bomber jets, might – like their Iraqi equivalents – regret their choice.
All this might trigger a third phase at some stage: a growing nationalist anger that spills over into Saudi Arabia and here, have no doubt, Washington will do everything necessary to keep the Saudi royal family in power. Lose Saudi Arabia and they will lose the Gulf states. The assault on Libya, greatly helped by Gaddafi's imbecility on every front, was designed to wrest the initiative back from the streets....."
Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Story - Rivals no more
This is an example of the "New Al-Jazeera." Look at the choice of guests to discuss an exclusively Palestinian issue. Two of the three guests are either Israeli or with strong Israel ties!
"....So what's in the Palestinian deal - and will it work this time round?
Inside Story presenter Darren Jordon discusses with guests: Akiva Eldar, the chief political correspondent for Haaretz; Hassan Issa, a former Egyptian diplomat to Israel, and also the former director of the Israel department for the Egyptian ministry of foreign affairs; and Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general for the Palestinian National Initiative."
Real News Video: Fatah and Hamas Make a Deal
Noura Erakat: Deal is a sign of weakness for both organizations, but Palestinians welcome it.
A Good Segment
A Good Segment
Arab Pipelineistan's high stakes
By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
"Gas supplies from Egypt to Israel and Jordan were shut off this week when an "unknown armed gang" bombed the Arab Gas Pipeline. This is not the first time the star of Arab Pipelineistan has been disrupted, causing acute concern in capitals across the region. The discovery of massive natural gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean, however, has the potential to end any energy war. Or does it?...."
Asia Times
"Gas supplies from Egypt to Israel and Jordan were shut off this week when an "unknown armed gang" bombed the Arab Gas Pipeline. This is not the first time the star of Arab Pipelineistan has been disrupted, causing acute concern in capitals across the region. The discovery of massive natural gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean, however, has the potential to end any energy war. Or does it?...."
Out of Syria's darkness come tales of terror
Witnesses who fled across the Lebanon border tell our writer what they saw.
By Robert Fisk
"....And they are true. Syrians arriving in Lebanon are bringing the most specific details of what is going on inside their country, of Fifth Brigade soldiers fighting the armed units of Maher Assad's Fourth Brigade outside Deraa, of random killings around Damascus by the ever-growing armed bands of Shabiha ("the mafia") from the Alawite mountains, of massive stocking up of food....In Deraa – surrounded, without electricity or water or supplies – the price of bread has risen 500 per cent and men are smuggling food into the city over the fields at night.
But it is the killings which terrify the people. Are they committed by the Shabiha from the port city of Lattakia – created by the Assad family in the 70s to control smuggling and protection rackets – or by the secret police to sow a fear that might break the uprising against Assad?......
The Syrian government is appealing to the minorities – to the Christians and the Kurds – to stay loyal to the authorities; minorities have always been safe in Syria, and many have stayed away from protests against the regime......
There are bright lights, of course, not least among the brave men and women who are using the internet and Facebook to keep open the flow of information from Syria. The Independent can reveal that a system of committees has been set up across the cities of Syria, usually comprising only 10 or 12 friends who have known and trusted each other for years. Each of them enlists 10 of their own friends – and they persuade 10 more each – to furnish information and pictures. Many were put in touch with each other via the cyber kings of Beirut – many of them also Syrian.....
Yet Syrians in Lebanon say that the Syrian security police – often appointed through graft rather than any technical or detective abilities – simply do not understand the technology that is being used against them.....
Especially intriguing – because there are many apparent witnesses of this episode – is a report that Syrian Fourth Brigade troops in Deraa dumped dozens of weapons in the main square of the city in front of the Omari mosque, telling civilians that they could take them to defend themselves. Suspecting that they were supposed to carry them in demonstrations and then be shot as "terrorists", the people took the weapons to the nearest military base and gave them back to the soldiers.
The rumours of army defections continue, however, including splits in the Fifth Brigade at Deraa, whose commander's name can now be confirmed as General Mohamed Saleh al-Rifai. According to Syrians arriving in Lebanon, the highways are used by hundreds of packed military trucks although the streets of most cities – including Damascus – are virtually empty at night. Shops are closing early, gunfire is often heard, checkpoints at night are often manned by armed men in civilian clothes. Darkness indeed."
By Robert Fisk
"....And they are true. Syrians arriving in Lebanon are bringing the most specific details of what is going on inside their country, of Fifth Brigade soldiers fighting the armed units of Maher Assad's Fourth Brigade outside Deraa, of random killings around Damascus by the ever-growing armed bands of Shabiha ("the mafia") from the Alawite mountains, of massive stocking up of food....In Deraa – surrounded, without electricity or water or supplies – the price of bread has risen 500 per cent and men are smuggling food into the city over the fields at night.
But it is the killings which terrify the people. Are they committed by the Shabiha from the port city of Lattakia – created by the Assad family in the 70s to control smuggling and protection rackets – or by the secret police to sow a fear that might break the uprising against Assad?......
The Syrian government is appealing to the minorities – to the Christians and the Kurds – to stay loyal to the authorities; minorities have always been safe in Syria, and many have stayed away from protests against the regime......
There are bright lights, of course, not least among the brave men and women who are using the internet and Facebook to keep open the flow of information from Syria. The Independent can reveal that a system of committees has been set up across the cities of Syria, usually comprising only 10 or 12 friends who have known and trusted each other for years. Each of them enlists 10 of their own friends – and they persuade 10 more each – to furnish information and pictures. Many were put in touch with each other via the cyber kings of Beirut – many of them also Syrian.....
Yet Syrians in Lebanon say that the Syrian security police – often appointed through graft rather than any technical or detective abilities – simply do not understand the technology that is being used against them.....
Especially intriguing – because there are many apparent witnesses of this episode – is a report that Syrian Fourth Brigade troops in Deraa dumped dozens of weapons in the main square of the city in front of the Omari mosque, telling civilians that they could take them to defend themselves. Suspecting that they were supposed to carry them in demonstrations and then be shot as "terrorists", the people took the weapons to the nearest military base and gave them back to the soldiers.
The rumours of army defections continue, however, including splits in the Fifth Brigade at Deraa, whose commander's name can now be confirmed as General Mohamed Saleh al-Rifai. According to Syrians arriving in Lebanon, the highways are used by hundreds of packed military trucks although the streets of most cities – including Damascus – are virtually empty at night. Shops are closing early, gunfire is often heard, checkpoints at night are often manned by armed men in civilian clothes. Darkness indeed."
The west's silence over Bahrain smacks of double standards
The absence of pressure on Saudi Arabia and Bahrain will only deepen the gulf of distrust between Iran and the west
Hooshang Amirahmadi and Kaveh Afrasiabi
guardian.co.uk, Friday 29 April 2011
"The European Union and the Obama administration have made a splendid art of double standards by imposing sanctions on Tehran's rulers for their human rights violations and taking military action against the Libyan dictator while failing to address the appalling repression of the pro-democracy movement in Bahrain.
For the US and the EU, which claim to uphold principles over interests, this contradictory policy and their silence over the Saudi intervention in Bahrain is particularly harmful.
Indeed, it is hypocrisy for the history books – to be interpreted by future historians as a reflection of the dominance of western realpolitik over values.....
A more politically and strategically correct approach counsels a course of action along the following lines: strong and sustained condemnation of the Bahraini government for its human rights abuses; threat of diplomatic reprisals; warning to freeze Bahraini assets and impose travel bans on various Bahraini officials implicated in rights violations; calling on Saudi Arabia to respect the democratic aspirations of Bahraini people and to withdraw its military forces from Bahrain; offering to mediate in the Bahrain political crisis; and to facilitate the process toward free elections.
Only through concrete and proactive measures such as these can the EU and the US recuperate from their damaged standing in the Middle East due to the double standards infecting their policies....."
Hooshang Amirahmadi and Kaveh Afrasiabi
guardian.co.uk, Friday 29 April 2011
"The European Union and the Obama administration have made a splendid art of double standards by imposing sanctions on Tehran's rulers for their human rights violations and taking military action against the Libyan dictator while failing to address the appalling repression of the pro-democracy movement in Bahrain.
For the US and the EU, which claim to uphold principles over interests, this contradictory policy and their silence over the Saudi intervention in Bahrain is particularly harmful.
Indeed, it is hypocrisy for the history books – to be interpreted by future historians as a reflection of the dominance of western realpolitik over values.....
A more politically and strategically correct approach counsels a course of action along the following lines: strong and sustained condemnation of the Bahraini government for its human rights abuses; threat of diplomatic reprisals; warning to freeze Bahraini assets and impose travel bans on various Bahraini officials implicated in rights violations; calling on Saudi Arabia to respect the democratic aspirations of Bahraini people and to withdraw its military forces from Bahrain; offering to mediate in the Bahrain political crisis; and to facilitate the process toward free elections.
Only through concrete and proactive measures such as these can the EU and the US recuperate from their damaged standing in the Middle East due to the double standards infecting their policies....."
Fatah and Hamas: Tectonic plates start to shift
A future environment composed of free Egyptians, Jordanians and even possibly Syrians could well fashion Israel's borders
Editorial
The Guardian, Friday 29 April 2011
"...There are three chief reasons why, after four years of bitter and violent conflict between the rivals, Fatah acceded to all of Hamas's political conditions to form a national unity government.
The first was the publication of the Palestine papers, the secret record of the last fruitless round of talks with Israel. The extent to which Palestinian negotiators were prepared to bend over backwards to accommodate Israel surprised even hardened cynics. The Palestinian Authority found itself haemorrhaging what little authority it had left. The second was the loss to the Palestinian president, Abu Mazen, of his closest allies in Hosni Mubarak and his henchman Omar Suleiman. While they were still around, Gaza's back door was locked. But the third reason had little to do with either of the above: Abu Mazen's faith in Barack Obama finally snapped. For a man who dedicated his career to the creation of a Palestinian state through negotiation, the turning point came when the US vetoed a UN resolution condemning Israel's settlement-building. In doing so, the US vetoed its own policy. To make the point, the resolution was drafted out of the actual words Hillary Clinton used to condemn construction. Fatah's frustration with all this has now taken political form.....
Not so. Yesterday foreign minister Nabil al-Arabi announced that Egypt would shortly be lifting the siege of Gaza. These events pose a direct challenge to the status quo that Israel, the US and the EU have fashioned. Do they now subvert the will of the Egyptians they claim to champion? Does the US do what it did the last time Fatah and Hamas reconciled at Mecca, and pull the plug on the unity government? Do the Quartet threaten to withdraw the PA's funds, because, as is very likely, Salam Fayyad will no longer be there to disburse them? The US could twist Fatah's arm, but Fatah might just sign on the dotted line all the same."
Editorial
The Guardian, Friday 29 April 2011
"...There are three chief reasons why, after four years of bitter and violent conflict between the rivals, Fatah acceded to all of Hamas's political conditions to form a national unity government.
The first was the publication of the Palestine papers, the secret record of the last fruitless round of talks with Israel. The extent to which Palestinian negotiators were prepared to bend over backwards to accommodate Israel surprised even hardened cynics. The Palestinian Authority found itself haemorrhaging what little authority it had left. The second was the loss to the Palestinian president, Abu Mazen, of his closest allies in Hosni Mubarak and his henchman Omar Suleiman. While they were still around, Gaza's back door was locked. But the third reason had little to do with either of the above: Abu Mazen's faith in Barack Obama finally snapped. For a man who dedicated his career to the creation of a Palestinian state through negotiation, the turning point came when the US vetoed a UN resolution condemning Israel's settlement-building. In doing so, the US vetoed its own policy. To make the point, the resolution was drafted out of the actual words Hillary Clinton used to condemn construction. Fatah's frustration with all this has now taken political form.....
Not so. Yesterday foreign minister Nabil al-Arabi announced that Egypt would shortly be lifting the siege of Gaza. These events pose a direct challenge to the status quo that Israel, the US and the EU have fashioned. Do they now subvert the will of the Egyptians they claim to champion? Does the US do what it did the last time Fatah and Hamas reconciled at Mecca, and pull the plug on the unity government? Do the Quartet threaten to withdraw the PA's funds, because, as is very likely, Salam Fayyad will no longer be there to disburse them? The US could twist Fatah's arm, but Fatah might just sign on the dotted line all the same."
UN: Rights Body Should Investigate Syrian Crackdown
Reject Syria’s Bid for Human Rights Council Seat
Human Rights Watch
April 29, 2011
"(Geneva) - The United Nations Human Rights Council should strongly condemn repression of peaceful protests in Syria and mount an investigation into recent violence, Human Rights Watch said. The council is meeting to discuss Syria on April 29, 2011, following a request for a special session by 16 council members, including the United States, South Korea, Mexico, Senegal, and Zambia.
The United States has put forward a draft resolution for the session that condemns the killing, arrest, and torture of peaceful protesters in Syria and calls for the establishment of an international commission of inquiry into abuses in the country.....
While suppressing protests at home, Syria is actively campaigning for a seat on the Human Rights Council, with elections to the body scheduled in the UN General Assembly on May 20.....
"Governments should tell Syria in no uncertain terms that its rampant abuses disqualify it from membership on the Human Rights Council," de Rivero said. "Syria's election bid discredits all those who support it, as well as the council itself."
Human Rights Watch has also called for urgent action by the Human Rights Council on the ongoing human rights crises in Bahrain and Yemen, which to date have not been addressed by the council."
Human Rights Watch
April 29, 2011
"(Geneva) - The United Nations Human Rights Council should strongly condemn repression of peaceful protests in Syria and mount an investigation into recent violence, Human Rights Watch said. The council is meeting to discuss Syria on April 29, 2011, following a request for a special session by 16 council members, including the United States, South Korea, Mexico, Senegal, and Zambia.
The United States has put forward a draft resolution for the session that condemns the killing, arrest, and torture of peaceful protesters in Syria and calls for the establishment of an international commission of inquiry into abuses in the country.....
While suppressing protests at home, Syria is actively campaigning for a seat on the Human Rights Council, with elections to the body scheduled in the UN General Assembly on May 20.....
"Governments should tell Syria in no uncertain terms that its rampant abuses disqualify it from membership on the Human Rights Council," de Rivero said. "Syria's election bid discredits all those who support it, as well as the council itself."
Human Rights Watch has also called for urgent action by the Human Rights Council on the ongoing human rights crises in Bahrain and Yemen, which to date have not been addressed by the council."
The More Things "Change,".....The More They Stay The Same! But Celebrate The "Unity" Anyway.
IDF, PA forces still coordinating despite Fatah-Hamas pact
Security cooperation between Israel and the PA has greatly increased over the past two years as the Palestinians have sought to block attempts by Hamas to gain influence in the West Bank.
HAARETZ
"No decisions have been made by the Israel Defense Forces regarding any changes in security cooperation with Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank following the announcement of a reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas. Contacts between IDF officers on the ground and their West Bank Palestinian counterparts are projecting business as usual.
Security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which is led by Fatah, has greatly increased over the past two years as the Palestinians have sought to block attempts by Hamas to gain influence in the West Bank, following the group’s takeover of the Gaza Strip...."
Security cooperation between Israel and the PA has greatly increased over the past two years as the Palestinians have sought to block attempts by Hamas to gain influence in the West Bank.
HAARETZ
"No decisions have been made by the Israel Defense Forces regarding any changes in security cooperation with Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank following the announcement of a reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas. Contacts between IDF officers on the ground and their West Bank Palestinian counterparts are projecting business as usual.
Security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which is led by Fatah, has greatly increased over the past two years as the Palestinians have sought to block attempts by Hamas to gain influence in the West Bank, following the group’s takeover of the Gaza Strip...."
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Protest against Israel’s embassy in Cairo
By Hossam El-Hamalawy
April 29th, 2011
"On Wednesday around 300 students, largely from Cairo University, held a march and a protest in front of the Israeli embassy in Cairo.
To be honest, it was very weird marching without the Central Security Forces being around or cracking down. At some point when we were standing in front of the Israeli embassy I had to pinch myself, to make sure I’m not dreaming. The last time I took part in an attempt to storm that embassy was in 2002. We were brutally crushed by the police on that day, and I was injured in the back and foot.
Over the following years, there were several attempts by activists to hold protests there, but the closest one could get was the Nahdet Masr statue in the square (half a km away?), before risking live ammunition.
And here were we were on Wednesday, standing over the destroyed Police Special Forces station that used to protect the embassy, right in front of the building. It felt liberating, even when the protest was small.
And in related (fantastic, thrilling) news…
Egyptian FM tells Al-Jazeera that preparations are already underway to permanently open Rafah border crossing, which would allow goods and people in and out of Gaza with no Israeli supervision."
April 29th, 2011
"On Wednesday around 300 students, largely from Cairo University, held a march and a protest in front of the Israeli embassy in Cairo.
To be honest, it was very weird marching without the Central Security Forces being around or cracking down. At some point when we were standing in front of the Israeli embassy I had to pinch myself, to make sure I’m not dreaming. The last time I took part in an attempt to storm that embassy was in 2002. We were brutally crushed by the police on that day, and I was injured in the back and foot.
Over the following years, there were several attempts by activists to hold protests there, but the closest one could get was the Nahdet Masr statue in the square (half a km away?), before risking live ammunition.
And here were we were on Wednesday, standing over the destroyed Police Special Forces station that used to protect the embassy, right in front of the building. It felt liberating, even when the protest was small.
And in related (fantastic, thrilling) news…
Egyptian FM tells Al-Jazeera that preparations are already underway to permanently open Rafah border crossing, which would allow goods and people in and out of Gaza with no Israeli supervision."
فيديوهات من الانتفاضة الشعبية السورية الخميس 28/04/2011
عــ48ــرب
(A Total of 14 Videos)
شام حوران جاسم إعتصام نسائي 28 4
شام - محافظة حماه - حلفايا بمظاهرة حرية 28-4
من شهداء وجرحى الحولة نشر الخميس 28 / نيسان - المقطع قد يتضمن مشاهد مؤلمة
(A Total of 14 Videos)
شام حوران جاسم إعتصام نسائي 28 4
شام - محافظة حماه - حلفايا بمظاهرة حرية 28-4
من شهداء وجرحى الحولة نشر الخميس 28 / نيسان - المقطع قد يتضمن مشاهد مؤلمة
Syria and the sectarian 'plot'
Bashar al-Assad's regime has been fostering fears of a religious divide in order to undermine protesters
Salwa Ismail
(Professor of politics with reference to the Middle East at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.)
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 28 April 2011
"The role of sectarianism in Syrian politics and the position in the power structure of the Alawi community – a minority sect in Islam thought to comprise approximately 12% of the population – have been off limits as a subject in public discourse until the recent crisis. This prohibition has been abandoned by the regime which is now raising the threat of sectarianism in official media narratives about armed gangs, Salafi militants and foreign conspiracies against Syrian national unity.
In response the opposition, human rights activists and local observers accuse the security forces of themselves sowing the seeds of sectarianism. According to independent reports, in coastal cities and villages where members of both Alawi and Sunni communities live, patrols of unidentified men have visited residents belonging to either group to warn them of impending sectarian attacks and to mobilise them against the other group. Similar attempts at stirring conflict on a sectarian basis are reported by residents in Barzeh al-Balad, a Damascus suburb. There, it is believed, security personnel spread rumours that Sunni residents were planning attacks on their Alawi neighbours.....
State-controlled media representations of the protests across the country are in sharp contrast to the people's perspective: their slogans and banners refute sectarianism and insist on national unity. A recurrent chant is "One, one, one – the Syrian people are one". But the regime has been insistent that there is a sectarian plot, hoping to establish a sense of unease and uncertainty among ordinary people in order to stop them joining the movement for greater political openness.
This unease is particularly felt by Alawis, to whom the regime has presented itself as a protector. The security approach is hinged on a strategy that holds minorities hostage, raising the spectre of sectarian aggression to cow protesters into compliance and justify the use of violence against demonstrations.
This strategy may not hold for much longer. The danger remains that the regime, in its desperation to hold on to power, will seek to turn its warnings of sectarian conflict into reality. But it is more likely to be faced with a general uprising that cannot be contained by deploying yet more violence."
Salwa Ismail
(Professor of politics with reference to the Middle East at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.)
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 28 April 2011
"The role of sectarianism in Syrian politics and the position in the power structure of the Alawi community – a minority sect in Islam thought to comprise approximately 12% of the population – have been off limits as a subject in public discourse until the recent crisis. This prohibition has been abandoned by the regime which is now raising the threat of sectarianism in official media narratives about armed gangs, Salafi militants and foreign conspiracies against Syrian national unity.
In response the opposition, human rights activists and local observers accuse the security forces of themselves sowing the seeds of sectarianism. According to independent reports, in coastal cities and villages where members of both Alawi and Sunni communities live, patrols of unidentified men have visited residents belonging to either group to warn them of impending sectarian attacks and to mobilise them against the other group. Similar attempts at stirring conflict on a sectarian basis are reported by residents in Barzeh al-Balad, a Damascus suburb. There, it is believed, security personnel spread rumours that Sunni residents were planning attacks on their Alawi neighbours.....
State-controlled media representations of the protests across the country are in sharp contrast to the people's perspective: their slogans and banners refute sectarianism and insist on national unity. A recurrent chant is "One, one, one – the Syrian people are one". But the regime has been insistent that there is a sectarian plot, hoping to establish a sense of unease and uncertainty among ordinary people in order to stop them joining the movement for greater political openness.
This unease is particularly felt by Alawis, to whom the regime has presented itself as a protector. The security approach is hinged on a strategy that holds minorities hostage, raising the spectre of sectarian aggression to cow protesters into compliance and justify the use of violence against demonstrations.
This strategy may not hold for much longer. The danger remains that the regime, in its desperation to hold on to power, will seek to turn its warnings of sectarian conflict into reality. But it is more likely to be faced with a general uprising that cannot be contained by deploying yet more violence."
دبابة طبيب العيون وبصر الإنتفاضة!
(Click on cartoon by Dave Brown to enlarge; these are the orders of the eye "doctor".)
دبابة طبيب العيون وبصر الإنتفاضة!
صبحي حديدي
"....
وفي ذاكرة الإنتفاضة السورية، يتوجب إفراد جائزة كبرى خاصة لهذا الفنان المبدع ذاته، ديف براون، صاحب الضمير الحيّ الذي لا يكفّ عن إطلاق الصرخة تلو الصرخة، في برّية مأهولة تصغي إليه جيداً، وتأثيره على ساكنيها عميق بالغ. وقبل يومين فقط، في مساهمته الأهمّ حول الموضوع السوري، نشر براون في الـ'إندبندنت' رسماً كاريكاتورياً يظهر بشار الأسد وهو يمتطي دبابة تتوجه سبطانتها نحو مواطن سوري أعزل، كُتبت على ميمنتها عبارة 'فحص مجاني للعين. ثقوا بي فإنني طبيب عيون'؛ الطبيب، صاحبنا، يحمل لوحة الفحص التقليدية، مع حروف متدرجة الحجوم، تشكّل العبارة التالية: 'أنا أرى المزيد من القمع'؛ ويسأل المواطن المذعور: 'هل ترى على نحو أفضل الآن'.
ثمة أكثر من غمزة ذكية في هذا الرسم البديع، لعلّ أبرزها تركيز براون على ذروة التناقض، الأخلاقي والسلوكي والسياسي في نهاية المطاف، بين شخصية طبيب العيون الذي ينبغي أن يعالج، ويشحذ، بصر الآخرين؛ والطبيب ذاته في إهاب دكتاتور، كفّ نهائياً عن كونه دكتوراً بالطبع، لا يستهدف إلا تحسين إبصار القمع، وليس في عدّته الطبية إلا دبابة. وفي معنى آخر للرسم، ها أنّ الطبيب ينقلب إلى قائد دبابة، وبالتالي قائد نظام يفتك ويبطش ويسحق ويرتكب المجازر، ومعركته ضدّ المواطن الأعزل لم تعد تكتفي بالهراوة أو العصا الكهربائية أو الغاز المسيل للدموع، أو إطلاق قطعان 'الشبيحة' لترويع الناس، أو قنص المتظاهرين من أسطح البنايات؛ ولا بدّ، الآن، من استخدام الدبابة والمدفعية الثقيلة و... قذائف الـ'م. ط.'، المضادة للطائرات!
هذه نقلة صريحة، إذاً، نحو واحد من خطوط دفاع النظام السوري ضدّ الإنتفاضة الشعبية، وضمن الإطار العريض لخيار الحلّ الأمني في أشدّ تنويعاته فاشية، وأعلاها مجازفة بتهديد عوامل الأمان والإستقرار والتوازن التي ظلّت سمات غالبة على معمار نظام الإستبداد والفساد، ومثلث ركائزه الأمنية/ العسكرية/ الاقتصادية
....
وليس الأمر أنّ الابن أشدّ استشراساً من الأب ـ أو أقلّ منه، إذْ الموازنة هنا خاطئة أصلاً، ومنتفاة ـ بل الجوهر أنّ الحراك اليوم هو انتفاضة شعبية آخذة في الاتساع والتجذّر؛ وهي فصل جديد، واستكمال، لما صار المرء يجيز، دون كبير حرج، تسميته بـ'ربيع العرب'. وما من انتفاضة، على هذه الدرجة من التطوّر والجسارة والشجاعة، والاستعداد لتقديم التضحيات الغالية، يسعدها أن ينشقّ أبناؤها العاملون في جيشها الوطني، أياً كانت منابتهم وطوائفهم أو حتى درجات ولائهم للنظام. ولهذا لم يكن غريباً، بل لم يتأخر البتة، رفع شعار 'الجيش والشعب يد واحدة'، ولم يغب عن المواطنين مغزى التحفظ الشديد الذي أبداه بعض الضباط في تنفيذ أوامر لاوطنية، أو لجوء بعض الضباط والأفراد إلى الخيار الأقصى في رفض تنفيذ مثل تلك الأوامر، بما ينطوي عليه ذلك من عاقبة الإعدام في الميدان
....."
صبحي حديدي
"....
وفي ذاكرة الإنتفاضة السورية، يتوجب إفراد جائزة كبرى خاصة لهذا الفنان المبدع ذاته، ديف براون، صاحب الضمير الحيّ الذي لا يكفّ عن إطلاق الصرخة تلو الصرخة، في برّية مأهولة تصغي إليه جيداً، وتأثيره على ساكنيها عميق بالغ. وقبل يومين فقط، في مساهمته الأهمّ حول الموضوع السوري، نشر براون في الـ'إندبندنت' رسماً كاريكاتورياً يظهر بشار الأسد وهو يمتطي دبابة تتوجه سبطانتها نحو مواطن سوري أعزل، كُتبت على ميمنتها عبارة 'فحص مجاني للعين. ثقوا بي فإنني طبيب عيون'؛ الطبيب، صاحبنا، يحمل لوحة الفحص التقليدية، مع حروف متدرجة الحجوم، تشكّل العبارة التالية: 'أنا أرى المزيد من القمع'؛ ويسأل المواطن المذعور: 'هل ترى على نحو أفضل الآن'.
ثمة أكثر من غمزة ذكية في هذا الرسم البديع، لعلّ أبرزها تركيز براون على ذروة التناقض، الأخلاقي والسلوكي والسياسي في نهاية المطاف، بين شخصية طبيب العيون الذي ينبغي أن يعالج، ويشحذ، بصر الآخرين؛ والطبيب ذاته في إهاب دكتاتور، كفّ نهائياً عن كونه دكتوراً بالطبع، لا يستهدف إلا تحسين إبصار القمع، وليس في عدّته الطبية إلا دبابة. وفي معنى آخر للرسم، ها أنّ الطبيب ينقلب إلى قائد دبابة، وبالتالي قائد نظام يفتك ويبطش ويسحق ويرتكب المجازر، ومعركته ضدّ المواطن الأعزل لم تعد تكتفي بالهراوة أو العصا الكهربائية أو الغاز المسيل للدموع، أو إطلاق قطعان 'الشبيحة' لترويع الناس، أو قنص المتظاهرين من أسطح البنايات؛ ولا بدّ، الآن، من استخدام الدبابة والمدفعية الثقيلة و... قذائف الـ'م. ط.'، المضادة للطائرات!
هذه نقلة صريحة، إذاً، نحو واحد من خطوط دفاع النظام السوري ضدّ الإنتفاضة الشعبية، وضمن الإطار العريض لخيار الحلّ الأمني في أشدّ تنويعاته فاشية، وأعلاها مجازفة بتهديد عوامل الأمان والإستقرار والتوازن التي ظلّت سمات غالبة على معمار نظام الإستبداد والفساد، ومثلث ركائزه الأمنية/ العسكرية/ الاقتصادية
....
وليس الأمر أنّ الابن أشدّ استشراساً من الأب ـ أو أقلّ منه، إذْ الموازنة هنا خاطئة أصلاً، ومنتفاة ـ بل الجوهر أنّ الحراك اليوم هو انتفاضة شعبية آخذة في الاتساع والتجذّر؛ وهي فصل جديد، واستكمال، لما صار المرء يجيز، دون كبير حرج، تسميته بـ'ربيع العرب'. وما من انتفاضة، على هذه الدرجة من التطوّر والجسارة والشجاعة، والاستعداد لتقديم التضحيات الغالية، يسعدها أن ينشقّ أبناؤها العاملون في جيشها الوطني، أياً كانت منابتهم وطوائفهم أو حتى درجات ولائهم للنظام. ولهذا لم يكن غريباً، بل لم يتأخر البتة، رفع شعار 'الجيش والشعب يد واحدة'، ولم يغب عن المواطنين مغزى التحفظ الشديد الذي أبداه بعض الضباط في تنفيذ أوامر لاوطنية، أو لجوء بعض الضباط والأفراد إلى الخيار الأقصى في رفض تنفيذ مثل تلك الأوامر، بما ينطوي عليه ذلك من عاقبة الإعدام في الميدان
....."
Yemeni president must be held accountable over rights violations
Amnesty International
"The Yemeni president and his political allies must not be given immunity from prosecution as the price for ending the country’s spiralling human rights crisis, Amnesty International said today.
Following months of protests against his 33-year rule, President Ali Abdallah Saleh is expected to agree a deal to transfer power to opposition leaders and step down 30 days later.
The deal appears to provide blanket immunity to the President and those who served under him, and could prevent prosecutions of senior officials for the deaths of more than 120 protesters and other violations committed during recent protests and in earlier years.
“President Ali Abdullah Saleh must not be allowed to evade accountability for the long catalogue of human rights crimes committed under his rule,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“President Saleh and those around him must be held accountable for the arbitrary arrests, torture and unlawful killings that have been committed on their watch if the rule of law is to have any meaning in Yemen.”
“He must not be awarded a “get-out-of-jail” card to walk free from any question of investigation or justice for what has been done under his authority.”...."
"The Yemeni president and his political allies must not be given immunity from prosecution as the price for ending the country’s spiralling human rights crisis, Amnesty International said today.
Following months of protests against his 33-year rule, President Ali Abdallah Saleh is expected to agree a deal to transfer power to opposition leaders and step down 30 days later.
The deal appears to provide blanket immunity to the President and those who served under him, and could prevent prosecutions of senior officials for the deaths of more than 120 protesters and other violations committed during recent protests and in earlier years.
“President Ali Abdullah Saleh must not be allowed to evade accountability for the long catalogue of human rights crimes committed under his rule,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“President Saleh and those around him must be held accountable for the arbitrary arrests, torture and unlawful killings that have been committed on their watch if the rule of law is to have any meaning in Yemen.”
“He must not be awarded a “get-out-of-jail” card to walk free from any question of investigation or justice for what has been done under his authority.”...."
Egypt: Military Trials Usurp Justice System
At Least 76 Protesters Among Those in Prison After Unfair Proceedings
April 29, 2011
"(Cairo) - The Egyptian military should immediately end trials of civilians before military courts and release all those arbitrarily detained or convicted after unfair proceedings, Human Rights Watch said today. In the latest case, 28 civilians arrested in Cairo's Tahrir Square on April 12, 2011, went on trial as a group before a military court on April 28.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has tried more than 5,000 civilians before military tribunals since February, including many arrested following peaceful protests in Tahrir Square. Trials of civilians before the military courts constitute wholesale violations of basic fair trial rights, Human Rights Watch said. At the same time, senior officials in the government of former president Hosni Mubarak are being tried before civilian courts on charges of corruption and using lethal force against protesters.
"Egypt's military leadership has not explained why young protesters are being tried before unfair military courts while former Mubarak officials are being tried for corruption and killing protesters before regular criminal courts," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The generals' reliance on military trials threatens the rule of law by creating a parallel system that undermines Egypt's judiciary."....."
April 29, 2011
"(Cairo) - The Egyptian military should immediately end trials of civilians before military courts and release all those arbitrarily detained or convicted after unfair proceedings, Human Rights Watch said today. In the latest case, 28 civilians arrested in Cairo's Tahrir Square on April 12, 2011, went on trial as a group before a military court on April 28.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has tried more than 5,000 civilians before military tribunals since February, including many arrested following peaceful protests in Tahrir Square. Trials of civilians before the military courts constitute wholesale violations of basic fair trial rights, Human Rights Watch said. At the same time, senior officials in the government of former president Hosni Mubarak are being tried before civilian courts on charges of corruption and using lethal force against protesters.
"Egypt's military leadership has not explained why young protesters are being tried before unfair military courts while former Mubarak officials are being tried for corruption and killing protesters before regular criminal courts," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The generals' reliance on military trials threatens the rule of law by creating a parallel system that undermines Egypt's judiciary."....."
لكي تكون المصالحة في خدمة القضية
"....
مصالحة اليوم تأتي من طرف السلطة نتاج فشل مسار التفاوض والتعويل على أوباما، بخاصة ما يتعلق باشتراط وقف الاستيطان لاستمرار المفاوضات كما صرح محمود عباس الذي فاوض أولمرت ثلاث سنوات دون وقف الاستيطان، ولا ننسى هنا فضيحة وثائق التفاوض التي أثبتت ذهاب القوم بعيدا في تنازلاتهم من دون أن يحصلوا على شيء ذي قيمة من الطرف الإسرائيلي. أما الذي لا يقل أهمية فيتمثل في تغير المزاج العام في الساحة الفلسطينية والعربية حيال الصراع مع العدو بعد الثورات العربية، ومن ضمن ذلك تغير الوضع في مصر التي شكلت على الدوام المرجعية العربية للسلطة.
أما بالنسبة لحماس فتأتي المصالحة نتاج حصار طويل، ازدادت تداعياته صعوبة بعد الحرب على قطاع غزة، ولا نتجاهل هنا ما يتعلق بارتباك الوضع في سوريا، فضلا عن شعورها بضرورة التفاعل مع الروح الجديدة في مصر ما بعد الثورة، إلى جانب حصول الحركة على ميزة بالغة الأهمية بالنسبة إليها في الاتفاق، تتمثل في الإبقاء -ولو مؤقتا- على سيطرتها الواقعية على قطاع غزة.
في النتيجة اضطر الطرفان إلى توقيع مصالحة يصعب التكهن بمآلها رغم بعض البنود الإيجابية وفي مقدمتها الاتفاق المتعلق بإعادة تشكيل منظمة التحرير وانتخاب مجلس وطني بالتزامن مع الانتخابات التشريعية والرئاسية، والسبب بالطبع يتمثل في الشياطين الكثيرة التي تكمن في التفاصيل، لاسيما تلك المتعلقة بالوضع الأمني في الضفة الغربية، ومدى إمكان تخلص قيادة السلطة من إرث دايتون، وأقل ذلك العقيدة الأمنية التي بثها في أوساط الأجهزة الأمنية (ينطبق ذلك على منح حماس وضعا سياسيا مختلفا)، وبالطبع تبعا لرد فعل الأميركان والإسرائيليين والمانحين الدوليين على خطوة من هذا النوع.
هناك عائق كبير آخر يتمثل في إصرار القيادة المتنفذة في المنظمة والسلطة وفتح (هي ذاتها بالطبع) على مسار التفاوض بصرف النظر عن النتيجة، حيث نسمع رئيس السلطة يؤكد كل يوم على رفض الانتفاضة سواء كانت مسلحة أو سلمية، مما يعني أنه سيكون مطلوبا من حماس، أو الانتخابات بتعبير أدق أن تمنح هذا المسار العبثي ما يحتاجه من شرعية، وسيتم ذلك بالتفاهم مع سائر القوى الأخرى (باستثناء الجهاد) التي ستتحالف مع فتح في انتخابات القائمة النسبية، وربما الدوائر أيضا من أجل استعادة الغالبية من حركة حماس، وبالطبع بعد تغيير قانون الانتخاب على نحو يجعل النسبة الأكبر من المقاعد للقائمة النسبية.
هذا هو المطلوب من الانتخابات، ولو جاءت بنتيجة مغايرة لعاد مسلسل الحصار من جديد، اللهم إلا إذا قبلت حماس بشروط الرباعية الدولية (تكون بذلك حركة أخرى)، ولذلك قلنا وسنظل نقول إن مصلحة القضية تتطلب الاكتفاء بانتخابات المجلس الوطني في الداخل والخارج لكي يكون القرار النهائي من حق منظمة التحرير بعد إعادة تشكيلها، ونؤكد أن انتخابات الخارج ينبغي أن تتم بالفعل، وهنا تمتحن مصداقية الدول التي تتحدث عن رفض التوطين.
أما إدارة الضفة وغزة، فتتم بالتوافق، والأفضل من خلال ذات الصيغة التي اتفق عليها في المصالحة، أعني حكومة غير فصائلية تدير حياة الناس ولا تتدخل في الشأن السياسي
...."
مصالحة اليوم تأتي من طرف السلطة نتاج فشل مسار التفاوض والتعويل على أوباما، بخاصة ما يتعلق باشتراط وقف الاستيطان لاستمرار المفاوضات كما صرح محمود عباس الذي فاوض أولمرت ثلاث سنوات دون وقف الاستيطان، ولا ننسى هنا فضيحة وثائق التفاوض التي أثبتت ذهاب القوم بعيدا في تنازلاتهم من دون أن يحصلوا على شيء ذي قيمة من الطرف الإسرائيلي. أما الذي لا يقل أهمية فيتمثل في تغير المزاج العام في الساحة الفلسطينية والعربية حيال الصراع مع العدو بعد الثورات العربية، ومن ضمن ذلك تغير الوضع في مصر التي شكلت على الدوام المرجعية العربية للسلطة.
أما بالنسبة لحماس فتأتي المصالحة نتاج حصار طويل، ازدادت تداعياته صعوبة بعد الحرب على قطاع غزة، ولا نتجاهل هنا ما يتعلق بارتباك الوضع في سوريا، فضلا عن شعورها بضرورة التفاعل مع الروح الجديدة في مصر ما بعد الثورة، إلى جانب حصول الحركة على ميزة بالغة الأهمية بالنسبة إليها في الاتفاق، تتمثل في الإبقاء -ولو مؤقتا- على سيطرتها الواقعية على قطاع غزة.
في النتيجة اضطر الطرفان إلى توقيع مصالحة يصعب التكهن بمآلها رغم بعض البنود الإيجابية وفي مقدمتها الاتفاق المتعلق بإعادة تشكيل منظمة التحرير وانتخاب مجلس وطني بالتزامن مع الانتخابات التشريعية والرئاسية، والسبب بالطبع يتمثل في الشياطين الكثيرة التي تكمن في التفاصيل، لاسيما تلك المتعلقة بالوضع الأمني في الضفة الغربية، ومدى إمكان تخلص قيادة السلطة من إرث دايتون، وأقل ذلك العقيدة الأمنية التي بثها في أوساط الأجهزة الأمنية (ينطبق ذلك على منح حماس وضعا سياسيا مختلفا)، وبالطبع تبعا لرد فعل الأميركان والإسرائيليين والمانحين الدوليين على خطوة من هذا النوع.
هناك عائق كبير آخر يتمثل في إصرار القيادة المتنفذة في المنظمة والسلطة وفتح (هي ذاتها بالطبع) على مسار التفاوض بصرف النظر عن النتيجة، حيث نسمع رئيس السلطة يؤكد كل يوم على رفض الانتفاضة سواء كانت مسلحة أو سلمية، مما يعني أنه سيكون مطلوبا من حماس، أو الانتخابات بتعبير أدق أن تمنح هذا المسار العبثي ما يحتاجه من شرعية، وسيتم ذلك بالتفاهم مع سائر القوى الأخرى (باستثناء الجهاد) التي ستتحالف مع فتح في انتخابات القائمة النسبية، وربما الدوائر أيضا من أجل استعادة الغالبية من حركة حماس، وبالطبع بعد تغيير قانون الانتخاب على نحو يجعل النسبة الأكبر من المقاعد للقائمة النسبية.
هذا هو المطلوب من الانتخابات، ولو جاءت بنتيجة مغايرة لعاد مسلسل الحصار من جديد، اللهم إلا إذا قبلت حماس بشروط الرباعية الدولية (تكون بذلك حركة أخرى)، ولذلك قلنا وسنظل نقول إن مصلحة القضية تتطلب الاكتفاء بانتخابات المجلس الوطني في الداخل والخارج لكي يكون القرار النهائي من حق منظمة التحرير بعد إعادة تشكيلها، ونؤكد أن انتخابات الخارج ينبغي أن تتم بالفعل، وهنا تمتحن مصداقية الدول التي تتحدث عن رفض التوطين.
أما إدارة الضفة وغزة، فتتم بالتوافق، والأفضل من خلال ذات الصيغة التي اتفق عليها في المصالحة، أعني حكومة غير فصائلية تدير حياة الناس ولا تتدخل في الشأن السياسي
...."
Al-Jazeera Video: Syrian soldiers 'switching allegiances'
"Reports are coming out of Syria that some soldiers are siding with the anti-government protesters.
Amateur footage is said to show that some troops have been shot at from within their own ranks for refusing to fire upon protesters in the city of Deraa.
Al Jazeera cannot independently verify the footage, which is said to have been shot on Wednesday.
Imran Khan reports."
Real News Video: Syrian Ba'ath Party Members Quit in Protest of Killings
Bassam Haddan: Resignations of Ba'ath members not yet at senior levels, repression will continue.
Real News Video with Transcript: Consequences of Gaza Activist's Killing
Following fatal kidnapping of Italian activist Arrigoni in Gaza, NGOs up security measures, Hamas internal strife continues
Former CIA Analyst Ray McGovern: Petraeus Will Expand Pro-War Agenda As New CIA Director
"President Obama is expected to announce a major shuffling of his national security team today. Under his plan, CIA Director Leon Panetta will move to the Pentagon to replace the retiring Robert Gates. Gen. David Petraeus will become the new head of the CIA. U.S. Marine General John Allen will be nominated to become the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, a position currently held by Petraeus. And Ryan Crocker will be nominated to be U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan. Leon Panetta has headed the CIA for the past two years and has led a massive escalation of the use of unarmed drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Many analysts say the nomination of David Petraeus to head the CIA will further increase the militarization of the spy agency. We speak with Ray McGovern, former senior CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity....."
5 Years After U.S.-Backed Clashes, Palestinian Factions Fatah, Hamas Reach Unity Deal
"The rival Palestinian political organizations, Fatah and Hamas, have reached an agreement to end a nearly five-year internal schism, form an interim government, and hold a general election within a year. The two sides have been locked in a bitter conflict since Fatah and the Bush administration tried to overthrow Gaza’s Hamas-led government in 2006 after Hamas won Palestinian national elections. Israel and the United States say they’ll reject any peace talks with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas. We speak with Saree Makdisi, professor of English and comparative literature at UCLA and the author of several books, including Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation...."
US Rethinks Strategy: War as Opportunity in Libya
By Ramzy Baroud
Palestine Chronicle
"The brutality of Libyan leader Moammar Ghaddafi, and his refusal to concede power, is costing Libya much more than innocent lives. The country is now also facing a possible loss of future independence and sovereignty. From its early days, the Libyan revolt seemed to take a difference course than those of other Arab countries. It represented a window of opportunity for the United States and its western allies to reposition themselves, slowly but surely, around a conflict that promised grueling and bloodier times ahead....."
Palestine Chronicle
"The brutality of Libyan leader Moammar Ghaddafi, and his refusal to concede power, is costing Libya much more than innocent lives. The country is now also facing a possible loss of future independence and sovereignty. From its early days, the Libyan revolt seemed to take a difference course than those of other Arab countries. It represented a window of opportunity for the United States and its western allies to reposition themselves, slowly but surely, around a conflict that promised grueling and bloodier times ahead....."
Worries about the Arab Democratic Renaissance
By Hasan Afif El-Hasan
Palestine Chronicle
"The struggle for the future of the Arab nations has just begun. The best thing that can be said about their uprising is that it was truly 'made in the Arab lands by the Arab youth.' The West including the US can influence events but they learnt from the war on Iraq to do so quietly, behind the scenes. The West especially the US cannot be a reliable supporter of democracy unless its interests are served....
Politicizing religion by imposing a religious doctrine as the sole official faith, as some Egyptians demand, will be a serious setback to the political liberalism and the constitutional democratic state which is a major objective of the Egyptian uprising. Imposing a religious doctrine, even if it is the faith of the majority, opens conflicts and arouses sectarian hostilities. Liberal democracy does not dismiss spiritual questions as unimportant, but because of its importance, it should be left for each citizen to decide for himself or herself.
Despite optimism, the future of democracy in the Arab World is hardly secure because it carries within it the problems of the present moment and the legacy of the past. "
Palestine Chronicle
"The struggle for the future of the Arab nations has just begun. The best thing that can be said about their uprising is that it was truly 'made in the Arab lands by the Arab youth.' The West including the US can influence events but they learnt from the war on Iraq to do so quietly, behind the scenes. The West especially the US cannot be a reliable supporter of democracy unless its interests are served....
Politicizing religion by imposing a religious doctrine as the sole official faith, as some Egyptians demand, will be a serious setback to the political liberalism and the constitutional democratic state which is a major objective of the Egyptian uprising. Imposing a religious doctrine, even if it is the faith of the majority, opens conflicts and arouses sectarian hostilities. Liberal democracy does not dismiss spiritual questions as unimportant, but because of its importance, it should be left for each citizen to decide for himself or herself.
Despite optimism, the future of democracy in the Arab World is hardly secure because it carries within it the problems of the present moment and the legacy of the past. "
Can Any Good Come From Hamas-Fatah "Reconciliation"? Just Read This: Celebration in Gaza City is dispersed by police wielding batons
Conal Urquhart in Gaza City
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 28 April 2011
".....In Gaza City around 100 people went to the Square of the Unknown Soldier to celebrate, but were quickly dispersed by Hamas police wielding batons.
Sama, 30, a journalist and activist with the Gaza Youth Break Out group, said: "We went to the square to celebrate the hope of unity. We were around 100 people but there were more policemen. We waved Palestinian flags and we sang, 'Palestine is all that matters.' Within minutes they just started hitting us with batons." [If not orchestrated by Hamas, it is not permitted! Does this sound just like what Gaddafi and the Rabbit of Syria do?]
The Gaza Youth group organised protests on 15 March this year to demand unity between the Hamas and Fatah factions. Thousands joined those demonstrations, until they were violently dispersed by the police....."
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 28 April 2011
".....In Gaza City around 100 people went to the Square of the Unknown Soldier to celebrate, but were quickly dispersed by Hamas police wielding batons.
Sama, 30, a journalist and activist with the Gaza Youth Break Out group, said: "We went to the square to celebrate the hope of unity. We were around 100 people but there were more policemen. We waved Palestinian flags and we sang, 'Palestine is all that matters.' Within minutes they just started hitting us with batons." [If not orchestrated by Hamas, it is not permitted! Does this sound just like what Gaddafi and the Rabbit of Syria do?]
The Gaza Youth group organised protests on 15 March this year to demand unity between the Hamas and Fatah factions. Thousands joined those demonstrations, until they were violently dispersed by the police....."
Syria: Arab States Should Push for End to Killings
Egypt and Tunisia Should Lead in Sanctioning Damascus
April 27, 2011
"(New York) - Arab countries should join international efforts to establish an independent international inquiry into the Syrian government's use of lethal force against peaceful protesters, Human Rights Watch said today. Egypt and Tunisia should lead in advocating sanctions against those leaders responsible for the bloodshed, widespread arbitrary detention, and torture in Syria, Human Rights Watch said.
Since March 16, 2011, Syrian army and other security forces have killed more than 300 protesters. In recent days President Bashar al-Asad's government cut off access and communications with several cities, sending in tanks and troops in an effort to crush widespread public dissent. On April 25, the Arab League issued a statement condemning the use of force against pro-democracy protesters in several Arab countries, saying they "deserve support, not bullets" - but the statement stopped short of naming Syria and did not propose any concrete measures to end abuses.
"The Arab League is no longer a closed shop of autocrats and abusers so its members should name names and take action against serial rights violators like Syria," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Egypt and Tunisia, which have embraced democratic reforms, should support travel bans and asset freezes against Syrian officials responsible for the worst abuses."....."
April 27, 2011
"(New York) - Arab countries should join international efforts to establish an independent international inquiry into the Syrian government's use of lethal force against peaceful protesters, Human Rights Watch said today. Egypt and Tunisia should lead in advocating sanctions against those leaders responsible for the bloodshed, widespread arbitrary detention, and torture in Syria, Human Rights Watch said.
Since March 16, 2011, Syrian army and other security forces have killed more than 300 protesters. In recent days President Bashar al-Asad's government cut off access and communications with several cities, sending in tanks and troops in an effort to crush widespread public dissent. On April 25, the Arab League issued a statement condemning the use of force against pro-democracy protesters in several Arab countries, saying they "deserve support, not bullets" - but the statement stopped short of naming Syria and did not propose any concrete measures to end abuses.
"The Arab League is no longer a closed shop of autocrats and abusers so its members should name names and take action against serial rights violators like Syria," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Egypt and Tunisia, which have embraced democratic reforms, should support travel bans and asset freezes against Syrian officials responsible for the worst abuses."....."
UAE targets activists as clampdown widens
28 April 2011
"The arrest of six civil society activists and the government’s takeover of a rights organization in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are part of a worrying clampdown on dissent in the country, Amnesty International said today.
Five of the activists were among more than 100 signatories of a recent petition calling for democratic reforms in the UAE, according to local media reports.
At the same time, a lawyer for three of the detainees has said that he has received anonymous threats via Facebook and by way of text messages.
The UAE authorities also dissolved the board of the Jurists Association, a leading civil rights organization after it joined a call for greater democracy alongside three other civil society organizations. Board members have been replaced with state-appointees for a six-month period...."
"The arrest of six civil society activists and the government’s takeover of a rights organization in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are part of a worrying clampdown on dissent in the country, Amnesty International said today.
Five of the activists were among more than 100 signatories of a recent petition calling for democratic reforms in the UAE, according to local media reports.
At the same time, a lawyer for three of the detainees has said that he has received anonymous threats via Facebook and by way of text messages.
The UAE authorities also dissolved the board of the Jurists Association, a leading civil rights organization after it joined a call for greater democracy alongside three other civil society organizations. Board members have been replaced with state-appointees for a six-month period...."
Deraa: A city under a dark siege
Residents of town besieged by the army paint picture of chaos fuelled by secret police.
Hugh Macleod and a special correspondent
Al-Jazeera
"As darkness fell across it, Deraa was a city under siege.
Tanks and troops control all roads in and out. Inside the city, shops are shuttered and nobody dare walk the once bustling market streets, today transformed into the kill zone of rooftop snipers.
Trapped and terrified inside their homes, families are running low on food and drinking water, with many water tanks shot and emptied. Electricity has been cut, as have all mobile and fixed phone lines. The internet, so vital in broadcasting images of the regime's armed crackdown on peaceful protestors, is down.
Unable to crush the people who first dared rise up against him - neither with the secret police, paid thugs or the special forces of his brother's military division - President Bashar al-Assad has sent thousands of Syrian soldiers and their heavy weaponry into Deraa for an operation the regime wants nobody in the world to see.....
'They dress in black'....
Leading the assault on Deraa are the elite forces of the Fourth Division of the army, commanded by President Assad's brother Maher al-Assad, who has deployed his troops in the city since the early days of the uprising, according to multiple eyewitness accounts.
"They dress in black and are large and muscular," said one resident, speaking of Maher al-Assad’s men. "They have a red stripe on one shoulder. I've seen them at night and members of my family have described them to me."......."
Hugh Macleod and a special correspondent
Al-Jazeera
"As darkness fell across it, Deraa was a city under siege.
Tanks and troops control all roads in and out. Inside the city, shops are shuttered and nobody dare walk the once bustling market streets, today transformed into the kill zone of rooftop snipers.
Trapped and terrified inside their homes, families are running low on food and drinking water, with many water tanks shot and emptied. Electricity has been cut, as have all mobile and fixed phone lines. The internet, so vital in broadcasting images of the regime's armed crackdown on peaceful protestors, is down.
Unable to crush the people who first dared rise up against him - neither with the secret police, paid thugs or the special forces of his brother's military division - President Bashar al-Assad has sent thousands of Syrian soldiers and their heavy weaponry into Deraa for an operation the regime wants nobody in the world to see.....
'They dress in black'....
Leading the assault on Deraa are the elite forces of the Fourth Division of the army, commanded by President Assad's brother Maher al-Assad, who has deployed his troops in the city since the early days of the uprising, according to multiple eyewitness accounts.
"They dress in black and are large and muscular," said one resident, speaking of Maher al-Assad’s men. "They have a red stripe on one shoulder. I've seen them at night and members of my family have described them to me."......."
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Bashar al-Assad's crackdown kills UK hopes of a new dawn
Britain's decade-long optimism that Syria's autocratic regime in Damascus would relax has turned to dust
Julian Borger, diplomatic editor
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 27 April 2011
"The story of Britain's relationship with Syria over the last decade has been the repeated triumph of hope over experience. The web of personal links created by Bashar al-Assad's British education and his marriage to a British-born woman created a familiarity that ultimately proved deceptive.
The hope that Assad would one day relax his autocratic regime, distance himself from Iran, make peace with Israel – and along the way open Syria's sclerotic markets to British business – waned over the years but never quite died until the bloody events of the past few days....
The tenacious optimism was fuelled in part by organisations such as the British Syrian Society, funded by Syrian businessmen and founded by Asma Assad's father, President Assad's father-in-law, Fawaz Akhras. The society has financed business conferences attempting to lure British investment into Damascus on the strength of legal and financial reforms. It also paid for visits by British MPs who met the president and his top advisers.
In the light of the bloody crackdown on Syrian protesters, the long history of British overtures to Damascus is now an embarrassment. But Doyle, a critic of much of Britain's policy in the regions, still believes that it was worth the gamble: "If we hadn't tried we would always have been wondering: What if?""
Julian Borger, diplomatic editor
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 27 April 2011
"The story of Britain's relationship with Syria over the last decade has been the repeated triumph of hope over experience. The web of personal links created by Bashar al-Assad's British education and his marriage to a British-born woman created a familiarity that ultimately proved deceptive.
The hope that Assad would one day relax his autocratic regime, distance himself from Iran, make peace with Israel – and along the way open Syria's sclerotic markets to British business – waned over the years but never quite died until the bloody events of the past few days....
The tenacious optimism was fuelled in part by organisations such as the British Syrian Society, funded by Syrian businessmen and founded by Asma Assad's father, President Assad's father-in-law, Fawaz Akhras. The society has financed business conferences attempting to lure British investment into Damascus on the strength of legal and financial reforms. It also paid for visits by British MPs who met the president and his top advisers.
In the light of the bloody crackdown on Syrian protesters, the long history of British overtures to Damascus is now an embarrassment. But Doyle, a critic of much of Britain's policy in the regions, still believes that it was worth the gamble: "If we hadn't tried we would always have been wondering: What if?""
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