Conditions and Consequences
THE SECOND PART OF A GREAT ARTICLE
By ESAM AL-AMIN
CounterPunch
".....Like similar great historical events, the triumph of the Egyptian revolution will have direct and significant consequences on the country, the region, and the world. Unsurprisingly some of the conditions that factored considerably in the success of the revolution have now become facts on the ground, such as the larger role of youth and women in politics and public life. Thus they are discussed here as well. Here are some of the most important consequences of Egypt’s revolution.
The role of the people:....
The role of the youth:.....
The role of women: .....
The rejection of sectarianism:.....
The revival of a value-based moral system:.....
The end of dictatorship: .....
The appreciation of freedom: ....
Spreading a culture of democracy:.....
Asserting Independence: .....
Supporting the Palestinian Cause:.....
Influencing the Arab World and the region:.....
The role of the military and security forces:....."
In part III, Al-Amin will examine the challenges facing Egypt’s revolution. Part One can be found here.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Blood on the Streets of Bahrain
Days of Rage; Decades of Oppression
By RANNIE AMIRI
CounterPunch
"....The al-Khalifa monarchy and its imported mercenaries are at a crossroads. The protestors’ demands are reasonable and legitimate. The king would be wise to accede to them before overthrow of the entire regime becomes their only acceptable alternative. After Thursday’s violent crackdown against unarmed civilians, there may now be no other option."
By RANNIE AMIRI
CounterPunch
"....The al-Khalifa monarchy and its imported mercenaries are at a crossroads. The protestors’ demands are reasonable and legitimate. The king would be wise to accede to them before overthrow of the entire regime becomes their only acceptable alternative. After Thursday’s violent crackdown against unarmed civilians, there may now be no other option."
Scientific American: Egypt's revolution vindicates the philosopher Gene Sharp's theory of nonviolent activism
Whereas most pundits have focused on the role of social media in Egypt's revolution, what impressed me most was that one of the most powerful, entrenched regimes in the world was toppled by a nonviolent uprising. Does anyone doubt that if the protesters had resorted to violence, they would have been violently crushed by Mubarak?Egypt represents an extraordinary vindication of the philosophy of Gene Sharp, a political scientist whose work I described here last July. For decades, Sharp has argued that nonviolence is the best means of overthrowing corrupt, violent, repressive regimes. He disseminates his ideas through books such as From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation (1993), which has been translated into 24 languages, including Arabic, and can be downloaded from the Web site of The Albert Einstein Institution, a tiny nonprofit founded by Sharp in 1983.
Egyptian Uprising Fueled by Striking Workers Across Nation
"Since the popular uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak, thousands of employees across Egypt have walked out on strike. Their demands range from rising wages to removing corrupt officials affiliated with Mubarak’s National Democratic Party. Democracy Now! correspondent Anjali Kamat speaks to Khaled Ali, a labor lawyer with the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights...."
"A Celebration, Not a Protest": Massive Crowd Packs Cairo’s Tahrir Square to Mark One Week Since Mubarak’s Ouster
"Tens of thousands have gathered for a victory march through Cairo’s Tahrir Square today to celebrate the overthrow of longtime Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Democracy Now! Senior Producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous reports from Cairo....."
Real News Video with Transcript: Israeli Leadership Fears Arab Popular Democracy
Michel Warschawski: I'm concerned that Israel will stage an attack on Gaza or Lebanon as a diversion
Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll
This latest poll deals with the Libyan uprising:
Do you expect that the Libyan protests will lead to regime change in Libya?
I was surprised by the large percentage of those who said YES!
With over 1,200 responding, 81% said yes.
Do you expect that the Libyan protests will lead to regime change in Libya?
I was surprised by the large percentage of those who said YES!
With over 1,200 responding, 81% said yes.
The Battle of Bahrain
King Hamad – the Mubarak of the Gulf
by Justin Raimondo, February 18, 2011
"........The rebellion in Bahrain is a dagger pointed at the heart of the War Party’s campaign against Iran, and more: it is a sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of the House of Saud. Right across the King Fahd causeway,in the oil-rich Eastern province, are as many as two million Shi’ites, who live and work atop the world’s greatest concentration of oil reserves and around 90 percent of Saudi oil production. The predominantly Shi’ite workers who work those oil fields are the key to the Kingdom’s wealth and future stability, and the Saudi kleptocrats cannot afford to let a Shi’ite uprising in Bahrain succeed.
Bahrain – and Saudi Arabia – are the weak underbelly of the elaborate US security structure in the region. In place since Franklin Delano Roosevelt cemented the US alliance with the House of Saud, in 1943, it may all be coming undone – and in very short order."
by Justin Raimondo, February 18, 2011
"........The rebellion in Bahrain is a dagger pointed at the heart of the War Party’s campaign against Iran, and more: it is a sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of the House of Saud. Right across the King Fahd causeway,in the oil-rich Eastern province, are as many as two million Shi’ites, who live and work atop the world’s greatest concentration of oil reserves and around 90 percent of Saudi oil production. The predominantly Shi’ite workers who work those oil fields are the key to the Kingdom’s wealth and future stability, and the Saudi kleptocrats cannot afford to let a Shi’ite uprising in Bahrain succeed.
Bahrain – and Saudi Arabia – are the weak underbelly of the elaborate US security structure in the region. In place since Franklin Delano Roosevelt cemented the US alliance with the House of Saud, in 1943, it may all be coming undone – and in very short order."
Next stop: The House of Saud
A VERY GOOD PIECE
By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
"Here's a crash course on how one of "our" - monarchic - dictators treats his own people during the great 2011 Arab revolt.
The king of Bahrain, Hamad al-Khalifa, has blood on his hands after his mercenary security forces - Pakistani, Indian, Syrian and Jordanian - with no previous warning, attacked sleeping, peaceful protesters at 3 am on Thursday at the Pearl roundabout, the tiny Gulf country's version of Cairo's Tahrir Square.
In the brutal crackdown, at least five people have been killed - including a young child - and 2,000 injured, some by gunshots, two of these in critical condition. Riot police targeted doctors and medics and prevented ambulances and blood donors from reaching the Pearl roundabout. A doctor at Salmaniya hospital told al-Jazeera there was a refrigerated truck outside the hospital, which he fears the army has used to remove more dead bodies.
The resourceful Maryama Alkawaka of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights was there; "It was very violent, [the police] were not showing any mercy." An avalanche of tweets from Bahrainis denounced an "Israeli-style" sneak attack and shoot-to-kill approach. And many have denounced al-Jazeera for not having kept a live satellite link as it had in Cairo, and for implying that this was only a Shi'ite protest. The Pearl roundabout is now surrounded by nearly 100 tanks at every entrance and exit. Downtown Manama has been turned into a ghost city.....
Kill them, but with a velvet glove
"Here's a crash course on how one of "our" - monarchic - dictators treats his own people during the great 2011 Arab revolt.
The king of Bahrain, Hamad al-Khalifa, has blood on his hands after his mercenary security forces - Pakistani, Indian, Syrian and Jordanian - with no previous warning, attacked sleeping, peaceful protesters at 3 am on Thursday at the Pearl roundabout, the tiny Gulf country's version of Cairo's Tahrir Square.
In the brutal crackdown, at least five people have been killed - including a young child - and 2,000 injured, some by gunshots, two of these in critical condition. Riot police targeted doctors and medics and prevented ambulances and blood donors from reaching the Pearl roundabout. A doctor at Salmaniya hospital told al-Jazeera there was a refrigerated truck outside the hospital, which he fears the army has used to remove more dead bodies.
The resourceful Maryama Alkawaka of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights was there; "It was very violent, [the police] were not showing any mercy." An avalanche of tweets from Bahrainis denounced an "Israeli-style" sneak attack and shoot-to-kill approach. And many have denounced al-Jazeera for not having kept a live satellite link as it had in Cairo, and for implying that this was only a Shi'ite protest. The Pearl roundabout is now surrounded by nearly 100 tanks at every entrance and exit. Downtown Manama has been turned into a ghost city.....
Kill them, but with a velvet glove
Is Washington remotely outraged by all this? The record speaks for itself. United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed "deep concern", according to the State Department, and "urged restraint". The Pentagon said Bahrain was "an important partner"; later Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman - certainly to make sure everything was dandy with the US Navy's 5th Fleet and its 2,250 personnel housed in an isolated compound inside 24 hectares in the center of Manama.....
Under these strategic circumstances, it's hard to dismiss Lebanese political scientist and blogger at the Angry Arab website As'ad AbuKhalil, when he stresses, "The US had to plot the repression of Bahrain to appease Saudi Arabia and other Arab tyrants who were mad at Obama for not defending Mubarak to the every end.".....
The Arab News newspaper anyway has already warned that those winds of freedom from northern Africa may hit Saudi Arabia. And it may all revolve around youth unemployment, at an unsustainable 40%. There's no question; the great 2011 Arab revolt will only fulfill its historic mission when it shakes the foundations of the House of Saud. Young Saudi Sunnis and Shi'ites, you have nothing to lose but your fear. "
Under these strategic circumstances, it's hard to dismiss Lebanese political scientist and blogger at the Angry Arab website As'ad AbuKhalil, when he stresses, "The US had to plot the repression of Bahrain to appease Saudi Arabia and other Arab tyrants who were mad at Obama for not defending Mubarak to the every end.".....
The Arab News newspaper anyway has already warned that those winds of freedom from northern Africa may hit Saudi Arabia. And it may all revolve around youth unemployment, at an unsustainable 40%. There's no question; the great 2011 Arab revolt will only fulfill its historic mission when it shakes the foundations of the House of Saud. Young Saudi Sunnis and Shi'ites, you have nothing to lose but your fear. "
Arab youth, don't lose momentum now
Our generation has finally rediscovered the lost revolutionary heritage of our forefathers – we must keep the dream alive
Abdel Razzaq Takriti
guardian.co.uk, Friday 18 February 2011
"......This Arab quest for freedom and liberation has always had powerful opponents; our dreams are their nightmares. They know as well as we do that the Egyptian revolution represents not just the overthrow of the ancien regime, but the decolonisation of the country. The first condition of true representative democracy is independence. But this is not something that the American, Israeli and other foreign governments wish for Egypt or any other Arab country, in spite of the attempts at presenting the Egyptian military establishment as a free-standing independent actor.
Yet, it may still be possible to realise our dream if we can keep close to popular consensus, which in Egypt's case has growing influence within the lower ranks of the army, who are overwhelmingly patriotic. The challenge for this generation of Arab youth is not to lose the momentum: our generation has finally rediscovered the lost revolutionary heritage of our parents and grandparents. Today, hundreds of thousands are struggling for their freedom in Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, Iraq and Palestine. If the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions have taught us anything, it is that we organise without respite until the rest of the Arab world is also free: we carry the dream."
guardian.co.uk, Friday 18 February 2011
"......This Arab quest for freedom and liberation has always had powerful opponents; our dreams are their nightmares. They know as well as we do that the Egyptian revolution represents not just the overthrow of the ancien regime, but the decolonisation of the country. The first condition of true representative democracy is independence. But this is not something that the American, Israeli and other foreign governments wish for Egypt or any other Arab country, in spite of the attempts at presenting the Egyptian military establishment as a free-standing independent actor.
Yet, it may still be possible to realise our dream if we can keep close to popular consensus, which in Egypt's case has growing influence within the lower ranks of the army, who are overwhelmingly patriotic. The challenge for this generation of Arab youth is not to lose the momentum: our generation has finally rediscovered the lost revolutionary heritage of our parents and grandparents. Today, hundreds of thousands are struggling for their freedom in Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, Iraq and Palestine. If the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions have taught us anything, it is that we organise without respite until the rest of the Arab world is also free: we carry the dream."
Bahrain mourners call for end to monarchy
Mood of defiance against entire ruling system after brutal attack on Pearl Square protest camp that left at least five dead
The Guardian
"Thousands of mourners are calling for the downfall of Bahrain's ruling monarchy as they begin burying those killed during an assault on pro-reform protesters that has brought army tanks into the streets of the west's most strategic Gulf ally.
The reaction against Bahrain's king and his inner circle reflects an escalation of protesters' initial demands for the Sunni monarchy's hold on top government posts to be diluted, and for discrimination by the Shia majority to be addressed.
The mood, however, appears to have turned towards defiance of the entire ruling system after the attack on a protest camp in Bahrain's capital, Manama, on Thursday left at least five dead and more than 230 injured. The country was placed on an emergency-like footing, with military forces in key areas and checkpoints on main roads...."
The Guardian
"Thousands of mourners are calling for the downfall of Bahrain's ruling monarchy as they begin burying those killed during an assault on pro-reform protesters that has brought army tanks into the streets of the west's most strategic Gulf ally.
The reaction against Bahrain's king and his inner circle reflects an escalation of protesters' initial demands for the Sunni monarchy's hold on top government posts to be diluted, and for discrimination by the Shia majority to be addressed.
The mood, however, appears to have turned towards defiance of the entire ruling system after the attack on a protest camp in Bahrain's capital, Manama, on Thursday left at least five dead and more than 230 injured. The country was placed on an emergency-like footing, with military forces in key areas and checkpoints on main roads...."
Libyan protesters in deadly clashes with police
Security forces have fired on demonstrators, with funerals in Benghazi and al-Bayda expected to spark more protests
Owen Bowcott
guardian.co.uk, Friday 18 February 2011
"Anti-Gadaffi demonstrators have taken over several cities in eastern Libya but scores have been killed, according to exiled opposition groups based in London.
Government troops have withdrawn from al-Bayda, the country's third largest city and scene of earlier confrontations, and protesters have blocked the airport's runway to prevent military reinforcements arriving, the National Front for the Salvation of Libya maintains.
Mohamad Ali Abdalla, deputy director of the NFSL who has been in touch with Libyan opposition groups across the country, said: "I was told that there were 13 deaths in the city of al-Bayda alone last night and six more in Benghazi.
"In al-Bayda the city has been taken over and protesters are dismantling the runway to stop any military planes landing.
"In total there have been 30 deaths in [the eastern city of] Benghazi since demonstrations began on January 15th. Some of those who died were injured citizens who had been taken to al-Jala hospital in Benghazi.
"Members of the revolutionary committee were shooting the injured who were brought in. I was told this by a nurse in al-Jala Hospital."
The government's revolutionary committee headquarters have been captured in other places, the NFSL claimed. In Ajdabiya, in north-eastern Libya, demonstrators were in charge of the city....."
Owen Bowcott
guardian.co.uk, Friday 18 February 2011
"Anti-Gadaffi demonstrators have taken over several cities in eastern Libya but scores have been killed, according to exiled opposition groups based in London.
Government troops have withdrawn from al-Bayda, the country's third largest city and scene of earlier confrontations, and protesters have blocked the airport's runway to prevent military reinforcements arriving, the National Front for the Salvation of Libya maintains.
Mohamad Ali Abdalla, deputy director of the NFSL who has been in touch with Libyan opposition groups across the country, said: "I was told that there were 13 deaths in the city of al-Bayda alone last night and six more in Benghazi.
"In al-Bayda the city has been taken over and protesters are dismantling the runway to stop any military planes landing.
"In total there have been 30 deaths in [the eastern city of] Benghazi since demonstrations began on January 15th. Some of those who died were injured citizens who had been taken to al-Jala hospital in Benghazi.
"Members of the revolutionary committee were shooting the injured who were brought in. I was told this by a nurse in al-Jala Hospital."
The government's revolutionary committee headquarters have been captured in other places, the NFSL claimed. In Ajdabiya, in north-eastern Libya, demonstrators were in charge of the city....."
Libya protests caught on amateur video
Protesters in Tobruk seen knocking over statue of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's Green Book in footage posted on YouTube
guardian.co.uk, Friday 18 February 2011
guardian.co.uk, Friday 18 February 2011
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