Insights into the latest happenings in the Middle East http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog en-us Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:22:48 -0800 http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog/post/1156/bahrain-denies-journalists-entry-ahead-of-one-year-anniversary e22312179bf43e61576081a2f250f845 In the week leading up to the one year anniversary of Bahrain's February 14 Revolution, many journalists have been denied visas to the country. Journalists from the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, the Wall Street Journal, the BBC, Associated Foreign Press, and Al-Jazeera English were all denied visas because of what the government is <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/glcarlstrom/status/166920375010209792" target="_blank">calling </a>a "high volume of requests."   "This refusal to allow access for such prestigious media organizations is another ominous signal from the Bahrain government about what might happen this coming week,&rdquo; <a href="http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/2012/02/07/international-media-shut-out-of-bahrain-as-anniversary-approaches/" target="_blank">said </a>Brian Dooley of Human Rights First. "The days approaching the anniversary are tense and rife with rumor. Bahrain's refusal to admit human rights and media organizations only fuels suspicions that the government wants to hide the truth about its ongoing abuses."   It is unclear how many journalists are allowed to enter the country for the February 14 anniversary, but the Information Affairs Agency <a href="http://uncut.indexoncensorship.org/2012/02/journalists-denied-entry-to-bahrain-as-anniversary-of-unrest-approaches/" target="_blank">maintains </a>they are allowing many foreign media outlets to cover the events.   As part of the 2011 "Arab Spring" uprising, the protests in Bahrain were initially aimed at achieving greater political reforms and equality for the predominantly Shia population. However, following a bloody night raid on February 17, 2011 against peaceful protestors staging sit-ins at Pear Roundabout in Manama, the protestors raised their demands and called for an end to the centuries-long authoritarian rule of the Khalifa dynasty. On <a href="/mosaic/20110314" target="_blank">March 14</a>, Hundreds of Saudi troops entered Bahrain to help protect government facilities amid escalating protests against the Sunni-led government.   Mohammed al-Maskati, head of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/08/us-bahrain-violence-idUSTRE81713M20120208" target="_blank">says </a>his team has documented 60 deaths since February 14, 2011 and that the police's aggressive approach in countering activists has stiffened in the past two months. Meanwhile, hundreds of activists have been detained, injured, and tortured in the past year.   After almost a year, violence is still rife in Bahrain as the revolutionary youths remain resolute in their demands and Saudi-backed forces are increasingly brutal in their crackdowns. This week the February 14 Youth Coalition issued a "charter" saying the government crackdowns had gone too far. "The aim of this revolution has become to bring down the regime and decide our own fate after it became clear that trying to live with it and reform it has become impossible," it <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/08/us-bahrain-violence-idUSTRE81713M20120208" target="_blank">said</a>.   As next week's anniversary approaches, many people are uncertain about how the events will unfold and worry of increased violence, chaos, and deaths. Emile Hokayen, Mideast Analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/emile_hokayem/status/167227818177069056" target="_blank">tweeted</a>, "Here in Bahrain, lots of uncertainty abt next week. Rumors galore, concern in some quarters, fatigue in others, real frustration among opp."   Photo: A girl flashes the victory sign with her fingers amid fellow anti-government protestors waving Bahraini flags during a rally held by Al-Wefaq, Bahrain's main Shiite opposition, in Sanabis, west of Manama January 12, 2012. Thousands of anti-government protesters participated in the rally shouting anti-government slogans demanding the downfall of the ruling family. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed.   Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:41:11 -0800 Link Media, Inc. Middle East http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog/post/1146/one-year-later-young-egyptians-vow-to-finish-their-incomplete-revolution 8a3363abe792db2d8761d6403605aeb7 The events of January 25, 2011 sparked a movement that changed the course of history in Egypt and the entire region. Exactly one year later, thousands of Egyptians who participated in the revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak filled Cairo's Tahrir Square. While some gathered in celebration, many others rallied in defiance of what they believe is an unfinished revolution. "I think anyone who intends to go and celebrate on January 25 needs to go and reconsider this choice because we still have a long way to go," <a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/01/24/what_happened_to_my_revolution?page=0,3" target="_blank">recounts </a>one protestor.   As revolutionaries reflect on the January 25 anniversary, for many, today is a grim reminder that despite the fall of Mubarak, not much has changed in Egypt. One journalist who has been covering events in Egypt all year <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/25/egypt-bloggers-january-25-anniversary?newsfeed=true" target="_blank">described</a> the revolution as "young and intoxicating&hellip;Mubarak was gone, and Egypt overflowed with hope and the invincibility of youth." But today, "one year later, the romanticism of the revolution has faded."   As bitter political division and a troubled economy still plague the country today, many wonder how long and what it will take for Egypt to bounce back. And, despite historic first round parliamentary elections, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) still remains largely in charge.  <a href="/mosaic">According to al-Alam TV</a>, hundreds of thousands of protestors across the country today are demanding an end to military rule, the start of presidential elections, and the execution of deposed President Hosni Mubarak. They are also mourning the many Egyptians who have died since January 25, 2011.   Despite the unforeseen challenges since the fall of Mubarak, Egyptians are determined not to give up on the promise of the "Arab Spring." When the Guardian newspaper <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/25/egypt-jan-25-anniversary-twitter-stories?newsfeed=true" target="_blank">asked </a>people on Twitter, "What does #Jan25 a year on mean to you?", many responses conveyed a sense of deep pride and hope for the future of Egypt. One person tweeted, "This year's #Jan25 is filled with hope of a better future 4 #Egypt even though it is still marred by a number uncertainties." Another wrote, " We breathe hope, we paid blood to get our freedom, my beloved Egypt is and will always be great.#JAN25"     Photo: A demonstrator carries an Egyptian flag near Tahrir Square where demonstrators are gathering to mark the first anniversary of Egypt's uprising, January 25, 2012.  REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih   Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:00:00 -0800 Link Media, Inc. North Africa Middle East http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog/post/1142/usiran-war-of-words-bluster-or-sign-of-imminent-conflict 8ce6790cc6a94e65f17f908f462fae85 An Iranian nuclear scientist <a href="/mosaic" target="_blank">was killed in Tehran today</a> after a motorcyclist attached a magnetic bomb to his car. Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan was a chemistry expert and director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran. Varying opinions are quickly emerging over who is to blame for the attack. Iran blames the US and Israel for the attack. "Does anyone doubt that some combination of the two nations completely obsessed with Iran's nuclear program...are responsible?" <a href="http://www.salon.com/writer/glenn_greenwald/?cid=nlc-dailybrief-daily_news_brief-link6-20120111" target="_blank">asks </a>Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com. Micah Zenko of the Council on Foreign Relations, however, is of a different opinion. He <a href="http://blogs.cfr.org/zenko/2012/01/09/irans-nuclear-program-what-intelligence-would-suffice/?cid=nlc-dailybrief-daily_news_brief-link7-20120111" target="_blank">asks</a>, "But is it in US national interest to bomb Iran to defend the principle of full cooperation with the IAEA? I would say no."    Roshan's death comes amid mounting tension between the US and Iran over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. Earlier this week, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that Iran had begun enriching uranium at 20 percent at the Fordow plant near the city of Qom. The plant is buried deep underground a military site and is said to be far more resistant to military strikes than existing plants. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/11/us-nuclear-iran-usa-idUSTRE80A03F20120111" target="_blank">responded </a>to the news with a harsh tone."This step once again demonstrates the Iranian regime's blatant disregard for its responsibilities and that the country's growing isolation is self-inflicted," she said in a statement.   Since November 2011, the US and EU have taken significant steps to cut Iran out of the international financial network after IAEA published a report stating that Iran was involved in activities relevant to the development of nuclear weapons. Iran immediately <a href="http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-110811?start=36" target="_blank">slammed</a> the report as politically motivated and a fabrication by the US. Tehran claims its uranium enrichment program is for nuclear research and peaceful energy purposes. "No one has a full sense of the Iranian production plan there," <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/09/world/middleeast/iran-will-soon-move-uranium-work-underground-official-says.html?pagewanted=2&ref=world" target="_blank">said</a> one diplomat who has studied the few details released by Iran about the Fordow plant. "And I think that&rsquo;s the point." Meanwhile, former US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolten, <a href=" http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2012/0109/Underground-Iran-nuclear-enrichment-makes-diplomatic-path-suddenly-rockier-video" target="_blank">says </a>the Iranians are "testing Western powers' resolve to stop their advance towards developing a bomb."   Iran's releationship with the West has steadily declined in recent weeks as the US <a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/01/03/144609410/u-s-sanctions-target-irans-central-bank" target="_blank">enacted sanctions</a> on Iran's central bank on January 1, and the EU is expected to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/world/europe/europe-moves-toward-ban-on-iran-oil.html?ref=world" target="_blank">impose an embargo </a>on Iranian oil by the end of the month. Western sanctions seek to undercut the Iranian government by halting the country's largest source of revenue: oil sales. The Iranian Economic Minister, Shamseddin Hosseini, likened the sanctions to "an economic war." On December 27, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi <a href="/mosaic/20111228" target="_blank">warned</a> that if the West followed through with its threats, Tehran would shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a 30-mile strategic waterway through which nearly one fourth of the world's oil passes every day. In the back-and-forth war of words, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta <a href="http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-122011?start=304" target="_blank">responded</a> to the threat by saying that closing the strategic waterway would be a "red line" for the US.   Meanwhile, while Iran concluded a massive <a href="http://news.linktv.org/videos/iran-raises-stakes-in-gulf-over-sanctions" target="_blank">ten-day naval exercise </a>last week stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Aden, some observers remain skeptical that US-Iran relations will escalate into a full-blown conflict. Iran analyst Michael Connel <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16485842" target="_blank">says</a> the most likely outcome is "more bluster." Afshon Ostovar of Foreign Policy Magazine <a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/01/09/iran_s_kamikaze_hormuz_threat?page=0,0" target="_blank">says</a> that initiating a conflict with the US would be "a last-ditch, kamikaze act by the Iranians." However, he added, "as opportunities for compromise evaporate, and as relations continue to sour, the likelihood of war is steadily increasing." Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:00:00 -0800 Link Media, Inc. Europe Middle East North America http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog/post/1141/2011-the-year-of-the-people f7f580e11d00a75814d2ded41fe8e8fe This time last year, Tunisian street vendor <a href="/mosaic" target="_blank">Mohamed Bouazizi</a> set himself on fire, sparking a popular uprising in Tunisia that spread to countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The uprisings have come to be known throughout the world as the "Arab Spring" and have caused more change in one year than the region has seen in decades. For months, chants across the Middle East echoed, "The people want the downfall of the regime." Only a month after Tunisians <a href="/mosaic/20110114" target="_blank">ousted </a>Tunisian President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, it took the Egyptian people only 18 days to <a href="/mosaic/20110211" target="_blank">overthrow</a> Hosni Mubarak after being in power for 30 years.    Shortly after the downfalls of Ben Ali and Mubarak, Libyans took up arms against Muammar Gaddafi. After ten months of violent battles that took the lives of thousands of civilians, Libyan revolutionaries <a href="http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-102011" target="_blank">claimed victory</a> when Gaddafi was killed in his hometown of Sirte.    Protestors in Yemen hope to turn a new page after months of bloody crackdowns as embattled ruler Ali Abudllah Saleh <a href="http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-112311?start=699" target="_blank">belatedly signed the Gulf-brokered deal</a> that will transfer power in the country by early next year.    In Syria, anti-regime activists are unyielding in their ongoing fight against Bashar al-Assad. As the death toll has reached over 5,000 <a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40708&Cr=syria&Cr1=&Kw1=syria&Kw2=&Kw3=" target="_blank">according to the UN</a>, the international community is slowly <a href="http://news.linktv.org/videos/sanctions-seek-to-isolate-syria" target="_blank">boosting efforts</a> to end the months-long bloody crackdown.    Protests and subsequent crackdowns have spread through Bahrain, Oman, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia but have received far less media attention.   In his <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/12/20111217135530331601.html" target="_blank">article </a>"From Tunis and Tahrir to Wall Street, and back again," UC Irvine Professor Mark Levine explains the common frustrations of people throughout the region. He states, "The lack of hope or possibility to find decent work, or overcome the corruption and repression there that defined life in [Sidi Bouzid, Bouazizi's hometown], was a microcosm of political and economic life in Tunisia under Zine Abidine Ben Ali, Egypt under Hosni Mubarak and most every other country in the region."  Khoda, a Syrian housepainter turned insurgent, had a <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/12/a-tour-inside-syrias-insurgency/250654/2/" target="_blank">different view</a>: "In Egypt, the revolution started because of poverty and hunger," he said. "In Libya it started because of misuse of power. In Syria, the main purpose of the revolution is to gain back our dignity and our honour." As the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are being hailed as successes by some, other observers aren't as optimistic that they will lead to the kinds of changes that protestors had hoped. Daniel Byman of the Washington Post <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/after-the-hope-of-the-arab-spring-the-chill-of-an-arab-winter/2011/11/28/gIQABGqHIO_story_3.html" target="_blank">predicts</a>, "The Arab Spring may not bring freedom to much, or even most, of the Arab world. Even as the United States prepares to work with the region's new democracies, it also must prepare for the chaos, stagnation and misrule." As we reach the one year mark of the start of the "Arab Spring," there are many lessons to be learned from the unparalleled and tumultuous revolutions that rocked the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. Mohamad Al-Ississ, a professor of economics at the American University of Cairo, <a href="http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/26/is-the-arab-spring-failing-its-people/" target="_blank">says </a>the fight is not over and that "this is the moment where we go forward or we go back to ground zero." Levine <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/12/20111217135530331601.html" target="_blank">warns </a>that "democracy is a means, not an end," pointing to our own Western system today that is "so dominated by money and power that inequality and corruption are reaching 'third world' levels."   Huguett Labelle, chair of Transparency International and author of  "The keys to change across the Arab world," offers wise <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/12/2011122583047286468.html" target="_blank">words of advice</a> to the future leaders of the Arab world: "listen to the people, or risk being overtaken by them."   Photo Credit: An anti-government protestor displays paintings on her hand of other countries involved in the Arab Spring revolutions during a rally to demand the ouster of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa on October 26, 2011. The words read, "Go out." REUTERS/Louafi Larbi    Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:00:00 -0800 Link Media, Inc. North Africa Middle East http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog/post/1139/after-the-war-the-fight-over-kirkuk- 184260348236f9554fe9375772ff966e Tensions are running high in post-war Iraq as sectarian divides pose a serious risk to the security and stability of the country. Iraq is made up of Sunnis, Shias, Turkmen, Kurds, Arabs, and Christians. One of the main points of contention has been over the control of Kirkuk Province, one of Iraq's most diverse areas that sits on as much as ten billion barrels of oil reserves. Kirkuk separates Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region in the north from the Arab-dominated south and center. While thousands of Iraqis <a href="http://www.presstv.ir/detail/215703.html" target="_blank">celebrated</a> the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq after almost nine years in the country, Kirkuk officials <a href="http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/4231.html" target="_blank">say </a>the US troop withdrawal "will further pave the way for extremist groups to operate in the area and fear violence will rise."    According to<a href="/mosaic" target="_blank"> al-Jazeera</a>, Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution is the latest attempt by the Iraqi government to resolve the dispute between Arbil and Baghdad over Kirkuk Province. The article calls for a referendum to determine whether or not the residents of Kirkuk wish to join the Kurdistan Region. However, the initial deadline for the article was set for 2007 and has yet to be implemented because of disagreements in government. As for the Turkmen, they want Kirkuk to be independent of both Baghdad and Arbil .   According to <a href="http://gulfnews.com/opinions/editorials/rebuilding-iraq-is-biggest-challenge-now-1.952604" target="_blank">Gulf News</a>, "one of the worst legacies of the American domination of Iraqi politics is institutionalisation of sectarian thinking." Now that the US troops are gone and since there  is no unified security force in Kirkuk, conflict over power between the Shiite Mahdi Army, the Kurds' Peshmerga and the Sunni Anbar tribes looms large. Accroding to Tony Karon of <a href="http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/12/20/iraq-after-the-war-malikis-attack-on-sunni-leaders-suggests-a-dark-divided-future/" target="_blank">Time Magazine</a>, &ldquo;The Shi'ite-Sunni-Kurdish power-sharing arrangement the Americans imagined would be achieved by the constitution they created is looking increasingly fanciful."   Some political observers <a href="http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/4231.html" target="_blank">believe </a>that the US military presence in Iraq prevented the volatile situation in Kirkuk from erupting. "In short, the US withdrawal has inflicted a heavy blow to Kirkuk," said Halo Najat Najat, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. In line with predictions of political turbulence and civil strife in Iraq in the year to come, one resident of Kirkuk <a href="http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/what-iraqis-think-of-the-american-withdrawal-kirkuk/" target="_blank">said </a>that after the withdrawal, "no place in Iraq will be stable."    Photo Credit: STRINGER Iraq / Reuters. A woman waves Kurdish flags during a rally in the disputed Iraqi town ofKhanaqin, northeast of Baghdad. Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:00:00 -0800 Link Media, Inc. http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog/post/1137/intifada1-24-years-later 801c14f07f9724229175b8ef8b4585a8 Today marks the 24th anniversary of the outbreak of the First Palestinian Intifada, which was ignited on December 8, 1987 when four Palestinians were killed by IDF forces at the Erez crossing in Gaza. To commemorate the anniversary, a group of Palestinian youth sent out the following <a href="http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/intifada1/" target="_blank">call</a>:   We are also calling out to all the Palestinian bloggers in Palestine and in exile to dedicate their blogs on the 9th of December to honor the people of the First Intifada through writing stories from the Intifada or conducting interviews with the heroes, publishing videos or photos etc. We also call on Palestinian artists for a dedication in honor of the Intifada.   Ziad Hmaidan, activist, former political prisoner, legal researcher at the Al Haq human rights organization, and analyst for the Alternative Information Center said in an <a href="http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/news/3971-former-political-prisoner-reflects-on-the-24th-anniversary-of-the-first-intifada" target="_blank">interview </a>that the First Intifada was a unique example of a truly popular struggle "involving&hellip;people from every social and cultural strata and of every political background&hellip;as equal actors."   <a href="http://electronicintifada.net/content/first-intifada-20-years-later/7251" target="_blank">According </a>to Sonja Karkar of the Electronic Intifada, "There was no doubt that this national movement gave every Palestinian a sense of empowerment, even though there were very few gains on the ground&hellip;The question that should weigh heavily on our consciences is &mdash; how many intifadas must be fought before justice for the Palestinians finally prevails?" In an article <a href="http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=443091" target="_blank">titled</a>, "Toward a true paradigm shift in Palestine," Ramzy Baroud examines how Palestinians today must continue their resistance that began over two decades ago. He states, "In the case of Palestine, a new beginning requires the total mobilization of all aspects of Palestinian society...The allegiance must not lie with any particular faction, but to Palestine itself, and the only unifying slogan should be 'Freedom.'"   The hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/%23intifada1" target="_blank">#Intifada1</a> has been created on Twitter to commemorate the anniversary as Palestinian bloggers and online activists unite under the same nationwide campaign of popular resistance. One <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/occpal" target="_blank">blogger and activist</a> tweeted, "24 Years after #intifada1, people still die for a free #Palestine, I salute The Martyrs of Occupation 2011"   Click <a href="http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/the-first-intifada-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B6%D8%A9-in-pictures-intifada1/" target="_blank">here </a>to see the First Intifada in pictures, <a href="http://abirkopty.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/graffiti-in-ramallah-palestine-for-first-intifada-anniversary/" target="_blank">here </a>to see graffiti in Ramallah marking the anniversary, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.276829475702289.72231.210981295620441&type=3" target="_blank">here</a> to see revolutionary posters from the Intifada.   Image credit: REUTERS/Jim Hollander. An Israeli soldier takes aim as a Palestinian woman hurls a rock at him from close range during a demonstration in the First Intifada. February 29,1988. Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:00:00 -0800 Link Media, Inc. Middle East http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog/post/1136/egyptian-elections-explained 47a658229eb2368a99f1d032c8848542 After last week's violent clashes between protestors and security forces in Cairo's landmark Tahrir Square left 41 protestors dead and over 3,000 wounded , the first elections since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and his regime began today as scheduled.  <a href="http://lynch.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/11/27/egypts_election_eve" target="_blank">According</a><a href="http://lynch.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/11/27/egypts_election_eve" target="_blank"> </a>to Marc Lynch of Foreign Policy Magazine, "Egypt has gone from having no democracy at all to having the most complicated system I've ever encountered," so here's a short breakdown of what's going on.   Parliamentary elections are being held in three stages over a period of six weeks. The first stage began today and will continue tomorrow, and runoffs will be held December 5 and 6. The first round is taking place in nine out of the 27 Egyptian governorates: Cairo, Alexandria Fayyum, Assiut, Luxor, the Red Sea, Port Said, Damietta and Kafr El-Sheikh. Egyptians are voting to fill 168 seats (out of a total 498) in the first round, 56 of which will go to independents and 112 to party-based candidates.    Nearly 50 political parties and thousands of independent candidates are running in this year's parliamentary elections. The main parties are divided into four blocs:    Egyptian Bloc: alliance of liberal parties campaigning for 'civil democracy and social justice' including the Free Egyptians Party, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, and theNational Progressive Unionist Party.   Democratic Alliance: consists of 12 parties including the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, the Ghad Party, and the Dignity Party.   Islamist Alliance: conservative bloc mostly made up of Salafi parties, including al-Nour Party.   Revolution Continues: made up of socialist and liberal parties as well as the Revolution Youth Coalition.    The second stage of elections will begin on December 14, and the third on January 3. Shura Council elections will begin on January 29 and end on March 11. Presidential elections are tentatively being held in June, according to the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces.     <a href="http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-112811" target="_blank">According to the BBC</a>, the elections seem to be running smoothly so far with a high turnout and few security issues. Long lines and delays were reported in Cairo and Alexandria and are being attributed to administrative and logistical problems.     <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2011/11/20111121104852168402.html">Here</a> is a visual breakdown of Egypt's elections.       Photo: A man shows his ink stained finger after casting his vote at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Cairo. Amr Dalsh / Reuters Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:00:00 -0800 Link Media, Inc. North Africa Middle East http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog/post/1134/back-to-tahrir-square- 7c9d0b1f96aebd7b5eca8c3edaa19ebb "The revolution in Egypt is not over. It has hardly begun," <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/164648/will-egypts-arab-spring-turn-arab-nightmare" target="_blank">writes </a>Omeya El Naggar in an article titled "Will Egypt's Arab Spring Turn Into an Arab Nightmare." Egypt's Tahrir Square looked like a nightmare today, ten months after protests brought down Hosni Mubarak's regime, as clashes between protestors and police continued for a third consecutive day. Al Jazeera <a href="http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-112111" target="_blank">reports </a>that 33 people have been killed and over 1,500 injured since Saturday.    Thousands of protestors gathered in Tahrir Square, the symbolic epicenter of the Arab Spring, to demand the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) swiftly transfer power to a civilian authority and to protect their revolution from what they say is an attempt to hijack it. Parliamentary elections are scheduled to start on November 28, but presidential elections won&rsquo;t be held until a new constitution is written, which could take up to a year. In the meantime, executive powers would remain with the army.    <a href="http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/videos-capture-violent-scenes-in-egypt/#more-144843" target="_blank">According </a>to the Cairo daily Al Masry al Youm, protestors were using firebombs and shotgun pellets against the police. At a brief news conference, a representative of the military, General Said Abbas, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/world/middleeast/facing-calls-to-give-up-power-egypts-military-battles-crowds.html?_r=1" target="_blank">said </a>that the security forces had not initiated any violence and had only defended themselves. This <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ7FHUtxePw&sns=em" target="_blank">video </a>however, shows police officers beating lifeless bodies and dragging others by their hair across the square. One activist <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/iRevolt/status/138596465613352961" target="_blank">tweeted</a>, "There are protestors writing phone numbers on their arms so that in case they're killed their family members can be contacted. #Tahrir." Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/11/2011112173443755445.html" target="_blank">said</a> the clashes were "very intense, with the people on the street telling us&hellip;that the military has shown its true colors."   In the face of such bloody protests, interim Prime Minsiter Essam Sharaf and his cabinet submitted their collective resignation. However, the military council reportedly <a href="http://bikyamasr.com/49124/egypt-cabinet-files-for-resignation-scaf-says-no/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter" target="_blank">announced </a>they will not accept the resignation until Egyptian political forces decide on a replacement prime minister.     In an article <a href="http://lynch.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/11/21/cairo_jumps_the_rails" target="_blank">titled </a>"Cairo Jumps the Rails," Marc Lynch says, "Now is a time for the Egyptian political elite to unify -- Islamist and non-Islamist, elite and popular -- around clear demands for a speedy political transition to civilian rule. Protestors, bloody and mourning their dead, will not be satisfied with minor political concessions." Others say it is easier said than done. In an increasingly heated and complex political climate, Al Ahram&rsquo;s Elias Harfoush <a href="http://mepc.org/articles-commentary/commentary/has-egypts-revolution-been-hijacked" target="_blank">argues </a>that "the ongoing competition&hellip;over the inheritance of Mubarak's regime has its justifications&hellip;Mubarak's absence has left a great vacuum  in the prime seat of power in the largest [and most populated] Arab country." In other words, the stakes are high.    As over 20,000 protestors filled Tahrir Square on Monday night, activists are calling for a "million man march" on Tuesday to call for a new civilian government and national unity.   Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:00:00 -0800 Link Media, Inc. North Africa Middle East http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog/post/1131/inside-syrias-divided-opposition fe709c654eac84d5239d1a12a4f71877 Seven months into the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, the Syrian opposition remains starkly divided on several key issues. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15665622">According</a> to the BBC, these issues include "the question of whether or not to encourage foreign intervention, whether there should be regime change or dialogue, and whether there should be armed rebellion or peaceful protest."   The Syrian National Council (SNC), which was recently formed in Turkey, and the Damascus-based National Coordination Committee (NCC) are the two main opposition groups that have emerged in Syria. While both blocs agree on overthrowing the current regime, the NCC calls for dialogue with Assad's regime (on the condition that the regime ends the violence against protestors), while the SNC vehemently rejects any form of dialogue.    While the SNC and the NCC both originally rejected foreign intervention, the SNC membership now seems divided on the issue. <a href="http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/11/02/meet_syrias_opposition">According </a>to Foreign Policy Magazine, "some SNC members, especially the youth activists, have been calling for the imposition of a no-fly zone and the protection of civilians including a NATO-led intervention akin to the one in Libya." The NCC calls instead for economic sanctions and other political maneuvers to counter Assad's regime.    Military defectors organized under the Free Syrian Army (FSA) mark yet another facet of Syria's opposition. The FSA has repeatedly mounted attacks on Syrian security forces and Syrian security forces and army, <a href="http://wagingnonviolence.org/2011/11/nonviolent-discipline-key-to-success-in-syria/">worrying</a> many that the crisis will escalate into a civil war. A majority of the opposition agrees that protests should remain non-violent, however many youth activists are growing impatient with the slow progress on the political front.   Many protestors are weary of both opposition blocs, saying they aren't representative of the people and their demands. In an <a href="http://english.al-akhbar.com/blogs/angry-corner/opposing-some-arab-opposition-groups">article </a>titled, "Opposing (Some) Arab Opposition Groups," As'ad AbuKhalil warns against endorsing Arab opposition groups simply because they oppose dictatorial regimes. He says, "Some Arab opposition groups may promise democracy and rule of law, while they carry the agenda of a sponsoring tyrannical government&hellip; It is our duty&hellip;to speak out against those opposition groups who promise to take the people from one form of tyranny to another."   As the protests calling for the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad continue on a daily basis in Syria, the deepening divide in the muddled Syrian opposition will continue to hinder a resolution to the crisis. In the <a href="http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/25515/World/Region/Syrias-crisis-A-war-of-attrition-and-a-marathon,-e.aspx">words </a>of Steven Heydemann, senior advisor for Middle East initiatives at the US Institute of Peace, the Syrian revolution will be  "a marathon" if Syrians cannot unite.    (Photo:  A Syrian protestor living in Egypt attacks a member of the Syrian opposition delegation before the delegation was due to meet with Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo November 9, 2011. Watch New TV's report on the altercation <a href="http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-110911?start=891">here</a>.)    Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:00:00 -0800 Link Media, Inc. Middle East http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog/post/1129/deadly-racism-in-postgaddafi-libya 69a5b5995110b36a9a347898d97a610e In the aftermath of the Libyan revolution against Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi, many black Sub-Saharan African migrants and dark skinned Libyans continue to be the target of attacks by armed "revolutionaries". While race has long been a dividing line in the predominantly Arab country, "the atrocities attributed to black mercenaries during the uprising against Gaddafi, as well as the allegiance some regions populated by dark-skinned Libyans showed him in the war, have given the race question a new and deadly currency," <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/racism-clouds-libya-s-democratic-ambitions-1.1144927">according </a>Joseph Logan of IOL News.   Human Rights Watch <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/racism-clouds-libya-s-democratic-ambitions-1.1144927">reported </a>that the town of Tawergha, a predominantly black town south of Misurata which used to be home to over 30,000 residents, remains deserted in the weeks following the revolution. Militias from Misurata are "terrorizing the displaced residents&hellip;accusing them of having committed atrocities with Gaddafi forces." Katrina Nikolas of the Digital Journal <a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/313639#ixzz1cfsEyd5V">writes</a>, "[The death of Gaddafi] has not satisfied the desire for vengeance amongst still-armed NTC militias."   One Liberian migrant who is one of 600 Africans camping out at a fishing port in Tripoli <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/opinion/a-dangerous-time-to-be-dark-skinned-1.1145840?ot=inmsa.ArticlePrintPageLayout.ot">said</a>, "If children see us they hold their noses, and revolutionaries sometimes shoot by us. Blacks are Gaddafi, they say. We need to leave." Another migrant said they faced constant assaults including robbery, physical attacks, and rape.    Human Rights Watch and the UN Human Rights Council have called on the African Union and the NTC to protect the rights of migrants and refugees. Middle East and North Africa Director at HRW Sarah Leah Whitson <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/04/libya-stop-arbitrary-arrests-black-africans">said</a>, "It's a dangerous time to be dark-skinned in Tripoli. The NTC should stop arresting African migrants and black Libyans unless it has concrete evidence of criminal activity. It should also take immediate steps to protect them from violence and abuse."   Last month, the National Transitional Council denied the allegations, <a href="http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/09/19/167648.html">saying </a>"We do not make any distinction among people on grounds of color. And we do not discriminate against our brothers from African countries." He added that any captured mercenaries will receive fair trials and that the NTC will "fully investigate any human rights violations committed by its fighters," but that remains to be seen. Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:27:46 -0700 Link Media, Inc. North Africa Middle East http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog/post/1128/today-were-proud-to-be-tunisian 3fe78a8acf5fda99de95303940a2420c   Early election results indicate that the moderate Islamist party, Ennahda, has claimed victory in Tunisia's first elections since the country's popular revolution ousted longtime leader Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali last January. Tonight, <a href="/mosaic">al-Alam</a> features a profile on the once-banned political party that has so far claimed 30 percent of votes in Tunisia's historic election, in which some 90 percent of eligible voters turned out. While many worried about the potential for violence and chaos, the elections are being <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/10/24/141646229/tunisias-first-free-election-deemed-success">hailed </a>a success. One voter said, "We used to be so ashamed of our country&hellip;But today we're proud to be Tunisian." Another observer <a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/tunisia-oct-25-2011-2006">tweeted</a>, "singing and fireworks outside [Ennahda] HQ after first results announced."    According to <a href="http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/10/25/173679.html">al-Arabiya</a>, Ennahda's leader Rachid al-Ghannouchi, who was in exile for 22 years during Ben Ali's rule, wants a moderate system of Islamist governance modeled after Turkey's Justice and Development party. The party's campaign manager <a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/10/2011102515333274376.html?utm_content=automateplus&utm_campaign=Trial6&utm_source=SocialFlow&utm_term=tweets&utm_medium=MasterAccount">added </a>that Tunisia's priorities in this new phase "are stability, conditions for a dignified life and the building of democratic institutions in Tunisia. We are open to anyone who shares these objectives. We are open to all forces without exception." While secularists see al-Ghannouchi as a dangerous radical, Islamists <a href="http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5E7LP49P20111025?sp=true">believe</a> he is far too liberal. The Ennahda leadership, however, vows to uphold its pre-election <a href="/mosaic">promises </a>of forming a broad coalition government and is currently in discussions with secular parties.    With the first democratic elections, Tunisia is once again paving the way in the region as the next phase of the "Arab Spring" takes shape. Egypt is scheduled to hold elections next month and many eagerly await to see whether other countries in the region will follow Tunisia's lead.    (Photo: Supporters of the Islamist Ennahda movement celebrate outside Ennahda's headquarters in Tunis. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters)   Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:00:00 -0700 Link Media, Inc. Middle East http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog/post/1122/palestinian-detainees-the-incomplete-road-to-freedom 3b712de48137572f3849aabd5666a4e3 Palestinians <a href="/mosaic">rejoiced </a>today in Gaza and the West Bank as <a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/10/2011101675220436780.html">477 prisoners</a> were released in the first phase of the exchange deal for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. But in an op-ed <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/thousands-are-left-behind-by-the-shalit-prisoner-exchange">titled </a>"Thousands Are Left Behind by the Shalit Prisoner Exchange," the general director of al-Haq, Shawan Jabarin, warned that the release of 1,000 should not mean forgetting the <a href="http://imeu.net/news/article0021592.shtml">6,000 political prisoners</a> still languishing behind bars.   The release of a total 1,027 Palestinian prisoners will be completed within two months. However, 163 detainees will be exiled to Gaza and another 40 will be deported from their homeland to Turkey, Syria, Qatar and Jordan. For detainees staying behind, worsening conditions in Israeli prisons had pushed over 2,000 Palestinian prisoners to take part in a three-week hunger strike to protest the poor conditions and lack of basic rights. According to <a href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/israel-occupied-palestinian-territories/report-2011">Amnesty International</a>, "consistent allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, including of children, were frequently reported. Among the most commonly cited methods were beatings, threats to the detainee or their family, sleep deprivation, and being subjected to painful stress positions for long periods. Confessions allegedly obtained under duress were accepted as evidence in Israeli military and civilian courts."   In an article <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/how-israel-takes-its-revenge-on-boys-who-throw-stones-2344037.html">titled</a> "How Israel takes its revenge on boys who throw stones," Catrina Stewart offers a glimpse into the brutal treatment of <a href="http://news.linktv.org/videos/palestinian-minors-jailed-for-throwing-stones">Palestinian children</a> in Israeli jails. She reports that children as young as 12 are taken from their homes at night, deprived of food and sleep, physically and psychologically abused, and forced to sign a confession they often can't even read. The article states that "Israel's policy has been successful in one sense, sowing fear among children and deterring them from future demonstrations. But the children are left traumatised, prone to nightmares and bed-wetting." And yet Palestinian minors were excluded from the first round of the prisoners' release, leading <a href="http://www.unicef.org/oPt/media_6690.html">UNICEF</a> to appeal for the release of Palestinian child detainees.   Amidst joyous celebrations in Gaza City, one Palestinian <a href="http://electronicintifada.net/content/i-was-1-day-old-when-my-father-was-jailed/10499#.Tp3zupviEe6">wrote </a>that she "didn't know whether to be happy or sad&hellip;We will never stop singing for the freedom of Palestinian detainees until the Israeli prisons are emptied." Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:00:00 -0700 Link Media, Inc. Middle East http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog/post/1118/occupy-wall-street-an-american-arab-spring-- c60d060b946d6dd6145dcbad5c4ccf6f "Ever since the Arab Spring, many people here have been pining for an American Autumn," <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/opinion/hippies-and-hipsters-exhale.html?_r=3">says </a>Charles Blow in the New York Times. "The closest we've gotten so far is Occupy Wall Street." For almost four weeks, Occupy Wall Street activists have gathered in Manhattan's financial district to protest corporate greed, corruption, and social and economic inequality, among other things. The movement's <a href="http://occupywallst.org/">website </a>states, "<a href="http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/">We Are the 99%</a> that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends."  Is Occupy Wall Street the beginning of America's own "Arab Spring"? <a href="http://techpresident.com/blog-entry/occupywallstreet-theres-something-happening-here-mr-jones">According to</a> Micah Sifry at techPresident, "America is about to experience the same youth-driven, hyper-networked wave of grassroots protests against economic inequality and political oligarchy" that swept the Arab world. After travelling throughout the Middle East to cover the "Arab Spring" protests, New York Times columnist Nick Kristof <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/opinion/sunday/kristof-the-bankers-and-the-revolutionaries.html?_r=1&ref=nicholasdkristof">said </a>"the protest reminded me a bit of Tahrir Square in Cairo."    Many disagree. Blow <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/opinion/hippies-and-hipsters-exhale.html?_r=3">describes </a>the protests as "a festival of frustrations, a collective venting session with little edge or urgency, highlighting just how far away downtown Manhattan is from Damascus." James Joyner at Outside the Beltway <a href="http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/occupy-wall-street-not-our-arab-awakening/">states</a>, "What these movements have in common: frustrated youth loosely organized using social media &hellip;It's simply insulting to compare the two."   What can the American protestors learn from the more experienced "Arab Spring" protestors? In a Foreign Policy Magazine <a href="http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/occupy-wall-street-not-our-arab-awakening/">article </a>entitled "From Tahrir Square to Wall Street," veteran Egyptian protestor Mosa'ab Elshamy offers his advice to the Occupy Wall Street activists on what makes a successful protest movement. Most importantly, Elshamy says, is that protestors have a unified platform. They must first agree on a set of simple and broad demands in order to attract a wide base of support, which is exactly what Occupy Wall Street lacks, according to most <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/09/occupy-wall-street_n_1002505.html">critics</a>.     Almost one month after the start of protests in New York City, the Occupy Wall Street movement has shown surprising staying power. The movement has spread to over 70 US cities and has been endorsed by several labor unions, celebrities, and politicians. But will it succeed in bringing accountability and equity to the US financial system, or will it fizzle as protestors are dispersed by a cold New York winter?    (Photo: Occupy Wall Street protestor marches up Broadway in New York.  Mike Segar / Reuters) Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:00:00 -0700 Link Media, Inc. Middle East North America http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog/post/1117/saudi-arabias-forgotten-political-prisoners-emerge-from-the-shadows 0eec27c419d0fe24e53c90338cdc8bc6 In a <a href="http://ihrc.org.uk/publications/briefings/9867-saudi-arabias-political-prisoners-towards-a-third-decade-of-silence">report</a> entitled "Saudi Arabia's Political Prisoners: Towards a Third Decade of Silence," the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) describes political imprisonment in Saudi Arabia as  "an epidemic [which] has not spared any sector of Saudi society." According to the IHRC, there are an estimated 30,000 political prisoners in Saudi Arabia out of approximately 18 million Saudi nationals. The report calls attention to the plight of these political prisoners over the last three decades with hopes that the Saudi government and international community will finally take notice.    <a href="http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-091611?start=798">Protests</a> in Saudi Arabia have been ongoing for several months calling for political reform and the release of political prisoners. On Monday, these protests turned violent for the first time when Saudi security forces opened fired at demonstrators. Al-Alam <a href="http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-100411?start=195">reported</a> that 24 people were injured in the clashes in Saudi's oil-rich Eastern Province. The clashes took place in Qatif and al-Awamiyah, home to a largely Shia population. In an official <a href="http://www.moi.gov.sa/wps/portal/!ut/p/b1/rZDLDoIwEEW_xS_o4JSHy6aRtoAEJEXoxrAghETAhTF-vkDcUl04u0nOydw7xJCKmLF59l3z6KexuS278a4iLQsUEh0I1RFUrqIIRYk88WagngHYGAar7_KMq-CEjsi0D_vQpxH34gBi-vG3AIq_3eeCSeonAEEiXFBM6vMhRwSGf8lv8Yt2JBdirDWXFitgi7kCthzfPpnKaWjJfdBaVy_VZ93uDaWUsYI!/dl4/d5/L0lDU0lKSWdrbUEhIS9JRFJBQUlpQ2dBek15cXchLzRKQ2lEb01OdEJqdEJIZmxDRUEhL1o3X0IwMEU5QjFBME8wMDgwSUhKNUdCTzUwMEk3LzA!/?WCM_PORTLET=PC_Z7_B00E9B1A0O0080IHJ5GBO500I7000000_WCM&WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/wps/wcm/connect/main/moi+home+content/home/news/news+archive/moi_news_05-10-2011a_en">statement</a>, the Interior Ministry blamed a "foreign country" for the unrest, undoubtedly a veiled <a href="http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/10/04/170200.html">reference</a> to Iran, adding that "those involved in sabotage will be dealt with an iron hand."    In an al-Jazeera <a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/07/201172811543685680.html">opinion piece </a>entitled "Saudi political prisoners long for justice," Hala al-Dosari detailed the case of one mother who appealed to the head of the Interior Ministry for the release of her son, Fahad al-Saeed, arrested nine years ago without trial or charges. The "articulate language and heart-breaking details " of the <a href="http://www.worldpulse.com/node/39496">plea</a> garnered a shocking, first-time response from the government, but one that denied the arrest and detainment of al-Saeed.    The Independent newspaper <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-police-open-fire-on-civilians-as-protests-gain-momentum-2365614.html">reported</a> that protests in the oil-rich kingdom are gaining momentum and are expected spread to more cities. A Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Revolution.East?sk=info">page</a> entitled "Revolution of the Eastern Region" is among several opposition websites gaining popularity. What will the spread of protests mean for a country that has long punished political dissidents?  Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:00:00 -0700 Link Media, Inc. Middle East http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog/post/1115/yemeni-and-syrian-protestors-unify-fridays-call-for-victory e19347e1c3ca0c0b97de5fb3b690855a For the first time since the region's popular uprising erupted, protestors in Yemen and Syria unified the slogan of this Friday's protest. Masses rallied in both countries under the banner "Victory for Our Syria and Our Yemen," and chanted in solidarity with each other's struggle.   (Sana'a, Yemen. Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah) Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:00:00 -0700 Link Media, Inc. Middle East http://www.linktv.org/rss/linktv_rss.gif http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/blog