Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East

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Article by Tunisia's president:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/28/op...seid=auto&_r=0

The Arab Spring Still Blooms

THE violent demonstrations that have spread across the Muslim world in recent weeks have convinced many in the United States and Europe that the Arab revolutions that began in late 2010 are now over and that the democratic project has failed. Bitterness and a sense of impending catastrophe are replacing the enthusiasm that followed the toppling of dictators in Tunisia and Egypt last year.

Now there is ominous talk of an “Islamist Fall” and “Salafi Winter” after a supposedly failed Arab Spring. To these skeptics, religion is the driving force in Arab politics, and hateful anti-Western slogans and the killing of America’s ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, are evidence of a “clash of civilizations” between Islam and the West.

While these fears are understandable, such alarmism is misplaced. The Arab revolutions have not turned anti-Western. Nor are they pro-Western. They are simply not about the West. They remain fundamentally about social justice and democracy — not about religion or establishing Shariah law.

The democratization of Tunisia, Egypt and other countries has allowed a number of extremist free riders into the political system. But it has also definitively refuted the myth that democracy and Islam are incompatible. Islamists are political actors like any others: they are no more pure, more united or more immune from criticism than anyone else.

https://twitter.com/AJELive

BREAKING: Kenyan forces have entered last al-Shabab bastion in Somalia. More Soon.
1:21 AM

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...8KS0I620120928

Kenyan military spokesman: Kenyan, Somali government troops have captured Somali rebel bastion of Kismayu - @Reuters http://reut.rs/SoJjuZ
1:36 AM

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19754639

Kenya says AU forces storm Somali rebel city of Kismayo

African Union (AU) forces have launched a beach assault and taken control of parts of Kismayo, the last major Islamist militant bastion in southern Somalia, Kenya's military says.

The port city has been a stronghold of the al-Qaeda-aligned group al-Shabab.

Al-Shabab spokesmen told news agencies that fierce fighting was now under way.

The Kenyan troops are part of the AU's Amisom force, which is trying to wrest control of the country for the newly elected UN-backed president.

Kenyan military spokesman Cyrus Oguna confirmed to the BBC that parts of Kismayo had been captured and the rest was expected to fall soon.

Mr Oguna said the joint operation of Kenyan Defence Forces and Somali government troops had begun at 02:00 local time (23:00 GMT Thursday) and was "basically amphibious".

Mr Oguna said: "We cannot give casualty figures at the moment, the damage has not been assessed, but I can tell you our forces are already in Kismayo."

He told the BBC: "There are some parts that still will be under the control of al-Shabab because we only got there a couple of hours ago, and Kismayo is a big city."

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...88S04H20120929

Somalia's al Shabaab pull out of last stronghold: rebels

Somalia's al Shabaab rebels withdrew from the southern Somali city of Kismayu overnight, the rebel group and residents said on Saturday, a day after Kenyan and Somali government forces attacked the militants' last bastion.

"We moved out our fighters ... from Kismayu at midnight," al Shabaab spokesman, Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, told Reuters.

He threatened to strike back soon. "The enemies have not yet entered the town. Let them enter Kismayu which will soon turn into a battlefield," he said.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa...415328148.html

Residents in the city confirmed that the fighters seemed to have moved outside city lines and that their radio station, Radio Andalus, was off the air.

"We don't know where they went to... but early this morning the last military vehicle left the town," said Hassan Ali, a resident.

Al-Shabab fighters on the ground also confirmed the withdrawal. "We got orders from our superiors to withdraw from the city... this is part of broader military tactic we have set for the enemy," said Sheikh Mohamed Abu-Fatma, a commander for the group, told the AFP news agency by telephone.

Fighting for the city began after an amphibious assault led by the Kenyan military that began overnight on Thursday and raged through Friday.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...88T08920120930

Kenya navy shells Somali town after rebels announce retreat

Kenyan warships shelled the southern Somali port of Kismayu overnight after al Qaeda-linked rebels said they had abandoned the city, residents said on Sunday.

Stunned by an assault by sea, air and ground forces late on Friday night, al Shabaab rebels fled the city that had been their key source of revenue, retreating to surrounding forests and towns.

The shells may have been targeting any remaining pockets of resistance or military installations in the city that was the rebels' last stronghold.

"The ships were firing deafening shells to the outskirts last night but several shells landed on houses," said Samira Ismail, a local mother of four.

Al Shabaab said two children were killed and other people injured by the shells, a statement rejected as propaganda by Kenyan military spokesman Col. Cyrus Oguna.

Kenyan and Somali troops sent to retake Kismayu from the rebels were still in the town's outskirts, Oguna said, proceeding carefully in case al Shabaab's claim that it had abandoned the city was a ploy to lure them into a trap

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa...383390624.html

African Union troops 'to move into Kismayo'

Kenyan and Somali troops are preparing to move into Kismayo following the withdrawal of rebel fighters from the southern port city, Hussein Arab Isse, Somalia's deputy prime minister, has told Al Jazeera.

Isse, who is also in charge of the country's defence ministry, said on Sunday that troops would enter the key commercial city later in the day.

Joint forces launched a series of assaults to take the city on Friday, forcing al-Shabab rebels to withdraw from the port town - their last stronghold in Somalia.

The Kenyan and African Union troops, who surround the city, have been waiting for peace negotiations to conclude with tribal elders there.

"We truly pacified the city without any problems," Isse said.

Residents in Kismayo said they woke to find police and government headquarters abandoned by al-Shabab, sparking a looting spree of the government and police headquarters.

"We are entering Kismayo with caution and working very closely with people inside the city, however there are special forces inside Kismayo to ensure al-Shabab fighters are not causing harm," the Somali deputy prime minister said.

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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middle...911177809.html

Bahrain court upholds verdict in medics trial

Bahrain's highest court has upheld prison terms against nine medics convicted for taking part in last year's pro-democracy uprising.

The medics were part of a group of 20 arrested last year and convicted by a military court; those convictions were upheld by a civilian tribunal in June, despite widespread criticism of the trial from international human rights groups.

The longest sentence, five years, went to Ali al-Ekry, formerly the senior medic at Salmaniya Medical Complex, the largest hospital in Bahrain. He was convicted of "possession and concealment" of weapons and "illegal assembly".

Eight other doctors were sentenced to between one month and three years.

On Monday, the court of cassation rejected their appeals and confirmed the prison sentences, according to the state-run Bahrain News Agency.

All nine medics have been free on bail since last September, though they still face a travel ban. This was their final appeal, but it is unclear whether they will immediately be remanded to prison. "It's always been vague in dealing with the medics issue," al-Ekry said in an interview.

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****ing hell....
https://twitter.com/AJELive

Al Jazeera has learned that five medics have been arrested in a series of dawn raids in Bahrain. Details soon.
1:05 AM

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https://twitter.com/Repent11

King Abdulla of Jordan has dissolved parliament and called for early elections! #powerofthepeople
12:10 PM

Not sure what that means in the long run, I know the cabinet usually gets shuffled a lot there, not sure about the parliament.


https://twitter.com/daoudkuttab

jo King dissolves parliament and calls for early elections. By law it has to take place within 4 months. electoral comission decides date
12:53 PM

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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middle...642288370.html

Protesters clash with police in Bahrain

Protesters have clashed with police in the Bahraini capital, Manama, after their march was stopped from proceeding towards Pearl roundabout, the focus of the mass protests that began in February last year.

Police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters on Friday after a memorial for a Shia man jailed over last year's pro-democracy uprising, witnesses have said.

The interior ministry said on Twitter that a "group of terrorists" attacked police with Molotov cocktails and blocked streets, prompting police to take "legal measures" in response.

Witnesses said riot police, who were heavily deployed in the area, used tear gas, water cannon, sound bombs and buckshot to disperse the demonstrators.

Bahrain's Information Authority said Mohammed Ali Ahmed Mushaima, 23, had been in hospital since August and died of complications from sickle cell disease.

Opposition activists said the authorities caused his death by denying him proper treatment. His funeral was held on Tuesday.

Mushaima was jailed for seven years in March 2011 for "vandalism, rioting, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest".

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https://twitter.com/BreakingNews

Libyan prime minister names new government with 10 ministries, including defense, interior and justice - @Reuters
11:42 AM

Video of the speech
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/25984776

He gave a very emotional and fiery speech this time that has been roundly cheered on by Libyans on twitter. Most seem very happy and impressed with him today.
Much more so than a few days ago when he submitted a long list of unknown candidates that baffled most people and was ultimately rejected by the GNC. We'll have to see is this bunch is accepted, since he really lit into the GNC over playing political games and being selfish this time around.


First Jordan, now Kuwait.
Although they've been having issues between Parliament and the government for a while.
Actually I think this is the second time they've done this in months.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/kuwai...erlay-context=

Kuwaiti ruler dissolves parliament, sets up vote

Kuwait's ruler dissolved parliament Sunday, a step toward ending months of political gridlock and calling the second elections this year that could again swing in favor of opposition groups led by Islamist factions.

The move by Kuwait's Western-allied emir, announced on state-run media, followed a failed attempt last month by the government to overturn a voting district law that appeared to favor the opposition. New elections must now be held within 60 days.

Kuwait is one of America's most strategic Gulf military allies. Its strategic importance to Washington rose sharply after the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq in December. It is now the hub for U.S. ground forces in the Gulf region, where the U.S. and its Arab allies seek to counter Iran's military buildup.

Kuwait has been locked in a political limbo for months as the government tried to challenge the voting system in the February elections, which gave Islamists and allies control of the 50-seat parliament. A stopgap parliament, comprising lawmakers elected in 2009, was installed in June, but it never held any sessions.

Opposition leaders had called on Kuwait's ruler, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, to end the impasse and call new elections. Kuwait has the one of the Gulf region's most politically active parliaments. It often clashes with the government over policies and alleged corruption

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not sure this fits,but I find it mildly intriguing

http://opinion.financialpost.com/201...a-for-its-oil/

Will Egypt seize Libya for its oil? Given Egypt’s political ideology, its history with its neighbours, and its material needs, this must be a live issue.

First, Egypt’s needs. Since the Arab Spring began almost two years ago, the Egyptian economy has been collapsing. Egypt’s foreign currency reserves have more than halved and many expect the Egyptian pound, already at its lowest point in eight years, to be devalued. Discontent is widespread. According to Gulf News, “In the past three months, Egypt has experienced increased power cuts that sometimes last for hours, while a fuel and diesel crisis has at times paralyzed the country, with mile-long queues forming outside petrol stations.” The black market price for gas canisters is 10 times higher than the official selling price; for bread it’s five times higher.

The Muslim Brotherhood government desperately needs a $4.8-billion IMF bailout to stop the bleeding but it refuses to curtail its subsidies, as the IMF demands, for fear of triggering a popular revolt. It is instead hoping for aid from oil states and the U.S. government, but even if this materializes, it will be at best a stopgap. With tourists, the country’s chief source of foreign exchange, steering clear of Egypt because of its anti-Western riots, and with foreign investors equally fearful of venturing into the country, Egypt’s options are daily becoming more limited. The temptation to look next door to Libya could be irresistible, particularly since Egypt views union with Libya as inevitable.

Unlike most of the world, where nationalist sentiments run deep, pride of country is a largely alien notion in the clan-oriented Arab Middle East. Since the 1950s, Arab rulers have made at least 10 attempts to merge their countries together, all but one of them (the United Arab Emirates) short-lived failures that collapsed in five years or less. Among others, Egypt attempted a union with Libya in 1972 and two with Syria in 1958 and 1976; it attempted federations with Libya and Sudan in 1969 and with Libya and Syria in 1971. If plebiscites taken at the time to ratify the new countries are to be believed, these pan-Arabic arrangements tended to be wildly popular at the outset, the peoples of the region quick to embrace new flags and to unsentimentally discard old ones in the name of Arab solidarity.

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not sure this fits,but I find it mildly intriguing

http://opinion.financialpost.com/201...a-for-its-oil/

Will Egypt seize Libya for its oil? Given Egypt’s political ideology, its history with its neighbours, and its material needs, this must be a live issue.

I recall some Libyans considering a unification of Tunisia, Libya and Egypt a while back, but I think the political scene is just to different in each country these days for it to work. Haven't really heard anyone propose something like that in a few months though.




And now the Libyan GNC assembly just self destructed by voting down the new cabinet by the PM, effectively dismissing him from office, and pissing off a hell of a lot of Libyans. WTF?

I think they just wanted a different PM now though, because he wouldn't spread the political wealth around by giving certain numbers of positions to members of the various parties.


https://twitter.com/JomanaCNN

125 GNC members NO vote for Abushagur gov, 44 YES & 7 abstained.
1:24 PM

GNC is going to face an angry population- it will much worse than loss of credibility the NTC faced
1:34 PM

A couple examples of many many upset Libyans on twitter now.
https://twitter.com/EmadDlala

We learned today that we have 124 jackasses but @MustafaAG has won the admiration of many Libyans and non-Libyans
1:27 PM

https://twitter.com/Libyan4life

If any Libyans want to storm the GNC now in protest, I wholeheartedly support you.
1:27 PM

These stupid, ridiculous, self-serving men and women in those chairs.You are disgusting and DO NOT represent me. Libya deserve much better.
1:30 PM

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http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/55099.aspx

BREAKING: Egypt's Morsi pardons all political prisoners

Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi issued a blanket pardon, Monday evening, for all citizens arrested during protests since the start of the last year's revolution until 30 June, 2012 when he was inaugurated.

The pardon includes those who are currently facing trial as well those already serving jail sentences minus those convicted of murder.

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http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Mid...#axzz28fItJcZ9

Libyan prime minister left in the cold

Libya’s dismissed Prime Minister Mustafa Abu Shagur appears to have paid the price for an unlikely rapprochement between liberals and Islamists planning to form a government of national unity.

The turmoil comes with post-revolt leaders facing many challenges in a country still awash with arms and struggling for reconciliation nearly a year after the death of dictator Moammar Gadhafi in the uprising that ousted his despised regime.

Abu Shagur’s downfall comes less than a month after his Sept. 12 election following an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans on Sept. 11, a date burned into U.S. history.

The two largest parties in the General National Congress, a democratically elected assembly that took power in August, joined forces to oust Abu Shagur in a vote of no confidence on Sunday after rejecting his proposed crisis Cabinet.

He spoke bitterly when he presented his proposed Cabinet to the assembly Sunday.

“It is unfortunate that I am not worthy of the confidence of some because I refused to meet their unrealistic demands,” he declared.

“When I started to amend the composition of the government, I tried to contact the political parties in vain because they had already decided to withdraw their confidence,” he added.

“The first government was not perfect. And we should have discussed and modified it ... [But] the demands made by the representatives were unrealistic: Some wanted specific ministries for their region,” Abu Shagur added.

The technocrat also accused assembly members and political blocs of blackmail, noting that one party had asked for 11 ministers and another for nine, demands he refused to meet out of principle.

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http://www.businessinsider.com/air-f...arabia-2012-10

REPORT: Air Force Captains Steal Eritrean Presidential Jet, Defect to Saudi Arabia

In an event that is sure to embarrass Eritrea’s long-time ruler, two pilots of that country’s armed forces fled the country on Tuesday, flying in none other than the presidential jet. According to Jazan News, on Tuesday the air force captains flew the aircraft at low altitude across the Red Sea towards Saudi airspace, and were met by two Saudi F-15 fighter jets before landing at a regional airport in the Southwestern city of Jizan.

The two pilots have been tentatively identified as Yonas Woldeab and Mekonnen Debesai -- a witness at that airport reported seeing two men disembark from the aircraft, and multiple sources report they’ve sought political asylum from Saudi authorities.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...89A1DM20121011

Egypt removes general prosecutor to appease protesters

Egypt's president removed the general prosecutor from his post on Thursday, appeasing demonstrators who accused him of presenting weak evidence in a case against Mubarak-era officials accused of planning attacks on protesters last year.

General Prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud, appointed in July 2006, was among officials who drew the wrath of protesters after the fall of Hosni Mubarak.

President Mohamed Mursi's decision came after a court acquitted 24 of Mubarak's loyalists accused of sending men on horseback and camels to attack protesters during last year's uprising.

To avoid a legal hurdle that prevents the sacking of the general prosecutor, Mursi appointed Maguid as an ambassador abroad, effectively removing him from his post.

"President Mohamed Mursi issued a decree appointing Abdel Maguid Mahmoud as ambassador to the Vatican," Ahmed Abdel Atti, Mursi's aide, said in a statement on Thursday.