Pro-democracy protesters in Oman blocked roads to a key industrial area, braving rubber bullets and tear gas used by security forces Monday, a day after clashes between demonstrators and government …
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Bahrain protesters Monday blocked the entrances to the upper house of the National Assembly, or Shura, forcing a temporary shut …
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Foreign ministers from around the world condemn violence against civilians in Libya, as foreign migrants struggle to cross into Tunisia.
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Egypt’s public prosecutor issues a travel ban and freezes the assets of ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his family.
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Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi resigned today. Protesters have been demanding he step down almost since the departure of Ben Ali, since he is a longtime staple of the old regime. Protesters reportedly cheered his departure.
Of course, the government promptly appointed Beji Caid-Essebsi to replace him. (Link is in French.) Caid-Essebsi, who is 84 years old, was variously Interior, Defense, and Foreign Minister in Habib Bourguiba’s day, having served Bourguiba from independence in 1956. Then he headed the Chamber of Deputies under Ben Ali, till leaving government in the mid-1990s.
In other words, the ideal candidate to represent the youth revolution. I guess they couldn’t find anyone left over from the days of the Beylicate.
1. Some 6000 protesters marched in Jordan on Friday. They said they wanted to transform the Jordanian monarchy into a European-style, constitutional monarchy and to return to an unamended 1952 constitution.
2. Some 100,000 Tunisians came out into the streets of Tunis on Friday to demand the resignation of caretaker prime minister Mohamed Ghannouchi. The interim government has set elections for mid-July, a key demand of protesters. It has also dissolved the former ruling party, the Rally for Constitutional Democracy to deny it advantages in the elections. But they don’t trust Ghannouchi, an insider in the regime of deposed president Zine El Abdidin Ben Ali, to oversee the lead-up to the elections. Ghannouchi is attempting to gain popularity by seizing the assets of Ben Ali’s corrupt inner circle, but so far has not been able to shake his reputation as a Ben Ali crony himself.
[Update Check: Ghannouchi just resigned..]
3. Tens of thousands of protesters came to Tahrir Square in dowtown Cairo, Egypt, on Friday, demanding the cancellation of the emergency laws that have suspended civil liberties in Egypt for 30 years. They also wanted Prime Minister Ahmad Shafiq, an appointee of deposed president Hosni Mubarak, to step down so there would be a clean break with the old regime. The Egyptian army prevented the crowd from going to the prime minister’s residence for their protest, and generally cracked down on the dissidents.
4. Some 200,000 protesters marched through Manama, the Bahrain capital, on Friday. They want Bahrain’s monarchy to become a constitutional monarchy, with guaranteed civil liberties. The also want the prime minister to be fired. The king has dismissed three other cabinet ministers.
5. Protesters in Aden, Yemen demanded that strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh step down. About 4 persons were killed and two dozen wounded as security forces over-reacted to the demonstration.
6. Overthrowing Muammar Qaddafi. The dictator’s security forces abandoned the working class district of Tajoura on Saturday after several days in which they tried just shooting down protesters to quell the demonstrations. They failed. If Qaddafi is losing significant portions of Tripoli itself, the writing is on the wall for him. (Update: Confirmation from Western reporters who reached Zawiya Sunday that the city, among the major population centers near the capital of Tripoli, is in rebel hands.
The protesters in Egypt and Tunisia had had only partial success, removing a strong man but wondering where genuine reform might have gone. Libyans still have not even removed the dictator, Qaddafi. And in Bahrain, Yemen and Jordan, popular demands for genuine economic and political reform have still largely fallen on deaf ears.
“… Understanding Hezbollah ….. it doesn’t want responsibility for decisionmaking commensurate with its power, as I discovered in conversations with several Hezbollah officials.
I met last week with Ammar al-Mousawi, the top Hezbollah “diplomat,” and several of his subordinates in the organization’s international department. This was an “unofficial” visit, so I can’t directly quote Mousawi or his colleagues. But the discussion illustrated the thinking of the toughest player in the world’s toughest political league.
Hezbollah appears to realize that the revolt sweeping the Middle East has subtly changed the game for them. Officials see the Arab world moving into a more democratic and pluralistic politics with the fall of regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and perhaps Libya. In this new environment, Hezbollah doesn’t want to be seen as a sectarian militia or a wrecker, but as a democratic partner (albeit a potent one that has thousands of missiles pointed at Israel). Because Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are Sunni countries, recent events can be seen in part as a Sunni political resurgence, which Hezbollah must respect.
The first order of business for Lebanon’s Hezbollah-dominated government will be the delicate matter of the United Nations inquiry into the 2005 murder of former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri….. Hezbollah seems assured that the practical effect of any indictments will be blunted and that the matter will be left unresolved in characteristic Lebanese fashion…
So eager is Hezbollah to avoid responsibility for unpopular decisions that officials object to descriptions of the new government as Hezbollah-controlled…
Does Hezbollah see any doors to the West opening in the post-Tahrir Square environment? Is a Middle East “restart” possible that might allow gradual engagement with, say, the United States? I didn’t hear much enthusiasm for that idea …
Hezbollah is a ruthless political player, but it’s a mistake to underestimate the finesse of its tactics. Officials insist that no matter what the West may think, the Shiite militia is logical (meaning self-interested) in pursuing its policies. And the ever-logical Hezbollah seems to realize that even the self-styled “resistance” must make adjustments in this period of Arab upheaval.”
“…Tony Blair, the Quartet’s Mideast envoy, arrived at the region on Sunday, and met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. On Monday, he is scheduled to meet Netanyahu in an attempt to sway the premier to send Molcho to the meeting…”
Syria retains the right to interfere, but the time being, will stick to ‘non-inteference’, mainly with the super allies headed by Hezbollah & Aoun.
PM Miqati has no obvious differences with HzB, and if any exist with Michel Aoun, regarding the FPM’s share in the new government, they remain in the PM’s “very private mail” box. On the other hand the harping of Michel Suleiman, who refuses to be totally irrelevant, could be an obstacle, surmountable, with ….you guessed it, Syria breathing heavily down somebody’s neck.
PM Miqati has a serious detractor at the State Department while Jeffrey Feltman remains a Bush leftover & rogue.
AFP – A Palestinian was killed on Sunday when an Israeli tank opened fire on a group of militants east of Gaza City, medical sources and witnesses said.
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