The London demonstrations yesterday, where a reported 500,000 people took to the streets to protest the austerity cuts, will not change government strategy according to Liberal democrat minister Vince Cable. "No government - coalition, Labour or any other - would change its fundamental economic policy simply in response to a demonstration of that kind," he said.
Police arrested 201 people and charged 149 according to the BBC. Police reported that 145 of the arrests were in connection with the group UK Uncut, which occupied luxury grocery store Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly in protest over alleged tax avoidance by the business's part owners. BBC is reporting 84 injuries, including at least 31 police, with 11 officers requiring hospital treatment.
President Bashar al-Assad deployed the army in Latakia today. Until now secret police and special forces have been primarily responsible for quelling the protests this week and killing a large number of protesters, at least 61 according to Human Rights Watch. Exact numbers have been difficult to obtain because of the news blackout imposed in the country, but SANA is reporting 12 killed yesterday in Latakia. Unofficial reports are much higher, but the international news media is being prevented from reporting.
Reuters is reporting two television journalists missing in Syria since Saturday, after "On Friday, Syrian authorities withdrew the accreditation of Reuters text correspondent Khaled Yacoub Oweis, saying he had filed "unprofessional and false" coverage of events in Syria." Al Jazeera had their Sana'a bureau raided on March 22 after an earlier expulsion of two Al-Jazeera correspondents and six other international journalists.
Relative calm is being reported today despite a sit in at the Omari Mosque in Deraa where at least six people were killed on the 23rd. Government officials announced Assad was to make a televised address today, but he has not appeared.
The government of Jordan has announced it will "protect freedom of expression as long as it is carried out with responsibility and respect of the law." as opposition parties, reformists and the March 24 Youth Movement (formerly the Jordanian Youth Movement) called for the resignation of the government, the dissolution of the Lower House and the leadership of the security forces after yesterday's protests (below).
“Freedom of expression is a right guaranteed by the Constitution for all citizens and the government and security agencies have been acting accordingly for the past 12 months,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Saad Hayel Srour said yesterday at a press conference. Srour reiterated that the violent clashes that erupted between a pro-government group and protesters was a “black mark” in the country’s freedom record. However, he stressed, “it will not stop the government from carrying on with its reform efforts and protecting public freedoms”.
The minister announced an investigation has been launched and 21 people arrested following yesterday's violence which saw more than 150 - 160 people injured and one killed in protests. The minister today called for issues to be solved at the negotiating table, not in the streets and government officials at the press conference put the blame for the violence on the protesters. They announced the police had no intention of removing the protester tents set up.
WL Central will be updating news on Libya, with new items added at the top. You can contact me on twitter @GeorgieBC or by email at admin@wlcentral.org.
Current time and date in Tripoli:
MONDAY, March 21
The US stated that Muammar Gaddafi was "not a target" as CNN reports that coalition forces have bombed Gaddafi's compound.
Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, denied that any civilians had been killed during the launching of 110 missiles and the bombing of 20 targets.
Arab League chief Amr Moussa on Sunday condemned the "bombardment of civilians" and called for an emergency meeting of the group of 22 states to discuss Libya. He requested a report into the bombardment, which he said had "led to the deaths and injuries of many Libyan civilians. What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians," Egypt's state news agency quoted Moussa as saying.
Edward Djerejian, a former US assistant secretary of state and former US ambassador to Syria, said it had been made very clear that a no-fly zone could not be established without taking military action against airfields and anti-aircraft installations. "A no-fly zone is not just a computer model game," he told Al Jazeera. "It means military action and that was clear to all parties, including the Arab League."
The Libyan military announced its second ceasefire since the UN resolution authorising the no-fly zone was passed. But the White House has said it will not recognise a ceasefire declaration.
US president Obama is working to "try to shore up support within the Arab world for the military mission in Libya."
The Mail Online reports:
WL Central will be covering the Bradley Manning protests in Quantico this weekend. Currently, protesters were warned to leave the site, 118 stayed past the final warning, arrests have begun. FireDogLake reports that the director of operations at Quantico Marine Base issued a “threat advisory” regarding the protests this weekend.
Details of the protests and how to get to one here. For more information regarding Bradley Manning and supporting him, please go here.
This date, March 19, 2011, marks the beginning of the ninth year of the US war in Iraq. The war, which began in 2003 with a bombing campaign of “shock and awe," has for years been more of an occupation than a war. Despite the fact that many believe the war is over (especially Americans), the US still has 47,000 troops in Iraq and, despite a 2011 withdrawal date, will likely continue to have tens of thousands of soldiers based in Iraq for years to come.
The past year has seen the world learn a great deal about the US war and occupation of Iraq. With the WikiLeaks release of US State Cables, the Iraq War Logs, and a “Collateral Murder” video showing US soldiers firing on journalists and innocent civilians from an Apache helicopter, the criminal nature of the war and occupation has become more evident. To mark the end of eight years of US troops in Iraq and the beginning of a ninth year, it is worth noting the many revelations on Iraq that have become known thanks to WikiLeaks.
On October 22, 2010, 390,000 field reports, which became known as the Iraq War Logs, showed the regular use of abuse, brutality and torture used on Iraqis by Iraqi Police and Iraqi Security Forces. The logs revealed, despite US claims, a tracking of civilian deaths had been going on, and, in fact, 66,000 civilian deaths (15,000 which were previously unknown) had occurred.
WL Central will be updating news on Palestine, with new items added at the top. You can contact me on twitter @GeorgieBC or by email at admin@wlcentral.org.
Current time and date in Gaza:
WEDNESDAY, March 16
Demands from protesters in Manara square:
There have been many Twitter reports, both today and yesterday, of threatening texts from unknown numbers sent to all Gaza phone numbers and warning them to not attend protests or they would be killed.
Yesterday WL Central reported what seemed to be conflicting reports of assaults by Fateh officers and Fateh officers offering food to the protesters. The offers of food are being interpreted as an attack on the hunger strikers resolve and chants today include "No falafel! No cola!" President Abbas sent four jeeps full of food today, to divided reception.
Police are assisting in keeping the Fateh and March 15 groups from attacking each other in Bethlehem and broke up multiple fights today. According to Ma'an News reports, the Fateh group seems torn between disrupting or joining the protests.
From @PalYouthVoice:
"#March15Ramallah hunger strikers are up to 25 now, spirits are high and we're determined to go all the way to the end"
"things are back to normal, Fateh members helped to contain the thugs that attacked us"
As protesters attempted to gather on March, 16 morning in Al Kateeba sq, dozens of thugs (with sticks and clubs) cracked down on the crowd chanting for unity and raising the Palestinian flag to disperse them.
At least 10 students were taken to the hospital today and around 20 were arrested after Hamas plain clothes police and security forces arrived at Al Azhar university and beat up students and blocked anyone from entering or leaving the grounds. Many of the students were planning on attending today's unity rallies. A spokesman for the Hamas-run interior ministry denied that police had entered the university. "What happened at the university was a problem between students," Ihab al-Ghussein told AFP.
Syria's day of rage was originally scheduled for February 5, but no protesters showed up. On February 15, we reported the arrest of a teen blogger and speculated that the patience of the Syrian people which president Bashar al-Assad was assured would protect his country from protests may soon wear thin. On February 18, we asked, Did Syria run out of patience? as a protest broke out over the beating of a man by police. Since then it has become clear that Syrians have reached a slow boil. This time, on the announced protest day of March 15, Syria was unmistakeably in the streets of Damascus and Aleppo. The facebook page has announced another protest tomorrow, beginning at 12 noon, in all Syrian cities. Reuters announced 40 protesters, but the videos below show far more.
From our previous coverage there are some reasons why the protests are necessary, for more graphic reasons see the last video below. Approximately 10,000 political prisoners are currently being held in Syrian jails. A national state of emergency has been in effect in Syria continuously since 1963 and it is consistently used to suppress and punish any dissent. According to Amnesty International's report on Syria for 2010, "Critics, human rights defenders, alleged opponents of the government and others were detained, often for prolonged periods; some were sentenced to prison terms after unfair trials. Torture and other ill-treatment remained common, and were committed with impunity; there were several suspicious deaths in custody. The government failed to clarify the circumstances in which [17 prisoners and five others] were killed at Sednaya Military Prison in 2008 and, again, took no steps to account for thousands of victims of enforced disappearances in previous years. Women faced legal and other discrimination and violence. The Kurdish minority remained subject to discrimination, and thousands of Syrian Kurds were effectively stateless. At least eight prisoners were executed."
Demonstrators in downtown Khartoum's Abu Janzeer square were beaten with sticks and truncheons as they protested today for the end of President Omar al-Bashir’s 21-year rule. Reportedly five hundred riot police arrested over 50 protesters today, and beat up others. As WL Central reported, Sudan began protesting for regime change on January 30 and were met with a violent crackdown which resulted in one student dead on the first day. According to Human Rights Watch the students and youth, some as young as 18, were subjected to harsh beatings, electric shocks, and other abuses that amount to torture. Security officials are also implicated in the rape of a female youth activist in February.
Yesterday, police arrested and beat over 40 women after they attempted to stage a protest in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman demanding the authorities cease "violence against women," and protesting the rape and beating of Saffiya Ishaq, who was attacked after the January 30 protests. Ishaq told her story in a video posted to Youtube on February 23, please watch.
This story was written by @carwinb and @exiledsurfer. Recent updates by @kgosztola.
[UPDATE 2011-03-06]
Photo by LilianWagdy of protesters praying in front of SS headquarters in Lazoghly
Some protesters are out in Tahrir and some are still even out in and around Lazoghly, where army clashes took place earlier. The protesters were headed to the State Security headquarters. Smoke was coming from the building. State Security has been shredding, burning and destroying documents that presumably would incriminate them, as many like Habib el-Adly, former head of the Interior Ministry, are going to be facing investigations or trials.
Amn Dawla Leaks Website tweets the following links to documents [not in English]: "Outright fraud in the election of the Chamber of Commerce"
And a few on selecting judges:
"Letter to the security of the State Requests sort of judges between the cooperative and is in preparation for the selection of the elections", SSI intervention in identifying some of the judges, and nomination of names of some judges of "collaborators" to monitor the elections
WL Central reported on a document detailing a natural gas deal with Israel. Now, here from Al Masry Al Youm, an article describing the document and giving a little background.
WL Central will be updating news on Libya, with new items added at the top. You can contact me on twitter @GeorgieBC or by email at admin@wlcentral.org.
Current time and date in Tripoli:
MONDAY, February 28
11:00 PM The US Treasury has said that US$30 billion in Libyan assets have been blocked and US naval ships and planes are being moved closer to Libya, "planning and preparing" for missions, "whether humanitarian or otherwise". Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, would not discuss military options but said that the US would consider a range of responses against Gaddafi if he continued to attack his own people. David Cameron said the UK did not rule out the use of force against Muammar Gaddafi and he has asked colleagues to work on plans for a no-fly zone and would consider arming the Libyan opposition.
France is sending two planes with humanitarian aid, including medicine and doctors, to Benghazi – the first direct western aid to the uprising.
9:00 PM Muammar Gaddafi tells BBC that no one is protesting against him, no one is against him, all the Libyan people love him and would die for him. He says the people protesting are Al Qaeda.
WL Central will be updating news on Iraq, with new items added at the top. You can contact me on twitter @GeorgieBC or by email at admin@wlcentral.org.
Current time and date in Baghdad:
TUESDAY, March 1
The next protest in Iraq has been set for Friday, March 4. Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki and Baghdad Operations Command have apologized today for restricting freedom of press during the February 25 protest and released all detained reporters. Maliki has also proposed a reduction in retirement age from 63 to 61 and called to dissolve the municipal council and to hold early provincial elections.
An account of the fourteenth day in Sulaymaniyah from The Moving Silent. MONDAY, February 28 An account of the thirteenth day in Sulaymaniyah from The Moving Silent.
"100s of civlians r held by #KDP in #Erbil 4 protestin, claims pro-democracy Australian doc (who was abducted by KDP) PLS RT WE NEED UR HELP" via @GorranGuy
"@BayanRahman @BarhamSalih @qubadjt Any comments on the kidnapping and torture claims by Australian doc Dr. Reben Renwar in #Erbil?" via @GorranGuy
As reported earlier on WL Central, a million citizen march was planned for today in Harare, by a facebook group with currently 1292 members. While the march did not materialize, and neither did protests or demonstrations of any kind, the group is claiming a victory for provoking a reaction from the country's military and police. Armoured cars, trucks of riot police and Israeli-built water cannon vehicles had swept through Harare over the weekend, fanning out into townships around the city. Authorities gave no explanation for the display of force.
The failure of any protest materializing could have been due to the government reaction, or it could indicate, in a country where 15% of the population have internet access, that they simply had not heard of it. There is no mention of it on the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition website and they in fact have stated that they were not aware of it. Neither did it have any stated backing of any other local human rights or political opposition movements.
WL Central also reported earlier on the arrest, imprisonment, and torture for some, of Munyaradzi Gwisai, the International Socialist Organisation (ISO) general coordinator, and 45 others on February 19. They were charged on the 23rd with treason, which carries the death penalty, or subverting a constitutionally elected government, for which the maximum penalty is 20 years imprisonment for watching a video of the uprising in Egypt.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed her deep concern over the case today. "Many people in North Africa have said clearly and loudly that there is no democracy without freedom of expression and assembly. It is both ironic and disturbing that in Zimbabwe, activists are being arrested and abused for simply discussing the efforts in North Africa to bring change through peaceful demonstrations."
WL Central will be updating news on China, with new items added at the top. You can contact me on twitter @GeorgieBC or by email at admin@wlcentral.org.
Current time and date in Beijing:
Sunday, February 27
Since Friday, a message has gone out on Twitter that Boxun.com says was forged. The founders of the Jasmine Revolution in China, decided to cancel the action. Watching so many people be arrested and missing, we are deeply ashamed. It was a difficult decision: Please do not go to the afternoon to take to the streets, and the meetings at 2 pm every Sunday is also canceled. A "climate of fear" was also created in the two days prior to scheduled protests, with many midnight raids and arrests of activists. Many activists were invited to "come in for a cup of tea", the euphemism for an interrogation. The Chinese government is censoring not just the word "Jasmine", as the name of the revolution, but many other plant names as well, such as "azalea", "rhododendron" etc. There were two days of heavy snow in Beijing leading up to protests.
The protests in China today were marked largely by the beating of anyone attempting to film them. Either the Chinese government is afraid of the powerful images they have seen from other countries, or they just could not find a better way to deal with the "strolling" protest. The BBC says, "unable to distinguish the protesters, who'd been called to "stroll" peacefully and silently past McDonald's restaurant at 1400, from genuine shoppers they focussed on picking out foreign reporters and cameramen."
As reported previously on WL Central, a facebook group appeared calling for a protest "against corruption" in Qatar. "Support the revolution, Qatar February 27 against corruption."
As we reported then, Neither the posted info nor the comments have issued more specific demands, than to "topple this corrupt regime" but 500 people have liked the page which has been up since around February 8. The current Emir of Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa took control from his father in 1995. He has been criticized in the Arab world for meeting with Israeli minister Tzipi Livni, and for supporting the Al Jazeera news network which is critical of other Arab governments and frequently airs western and Israeli views.
Now a new Facebook page is calling for protests on March 16, and twitter is divided between retweets of
"It was written by non qatari people. It was 27feb and no body react to it and then they moved it to new date."
and
"Facebook Page of #16March Revolt in Qatar Was Blocked inside #Qatar"
February 25 Update
Hundreds protesting turned into thousands today in the Mauritania capital Nouakchott, as people answered the call put out on facebook. Police removed the initial hundreds from Blocat Square and arrested one early on Saturday, only to have thousands return. The facebook page states the goal is to "achieve democracy and justice in our country." Discrimination between the poor non-Arab population and the richer Arab citizens is an issue, as is the military rule from a prime Minister, Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf, who came to power through a "coup d'etat". In response to the threatened protests, the prime minister had promised that the government would soon create 17,000 jobs, develop new infrastructure projects and boost local food production capacity to tackle spikes in prices.
The protesters have promised to continue until their demands are met.
February 23
From the AnonNews site:
Aziz isn't stronger than Ben Ali, Moubarak or Kadafi!
We are not weaker than the young people from Tunisia, Egypt or Libya.
Send text-messages to all your friends!
The 25th of Februari at 12:00 o'clock.
Place: The court blocks - NOUAKCHOTT
Objective: To overthrow Aziz.
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz is the ruthless dictator of Mauritania, who acquired power through a "coup d'etat" on the 6th of August 2008, and established himself as leader without any democratic measures taken.
Image credit: Facebook page.
The young United States had barely thrown off it's own colonial shackles when in 1805 it flexed its nascent imperial powers against what is now Libya. U.S. Marines captured the Eastern Libyan city of Darnah, raise the U.S. flag over it and forced the ruler in Tripoli to sign a commercial treaty with the U.S. before withdrawing. Since those days, wherever US Marines fight and kill, from Vietnam to Afghanistan, they proudly remember those early battles to put down the Barbary pirates and insure favorable trade relations "on the shores of Tripoli."
Robbed of piracy as an income source the three areas which make up present day Libya, Tripolitania, Fezzan, and Cyrenaica, fell back under the control of the Ottoman Empire which had pretty much ran things there since the middle of the 16th century anyway. Libya rotted as a backwater of "the sick man of Europe" until Italy invaded and united the three areas as its colony in 1911. When Italy lost WWII, it lost its colony. It became the Independent and United Kingdom of Libya in 1951.
It stayed a kingdom until 1969 when a 27 year old army captain Muammar Gaddafi led a military coup d'état, installed himself as dictator and promoted himself to colonel. Military power put Gaddfi in control and he has always shown a keen interest in increasing it plus he has the petrol dollars to buy lots. This has long made him a most favored customer of the international arms industry.
Munyaradzi Gwisai, the International Socialist Organisation (ISO) general coordinator, and 45 others were charged in Zimbabwe today with treason, which carries the death penalty, or subverting a constitutionally elected government, for which the maximum penalty is 20 years imprisonment. The charges stem from a meeting the plaintiffs allegedly held, by invitation, and participants, although invited, were subjected to thorough vetting before being allowed into a room which was kept under lock and key. In this room they allegedly complained that "in Zimbabwe, there was a long authoritarian leadership , general hunger, poverty, unemployment and capitalist practices where wealth was enjoyed by a few individuals while the general populace of Zimbabwe was suffering."
WL Central will be updating news on Cameroon, with new items added at the top. You can contact me on twitter @GeorgieBC or by email at admin@wlcentral.org.
Current time and date in Yaoundé:
WEDNESDAY, February 23
A video of Cameroon's scheduled protests today.
Paul Biya - Clear police brutality against the demonstrators on February 23, 2011 in Yaounde.
The Cameroonian people rises to say no to Paul Biya, the Cameroon president for over 28 years, but as we can see from this video, the elements of the police and the army hesitate to use force to suppress a legitimate manifestation of Cameroonians.
WL Central will be updating news on Bahrain, with new items added at the top. All times are ET in USA.
You can contact me on twitter @carwinb or by email at carwinb@hushmail.com. Don't send media when links available. Most email is not encrypted and not anonymous. I cannot guarantee anyone's safety in transmission.
Current time and date in Manama, Bahrain:
Send Arabic #firstaid images by MMS/SMS/email or print as fliers usng http://bit.ly/gv3tS #Bahrain.
THURSDAY, February 24
Hassan Mashaima was arrested Tuesday at Beirut airport based on an arrest warrant issued by Interpol, the official, who requested anonymity, told AFP. "He was detained on order of the prosecutor general," he said.
He added that when Mashaima was questioned, he pointed out that he was among several opposition figures pardoned earlier this week by the king of Bahrain.
The official said that Lebanese authorities were seeking legal documents proving Mashaima had been pardoned.
"When we receive these documents, we will act accordingly," he said.Mashaima was among 25 men charged in Bahrain in October with forming an illegal organisation, engaging in and financing terrorism and spreading false and misleading information. (Source: iloubnan.info)
Bahrain: Ensure Rights of Freed Political Prisoners | Human Rights Watch
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