The African National Congress, which celebrated its centenary in January, went from being a violent resistence movement to a peaceful de facto state party in South Africa [REUTERS] Exeter, United Kingdom - The Arab Spring has precipitated the rise of new politicians: formerly excluded or incarcerated non-state actors who are, today, either claimants of the state [...]
An abhorrent sponsorship system in the Gulf 04 April 2012 At the same time Western nations send troops and fleets to invade countries and change regimes under the banner of democracy, freedom and human rights, they remain deathly silent in front of regimes that embody slavery in the ugliest forms. This [...]
The Balfour Declaration – Book Review By Jim Miles (The Balfour Declaration – The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Jonathan Schneer Anchor Canada. Random House, Toronto, 2012.) This is the best that academic political history gets. More than simply the dates and the ‘facts’, Jonathan Schneer is able [...]
Satellite television, unlike internet-based new media, required no interactivity and tended to reach its target audience with relative ease [EPA] Editor’s note: This article is an excerpt from chapter six, and the sixth of a series of excerpts that Al Jazeera will be publishing, from The Invisible Arab: The promise and peril of the Arab revolutions. Missed [...]
NATO: Caught in the headlights Read the second part of chapter five of Marwan Bishara‘s latest book, The Invisible Arab. Many of the reasons given to justify NATO intervention in Libya have turned out to be false [GALLO/GETTY] Editor’s note: This article is part two of chapter five, and the fifth of a [...]
Restaurants in Istanbul are translating their menus into Arabic to entice Arab diners. Photograph: Atlantide Phototravel/Corbis In the Turkish restaurants around Taksim Square in Istanbul, the menus are getting a new look. It’s not so much the food that is changing but the languages, as more and more restaurateurs choose to include Arabic. Erkan Ali Karabulut, manager of [...]
The Arab League says around 100 observers will remain in country but will not undertake new missions [Reuters] The Arab League has suspended its monitoring mission in Syria due to what it called the escalation of violence and “critical deterioration of the situation” in the country. Nabil Elaraby, the secretary-general of the Arab League, announced the decision in a statement on Saturday. “It [...]
Kenneth Roth, executive director Follow on twitter @kenroth © 2010 Sarah Shatz World Report 2012 By Kenneth RothThe sad truth is that the dominant Western policy toward the Arab people traditionally has been one of containment. Today many applaud as the people of the region take to the streets to claim their [...]
New ‘Citizenship Law’ passed in Israel is widely held as highly discriminatory towards Arabs [EPA] Lima, Peru - Last week, Israel’s High Court voted to uphold a law denying Israeli citizenship or residency not only to Palestinians married to Israeli Arabs, but also to spouses of similarly distasteful nationality (Lebanese, Iraqi, etc). I read the news of the court [...]
Israel’s Separation Wall and hundreds of checkpoints prevent travel between the occupied Palestinian territories and the state of Israel for most Palestinians and Israelis [GALLO/GETTY] Irvine, California - Say what you will about Israel’s High Court of Justice, it knows how to name a decision. In titling last Wednesday’s legal decision, upholding the controversial [...]
The Syrian President‘s Speech 12 January 2012 In his fourth speech [since the eruption of the uprising] yesterday, which lasted for approximately two hours, Syrian President Bashar al-Asad broke a key tradition of the Arab revolts, since it did not contain any new surprises. Yet some people regarded President Al-Asad‘s addition of [...]
Larbi Sadiki Dr Larbi Sadiki is a Senior Lecturer in Middle East Politics at the University of Exeter. RSS BooksUniversity of Exeter Tunisia: Portrait one of a revolution 14 Jan 2012 14:12 January 14 stands for the enactment of popular will. The revolution Tunisia staged and won is the gift of that will.”January 14 stands for [...]
The revolution belongs to the Syrian people alone. By Ramzy Baroud In the final days of the Libyan conflict, as NATO conducted a nonstop bombing campaign, an Aljazeera Arabic television correspondent’s actions raised more than eyebrows. They also raised serious questions regarding the journalistic responsibility of Arab media – or in fact any [...]
A demonstrator holds a sign reading “The Arab League wins the world queen contest of rudeness,” as others behind him unfurl a 1961-63 Syrian flag during a protest against Syrian President Bashar Assad slamming the Arab monitoring mission in Amude, on Dec. 27, 2011. (REUTERS/HO) BEIRUT (Reuters) — An Arab League observer has left Syria, [...]
Arab League observers have visited several cities in Syria to ‘monitor the situation’, but repression continues [AFP] Princeton, NJ - Looking back to 2011, the effect of the Arab Spring is still lingering. People have risen in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya and Syria and initiated a worldwide quest for political rights and social justice. Once [...]
Initial report by Arab League observers claims monitors were harassed by the Syrian government and its opponents. Arab ministers meeting in Cairo have given observers in Syriathe green light to continue their mission, despite a barrage of criticism and calls for their withdrawal.The Arab ministerial committee on Syria “has decided to give Arab League [...]
Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal (C) greets the media as he enters the Arab League headquarter before his meeting with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi, in Cairo, Jan. 6. (Reuters/Asmaa Waguih) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal’s role as mediator in the Syrian uprising is in the interests of Palestinian refugees in the country, [...]
Middle East wealth there for the sharing By Hossein Askari In the euphoria of the “Arab Spring”, observers began predicting the blooming of Arab economies after a temporary slowdown attributed to demonstrations, shortages, bottlenecks and ensuing dislocations. The overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt was forecast to [...]
Popular, Peaceful Demonstrations Peace Camps Tent of Nations Other Nonviolent Resistance Click thumbnails to see more. The thumbnails lead to a great many excellent photos Like many Americans and many Jews, I grew up with a positive view of Israel as a peace-seeking democracy. Israel symbolized to me the one protection that Jews had [...]
State media said investigations indicated that al-Qaeda may have been responsible for the attack [AFP] A Syrian government official says at least 30 people, mostly civilians, have been killed by two suicide car bombs in Damascus ahead of calls by anti-government activists for fresh protests across the country. At least 100 other people were wounded in Friday’s attack on two [...]
On December 16, Haaretz writer Barak Ravid headlined, “Secret EU paper aims to tackle Israel‘s treatment of Arab minority,” saying: Haaretz obtained parts of “a classified working paper produced by European embassies in Israel….” The “unprecedented document” addresses internal Israeli issues. It was written without Israel’s knowledge. It also covers Israeli peace process intransigency, its self-characterization as [...]
Terrorizing Palestinians and Israeli Arabs - by Stephen Lendman Two new reports provide more evidence besides volumes already available. Explaining daily life in Occupied Palestine, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said about half of Palestinian households experience Israeli and other forms of violence. For Gazans, it’s slightly higher than in [...]
Who could have predicted the chain of events Bouazizi’s act of protest would set in motion? [GALLO/GETTY] It doesn’t look like much, the patch of asphalt were Mohamed Bouazizi set himself alight, igniting a pro-democracy revolution across the Arab world with his sacrifice. Yet, even nine months after the act that changed world history, I [...]
Mohamed Bouazizi is considered to be the spark that ignited the Arab Spring [GALLO/GETTY] It was an act of self-immolation that would change the course of Arab political history. That is the significance of Mohamed Bouazizi one year on. It will be years before December 17, 2010 and the subsequent chain of events his act [...]
The dynamic of democratic, nationalist and class struggles throughout the Muslim world has set in motion a new constellation of alliances between the imperial West (US and European Union) andIslamist parties, leaders and regimes, dubbed “moderate” by US officials, propagandists and academics. This essay analyzes the changing contemporary context of imperial domination, [...]
. Bankers are the Dictators of the West by Robert Fisk Writing from the very region that produces more clichés per square foot than any other “story” – the Middle East – I should perhaps pause before I say I have never read so much garbage, so much utter drivel, as I have [...]
Picture of Tunis street after clashes between protesters and security forces. (AFP/Fethi Belaid, File) By Ramzy Baroud The so-called ‘Arab Spring’ is creating an intellectual divide that threatens any sensible understanding of the turmoil engulfing several Arab countries.While it is widely understood that revolutions endeavor to overthrow political structures and aim to change the social [...]
GILAD ATZMON: THE UNITED STATES OF DENIAL SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2011 AT 2:18PM GILAD ATZMON Newt Gingrich is no doubt a revolutionary political thinker. He has managed to offer an adequate solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict. In an interview with Steven Weiss of The Jewish Channel, Gingrich said that the Palestinians are an ‘invented people.’ “I think that [...]
Newt: No Such Thing as Palestinians They’re Just Arabs, Insists Presidential Hopeful by Jason Ditz, December 09, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum In an interview released today by The Jewish Channel (TJC), Republican Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich sought to court the pro-Israel vote by claiming that not only do [...]
Analysis: Arab Spring has yet to focus on media freedoms By Daoud Kuttab Did the independent media help produce the Arab Spring or did the revolutions succeed in liberating local media in the Arab world? This and many other questions were debated and discussed by Arab and international freedom of expression advocates, [...]
Syria has been suspended from the Arab League for failing to comply with demands to stop killing protesters [AFP] Syria has “responded positively” to an Arab League request to send observers to the country, according to the country’s foreign ministry. But it was not immediately clear whether the ministry’s gesture amounted to an acceptance of the [...]
Severe Repression in Saudi Arabia John Glaser, December 01, 2011 Print This | Share This | Comment | Antiwar Forum Beneath the news of the western media,our trusted friend and ally has been ruthlessly cracking down on the Saudi people. Here is an excerpt of Amnesty International’s press release of their new report on the Saudi government’s response to Arab Spring [...]
Is political Islam replacing Arab dictators? With a victory for Islamist parties in Tunisia and Morocco, is political Islam now spreading across North Africa? The Arab revolution spread accross the Arab world as the population demanded political change. But in Morocco protesters did not bring down the government. The Moroccan monarch quickly responded to their [...]
Speaking truth to power is still possible. (Aljazeera) By Ramzy BaroudThe so-called ‘Arab Spring’ is creating an intellectual divide that threatens any sensible understanding of the turmoil engulfing several Arab countries. While it is widely understood that revolutions endeavor to overthrow political structures and aim to change the social order and power paradigm within any [...]
Chairperson of the UN commission of inquiry on Syria Paulo Pinheiro, announces the findings of the report, in Geneva. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images Syria troops have killed more than 250 children, UN report finds Report to UN human rights council accuses Damascus of crimes against humanity and operating shoot-to-kill policy With reports such as this [...]
The seat of the Foreign Minister of Syria is seen empty during a meeting for Arab foreign ministers in Cairo, to discuss the situation in Syria Nov. 24, 2011. (REUTERS/Stringer) CAIRO (AFP) — Arab foreign ministers agreed a list of sweeping sanctions Sunday designed to cripple the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad who has [...]
In 1968, socially and economically marginalised groups of people protested in a global movement [GALLO/GETTY] The turmoil in Arab countries that is called the Arab Spring is conventionally said to have been sparked by the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in a small village of Tunisia on December 17, 2010. The massive sympathy this act aroused [...]
Syria‘s Options for the Future 8 November 2011 The Syrian opposition, the Transitional National Council TNC), described the Arab League‘s initiative to stop the bloodshed in Syria as a “lifeline” to save the regime and an attempt to prolong its life in power. However, the opposition’s assessments were absolutely incorrect, not because [...]
The Arab winter will see a ‘counter-revolution’, as new forms of repression are imposed [GALLO/GETTY] On February 22, 1803, Colonel Edward Despard was hung and beheaded in London for organising a revolutionary conspiracy to overthrow King George III and establish a republic in Britain. Among the crowd of 20,000 in front of the gallows was [...]
A Syrian protester faces riot police at Khalidia, near Homs. Photograph: Reuters Syria crackdown on protests has killed more than 3,500, says UN Estimate of death toll emerges as military continues campaign against Homs protesters after Arab League peace deal reddit this Reuters in Amman guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 8 November 2011 16.47 GMT Article history More than [...]
‘La Tunisie Vote’. (Aljazeera) By Ramzy Baroud Following Tunisia’s first fair and free elections on October 27, the Western media responded with a characteristic sense of fear and alarm. For many, it seemed that the ghost of the Islamic menace was back to haunt ‘Western values’ throughout the Arab world. The narrative employed [...]
A Tunisian man wears the national flag as he stands on Bourguiba avenue in Tunis. (AFP/Lionel Bonaventure) TUNIS (AFP) — Tunisia‘s main Islamist party predicted it would secure 40 percent of the country’s first ever free polls, as the birth place of the Arab Spring basked in the world’s praise for its democratic revolution. [...]
Reem el-Hamed Ahmed was a founding member of perhaps the only support group for Palestinians of African descent in Israel/Palestine. By Arthur Neslen Minorities can easily be overlooked in the heat of national struggle. No-one knows exactly how many Palestinians of African descent exist in Palestine. But they have lived on the land since [...]
(Image Credit: Dana A.Shams/©Gulf News) By Ramzy Baroud, Special to Gulf News Professor Robert B. was my first Middle East politics lecturer at the University of Washington. Only minutes into his opening lecture, he made a comment that had me sink into my seat with embarrassment: “The Arab world is made [...]
‘Palestinians are, of course, not waiting for Israel to deign “to give them” their state – something that is not theirs to give’ [GALLO/GETTY] No amount of global revulsion at US President Barack Obama’s mendacious speech at the UN General Assembly in September 2011, unabashedly seeking to preempt the possibility of the Palestinian statehood bid, [...]
Saudi Arabia’s Shi’a Uprising Causes Jitters in the Gulf 6 October 2011 The Saudi authorities are exerting gigantic efforts in order to prevent the waves of protest, which are storming several Arab countries, from arriving inside the Saudi borders. This is done either by improving the living conditions of the Saudi citizen, or by offering [...]
Israel Real Democratic Rights: Jews are taught to hate and fear Palestinians by LAWRENCE DAVIDSON on OCTOBER 8, 2011 What “Real Democratic Rights”? In his speech to Congress on 24 May 2011 Prime Minister Netanyahuboasted that “Of the 300 million Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa, only Israel’s Arab citizens enjoy real democratic rights.” This is, of [...]
Part of the Tuba mosque after the arson attack. (Aljazeera) Targeting Tuba: The Ongoing Nakba By Georgina Reeves On Sunday night, the mosque in the small village of Tuba suffered an arson attack. Unknown agitators entered the building and set the fire, causing damage to carpets and the structure itself. Before leaving, they sprayed messages [...]
Bedouins build a makeshift house in al-Araqib, a village situated inside Israel‘s Negev Desert in July 2011. (AFP/File David Buimovitch) BEERSHEBA, Israel (AFP) — Thousands of Bedouins demonstrated in the southern city of Beersheba on Thursday to protest against a government project they say will displace tens of thousands of people from their land. [...]
Some of the participants pose for a photo during the opening of the third Arab Bloggers Conference in Tunis [EPA] Bloggers say Arab Spring has gone global Prominent Arab bloggers, who meet in Tunis, say their methods are being picked up by activists in the West. Yasmine Ryan Last Modified: 04 Oct 2011 00:08 TUNIS, Tunisia [...]
