Who is next after Egypt? Protests in Iran, Bahrain & Yemen

[pak-marine]

I hope Saudi Arabia.

sauds are clever they have created this bufferzone in the surrounding , once dictators in the surrounding are gone the royal family wil migrate to uk or us

 

[Water Car Engineer]

I think the next would be USA.

Tea Party activists almost assassinated a senior politician. 35000 people are murdered every year. The brutal police state imprisons 2 million people, more prisoners per capita than North Korea. Abroad, the Washington regime wages war with chemical weapons such as Agent Orange (1962-1973) and depleted uranium (1991), supported terrorists such as Osama Bin Ladens and killed millions in numerous wars in the past 60 years alone. it is time for this rogue state to go. When will the American people wake up?

You wish, FAR from anything like what happened in Egypt to be replicated here in the USA.

 

[Leviza]

You wish, FAR from anything like what happened in Egypt to be replicated here in the USA.

USA wont go down like Egypt ..... first stage for USA would be states getting separated .....
$$ is the main issue within states it self but not highlighted within media as its a controlled one....

so if anything ever goes wrong in USA it will result in states separating out...but not in next 20 years time..... lets see how this war in afghanistan turns out ????
GAME IS ON

 

[monitor]

History has been made, but the big question is: What next?

Best scenario for Egypt is a move towards a broad coalition of forces, including those that have come up through the current struggle.

Haider Khan

After 18 days of heroic and determined protests, the crisis in Egypt led to the resignation of president Hosni Mubarak, followed by, not surprisingly, unprecedented jubilation on the streets. The BBC's Lyse Doucet reported from the midst of an euphoric crowd in Tahrir Square: "There are people here who have stood here for 18 days and have literally made history in their own country."
Field Marshal Mohammad Hussain Tantawi, the Defence Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, is the head of the Higher Military Council that has taken control in Egypt - and is now de facto head of state. Born in 1935, he was made Minister of Defence in 1991. He was appointed Deputy Prime Minister on January 29, amid efforts to appease the protesters.
A leading opposition figure, Mohammad Al Baradei, declared: "This is the greatest day of my life." The Nobel laureate, like everyone else celebrating on the streets, said that Egypt had been "liberated after decades of repression." He said further that he expects a "beautiful" transition of power in his country.
Key questions for transition
There is no denying that history has already been made by the power of the people in Egypt. Many questions, however, remain during this crucial phase of transition. Former Egyptian Army general Samah Saif Al Yazal told BBC: "There are two directions the Higher Military Council can go. The first is to ask the existing government to run the country for a transitional period of perhaps a year. The other option is for the military to run the country by committee. We are very anxious to hear from them about what they intend to do."
The two best-organised forces during the current crisis have been the armed forces and the Muslim Brotherhood. The latter, however, has not been able to play a leading role, largely because of the earlier hesitations of its senior leadership. The leaders hesitated at least for two reasons. One is their aversion to and suspicion of the secular forces. The other is their initial pessimistic estimate of the level of anger and energy of the masses, and their staying power.
It is important to understand that this popular revolt is not about Islam - let alone an Islamic jihad. It is clearly about political freedom and basic economic needs.
During my most recent visit to the country as an international adviser to a Cairo-based UN project on Arab Trade and Human Development, I noticed signs of unease among top academics and government officials in spite of the relatively high rate of growth and talks of export diversification during the last few years.
Inequality and poverty have both been rising. Urban poverty was and remains particularly severe.
Even by the official measure, more than 20 per cent of Egyptians live below the poverty line. The official unemployment rate hovers around 10 per cent, though the actual rate is much higher.
My long conversations with students, workers and peasants convinced me that it was only brutal repression by the Egyptian state that was keeping a lid on widespread discontent throughout the Egyptian society.
The Egyptian people's revolution, which started on January 25, triggered by the uprising in Tunisia, caught everyone off guard. The protesters' most frequently repeated slogan was: "Irhal, ya Mubarak!" (Leave, Mubarak!). For them, he was the symbol of oppression and injustice and in that tone, the protest was far from any Islamist motivation. As one Muslim analyst has pointed out: Even the nonviolent Muslim Brotherhood, dubbed as the most influential mobilising power in Egypt and the largest Islamist movement, initially took an unusual backseat in this regard.
'People power' uprising
Unlike the jihadists, Islamists like the Muslim Brotherhood believe the "Islamic solution" can happen via democratic process.
Also, none of the other opposition political parties seem to even want to take credit for having initiated or even sustaining the revolution, although not for long. The Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition parties are now making themselves heard in support of the "people power" uprising.
The best political scenario now is a move towards a broad coalition of forces, including those that have come up through the ongoing struggle. This coalition may initially be led by the patriotic and pro-people segment among the military officers.
Of course, there are legitimate fears as to whether the oligarchy that the regime built up can be controlled well enough so that a genuine transition towards a democracy that will meet people's basic needs can begin. But the revolution has already begun. It is up to the army now to recognise the will of the Egyptian people and act accordingly.


Haider Khan is a professor of economics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.

 

[pak-marine]

Bahrain protesters take control of main squareAP Yesterday

Bahraini Shiite protesters carry the coffin of a comrade who died a day earlier from his wounds following clashes with police, during his funeral in the town of Jidhafs, near the capital Manama, on February 15, 2011. – Photo by AFP


DUBAI: Thousands of protesters poured into a main square in Bahrain’s capital Tuesday in an Egypt-style rebellion that sharply escalated pressure on authorities as the Arab push for change gripped the Gulf for the first time.

Security forces have battled demonstrators over two days, leading to the deaths of two protesters. In a clear sign of concern over the widening crisis, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa made a rare national TV address, offering condolences for the deaths, pledging an investigation into the killings, and promising to push ahead with reforms, which include loosening state controls on the media and Internet.

As the crowds surged into Pearl Square in the capital of Manama, security forces appeared to hold back. The dramatic move Tuesday comes just hours after a second protester died in clashes with police in the strategic island kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Oppositions groups are calling for greater political freedom and an end to the ruling Sunni monarchy’s grip on key decisions and government posts. The nation’s majority Shiites have long complained of discrimination.

Many in the square_ which was quickly renamed the ”Nation’s Square” by protesters _ waved Bahraini flags and chanted: ”No Sunnis, no Shiites. We are all Bahrainis.”

Bahrain is one of the most politically volatile nations in the Middle East’s wealthiest corner. A prolonged showdown could draw in the region’s two biggest rivals: Saudi Arabia, as close allies of Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy, and Iran, whose hard-liners have spoken in support of the nation’s Shiite majority.

The bloodshed already has brought sharp denunciations from the largest Shiite political bloc, which suspended its participation in parliament, and could threaten the nation’s gradual pro-democracy reforms over the past decade.

The second day of turmoil began after police tried to disperse up to 10,000 mourners gathering at a hospital parking lot to begin a funeral procession for Ali Abdulhadi Mushaima, 21, who died in Monday’s marches.

Officials at Bahrain’s Salmaniya Medical Complex said a 31-year-old man became the second fatality when he died of injuries from birdshot fired during the melee in the hospital’s parking lot. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to journalists.

After the clash, riot police eventually withdrew and allowed the massive funeral cortege for Mushaima to proceed from the main state-run medical facility in Manama. He was killed Monday during clashes with security forces trying to halt marches to demand greater freedoms and political rights. At least 25 people were injured in the barrage of rubber bullets, birdshot and tear gas, relatives said.

Bahrain’s majority Shiites _ about 70 percent of the population _ have long complained of discrimination by the Sunni rulers. A crackdown on perceived dissent last year touched off weeks of riots and clashes in Shiite villages.

The main Shiite opposition group, Al Wefaq, denounced the ”bullying tactics and barbaric policies pursued by the security forces” and said it was suspending its participation in parliament, where it holds 18 of the 40 seats.

The declaration falls short of pulling out the group’s lawmakers, which would spark a full-scale political crisis. But Al Wefaq warned that it could take more steps if violence persists against marchers staging the first major rallies in the Gulf since uprisings toppled long-ruling regimes in Tunisia and Egypt. A statement from Bahrain’s interior minister, Lt. Gen. Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, expressed ”sincere condolences and deep sympathy” to Mushaima’s family. He stressed that the death will be investigated and charges would be filed if authorities determined excessive force was used against the protesters. – AP

 

[monitor]

Special Commentary: Will Libya Be the Next Tunisia or Egypt?
Publication: Volume: 0 Issue: 0
February 8, 2011 11:24 AM Age: 8 days
By: Camille Tawil



Libyan President Colonel Qaddafi must be feeling the heat of the recent upheavals taking place around him. He has just seen the regime of President Bin Ali in Tunisia, a country that borders Libya to the west, overthrown by a popular uprising, followed by another uprising in Egypt, on Libya's eastern border, where the regime of President Mubarak is hanging by a thread.

What are the chances of a similar uprising in Libya itself, and can Qaddafi survive it?

According to several internet postings, Libyans are being urged to participate in mass demonstrations against the regime on February 17. This date has been chosen because it marks the fourth anniversary of an incident that took place in Benghazi (the capital of eastern Libya) during which at least ten demonstrators were killed in clashes with the security forces in protests over cartoons of the prophet Muhammad (BBC NEWS | Africa | Ten die in Libya cartoon clash). This chosen date also seems to be an attempt to replicate the way in which the “Egyptian Uprising” started on January 25. Egyptians took to the streets after calls for a “day of rage” were posted on internet sites, calling for demonstrations on the first anniversary of the death of a young Egyptian man, Khaled Said, at the hands of two policemen in Alexandria (Khaled Said | Facebook). This call for a “day of rage” was first posted by a small Egyptian organization calling itself “6 April” group, but it was soon endorsed by various well-known opposition parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood which has a wide following in Egypt despite being banned.

As for Libya, the calls for demonstrations on February 17 were also posted by unknown groups on different internet websites, but were soon supported by well-known opposition groups, such as the National Front for the Salvation of Libya (NFSL) (http://www.libyanfsl.com/). This group was the main threat to Qaddafi's regime in the 1980s and early 1990s, but was later replaced by the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) which started a failed campaign to overthrow the regime in 1995. The main leaders of the LIFG, who were caught inside Libya or handed over to the regime during the global war on terror, have recently expressed a clear wish to reconcile with Colonel Qaddafi's government. They announced a revision of their ideology (the Corrective Studies) in the summer of 2009, in which they renounced the use of violence to overthrow the regime. Qaddafi and his administration, therefore, might feel assured that these Jihadists, many of whom have been pardoned and freed from prison during the past few years, will not side with those calling for an uprising against the government. Some members of the LIFG, however, have been voicing their rejection to the leadership’s approach, and have recently issued independent statements in support of protests against the Libyan regime. One of those LIFG leaders, with whom this author met in London and who has asked to remain anonymous, explained that “many” members of the LIFG, especially those living in exile, are preparing to form a breakaway faction from the group. The source went on to say that the “armed struggle” of the 1990s clearly failed and “we learned the lesson” from it. He added that the uprisings in both Tunisia and Egypt have shown that it is the people, not the political parties or Jihadi groups, who are the “real leaders” of these “revolutions.” Therefore, he said, “we do not want to dictate on the Libyan people what they want. We are aware that we represent only a part of the Libyan population, and we will only do what the people seem to be demanding: political freedoms, better conditions of life, stopping the corruption and ending the dictatorship (of Colonel Qaddafi).” At this point, this separate faction of the LIFG has issued two statements, the latest of which, released on January 17, threatened the regime of Colonel Qaddafi with an uprising similar to the one that overthrew the Tunisian president (ÈíÇä ãä ÃÚÖÇÁ ÇáÌãÇÚÉ ÇáÇÓáÇãíÉ ÇáãÞÇÊáÉ ÇááíÈíÉ Ýí ÇáÎÇÑÌ - ÔÈßÉ ÃäÇ ÇáãÓáã ááÍæÇÑ ÇáÅÓáÇãí).

What gave these calls for an uprising in Libya more urgency was the press release issued this week by the Libyan branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in which it added its support for the calls for the regime to start urgent reforms “before it is too late” (Dar Al Hayat).

The Libyan regime has, until now, been quiet, ignoring the calls for demonstrations. However, reports have indicated that activists who are thought to have been behind the internet postings against the regime, have indeed been apprehended (المنارة للإعلام: منظمة التضامن لحقوق الانسان : بخصوص إعتقال الناشط السياسي جمال الحاجي and ‫الحرية لصفي الدين هلال الشريف | Facebook‬. Other reports have also indicated that the regime may be stepping up its security presence in anticipation for the planned demonstrations, and is preparing for various measures to stop the protests, including reshuffling the government (صحيفة ليبيا اليوم).

Camille Tawil is a journalist for al-Hayat newspaper in London where he has worked for the past seventeen years. He is also a frequent contributor to the Jamestown publication Terrorism Monitor and the author of the occasional paper "The al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb: Expansion in the Sahel and Challenges from Within Jihadist Circles."

 

[ajtr]

Dont forget kashmir.it can flare up anytime.with the underlying anger of past 63 yrs kashmir has more potential to be volatile like egypt to usher in the change.

 

[REHAN NIAZI FALCON]

well it looks that if govt of PAKISTAN releases davis without any prosecution then surely we should ready for show in Islamabad parade ground......... or parliament road.

 

[HongWu]

I think the next would be USA.

Tea Party activists almost assassinated a senior politician. 35000 people are murdered every year. The brutal police state imprisons 2 million people, more prisoners per capita than North Korea. Abroad, the Washington regime wages war with chemical weapons such as Agent Orange (1962-1973) and depleted uranium (1991), supported terrorists such as Osama Bin Ladens and killed millions in numerous wars in the past 60 years alone. it is time for this rogue state to go. When will the American people wake up?

The American people love their system as long as it provides them one thing -- the pride to believe they are superior to others by virtue of armed force.

All these pressures you listed are real and they are bubbling beneath the surface. All it takes is another economic crisis like hyperinflation and American could collapse into civil war.

I can shoot you with a gun or stab you with a knife. But you get to vote for which. Democracy.

I force you to drink 4000 dollar wine and eat goose meat with truffles. Dictatorship.

Hehe..... I believe that's pâté - goose liver

Dont forget kashmir.it can flare up anytime.with the underlying anger of past 63 yrs kashmir has more potential to be volatile like egypt to usher in the change.

Of course they must be angry. India is probably the world #1 at sanitizing its internal atrocities. I can't imagine the kind of discrimination Muslims, low castes and Mongoloids must suffer in India on a daily basis. Hindus don't even have much food and water for themselves, so minorities will be the first to suffer.

 

[monitor]

Unrest in Bahrain Presents Diplomatic Puzzle for Obama
By MARK LANDLER
Published: February 17, 2011

WASHINGTON — For the second time in two weeks violence has broken out in a restive Arab ally of the United States, confronting the Obama administration with the question of how harshly to condemn a friendly leader who is resisting street protests against his government.
This time it is Bahrain, a postage-stamp monarchy in the Persian Gulf, where the United States Navy bases its Fifth Fleet. At least five people were killed early Thursday when heavily armed riot police officers fired shotguns and concussion grenades into a crowd occupying a traffic circle in the capital, Manama.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Bahrain’s foreign minister, Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, on Thursday to “express deep concern about recent events,” a State Department official said. Mrs. Clinton urged “restraint moving forward” and pushed Sheik Khalid, a member of the royal family that rules Bahrain, to speed up a program of political and economic reforms.

But President Obama has yet to issue the blunt public criticism of Bahrain’s rulers that he eventually leveled against President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt — or that he has repeatedly aimed at Iran’s leaders. Such criticism would be an even sharper break for the United States than it was in the case of Egypt, since just two months ago Washington was holding up Bahrain as a model of reform for the region.

What the administration does with Bahrain is likely to be a telling indicator of how it will deal with the balance between protecting its strategic interests, and promoting democracy — a balance some critics said it never properly struck in its sometimes awkward response to the Egyptian turmoil. What will make this diplomatic maneuvering even more complicated is Bahrain’s proximity to Saudi Arabia, another Sunni monarchy with even greater strategic value to the United States.

Though much smaller than Egypt, Bahrain is another pillar of the American security architecture in the Middle East. King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, a Sunni Muslim, is a staunch ally of Washington in its showdown with Iran’s Shiite theocracy. In diplomatic cables made public by WikiLeaks, he urged administration officials to take military action to disable Iran’s nuclear program.Bahrain’s situation is also more complicated than Egypt’s because the uprising there is not purely a case of economically thwarted young people rebelling against a hidebound regime. It has a majority Shiite population that is expressing long-simmering resentments against the Sunni minority that rules with a tight grip.

The large Shiite population fans suspicions that Iran will seek to exploit instability there to extend its influence to the other side of the Persian Gulf, even though Shiite parties in Bahrain insist that this is not a religious dispute.

Another complication is that King Hamad, while hardly a constitutional monarch, allowed municipal and legislative elections last fall, for which he was praised by Mrs. Clinton during a visit to Bahrain in December.

“The fact that so many citizens voted was a strong demonstration of their resolve to take part in their public life,” she said. “I am impressed by the commitment that the government has to the democratic path that Bahrain is walking on.”

That history, as much as the headquarters of the Fifth Fleet, may explain why the administration has not been quicker to condemn King Hamad.

Bahrain, with its strategic location but its minuscule military, has been sheltered under an umbrella of American military protection for more than half a century, and since the Persian Gulf war in 1991 the military ties have become stronger. But while the Fifth Fleet calls the island its home base, that is mainly a matter of convenience rather than necessity to the United States Navy. The Navy has only 2,300 personnel there working in the comfort of an isolated compound, and making relatively little use of local port facilities for its major warships, which stay mainly at sea and at other anchorages. The island is a favorite place for shore leave in the Gulf, as the culture is relatively open and alcohol is openly available. The two militaries do train together and have even mounted joint combat operations.

 

[pak-marine]

watching the news bahrain is getting more tensed army called in

 

[below_freezing]

The American people love their system as long as it provides them one thing -- the pride to believe they are superior to others by virtue of armed force.

All these pressures you listed are real and they are bubbling beneath the surface. All it takes is another economic crisis like hyperinflation and American could collapse into civil war.


Hehe..... I believe that's pâté - goose liver


Of course they must be angry. India is probably the world #1 at sanitizing its internal atrocities. I can't imagine the kind of discrimination Muslims, low castes and Mongoloids must suffer in India on a daily basis. Hindus don't even have much food and water for themselves, so minorities will be the first to suffer.

Due to india's split nature though, I'm not sure India will collapse. It's typical divide and conquer tactics by the New Delhi regime. The Indian Army has an iron grip over the country by playing different races against each other and cannot be defeated other than by being conquered by a foreign army.

US on the other hand... Signs of internal unrest are present. They show no signs of decreasing. The competitiveness of the US economy measured by scientific research output in physical sciences and in industrial production are declining. Crime is increasing. The US government brushes tragedies such as the 10 million who vanished off the census 1930-1940 away. As soon as China gains independence from oil it will be time to act.

 

[jha]

The Indian Army has an iron grip over the country by playing different races against each other and cannot be defeated other than by being conquered by a foreign army.

hahahaha..Great analysis based on indigenous facts..

 

[pak-marine]

well it looks that if govt of PAKISTAN releases davis without any prosecution then surely we should ready for show in Islamabad parade ground......... or parliament road.

its not upto GOP ... Davis fate hangs in judiciaries hand