Topic: Failing Islamic States - 2011

[George Wallace]

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

The Spirit of Cairo


Obama Has Failed to Fulfill His Mideast Promise

01/31/2011
A Commentary by David J. Kramer

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In recent months, the Obama administration has shifted its focus away from the Middle East. This approach might be justified if the situation were getting better there, but things are getting worse. Of the people living in the region, 88 percent live in countries that lack honest elections, a free press and rule of law.

A few months into his presidency, Barack Obama delivered what still ranks as the most ambitious foreign policy address of his administration. Presented at Cairo University, the speech set forth the outlines of a "new beginning" between the United States and the Muslim world.

While many of the president's words focused on contentious issues like Iraq and Iran's nuclear program, he also spoke eloquently about the centrality of democracy to the Muslim world's future. He said the United States would support "elected, peaceful governments" and endorsed democratic values like free expression, honest government and "freedom to live as you choose." He spoke of a "single standard for all who would hold power."

By his words, the president demonstrated that he, like President George W. Bush before him, understood that the Middle East's "democracy deficit" contributes in important ways to the strategic problems that feed regional instability and pose threats to the rest of the world. Put another way, governments responsive to the popular will would not serve as incubators for jihadis.

Obama Fails to Fulfill Vision

Unfortunately, President Obama's subsequent actions have failed to fulfill the promise of his Cairo vision, especially when it comes to confronting concerns over repression when committed by autocracies of the Middle East, to say nothing of China or Russia.

This pattern was established during the protests over the 2009 Iranian elections when the administration mustered little more than a pro forma objection to the suppression of the opposition movement. It continued with the administration's non-response to last November's sham elections in Egypt, in which the ruling party orchestrated results comparable to those in such obvious dictatorships as Syria and, until recently, Tunisia. And we witnessed it in the initial reactions to the latest developments in Tunisia and Egypt in which senior US officials came across as supportive of unpopular authoritarian regimes out of a false sense that those governments were best for stability and security in the region or because they mattered for energy interests or the Middle East Peace Process.

The risk to such a pattern, of course, is that we become associated, fairly or not, with propping up repressive leaders who could, before we know it, be on their way out.

An American president can certainly employ other tactics to nourish the spirit of freedom in authoritarian societies. There is quiet diplomacy through which the American government tries to persuade autocrats to loosen political control and release political prisoners. In this regard, the WikiLeaks documents suggest that US diplomats in authoritarian countries were shrewd, concerned about growing repression, and often sympathetic toward the political opposition. The United States also helps promote freedom by supporting local activists working for women's equality, press freedom and minority rights. But nothing substitutes for clear public statements from the Oval Office affirming support for freedoms of expression and association and condemning those regimes that violate fundamental human rights.

A Dismaying Record

If freedom was gaining headway in the Middle East, the Obama Administration's shift in emphasis away from the region and its less active approach might be justified. In fact, things are getting worse. According to Freedom House's latest report on global freedom, fully 88 percent of the people in the region lived in countries where honest elections, a free press, and the rule of law are unknown, a grim record that is actually worse than five years ago. The Middle East ranks at the bottom on each of the indicators that measure a country's level of freedom. Of the 20 countries ruled by "leaders for life," five are from the Middle East (the number was six until Ben Ali fled Tunisia).

This is a dismaying record, but we should remember that societies with equally dismaying environments have overcome tyranny and attained stable democracy. The Middle East, however, has no regional model to look to; indeed, the Assads and Mubaraks understand that freedom in one country is a danger to all the rest and will act accordingly.

Those who are on the streets in Tunis and Cairo understand that large segments of their own elites regard their actions with hostility. They have put aside the grievances of the recent past because they regard America as their principal ally whose solidarity is critical to the success of their democratic revolutions. Many of their placards are in English, and in interviews they direct their appeals to the United States. It is crucial that their voices are heard, their cause embraced, and that the Obama administration take the steps necessary to fulfill the spirit of Cairo.

David J. Kramer, 46, served under George W. Bush as assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor. Today he is executive director of Freedom House in Washington. The organization's research director, Arch Puddington, also contributed to this article.

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[George Wallace]

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The World from Berlin


'The Pharaoh in the Führerbunker'

01/31/2011
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The absence of police from Egypt's streets and the consequent looting and anarchy could be an unscrupulous ploy by President Hosni Mubarak to stay in power, say German commentators. But even though the army is in wait-and-see mode, his days are clearly numbered.

Six days of unrest, more than 100 people dead and an embattled president clings on to power. Egypt has reached something of a stalemate with protestors demanding that President Hosni Mubarak be swept from power, while the man who has ruled the country for 30 years refuses to go. And it could be the powerful army that ultimately decides Egypt's fate.

On Monday morning, thousands of protestors were still camped out in Cairo's Tahir Square, defying a curfew. The night before, this had been the site of a rally addressed by Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel Peace Laureate and former head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, who arrived back in Egypt on Thursday. "Change is coming. What we have begun, cannot go back," the 67-year-old told the crowd on Sunday. "We have one main demand -- the end of the regime and the beginning of a new stage, a new Egypt." Most of those gathered were unfazed by the low-flying jets that swept above the square.

The demonstrators have dismissed Mubarak's appointment of a new cabinet and prime minister. His promises of economic reform to address rising prices and unemployment appear to be too little too late. Protestors have called for a general strike on Monday and a "protest of the millions" on Tuesday, to press for their demands for democracy and an end to 30 years of Mubarak rule.

Fear of Anarchy and Chaos

The hope for change has been coupled with fear of anarchy and chaos. The population was largely left to protect itself over the weekend as the police force, which had been involved in clashes with protestors during the week, disappeared. Neighborhood vigilante groups formed over the weekend, setting up checkpoints and patrolling the streets to defend their homes as thugs roamed the streets. Gangs have looted supermarkets and stores as well as homes, and there were breakouts from at least four prisons in Cairo in recent days, adding to safety concerns.

However, there are now reports that a semblance of security has been restored with extra troops being sent into the cities to help calm panicked residents, and the police are once again out on the streets. The unrest is having an impact on the economy, however, with shops and businesses closing and tourists fleeing the country in droves. Tourism is vital to the Egyptian economy, accounting for up to 6 percent of GDP.

The United States has also poured billions of dollars into Egypt since Mubarak came to power, seeing him as a key ally in the region, first against the Soviets and then radical Islam. US military aid alone is $1.3 billion a year. Washington has now stopped short of calling for his ouster, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaking of an "orderly transition."

The role of the army may be crucial in the coming days. "The army has to choose between Egypt and Mubarak," one banner on Tahrir Square proclaimed. And soldiers sat in tanks overseeing the protests without intervening. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, praised the "professionalism" of the armed forces in refraining from cracking down on the protestors.

"In the next few days security and stability will return," Brigadier Atef Said told Reuters, speaking from Suez. "We will allow protests in the coming days. Everyone has the right to voice their opinion. We're listening and trying to help and satisfy all parties. We're not here to stop anyone. These are our people."

The German press on Monday looks at the ongoing unrest and some papers question whether Mubarak deliberately fuelled the chaos this weekend.

Center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"Everything hinges on one decision: the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. The country will only return to calm when the Egyptian leader, already deserted and ousted by his people, actually leaves. But the long-time ruler is clinging to power and even selling that as a sense of responsibility: 'I will not allow chaos.'"

"The contrary is the case: he has long since lost his power, and is seeking an escalation. His own police and thugs started the looting, doubtless acting on his orders. That is a mark of his unscrupulousness. If the Egyptians have to fear anarchy more than they love their uncompleted revolution, they might wish for the return of the president and his police state. That is Mubarak's ploy. The man who had such a tight grip on Egypt for three decades would love to present himself once more as the strong father of the nation protecting his citizens from the confusion and chaos. The man who restored law and order in the face of the rise of an unpredictable opposition."

"If the army ends up restoring calm by force, Mubarak and his followers could remain in power for a while."

"And if not? Then the aged president won't care any more. The pharaoh in the Führerbunker: If he has to go down, he'll take his country and his people down with him. In his downfall he can discredit the uprising that has cost him his power: he can stain the image of a revolt that started out peacefully: as an uprising by the youth and the middle class."

"Now that law and order have evaporated, the mob is dominating the picture of Egypt. The poorest of the poor are coming out of their slums. They are stealing what they could only gaze at in the glitzy shop windows for years, what they could never have afforded to buy."

"If the army (…) takes political power, the officers will have to ask themselves what is more important: to fly their old comrade out or take him where he should have been put long ago: in the dock."

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

"It is possible that the regime wants to show the urban population and the middle class what happens when the poor from the slums, criminals and the violent mob aren't kept down by force."

"Hosni Mubarak himself is in a precarious situation. The political demonstrations are calling for his resignation and the people want to shake off his corrupt regime. It is uncertain whether the army leadership stands fully behind him. The generals know that the 82-year-old, sick president is nearing the end of his term in any case. They will know their American ally won't want the brutal maintenance of a defunct system. An 'Iranian solution' in Cairo would disqualify Egypt as a partner in the West. So the army will watch whether the opposition produces a leader acceptable to both the people and the army."

Conservative Die Welt writes:

"Chaos and anarchy are mounting because the army hasn't chosen a side yet. There are signs that the chaos wasn't just caused by gangs of criminals and plunderers from the slums, but also by parts of the security forces. That happened in Tunisia too. That is what the regime is banking on: the worse the situation becomes, the more people will wish for the return of the strong arm of the law."

"It is unclear how long this interim phase will last. The regime is waiting for the demonstrations to lose momentum and for the situation to calm down. But the more damage is done in the cities, the less the military will be able to remain passive."

The left-wing Die Tageszeitung writes:

"The long-term ally Hosni Mubarak now has his back against the wall. And Washington lacks what Mubarak's repressive policy has been fighting for years: a direct link to a democratic opposition -- to people who could emerge from the democracy movement as an alternative to the dictator."

"In this atmosphere, which is marked by fears of a deja-vu of the Iranian revolution of 1979 and concern about the future neighbourhood of Israel, there's a fierce dispute going on in Washington between the advocates of stability and those who are banking on democratic reform."

"The outcome of this internal conflict in Washington is open. But it's clear that the days of the Mubarak regime are numbered. And that the other authoritarian rulers and kings face turbulent days. The domino that fell in Tunisia has long since touched all the others."

Mass-circulation Bild writes:

"We have reason to be worried. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians or more want a different kind of freedom from the freedom we mean. They want to be free to turn their country into a fundamentalist theocracy. They want the freedom to declare Israel as an enemy again after decades of peace. They want the freedom to tear down the solid bridges to America."

"That cannot be in our interest. We need Egypt as an ally in this chronically warlike corner of the world."

"We can only hope that the people in Egypt will take the right decisions in the coming weeks. For themselves and for peace in the region."

-- Siobhán Dowling and David Crossland

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[George Wallace]

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The Arab Revolution


Nile Insurgency Creates Uncertain Future for Egypt

01/31/2011
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In the wake of the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia, the Egyptians are now revolting against the regime of President Hosni Mubarak. The country feels as if it were waking up from a bad dream, but the West stands to lose a reliable partner -- and Israel one of its few Arab friends. By SPIEGEL Staff

The Pharaoh was silent. He was sitting, as he often does now in his old age, in his vacation home in Sharm al-Sheikh on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, gazing out at Tiran Island in the eternally glistening Red Sea. This is where the Egyptian president receives world leaders, where he has sat stiffly next to Israeli prime ministers, and where he has introduced alternating US presidents to alternating Arab rulers. Hosni Mubarak, 82, feels at home in the majestic calm of Sharm el-Sheikh, but not in noisy, dirty, crowded Cairo. Sharm el-Sheikh is where the Egyptian ruler holds court and where, for now at least, he was remaining silent.

He was allowing others to speak instead: His prime minister, who promised that the government would tolerate freedom of expression, as long as it was exercised "with legitimate means," and the head of the governing party, who denied that the party elites were leaving the country. Mubarak was not even denying the rumors about his son Gamal, who he had been preparing to succeed him for years, and who is now said to have left the country, or about his wife Suzanne, the daughter of an Egyptian and a British woman, who had reportedly flown to London.

Mubarak was not commenting on any of this. In fact, from his perspective, nothing could be more dangerous than to dignify the rumors with so much as a word, or to descend into the depths of his police state. That was what former Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali had done two weeks earlier, and he was forced to flee the country. This explains why not a word had emerged from Sharm el-Sheikh all week.

A Rival Event to the 1977 Bread Riots

And then it was Friday. As if all the frustration that had accumulated during the 30 years of the Mubarak regime were suddenly erupting from the Egyptians, Friday would become a day of reckoning, a day of violence and retaliatory violence so excessive as to rival the 1977 bread riots. At the time, Mubarak's predecessor, Anwar al-Sadat, had ordered his soldiers to shoot at angry protestors, killing 80 Egyptians.

Thirty-four years ago, dockworkers and students in Alexandria were the first to take their anger to the streets. This time, the news of the first casualty came from Suez, where the police had reportedly shot and killed a protestor. But this did not deter the rest of the protestors, nor did the curfew that the government had imposed. Until early evening, that is, when Mubarak brought in the military to regain control of the city on the Suez Canal, a key petroleum processing center.

Clouds of smoke billowed across Alexandria, the port city on the Mediterranean. A protest movement had already emerged in Alexandria in the summer after a plainclothes policeman had beaten to death the 28-year-old blogger Khalid Said.

But no other place in the entire country was as hotly contested as Tahrir (Freedom) Square in the capital Cairo. A symbol of national power, the square is home to the headquarters of the Arab League, the Egyptian Museum, the American University and the headquarters of the Mubarak regime's National Democratic Party.

The first protestors began arriving before noon prayers, and the crowds in the capital swelled to tens of thousands.

Despite a heavy police presence, the protestors on Tahrir Square courageously broke through the crowd control barriers, allowing others to surge through in their wake. Doggedly defying the teargas employed by the police, they dragged metal panels and plastic barricades along the streets as protection. By early evening, they had pushed the security forces back far enough that they could no longer control the situation. The protestors, beating drums, chanted: "The people want to topple the regime." For the first time, the protesters had managed to drown out the shots coming from the security forces.

Police Universally Despised in Egypt

The police had abandoned Tahrir Square, at least temporarily. Nevertheless, they continued to fire teargas canisters and, apparently, rubber bullets into the crowd, even though the protestors included women and children. The police are so universally despised in Egypt that many protesters called for the military to step in, chanting: "Come and see what the police are doing to us! We want the army!" A bizarre scene unfolded in front of the state broadcasting building, where cheering protesters greeted military tanks.

Police vehicles were burning on the bridges across the Nile, where the driver of one police van attempted to push protestors in the river. Smoke from a massive and threatening fire hung in the air over the city after protesters had set fire to the headquarters of Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party. The capital was descending into chaos.

And still the Pharaoh said nothing.

Early on Saturday morning, at 12:15 a.m., Mubarak finally broke his silence. It was an eerie speech. A few hours earlier, a handful of the country's top business leaders had left the country in their private jets. But Mubarak remained grimly determined, saying that although he respected the legitimate concerns of the people, he would not tolerate chaos in the streets. He, who had devoted his life "to the point of exhaustion" to his country, would "defend freedom and stability." He promised more democracy, more stability and more jobs, saying that he was willing to engage in a "national dialogue."

Then he fired his cabinet.

But even if the Egyptian president refused to believe it, after that Friday, Jan. 28, 2011, the world was no longer the same

Part 1: Nile Insurgency Creates Uncertain Future for Egypt (Back to top)
Part 2: A Difficult Conundrum for Europe and the United States
Part 3: Forty Percent of Population Live on Less than Two Dollars a Day
Part 4: Three Scenarios for Egypt's Future

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[George Wallace]

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.


SPIEGEL ONLINE  Links:

Anger Grows in Egypt: Mubarak Fails to Quell Unrest   (01/29/2011)

Protests in Egypt: ElBaradei Under House Arrest as Demonstrations Rock Cairo   (01/28/2011)

Concerns about the Muslim Brotherhood: Israel Fears Regime Change in Egypt   (01/28/2011)

The World from Berlin: 'The Era of Paralysis in Egypt Has Ended'   (01/27/2011)

Mohamed ElBaradei on Democracy in Egypt: 'There Is No Turning Back Now'   (01/25/2011)

Interview with Mohamed ElBaradei: 'This Is a Historical Moment for Egypt' (07/12/2010)

[Jim Seggie]

In my limited experience WRT international affairs,  I do not think the state of Egypt will be anymore demcratic than that of North Korea once the current government is ousted.
Nature abhors a vacuum, and I'd be dollars to donuts that the next government will be far more restrictive that the government of Mubarak. Or am I right out to lunch?

[George Wallace]

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Terrorism & Security


Islamist leader Rachid Ghannouchi returns to Tunisia. What's his next move?

By Arthur Bright, Correspondent / January 30, 2011
The Christian Science Monitor

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Moderate Islamist leader Rachid Ghannouchi returned to Tunisia from exile Sunday, insisting that he's a democratic Islamist leader and that he will not run for office.

Rachid Ghannouchi says that he will not run for office, though his movement will enter democratic politics.

In the aftermath of the protests that toppled Tunisian President Zine al-Abdine Ben Ali and sparked upheaval across the Arab world, Tunisia's foremost Islamist leader returned to his homeland on Sunday after 22 years of exile.

Reuters reports that Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of the the Islamist movement Ennahda, flew from London to Tunisia Sunday, setting foot in his homeland for the first time since 1989, when Mr. Ben Ali exiled him. Mr. Ghannouchi said he and Ennahda plan to help build Tunisia's new democracy.

"Our role will be to participate in realising the goals of this peaceful revolution: to anchor a democratic system, social justice and to put a limit to discrimination against banned groups," Ghannouchi told Reuters a day before his return.

"The dictator has fallen and I want to be in the country," he said.

Ghannouchi was exiled by Ben Ali in 1989, two years after Ben Ali seized power. Ennahda, which experts call a moderate Islamist group, was the strongest opposition group at the time of Ghannouchi's exile, but did not play a significant role in the protests this month that led to Ben Ali's ouster.

Women leaders protest Ghannouchi's return

Concern about Ghannouchi's then-pending return sparked protests by Tunisian women Saturday, reports Agence France-Presse. Hundreds of women, including "actresses, university lecturers, and human rights campaigners," took to the streets in Tunis to show their resolve to maintain the well-established rights of women in the country.

"We want to send an important message to the Islamists, especially those from the Ennahdha movement -- that we are not ready to pull back on or abandon our rights," said Sabah Mahmoudi, a university lecturer, told AFP.

Cabinet reshuffle

But Ghannouchi returns as the upheaval in Tunisia continues to wind down. Al Jazeera reported Thursday that Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi (no relation to Rachid Ghannouchi) reshuffled his cabinet for the second time since Ben Ali's ouster, removing several ministers whom protesters opposed as being a continuation of Ben Ali's government. Prime Minister Ghannouchi said that the new cabinet was "a temporary government with a clear mission - to allow a transition to democracy," and its members had been determined in consultaion with all political groups involved.

Although Rachid Ghannouchi has said that he plans to make Ennahda into an active Tunisian political party, he says he has no plans to run for office himself. In an interview with the Financial Times earlier this month, he said that "I have no political aspirations myself, neither for standing as a minister, for parliament or president. Some are presenting me as a Khomeini who will return to Tunisia – I am no Khomeini."

A pro-democracy Islamist?

He also told the Times that he believes democracy and Islam are compatible, noting that he himself came under criticism from Islamists for his pro-democracy stance.


[When I first came to the UK], I gave a lecture Manchester University in which I said democracy should not exclude communists. At the time, this was rejected strongly by Islamists who saw it as accepting atheism. I said that it is not ethical for us to call on a secular government to accept us, while once we get to power we will eradicate them. We should treat people like-for-like. As the Prophet Muhammad said, one should wish for his brother what he wishes for oneself. And Kant said you should use your behavior as your base for treating the rest of humanity.

At the time this was alien to political thought [among UK-exiled Arab Islamists] and I was described as a secularist and part of a secularist movement because I called for democracy that does not exclude anyone.

In the interview, Ghannouchi likened Ennahda to Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party, another party with both an Islamist tradition and democratic leanings.

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[George Wallace]

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Terrorism & Security


Sudan sees Egypt-inspired protests in the North, jubilation on referendum in the South

By Taylor Barnes, Correspondent / January 31, 2011
The Christian Science Monitor

LINK

 
Antigovernment protests in North Sudan led to the death of a university student Sunday while South Sudanese celebrated an overwhelming vote for independence.

Protesters in northern Sudan gained their first “martyr” late Sunday night when a student died in the hospital from injuries sustained in a police confrontation. The protests, which were inspired by neighboring Egypt and Tunisia, started Sunday. They came as South Sudan announced the near-unanimous results of its referendum vote on secession from the north.

Hundreds of young people in the country’s north were beaten by police with batons in the sporadic antigovernment protests. Armed police surrounded at least six universities today to prevent students from leaving the campuses, according to Reuters. Students in Khartoum University were tear gassed in their dormitories late Sunday, leaving at least five injured.

The news wire adds that students in north Sudan began clashing with police over rising food and petrol prices earlier this month, but protests have grown after demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt gained attention. Demonstrators have begun to call for regime change and widened their list of complaints to include corruption and the country’s practice of sentencing women to be lashed.

The police were not immediately able to comment on the death, and the morgue holding the demonstrator’s body declined to comment to Reuters. The BBC identifies the activist as Mohammed Abdulrahman, a student at Ahaliya University in Omdurman. It also reports that one human rights activist said Mr. Abdulrahman had been shot.

The Sudan Tribune notes that north Sudan already faces an economic crisis and stands to lose billions in oil revenue as the oil-rich south secedes. Opposition forces blame the government of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for the worsening economy and the secession of the south, the Tribune adds.

The north’s clashes contrast with the scenes of cheer in South Sudan capital Juba yesterday, where spontaneous dancing broke out as the first official announcement on the referendum showed that more than 99 percent of voters favored independence. The Christian Science Monitor reported that many South Sudanese chose to leave their jobs and lives in the north as the referendum approached, and the United Nations expects another 100,000 to migrate south in the next month. (See a map of north-south divisions here.)

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the African Union summit in Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa on Sunday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon praised the peaceful announcement of the referendum results. He warned, however, that border demarcation and the status of Abyei, a disputed region along the north-south border, could become issues as the south approaches its July 2011 independence, according to the Sudan Tribune.

Longtime Sudan observer Peter Moszynski, a documentary maker in the country’s south, adds a note of caution to the south’s jubilation, recounting the nation’s difficulty spurring development and need to properly harness its oil revenues. He writes in the Guardian:

The discovery of oil was also a major factor in the return to conflict. (Demonstrations in Khartoum over the weekend show people in the north are already uneasy about the region's economic problems. Some protesters called for president Omar al-Bashir to step down). It remains to be seen whether oil revenue can be successfully shared and harnessed to help drive agricultural development, as southern Sudan's transitional government says it plans to do, or if border tensions mean these revenues will continue to be squandered on military expenditure – currently 40 percent of its budget.

Southern Sudan's previous experience of failed post-war reconstruction efforts surely demonstrate the need to focus any potential peace dividend on development initiatives that bring positive benefits to its citizens and reverses the previous decades of decline.

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[George Wallace]

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Terrorism & Security


Yemeni protesters fill streets, calling for president's ouster

By Taylor Barnes, Correspondent / January 27, 2011 
The Christian Science Monitor

LINK

 
The thousands of Yemenis who turned out to protest President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule were met with counterprotests by government supporters.

Thousands of Yemenis protested in the streets of Sanaa today, on the heels of popular movements in Tunisia and Egypt. The protesters are calling for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a US ally who has been in power for 32 years.

"The people want a change in president," protesters chanted, according to Reuters, which estimated that 10,000 had shown up at Sanaa University and about 7,000 elsewhere in the city. "Look at Tunis and what it did. Yemen's people are stronger."

Mr. Saleh was reelected in 2006 for a seven-year term, but parliament’s attempts to ease rules on presidential term limits has Yemenis worried that he will appoint himself for life, the BBC notes.

Saleh is also accused of trying to bequeath power to his son in the impoverished Middle Eastern nation that has come under increased US attention as it deals with instability on multiple fronts – a resurgent Al Qaeda movement, secessionists in its south, and a rebellion in its north.

There have not yet been clashes between police and protesters, Reuters adds. Government supporters held counterprotests, with thousands using the slogan, “No to toppling democracy and the Constitution,” Al Jazeera reports.

Protesters also addressed mounting social problems in the Arab world’s poorest nation, where nearly half the population is illiterate and a third is unemployed, the BBC notes. One banner at a popular protest read: "Enough playing around, enough corruption, look at the gap between poverty and wealth."

While today’s protests are the largest mobilization, smaller ones began last week, with prominent female activist Towakil Karman arrested Sunday on charges of organizing unlicensed rallies, undermining public social peace, and inciting to commit acts of rioting. Under apparent pressure from protesters,she was released on Monday along with nearly three dozen other jailed activists, The Christian Science Monitor reported.

“We the Yemeni people have been patient for years," Mahfoutha Hassan, an older woman, told Monitor correspondent Laura Kasinof at a Monday protest. "So when the government of Tunis fell, it stirred us up.”

Yemen is the latest in the region to be taken by popular protests since Tunisia toppled its president after a month of rallies. On Tuesday, Egyptians began protesting President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, facing a heavy-handed government response which sent out security forces to violently break up protests and shut down Twitter, the Monitor reported. Activists in Jordan and Algeria similarly launched antigovernment rallies over the weekend, the Los Angeles Times noted.

On whether the movements predict broad regime change in the region, Nadim Shehadi, from the London-based think tank Chatham House, told the LA Times that Tunisia’s revolt is an effect of regional shifts rather than being the main catalyst for later protests.

"If you look at the history of the last 100 years or so, you find that when the mood changes in the region it changes throughout," he said.

"After the fall of the Ottoman Empire when you had sort of liberal, pro-Western elites trying to create democratic institutions, you saw the same phenomenon in Cairo, Baghdad, Algiers, even Kabul," he explained. "When you started having the military take over after 1948, it started with a couple of coup d'etats in Syria and then 10 years later the whole region is [run by] colonels, from Algeria all the way to Indonesia."

Shehadi believes a similar period of change could be happening, but recent history is also full of false starts. The opposition "green movement" that engulfed Iran in the wake of the contested 2009 presidential elections did not spark revolutions around the region, as some had hoped.

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[George Wallace]

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Security


Egypt's Hosni Mubarak: following missteps of ousted Tunisian leader?

By Kristen Chick, Correspondent / January 31, 2011   
The Christian Science Monitor

LINK

 
Egypt's Hosni Mubarak at first ignored protesters, and then responded with force. 'I don’t think Mubarak learned anything from the Tunisian case,' says one observer.

Cairo
Tunisia’s deposed President Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali seemingly provided the Arab world a textbook in what not to do to avoid being ousted.

Yet instead of avoiding Mr. Ben Ali's missteps, observers say, Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak appears to be taking pages from his playbook.

“I don’t think Mubarak learned anything from the Tunisian case,” says Mustapha Kamel El Sayyid, political science professor at the American University in Cairo.

In both countries, uncontrollable protests only worsened when police tried to forcefully restrain them; police pulled back and an ensuing security vacuum prompted neighborhood residents to patrol their streets to protect their property; and people gave a joyous welcome to the Army when it stepped in to secure streets.

IN PICTURES: Egyptian protests

The similarities in the responses may not bode well for the Egyptian leader, or for the United States. While Tunisia’s revolution was a wakeup call to the Arab world and the West, the toppling of Mubarak, America’s most stalwart ally in the Middle East and leader of the most populous Arab country, would have far wider consequences for the region.

Similar roots of unrest, anger at police

The revolution in Tunisia was sparked by widespread anger not only over rising unemployment and increasingly difficult living circumstances, but the ruling family’s flagrant corruption and the government’s crushing repression. In Egypt, protesters as well have combined economic grievances with a stronger call for freedom and an end to the 30-year-rule of their autocrat.

The Egyptian protests are moving somewhat faster than in Tunisia, perhaps thanks to the example of the nation whose population is a little over half the size of Egypt’s capital, Cairo. While in Tunisia the demonstrations began as a protest against the government and did not, until the end, coalesce into clear calls for Ben Ali to leave, signs saying “Down with Mubarak” and “Mubarak out” have been a fixture at Egyptian demonstrations since the first one on Jan. 25.

As the demonstrations got bigger, police in both nations used force to try to put them down, in what Sayyid says was a key factor in pushing demonstrators over the edge.

Protesters fought police, welcomed Army

Tunisia’s Army did not step in to restore order on the streets until after Ben Ali’s departure. Egypt’s military began patrolling the capital after protesters overwhelmed police on Friday. But in both cases, the people welcomed the military with cheers, hugs, and flowers. The internal security apparatuses of both nations have earned the hatred of the populations after decades of being used to suppress them. Torture at the hands of police is common in Tunisia and Egypt.

The militaries of both nations, on the other hand, have not been used in domestic repression and are seen as professional. The scenes of Egyptians taking photos of their children with Egyptian Army officers in front of their tanks are almost exact replicas of the scenes that played out over and over again in Tunisia the week before last.

And when police retreated in both countries, unleashing chaos in the form of looting and violence, residents formed informal neighborhood watch committees to protect their property and families. Even the predominant weapons they used were the same: makeshift sticks and clubs.

Mubarak's speech echoes Ben Ali

Mubarak at first ignored the protests, not making a formal statement until Friday evening, though the massive uprising began Tuesday. To be sure, that was much swifter than the 11 days it took Ben Ali to make a televised response to the unrest sweeping his nation. But when he did, he both tried to reduce the distance between himself and the people, while at the same time criticizing the protesters. Neither attempt went over well with Egyptians.

"I understand these legitimate demands of the people and I truly understand the depth of their worries and burdens,” he said, in an attempt to wash away the stereotype among Egyptians that he’s out of touch with their problems. "I'll always be on the side of the poor."

It was reminiscent of Ben Ali’s final speech, when he dropped the formal Arabic normally used for public addresses and instead pleaded in the Tunisian dialect, “I have understood you.” Both attempts at closing the gap between leader and people were dismissed by the masses.

Failed attempts to offer reforms

But Mubarak also criticized the protesters for unleashing chaos in Egypt, and said the road to reform was through dialogue, not violence. Like Ben Ali’s first speech, in which he called the protesters terrorists and enraged the nation, Mubarak’s words infuriated the protesters who had taken to the streets peacefully, only to have the police use tear gas, batons, and bullets against them.

Both leaders attempted to pacify protesters with concessions that were rejected: Ben Ali fired his interior minister and promised more freedoms, but protests only grew stronger. Mubarak last week dissolved his government and appointed a vice president for the first time, yet Egyptians are not satisfied by these moves.

“With Ben Ali in Tunisia and Mubarak in Egypt, the concessions were not satisfactory to the people, and they wanted no less than the complete change of the regime,” says Sayyid.

Many Egyptians hope that Mubarak will take one more cue from Ben Ali, and flee to Saudi Arabia. As read one sign that a woman held on Friday: “Oh Mubarak, Saudi Arabia and Ben Ali are waiting for you."

More on LINK

[Technoviking]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm hoping that Mubarek quells this little temper tantrum.  I'm hoping that some pundits are correct: once chaos restricts the average Egyptian's ability to eat, sleep and simply live in peace, Mubarek will be able to offer stability and security.

I would much prefer a stable Egypt, such as it is was a couple of weeks ago, to one in which someone will fill that power vacuum. 

As I've said elsewhere, I fear that this isn't so much a case of "vox populi" as it is "vox volumi". 

[Redeye]

I have the same sentiment (and share Technoviking's).

I'm actually eavesdropping on a coversation right now between an Egyptian expat and a colleague, very interesting.  He sounds concerned about what the implications of removing Mubarak, and what could happen.  He just said, "Obama is being stupid" siding with the protestors. However, he then went on to suggest that it's his public moves that are stupid, but that he's not a stupid man and is likely working behind the scenes to try to stabilize things.

The problem as I see it - and as this gentleman (who, it turns out, is here on vacation and now looking to apply to immigrate - is that democracy as we know it is a foreign concept to most of the world, and isn't something that can be exported.  You can't just expect it to spontaneously appear somewhere it hasn't evovled over the years.  While Mubarak may be a corrupt autocrat, he's provided a measure of stability and constancy, and kept the influence of Islamists at bay.  That said, the Muslim Brotherhood are not fundamentalists in the Al Qaeda or Iranian-style theocracy sense of the term, they're much more moderate, but still, the potential for them being the strong ones emerging from the crisis is there, it's real, and it's not really in anyone's interest.

What the gentleman really stressed was that Egypt's problems are rooted mainly in economics, and a young, often well educated population that hasn't got jobs or good future prospects.  If some way, he suggested, could be worked out for Mubarak to stay (or at least a new leader to emerge that's reasonably similar, with some decent reforms), then the focus must be on the economy and that might turn things around.  It sounds like quite a challenge.  I hope that Western leaders are quietly working at this.  I understand why they would want to appear low-key though, for fear of a situation like the hatred of the Western-installed Shah Reza Pahlavi of Iran.

It's going to be an interesting situation to watch unfold.

In my limited experience WRT international affairs,  I do not think the state of Egypt will be anymore demcratic than that of North Korea once the current government is ousted.
Nature abhors a vacuum, and I'd be dollars to donuts that the next government will be far more restrictive that the government of Mubarak. Or am I right out to lunch?

[Technoviking]

I'm also concerned that what we are seeing isn't the "whole truth", as it were.  We all know that journalists are in a private venture, with a view to not only inform, but to make money.  "If it bleeds, it leads", and Egypt, at least parts of it, are bleeding. 

Interestingly enough, tonight on my drive home, the CBC news not only talked about the demonstrations, etc, but also about other parts of Cairo.  The journalist mentioned that it was like any other day in that city: traffic jams, people going to and fro, etc.  And one shop keeper who was interviewed mused that "Mubarek is our president, and will remain our president".

As with reporting that we see from Afghanistan, for example, we who have been there know that there is a ground truth over there, and the reported truth.  Same with anyone who happened to be in Toronto last summer.  A foreign observer may have thought that the whole city was ready to explode, when it wasn't, when in fact most Torontonians were just going about their business.  Is that the case in Cairo?  I don't know.

I just felt a chill when some of our politicians here, from afar, were arrogant enough to tell Mubarek what to do.  I think the best to do is to STFU, maybe proclaim such niceties as "be peaceful, let's all get along, etc", but we who profess democracy know better than to listen to the loudest.



Oh, wait, I said that last part with a straight face.....

[George Wallace]

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

Airport Fees

First Canadian flight leaves Egypt after airport 'fee'

31/01/2011 3:23:44 PM
CTV.ca News Staff

LINK

 
About 200 Canadians are in the first group to have escaped the chaos in Egypt in a plane chartered by the Canadian government. But before they could board in Cairo, they were asked to pay the airport a "fee," CTV News has learned.

CTV's National Affairs correspondent Lisa LaFlamme, who travelled into Cairo with the first Air Canada Boeing 777, says the scene when they arrived was chaotic. Passengers were processed slowly through security, then held and told they could not go through the glass doors to board the bus that would take them across the tarmac to the plane.

"Finally, an Egyptian airport person walked around, literally with a hat, asking for American dollars, saying it would be really beneficial for them to thank the people who worked so hard to help them leave the country," LaFlamme told CTV News Channel Monday afternoon.

The passengers put as much U.S. cash as they had into the hat.

"It was not enough money, we are told. So someone got on a loudspeaker and said, ‘We need to raise US$2,000 in order to open the glass doors and let you on that bus'," LaFlamme reported.

"People were stunned, as you can imagine."

LaFlamme says one person came forward and put in the lion's share of the $2,000. The passengers were then allowed on the plane.

"For the people here, having been through the city, there have been other experiences of bribes; it's not that unusual, they call it baksheesh. But certainly under the guise of an airlift out of the country, it was a very unusual experience," LaFlamme said.

Canadian officials have contacted the Egyptian ambassador in Ottawa to raise concerns about the fee.

The plane, carrying 206 passengers, took off Monday for Frankfurt, Germany, where passengers will have to find their own way back to Canada on their own.

Another plane that will airlift out more Canadians is expected to arrive in Egypt later Monday.

The second plane will be chartered through SkyLink Travel, and is scheduled to arrive in Cairo from Amman, Jordan, at 5 p.m. on Jan. 31. It will then take off at 7 p.m., destined for Frankfurt, via Amman.

Further flights in coming days would be headed to London and Paris, in addition to Frankfurt, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon told reporters.

More than 6,000 Canadians are believed to be in Egypt, which is in the midst of massive street protests against autocratic President Hosni Mubarak.

Cannon said priority for the evacuation flights will be given to people holding a Canadian passport and their immediate family members, defined as a spouse and children.

Canadians will be required to sign a contract committing to pay their share of the flight cost from Egypt to Europe before they are allowed to board. Passengers will also be required to purchase their own tickets to leave Europe.

In a statement Monday morning, Cannon said the Canadian government is looking into options for evacuating citizens from cities other than Cairo. In the meantime, for safety reasons, those outside of Cairo should stay where they are, Cannon said.

Canadians in Egypt hoping to reserve a spot on one of the flights should call the embassy in Cairo at 20 (2) 2791-8700, or call the Foreign Affairs emergency response centre in Ottawa collect at 613-996-8885, or send an email to SOS@international.gc.ca.

On Sunday, Cannon said to date no Canadians are known to have been injured or killed, but Ottawa is recommending that Canadians leave the country.

Just a little bit of graft.   

[57Chevy]

Even though Egypt is not an oil producer, the Egyptian uprising will have an impact on global energy prices.

Markets fear higher oil prices
Brent crude topped $101 (U.S.) a barrel today as the uprising in Egypt gathered force, sparking fears of shipping disruptions in the crucial Suez Canal
In Egypt, a popular uprising. For oil, an unpopular price

The canal, and an adjacent pipeline, continued to operate normally, but speculation mounted nonetheless, also pushing up the price of West Texas Intermediate oil, the U.S. benchmark.

"The political tension in the Middle East is far from over, and as such the market for oil will be particularly sensitive and subject to upside surges," said Scotia Capital currency strategist Sacha Tihanyi.

The Suez Canal runs for almost 200 kilometres, and is estimated to have brought Egypt almost $5-billion in revenue last year, according to Reuters. A shutdown of the canal would mean about an extra 10 days for Mideast oil to get to the United States, and 18 days to northern Europe, The Wall Street Journal says.

Millions of barrels of crude a day pass through the canal, representing an estimated 3 per cent of global output.

article continues at link...
                                     (Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act)

[Jed]

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.


Just a little bit of graft.   

This happened to me when I went through the Cairo Airport on the way to Damascus in July 2001. They drove me around on a bus then demanded some Bacsheesh to drop me off at the plane. When I got to the plane some different dudes asked for more to load my bags on the aircraft. I told them to take a hike the second time. I didn't think I would see my luggage again but it did eventually get through.

[FoverF]

I wonder how big of a cut Air Canada got from that money?

After all, they probably didn't get their booking fee, their handling charge, their check-in fees, etc   

[NFLD Sapper]

I wonder how big of a cut Air Canada got from that money?

After all, they probably didn't get their booking fee, their handling charge, their check-in fees, etc   

I would guess zero as they don't normally fly to Egypt.....

[George Wallace]

A rather interesting media report.  A question of TRUST that I don't even think the citizens of Canada have.  We shall see where this one goes:
Faith in the Armed Forces


Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

Egypt's army says it won't fire on protesters


31/01/2011 6:56:23 PM
CTV.ca News Staff

LINK

 
The Egyptian army announced on Monday it would not fire on the tens of thousands of protesters calling for President Hosni Mubarak to step down.

An army spokesperson made the announcement on state TV saying, "freedom of expression through peaceful means is guaranteed to everybody."

Egypt's government is dominated by former military officers, but the opposition parties are not considering the military's announcement a victory.

Egypt's new vice president, Omar Suleiman, also said that he had been authorized to talk to the opposition about political reform but did not offer details.

Protests continued as Mubarak brought in a new government Monday, as a determined coalition of opposition groups planned a million-person march to ratchet up the pressure on his regime.

Mubarak announced the change in government on state television on Monday afternoon.

The 82-year-old Egyptian leader dumped several prominent businessmen from his cabinet, as well as interior minister Habib el-Adly, who was widely despised for the brutal tactics used by the security forces under his control. Culture Minister Farouq Hosni was also let go.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and the country's defence minister, Hussein Tantawi, kept their posts in the hastily announced shakeup. Zahi Hawass, a well-known Egyptian archaeologist was given the new posting of state minister for antiquities.

The announcement of a new government came on the seventh day of protests in Egypt, where Mubarak is blamed for widespread poverty, inflation and various abuses during his 30 years in power.

Dozens of people have died during the protests and thousands have been injured.

A coalition of opposition groups is currently organizing a massive march from Tahrir Square, a plaza in downtown Cairo that has become the focal point of the anti-government protests. The goal is to have one million Egyptians take part in the march that is scheduled for Tuesday.

Opposition groups say they are also in the midst of discussions to determine their strategy for pushing Mubarak from office. Their desire is for Mubarak to step down by Friday.

Mohamed ElBaradei -- the former head of the UN nuclear watchdog and a Nobel Peace laureate -- may become the lead spokesperson for the many thousands of protesters in Cairo.

CNN correspondent Fred Pleitgen told CTV News Channel there were thousands of protesters in Tahrir Square on Monday, as they continued their protests against the Mubarak regime.

Inside Cairo, banks, schools and the stock market remain closed Monday, as are government offices and most private businesses. Garbage collectors and police could be seen on the streets and Cairo subway stations reopened are being closed overnight.

CTV's Middle East Bureau Chief Martin Seemungal said the Egyptian army was directing traffic in Cairo throughout the morning, and was trying to keep the peace in Tahrir Square.

There have been rumours that Egyptian police could return to the streets at any time, but Seemungal said they have made few appearances in Cairo on Monday.

"We are seeing traffic police who have come back in … and so far the interface between the people, the public and the police seems to be good," Seemungal reported to CTV's Canada AM from Cairo on Monday.

"But again, we know that on Friday there was tremendous friction between the riot police and the people, so we're still waiting to see if they are deployed."

At the international airport in Cairo, thousands of foreigners tried to book flights out of Egypt. Canada was among the many governments working to get planes into Cairo so that their citizens could fly out.

With files from The Associated Press

LINK

[57Chevy]

From wikipedia:
Egypt's new vice president: Omar Suleiman

Political role and accession to the vice presidencySuleiman is seen as a very close and trusted ally of President Mubarak, sharing many of his views on key issues such as Iran, Egyptian relations with Israel and the United States, and treatment of the Muslim Brotherhood. Although he was a military man who by law is not a member of Mubarak's National Democratic Party, he preferred suits to military uniforms and is seen as a major link between Egyptian political and military elites. Due to his role in the regional political scene and the lack of an alternative candidate acceptable to Hosni Mubarak, some have speculated that Suleiman will succeed Mubarak as President. In particular, he is seen as the choice of the Egyptian military establishment. On January 29, 2011, he was named Vice President of Egypt during the civil unrest, ending a vacancy in the position that lasted almost 30 years.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Foreign Minister:(retained) Ahmed Aboul Gheit
started his career as Third Secretary in the Embassy of Cyprus, and moved into being the First Secretary for Egypt's Ambassador in the United Nation, Political Consultant in the Egyptian Embassy in Russia in 1984, and moved into being the Ambassador of Egypt in Rome, Macedonia and San Marino, and by 1999 he was the head of Egypt's permanent delegation in the United Nations.

Regarding the Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy, he said "this was a very unfortunate statement and it is a statement that shows that there is a lack of understanding of real Islam. And because of this we are hopeful that such statements and such positions would not be stated in order to not allow tension and distrust and recriminations to brew between the Muslim as well as the west."

Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit opened Sunday, December 26, 2010, the first Egyptian consulate outside Baghdad in the northern city of Irbil in a one-day visit to Iraq, where he also held talks with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

In a statement to the Qatari newspaper Al-Sharq, Abul-Gheit pointed out that Egypt is the second biggest African economic power with the most powerful army in Africa and is also the most effective diplomatic player in the continent. Consequently, no African country could isolate Egypt from the continent.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Defence minister:(retained) Hussein Tantawi
is a Field Marshal and the outgoing Egyptian minister of defense and military production and commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces.

Tantawi received his commission on 1 April 1956 serving in the infantry, and he has participated in the wars of 1956, 1967, and 1973. He has held various commands and been assigned as military attaché to Pakistan. Tantawi became minister of defense and military production and commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces in 1991 following the dismissal of Lt. General Yousef Sabry Abo Taleb, becoming the first Egyptian since 1989 with the rank of Field Marshal. In that period, he also participated in the First Gulf War on the coalition side.
Tantawi is being seen as a possible contender for the Egyptian presidency.
Among the commands Tantawi has had, are Commander of the Presidential Guard and Chief of the Operations Authority of the Armed Forces.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
The new posting of State Minister for Antiquities: Zahi Hawass
Hawass has appeared on television specials on channels such as the National Geographic Channel, The History Channel and Discovery Channel.

Return of artifacts to Egypt
 In July 2003, the Egyptians requested the return of the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum. Hawass, as secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Cairo, told the press, "If the British want to be remembered, if they want to restore their reputation, they should volunteer to return the Rosetta Stone because it is the icon of our Egyptian identity." Referring to antiquities at the British Museum, Hawass said “These are Egyptian monuments. I will make life miserable for anyone who keeps them.” Britain has refused to return them.

Statements about Jews
Hawass has been a long-standing opponent of normalized relations between Israel and Egypt.

In January 2009, Hawass wrote in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that "The concept of killing women, children and elderly people... seems to run in the blood of the Jews of Palestine" and that "the only thing that the Jews have learned from history is methods of tyranny and torment - so much so that they have become artists in this field." He explained that he was not referring to the Jews' "[original] faith" but rather "the faith that they forged and contaminated with their poison, which is aimed against all of mankind."
In an interview on Egyptian television in April 2009, Hawass stated that "although Jews are few in number, they control the entire world" and commented on the "control they have" of the American economy and the media. He later clarified that he was using rhetoric to explain political fragmentation among the Arabs and that he does not believe in a "Jewish conspiracy to control the world".
Criticism[/color]
Hawass has been widely accused of domineering behaviour, forbidding archaeologists to announce their own findings, and courting the media for his own gain after they were denied access to archaeological sites because, according to Hawass, they were too amateurish. Others however, including several Egyptologists, have said in interviews that most of what Hawass has done for the field was long overdue. Hawass has typically ignored or dismissed his critics, and when asked about it, he indicated that what he does is for the sake of Egypt and the preservation of its antiquities. Hawass has instituted a systematic program for the preservation and restoration of historical monuments, while training Egyptians to improve their expertise on methods of excavation, retrieval and preservation.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
                                     (Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act)

edited for color troubles 

[George Wallace]

I know you took all that from Wikipedia, but it is fairly much unintelligible.  For instance, what the frack is this:

Return of artifacts to Egypt
Zahi Hawass displays a Ptolemaic statue discovered at Taposiris Magna on 8 May 2010 Hawass is currently spearheading a movement to return many prominent unique and/or irregularly taken Ancient Egyptian artifacts, such as the Rosetta Stone, the bust of Nefertiti, the Dendera zodiac ceiling painting from the Dendera Temple, the bust of Ankhhaf (the architect of the Khafra Pyramid), the faces of Amenhotep III's tomb at the Louvre Museum, the Luxor Temple's obelisk at the Place de la Concorde and the statue of Hemiunu, nephew of the Pharaoh Khufu, builder of the largest pyramid, to Egypt from collections in various other countries.....

That is just horrid use of the English language.

[57Chevy]

I think the picture from the wiki site got slipped in there  sorry about that.

[George Wallace]

I think the picture from the wiki site got slipped in there  sorry about that.

No.  It is just the way that their topics are formated and the way they show up on this site when copied over.......hard on the eyes and not really that easy to read. 

[57Chevy]

from article:
Canadian citizens in Egypt wishing to book a flight out of the country are now asked to contact the Canadian Embassy in Cairo at 20 (2) 2791-8700 or the Foreign Affairs Emergency Operations Centre at 613-996-8885 or 613-943-1055. The government has also increased the number of staff at the call centres.
                                                              ____________________

Canada should take tougher stand on Egypt unrest: Opposition
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper is under pressure to take a stronger stand against his Egyptian counterpart in the wake of massive anti-government protests in the streets of Cairo that have left about 125 people dead and prompted several countries, including Canada, to airlift their citizens out of harm’s way.

The first legislative session of the year kicked off Monday with questions about Canada’s approach to the crisis in Egypt, with Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff demanding to know whether the Conservatives are “speaking up” for democratic values, freedom of assembly and freedom of speech.

NDP leader Jack Layton later described Canada’s approach to the situation in Egypt as “tepid.”

“We’d like to see the government of Canada be more active in assisting in a peaceful transition to democracy there, make sure that elections are conducted properly and fairly,” he said. “We’ve been disappointed in the lack of enthusiasm in the government’s response to date.”

article continues....
                                     (Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act)

No.  It is just the way that their topics are formated and the way they show up on this site when copied over.......hard on the eyes and not really that easy to read.

Yes you are quite right.
I have noticed that sometimes when copying an article it will carry over an advertisement
or some other unwanted doodad and end up in the middle of it all.

[Old Sweat]

This article from the Global Security Org newsletter is reproduced under the Fair Dealing Provisions of the Copyright act.

Muslim Brotherhood: Radical Islamists Or Reluctant Democrats?
January 31, 2011

By Robert Tait

For more than 30 years, the specter of the Iranian Revolution, with the overthrow of a strategically vital and friendly government by fundamentalist Islamists, has stalked Western policymakers on the Middle East.

Now, the dark fear of a calamitous repetition has been brought resoundingly to life by the turmoil gripping Egypt.

In place of the pro-Khomeini forces that ushered in the rule of the theocratic mullahs in 1979 Iran, in today's Egypt we have the Muslim Brotherhood -- at least in the world view expressed by some Western leaders.

Even The Name Strikes Fear

The very name -- redolent in liberal minds of an intolerant, unbending brand of religious authoritarianism -- seems to strike dread in their hearts.

Amid temporizing calls for an "orderly transition" from the autocratic -- and pro-Western -- regime of President Hosni Mubarak, U.S. officials have indicated that President Barack Obama harbors misgivings that any new government might be dominated by the Brotherhood or other Islamist forces.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague voiced that concern bluntly on January 30 when he said: "Certainly we would not want to see a government based on the Islamic Brotherhood."

Even actor Omar Sharif, Egypt's most famous international celebrity and co-star of David Lean's epic 1962 film "Laurence Of Arabia," displayed disquiet over the future while calling on Mubarak to resign. "I don't want the Muslim Brotherhood. They were trapped and now are starting to come out," Sharif told Reuters. "They have 20 percent of the population," he added, alluding to the Brotherhood's most recent electoral showing, "and it's frightening for me."

Fears have been further fueled by reports that hundreds of jailed Brotherhood members were among thousands of prisoners who escaped during a mass breakout from four Egyptian prisons over the weekend. They included 34 of the organization's leading figures, arrested in a crackdown by the Mubarak regime as it tried to quell last week’s mass protests.

Founded In The 1920s

It is quite a bogeyman status for what is Egypt's oldest and biggest Islamist organization. Founded in the 1920s by Hassan al-Banna initially to spread Islamic morals and good works, the group later became embroiled in the fight to end British colonial control and drive Western influence out of Egypt. Defined by its slogan, "Islam Is The Solution," its expressed aim is to create a state based on Shari'a law.

Yet, said Fawaz Gerges, the director of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics, the Brotherhood's radical history should not blind Western policymakers to the fact that it has evolved into a pragmatic modern force. He said he believes the group's main objective is to expel Mubarak -- who has exploited international and domestic fears of its goals to brutally suppress membership.

"The Muslim Brotherhood wants to get rid of Mubarak. Also, the Brotherhood wants to play a key role in the political process, no doubt about it,” Gerges said. “But the Muslim Brotherhood has made it very clear; they are not equipped; they are not ready to govern Egypt, so the question is not whether [the] Muslim Brotherhood wants to seize power.”

Accepting El-Baradei ...

As evidence of the Brotherhood's new realism, commentators point to its acceptance of the Nobel laureate and former International Atomic Energy Agency chief, Muhammad El-Baradei, a conspicuously secular individual, as an opposition figurehead to lead negotiations for Mubarak's removal. The Brotherhood’s leaders have adopted a deliberately low profile and avoided playing a leadership role in the upheaval, analysts say.

Maha Azzam, an associate fellow of the Middle East and North Africa program at the London-based Chatham House think tank, said the organization has taken a moderate reformist line both before and during the current protests:

"The stance of the Muslim Brotherhood has been and is at the moment one of a call for political reform and an inclusive political order that includes all political parties,” Azzam said. “You need to remember also that when El-Baradei was calling for signatures for his Facebook [page] calling for reforms, the Muslim Brotherhood helped him collect those signatures. So there are common interests and I think at this stage, they are willing to work together to bring down the regime."

That tone of reason and compromise is stressed by Mohammed Habib, a former deputy leader of the Brotherhood, who rejected suggestions that the Brotherhood’s aim is to create an Islamic theocracy based on Iran.

"No, of course [not],” Habib said. “We want a democratic government based on genuine political plurality and peaceful circulation of power -- a government which considers the people as the source of power and authority. We believe in separation between, judicial, legislative, and administrative institutions in [the] state."

Relations with the U.S., he said, should remain friendly as long as they are "based on mutual respect and equality, which results in the welfare, peace, and security of both nations."

... But Not Yet As The Face Of New Egypt

Yet, just as principles can be open to compromise, so too does pragmatism have its limits. While the Brotherhood is happy to recognize the liberal El-Baradei as a de facto opposition leader, it is much less certain about him as the long-term face of the new Egypt.

Asked by RFE/RL if the group was supporting El-Baradei as Egypt's next president, Habib pointedly stopped short:

"No. We are of course against the personalization of the issue that way,” he said. “There must be a transition government, a government of salvation. There is no observation against El-Baradei being a member of that government. But as the demonstrators demand, before establishing such a government, the president should resign."

Other Brotherhood figures have dismissed Western fears of an Islamic state. Kamel el-Helbawy, another of the group's senior figures, told Reuters that Egypt was entering a "new era of freedom and democracy." "That's more important than declaring that a 'new Islamist era is dawning,' because I know Islamists would not be able to rule Egypt alone," he said. "We should and would cooperate -- Muslims, leftists, communists, socialists, secularists."

Whither Camp David?

The elephant in the room for Western leaders is the Brotherhood's stance on the 1979 Camp David peace accords with Israel, the issue that cost Mubarak's predecessor, Anwar Sadat, his life to an Islamist assassin. The movement has said it would put the matter to a referendum if it took power.

Habib, perhaps reflecting the Brotherhood's acceptance that it is unlikely to be governing alone, suggested the matter should be decided by a freely elected parliament:

"This is an issue in which any government should return to the legislative institutions that elected by people in free, fair, and transparent elections," he said.

So far, so democratic. Yet inexact as the parallels between Egypt today and Iran of the 1970s may be, Western politicians will be mindful that the Iranian Islamic republic was heralded by democratic means -- in the form of a popular referendum vote. Moderate words alone are unlikely to exorcize the ghosts haunting the West.

Radio Free Afghanistan's Sultan Sarwar contributed to this report

 

Source: http://origin.rferl.org/content/muslim_brotherhood_feature/2293237.html

Copyright (c) 2011. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

 Discuss this article in o

[George Wallace]

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

The Spirit of Cairo


Tunisia protests against Ben Ali left 200 dead, says UN
1 February 2011 Last updated at 07:31 ET
BBC

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At least 219 people died during the protests that toppled Tunisia's President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali last month, a UN team has said.

Team leader Bacre Waly Ndiaye said this figure included 72 people who died during prison riots.

The government previously said that 78 people had died, although the opposition said the figure was higher.

Mr Ndiaye was speaking at the end of a week-long human rights team investigation into the unrest.

He added that the figure was not final and the UN would continue its investigations.

After a month of protests, Mr Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia.

A unity government has been sworn in but some protests continue, by demonstrators who want anyone linked to the former regime to leave power.

Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi has promised elections within six months.

The toppling of Mr Ben Ali after 23 years in power helped inspire the current anti-government protests in Egypt.

On Monday, the European Union announced it had frozen the assets of the former leader and his wife.

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