Blog archive all
21st May 2011
On Thursday, President Obama called on the Syrian government to "stop shooting demonstrators and allow peaceful protests". President Assad has a choice, he said: to lead the country through transition "or get out of the way".
On Friday, Assad gave his reply. His forces continued to fire on… Read more
18th May 2011
One regressive trend in Egypt since the overthrow of President Mubarak is that civilians are increasingly being tried by the military. Military courts have "almost entirely supplanted the civilian judiciary for criminal prosecution", according to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).… Read more
17th May 2011
Michael Hudson, Professor of International Relations at Georgetown University, has written a lengthy essay reflecting on the current wave of Arab protests. It ends with a series of challenges for Middle East analysts: five points of "conventional wisdom" that need to be re-examined. They are:
(1)… Read more
15th May 2011
It was in February 1999 that King Abdullah II came to the throne in Jordan. The following July, Mohammed VI became king of Morocco, and a year later Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father as president of Syria.
At the time, all three were hailed as a new generation of modern Arab leaders but, more… Read more
14th May 2011
President Saleh came under renewed pressure on Friday to accept the Yemen "transition" plan proposed by the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The US and several EU countries have now declared their backing for the plan. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on Friday:
"We call on the parties to sign… Read more
13th May 2011
Following the comparatively swift exits of Ben Ali in Tunisia and Mubarak in Egypt, we now have three Arab leaders who face serious challenges to their power but are proving more much difficult to dislodge: Gaddafi in Libya, Salih in Yemen and Assad in Syria. Which of them, I wonder will be the… Read more
9th May 2011
Will the Saudi regime ever understand that this is not a legitimate role for governments? The Ministry of Culture has just approved a set of rules for the "licensing" (i.e. control) of literary clubs, Arab News reports:
"The bylaws stipulate that a literary club should be licensed by the ministry… Read more
3rd May 2011
Since the Arab uprisings began, the United Arab Emirates has seen little or no popular unrest – and the authorities seem determined to keep it that way by cracking down on possible sources of dissent.
In the words of Human Rights Watch, "The government is reacting to domestic criticisms by banning… Read more
2nd May 2011
The Gulf Cooperation Council said on Sunday that it will send its secretary-general, Abdul-Latif al-Zayani, back to Yemen for more talks following the aborted mission on Saturday when he was publicly snubbed by President Saleh.
Saleh has been refusing to sign a "transition" agreement negotiated by… Read more
1st May 2011
The Yemeni "transition" agreement negotiated by the Gulf Cooperation Council is falling apart even sooner than expected.
Fearing a coup in his absence, President Saleh is refusing to go to Riyadh with opposition parties for the signing ceremony.
On Saturday, he was visited in Sana'a by Abdullatif… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
