Blog archive all
7th March 2011
Thousands of people demonstrated in Beirut on Sunday, calling for an end to sectarianism in Lebanon. The size of the protest (around 8,000, according to Reuters) was considerably larger than a week earlier, when just a few hundred braved bad weather for a similar demonstration.
Lebanon's political… Read more
7th March 2011
With a stream of petitions, letters to the king and other calls for reform emanating from the public in Saudi Arabia, I thought it might be useful to record as many of them as possible, so I have set up a special page here.
The latest addition, dated March 5, is "Demands of Saudi youth for the… Read more
6th March 2011
A human rights activist who was arrested in Qatar last week is being held incommunicado and is "at risk of torture or other ill-treatment," according to Amnesty International.
Sultan Khalifa al-Khulaifi was taken away after a two-hour search of his home and car by plainclothes officers who said… Read more
6th March 2011
The protest in Riyadh on Friday
The Saudi interior ministry yesterday announced a total ban "on all kinds of demonstrations, marches and sit-in protests as well as calling for them". Its statement claimed that such protests "go against the principles of Shariah [!!] and Saudi customs and… Read more
5th March 2011
Back in January I wrote about a demonstration at Sana'a University. It was a fairly small affair involving some 2,500 people (pictures here) but it was also, as far as I am aware, the first demonstration in the Yemeni capital aimed primarily at persuading President Salih to step down.
That, as… Read more
4th March 2011
He may be a Britain-friendly, music-loving 'renaissance man', but Oman's Sultan Qaboos still tolerates no dissent ... Read the full article at Comment Is Free.
Posted by Brian Whitaker, 4 March 2011.
3rd March 2011
There is talk of "initial agreement" in Yemen on a five-point plan put forward by opposition leaders which includes President Salih leaving office nine months from now.
Under pressure, Salih has already said he will step down in September 2013 when his current term ends. The nine-month idea seems… Read more
3rd March 2011
A group of religious extremists disrupted the annual Riyadh Book Fair yesterday, accusing both visitors and organisers of "immoral practices" and confronting the Saudi culture minister, whose department organises the event.
Arab News suggests the troublemakers were members of the religious police… Read more
3rd March 2011
During my first and only visit to Libya, in 2004, I came across a book entitled "Libya and the XXI Century". Since copies were on offer free of charge and the author was Gaddafi's playboy son, Saif al-Islam, I decided to take one.
Inside the front cover it says:
"Taken from a University Thesis… Read more
2nd March 2011
The tribal dimension in the Libyan uprising has not received much attention so far – probably because hardly anyone outside the country knows much about it. It certainly is a factor, but how big a factor is still unclear.
Several recent articles cast a bit more light on the tribal situation and its… 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
