Quentin Girard : Voler de l’or comme Leila Trabelsi ??

http://www.slate.fr/story/33067/femme-de-dictateur

Femme de dictateur

Elles sont souvent encore plus détestées que leur mari.

 

- Le couple Ben Ali en 2009 à Tunis. REUTERS -L'AUTEUR
Le nouveau top 10 des dictateurs les mieux élus Les dictateurs ont changé de recette Voler de l’or comme Leila Trabelsi, appeler aux meurtres des partisans de Ouattara comme Simone Gbagbo ou trafiquer des diamants comme Grace Mugabe, les épouses de dictateurs jouent souvent un rôle central dans la vie économique et politique de leur pays.
En Tunisie, Ben Ali était honni de la grande majorité de la population tunisienne, mais une personne était sans doute encore plus détestée que lui: sa femme. Entourée de sa famille, Leila Trabelsi avait mis la main sur une grande partie des richesses du pays. Elle avait créé un véritable système familial mafieux. Elle aurait même, dans un dernier coup d’éclat, dérobé 1,5 tonne d’or dans les réserves de la Banque nationale avant de s’enfuir du pays. Un casse d’une valeur de plus de 45 millions d’euros. Si l’affaire n’a pas encore été confirmée, personne n’a été surpris par l’hypothèse, tant cela correspond au profil du personnage.

Leila Trabelsi ou Simone Gbabgo, comme d’autres, semblent incarner la femme de dictateur moderne: impliquées dans les affaires de l’Etat, sans scrupule, aussi puissantes que des ministres voire que leur mari, et donc, le plus souvent, autant détestées.

De l'effacée à la mafieuse......see Link...

Sami Moubayed : A golden opportunity for Assad

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MC30Ak02.html

Presidential adviser Bouthaina Shaaban gave a press conference at 6 pm on Thursday evening, in response to violent demonstrations in the southern town of Daraa near the border with Jordan. President Bashar al-Assad, she stressed, had given strict orders not to fire at demonstrators with live ammunition - and expressed his sorrow for the senseless loss of life in Daraa.

Shaaban, dressed in black, firmly noted that the people of Daraa "are our sons and our peoples". She promised an immediate investigation into the bloody events there, just hours after Assad had dismissed the governor of the southern city, Faisal Kalthoum, from his duties to appease the town's residents.
In Latakia, armed bandits broke into the city, snipping at locals from rooftops, while in Homs, the mob ransacked the Officers' Club, killing one civilian on duty. The mob smashed car windows, set buses and tires ablaze, and fired at locals indiscriminately. News about Syria was suddenly given top priority on TV networks around the world, trumping Yemen, Libya and Japan.

Martial law - which authorizes arbitrary arrest without needing a warrant - will likely be suspended this week and the cabinet of Ba'athist Prime Minister Mohammad Naji al-Otari (in power since 2003) will probably be sacked. Assad is expected to give a speech this week, outlining the reforms Syrians should expect and setting timetables for their implementation.

If a law allowing for political pluralism is indeed issued, it would immediately challenge, and effectively drop, Article 8 of the constitution, which says that the Ba'ath Party is designated "leader of state and society" in Syria.

Additionally, Syrians are eyeing upcoming parliamentary and municipality elections, hoping that the pre-set quota of the Ba'ath will be done away with forever. Under free and democratic elections, the Ba'athists, or any of their socialist allies in the National Progressive Front (NPF), would fail to control the chamber.
Should the authorities decide that the Ba'ath Party is here to stay, then the 64-year old organization needs a serious and major face-lift, even by testimony of its own members. Its leaders are old and ailing; their internal politics are corrupted, their rhetoric and political programs are outdated, and they have no real power base, certainly not among the younger generation. In most cases, they are completely out of touch with the new realities around them that started in Tunisia and Egypt and are now spreading throughout the rest of North Africa and the Middle East.

Even the United States sees Assad in a different light to other leaders in the Arab world, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying this week, "There is a different leader in Syria now, many of the members of congress of both parties who have gone to Syria in recent months have said they believe he's a reformer."

Most Syrians expect Assad to be the one to launch this "correction movement" within the Syrian system. Leaders lead - it's that simple, and Assad knows what it takes to make his people happy.
Unlike in Egypt and Tunisia, Syrians see Assad as part of the solution in their country, and not, like Hosni Mubarak and Zein al-Abidine Ben Ali, as part of the problem. He is young, closer to their age than both presidents had been to young Egyptians and Tunisians, and has not been around for too long, as the case with Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in Libya or Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Additionally his positions vis-a-vis Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, two topics that are dear to the hearts of grassroots Syrians, have given him a protective shield that other Arab leaders do not enjoy. It is a golden opportunity for the Syrian president to make history - and Syrians are betting on him, rather than on mob violence, to bring change to their country.
This change, they stress, needs to be orderly and non-violent, and only Bashar al-Assad can make that happen.

Tunisie: Les manifestations reprennent dans le centre de Tunis: 20mn

Plusieurs dizaines de personnes ont manifesté ce jeudi dans le centre de Tunis pour dénoncer des «mises en scène politique» des autorités de transition et réclamer des «changements concrets», a constaté l'AFP. «Rien n'a changé en Tunisie, sauf la multitude des mises en scène successives de nos politiciens qui prennent les citoyens pour des ignorants», a lancé Jaber, 42 ans, un des manifestants rassemblés devant le théâtre municipal de Tunis.

«On ne sait pas ce que nos politiciens font exactement dans cette période importante de l'histoire de la Tunisie, rien de concret n'a été réalisé ni pour réduire le chômage ni pour instaurer la stabilité et la sécurité dans le pays», a renchéri Salem, 27 ans.

Manifestations quotidiennes

Depuis une semaine, des groupes de jeunes se regroupent chaque jour devant le théâtre de Tunis pour exprimer leur colère, et dénoncent sur haut-parleur «la passivité du gouvernement de transition qui ne fait que limoger un ministre ou condamner la corruption des partisans du président déchu Zine El Abidine Ben Ali», selon Mouna, une étudiante de 24 ans. Le président par intérim Foued Mebazaa a démis lundi de ses fonctions le ministre de l'Intérieur Farhat Rajhi, sur proposition du Premier ministre Béji Caïd Essebsi.
Il a été remplacé par Habib Essid, 61 ans, un diplômé en agronomie de l'Université du Minnesota aux Etats-Unis. Ce dernier est déjà contesté pour avoir occupé sous le régime Ben Ali (nov 1987-janv 2011) les postes de chef de cabinet du ministre de l'Agriculture de 1993 à 1997 puis du ministre de l'Intérieur de 1997 à 2001. «L'amélioration enregistrée au niveau sécuritaire demeure toujours insuffisante», a indiqué mercredi soir le Premier ministre par intérim Béji Caïd Essebsi dans une interview télévisée.
«Les protestations, les sit-in et les grèves ne sont plus tolérables et ne doivent pas continuer, même si elles s'appuient sur des revendications légitimes» a-t-il ajouté, alors qu'un appel a été lancé pour une grande manifestation vendredi place de la Kasbah, le quartier de la primature et des ministères, qui a longtemps été l'épicentre de la contestation après la chute de Ben Ali, le 14 janvier.

Back to Westphalia : Martin Hutchinson

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/MC30Dj01.htmlThe 1648 treaty of Westphalia established the principle that nation states could run their internal affairs as they pleased - it was no longer acceptable for Catholic states to invade Protestant states because they didn't like their religion (or vice versa).

Westphalianism proved a vital organizing principle for the next 300 years, allowing significant periods of peace to appear between all the wars - and thus mankind's greatest boon, the Industrial Revolution, to become established. We now appear to be abandoning that principle - and the economic and political implications of doing so are dire.

The Westphalia principle always had a few holes around the edges. Colonialism resulted in frequent invasions of previously independent states, some of which were justified to change unacceptable domestic practices, whether fiscal (Egypt in 1882), economic (the Transvaal in 1899), or humanitarian (Spanish-American War, 1898). There were however few if any invasions of "rich" countries caused by their domestic policies and beliefs, although conquerors such as Napoleon used any unpalatable domestic policies of their victims as a further excuse for aggression if it suited them.

After the establishment of the United Nations in 1945, intervention that contravened Westphalian principles was deemed unacceptable even in countries that would previously have been considered ripe for colonial rule. The Anglo-French attack on Egypt in 1956 established this rule, being brought to a rapid halt by the United Nations resolutions and by threats against sterling.

The Soviet Union violated Westphalian principles by its invasions of Hungary (1956), Czechoslovakia (1968) and Afghanistan (1979), but the first two of those exceptions were already considered part of the Soviet bloc while Afghanistan, because of its backwardness, was something of a special case.

Similarly the United States in its invasions of the Dominican Republic (1965) and Panama (1989) was protecting the Western Hemisphere against Communism and the Panama Canal respectively - the domestic policies of the two countries were largely an excuse. Notably, the United States never invaded Cuba, even though the country was only 90 miles from Florida and its domestic policies were about as unacceptable as it's possible to get.

Since the 1989-91 breakup of the Soviet bloc, Westphalian principles have begun to lose their force. The 1991 Gulf War was scrupulous, some would say over-scrupulous, in observing them - the Allies attacked Saddam Hussein to remove him from Kuwait, but failed even in the flush of victory to remove him from office, though by the practices of previous wars they would have been justified in doing so. In 1992, the US invaded Somalia for humanitarian reasons - and was forced to leave in humiliating failure. In 1994, it invaded Haiti for humanitarian reasons - and installed a tyrant Jean-Betrand Aristide worse than any who had gone before in even Haiti's unhappy history.

Again in 1995 the United States intervened ineffectively in Bosnia, where Croatian president Franjo Tudjman, once allowed to arm the Croatian forces, had already done most of the hard work. Following that invasion, the US imposed a peace, the Dayton Accords, which have kept the peace but through incompetent meddling by global aid agencies have prevented Bosnia from establishing a viable economy. In 1999, the United States again intervened in Yugoslavia for humanitarian reasons, creating a new country, Kosovo, that appears to be becoming an Islamic terrorist state in the heart of Europe. See link

Hail the dawn of a new Arab nationalism : Hubert Védrine -FT

How events in the Arab world will evolve is of course uncertain. What is certain, however, is that we in the west have to adjust to a new reality: an Arab world that will be more nationalistic.

For now, the west is frightening itself with the spectre of political Islam. It is premature to say a solution has been found to avoid moving from the overthrow of authoritarian regimes to sinking into Islamism, but no expert on the Arab world foresees a scenario à la Iran which took everyone by surprise, including Iranians. Islamic parties will emerge stronger from free elections, but the chances that they will seek to hijack the democratic process are slim. And there is a counter-example to Iran - Turkey.

Rather what we are most likely to witness now is the revival of Arab nationalism, coming particularly from the new Egypt and extending around it. This will be a non-chauvinistic, legitimate nationalism, based on a new-found pride.

Egypt is historically the heart of the Arab world but it was de facto neutralised for more than 30 years and left the Arab world paralysed. Now a democratic Egypt will inevitably seek to reassert its influence. It will not question its peace treaty with Israel nor will it take an aggressive posture. But it will cease to give credibility to a pseudo peace process and stop obliging others by hosting summits of convenience in Sharm el-Sheikh. This should neither surprise nor alarm the west which will need to avoid the temptation of inventing a new enemy for itself - Arab nationalism - and should stand ready instead to deal with this new Arab world as a real partner.
No doubt the Tunisians, Egyptians and others will face daunting problems. Libya's future is fraught with uncertainty. Building a cohesive democratic society after Muammer Gaddafi might take longer, and neoconservatives and Syria each present unique challenges. There will be moments of regression, but there are also hopeful prospects. Morocco is one of them.
How these Arab processes will evolve will not be our decision, which does not exempt us from seeking to help them succeed. As they move to build democratic institutions, Arab states will be more assertive and pursue their interests with stronger self-confidence. Egypt is already setting the tone by signalling to the three major powers of the region (Turkey, Iran and Israel) and also Sudan that it seeks a new page in its relationship with them. Other countries will do the same. This new nationalism has little to do with the pan-Arabism of the 1950s. It reflects a yearning for increased sovereignty in managing foreign policy interests. Objectively, we have no reason to fear it.

INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - NEW REPORT: Radical Islam in Gaza

Any self-respecting Arab society should have their salafi jihadis. Its a sign of political maturity (as long as they dont take over the show!)
The influence of Salafi-Jihadis is not preponderant, but nor is it negligible.


Gaza: The Next Israeli-Palestinian War?

Ramallah/Jerusalem/Brussels, 29 March 2011: The dangerous escalation between Israel and Hamas demonstrates once more the need for both a fresh approach toward Gaza and a better understanding of Hamas’s relationship with rival Islamist groups.

Radical Islam in Gaza, the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the impact of Salafi-Jihadi groups in Gaza. Adhering to a more militant brand of Sunni Islam than Hamas, these groups pose both a practical and an ideological threat to the movement. As progress toward normalising life, engaging the world or achieving a prisoner exchange stalls, the uncompromising outlook of the Salafi-Jihadis becomes more appealing to militants.
“These groups are comprised mostly of former members of Hamas and other established factions. Many of their recruits are disaffected younger activists who see Hamas as compromising with Israel while getting very little in return”, said Nathan Thrall, Crisis Group’s Middle East Analyst.
Local Salafi-Jihadi groups emerged primarily after Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza and expanded their activities during the subsequent fighting between Hamas and Fatah. Over time, Hamas’s relationship with them has shifted from cooperation to antagonism: since taking over Gaza, Hamas has limited their freedom of manoeuvre. Clashes with Hamas security forces killed dozens and, in one case, in effect wiped out one of the largest groups.
The influence of Salafi-Jihadis is not preponderant, but nor is it negligible. Although their numbers are few, they are responsible for a significant proportion of rockets fired at Israel. Moreover, they accuse Hamas of laxity in enforcing religious mores, a charge that resonates with many movement supporters and leads the government to greater zeal in applying Islamic law.
“The policy of isolating Gaza and ignoring Hamas has only exacerbated the problem”, said Robert Malley, Crisis Group’s Middle East and North Africa Program Director. “As the international community seeks a new way to address political Islam in the wake of the Arab upheaval, Gaza would be a good place to start”.

Les Marie-Antoinette du Moyen-Orient : Noreen Malone الماريانات انطوانيت في العالم العربي

Ces femmes de dirigeants qui font la une de nos magazines sont un symbole de l’inégalité dans leurs pays.

تلك النساء اللواتي يتربعن على صفحات المجلات في الغرب، ما هن الا رمز للتمييز في بلادهن          

Etre une femme (de dictateur) Le Top 10 2009 des dictateurs les mieux élus au monde Le 22 mars dernier, moins d’un mois après qu’on a pu lire dans un portrait de la première dame syrienne Asma Assad publié dans Vogue que la Syrie était le «pays le plus sûr» du Moyen-Orient, les forces gouvernementales syriennes ont tué six personnes dans la ville méridionale de Deraa, théâtre de manifestations sans précédent contre le régime en place.

زوجة دكتاتور احتلت قائمة اهم عشرة في العالم، بلدها سوريا ، قام بتنفيذ مذبحة مدينة درعا السورية، السيدة اسماء كانت مشغولة بتسريحة  شعرها، مثلها مثل الملكة رانية، التي صفق لها الغرب على صفحات مجلاته اللامعة، ووصف ذوقها الرفيع في الفساتين المصممة خصيصا لها، دفع ثمنها من اموال  قد تكفي لاعالة الشعب الاردني على مدار عام كامل.

http://www.slate.fr/story/36265/rania-lalla-marie-antoinette-moyen-orient

C’est-à-dire le régime dirigé par l’époux d’Asma, Bachar al-Assad, qui, comme s’ébaubissait Vogue, a été élu avec un pourcentage «saisissant» de 97% des voix («En Syrie», ajoute délicatement l’auteur, «le pouvoir est héréditaire»). L’article raillé de toutes parts ne s’attarde cependant pas sur ce point et choisit plutôt de rendre hommage à son sujet à grand renfort de compliments lèche-bottes dès la fin de l’introduction: «Asma al-Assad est glamour, jeune et très chic—la plus fraîche et la plus magnétique des premières dames.»

د . محمد عبد الشفيع عيسى : اجهاض الثورات العربية

تقوم الولايات المتحدة هذه الأيام بتحرك منسق، مع سائر القوى الغربية عموما، لاحتواء (الثورات العربية) أو لإجهاضها، من خلال العدوان المباشر على ليبيا، وتحويل بشائر ثورتها الأخيرة، إلى حرب أهلية- دولية ، والعمل على محاصرة ثورة مصر من داخل جوارها الليبي، تمهيدا لتصفيتها تصفية (ناعمة) ، إلى جانب محاولة استغلال الظرف السوري لإجراء تغير (دراماتيكي) في المشرق العربي يمتد إلى العراق وإيران ولبنان و(حزب الله)، ومن ثم إلى فلسطين ومصر أيضا- بالإضافة إلى تعطيل دولاب الثورة اليمنية ، بعد أن ألجمت الانتفاضة في البحرين وعُمان، مع محاولة المصادرة على الثورة الأردنية – الفلسطينية . وينطلق ذلك كله، من (الخطة المؤجلة) لإعادة هيكلة (الشرق الأوسط الكبير) التي كان جرى وضعها بعد الغزو الأمريكي للعراق عام 2003، وجرى تعطيلها بفضل المقاومة العراقية الباسلة، والتحول في توازن القوى الإقيلمي على صعيد (سوريا- لبنان).

هذا التحرك الأمريكي القوي المنسق، يعود بنا إلى أهمية تفحص الموقع الراهن للولايات المتحدة في هيكلية النظام العالمي، من أجل المساهمة في إضاءة الطريق أمام قوى الثورة العربية الطليعية، لرسم خطاها الاستراتيجية القادمة . وهذا المقال محاولة لإثارة النقاش

حول هذه القضية ، من زاوية محددة ، هي التحولات الجارية في صياغة الخطاب الفكري والسياسي لمشروع الهيمنة الأمريكية العالمي

http://anssar6.wordpress.com/

Salman Masalha : As strange as it sounds, everyone in Israel loves Arab dictators

Israel's favorite Arab dictator of all is Assad
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israel-s-favorite-arab-dictator-of-all-is-assad-1.352468


Both Assad senior and Assad junior advocated resistance against Israel. This slogan was hollow, serving the regime merely as an insurance policy against any demand for freedom and democracy.
As strange as it sounds, everyone in Israel loves Arab dictators. When I say everyone I mean both Jews and Arabs. The favorite dictator of all is president Assad. As Assad junior inherited the oppressive regime in Syria, so did both Jews and Arabs transfer their affection for the dictator from Damascus from Assad senior to his son.
Following the intifada in the Arab states, Bashar al-Assad maintained in an interview to the Wall Street Journal that the situation in Syria is different, adding that Syria is not like Egypt. He also emphasized that Syria was not susceptible to sliding into a similar situation, because it was in the "resistance" front and belongs to the anti-American, anti-Israeli axis.

URI AVNERY : Who is Annexing Whom?

http://www.counterpunch.org/avnery03282011.html
IN A rare late-night session, the Knesset has finally adopted two obnoxious racist laws. Both are clearly directed against Israel’s Arab citizens, a fifth of the population.
The first makes it possible to annul the citizenship of persons found guilty of offences against the security of the state. Israel prides itself on having a great variety of such laws. Annulling citizenship on such grounds is contrary to international law and conventions.
The second is more sophisticated. It allows communities of less than 400 families to appoint “admission committees” which can prevent unsuitable persons from living there. Very shrewdly, it specifically forbids the rejection of candidates because of race, religion etc. – but that paragraph is tantamount to a wink. An Arab applicant will simply be rejected because of his many children or lack of military service.
A majority of members did not bother to show up for the vote. After all, it was late and they have families, too. Who knows, some may even have been ashamed to vote.
But far worse is a third law that is certain to pass its final stages within a few weeks: the law to outlaw the boycott of the settlements.

اسرائيل تصطاد في مياه عكرة - رئيس الطائفة اليهودية بتونس: شاركنا في الثورة ولن نهاجر إلى إسرائيل

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/03/31/143693.html

وصف رئيس الطائفة اليهودية بتونس بيريز الطرابلسي دعوة وزيرة الهجرة الإسرائيلي لندبير للجالية اليهودية بمغادرة البلاد بعد الثورة، وحثهم على العودة لإسرائيل مقابل حصولهم على تعويضات مالية ضخمة بالمستفزة والمغرضة.

واستنكر الطرابلسي في حديثه "للعربية.نت" هذه الدعوة، مؤكدا تشبث الجالية اليهودية بتونس قائلا: "نحن تونسيون أبا عن جد، وسوف نعيش ونموت في هذه الأرض".

وأضاف: "نحن كجالية يهودية نستغرب مثل هذه التصريحات التي استفزتنا كثيرا، لاسيما بعد الثورة التونسية التي شاركنا فيها ونباركها شأننا شأن كل التونسيين".

رئيس الطائفة اليهودية بتونس رئيس الطائفة اليهودية أكد أن تحجج وزيرة الهجرة الإسرائيلية بعدم استتباب الأمن في تونس هي حجة عارية عن الصحة، داحضا كل الأخبار التي تحاول إسرائيل ترويجها عن التهديدات الأمنية التي يواجهها يهود تونس بعد سقوط الرئيس بن علي، مؤكدا أنهم في طور الاستعداد والتحضير لموسم حج اليهود لمعبد "الغريبة" بجزيرة جربة التونسية في الفترة الممتدة

مابين 17 و22 مايو 2011.

Bahreïn : le blogueur Mahmood Al-Yousif arrêté محمود اليوسف المدون البحريني اعتقل

[J'ai] choisi de rentrer [au Bahreïn] pour continuer à soutenir le sens commun et la tolérance. Pour continuer à essayer de prouver aux gens que quelles que soient leurs croyances religieuses, leur statut ou leur richesses, nos destins en tant que Bahreïnis sont liés et qu'il nous appartient de trouver des façons équitables de vivre ensemble et de combler nos différends.

اخترت العودة الى البحرين لدعم التسامح، ولكي اثبت للجميع بانه بالرغم من الاختلاف سواءا الديني او الطبقي، قدرنا في البحرين هو واحد، وبامكاننا العيش معا

Je ne veux pas accuser du doigt, distribuer d'autres blâmes ne n'intéresse pas non plus. Je privilégie la démarche qui reconnaisse la cause profonde de ce conflit, afin de reprendre notre route, aussi douloureux que puisse être cet exercice.

Suisse: lettre piégée à la fédération de l'industrie nucléaire, deux blessés

Une lettre piégée a explosé dans les bâtiments de la fédération des exploitants de centrales nucléaires Swissnuclear à Olten (centre) faisant deux blessés, a annoncé jeudi la police cantonale helvétique.

Karma Nabulsi : The single demand that can unite the Palestinian people

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/29/single-demand-unite-palestinian-people/print

After another week of breathtaking demonstrations from Jordan to Yemen heralding dramatic revolutionary change, in occupied Palestine things appear much the same. The repetitions of bombing, air attacks on civilians, muted international protests, and dubious gestures towards a bankrupted peace process: all lend an air of futility and hopelessness to the trajectory of Palestinian freedom. Palestinians urgently need their voice to be represented at this historical moment in which unrepresentative rulers are being toppled by popular movements, and citizens are reclaiming their public squares and political institutions on the age-old principle of popular sovereignty.

Since January Palestinians in the refugee camps and under military occupation have all been asking the same question: is this not our moment too? Yet how are we to overcome the entrenched system of external colonial control and co-optation, the repression, the internal divisions and the geographical fragmentation that have until now kept us divided and unable to unify? The situation appears a thousand times more complex than Bahrain, or Egypt, or Libya, or Syria.

The solution to this fierce dilemma lies in a single claim now uniting all Palestinians: the quest for national unity. Although the main parties might remain irreconciled, the Palestinian people most certainly are not. Their division is not political but geographic: the majority are refugees outside Palestine, while the rest inside it are forcibly separated into three distinct locations. The demand is the same universal claim to democratic representation that citizens across the Arab world are calling for with such force and beauty: each Palestinian voice counts.

Khaled Diab : How African is the Arab revolution?

South Sudanese people queue to vote in the independence referendum in January Photograph: Mohamed Messara/EPA

Though the current revolutionary wave started in north Africa, most debate has focused on how far it will spread in the Arab world: but what about the rest of the African continent?

When I visited Kenya this month, it seemed that pretty much everyone I came across wanted to talk about the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, and the tragedy in Libya.

As soon as I touched down, the first person I came across – David, a Namibian public official who shared a taxi with me from the airport into town – confessed how compulsively he had been watching events unfold in Egypt, and how the north African revolutions evoked in his mind and those of other Namibians an excitement they had not felt since the fall of apartheid.

I was surprised that, on the other side of the continent, in a country with almost no political, economic, cultural or historical ties with Egypt, the Egyptian revolution could resonate so intensely. But perhaps I shouldn't have been, as there is something universally appealing about people braving oppression to defeat tyranny.

Besides, as one Kenyan NGO worker put it, millions of Africans are cursed with dictators and tyrants, and so the fact that some of the longest-serving leaders on the continent have been ousted or are on their way out – and all this through the unleashed power of ordinary people – is inspirational to marginalised and disenfranchised citizens across the continent.

So, could the spirit of the Arab revolution spread south into sub-Saharan Africa? Some people I met are hopeful that it will, citing the fact that many African countries share similar social, economic and demographic realities with Egypt and Tunisia, and that young Africans are waking up to their potential.

This "youthquake" certainly appears to be a factor in Nigeria. "As Nigerians prepare for presidential elections next month, what is happening, much less dramatically than in north Africa but with perhaps as much long-term significance, is that the youth is finally awake," Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote recently.

Kenya is a good example. Despite large income inequalities and a relatively high crime rate, clean and green Nairobi exudes prosperity and self-confidence. Though the city does not have much of a past, it exhibits a hope in the future and the power of freedom and knowledge. In fact, education seems to be a national obsession in Kenya, with some newspapers even leading with their education section.
Politically, Kenya has already had its own "revolution", when its former dictator, Daniel arap Moi, was forced to step down in 2002, and his anointed successor, who also happened to be the son of Kenya's founding father, was hammered at the ballot box.
Things have soured somewhat. Kenya's current president, Mwai Kibaki, has exhibited psuedo-dictatorial tendencies and managed to hold on to power in 2007 amid accusations of vote-rigging, which sparked a wave of protests and violence that rocked the country.
"In Kenya, we take

Abderrahmane Semmar: Une femme âgée d'une soixantaine d'année est morte, Émeutes à El Bayadh (Algérie)

http://juralibertaire.over-blog.com/article-emeutes-a-el-bayadh-algerie-30-mars-70599514.html

Une femme âgée d'une soixantaine d'année est morte, mercredi, asphyxiée par le gaz des bombes larcrymogènes lancées par des gendarmes lors des affrontements qui se déroulent depuis 9h à Kaf El Ahmra, dans la wilaya d'El Bayadh, a confié à elwatan.com, Mohamed Zouaoui, membre du bureau d'El Bayadh et du coseil national de la LADDH. «Cette femme est décédée à 10h30 lorsqu'une bombe lacrymogène a été jetée à l'intérieur de sa maison», indique notre interlocuteur.
De violents affrontements ont opposé mercredi des habitants de Kef El Ahmar, une commune située à une quarantaine de kilomètres d'El Bayadh, aux forces de la gendarmerie déployées depuis 9h du matin pour disperser un millier de jeunes qui ont manifesté contre la précarité de leur commune, a appris mercredi elwatan.com. Selon Hassan Bourras, membre du comité directeur de la LADDH et président du bureau de cettte organisation de défense des droits de l'Homme à El-Bayadh, une ville située à 650 km au sud-ouest d'Alger, au moins 30 blessés ont été recensés sur les lieux.

Charif Kiwan : Les Syriens ont défié et brisé la loi du silence

http://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2011/03/31/les-syriens-ont-defie-et-brise-la-loi-du-silence_1501276_3232.html

Mais le roi ne paraît pas pour autant proche de sa fin. Car, à la différence de ses aînés arabes, le président syrien a deux corps : un corps de tyran et un corps de résistant. Le premier se meurt, atteint des mêmes maladies qui ont emporté les Ben Ali et compagnie. Tandis que le second rayonne, incarnant une aspiration nationale qui se nourrit de la nostalgie d'une Syrie naturelle charcutée par les vilains accords de Sykes-Picot en 1916 (qui ont remodelé le Moyen-Orient).

Le premier est honni dans la mesure où il est associé à un régime qui a poussé la répression jusqu'à l'anthropophagie et le népotisme jusqu'à l'inceste, alors que le second est l'objet d'une certaine fierté nationale. Une fierté plus ou moins bien assumée, née de l'humiliation accumulée depuis la défaite arabe de juin 1967, qui fait du jeune chef aux yeux bleus, généralissime de son état, le seul dirigeant arabe capable de tenir tête au vieux chef croisé, George W. Bush. Le seul dirigeant arabe, aussi, à soutenir les guérillas suicidaires du Hezbollah et du Hamas, censées ouvrir la voie à la libération de Jérusalem. Le seul dirigeant arabe, enfin, à prétendre oeuvrer à l'avènement d'une nation arabe une et indivisible, débarrassée de l'entité sioniste.

Tarak Barkawi : Phantasms from the 1990s are upon us: no-fly zones

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/201132881618969257.html

The cost of using only airpower against Gaddafi is strategic incoherence that will likely result in a stalemate [REUTERS]

Phantasms from the 1990s are upon us: no-fly zones; the rhetoric of humanitarian war in Washington, Europe and the UN; guarantees that no US ground troops will be deployed; an air war which alone cannot decisively affect earthbound events
President Obama swung for ringing tones in his statement on Libya, condemning idleness in the face of merciless tyrants who brutally assault innocents.
In the legal codes through which the international community acknowledges so untoward a happening as war, the UN resolved to protect civilians and create a cordon sanitaire around the blighted country.
But it was all a faraway echo from the Yugoslav heyday of believing people could be bombed for humanitarian effect.
The language of liberal war may still flow as easily in the West as Libya's sweet crude, but even the true believers are running on fumes on this one.
Few critics have even bothered to point out the obvious selectivity. Obama meant no idling before this particular tyrant, while the UN Security Council offered the beatific state of protected innocence to some Libyans only, not to Syrians, Yemenis, Palestinians or Bahrainis, much less those suffering in the Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe or elsewhere.
Nonetheless the idea of liberal war, of the use of force for humanitarian objectives, continues to cloud opinion and profoundly informs the official terms of debate, in international forums and especially in Western Europe. It also shapes the character of coalition operations over Libya.
Denying war, the art of euphemisms
Liberal war is so useful, particularly to 'good Europeans', because it denies it is war. It is a no-fly zone protecting human rights!

د. نائل جرجس : تعيش أجيال وتموت في ظل حالة الطوارئ

 تتعارض تشريعات قانون الطوارئ الحالي مع نصّ المادة الرابعة هذه، وهو ما سنبينه بالنقطتين الآتيتين:

أولا: جرى على تطبيق قانون الطوارئ 48 عاماً وبذلك فقد الصفة الاستثنائية المؤقتة بعكس ما أجازه العهد. فليس من المعقول أن تعيش أجيال وتموت في ظل حالة الطوارئ فهذه الأخيرة تعني وجود حالة طارئة استثنائية ولا يمكن أن تكون دائمة بأي شكل من الأشكال.

ثانيا: وجود تعارض لتشريعات الطوارئ الحالية مع بعض الحقوق الأساسية للإنسان وهو ما يخالف الفقرة الثانية من المادة الرابعة المذكورة أعلاه. وسأعطي بعض الأمثلة على ذلك:

هناك مادة قانونية معمول بها حاليا في سوريا بموجب قانون الطوارئ، ألا وهي المادة 16 من القانون رقم 14 لعام 1969. هذه الأخيرة تُعطي حصانة لعناصر الأمن في حال ارتكابهم جرائم حيث لا يجوز ملاحقتهم إلا بموافقة القائد المسؤول عنهم. فهل يُعقل أن يبقى العمل بهذه المادة منذ عقود، وأن لا يُحاسب أشخاص الأمن رغم اقترافهم لجرائم، في حال عدم موافقة رؤسائهم، ففي هذا تكريس لثقافة الإفلات من العقاب وتعطيل للسلطة القضائية. كما أنّ تشريعات قانون الطوارئ تُجيز الزج بأشخاص في السجن لفترات طويلة جدا ومن دون أية محاكمة أو بموجب محاكمات عسكرية واستثنائية تفتقر لأدنى معايير المحاكمة العادلة كالحق في الطعن والدفاع اللازم...، إلخ. حيث تُجيز تشريعات الطوارئ للحاكم العرفي ( الممثل للسلطة التنفيذية) بأن يُصدق قرارات محكمة أمن الدولة التي لا يجوز الطعن القضائي بأحكامها، وهذا فيه خرق واضح لمبدأ فصل السلطات الثلاث (التشريعية والتنفيذية والقضائية) وكذلك استقلالية القضاء المضمون بمقتضى الدستور السوري ( المادة 131). هذا بالإضافة إلى تقييد الحق في حرية التنقل ومراقبة الإعلام والمخابرات، إلخ.

وبالتالي نرى بأنّ إعمال تشريعات الطوارئ طوال العقود الماضية في سوريا هو غير قانوني ويعود بشكل أساسي إلى عدم استقلالية القضاء أو إلى جهل القاضي بأن العهد الدولي يسمو على القانون الداخلي وهو كما أكّدته صراحة الحكومة السورية في العديد من المحافل الدولية.

وبالعودة إلى التظاهرات السلمية التي تشهدها البلاد حالياً وبالإضافة إلى الضمانات القانونية لها، فقد أكّد وزير الإعلام السوري محسن بلال منذ عام 2008، خلال مداخلة له على تلفزيون الجزيرة في برنامج بلا حدود (المقابلة موجودة على موقع اليوتوب)، بأن الشعب السوري يحق له التظاهر واستبعد على الإطلاق بأن يتم قمع المظاهرات في حال حدوثها. ونفس الأمر أكدته حديثا السيدة بثينة شعبان وأشارت إلى أنّ رئيس الجمهورية لم يأمر بإطلاق النار على المتظاهرين.

وبالرغم من وجود هكذا ضمانات قانونية وتصريحات حكومية، فقد أسفنا لقمع المتظاهرين السلميين وهو ما أدى إلى سقوط مئات القتلى و الجرحى من أبناء الشعب السوري نتيجة لإطلاق الرصاص الحي عليهم أو حتى عدم حمايتهم من "البلطجية" حيث أنّ واجب الحكومة حماية مواطنيها وضمان حقهم في الحياة. وللردّ على بعض التصريحات الحكومية التي تقول بأنّ استعمال القوة كان فقط ضد عصابات مسلحة، فإننا نسألهم هل المعتصمين المتضامنين مع ضحايا الشعبين الليبي والمصري في ساحة باب توما-دمشق وأمام السفارة الليبية كانوا من المسلحين ؟ وهل أتى المتضامنين وأهالي المعتقلين السياسيين إلى أمام مبنى وزارة الداخلية في حي المرجة بدمشق، يوم 16 آذار/مارس 2011، بأسلحة حتى يتم الاعتداء عليهم بالضرب واعتقال حوالي الثلاثين شخص من بينهم.

ومن هنا نرى بأنه لا مبرر للقمع الذي طال ويطال أبناء الشعب السوري من اعتقالات لمشاركين أو حتى داعين لهذه التظاهرات السلمية التي تُطالب بمكافحة الفساد والرشوة وتأميم الخليوي وإطلاق الحريات العامة ومكافحة الفقر والبطالة وإلغاء قانون الطوارئ، وبالتالي ندعو إلى ملاحقة المسؤولين عن سقوط الضحايا والإفراج الفوري عن كافة المعتقلين. وأخيرا نأمل من جميع الداعين أو المشاركين بالتظاهرات بأن يبتعدوا عن التخريب والحرق والعنف والطائفية وأن تكون هناك اعتصامات سلمية حضارية من أجل تحقيق هذه المطالب المشروعة جدا والتي يستحقها الشعب السوري بكافة أطيافه وأعراقه.

If you read nothing else, PLEASE READ THIS:There's no business like war business : Pepe Escobar

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MC30Ak01.html
...Right on cue, the "Interim Transitional National Council" has got a new finance minister, US-educated economist Ali Tarhouni. He disclosed that a bunch of Western countries gave them credit backed by Libya's sovereign fund, and the British allowed them to access $1.1 billion of Gaddafi's funds. This means the Anglo-French-American consortium - and now NATO - will only pay for the bombs. As war scams go this one is priceless; the West uses Libya's own cash to finance a bunch of opportunists Libyan rebels to fight the Libyan government. And on top of it the Americans, the Brits and the French feel the love for all that bombing. Neo-cons must be kicking themselves; why couldn't former US deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz come up with something like this for Iraq 2003?

...Essentially, the Benghazi revolt coq au vin had been simmering since November 2010. The cooks were Mesmari, air force colonel Abdullah Gehani, and the French secret service. Mesmari was called "Libyan WikiLeak", because he spilled over virtually every one of Gaddafi's military secrets. Sarkozy loved it - furious because Gaddafi had cancelled juicy contracts to buy Rafales (to replace his Mirages now being bombed) and French-built nuclear power plants.
....The oh so convenient bogeyman resurfaces. The Anglo-French-American consortium - and now NATO - are (again) fighting alongside al-Qaeda, represented by al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQM).