Alternative News and Political Opinion in video and print.
Be Sure to Visit All 3 World United Websites for a different perspective in the World of News, Music and Awakening Topics.
Qatar’s King Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has
reportedly located the whereabouts of senior Hamas members during his recent
visit to the Gaza Strip, and later provided Israel with the information to
assassinate them.
According to a report published by the Fars news agency, the emir of Qatar
distributed a number of watches and ballpoint pens among Hamas leaders, which
could transmit low-frequency signals to Israeli satellites.
The Israeli military officials would then use the received signals to spot the
high-ranking Hamas fighters, and launch assassination strikes on them.
Sheikh Hamad arrived in Gaza on October 23 to become the first head of state to
visit the besieged enclave since the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas,
took power in the territory five years ago.
Qatar’s emir has met Israeli leaders in the past, and is working hard to boost
the diplomatic clout of his small Persian Gulf country.
Gaza has been blockaded by the Israeli regime since 2007, a situation that has
caused a decline in the standard of living, unprecedented levels of
unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.
The Israeli military frequently carries out airstrikes and other attacks on
Gaza Strip, saying the actions are being conducted for defensive purposes.
However, disproportionate force is always used, in violation of international
law, and civilians are often killed or injured.
The new wave of Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has claimed more than 41
lives since November 14. Ahmed al-Ja'abari, the popular and influential head of
the Hamas military wing, the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, was assassinated in
an Israeli attack on his car on Wednesday.
On Friday, Ahmed Abu Jalal, a field commander of the Ezzedeen al-Qassam
Brigades, was also killed in an Israeli airstrike on the central Gaza district
of Maghazi.
Anti-government
protesters gesture as they march during an anti-government rally held by Wefaq,
Bahrain's main opposition party, in Bilad al-Qadeem, west of Manama October 19,
2012. (Reuters/Hamad I Mohammed)
Bahraini authorities have prohibited protest gatherings
and rallies until further notice, a day after police cracked down heavily on
demonstrators, once again during the 20-month fatality-riddled unrest.
The statement made by the country’s Interior Ministry
did not define precise measures that could be taken should new protests occur.
A curfew and special military tribunals were introduced
several months into uprising that began in Bahrain in February 2011. AP
reported that the early period of the unrest left at least 50 people dead in
the violence.
However, Interior Minister Shaikh Rashid Bin Abdullah Al
Khalifa stressed that “rallies and gatherings will be considered illegal,
and legal action will be taken against anyone calling for or taking part in
them.”
The news comes only a day after security forces cracked
down on protesters next to the capital, Manama, using teargas and rubber
bullets. Demonstrators took to the streets to rally for the release of
political prisoners – and against the long-standing rule of the King Hamad bin
Isa Al Khalifa.
Just under two weeks ago, Bahrain detained four people after they reportedly
defamed the King via Twitter. The four were held for seven days pending trial,
according to the official Bahrain News Agency. The authorities gave no further
details on the suspects or the contents of their tweets. The trial date and the
suspects’ fate remain unknown.
One of the most prominent opposition activists in the
country, Nabeel Rajab is
currently challenging the three-year jail sentence for allegedly encouraging
illegal protests and violence in Bahrain via Twitter. His next hearing will
take place on November 8.
Another well-known activist, Said Yousif, was arrested in mid-August after speaking out
in support of Nabeel Rajab’s detention.
Head of Monitoring in Bahrain Center for Human Rights,
Sayed Yousif Almuhafda thinks that the latest measure is simply “an attempt
to completely squash [the] people’s uprising. In fact, Bahrain can be called an
unfinished segment of the Arab Spring, which has never been allowed [to]
flower.”
Ever since the toppling of the Mubarak regime in Egypt, Palestinians in Gaza have hoped that they would see
an end to the punishing restrictions on their movement through the Rafah
crossing with Egypt, their only gateway to the outside world.
I know first-hand about the hardships these restrictions
cause, not only because as a reporter I have covered them for years, but
because my family has borne them personally
as we have had to go back and forth from our home in Gaza to Egypt for my
wife’s medical treatment.
But though there was a loosening of the restrictions since
the fall of Egypt’s Mubarak regime, 1.6 million residents in Gaza now face the
return of the tight closure imposed on their movement since 2007, as Israel,
the occupying power, works with Egypt to impose a tight siege on the area.
Punishing
Palestinians for electing Hamas
Israel claimed that the siege was necessary because Hamas, in power in Gaza, represented a threat; meanwhile
Egypt bowed to international pressure by shutting down Gaza’s main gateway to
the outside world. The goal was in fact the same — to tighten the siege on Gaza
to make Hamas’ rule unviable, even though it had won an election in 2006.
Egypt then contended that the Rafah crossing terminal should
operate according to the terms of the 2005 “Agreement on Movement and Access”
brokered by the United States. This agreement required the presence of European
Union “observers” who acted as Israel’s eyes, ears and hands, and the forces of
the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.
However, Hamas’ election victory has changed the rules of
the political game, and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who need to be
able to move in and out of Gaza have been the victims.
Instead of welcoming one of the rare democratic exercises in
in the Arab world, years before the Arab uprisings that have, so far,
led to the fall of long-time rulers in Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and Egypt itself,
the so-called international community imposed a boycott on the Palestinians to
punish them for the result.
A year and a half after Hamas won legislative elections in
both Gaza and the West Bank — declared free and fair by international monitors
— Hamas and the western-backed Fatah faction of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, architect of the Oslo Agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, engaged in a brief civil
war.
Abbas’ forces aimed to prevent Hamas from gaining hegemony
despite their election victory, while Hamas wanted to consolidate its control
and prevent what it saw as a coup against its legitimate authority.
In June 2007, the conflict reached a climax, and Hamas
ousted the forces loyal to Abbas and established sole control in the interior
of Gaza. This only led Israel and its international allies to tighten the siege
and closure.
In 2008, Israel declared Gaza — of which it is still legally
the occupying power — a “hostile entity” that is dedicated to the destruction
of the state of Israel.
Gaza — a hostile entity? Half of the population are children
and more than a million are registered refugees with UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, and are
dependent on regular food aid.
Just months before Ging uttered those words, Palestinians
blew up the border wall with Egypt and hundreds of thousands of Gazans burst through
it seeking basic supplies, to rejoin family members, to seek urgent
medical treatment, and to take back their stolen dignity.
For a few days, the Arab Republic of Egypt — under its
president and main US ally, Hosni Mubarak — had no choice but to allow the
people of Gaza to cross the border into nearby Egyptian towns.
Mubarak apparently did not understand the message delivered
by the Palestinian crowds, and reimposed the closure of the border with Gaza.
Palestinians invented their own means of breaking the siege — digging
underground tunnels that became, until now, the mainstay of the economy.
Mubarak's Overthrow
Offered Hope
Meanwhile, the Rafah crossing terminal remained closed until
just after February 2011, when Mubarak was toppled by a great popular uprising.
In May 2011, Palestinians from Gaza, including patients,
students and men over the age of 40 and those with residency permits in Egypt
or in some other Arab countries began to move in and out of Gaza through Rafah
as restrictions were eased. Since then, tens of thousands of Gazans have
enjoyed the fruits of the Egyptian Spring, and some of their dignity appears to
have been restored.
In June, Egyptians elected Mohammad Morsi of the Muslim
Brotherhood party as president. Morsi spoke of further easing restrictions and
supplying more desperately-needed electricity to Gaza. In July, the new
Egyptian president met Gaza’s Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, the
highest-level meeting for Gaza’s rulers since their election, which was made
possible only by the uprising of the Egyptian people.
Haniyeh returned to the Gaza Strip from Cairo through the
Rafah crossing, filled with hope and expectation to the extent that some Hamas
leaders in Gaza hinted at the possibility of establishing a free trade zone on the
Gaza-Egypt border line, which would eliminate the need for the current tunnel
economy.
Hopes Dashed by
Sinai Attack
All these hopes — shared by Gaza’s population — were swiftly
dashed in the aftermath of the 5 August attack during Ramadan by unknown
gunmen that killed 16 Egyptian soldiers in the northern Sinai near
the border with Gaza.
Despite no evidence that the attackers came from Gaza, no
history of such attacks by Palestinians against Egyptians, and widespread
condemnation from the Palestinian people, leaders and political factions in
reaction to this attack, Egyptian media and some authorities began quickly
pointing the finger at Gaza. Egypt shut down the Rafah crossing and moved to
shut down the underground tunnels that have been a lifeline.
Many Egyptian media outlets and officials said to be
affiliated with the Egyptian regime launched an anti-Hamas campaign, accusing
elements from the Gaza Strip of involvement in the terrorist attack.
Until the findings of ongoing investigations into the attack
are revealed, the people of Gaza, especially patients in need of medical care,
will again lose their dignity that has been stolen for more than five years.
Some may lose their lives.
New Restrictions?
Media reports from Gaza suggest that more than 40,000
registered travelers, including patients, students and those with residency
permits in Arab countries, are unable to get out of the tiny coastal enclave
after Egypt ordered new restrictions on travel for their Palestinian brothers
and sisters. From now on, Rafah will be open for no more than 1,000 travelers
each working day.
Other media reports suggested that more than 10,000 Israelis
and Palestinians with Israeli citizenship recently managed to cross into the
Sinai peninsula through the Taba crossing at the Egyptian-Israeli border — into
the same Sinai desert area where the attacks happened — to enjoy the weekend
and Eid holidays at Red Sea resorts.
Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza watch and continue to ask:
who is hijacking our dignity?
Rami
Almeghari is a journalist and university lecturer based in the Gaza Strip.
More than 100 people have been killed in Libya since protests broke out across the North African nation six days ago, according to a watchdog group.
New York City-based Human Rights Watch said on Sunday that it now estimated at least 104 people had died in the unrest, though it called that figure "conservative".
Witnesses in Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, tell Al Jazeera that at least 200 people have died there, with hundreds more wounded. Protests have also reportedly broken out in other cities, including Bayda, Derna, Tobruk and Misrata.
In Tripoli, the capital, supporters of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi have taken to the streets in large numbers, and security forces have prevented any large demonstrations against his 42-year reign.
Benghazi a war zone'
Moftah, a Benghazi man who requested Al Jazeera use only his first name, said the city had become a "war zone" in recent days. Residents have barricaded the streets with overturned trash cans and debris, and security forces have largely confined themselves to two compounds, though they continue to snipe at protesters, he said.
The forces who remain are "thugs" loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's longtime leader, Moftah said, and they are firing high-calibre ammunition at protesters.
Mariam, a doctor speaking from a hospital in Benghazi, said the military had shot at protesters with live ammunition and that even the hospital was not safe. An 8-year-old boy who had been shot in the head was among the dead, she said.
Security forces had reportedly opened fire at a funeral in the eastern, coastal city on Saturday, killing at least 15 people and injuring scores more.
The funeral was to honour protesters killed by security forces during the ongoing protests, which began on Monday after the arrest of a prominent lawyer and have continued to call for Gaddafi's downfall.
Another doctor from Benghazi's al-Jalah hospital said staff there had received 15 bodies and were treating numerous people following the funeral shootings. He said the hospital had counted 44 deaths in three days and was struggling to treat the wounded.
"This is not a well-equipped hospital and these injuries come in waves," he said. "All are very serious injuries, involving the head, the chest and the abdomen. They are bullet injuries from high-velocity rifles."
He said the wounded and dead were all civilians aged 13 to 35 and that the security forces were "absolutely" under a shoot-to-kill policy.
Appeal for calm
Against this backdrop of bloodshed, opposition groups said around 50 Libyan Muslim leaders have urged security forces to stop killing civilians.
"This is an urgent appeal from religious scholars, intellectuals, and clan elders from Tripoli, Bani Walid, Zintan, Jadu, Msalata, Misrata, Zawiah, and other towns and villages of the western area," the appeal signed by the group of leaders said.
"We appeal to every Muslim, within the regime or assisting it in any way, to recognize that the killing of innocent human beings is forbidden by our Creator and by His beloved Prophet of Compassion (peace be upon him) ... Do NOT kill your brothers and sisters. STOP the massacre NOW!"
The deaths came amid claims that a military brigade in Benghazi had fallen to the people. The doctor in Benghazi told Al Jazeera that protesters stormed the building on Saturday.
Ahmed, a Benghazi businessman who also gave only his first name, said hospitals in the city were overwhelmed with the number of dead and injured and were running out of blood.
"It's a big, big massacre. We've never heard of anything like this before. It's horrible," he said.
"The shooting is still taking place right now. We're about three kilometers away from it, and we saw this morning army troops coming into the city. You can hear the shooting now. They don't care about us."
Unrest 'spreading'
The unrest in Libya has largely been centred in the eastern cities of Benghazi, Bayda and Tobruk. But Al Jazeera has received reports that the protests have begun to spread to the country's west
Witnesses said thousands of people took part in peaceful protests in the western city of Misrata. They were demonstrating against state brutality, rather than calling for a change in government.
Mohamed Abdulmalek, the chairman of Libya Watch - a human rights group that monitors abuse in the country - said the delay of protests in the west was due to the heavy presence of security forces there, "not because the people did not want to go out".
"The security presence in Tripoli, for example, was so intense that people gathered individually in the beginning," Abdulmalek said from the United Kingdom. "The Libyan regime anticipated this, so the squares in Tripoli were occupied by security forces and therefore people were not allowed to gather."
"But eventually, the pressure on the capital started from outside Tripoli and now you see the people revolting. We have no doubt that the east and the west will unite."
Verifying news from Libya has been difficult since the protests began, thanks to restrictions on journalists entering the country, as well as Internet and mobile phone black outs imposed by the government.
The Libyan government has blocked Al Jazeera's TV signal in the country and residents have also reported that the network's website is inaccessible from there.
Internet cut
Internet service has been cut off, according to a US company that monitors web traffic.
Massachusetts-based Arbor Networks said data collected from 30 Internet service providers around the world showed that online traffic in and out of Libya was disconnected abruptly at 2:15 am local time on Saturday. The data also showed two partial service interruptions earlier in the day.
As of Sunday, it was still possible to reach Libyans by phone, and some in Tripoli had Internet access.
Protests in the country began on February 14, and three days later tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators seeking to oust Gaddafi took to the streets in what organisers called a "day of rage" modelled after similar protests in Tunisia and Egypt that ousted longtime leaders there.
Gaddafi has ruled Libya since 1969.
While Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa, two-thirds of the 6.5-million-strong population live on less than $2 a day.
Security forces in Libya have killed scores of pro-democracy protesters in demonstrations demanding the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi, the country's long time ruler.
Human Rights Watch said on Saturday that 84 people had died over the past three days.
A doctor in Benghazi told Al Jazeera that he had seen 70 bodies at the city's hospital on Friday in one of the harshest crackdowns against peaceful protesters thus far.
"I have seen it on my own eyes: At least 70 bodies at the hospital," said Wuwufaq al-Zuwail, a physician.
Al-Zuwail said that security forces had also prevented ambulances reaching the site of the protests.
The Libyan government has also blocked Al Jazeera's TV signal in the country and people have also reported that the network's website is inaccessible from there.
Protesters shot
A day earlier, marchers mourning dead protesters in Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, reportedly come under fire from security forces, as protests in the oil-exporting North African nation entered their fifth day on Friday
Mohamed el-Berqawy, an engineer in Benghazi, told Al Jazeera that the city was the scene of a "massacre," and that four demonstrators had been killed.
"Where is the United Nations ... where is (US president Barack) Obama, where is the rest of the world, people are dying on the streets," he said. "We are ready to die for our country."
Verifying news from Libya has been difficult since protests began, thanks to restrictions on journalists entering the country, as well as internet and mobile phone black outs imposed by the government.
Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters seeking to oust Gaddafi took to the streets across Libya on Thursday in what organisers called a "day of rage" modelled after similar protests in Tunisia and Egypt that ousted longtime leaders there. Gaddafi has ruled Libya since 1969.
Pro-government supporters also were out on the streets on Friday, according to the Libyan state television, which broadcasted images labelled "live" that showed men chanting slogans in support of Gaddafi.
The pro-Gaddafi crowd was seen singing as it surrounded his limousine as it crept along a road in the capital, Tripoli, packed with people carrying his portrait.
Deadly clashes
Deadly clashes broke out in several towns on Thursday after the opposition called for protests in a rare show of defiance inspired by uprisings in other Arab states and the toppling of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
The worst clashes appeared to have taken place in the eastern Cyrenaica region, centred on Benghazi, where support for Gaddafi has historically been weaker than in other parts of the country.
Libya's Quryna newspaper reported on Thursday that the regional security chief had been removed from his post over the deaths of protesters in Bayda.
Libyan opposition groups in exile claimed that Bayda citizens had joined with local police forces to take over Bayda and fight against government-backed militias, whose ranks are allegedly filled by recruits from other African nations.
Political analysts say Libyan oil wealth may give the government the capacity to smooth over social problems and
reduce the risk of an Egypt-style revolt.
Gaddafi's opponents say they want political freedoms, respect for human rights and an end to corruption.
The government has proposed the doubling of government employees' salaries and released 110 suspected anti-government figures who oppose him - tactics similar to those adopted by other Arab governments facing recent mass protests.
Gaddafi also has been meeting with tribal leaders to solicit their support
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi (C) leans on ouster Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (R) and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh (L) seen in this group picture dated October 10, 2010
Authorities have reportedly sealed off the restive Libyan city of al-Baida hours after Pro-democracy protesters took control over the region.
Clashes erupted after government militias were deployed in the area following the incident to retake the city on Friday. Two exiled Libyan groups say the takeover came after some local police joined the protesters.
Meanwhile, police have killed at least three convicts as they tried to escape from El-Jedaida prison near the capital Tripoli.
Witnesses say there have been renewed scuffles between protesters and police forces in the city of Benghazi
The plainclothes police and snipers have vowed a sharp response to the protesters seeking an end to the long rule of Muammar Gaddafi.
The government supporters have called for tough action against the protesters.
"The people's power, the Jamahiriya [system of rule], the revolution, and Colonel Gaddafi are all red lines and those who try to cross or come near these lines are suicidal and playing with fire," a leading pro-government newspaper, Al-Zahf Al-Akhdar, said.
The opposition has accused the government of arming African migrants in the north to shoot pro-democracy protesters.
The developments come as Libyans have taken to the streets across the country on what they call the "day of anger."
The opposition says at least 30 people were killed in the crackdown. According to medical sources, 14 died in Libya's second-largest city, Benghazi.
Human rights group Amnesty International has also urged the Libyan government to stop its crackdown on peaceful demonstrations.
Meanwhile Gaddafi's supporters have held a pro-government rally in the capital, Tripoli. The 63-year-old leader, who has ruled the country for 41 years, reportedly attended the rally.
Pro-democracy protesters have reportedly taken control over the eastern Libyan city of al-Baida as anti-Gaddafi regime rallies escalate across the North African country.
Two Libyan exile groups say the takeover came after some local police joined the protesters. Clashes are reportedly under way as government militias have been deployed to the area following the incident to re-take the city.
Libyans have taken to the streets across the country on what they call the "day of anger." The protesters want an end to the long rule of Muammar Gaddafi.
The opposition says at least 30 people were killed in the crackdown. According to medical sources, 14 died in Libya's second-largest city, Benghazi.
The opposition has accused the government of arming African migrants in the north to shoot pro-democracy protesters.
Meanwhile Gaddafi's supporters have held a pro-government rally in the capital, Tripoli. The 63-year-old leader, who has ruled the country for 41 years, reportedly attended the rally.
Meanwhile, human rights group Amnesty International has also urged the Libyan government to stop its crackdown on peaceful demonstrations.
The US will continue efforts to maintain Egypt's collaborations with Washington and Tel Aviv as it is unlikely that the US stops putting pressure on those opposing Israel, a journalist says.
In an interview with Press TV, Gareth Porter said, ''Unless there is a totally surprising decision made in Washington to abandon its regional strategy, which has, for three decades or so, been devoted to unremitting pressure on those states and parties which have opposed Israel and its role in relation to Palestinians, as well as its role in the region," the US will continue to "try to use whatever instruments of power available to it in Egypt to try to keep that country as much as possible on a track that is collaborative with the United States and Israel."
He said US efforts to keep control over Egypt's politics will be a source of tension for the next six months to come following the Egyptian revolution.
“One must assume that the interest of the military regime, particularly one which is headed by the person who was the primary collaborator of the United States' CIA in this rendition program, is going to have a different set of priorities and different set of interests from those of the pro-democracy demonstrators in Egypt,” Porter added.
“Therefore, we are going to see a long period here of very intricate maneuvering between the government headed by the former intelligence chief of Egypt and the forces, which were involved in the pro-democracy demonstrations,” he added.
While Muslims account for the majority of Egypt's population, the West has criticized those amending the Egyptian constitution for refusing to remove Article 2, stating that Islam is the state religion and recognizing the Shariah as the source of law.
Porter said that the US and Israel are interested in “pushing Egypt in a different direction … to fence off Islamic influence, the influence of Islamist parties and particularly the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.”
The issue is not one of simply Egyptian political forces within the country's borders, but “also involve external forces, as well.”
Shortly after the victory of Egypt's popular revolution, the pro-democracy protesters urge any future government to prevent foreign interference in the country's domestic affairs.
People have refused to leave the streets ever since Friday, when three-decade-long President Hosni Mubarak handed power over to the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces, giving in to 18 straight days of demonstrations. The people have urged the new military rulers to hand over power to a civilian government as soon as possible.
“We are not with America or any other government. We are able to help ourselves. We don't need America, France or Israel. We have proved that we have a high degree of knowledge. If America needs help we can help. We are greater than the US,” said one protester.
Downplaying the popular outrage on January 25, when the uprising began, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rated the North African ally's government as a stable one. Later, however, Washington supported transition of power to the people as the protests gathered momentum.
The protesters also called on the future government not to undermine its legitimacy by recognizing Israel.
“I don't think that Israel is a state. I don't believe in it. Israel is just an occupation. I personally, as an Egyptian, do not acknowledge the existence of Israel. Any Arab government that deals with Israel or works under Israel I do not acknowledge it either,” he added.
The former government endorsed Israel as a 'state' in a sign of allegiance to Washington and has invariably cooperated with Tel Aviv's crippling siege of the Gaza Strip by closing its Rafah border-crossing with Gaza, which is the enclave's only terminal that bypasses Israel.
“We are not with America. We are Egyptian and we can decide our fate on our own. We do not acknowledge any other foreign government to say that they will decide any fate for us. Only we decide,” said another rallier.
The revolution followed one in Tunisia, which ended the 23-year-long rule of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Tunis kept a close relationship with Paris, which had reportedly ordered for weapons and riot control equipment to be sent to Tunisia to curb the as popular uprising.
“We are against the US interfering in Egypt's establishment of a democratic government. We are against any foreign interference. We are against the involvement of America and France in our affairs,” said another demonstrator
Thousands of Libyans, inspired by the historic revolution in Egypt, plan to hold mass protest rallies against the four-decade-long dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi, a report says.
Libyans are reportedly planning to hold rallies on Thursday, as the people-powered revolution continues to sweep the Arab World.
The report published in Mail Online under the title "Now even Mad Dog Gaddafi faces a Day of Rage" writes that even Libyans are now daring to hope that the 41-year-long rule of Gaddafi might be coming to an end.
The Monday report comes three days after a revolution ousted president Hosni Mubarak from power in Egypt.
The report also added that underground opposition groups and civil society movements were planning to hold mass pro-democracy protests in major cities across the country in the coming days.
"Behind the closed doors of their homes, they discussed whether the winds of change might blow through their own country," the report said.
Media Reports say the ageing dictator fears his country may soon face similar protests like Tunisia and Egypt.
Sources say Gaddafi has held a series of meetings in recent days with top officials within his regime to discuss concerns in the event of large-scale protests.
The world's longest serving leaders. Col. Gaddafi has been in power for over 40 years after assuming control in a military coup during the 1960s.
The Egyptian revolution has not come to a conclusion yet and people should continue protests to press their demand for a civilian government, a political analyst says.
Ali al-Ahmad, the director of IGA in Washington, told Press TV on Sunday that "it is too early to say that the revolution has succeeded" since it has not brought ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his people to justice yet.
Al-Ahmad said the main obstacle that is still present is the state of emergency that has been in place since Mubarak came to power nearly thirty years ago.
The analyst added that though Mubarak has left, his property has not been confiscated and his cronies are still in power which can form a "military dictatorship" unless people elect a government.
"The military is ruling the country without any supervision and there is no guarantee that will continue to be so for years," he said.
Al-Ahmad said that Egypt's new day will begin when the constitution is re-written and approved by the people and a government that is "responsible for people" is formed.
He warned the leaders of the revolution that the military is conducting a conspiracy to "steal the revolution" and asked people to continue their demands by holding demonstrations every Friday.
The Egyptian military that assumed power following Mubarak's ouster has dissolved the parliament and suspended the constitution.
The military has announced that it would stay in power for six months before a civilian government is elected.
Thousands of protesters, who doubted a rapid transition to democracy, streamed into Cairo's Liberation Square on Sunday, saying they will not quit unless their demands are met.
Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman has warned the opposition groups on Wednesday that if their movement doesn't enter into negotiations, a “coup” could transpire.
The following is a transcript of a Press TV interview with Mohammad Oweis, a Middle East expert in Washington, DC.
Press TV: Egypt's Vice President Omar Suleiman had earlier warned that his patience is running thin with the protesters. Considering the crackdown we've seen today in Kharga, should we expect bloodshed on the streets of Egypt?
Oweis: Well Omar Suleiman is very afraid of what may happen to him because of the crime he committed against the Egyptian people. He is holding on to the position President Hosni Mubarak put him in which is Vice President. He is not a vice president because Egyptians don't want him to be. He is a criminal who has committed crimes with impunity for a long time and he should not be given immunity and Egyptian are not going to give him immunity from the crimes he has committed. Even the thugs and the security forces who are killing people on the streets are not going to be immune from trails later. So the best thing that the demonstrators can do is to just get the names of these thugs and tell them that they will be tried for the crimes against the demonstrators.
Omar Suleiman is not a Persona non grata. His days in Egypt are numbered and probably his days on the earth is numbered if he continues to be defiant and threatening the Egyptian people because the army is not going to kill its own people on orders from a criminal like Suleiman.
Press TV: We've heard time and time again of chaos insuing if Mubarak steps down. Do you agree with that assessment?
Oweis: Well, we haven't seen chaos. In fact the chaos comes from Mubarak and his thugs. This is a very civilized revolution and in fact I think these guys who are leading this revolution are really going the right way.
The government has lost control over the demonstrators in Egypt and killing people is not going to stop others from going to the streets.
Today nobody asked people to go into the streets but hundreds of thousands took to the streets against the regime. Today's protests show that everything is right way for achieving a revolution.
The regime however dreams up things and behaves as if there everything is very fine for the Egyptians. People of Egypt have suffered for a long time. They have been humiliated by this regime. I think the position of Egyptians is much better as they don't afraid of the security forces. They may not get enough food, but at least they do not afraid the regime thugs.
Egypt is going to be one of the best Arab countries and one of the greatest Muslim countries.
Press TV: How do you assess the US role here: it is going to continue providing aid to Mubarak's regime, and has not explicitly called for him to step down?
Oweis: The US has looked at the cover of the Egyptian regime and the Europe has also done the same. Israel is entangled with serious problems because it is well aware that its future will be worse because no more dictators will remain to protect the regime's security in the region.
Americans and Europeans cannot breach democracy any longer. So they have no choice other than supporting democracy in Egypt and Israel can go to hell.
The Palestinian Authority says it has sent a memorandum to The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) in a bid to seek justice for "all Israeli crimes" committed in the occupied Palestinian lands.
On Friday, Palestinian UN observer Riyad Mansour called on the court to adjudicate on war crimes committed against Palestinians during Israel's December 2008-January 2009 war on the Gaza Strip.
Mansour also said the Palestinian Authority had created a commission to investigate the crime allegations leveled against it.
Regarding the war crimes charges against both Hamas and Israel, he said the commission did not view potential wrongdoing on the Palestinian side as seriously as any acts by Israel.
"There is absolutely no symmetry or proportionality between the occupying power and the occupied people," he added.
A UN Human Rights Council report that was compiled by a team led by the South African judge Richard Goldstone has accused Israel of war crimes during the three week war in the region.
Mansour pleaded for ICC involvement in adjudicating the allegations, saying the representatives of the Palestinian authority have met several times with representatives of the ICC and called on the court to pen an investigation into the case.
He also criticized the UN Security Council, saying that it "has not carried out its responsibility" over bringing the case to ICC.
The Goldstone report could be referred to the council for action and ultimately to the International Criminal Court, but with the United States — a strong ally of Israel — as a member of the body, the move seems very unlikely.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad slams the US, Britain and Israel for what he calls instigating another war in the region.
Speaking to thousands of people in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, Ahmadinejad said that the fabrication of Israel and the sending of arms to the Middle East were aimed at dominating the region and maintaining Western interests.
"The Zionist regime [of Israel] has been fabricated for the sake of dominating the Middle East region," he said. "Realizing the fact that they cannot achieve their goal through deception, they have resorted to military expeditions, launching wars and occupation."
President Ahmadinejad said that even the 9/11 attacks are believed by many experts to have been a US-Israeli plot to occupy Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Iranian president slammed Saudi Arabia's involvement in the Yemen war, saying that Riyadh had better used its weapons against the Zionists.
"The arms sold by the West to Saudi Arabia are being used against the people of the region and Muslims instead of protecting them against the Zionists," Ahmadinejad said, urging the Saudi government to contribute to the establishment of peace in Yemen.
The Iranian president also urged Yemeni parties to resolve the crisis through negotiation, be wary of the plots hatched by the enemies and protect the region from insecurity.
"Insecurity will help the arrogant powers of the world to interfere in regional affairs and we should hamper the opportunistic objectives of the enemies."
The president also urged the Pakistani government and nation to maintain their unity and be vigilant in the face of US plots.
"The US is only thinking of its own interests and the Pakistani people and government should not trust the United States," President Ahmadinejad said.
Addressing the global arrogance, the Iranian president said that they have faced a deadlock and the people of Iran and the region have today realized their schemes and will resist their conspiracies.
"You have no choice but to end your inhumane actions and respect the rights of the Iranian people and the region," he said, emphasizing that they would not be able to harm the people of Iran in any manner.
Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni has reportedly canceled her trip to London over threats of a possible war crimes lawsuit against her in Britain.
Based on a report published by Israeli daily Haaretz, the former foreign minister canceled her participation in a Jewish conference in London after a British court issued a warrant for her arrest.
"Scotland Yard advised the organizers of the Jewish National Fund conference in northwest London that the former foreign minister had canceled her scheduled address to the assembly over threats of a possible lawsuit by pro-Palestinian groups", the report said.
The warrant was issued for "war crimes" when she was foreign minister during Israel's December 2007-January 2008 offensive which left over 1,350 Palestinians dead in the Gaza Strip.
Livni's office however denied the report, saying in a statement that her trip was canceled two weeks ago due to a scheduling conflict.
Israel's envoy to London, Ron Prosor, has also claimed that he had conferred with officials in the British Ministry of Justice and that they denied such reports.
Prosor said the officials have not been informed about any criminal complaint or arrest warrant against the Israeli former foreign minister.
Earlier in September, a British court deferred until further notice an appeal by local pro-Palestinian groups to issue an arrest warrant against visiting Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
The group filed a request with the Westminster Magistrates Court to issue the warrant over Israel's war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
End the Israeli Genocide of the Palestinian People! ISRAEL IS COMMITTING War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity. Send a letter to The International Criminal Court of Justice and call for A War Crimes trial against the Israeli government and ANYONE THAT IS SUPPORTING THEM.
Below you will find my letter to the Office of The Prosecutor. Please feel free to copy it or write one of your own. The Children of Gaza need our help right now!
Letter dated: January 11th, 2009
Your Honor, Please, I beg of you to hear my sincere plea for help.
Israel is committing War Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity in Gaza on the Palestinian people and must be stopped immediately.
Remembering the words of Chief Justice Jackson during the first War Crimes trial held in Nuremberg Germany in 1946.
“The privilege of opening the first trial in history for crimes against the peace of the world imposes a grave responsibility. The wrong’s which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant, and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored, because it cannot survive their being repeated.”
Chief Justice Jackson
If humanity is to survive and progress, we must take swift and legal action on Governments that employ Crimes on Civilian Populations such as the crimes being committed in Gaza by the Israeli Government. It is not acceptable to wait until these Israeli crimes are played out because many of the men, woman, and children in Gaza will not survive this brutal genocide. Let us not get caught up in words, because action is required immediately. Aggressive War is a Crime, and targeting a civilian population in War aggression is a “Crime Against Humanity”.
The integrity and embodiment of the United Nations has come under attack by the absolute refusal of Israel to cease its War agenda by continuing to attack the Palestinian general population, UN convoys, civilian shelters, hospitals, schools, and all Palestinian Infrastructure. The very survival of the United Nations body will come into question if it is powerless to put a stop to a genocide that is taking place.
If the I.C.C.J. does not inform and take action against Israel for the atrocities they are committing on the Palestinian people then the United Nations will have failed Humanity and we will descend in to very dark times. The International Criminal Court of Justice is the one beacon of light that remains in our War torn World, and granted, there are many cases before the Court, but you MUST speak out NOW! As a Human being, I demand that the International Criminal Court of Justice stand up for the innocent people in the Gaza Strip! If need be, ask a neutral power of the Security Council such as Russia, to send a peace keeping force into Gaza. Do something before it is too late for the thousands of innocent men, women, and children.
Urgently waiting, Stewart Brennan Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
South Africa's Closing Argument Against Israel for Genocide at the ICJ
Freedom
Welcome!
World United News offers an honest approach to alternative news and opinion with back up links for readers to investigate information for themselves.
This blog also includes a number of important video playlists that cover specific topics, rare documentaries, debate, opinion, and viewpoints.
Please feel free to share anything that resonates with you or that you feel would benefit those in your circles. Comments are always welcome. ~Stewart Brennan~
I'm not in phase with what mainstream mediums have to offer, nor do I like being lied to. So I decided to build my own World where creativity, music, and truth prevail. Therefore I’m a photographer, Writer, Video Producer, News Reporter, Music Promoter, Radio DJ, Poet, Activist, Critical Thinker, and Problem Solver. Be sure to visit all my websites linked below for more of my world.
Posts
a.jpg)
a.jpg)
