Citizens speak out. People in cities across the world continue to find their voice in demanding basic freedoms and human rights, including participation in representative democracies, in countries such as Bahrain, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Egypt, Italy, Libya, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Yemen. Israeli and Palestinian Hamas officials separately made announcements on Sunday that they were each willing to end bilateral attacks as long as the other party complied as well. The National Organization for Human Rights in Syria reported that 28 people were killed on Friday, April 8, with four more who lost their lives Sunday as security forces fired live ammunition on peaceful protesters in various major cities. The Syrian government claims its own forces were fired upon by armed groups, resulting in 19 deaths, and states the government will deal forcefully with armed groups. Speaking with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon conveyed his deep disturbance by the crisis, stating that violence from all sides should be halted. As he emphasized the duty of the government to protect civilians and respect their basic rights, he called for President al-Assad to release all those currently detained and to begin an inclusive dialog on comprehensive government reforms. International organization Human Rights Watch meanwhile urged the United Arab Emirates to reveal the whereabouts of Ahmed Mansoor, a blogger arrested Friday who had been among a group of 133 academics, former government officials, journalists and activists petitioning the president in early March for direct elections. CNN reported that two other members of the same group were also detained on Saturday and that the United Arab Emirates' government has not responded to inquiries regarding the location of the three men. In Yemen, as tens of thousands of people continued protests on Sunday, calling for President Saleh to step down, violent intervention from government forces resulted in one person being killed and 14 others injured with gunshot wounds, with many more treated for tear gas inhalation. Even residents who have not been part of the protests are calling for international assistance from those countries that provide money and arms to Yemen, saying that they are being affected by the tear gas fired on protesters, which is an unusually severe form that has been found to cause paralysis and even death. In Afghanistan, citizens' anger has been growing about the presence of US-led foreign troops as well as the burning of a Qur'an by a US pastor in late March, with protests escalating in recent days. According to PressTV, US-led Swedish and Finnish troops left the northern Afghan province of Samangan on Monday after hundreds of residents persistently demanded their departure. As reported by Press TV, thousands of Italians nationwide protested Saturday over living conditions that include high unemployment rates and low retirement pensions, demanding more government attention for families, workers, and students. In Chicago, Illinois, USA, over 5,000 union members from four states gathered to protest against the erosion of collective bargaining rights among unions, with many attendees pledging that they would continue demonstrations as long as the measures undermining workers' rights are carried out by the government. As AhlulBayt News Agency and PressTV report that Saudi troops assisted the Bahraini forces in razing five mosques to the ground over the past few days, Saudi citizens protested for the second day in a row on Saturday against the presence of their government's troops in Bahrain. PressTV reports that peaceful Bahraini protesters continue to experience brutal crackdowns by Bahraini, Saudi, Kuwaiti and United Arab Emirates' forces. On Monday, Bahraini officials fired 30 doctors and 150 health ministry workers accused of supporting the protesters, while 16 Lebanese nationals were expelled from the country after a religious leader in Lebanon expressed moral and political support for the protest movement. Also on Monday, two senior Bahraini clerics were arrested. That same day, Iranian university students gathered in front of the Saudi Embassy in Tehran to protest the Saudi military presence in Bahrain and the killing of Bahraini citizens. Their calls were echoed by many merchants in the city, who closed their shops for several hours to protest the military violence against pro-democracy demonstrators in Bahrain, Yemen and Libya.

• published: 11 Jun 2011
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