Monthly Archives: January 2011

Egypt Opposition movement calls for “march of millions” on Tuesday in a bid to topple president Hosni Mubarak

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”]al Jazeera, 31 Jan 2011

Egyptian protesters have called for a massive demonstration and a rolling general strike on Tuesday in a bid to force out president Hosni Mubarak from power.

Our producer in Egypt reports on the latest developments

The so-called April 6 Movement said it plans to have more than one million people on the streets of the capital Cairo, as anti-government sentiment reaches a fever pitch.

The call came as Mubarak swore in a new cabinet in an attempt to defuse ongoing demonstrations across the country.

But opposition groups say personnel changes will not placate them and have said they will continue until the president steps down.

“The whole regime must come down,” Hassan, a construction worker and protester told the Reuters news agency.

 

“We do not want anyone from Mubarak’s retinue in the new government, which the people will choose. We want a civil government run by the people themselves.” Continue reading →

Prisoners escape Egypt prisons

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al Jazeera

January 30, 2011
Scores of prisoners, possibly in their thousands, have managed to escape from Egyptian jails in the chaos caused by mass protests across the country. Among those escaped prisoners are some Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

Al Jazeera’s Nicole Johnston speaks to one of the escapees – a member of the Army of Islam. He is back at home in Gaza after spending three years at a prison in Cairo.

Israel’s role in the “Save Mubarak” project

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31.01.11

Israel urges world to curb criticism of Egypt’s Mubarak

Jerusalem seeks to convince its allies that it is in the West’s interest to maintain the stability of the Egyptian regime.

By Barak Ravid

Israel called on the United States and a number of European countries over the weekend to curb their criticism of President Hosni Mubarak to preserve stability in the region.

Jerusalem seeks to convince its allies that it is in the West’s interest to maintain the stability of the Egyptian regime. The diplomatic measures came after statements in Western capitals implying that the United States and European Union supported Mubarak’s ouster. Continue reading →

Nepal: Maoist Rival Factions In Media War

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myrepublica.com

KATHMANDU, Jan 30: In a clear manifestation of boiling intra-party turmoil, the rival factions of the UCPN (Maoist) have intensified their media war against each other – attacking the rivals’ characters and ideological positions.

The deepening animosity between Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai is reflected in the latest issues of Lal Rakshak and Samaya Bodh — two magazines launched by those close to Dahal and Bhattarai factions respectively.

Lal Rakshak accuses Bhattarai of fearing the “hurricane of people’s revolt” and running away from it, while Samaya Bodh paints Dahal as a leader obsessed with power and bereft of political vision. Continue reading →

January 22, 2011: Nepali Maoist army handover ceremony

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(http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=27450)

CHANDANI HAMAL

CHITWAN, Jan 22: Amid a special program on Saturday, People´s Liberation Army (PLA) fighters and their cantoned arms will be formally handed over to the Special Committee on Integration and Rehabilitation of Maoist combatants. The fighters have been languishing around seven cantonments and 21 satellite camps for about four years.

The handover ceremony will be held from 11 a.m. onwards at the Shaktikhor-based No 2 Division of the PLA.

The ceremony will be observed by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Home Minister Bhim Rawal, Peace Minister Rakam Chemjong, Army chief Chhatra Man Singh Gurung, Inspector General of Armed Police Force Sanat Basnet, distinguished guests from the diplomatic community and human rights activists.

PLA fighters have erected welcome arches from Tandi in Chitwan to the Shaktikhor cantonment, and PLA flags have been hoisted on one side of the arches and national flags on the other. The cantonment football ground, where the formal ceremony will he held, can accommodate some 300 people. Continue reading →

Egypt’s Uprising And Its Implications For Palestine

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By Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada

30 January, 2011

We are in the middle of a political earthquake in the Arab world and the ground has still not stopped shaking. To make predictions when events are so fluid is risky, but there is no doubt that the uprising in Egypt — however it ends — will have a dramatic impact across the region and within Palestine.

If the Mubarak regime falls, and is replaced by one less tied to Israel and the United States, Israel will be a big loser. As Aluf Benn commented in the Israeli daily Haaretz, “The fading power of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s government leaves Israel in a state of strategic distress. Without Mubarak, Israel is left with almost no friends in the Middle East; last year, Israel saw its alliance with Turkey collapse” (“Without Egypt, Israel will be left with no friends in Mideast,” 29 January 2011).

Indeed, Benn observes, “Israel is left with two strategic allies in the region: Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.” But what Benn does not say is that these two “allies” will not be immune either.

Over the past few weeks I was in Doha examining the Palestine Papers leaked to Al Jazeera. These documents underscore the extent to which the split between the US-backed Palestinian Authority in Ramallah headed by Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah faction, on the one hand, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, on the other — was a policy decision of regional powers: the United States, Egypt and Israel. This policy included Egypt’s strict enforcement of the siege of Gaza. Continue reading →

Sudanese police clash with students in Khartoum

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Sunday January 30, 2011

By Khaled Abdelaziz

KHARTOUM, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Sudanese police beat and arrested students on Sunday as hundreds protested throughout the capital demanding the government resign, inspired by a popular uprising in neighbouring Egypt.

Heavily armed police patrol Khartoum’s main streets January 30, 2011. Police beat and arrested students in central Khartoum, witnesses said on Sunday, as demonstrations broke out throughout the city demanding the government resign. (REUTERS/Stringer)

Armed riot police broke up groups of young Sudanese demonstrating in central Khartoum and surrounded the entrances of four universities in the capital, firing teargas and beating students at three of them.

Some 500 young people also protested in the city of el-Obeid in North Kordofan in the west of the country.

Police beat students with batons as they chanted anti-government slogans such as “we are ready to die for Sudan” and “revolution, revolution until victory”.

Groups have emerged on social networking sites calling themselves “Youth for Change” and “The Spark”, since the uprisings in nearby Tunisia and close ally Egypt this month.

“Youth for Change” has attracted more than 15,000 members.

“The people of Sudan will not remain silent any more,” its Facebook page said. “It is about time we demand our rights and take what’s ours in a peaceful demonstration that will not involve any acts of sabotage.”

The pro-democracy group Girifna (“We’re fed up”) said nine members were detained the night before the protest and opposition party officials listed almost 40 names of protesters arrested on Sunday. Five were injured, they added. Continue reading →