El Baradei Attacked by Islamists
Islamists hurled stones and shoes at Mohamed ElBaradei, Nobel Peace laureate and a secular contender for Egypt’s presidency, as he tried to vote Saturday in a referendum on constitutional amendments.
ElBaradei was hit in the back by a stone thrown from the crowd of hundreds but managed to escape unhurt and slammed as “irresponsible” the holding of a referendum without adequate law and order.
“We don’t want you,” the mob shouted, throwing stones, shoes and water at the former UN nuclear watchdog chief as he turned up at a Cairo polling station, five weeks after president Hosni Mubarak was ousted by mass protests. (via AFP)
IMED has posted on El Baradei and the Muslim Brotherhood before, with regards to the poll commissioned by the Washington Institute for Far East Policy:
Key Findings:
- This is not an Islamic uprising. The Muslim Brotherhood is “approved” by just 15%, and its leaders get barely 1% in a presidential straw vote. Asked to pick national priorities, just 12% choose shariah over na;onal power, democracy, or economic development. Asked to explain the uprising, economic conditions, corruption, and unemployment (30‐40% each) far outpace “regime not Islamic enough” (7%).
- Surprisingly, asked two different ways about the peace treaty with Israel, more support it (37%) than oppose it (22%). Only 18% approve of either Hamas or Iran. And a mere 5% say the uprising occurred because the regime is “too pro‐Israel.”
- El Baradei has very little popular support in a presidential straw vote (4%), far outpaced by Amr Musa (29%) But Mubarak and Omar Suleiman each get 18%.
- A narrow plurality (36% vs. 29%) say Egypt should have good relations with the U.S. And just 8% say the uprising is against a “too pro‐American regime.” Still, something over half disapprove of our handling of this crisis and say they don’t trust the U.S. at all.
Baath Party Headquarters Set Ablaze By Protestors
DAMASCUS, March 20 (Reuters) – Crowds set fire to the headquarters of the ruling Baath Party in the Syrian city of Deraa on Sunday, residents said, as the wave of unrest in the Arab world shook even one of its most authoritarian states.
The demonstrators also set ablaze the main courts complex and two phone company branches. One of the firms, Syriatel, is owned by President Bashar al-Assad’s cousin Rami Makhlouf.
“They burned the symbols of oppression and corruption,” an activist said. “The banks nearby were not touched.”
Earlier, Syrian security forces killed a protester in Deraa, residents said, as the authorities tried to contain three days of protests demanding freedoms and the release of political prisoners.
Raed al-Kerad was shot dead in the new part of Deraa, where gunfire is still being heard, residents said. He is the fifth civilian killed by security forces since protests against Syria’s ruling elite erupted in Deraa on Friday.
Thousands of Syrians demanded an end to 48 years of emergency law on Sunday. “No. No to emergency law. We are a people infatuated with freedom,” marchers chanted as a government delegation arrived in the southern town of Deraa to pay condolences for victims killed by security forces in demonstrations there this week.
Syria is one of the World’s most despotic police states, and has been ruled under emergency law since the 1963. The media is tightly controlled and all political opposition is banned.
The Institute for Middle Eastern Democracy (IMED) noted last year the dearth of condemnation from Western powers while Syrian troops murdered Kurds in the North of the country.
Ben Lynfield writes at the Scotsman:
Analysts say the protests are for similar reasons as those in Egypt: unemployment among the young, lack of democracy and human rights, poverty and corruption. “Everyone follows al-Jazeera (television] and people say if the Egyptians deserve democracy, why shouldn’t we?” said Eyal Zisser, a Tel Aviv University specialist on Syria. “No doubt the storm has now arrived in Syria. It’s only the beginning. It can stay limited or else escalate.”
In Deraa on Friday, security forces opened fire on civilians taking part in a peaceful demonstration demanding the release of children arrested for writing slogans inspired by the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions, political freedoms and an end to corruption. Four people were killed.On Saturday, thousands at one of the funerals called for “revolution”.
black gangbang contestThe last time the regime was faced with large-scale unrest was in 1982 when its forces devastated Hama, a Moslem brotherhood stronghold that was in revolt, making it an example to all who would contemplate opposition. But here, the regime seems to be for now trying to cool the tempers, with a government delegation visiting Deraa to pay condolences for those killed by the security forces.There are significant differences between Syria and Egypt. The trajectory in Syria is less likely to lead to the outright toppling of Assad, said analyst Shlomo Brom. In Syria, the country is ruled by a minority regime of Alawites, an offshoot sect of Islam, and they hold key positions in the security forces. They will have no choice but to stand with the regime and fight if it is endangered.”The reasonable scenario in Syria is not the Egyptian one in which you pressure the regime and the army remains neutral. In Syria, the army will not be neutral.” Brom says. “If the unrest takes a more serious turn, we may see a civil war like we are seeing in Libya because of the interest of the Alawites to protect their standing.”
Libya, the West and the Arab League
The Guardian website has an interactive map explaining the sites bombed so far and allied military assets.
David Cameron has just stated that Libyan Air Defences have been “neutralised”. As the Allied enforcement of the no fly zone continues, rifts between various authorities are beginning to show. The Washington Post noted the Arab league’s condemnation of the bombing campaign thus far:
The Arab League secretary general, Amr Moussa, deplored the broad scope of the U.S.-European bombing campaign in Libya and said Sunday that he would call a league meeting to reconsider Arab approval of the Western military intervention.
“What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone,” he said in a statement carried by the Middle East News Agency. “And what we want is the protection of civilians and not the shelling of more civilians.”
Moussa’s declaration suggested that some of the 22 Arab League members were taken aback by what they have seen and wanted to modify their approval lest they be perceived as accepting outright Western military intervention in Libya. Although the eccentric Gaddafi is widely looked down upon in the Arab world, the leaders and people of the Middle East traditionally have risen up in emotional protest at the first sign of Western intervention.
A shift away from the Arab League endorsement, even partial, would constitute a major setback to the U.S.-European campaign. Western leaders brandished the Arab League decision as a justification for their decision to move militarily and as a weapon in the debate to obtain a U.N. Security Council resolution two days before the bombing began.
As U.S. and European military operations entered their second day, however, most Arab governments maintained public silence, and the strongest expressions of opposition came from the greatest distance. Presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Evo Morales of Bolivia and former Cuban president Fidel Castro condemned the intervention and suggested that Western powers were seeking to get their hands on Libya’s oil reserves rather than limit the bloodshed in the country.
via Washington Post (click picture to enlarge):
Comment is Free has produced a conversation between pro-Saddam Hussein, pro-Assad George Galloway and Mark Pritchard MP:
GG: I think the only intervention that is conscionable and would not do more harm than good is an international brigade of Arab volunteers coming across the borders from Tunisia and Egypt.
MP: You’re more hawkish than I am! I’m not saying put boots on the ground.
GG: I am. I’m for bringing down the Gaddafi dictatorship but I don’t believe that former colonial powers – western governments – intervening in another Arab Muslim country can do any good.
MP: That’s why Nato are having discussions with the Arab League and the African Union. The British government’s position has been absolutely clear. We would need a legal basis for any no-fly zone, and clearly that leads to the UN. But even if a resolution is forthcoming – and there are questions over whether it would be supported by China and Russia – that could take many weeks.
SR: Which Arab countries do you see as likely partners?
MP: Several have been mentioned. I think it would be better to deal with the Arab League as an organisation.
GG: We have had in the past couple of days the ludicrous idea that Saudi Arabia might intervene in the Libyan revolution, having just announced that political activity of any kind is illegal in Saudi Arabia! Look, I’m not a dove in these matters, and never confuse me with a liberal. What I’m against is western countries with the mud of colonialism still on their boots becoming involved.
Galloway then makes it clear what type of army he would prefer to otherthrow Gaddafi:
MP: So you propose sending in volunteer troops wherever there is conflict?
GG: I say we have no role in this. If among 350 million Arabs there are some who would join the revolution in Libya, I think the Egyptians and Tunisians should open their borders to let them in.
MP: What sort of people would they be?
GG: They would be Islamists.
MP: So you’re calling for Islamists to overthrow Gaddafi?
GG: I welcome the imminent victory of the Islamic movements in Egypt and Tunisia, which I think will provide very good governments on the Turkish model.
US State Department Condemns Palestinian Authority’s Incitement
The JTA reports the State department’s response to the PA’s latest example of incitement:
WASHINGTON (JTA) – The U.S. State Department issued an explicit condemnation of the naming of a square in a West Bank town for a Palestinian terrorist.
“We condemn this commemoration of terrorism and have conveyed our deep concern about this incident to senior officials in the Palestinian Authority and have urged them to address it,” Mark Toner, the State Department’s spokesman, said March 17. “We underscore that all parties have an obligation to end any form of incitement.”
The statement was more definitive than one issued earlier in the week by a State Department official who said the Obama administration was seeking clarification on the matter.
…
The Palestinian Authority in recent years says it has fired some mosque imams and teachers who have incited against Israel, but Israeli officials say the incitement is ongoing and widespread.
Palestinians in an official March 13 ceremony named a town square in Al-Bireh, near Ramallah, for Dalal Mughrabi. Members of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction were on hand for the unveiling of the plaque in her memory. No PA government officials attended the ceremony, according to Reuters.
Mughrabi was killed in a 1978 bus hijacking on Israel’s coastal road. She had directed the hijacking of two buses on the coastal road between Haifa and Tel Aviv, which led to the murder of 37 Israelis, including 13 children.
Incitement from the Palestinian Authority is nothing new, and a serious obstacle to peace. Noah Pollak notes:
It is also long past time that U.S. officials asked an even more important question of their Palestinian counterparts: Why do you denounce terrorism that happened a few days ago, but celebrate terrorism that happened a few years ago? Does the passage of time transform murder from a “despicable act,” as Abbas said today, into a cause for celebration? It is clear once again that Mahmoud Abbas and the PA are simply playing their old game — criticizing terrorism in English while glorifying it in Arabic. Israel cannot make peace with people who do that.
Opinion Pieces
Abdulateef Al-Mulhim asks in an article in the Arab News what would have happened if ‘Arabs had recognised the State of Israel in 1948′?
The Palestinian misery was also used to topple another stable monarchy, this time in Iraq and replacing it with a bloody dictatorship in one of the richest countries of the world. Iraq is rich in minerals, water reserves, fertile land and archaeological sites. The military led by Abdul Karim Qassim killed King Faisal II and his family. Bloodshed in Iraq continued and this Arab country has seen more violent revolutions and one of them was carried out in the 1960s by a brigade that was sent to help liberate Palestine. Instead it made a turn and went back and took over Baghdad. Even years later, Saddam Hussien said that he will liberate Jerusalem via Kuwait. He used Palestinians misery as an excuse to invade Kuwait.
If Israel were recognized in 1948, then the 1968 coup would not have taken place in another stable and rich monarchy (Kingdom of Libya). King Idris was toppled and Muammar Qaddafi took over.
There were other military coups in the Arab world such as Syria, Yemen and the Sudan. And each one of them used Palestine as their reason for such acts. The Egyptian regime of Jamal Abdul Nasser used to call the Arab Gulf states backward states and he tried to topple the governments of these Gulf states by using his media and his military forces. He even attacked southern borders of Saudi Arabia using his air force bases in Yemen.