Thousands of Albanian protest despite warnings Summary: A peaceful response to a violent reaction. Excerpts:
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in the Albanian capital Tirana Friday for a silent protest closely monitored by police, a week after another demonstration turned deadly. The opposition went ahead with the protest in defiance of international appeals and police warnings, insisting it would be a peaceful gathering to honor the three people killed last week.
The demonstrators headed by the leadership of the opposition socialists and the families of the victims started their march on the government buildings, passing by the spot where the people were shot, placing flowers at the scene in silence.
Organizers said there were 200,000 protesters but AFP journalists put the number at several tens of thousands. Police would give no figure.
And:
Last Friday, tens of thousands of people turned out for a protest rally organized by Rama, calling on the government to resign over allegations of corruption and electoral fraud.
The subsequent clashes between demonstrators and the security forces left three people dead and a fourth critically wounded.
This is the longest ever political crisis in Albania, which began after the opposition disputed the results from the June 2009 parliamentary election.
Not big enough to be close to critical, tensions in Jordan, nonetheless, could flare up from growing discontent with Prime Minister Samir Rifai. Excerpts:
Thousands of people in Jordan have taken to the streets in protests, demanding the country's prime minister step down, and the government curb rising prices, inflation and unemployment.
In the third consecutive Friday of protests, about 3,500 opposition activists from Jordan's main Islamist opposition group, trade unions and leftist organisations gathered in the capital, waving colourful banners reading: "Send the corrupt guys to court".
The crowd denounced Samir Rifai's, the prime minister, and his unpopular policies.
Many shouted: "Rifai go away, prices are on fire and so are the Jordanians.''
Tame, for the moment.. We'll see, won't we? Any finally, the most desperate and volatile of the three, Yemen.. But.. Maybe the Yemeni government has learned a little something from the events of previous weeks. Calls for talks with opposition, warns of conflict Yemen ruling party urges dialogue to halt protests Excerpts:
Yemen's ruling party has called for dialogue with the opposition, the country's state news agency said late on Friday, in a bid to end anti-government protests fuelled by popular unrest across the Arab World.
Thousands of Yemenis have taken to the streets of the capital Sanaa in recent days demanding a change of government, inspired by the overthrow two weeks ago of Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Al Ben Ali and spillover to Egypt.
"We ... call for the halting of media propaganda and urge all political parties to work together to make the dialogue a success and arrange for upcoming elections," a committee of the ruling General People's Congress (GPC) party was quoted as saying on the website of the Saba state news agency.
And:
Saleh, a key ally of the United States in a war against a resurgent al-Qaeda wing in Yemen, has ruled the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state for over 30 years.
Yemen is trying to quell a secessionist rebellion in its south and cement a truce with northern Shiite rebels.
Security measures at the demonstrations appeared relaxed, but were tight around the interior ministry and the central bank.
The political heat in the Mid East continues to intensify, growing hotter and faster in some areas over others, but growing nonetheless. Day Five in Egypt is already underway. It's gonna get hotter 'fore it cools..
Showing posts with label peaceful demonstrations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peaceful demonstrations. Show all posts
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Pick Up That New File Marked: Global Revolution; Yemen And Hand It Here, Please..
Thousands in Yemen Protest Against the Government Excerpts:
Yemen, one of the Middle East’s most impoverished countries and a haven for Al Qaeda militants, became the latest Arab state to witness mass protests on Thursday, as thousands of Yemenis took to the streets in the capital and other regions to demand a change in government.
The scenes broadcast across the Arab world were reminiscent of demonstrations in Egypt this week and the month of protests that brought down the government in Tunisia. But as they climaxed by midday, the marches appeared to be carefully organized and mostly peaceful, though there were reports of arrests by security forces. Predictably, the protests were most aggressive in the restive south.
And:
While the marches were not marked by violence, the potential for strife in the country is difficult to overstate. It is beset by a rebellion in the north and a struggle for secession in the south. In recent years, the regional Al Qaeda affiliate has turned parts of the country, a rugged, often lawless swath of southwestern Arabian Peninsula, into a refuge beyond the state’s reach. Added to the mix is a remarkably high proportion of armed citizens.
..
He said a phrase often heard these days is that Yemen faces “tatasawmal” — the Somalization of a country that witnessed a civil war in the mid-1990s.
Part of Mr. Allaw’s worries sprung from the inability of the opposition to forge a unified message. Some are calling for secession, he said, while others are looking to oust the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, through popular protests. Yet others, he said, simply wanted Mr. Saleh to undertake a series of reforms before elections in April.
Khaled Alanesi, a colleague of Mr. Allaw’s at the human rights group in Sana, said: “The opposition is afraid of what would happen if the regime falls. Afraid of the militant groups, Al Qaeda, the tribes and all the arms here.”
And the reason Yemen's demonstrations might have the least effect..
The demonstrations on Thursday followed several days of smaller protests by students and opposition groups calling for the removal of President Ali Abdallah Saleh, a strongman who has ruled this fractured country for more than 30 years and is a key ally of the United States in the fight against the Yemeni branch of Al Qaeda.
The next few days will bear watching throughout the entire region. Discontent transitions from simmer to boil. How quickly, and how far, will that discontent spread?
Yemen, one of the Middle East’s most impoverished countries and a haven for Al Qaeda militants, became the latest Arab state to witness mass protests on Thursday, as thousands of Yemenis took to the streets in the capital and other regions to demand a change in government.
The scenes broadcast across the Arab world were reminiscent of demonstrations in Egypt this week and the month of protests that brought down the government in Tunisia. But as they climaxed by midday, the marches appeared to be carefully organized and mostly peaceful, though there were reports of arrests by security forces. Predictably, the protests were most aggressive in the restive south.
And:
While the marches were not marked by violence, the potential for strife in the country is difficult to overstate. It is beset by a rebellion in the north and a struggle for secession in the south. In recent years, the regional Al Qaeda affiliate has turned parts of the country, a rugged, often lawless swath of southwestern Arabian Peninsula, into a refuge beyond the state’s reach. Added to the mix is a remarkably high proportion of armed citizens.
..
He said a phrase often heard these days is that Yemen faces “tatasawmal” — the Somalization of a country that witnessed a civil war in the mid-1990s.
Part of Mr. Allaw’s worries sprung from the inability of the opposition to forge a unified message. Some are calling for secession, he said, while others are looking to oust the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, through popular protests. Yet others, he said, simply wanted Mr. Saleh to undertake a series of reforms before elections in April.
Khaled Alanesi, a colleague of Mr. Allaw’s at the human rights group in Sana, said: “The opposition is afraid of what would happen if the regime falls. Afraid of the militant groups, Al Qaeda, the tribes and all the arms here.”
And the reason Yemen's demonstrations might have the least effect..
The demonstrations on Thursday followed several days of smaller protests by students and opposition groups calling for the removal of President Ali Abdallah Saleh, a strongman who has ruled this fractured country for more than 30 years and is a key ally of the United States in the fight against the Yemeni branch of Al Qaeda.
The next few days will bear watching throughout the entire region. Discontent transitions from simmer to boil. How quickly, and how far, will that discontent spread?
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