Saudi Arabia Bans Demonstrations

The US loves freedom, just as long as everybody stays nicely in
line, especially in oil producing nations.

After two weeks of demonstrations and protests, Saudi Arabia has officially banned protests in its country. And public protest will not be dealt with by police and military forces according to a statement released by the nation. After revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, the Saudis are pushing to avoid the freedom bandwagon trooping through the Arab world. The country’s clerics announced that all protests are forbidden, saying “The correct way in sharia law of realizing common interest is by advising, which is what the Prophet Muhammad established.” The law is grouped in with regulations already in place banning political parties which they also claim not to be in keeping with Islamic law. Over 17,000 people joined two demonstrations this month in Saudi Arabia, the largest taking place on Friday. Facing them are the nation’s clerics who have sweeping powers in the nation, including the ability to run their own private police squads to enforce religious laws and prosecute those deemed to have violated those laws. After the Gulf War in 1991, some clerics pushed to force King Abdullah to allow an elected Parliament, though nothing in that area has evolved in the past twenty years. After demonstrations, Abdullah recently pledged an extra $37 billion to the citizens of his country.

Libyan Protests: Government Guns Down 220 People

The Libyan want to get rid of this guy, Col. Gaddafi.

The Libyan government, facing protests of increasing voracity and media coverage, fired on protestors for the second time in is many days. Witnesses say armed militia around the capital of Tripoli have repeatedly fired on crowds near Green Square and the surrounding neighborhoods. The militia, hired by the government and consisting mostly of foreign mercenaries, arrived in Toyota pick ups and began firing into the penned in crowds around the square, essentially strafing the protestors and forcing people from the location. The protestors are into their second week of demonstrations to oust the military rule in Libya, led by Col. Muammar el-Qaddifi. The protests started in the past weeks but the revolt has only taken place in the last six days, scattering police and government officials and leaving the capital in a state of chaos. Fires and trash burn around the city, with many streets run by organized gangs of protestors to limit the security forces trying to end the demonstrations. Activists claim that well over 220 people have been killed so far, with many hundreds or even thousands more wounded by the gunfire. Businesses and schools remain closed in the capital and in some suburbs.

Police Open Fire In Middle-East

Just to be sure you are paying attention, police fired on protestors in Bahrain and Iraq in the past two days as protests sweep the Middle East. In Bahrain, police and military forces swarmed the town square, site of a political protests with thousands of angry men and women. The military forces opened fire on five people, at least two of them asleep at the time. Some 200 other protesters were wounded in addition to the five fatalities. The government now claims it has banned protests and they control all of the city.

Actual photo from Bahrain of police opening fire on protesters, who are shown running from the square.

In Iraq, a small protest in the town of Kut ended in gunfire as police officials opened fire on protestors outside the provincial governors office. Some cars were set alight and some reported fires in the building itself. The provincial governor was in Baghdad at the time of the protest. The town is close to the Iraq-Iran border, where similar protests have been brutally silenced. The Iranian government arrested over 1,400 people in a single day over the weekend after protests in Tehran. They will not allow a repeat of Egypt in their own country.

Mubarack Has Left The Building

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarack has handed over all power to the Egyptian military and retreated to his expansive, awesome crib in Sharm el-Sheik, according to announcement by VP Omar Suleiman. While prayers were being said in Tahrir Square, the VP informed thousands of protestors of the transition, which was responded to with applause and joy, and more than a bit of crying. The Egyptian military quickly followed with a communique vowing to adhere strictly to the Egyptian constitution (which, the Bohunk notes, says only people from Mubarack’s party can old office) and to supervise the myriad and sweeping reforms called for by weeks of mass protest. No timetable for the military to cede power to an elected official has been set down, nor is the real structure of power being revealed in any detail. According to the constitution in place, power can only be transferred to the VP in times of crisis, and is only meant for short term or temporary time periods. It is possible that the military will claim control….Or that Mubarack is calling the shots via Skype from his pimped out palace in the south of Egypt.

Psych!: Mubarack Does Not Step Down

Note to embattled asshole and President of Egypt: Do not gather three million people together to give them news they do not want to hear. Nearly every major US and international news outlet announced that Mubarak would step down from his office today, and when the President stepped up to the plate, he did everything but that. Mubarack said he would hand over presidential power to the vice president, ending in 30 years of control in the country. Many believe a sort of behind-the-scenes military coup has taken place, though the Egyptian people or government have made such a proclamation. The military released “Communique No. 1”, (the equivalent of Order 66 in Star Wars Episode III, to score a second nerd point on the day) which announced the military's commitment to keeping, or enforcing, the peace in Egypt. Other nations have yet to comment on whether or not they believe or can confirm the coup, but the top general in Egypt, a man named Roweny, has circled Tahrir Square with US made Abrams tanks, ‘urging’ the protesters to sing the national anthem. Egypt has the tenth largest army in the world with over 468,000 troops with which to rule the country.

Protestors mount a US made tank to oust the US backed Mubarack…

The official US stance, according to the CIA, is that Mubarack will step down completely in the next six to twelve hours. It also points out that, according to the Egyptian constitution, the President cannot, in fact, turn over any power to the Vice President, instead indicating that Parliament would assume the executive powers.

What a dicktator. Mubarack vows to hand over power, but will retain President until elections are held in September.

If you are not watching a news outlet, and that does not include Fox News, please tune in; this is an amazing historic moment worth witnessing. 

Egypt: Revolution in 140 Characters or Less

In just a super cool move, Google and Twitter teamed up yesterday to let Egyptians voice their concerns and communicate whilst overthrowing their government, or at least attempting to. The Egyptian government attempted to remove all Internet access in the nation, eliminating social networking sites like Twitter that had been fueling protest organization and the massive outpouring of citizens intent on removing longtime President Mubarack. On Saturday and Sunday of the past week, engineers put together a system to let Egyptians post tweets by phone call, either from their cell or a landline, that would be converted into a tweet and branded with the #Egypt hash tag. Yesterday’s protest swelled to tens of thousands of people in spite of the loss of Internet, and, so the government claims, the shut off of all cellular phones. Up until Sunday, only a limited number of institutions in Egypt had these services, which are now, supposedly, completely shut down.

Very clear statement, kudos to the writing department…

Egypt: Protest, Marches and Oil

The Egyptian military has vowed not to fire on protestors as the largest march in these seven days of protests takes shape. Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people are in the streets and gathering near Liberation Square and calling for the ousting of President Mubarack as soon as, well, immediately. For the first time, the military has voiced its outright refusal to fire on protestors, regardless of their actions, as the government is beginning to show signs of collapse. More and more Egyptians are leaving their jobs and homes and flocking to the city centers of Cairo and Alexandria. Alexandria, in particular, is essentially run by protestors, who have constructed road blocks and armed check points to monitor traffic and to search for fleeing government officials, at times with the assistance with the local police and security forces. Cairo is under similar strain, with pockets and gangs of protestors roaming the streets on their way to the Liberation Square to add their voices to a revolution.

Crowds protest Mubarack and the Egyptian government…

In a testament to the foresight of these protests, a human wall has grown up around the city’s most important items and institutions, including the National Museum in Cairo, which houses much of the world’s artifacts from the days of ancient Egypt and Africa. For the most part, looting has not affected these national treasures.

Mubarack has not made any statements so far that differ in anyway from prior comments. He flatly refused to remove himself from power and replaced a handful of government officials in an attempt to appease the thousands of protestors outside his door. He has not replaced important figures such as foreign secretary or of the interior. The economy has suffered, and international firms with interests in the offshore oil operations run by Egypt have voiced concerns about their partnerships, while international embassies are assisting their citizens in leaving the turbulent country.  

Jail-Break: Egypt

Riots in prisons in Egypt have left dozens dead as Army and security forces try to quell escaped prisoners. Outside the capital of Cairo, police and military forces are spraying machine gun fire and marching into crowds with bayonets fixed, reporters say. Bodies are strewn about the streets and sidewalks leading up to the prison. Thousands of convicts within the prison are flocking from the fences and walls, making a run for it amid the chaos enveloping the nation as it rallies for democracy and change.

Protestors in Cairo rally for their freedom and to depose of Mubarack.

The detained prisoners and their families have long cried foul of torture tactics and inhumane treatment within the Egyptian penal system, and as tensions and protests rose, more and more political inmates were abused or even killed outright. Now, as protests and marches dominate the country and the capital in particular, the inmates and convicts are roaming the grounds and working on mass exits from the prison as guards flee for their lives, many joining the protests themselves.

Muslim Brotherhood leaders, some only recently detained, claim to have walked from the prison without resistance, saying nearby residents and neighbors came and freed them. At least 34 Muslim Brotherhood members are out of prison and returning to support their organization and the protests for freedom. The group, among many others, has called for embattled President Mubarack to leave the government today or face dire consequences.

Protest Like An Egyptian…

Tensions (already oatmeal-thick) are growing as tens of thousands of Egypt’s youth are marching and protesting around their country calling for the end of President Hosni Mubrarak’s reign in the nation. Hundreds of protestors have already been detained in two days of heavy demonstrations, especially in the capital of Cairo. Yesterday, a government building was burned, set alight by young protestors battling police officers. The government has okayed the use of rubber bullets, batons, tear gas and long bamboo staves. The government has a complex anti-demonstration and riot apparatus to use in response to these marches, but reporters say that whenever their progress is inhibited by the police force, they grow more violent and defiant. Protests in Alexandria were forcibly quelled by police officers firing volley after volley into a crowd that removed a portrait of Mubarack from a building near the city center. The protestors vow to keep up the demonstrations until Mubarack removes himself from the government, which, it seems, he has no intention of doing.

Protestors peacefully state their case…Until someone throws a rock.