Stories about Middle East & North Africa from October, 2012
Kuwait: “Demonstration will be met with Force”
Anti-government protests are planned in Kuwait tomorrow. Ahmad Al Kandare tweets [ar]: @AhmadAlkandare: Kuwaiti foreign minister: “We call upon the Syrian regime not to oppress and prevent peaceful demonstrations.” The Government of Kuwait: “Tomorrow's demonstration is prohibited and will be faced with force.”
Libya: Bani Walid under violent siege
Almost one year after Muammar Gaddafi's death, his former stronghold and heart of the Warfalla tribe, the town of Bani Walid, seems about to fall under the attacks of the Lybian army. Some sources [it] define its two week bloody siege as a ‘small genocide’. The operation is lead by...
France: Photos and Impressions from the World Forum for Democracy 2012 in Strasbourg
The first World Forum for Democracy took place in Strasbourg, France, from October 5 - 11, 2012. The co-editor of Global Voices in French was in attendance and reported on the conversations that took place.
Yemen: Total's Unfair Gas Prices
Yemen's economy has been struggling for years, resulting in high levels of poverty and alarming rates of malnutrition. Yet, the corruption cases exposing the former regime's mismanagement and embezzlement of Yemen's wealth have been emerging as the main reason for the state the country is in. The latest corruption case...
Turkey: Hundreds of Kurdish Political Prisoners go on Hunger Strike
Hundreds of Kurdish political prisoners have entered an indefinite hunger strike, challenging Turkey's treatment of Kurdish political prisoners. Through their protest, some are demanding re-trials and language rights while others want to raise international attention about Turkey's treatment of Kurdish political prisoners. Despite their hunger strike, which is nearing six weeks, international media outlets have largely remained silent.
Ada Lovelace Day: Celebrating Women's Genius
Ada Lovelace Day, celebrated every October 16, honors international women in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths -women's whose skills are urgently needed for the future of the world. Here we highlight some of these extraordinary women.
Yemen: Why Insult Women?
Yemeni netizen Hind Aleryani questions [ar] the demeaning manner in which some people talk about women on social networks.
The Stateless People of Egypt
Stateless people are those who do not have a nationality. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), there are up to 12 million stateless people in the world. Ahmed Awadalla introduces us to some of the stateless people of Egypt in this post.
Syria: The Revolution Goes Multilingual
The revolution in Syria is not just taking place on the battleground, between Daraa's alleyways or Aleppo's Citadel. There is a bigger battle going on online. We interview the netizens behind La Revolution Syrienne en Français (The Syrian Revolution in French), a popular page among hundreds of pages on Facebook on the revolution, to know the motives behind creating such a page in French particularly and how they think they are contributing to the uprising in Syria - virtually.
Mauritania: Confusion Reigns over “Accidental” Shots that Wounded President Aziz
“@weddady: The official version on Aziz being “wounded lightly” was completely nonsense. He is seriously injured à la Dadis Camara.. #Mauritania“ Twitter update from Mauritanian activist Nasser Waddady upon hearing official reports that Mauritanian president Aziz was accidentally shot (video of Aziz at a Nouakchott hospital). Aziz was then airlifted to a...
Saudi Arabia: Women2Drive Steps Up Tone; Blames Government Policies
Women2Drive, later renamed Right2Dignity, has been campaigning for lifting the ban on women's right to drive by calling for days in which women get behind the wheel and supporting lawsuits against the Interior Ministry for refusing to grant women driving licenses. Now they are blaming the government for the ban, saying that if the Saudi monarchy wanted to lift it, it would have done so earlier.
Mali: MOJWA Threatens the Lives of Hostages and French President over Military Intervention
The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) via its speaker Oumar Ould Hamaha has threatened the lives of hostages and French President [fr] because of the planned military intervention in Northern Mali that the UN security council has unanimously approved [fr]. Activist associations Coren and the FDR organized a march on...
Saudi Arabia: “People Want the Fall of Al Saud”
On Twitter, Saudi blogger Ahmed Al Omran shares a video reportedly from Qatif, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, last night. @ahmed: VIDEO: “People want the fall of Al Saud,” women chant reportedly during a protest in Qatif last night http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0H0esiTyCY … #SAUDI
Saudi Arabia: Government Pressured to Issue Statement on “Uncharged” Detainees
Following a wave of unprecedented small protests that swept the county, the Saudi Interior Ministry finally issued a statement on the issue of uncharged prisoners.
Arab World: The Plight of Syrian Refugee Girls
As the Syrian Revolution continues, its consequences continue to affect refugees who have fled the violence in the country, especially women. Syrian refugee girls in Jordan, Libya, Turkey and Lebanon are subject to the pressures of forced marriages from Syrian or other Arab nationals under the pretext of protecting their virtue.
France: World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg
The first edition of the World Forum for Democracy is currently taking place in Strasbourg, France (5-11 october, 2012). The theme of the forum is “Bridging the map: democracy between old models and new realities”. You can follow the discussions under the Twitter hashtag #CoE_WFD. Director of International Freedom of...
Libya: Blackberry Services Back
Journalist Jenan Moussa tweets from Libya: @jenanmoussa: Wut a great surprise! Blackberry services have been resumed in #Libya. I am tweeting for first time since rvltn from my phone.
Egypt: Remembering Maspero; Waiting for Justice to be Served
Egyptians recalled the tragic events of the Maspero massacre today, vowing to avenge the blood of martyrs and keep the revolution going. On October 9 last year, 28 Christian Copts were killed and another 200 injured when the army attacked protesters outside the Egyptian state media headquarters Maspero.
Iran: Green Movement's Leaders Under House Arrest For 600 Days
Here is a video film about Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi, two Green Movement‘s leaders, who have been under house arrest for 600 days. Several Iranians in this video praise these two leaders’ courage.
Arab World: Romney's Middle East Agenda Rapped
Mitt Romney's foreign policy speech was rapped by netizens across the Arab World today. If elected, Romney pledged to take a more “engaged” foreign policy, as opposed to Obama's wait-and-see approach as “profound upheaval” shook the region. He also said he would arm Syrian rebels.
Tunisia: General Strike in Thala
On Twitter, Tounsia Hourra (Free Tunisian) says [ar] there is a general strike in Thala, in the province of Kasserine, today [October 8, 2012]. The protest is against rising unemployment and neglecting the maintenance of the city.
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