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Babylon & Beyond

Observations from Iraq, Iran,
Israel, the Arab world and beyond

Category: Meris Lutz

LEBANON: Journalists bear brunt of Hariri's 'day of rage'

January 26, 2011 |  7:41 am

Lebanon-jazeera

Press advocacy groups have joined politicians and others in condemning Wednesday's attacks on journalists after a national "day of rage" organized by former prime minister and Washington ally Saad Hariri spiraled out of control.

The largest riots took place in the northern city of Tripoli, where an angry mob set fire to a satellite truck belonging to the pan-Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera. The news crew, which was reporting from the roof of a nearby office, took refuge in the building along with reporters from the local Lebanese station New TV until they were evacuated by the Lebanese army, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists and others.

By all accounts, Hariri's supporters made life a nightmare for journalists trying to cover one of the biggest international news stories so far this year. 

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LEBANON: Showdown between Hezbollah and Hariri expected over naming of premier

January 23, 2011 |  1:28 pm

Byebyelebgov
Following a week of twists and turns in Lebanon's unfolding political crisis over a United Nations-backed tribunal, feuding Lebanese parties are heading for a showdown as scheduled talks to pick a new prime minister threaten to stall once again.

On Sunday night, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah took to the airwaves to say that his group and its political allies would decide "in the coming hours" whether talks could take place on Monday as scheduled.

According to Lebanon's confessional political system, the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim, but Hezbollah and its main Christian ally have flat-out rejected the reelection of current caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

Hariri is a Washington favorite and leader of the movement championing the tribunal, which is currently reviewing indictments thought to implicate Hezbollah members in the assassination of Saad Hariri's father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

“Our initial response was to topple the government, which was unable to protect Lebanon and face the repercussions of the [tribunal]," said Nasrallah, referring to the mass walkout of opposition lawmakers last week that led to the collapse of the government.

"If [Hariri and his allies] want to use this stage to pressure us, my response is that after the release of the indictment, we will not yield to anything that has been imposed on us," he said without elaborating.

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ARAB WORLD: Protests in Algeria and Yemen draw inspiration from Tunisia uprising

January 23, 2011 |  1:12 pm

Activists in Yemen, Jordan, Algeria and even Albania  took to the streets this weekend demanding democratic reforms in their countries.  

Some expressed explicit support for the Tunisian people, calling for similar uprisings in their own countries. Others were more reserved. Jordanians directed their anger at the prime minister rather than trying to oust the royal family.

The popular demonstrations drew comparisons to the Tunisian protest movement that has captivated the world. But opinions remain divided on whether these events constitute a real threat to the ruling powers in those countries.

"The regime will always look strong until the day it collapses," Nadim Shehadi, from the London-based think tank Chatham House, told Babylon & Beyond. "It cannot look weak, because the minute it looks weak it is dead already."

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YEMEN: Journalists, advocacy groups denounce conviction of Al Qaeda 'media advisor'

January 19, 2011 |  9:37 am

Sha'ee

A journalist accused of acting as a media advisor to Al Qaeda in Yemen was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday, but colleagues and advocacy groups are calling foul, accusing the government of seeking to suppress press freedoms.

Abdul Elah Haidar Sha'ee, 34, is well known for his coverage of militant Islamist groups, particularly Al Qaeda, scoring exclusive interviews with several high-ranking figures in the movement, including the presumed leader of the local branch of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Naser Abdel-Karim Wahishi, and the American-born cleric Anwar Awlaki.

"We will work in a number of ways to expose this ruling, and we call on all political parties, civil society and human rights organizations to condemn it and stand behind Al Sha'ee and escalate the demonstrations for his release" Jamal Anaam, head of the freedoms committee of the Yemeni journalists syndicate, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday (Arabic link).

Sha'ee was arrested in August along with his colleague, 28-year-old Abdul Karim Shami, who received a sentence of two years.

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LEBANON: Hezbollah leader speaks for first time following government collapse

January 16, 2011 |  1:26 pm

IMG_0974 Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah gave an address on TV on Sunday night to lay out Hezbollah's rationale for orchestrating the collapse of the government last week.

On Wednesday, Hezbollah and its allies withdrew from the cabinet, dissolving the government and throwing Lebanon into a new phase of tense uncertainty.

Nasrallah explained in the clearest terms yet Hezbollah's demands of the Lebanese state regarding the U.N.-backed tribunal that is expected soon to indict members of Hezbollah accused of involvement in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.

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MIDDLE EAST: Activists, Arab leaders on edge as Tunisia hangs in the balance

January 16, 2011 |  8:25 am

Tunisia jan16_2F

Emboldened Arab citizens are taking on their own leaderships as the region watches with anticipation to see whether Tunisia's recent uprising will successfully replace the oppressive regime of Zine Abidine Ben Ali that ruled for 23 years.

Most regional leaders have stayed silent on Ben Ali's flight into exile amid national riots, a reticence that many observers have interpreted as fear. But even staunch supporters of the Tunisian protest movement are cautious to call "revolution" too early.

"Right now the Arab regimes are annoyed, but they aren't afraid," said Munsif Ben Ali, a Tunisian expatriate in Beirut and the head of the local solidarity movement in Lebanon (he shares a last name but no relation to the ousted president).

Ben Ali spoke to Babylon & Beyond on the sidelines of a demonstration on Sunday as several hundred activists gathered in front of the United Nations headquarters in downtown Beirut to express support for the Tunisian protesters.

"Many of the symbols of Ben Ali's regime are still in place," he said. "When real change is completed, then [the Arab leaders] will be terrified."

While the official reactions have been muted, reactions to any perceived support for Ben Ali and his government have been swift and angry, and not just from secular reformists like the ones who made up most of the rally in Beirut.

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AFGHANISTAN, IRAN: Pressure mounts in row over fuel shipments

January 12, 2011 | 10:15 am

Iran-afghanistan-protests-ap

As the deadlock between Iran and Afghanistan over fuel imports enters its second month, pressure is mounting in Kabul to sever economic relations with Iran unless it eases its clampdown on fuel tankers attempting to cross into the country.

Iran claims it is holding up the shipments as it investigates reports that the fuel crossing its border is used by North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops fighting in Afghanistan, a claim Kabul denies.

Afghanistan is upset over the blocked shipments, which has led to skyrocketing energy prices across Afghanistan.

Some have pointed out that the clampdown coincided with the Afghan president signing the agreement to build the American-backed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline, otherwise known as TAPI, of which Iran was left out.

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IRAN: Human-rights lawyer sentenced to 11 years in prison, barred from law for 20 [Updated]

January 10, 2011 | 10:14 am

[Updated, Jan. 11, 2:09 a.m. PDT: The United States has now spoken out against the sentencing of human-rights lawyer Nasrine Sotoudeh to 11 years in prison. In a press statement. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley called the sentence "unjust and harsh" and called for her release. "Ms. Sotoudeh is a strong voice for rule of law and justice in Iran," the statement said. "Her conviction is part of a systematic attempt on the part of Iranian authorities to silence the defense of democracy and human rights in Iran."]

Picture 14 France on Monday joined a chorus of international condemnation over the sentencing of Iranian human-rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh to 11 years in prison.

She was also banned on Sunday from practicing law or traveling for 20 years.

A representative of France's foreign ministry said the punishment was "deeply shocking" and called for the release of Sotoudeh along with another activist, Shiva Nazar-Ahari, who was sentenced to four years in prison and 74 lashes.

"The only known fault of Nasrin Soutoudeh is of specializing in the defense of human rights, particularly those of women, minors and journalists," foriegn ministry spokesman Barnard Valero was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse.

Sotoudeh was convicted of acting against national security, propaganda against the regime and failing to wear the hijab, the Islamic headscarf, in a videotaped message, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran and Sotoudeh's family. The campaign said that the mother of two, 46 or 47 years old, was tortured and in poor health when her family was finally allowed to see her, adding that her children burst into tears.

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IRAN: Royal suicide reminds many of Pahlavi era and errors

January 5, 2011 |  9:03 am

Iran-pahlavi-apSince their exile following the 1978-79 Islamic Revolution and the death of their patriarch that same year, the family of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi has captured the public's imagination as only fallen royalty can.

On Wednesday, Iranians mourned the loss of another member of the royal family, Alireza Pahlavi, the youngest son of the former monarch.

The 44-year-old former prince apparently killed himself Tuesday night after a long bout with depression.

Exiles who either supported the shah or at least thought fondly of the freewheeling period before the revolution have been the most vocal in their mourning. But even some inside Iran have expressed sympathy for the family, despite the shah's brutal legacy of cracking down on his political opponents.

It was the former ruling family's second loss in recent years. Alireza's sister, Leila, died of a drug overdose in a London hotel room a decade ago.

"We have experienced the past 32 years and realized that former regime was much better than this Islamic regime," said 56-year-old Ali, who lives in Tehran. "I also feel sympathy for [former Empress Farah Pahlavi] as a mother who has lost her two children. I lost the future of my country and she lost her children, country and dynasty."

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LEBANON: Proposed ban on sale of land between Muslims and Christians sparks controversy

January 4, 2011 |  9:54 am

ChurchMosque Labor Minister Butros Harb on Tuesday vigorously defended his controversial draft law that would ban the sale of land between Christians and Muslims for the next 15 years on the pretext of protecting Lebanon's Christian community.

Outraged critics have pointed out that the law is not only discriminatory and unconstitutional, but also fails to address the economic and political pressures pushing Lebanese of all sects to leave the country.

"There are suspicious sales of Christian lands as if there is a tendency to uproot Christians from their areas," he was quoted telling a local television news station by the news website Naharnet.

Harb's proposal does not appear to affect the sale of land by Christians to wealthy Muslims from Saudi Arabia and other Arabian Peninsula countries who have invested heavily in the Lebanese real estate sector. Civil-society activists, politicians and ordinary people have reacted with disgust to the proposal, which some have called fear-mongering.

The draft law "is actually a direct violation of the constitution and the coexistence that is part of the constitution," said Kamel Wazne, head of the Center of American Strategic Studies. 

"Today they are calling for not selling land to someone from another sect, tomorrow they will want to outlaw intermarriage," he said. "The premise for the law is very racist, and if this is allowed to pass in Lebanon, it will set a very bad precedent for the country."

Harb did not respond to several requests for comment.

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LEBANON: Psychic Michel Hayek sees 'war for peace' in 2011

January 3, 2011 |  7:17 am

Picture 11 Good news for a tense region, if you believe in psychic predictions, that is.

Michel Hayek, the Arab world's most celebrated clairvoyant, foresees a Middle Eastern "war for peace" in 2011, assuring the audience that tuned in for his annual televised New Year's Eve predictions that calm will prevail despite threats of war.

"The region is moving slowly toward peace, despite indications of threats and war," the Lebanese soothsayer predicted (Arabic link). "Lebanon, specifically, will be negotiating" on its own behalf, he said, "rather than being negotiated over."

Although Hayek did not speak at length about the United States or U.S. policy in the region as he has in the past, he did predict that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would suffer an on-camera breakdown.

One of his more tragic predictions already seems to have come true.

On Jan. 1, just hours after Hayek predicted a "darkness" would fall over some leaders of the Coptic church in Egypt, at least 21 Coptic worshippers were killed and dozens more injured in a bomb attack on a church in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria.

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IRAN: Woman originally sentenced to death by stoning in adultery-murder case plays role in bizarre media play

January 2, 2011 |  8:59 am

Iran-ashtiani

The grim theater of the Sakineh Ashtiani case gets stranger by the day as rumors of a commuted sentence coincided with a press conference at which Ashtiani lashed out at the Western press and her own lawyers for attempting to "politicize" her case.

Ashtiani's position is precarious. Not only does she face death by hanging for adultery and conspiracy to commit murder, but her son is also now in the hands of the judiciary after he was arrested for giving an interview to two unaccredited German journalists.

Click-here-for-an-interactive-timeline-on-Sakineh-Mohammedi-Ashtiani "I have come in front of the cameras at my own will to talk to the world," Ashtiani reportedly said during Saturday's press conference, which was organized by Iranian judiciary officials in Tabriz, where Ashtiani is being held.

"I am willing to talk because many people exploited (the case) and said I have been tortured, which is a lie," she added. "Leave my case alone. Why do you disgrace me?"

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