Project on Middle East Democracy

Project on Middle East Democracy
The POMED Wire Archives


Month: February, 2010

POMED Notes: “Promoting Security through Diplomacy and Development: The Fiscal Year 2011 International Affairs”

February 26th, 2010 by Josh

In a hearing on the administration’s recently released budget request, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs invited Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to give testimony on particular budgetary items relating to U.S. diplomatic and development efforts abroad. Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) opened the hearing with an affirmation of the value of investing in international diplomacy; not only to promote American values, but also as a method of prevention in order to mitigate the forces that cause international instability. Berman pledged to work with his colleagues to maintain or even increase the overall level of funding – approximately 1 percent of the entire Fiscal Year 2011 federal budget request – but ranking Republican committee member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) disagreed, using the poor economic environment as the basis to call for “selective freezes.” In particular, she questioned the wisdom of unconditionally funding the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), both of which she accuses of stealing hundreds of millions in foreign aid.

Click here for POMED’s notes in PDF, or continue reading below.

Read the rest of this entry »


Posted in Afghanistan, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Elections, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Hamas, Hezbollah, Human Rights, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Morocco, Multilateralism, Palestine, Protests, Sudan, Syria, US foreign policy, Western Sahara, Yemen, sanctions | 1 Comment »

POMED Notes: Foreign Policy Priorities in the President’s FY2011 International Affairs Budget

February 25th, 2010 by Chanan

The Senate Committee of Foreign Relations hosted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss the FY2011 International Affairs Budget for the Department of State. Senator John Kerry (D-MA), chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, commenced the hearing by thanking Secretary Clinton for her hard work and travels. Citing a range of issues from the need to fight HIV/AIDS to the importance of supporting diplomats in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, Kerry acknowledged that he “can’t think of a time in our history when we’ve had a greater need for energetic diplomacy to make the case for America globally.”  

For POMED’s notes in PDF, click here. Otherwise, continue below the fold.

Read the rest of this entry »


Posted in Afghanistan, Congressional Hearing Notes (Senate), Egypt, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Iran, Iraq, Oil, Saudi Arabia | 1 Comment »

Iraq: Poll Shows Split Views on Election Ban

February 24th, 2010 by Josh

A recent survey reveals that only 47 percent of Iraqis support the Accountability and Justice Committee’s controversial blacklist, while 38 percent oppose the ongoing effort to disqualify candidates. The poll also shows a 16 percent drop in the number of Iraqis who say they will vote compared to the 2005 turnout, reinforcing fears that the increasingly divisive election season will lead to a “stalemated and dysfunctional” political system similar to the sectarian-style government in Lebanon.

Elsewhere in Iraq-related punditry, Thomas Friedman takes to the New York Times to emphasize that, politically speaking, “culture matters, a lot more than we think, but cultures can change, a lot more than we expect.” In order to transcend the cultural forces that often prevent political stability, Friedman wonders if a Shiite Nelson Mandela could emerge to “lead a real reconciliation instead of just a Shiite dominion.” But IraqPundit says no, and in the process accuses Friedman of misreading history to create the false narrative of Mandela emerging organically to save his country — when in fact Mandela’s ascension came after decades in prison and a significant level of international support. No such support exists in Iraq, the author says, since “it looks as though the U.S. is prepared to abandon Iraq and argue that it’s the fault ofthe Iraqis for not figuring out how to get out of the chaos.”


Posted in Elections, Iraq, Public Opinion, Sectarianism, US foreign policy | Comment »

Egypt: ElBaradei Forms Political Coalition, But Will He Challenge Mubarak?

February 24th, 2010 by Josh

On the heels of a meeting with a large contingent of Egyptian oppositionists, former IAEA chief and prominent reform advocate Mohamed ElBaradei announced that he and approximately 30 politicians have agreed to form a new political coalition called the National Front for Change. Among the coalition’s first orders of business will be a campaign to petition the government to amend the constitutional provision that creates significant barriers for independent candidates — a clear sign for many keen observers that ElBaradei is moving closer to a presidential bid. Former presidential contender Ayman Nour, who was among the meeting attendees, also made news by announcing he would not pursue the presidency should the opposition coalesce behind ElBaradei; though he qualified his show of deference by downplaying ElBaradei as a “hypothetical candidate,” in contrast to Nour who maintains a “real” candidacy.

Playing on fears of disruptive political change, President Mubarak’s National Democratic Party responded to the recent developments by labeling ElBaradei “out of touch” and saying that “stability is good and what we know is better than what we don’t know.” But the Muslim Brotherhood, which holds the largest largest opposition bloc in parliament despite an official government ban, welcomed the NFC to the political arena and, more significantly, noted the convergence of “ElBaradei’s and the Brotherhood’s call for political and social change.”

As ElBaradei continues to cultivate alliances, Michael Collins Dunn of MEI’s Editor’s Blog takes a critical look at the aspiring politician’s recent meeting with Arab League Secretary-General ‘Amr Moussa, interpreting it as a sign that “ElBaradei is willing to tap into the establishment as well as the opposition.” Yet even though the Egyptian opposition is abuzz about its prospects for success at the polls, political writer Fahmy Howeidy worries that “the exaggerated reaction is turning [ElBaradei] into the nation’s savior.” Similarly, the Times Online doubts that there is serious momentum for political change. Not only is the “Mubarak regime is propped up with billions of dollars in US aid,” but the Times Online contends that the re-orientation of U.S. policy vis-a-vis Egypt has led to the demise of the pro-democracy movement.

However, not everyone is certain that ElBaradei will pursue high office. Amro Hassan explores this very question at Babylon and Beyond, and quotes George Ishaq — former leader of the Kefayah ‘Enough’ movement and an active participant in yesterday’s developments — insisting that the highly-publicized meeting was “to discuss working in the street for political reform” and “not to discuss whether ElBaradei would run in elections, nor to talk about him being the ’savior’ or ‘the redeemer.’” Issandr El Amrani takes a crack at diagnosing ElBaradei’s intentions as well, concluding that although everyone remains in “wait and see” mode, the primary purpose of the ElBaradei’s resurgence in Egyptian politics may be to “gain enough symbolic / moral capital to force a change from the regime through a combination of public pressure, international concern and leveraging whatever regime splits that exist.”

But judging by the surge in ElBaradei’s Facebook group membership as well as the recent flurry of ElBaradei searches on Google, the newly anointed leader of the opposition coalition has, at the very least, generated intense debate about the Egypt’s political and social trajectory as it approaches the 2010 and 2011 election seasons.


Posted in Egypt, Elections, Political Parties, Reform | 3 Comments »

Libya: Snapshot of the Regime, Prospects for Reform

February 24th, 2010 by Josh

In an interesting feature for Reason’s March issue, Michael Moynihan draws upon his recent trip to Tripoli in order to elucidate what he views as Libya’s continuing stagnation despite both its tremendous oil wealth and recent efforts to engage in dialogue with the West. Highlighting notable contradictions between the government’s rhetoric of reform and ground-level realities, Moynihan recounts a number of conversations with ex-terrorists who, although touted by the government as fully rehabilitated, were actually taken off death-row or promised reduced prison sentences in exchange for renouncing political violence and aiding anti-terrorism investigations. One such individual, claiming he “saw the light” and had abandoned Islamism to work for Colonel Qaddafi’s government, defended Libya’s freedom of the speech and journalistic diversity — but when asked if one would be allowed to print an anti-Qaddafi slogan, he recoiled questioned why anyone would do that, which Moynihan interprets as an unintentional barometer of Libya’s true level of liberalism.

Despite these encounters, Moynihan retains some hope that Saif Qaddafi, Muammar Qaddafi’s son and presumed heir, will issue in a new generation of leaders that will “loosen their chokehold on power in exchange for a seat at the adult table of international politics.” But the current wave of superficial and cosmetic reforms, he says, “have brought [the Libyan people] no closer to the representative democracy Qaddafi promised 40 years ago.”


Posted in Diplomacy, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Libya, Terrorism, US foreign policy | Comment »

Egypt: ElBaradei Gaining Momentum?

February 23rd, 2010 by Josh

In a highly-publicized interview with an independent Egyptian media outlet, former IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei pulled no punches in chastising the Egyptian government for its rampant corruption and failed policies toward poverty, illiteracy, economic stagnation, and social tension between Muslims and Christians. “I am not nominating myself,” he said, but announced that he’s “willing to run against anyone in upcoming presidential elections” should the public call upon him to lead the push for democratic reform. There are several hurdles to clear before ElBaradei can pursue high office, however, including a constitutional provision that makes it highly difficult for independent candidates to participate in national elections. To that end, he met with a group of prominent opposition figures earlier today to brainstorm strategies to circumvent electoral restrictions, indicating that a presidential bid may in fact be on the horizon.


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Elections, Political Parties, Reform | 1 Comment »

Sudan: New Ceasefire Agreement Ahead of April Elections

February 23rd, 2010 by Josh

Earlier today, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir signed a preliminary ceasefire accord with the Justice and Equality Movement, the most potent and heavily-armed rebel group in the Darfur region, renewing hopes of a sustained period of peace in advance of Sudan’s upcoming spring election. Although smaller militias refused to engage the government in peace talks, Bashir hailed the landmark agreement as “the start of the end” of the conflict in Darfur and conveyed his hope for a “comprehensive peace.”

Alsanosi Ahmed of Babylon and Beyond explains that the accord is expected to stop military raids and impose a ceasefire in all three Darfur states. But this doesn’t guarantee a safer environment for the electoral campaign, and Ahmed relays concerns that splinter rebel groups, while small and poorly resourced, could initiate an upswing in violence in an attempt to uproot the fragile arrangement.

Over at Save Darfur, Robert Lawrence tempers his enthusiasm by noting that “it is not enough for the Government of Sudan to negotiate with the rebels alone… Civil society and IDP representatives from Darfur must be brought into the negotiating process.” These groups are severely underrepresented and Lawrence advises both the government and armed rebels to listen to this “emerging constituency for peace” if they want the ceasefire agreement to be anything more than simply ink on paper.


Posted in Elections, Sudan | Comment »

February 23rd, 2010 by Daphne

On Monday, Turkish police arrested 49 military commanders in Turkey’s three biggest cities- Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir- for allegedly conspiring to topple the government as part of the “Sledgehammer” plot. The details of this latest coup attempt were unveiled in the liberal Taraf newspaper last month and are possibly linked to the Ergenekon conspiracy. The arrest of high-level officials like former air force chief Ibrahim Firtina and former navy chief Ozden Ornek highlights once again the ongoing power struggle between the secular establishment and the moderately Islamist Justice and Development Party. For a concise, but thorough look at the military’s role in Turkish politics, check out this article in last week’s Economist.


Posted in Note, Turkey | Comment »

Iraq: Sunni Party Urges Boycott, Sparks New Fears of Sectarian Violence

February 23rd, 2010 by Josh

In a rather discouraging piece of news for U.S. leaders hoping for Iraqi political reconciliation ahead of next summer’s troop withdrawal, the National Dialogue Front, a major majority-Sunni political party, has called for a boycott of Iraq’s parliamentary elections to protest the still-standing blacklist of 145 candidates. Although the Front’s leader, Saleh al-Mutlaq, had only last week dismissed the value of an electoral boycott, his party reconsidered its position over the weekend and concluded that the political climate was “unsuitable” for active participation in the March contest. However, it appears that the boycott has yet to snowball. Other political factions have thus far maintained their normal campaign schedule, including the powerful cross-sectarian coalition Iraqiya, led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

While some fear a repeat of the catastrophic 2005 election — which included a massive Sunni boycott — Juan Cole identifies a key difference that may preclude the sort of divisive and destabilizing result seen five years ago, namely that the forthcoming March elections are going to be held on a provincial rather than national scale. “Thus,” he concludes, “the largely Sunni provinces of al-Anbar, Salahuddin and Ninevah will return a lot of Sunni members of parliament even with a boycott.”

Elsewhere, Marc Lynch believes that the “de-Baathification circus has demonstrated the fragility of Iraqi institutions, and helped to reignite sectarian resentments and fears,” but insists that “none of those issues would be resolved by an American effort to delay its military drawdown” — a rejoinder to the military’s recently reported contingency plan should a particularly divisive electoral season begin to dismantle Iraq’s nascent democracy. “This doesn’t mean that the U.S. should do nothing,” says Lynch, but “none of [the administration’s diplomatic efforts] should interfere with the strategic imperative of continuing the drawdown of forces, or with recognizing the new political realities in the U.S.-Iraqi relationship.”


Posted in Diplomacy, Elections, Iraq | Comment »

Human Rights and Democracy: Falling By the Wayside?

February 23rd, 2010 by Josh

A thoughtful piece by Josh Kurlantzick in the latest edition of Newsweek traces the “downfall of human rights” and the tendency of many recent Western leaders to de-emphasize democracy promotion within the context of a foreign policy agenda. “The age of global human-rights advocacy has collapsed,” he writes, “giving way to an era of realism unseen since the time of Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon.” Kurlantzick identifies a number of interacting factors that may be responsible for this downward trend: the changing global balance of power; a resurgence of worldwide leaders with “strongly realist instincts” who also lack the mobilizing charisma of the prominent figures from the 1990s; and a struggling international economy that, within democratic societies, demands a substantial focus upon internal challenges to mollify domestic constituencies.

Yet the greater concern, according to Kurlantzick, is that these global forces may produce an environment of isolationism that requires a “cataclysmic historic event” to shake off.


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Human Rights, US foreign policy | Comment »

Internet Activism: The Problem with ‘Techno-Utopianism’

February 22nd, 2010 by Chanan

Evgeny Morozov, a Yahoo! fellow at Georgetown University and contributing editor to Foreign Policy, penned a Wall Street Journal essay over the weekend challenging many commonly held conceptions about the Internet’s impact on revolutions and democratization.

At the outset of the piece, he explains: “The belief that free and unfettered access to information, combined with new tools of mobilization afforded by blogs and social networks, leads to the opening up of authoritarian societies and their eventual democratization now forms one of the pillars of ‘techno-utopianism.’ He laments the recent obsession by DC-based politicians and pundits with social media tools, such as Twitter and Facebook, and wonders whether this fascination is a “mere sign of our desperation with other, more conventional instruments of diplomatic leverage.”

The unfortunate reality, Morozov contends, is that this new medium will not likely lead to waves of mass democratization. He focuses on recent events in Iran as an example, explaining that revolutionary upheavals of authoritarian regimes require strong degrees of centralization, which the Internet does not provide. “Iran’s Green Movement has been split into so many competing debate chambers,” he writes, “that it couldn’t collect itself on the eve of the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution.” The Iranian government, like other autocratic regimes, also learned to exploit the Internet’s utility to suit its own means, by squashing online dissent, blocking basic communication and using the Internet as a surveillance tool.

Citing groups such as Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood, he also states that “Facebook and Twitter empower all groups - not just the pro-Western groups that we like.”

Nonetheless, despite the inherent challenges, Morozov still believes that “it would be unreasonable for the American government to simply abandon all efforts to use the Internet for promoting democracy abroad.” One example he provides is the necessity to stop preventing U.S. tech companies, which currently require a “host of waivers from the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to exports Internet services to authoritarian countries.” Such blanket sanctions, Morozov argues, impede productive support for groups like the Green Movement. Rather, resolving these “arcane policy disputes is likely to advance American interests abroad more effectively than the flashy and media-friendly undertakings… of which American diplomats have grown so increasingly fond.”


Posted in Iran, Technology, US foreign policy, sanctions | Comment »

Meedan: New Website Eliminates Language Barrier

February 22nd, 2010 by Chanan

After much anticipation, a new website called Meedan has been officially launched granting English and Arabic speakers the opportunity to bypass typical language constraints when reading stories, posting comments and engaging in conversation about issues, events and topics of interest. In short, the site allows English readers to read news articles originally published in Arabic, and vice versa.

Ed Bice, Meedan’s co-founder and chief executive, laments in the Guardian that there is a “tremendous amount of media attention focused on the Middle East, but for the most part we are looking at those stories through the prism of western news agencies.” He continues, “We don’t have a good way of seeing the media that’s being written in Arabic and represents the way the region is understanding these events itself.”

review of the site by Wired Magazine explains that Meedan - which means “a town square” or “gathering place” in Arabic - was therefore created to “cultivate citizen diplomacy between the Middle East and the West,” or in the words of Bice, “to let someone in Nebraska see an event through the eyes of someone in Nablus.”

The website, which has been in the development phase for the last three years, uses machine translation technology to translate the original text and then allows volunteer translators to refine and correct any mistakes.


Posted in Middle Eastern Media, Publications, Technology | Comment »

Press Freedom: New Report on 2009 Violations in Middle East & North Africa

February 22nd, 2010 by Maria

The International Press Institute, an Austrian-based organization working to further freedom of expression around the world, released its World Press Freedom Review for 2009 earlier this month, focusing on the Middle East and North Africa. The report accounts for 110 journalists that were killed for their work in 2009, making it the most deadly year for journalists in the past decade, according to IPI.

This year’s report focuses on the Middle East and North Africa, including a section on the state of freedom of the press and expression for each country in the region; it also offers specific recommendations for each country in order to further its protection against free speech violations. Of the total 78 recommendations, 17 addressed governments’ need to protect independent reporting and seven more specifically addressed the need to protect bloggers and Internet freedoms.

The report calls on Tunisian authorities to “end persecution and harassment of journalists.” It states that “the systematic attacks meted out against the independent media in Tunisia over the past few months are an insult to press freedom.” It also claims journalists that offend authorities in Saudi Arabia are charged with fines, detention, interrogation, dismissal and harassment. “Criticism of the royal family or government policy is generally prohibited, and Saudi Arabia maintains tight control over media content.”

In January 2009, the Ministry of Information in Bahrain implemented a law that would give the ministry the ability to “block certain web sites without warning or referring the case to court,” said the report. It also describes the Egyptian government’s efforts to monitor Internet access through “real-world surveillance” and that “state security officers require owners of Internet cafes, which are used by a majority of users to access the Internet, to register the names and identity card numbers of users. Owners are also required to monitor which web sites are visited, and to report to the security forces on people who visit ‘political’ web sites.” The report also features an interview with Aboubakr Jamai, the editor of the Moroccan magazine Le Journal that was recently shut down.

A PDF of the full report can be accessed here.


Posted in Bahrain, Egypt, Freedom, Middle Eastern Media, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia | Comment »

Lebanon: Parliament Rejects Amendment to Lower Voting Age

February 22nd, 2010 by Chanan

Lebanon’s parliament has rejected today a hotly-debated constitutional amendment to lower the country’s voting age from 21 to 18, a proposition reported to have provoked Christian-Muslim tension and ignited concerns about the stability of the country’s tenuous power-sharing political system.

Anticipating the results, an editorial in today’s Daily Star chided the Christian members of Parliament for indulging an attitude prevalent among legislators across the religious spectrum that places “interests of their sect ahead of the interests of democracy and the country’s population as a whole.”

The controversial bill has predominantly rankled the Maronite Christian community, whose political leverage has diminished steadily over the years with their relative decline in birth rates and higher levels of emigration. Though no census has been issued in Lebanon since 1932, the Maronite community now represents an estimated 30 percent of the country’s population. According to analysis in the AFP, lowering the voting age would add more than 50,000 Christians and 175,000 Muslims to the electorate. To contend with the shifting demographics, Christian Maronite MPs have advocated including the votes of expatriates throughout the world.

“Christians fear the numbers,” says Paul Salem, director of the Beirut-based Carnegie Middle East Center, in an interview with the AFP. “Mainly it is a fear that lowering the voting age might be the first step in rethinking the entire political structure.”

A two-thirds quorum is necessary to amend the constitution. In today’s vote, a mere 34 of the legislature’s 128 members voted for the measure, while 66 abstained and one voted against. The remaining 27 MPs refrained from attending the session.


Posted in Lebanon, Sectarianism | Comment »

Arab Reform Bulletin: New Format, New Release

February 19th, 2010 by Josh

After two years as a monthly publication, the Arab Reform Bulletin, a product of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has altered its format and will now issue one or two articles per week. Its two most recent releases focus on the Muslim Brotherhood’s newly elected leadership and how Iraq’s forthcoming elections have exposed gaps in U.S. policy.

In trying to analyze the significance of a reconfigured Brotherhood, Husam Tammam writes that Mohammed Badie’s ascension to General Guide empowered a conservative MB faction that is “more interested in working from within to cultivate a strong, disciplined movement than in engaging with other political forces and intellectual currents in Egyptian society.” However, the Brotherhood has long been known for its “steadiness and pragmatism,” and Tammam is convinced that “the group’s major strategic choices—renouncing violence as a tool, participating in politics, and adopting a gradualist approach—are unlikely to shift suddenly.”

Brian Katulis worries that the U.S. has yet to articulate a “strategy for the broader Middle East,” and, more precisely, how Iraq fits into this regional approach. Iran’s international belligerence only heightens Iraq’s geopolitical importance, and Katulis wants the Obama administration to “more clearly define how it sees the bilateral relationship with Iraq fitting into a larger plan to deescalate tensions and foster stability in the broader Gulf region.”


Posted in Egypt, Elections, Iraq, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, Publications, US foreign policy | Comment »

Egypt: Female Judges Barred from Council Positions

February 19th, 2010 by Chanan

Dozens of women and human rights organizations staged a protest on Thursday in front of the Egyptian State Council’s Cairo headquarters in reaction to a recent decision by the Council to bar female justices from holding judicial positions. Earlier this week, the Council - which advises the government and adjudicates disputes against state authorities - voted 334-42 against the appointment of women as judges within the Council. “This decision violates the law and the principles of justice,” said Nihad Abul Qomssan, head of the Egyptian Center for Human Rights. The justices’ decision, however, can still be technically overruled next month by a Special Council, the supervisory body that overseas the State Council.

Many protesters saw the Council’s decision as a setback to advancements in women’s rights in Egypt. In 2007, 31 women were appointed by presidential decree to join the country’s Supreme Judicial Council, which has jurisdiction over civil and criminal courts.  This move marked the first time that women in Egypt were allowed to preside over civil and criminal cases.

In a similar story, under the long-standing pressure of human rights activists, two members of the Egyptian parliament - MP Georgette Kalini and MP Mohamed Khalil Qaweyta- have drafted and sponsored bills aimed at curbing sexual harassment abuses rampant throughout the country. In a 2008 study commissioned by the Egyptian Center for Human Rights, 83 percent of those surveyed had been sexually abused. “It shows the state is responding and changing… They are now understanding the significance of the issue,” said Abul Qomssan.


Posted in Egypt, Women | 3 Comments »

Egypt: UN Rights Council Issues Recommendations, Regime Responds

February 19th, 2010 by Josh

As a result of Egypt’s Universal Periodical Review (UPR) at the UN, the Human Rights Council released a total of 165 recommendations intended to remedy what the council believes is an environment of deteriorating human rights treatment. In what some view as a surprise, however, the Egyptian government publicly accepted 119 of the proposals while rejecting only 14. Among these 119 recommendations, which the regime is now bound to implement, are provisions that alter some of the core features of the Egyptian judicial system:

  • Ensuring that administrative detainees are released or promptly brought to justice.
  • Amending the definition of torture in the Penal Code and mandating the investigation and prosecution of all cases of torture.
  • Lifting the state of emergency and ensuring that any new counter-terrorism law complies with international human rights law.
  • Ensuring that the use of the death penalty meets the standards of international law.
  • Protecting the rights of human rights defenders and amending the NGO law to facilitate the registration and functioning of independent civil society.
  • Promoting and protecting freedom of religion and belief and adequately responding to sectarian violence, especially against Copts.
  • Ensuring freedom of expression, including for bloggers and other Internet users.
  • Enhancing human rights education and training.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights “welcomed the fact that the government decided to accept the majority of the recommendations,” but refused to let this good news hide the fact that the regime continues to dismiss accusations of widespread abuse, accusing the government of “lying when it describes as ‘factually incorrect’ well-documented abuses such as the use of Emergency Law powers against bloggers and political activists or the impunity granted for perpetrators of sectarian violence.” Hossam Bahgat, executive director of EIPR, urged the government to go even further and “support all of the review’s recommendations and establish a participatory and transparent implementation plan that is measurable and time-bound.”

In related news, one of Egypt’s most prominent bloggers, Wael Abbas, was acquitted by a court in Cairo, sparing him from what could have been up to six months in prison. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information had previously labeled the case against Abbas a fabrication, and accused the government of a blatant “manipulation of law.”


Posted in Egypt, Freedom, Human Rights, Reform, United Nations | 1 Comment »

POMED Notes: “Justice for All: the Struggle for Workers Rights in Egypt”

February 19th, 2010 by Josh

The Solidarity Center hosted an event to mark the release of its new report [PDF], “Justice for All: the Struggle for Workers Rights in Egypt.” Erin Radford, Program Officer for the Middle East and North Africa at the Solidarity Center, moderated the discussion that featured Kamal Abbas, General Coordinator of the Center for Trade Union and Worker Services (CTUWS). Abbas spoke on the urgent need to form independent organizations that advance and support the needs of workers in a democratic manner, provide direct support and services to the workers, and fill the void created by the “official” trade union organization which failed to achieve its fundamental obligations. His organization, CTUWS, is an independent non-governmental organization concerned with defending the democratic and economic rights of workers, and is the largest independent institution of its kind in Egypt.

Click here for POMED’s notes in PDF, or continue reading below the fold

Read the rest of this entry »


Posted in DC Event Notes, Egypt, Freedom, Human Rights, NGOs, Protests, US foreign policy, Women | Comment »

POMED Notes: “Iraq’s Elections–and Iraq’s Future”

February 18th, 2010 by Maria

The United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq Ad Melkert gave a lecture at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace today assessing the conditions in Iraq ahead of its March elections, and what that can mean for its future.

Melkert, who was very optimistic for a successful Iraqi election, said that it is important that development in Iraq is known and to understand what the role of international community should be. He outlined three major points for his lecture: first, that it is necessary to acknowledge the need for ongoing engagement in Iraq; second, that this engagement should be respectful and with Iraqis “in the lead;” and third, that it is time to draw a line and understand the divisions that have marked so much of the debate on Iraq.

Click here for POMED’s notes in PDF. Otherwise, continue below the fold.

Read the rest of this entry »


Posted in Elections, Event Notes, Freedom, Iraq | Comment »

Islamism: Can the U.S. Prevent Islamist Electoral Victories?

February 18th, 2010 by Josh

An article [PDF] from a recent edition of the FAO Journal answers this question in the affirmative, and attempts to identify mechanisms to “defeat Islamists at the ballot.” Co-written by Khairi Abaza of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and Dr. Soner Cagaptay from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the piece dismisses the notion that engaging or empowering moderate Islamists can be a useful counterbalance toward those who subscribe to a more extreme Islamist brand. “The term ‘moderate Islamist’ is offensive to all Muslims,” the authors claim. “It does not matter how Washington qualifies Islamists; once it acknowledges them as partners, parties who believe in liberal democracy will see this as a sign that Washington has allied itself with the Islamists,” which ostensibly creates an environment of disaffection and perhaps stagnation.

Using the history of post-WWII U.S. policy toward Italy as a guide, Abaza and Cagaptay analyze the tools used by U.S. officials to discourage and eventually reverse the proliferation of popularly-elected Communist politicians, and modify them to fit a Middle Eastern context. This leads them to four general recommendations:

  • Do what Islamists do, and do it better. Fund what the Islamists fund, and fund it better. To combat the pervasive influence of Islamist groups, who use their phenomenal level of financial support to marginalize and squeeze out competition, the authors believe that the U.S. should sufficiently resource secular and liberal groups so they can establish quality educational and healthcare facilities to challenge the Islamist monopoly on social services.
  • Apply different speeds: The piece maintains that the U.S. must understand the political and cultural differences among Arab countries in order to appropriately identify entry-points for engagement.
  • Create a cost for being Islamist: Piggy-backing off the U.S. approach toward mid-20th century Italy, the authors advocate banning the immigration of Islamists to the U.S. “Immigrating is a privilege that should be granted only to America’s friends.”
  • Take bold steps at home: This includes restructuring the U.S. government to meet the challenges of “Muslim-majority countries” and investing heavily in “area and language studies of Muslim countries” to “create tens of thousands of experts who are fluent in the politics and languages” of the region.

Posted in Diplomacy, Elections, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Political Islam, Political Parties, Sectarianism, US foreign policy | 1 Comment »