Middle East Protests (2010-11)

Updated: Feb. 19, 2011

A wave of unrest has swept across the Arab world and beyond. The suicide of a street vendor in Tunisia led to a revolt that ousted that country's autocratic ruler, and less than a month later, Egypt's ruler was gone. The agitation continues in many lands; here is a summary of the latest major developments: 

BAHRAIN Feb. 19: Thousands of jubilant protesters surged back into Pearl Square, the symbolic heart of Bahrain, after the government withdrew its security forces, calling for calm after days of violent crackdowns. The shift was at least a temporary victory for the Shiite protesters, who had rejected a call to negotiate from Bahrain’s Sunni monarch until the authorities pulled the military off the streets. A review of administration statements shows that American officials overlooked recent complaints about human rights abuses in the strategically important kingdom.

LIBYA Feb. 19: Protests continued against the regime of Col. Muammar Qaddafi, as the government moved to shut down the Internet. Human rights observers put the death toll in Libya after three days of government crackdowns against protesters at 84.

YEMEN Feb. 19: Antigovernment marches in the impoverished nation of Yemen took a violent turn as pro-government supporters dressed in civilian clothes opened fire on a group opposing President Ali Abdullah Saleh, wounding at least four people.

ALGERIA Feb. 19: Hundreds of police in Algeria’s capital used clubs to overwhelm a small group of antigovernment demonstrators. The government has combined tough police action with promises of concessions in the wake of the turbulence that has swept the region, accelerating vows to lift a years-old state of emergency and speaking of new jobs and housing.

EGYPT Feb. 18: Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an influential Sunni cleric who is banned from the United States and Britain for supporting violence against Israel and American forces in Iraq, delivered his first public sermon in the country in 50 years, emerging as a powerful voice in the struggle to shape what kind of Egyptian state emerges from the uprising. He addressed a crowd of more than one million who gathered in Tahrir Square to mourn those who died in the protests. Meanwhile, the military warned restive workers that it would stop what it declared were illegal strikes crippling Egypt’s economy, declaring “it will confront them and take the legal measures needed to protect the nation’s security.”

IRAQ Feb. 18: Unrest continued to spread in Iraq, with new protests erupting in several cities and reports from law enforcement officials that private security guards in a city in Kurdistan fired on a group of protesters who tried to storm the political offices of the region’s leader. Protest leaders said they would go ahead with plans for a Saturday march in Baghdad, despite a second day of violence marring demonstrations elsewhere in the country.

JORDAN Feb. 18: A protest turned violent in the Jordanian capital as government supporters clashed with demonstrators calling for political change, injuring several. Antigovernment protests have become routine on Fridays in the past weeks, but this was the first time that one ended in confrontation.

IRAN Feb. 18: A leading opposition figure, Mir Hussein Moussavi, was reported missing, raising fears that he had been detained in connection with this week’s anti-government rallies. The marches, the largest since the 2009 disputed elections, were put down by Iranian security and paramilitary forces.

WASHINGTON Feb. 18: The United States said it strongly opposed the use of violence in Bahrain. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Bahrain’s foreign minister to convey “deep concern about the actions of the security forces.”  President Obama did not publicly address the crackdown, but his press secretary, Jay Carney, said that the White House was urging Bahrain to use restraint in responding to “peaceful protests.”

TUNISIA Feb. 14: After the revolution opened the doors, a flotilla of would-be migrants has set out from Tunisia, creating a humanitarian crisis and stirring a political furor in Italy.

Background

On Dec. 17, 2010, in the impoverished Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, a street vendor who had been slapped in the face by a policewoman confiscating his wares set himself on fire outside of a government building. The desperate act of the vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, led to protests in the town, which were recorded in video clips posted on YouTube. By the time he died on Jan. 4, 2011, protests that started over Mr. Bouazizi’s treatment in Sidi Bouzid had spread to cities throughout the country.

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