As Bahrain stifles protest movement, U.S.’s muted objections draw criticism
By Joby Warrickand Michael Birnbaum, Friday, April 15,
Two months after the eruption of mass protests in Bahrain, the kingdom has largely silenced the opposition, jailing hundreds of activists in a crackdown that has left the Obama administration vulnerable to charges that it is upholding democratic values in the Middle East selectively.
Bahrain’s monarchy, since calling in Saudi troops last month to help crush the protest movement, has been quietly dismantling the country’s Shiite-led opposition. On Friday, the Sunni government announced an investigation into the activities of Bahrain’s largest political party, the Shiite-dominated al-Wefaq, which could lead to its ban.The Obama administration has repeatedly appealed to the Bahraini government for restraint, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton this week called for a political process that “advances the rights and aspirations of all the citizens of Bahrain.”
Robert Fisk: ‘The Arab awakening began not in Tunisia this year, but in Lebanon in 2005’
Revolutions don’t start with a single dramatic event, such as the destruction of a church or a man’s self-immolation.
Friday, 15 April 2011
First, to reports from the revolutionary front lines in Syria, in the same imperfect, but brave, English in which they were written less than 24 hours ago…“Yesterday morning I went to the square to demonstrate, I arranged it with guys on Facebook, I don’t know them, but we share the same ambition of freedom, that night I was awake until 6am watching the news, it was horrible what’s happening in Syria, the security forces slaughter people as if aniamals !!!…
“I wore my clothes and went to (the) sq. there was about 150 security service in civilian cloths in street calling for Assad’s life [ie praising Assad] and one taxi car the driver was driving against the cars to stop them moving in street, I am not sure if he was revolutionizing or just empty the street for security service!, it was crazy, I was angry that they are calling for the dictator’s life and want keep him running Syria like he doing.
A Mayor’s Battle to Keep His Displaced Town Together
In the Shadow of Fukushima
By Alexander Osang
For the people of Futaba, yet another day begins with a little man in freshly washed lime-green overalls telling them about how things are back home. The man’s name is Katsutaka Idogawa, and he is their mayor. He is all they have brought with them. The people of Futaba don’t have a town anymore; they only have a mayor.Indeed, Idogawa explains, the situation is so dire that the people of Futaba are going to celebrate Children’s Day early. The Japanese usually hold the holiday in early May. But nobody knows what early May will bring. Right now, the people of Futaba need good news and a little diversion. They need to be able to feel that life will somehow go on. So Idogawa has decided to push the holiday forward.
Mood in Syria intensifies as demonstrations spread north to Aleppo
Katherine Zoepf April 15, 2011
SYRIA’S growing protest movement has broadened as Aleppo, one of the country’s largest cities, had its first demonstrations against the government of President Bashar Assad.In addition, a group of women from the coastal village of Bayda, where hundreds were detained this week, marched to demand the release of their husbands and sons.
At least 200 students protested at the University of Aleppo, witnesses and human rights advocates said, until security forces broke up the demonstration and arrested dozens of students.
Crackdown may result in sanctions
LOUISE REDVERS Apr 15 2011 09:36
Because of its poor labour-relations record Swaziland is on an International Labour Organisation “special paragraph”, meaning that it is a step away from sanctions, potentially threatening its membership of Agoa (the African Growth and Opportunity Act) and trade with the United States.Two-thirds of Swazis already live in poverty, while one in four adults is HIV-positive and unemployment stands at 40%.
Vic van Vuuren, the ILO’s Pretoria director, said: “We’ve been following the protests closely and we’re concerned that union members were apparently arrested and detained. But we don’t yet have all the facts to know if the government has acted out of line. We’re waiting for more information from the unions and the Swazi labour ministry, which we haven’t been able to contact for several days.”
Turkey grapples with spike in ‘honor’ killings
Recent government figures suggest the murders of women – including so-called honor killings – increased 14-fold in seven years, hitting nearly 1,000 in the first seven months of 2009.
By Alexander Christie-Miller, Correspondent
Istanbul, Turkey
A drastic rise in reported “honor” killings and fatal domestic violence in Turkey has sparked a vigorous debate about the government’s recent attempts to address the problem. It also highlights the clash of conservative values with the country’s rapid modernization.
Government figures released in February suggest murders of women increased 14-fold in seven years, from 66 in 2002, to 953 in the first seven months of 2009. In the past seven months, one rights organization has compiled more than 264 cases – nearly one per day – reported in the press in which a woman was killed by a family member, husband, ex-husband, or partner.“There’s been an incredible increase,” says Gulhan Yag, a young activist who recently attended a funeral for a teenage girl killed for eloping with her boyfriend. “This feels like a genocide against women.”
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