Anti-cuts Campaigners Plan to Turn Trafalgar Square into Tahrir Square
THE GUARDIAN: Student activists draw inspiration from Egypt protests and call for 24-hour occupation of London landmark
Campaigners against public service cuts are calling for a 24-hour occupation of Trafalgar Square – drawing inspiration from revolts in the Middle East – to coincide with Saturday's trade union protest in London.
Student activists who organised last year's demonstrations say there will be a rolling programme of sit-ins and protests on the day and have called on people to occupy the central London square turning "Trafalgar into Tahrir" – a reference to the gathering point in Cairo that was at the heart of the revolution in Egypt earlier this year.
"We want Trafalgar Square to become a focal point for the ongoing occupations, marches and sit-ins that will carry on throughout the weekend," said Michael Chessum from the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts. "There are a lot of smaller scale demonstrations and actions planned and, just as we have seen in recent protests in the Middle East and north Africa, we want to create an ongoing organising hub."
Saturday's main demonstration has been organised by the TUC and is expected to see more than 200,000 people – including public sector workers, families and first-time protesters – take to the capital's streets to oppose government cuts.
This month the TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, promised a barrage of protests against the cuts, ranging from industrial strikes and "peaceful civil disobedience" to petitions by Tory voters in the shires.
The plan to occupy Trafalgar Square is the latest in a wave of proposed sit-ins, occupations and "people's assemblies" that activists have branded a "carnival of civil disobedience". Continue reading and comment » | Matthew Taylor | Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Hundreds Protest in Eastern Saudi Arabia
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in the eastern Saudi Arabian city of al-Ahsa [or Al-Hasa] Friday.
About 500 protesters, mainly Shiite Muslims who make up a large part of the population of the region, demonstrated in the oil-rich eastern province. They called for the release of prisoners held without charges, according to Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb, president of Human Rights First Society.
There was no gunfire or clashes with police in the area, Mr. al-Mugaiteeb said.
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, Friday prayers ended calmly, as none of the protests activists had called for materialized by mid-afternoon local-time. >>> Summer Said | Friday, March 11, 2011
Monday, March 07, 2011
Shiite Muslims Detained in Saudi Arabia
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Security forces in Saudi Arabia have detained at least 22 minority Shiite Muslims who protested last week over what they say is discrimination, activists said on Sunday.
Saudi Shiites have staged small protests for about two weeks in the kingdom's east, which holds much of the oil wealth of the world's top crude exporter. "Twenty-two were arrested on Thursday plus four on Friday, so the total is 26. This was all in Qatif," said rights activist Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb, who heads the Saudi-based independent Human Rights First Society.
A Shiite activist in the town of Qatif in the Eastern Province said he knew of 22 arrests. Interior ministry officials could not be reached for comment.
Shiite protests in Saudi Arabia started in the area of the main city town of Qatif and neighbouring Awwamiya and spread to the town of Hofuf on Friday. The demands were mainly for the release of prisoners they say are held without trial.
Saudi Shiites often complain they struggle to get senior government jobs and other benefits like other citizens. >>> | Sunday, March 06, 2011
Saturday, July 03, 2010
Thousands across Pakistan Protest against Shrine Bombings
HINDUSTAN TIMES: Hundreds of people Saturday joined protests across Pakistan against the suicide bombings of the Data Darbar shrine in Lahore, even as Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said militants were targeting cities to divert the people's attention from the war against terror.
Lahore remained in mourning for the second day for the terrorist attack on the shrine of Hazrat Ali Hajweri, considered the patron saint of the city. Forty-five people were killed and over 200 injured when two suicide bombers blew themselves at the shrine on Thursday.
At some places in Lahore, protests turned violent as demonstrators marched through the streets, burning tyres and forcing traders to close their businesses.
Police used batons to disperse them and arrested over a dozen protesters who were demanding that authorities should take action against extremist elements involved in the desecration of the shrine.
Protests were also organised in cities across Punjab, including Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Faisalabad and Multan, and at several places in southern Sindh province, including Karachi, Hyderabad and Larkana.
Life in many towns and cities were affected by strikes called by different organisations like the Sunni Tehrik and Jamaat Ahl-e-Sunnat. >>> Press Trust of India , Islamabad / Lahore | Saturday, July 03, 2010
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Athens’ Tense May Day
Monday, April 05, 2010
Violent Clashes at EDL Demonstration in Dudley
English Defence League: Dudley Clashes At Right-Wing Demo
Dutch MP’s Visit to Show Anti-Islam Film to UK Lawmakers Sparks Outrage
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Iran Opposition Leaders Attacked as Regime Floods Streets
TIMES ONLINE: Iran’s regime sought to thwart another massive opposition protest today by turning out its own supporters in huge numbers, imposing draconian restrictions on the media and making the headline-grabbing announcement that the Islamic Republic was now a “nuclear state”.
Determined to prevent the so-called Green Movement from hijacking the biggest day in Iran’s calendar, the anniversary of the 1979 revolution, the regime also flooded Tehran with security forces who moved swiftly and violently to break up opposition demonstrations.
The opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi and Mohammed Khatami - a former president - were attacked. Zahra Eshraghi, the granddaughter of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the 1979 revolution, was briefly arrested. She is married to Mr Khatami's brother and her own brother, Hassan, has made clear his hostility to the regime. >>> Martin Fletcher | Thursday, February 11, 2010
Con Coughlin: Iran Shows Its True Colours As It Marks the Anniversary of the Islamic Revolution
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOG: It is just like old times in downtown Iran today, with government forces battling to prevent anti-government protesters from voicing their opposition to the hardline clerics that control the country.
It was the same 31 years ago, when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini established the Islamic revolution after his triumphant return from exile in Paris. Thirty-one years ago the street protests quickly led to summary executions, with Khomeini’s supporters setting up special courts to try those accused of trying to prevent Khomeini from establishing his Islamic dictatorship.
My fear now is that Khomeini’s heirs – people like President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader – will resort to similar tactics as they try to suppress the pro-reform movement that has grown in strength since last summer’s hotly disputed election contest. Read on and comment >>> Con Coughlin | Thursday, February 11, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Several thousand right-wing Israelis have massed in central Jerusalem to denounce a Jewish construction freeze in the West Bank and brand Barack Obama an imperialist.
In their biggest show of force since a moratorium on new residential building was announced late last month, some 3,000 settlers and their sympathizers gathered outside the residence of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.
But it was the American president Barack Obama, seen by many settlers as ultimately responsible for the 10-month construction slowdown, who was as much in the sights of the demonstrators.
In scenes reminiscent of protests in the Arab world during the administration of George W Bush, they castigated Mr Obama as an imperialist from the same mould as his predecessor.
"Obama is continuing Middle East Imperialism," read one banner, "Was hoping for change - Got the same old imperialist," another.
Despite falling domestic approval ratings, Mr Obama remains the subject of much adulation abroad. But there is little evidence of such sentiment in Israel, where less than 10 per cent of the population claims to trust him, according to opinion polls.
The American president has become the focus of right-wing revulsion in Israel ever since he called for a freeze to Jewish settler construction earlier this year, even though he has since appeared to soften his stance.
Battered Not Beaten: Iranian Opposition Plays the Long Game
TIMES ONLINE: The Iranian opposition is brave and inspiring. Its members repeatedly risk their limbs, lives and liberty by taking to the streets in defiance of the regime and its ruthless security forces. They do so despite six months of arrests, beatings, torture and show trials that have resulted in death penalties and years of incarceration. But are they achieving anything?
The demonstrations are smaller than they were. The grip of the security forces has never looked seriously threatened. Western governments, preoccupied with the nuclear issue, appear to have accepted President Ahmadinejad’s re-election and written off the "green" movement.
Opposition activists are not discouraged, however. They insist they are playing a long game the goal of which is gradually to win over the provinces, the small towns, members of the basij volunteer militia; to eat away at whatever support the regime still has until eventually it topples.
They scribble anti-government slogans on banknotes, daub graffiti on walls, disseminate information on e-mail trees to counter the propadanga of the state-controlled media. Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mr Ahmadinejad’s election rival, has likened the regime’s attempts at censorship to stopping a flood with barbed wire. >>> Martin Fletcher | Monday, December 07, 2009
Tehran Univeristy Demonstration for Students Day
Manifestation sous haute tension à Téhéran
Les manifestants de l'opposition ont une nouvelle fois défilé lundi à Téhéran pour contester la réélection en juin dernier du président Ahmadinejad. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Des milliers de manifestants de l'opposition ont défilé lundi dans la capitale iranienne pour protester une nouvelle fois contre la réélection du président Ahmadinejad. Des mouvements rapidement réprimés par les forces de l'ordre.
Nouvelle poussée de violences dans les rues de Téhéran. La police, déployée en force lundi dans la capitale iranienne, a utilisé des gaz lacrymogènes pour disperser les milliers de manifestants de l'opposition venus protester contre le président Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, en marge de la «journée de l'étudiant». Cette dernière commémore chaque année la mort de trois étudiants lors d'une manifestation anti-américaine en décembre 1953. Et donne lieu, depuis les années 1990, à des rassemblements en faveur des réformes. Les étudiants, fer de lance de l'actuel mouvement d'opposition né au lendemain de la réélection contestée d'Ahmadinejad en juin dernier, ont ainsi profité de cette journée pour manifester.
Selon un témoin, les affrontements entre les forces de l'ordre et les manifestants ont eu lieu sur l'avenue Enghelab, qui longe l'université de Téhéran, elle-même encerclée par des policiers anti-émeute et des gardes révolutionnaires. >>> Le Figaro.fr (avec agences) | Lundi 07 Décembre 2009
Proteste in Iran: Polizei knüppelt in Teheran
ZEIT ONLINE: In Iran demonstrieren Regimegegner, Sicherheitskräfte setzen Schlagstöcke und Tränengas ein, die Universität ist umstellt. Anlass der Unruhe ist der sogenannte Studententag.
Im Zentrum Teherans ist die Polizei mit Gewalt gegen Demonstranten der Opposition vorgegangen. "Die Polizei setzt Schlagstöcke ein, um die Demonstranten zu zerstreuen", sagte ein Augenzeuge der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters. Auch Tränengas kam zum Einsatz. "Die Leute skandieren Parolen gegen die Regierung." Die Zusammenstöße ereigneten sich demnach auf dem Platz Ferdowsi. Zuvor hatte die Polizei die Universität von Teheran umstellt, um Proteste der Opposition zu verhindern. >>> Zeit Online, Reuters, dpa | Montag, 07. Dezember 2009
Iranian Police Shoot at Unarmed Protesters During Tehran Demonstrations
THE TELEGRAPH: Iranian police fired tear gas and live bullets as they fought back thousands of unarmed protesters on the streets of Tehran.
There were bloody clashes as young people launched a fresh wave of anti-government protests on the country's official Students Day.
Police used warning shots, baton charges and gas but failed to stop rallies, sit-ins and campus marches across the capital.
Universities in several cities, including Tehran's top seats of learning, were sealed off as guards checked identity cards of people trying to join the student demonstrations.
Earlier in the day, the authorities detained 23 members of a protest group of grieving mothers. They included the mother of Neda Agha-Soltan, known as the "Angel of Freedom", who was shot by pro-government militia at the height of demonstrations against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election in June.
Hajar Rostami-Motlaq has enraged the authorities by condemning pro-government students who accused British agents of killing Miss Soltan.
She was later released but friends expressed concern for other members of the protest group, Mourning Mothers of Iran, who were rounded up at a weekly protest in Tehran's Laleh Park.
Supporters of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi chanted "Death to the dictator" and "Do not be scared. We are all together", according to witnesses at the rallies on university campuses. >>> Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Monday, December 07, 2009
Stand By Our Courageous Students for 16 Azar or Dec 7
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Prince of Wales' Tour of Canada Marred by Anti-monarchy Protests
THE TELEGRAPH: The Prince of Wales' tour of Canada has been marred by an anti-monarchy protest, with Quebec separatists clashing with riot police during a demonstration in Montreal.
Canadian riot police moved to the top of the street around 15 minutes before the Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall were due to arrive. Photo: The Telegraph
A hardcore group of more than 50 people, some wearing balaclavas or with their faces obscured by scarves, chanted slogans and held anti-royal placards outside the headquarters of The Black Watch of Canada Regiment which is due to receive new colours from Charles.
They gathered outside the building in the centre of Montreal chanting "majesty go home" and "majesty, majesty hey, hey - goodbye".
The separatists want the state of Quebec to become a country in its own right.
Canadian riot police moved to the top of the street around 15 minutes before the Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall were due to arrive.
They walked down the street in lines pushing the protesters back but they soon escalated into ugly scuffles with the protesters being hit by the shields.
At one point one man was dragged out of the crowd and held down by around four officers before being taken away.
Geert Wilders Visits the UK; Dangerous, Militant Muslims Demonstrate
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Arrests as Rival Race Demonstrations Clash
TIMES ONLINE: Police have arrested 34 people amid tense scenes at an anti-Islamic demonstration in central Manchester.
The English Defence League (EDL), which opposes "radical Muslims" and Sharia Law, staged the protest, but the anti-far right group Unite Against Fascism (UAF) arranged a counter demonstration bringing both sides together in the city centre . >>> Simon Alford | Saturday, October 10, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Protests Fail to Halt Passage of Chavez's [sic] 'Socialist Indoctrination Law'
Scuffles broke out outside the National Assembly. Photo: TimesOnline
TIMES ONLINE: Police in riot gear used tear gas yesterday against Venezuelan demonstrators angry about a law that they believe could lead to the "socialist indoctrination" of the nation's schools.
Officers fired tear gas into crowds who were protesting in Caracas against President Chávez's plans to broaden state control over the education system.
Scuffles broke out as clouds of caustic, white gas wafted through the air outside the predominantly pro-Chávez National Assembly.
Inside, legislators began debating a Bill which would order schools to base the curriculum on "the Bolivarian Doctrine" - a reference to the ideals of the 19th-century independence hero Simon Bolivar.
After a marathon ten-hour session, the assembly — where Mr Chávez's party commands a majority — approved the Bill in the early hours of today.
But close to a dozen members sided with the opposition and walked out of the assembly in protest against the ruling party’s refusal to compromise on the Bill’s most contentious articles. >>> | Friday, August 14, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Tehran: Army of Police and Militiamen Attack Unarmed Protesters
TIMES ONLINE: The Iranian regime warned that any demonstrations would be mercilessly crushed, and meant it. As darkness fell on baking, dust-shrouded Tehran last night an army of riot police and hardline basiji militiamen used batons, gun butts and tear gas to beat back thousands of Iranians converging on the city centre.
"The security presence was massive. It was like a military occupation," one witness told The Times. "They were clubbing the hell out of people."
The greater victory belonged to the demonstrators, however. Male and female, some quite old, they came armed with nothing more than a burning sense of injustice. They defied the risk of serious physical injury, and the very real possibility of arrest, incarceration and torture. They did this to show the world that their resistance to Iran's brutal and illegitimate government has not been extinguished.
"We went today to show them that we are still here and are not going away and they can’t talk or scare us away. And we'll be back every time there is an occasion to commemorate or when we're asked to," said Maryam, a young female office worker nursing an arm injured by a baton blow. “We want to be heard. We are not going to let the regime ignore us,” said Ahmad, a young man in his twenties. >>> Martin Fletcher | Friday, July 10, 2009
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Iran's British Stooges Are Staring Right at You
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Zahra, an Iranian woman studying at an English university, is in a state of terror. Her husband, an activist in the cause of the defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, was arrested a fortnight ago, and has not been seen since. Zahra, whose eyes are lined in green, the colour of the country’s reformist opposition, told the BBC: “Why should he be in jail? What was wrong with what we did in Tehran? It was the basic right of all Iranians to take part in the election.” She went on: “They don’t let my husband call me . . . this is torture.”
It is torture for Zahra because she has a good idea of what is happening to her husband. The Iranian state media have been broadcasting a series of “confessions” by demonstrators against the alleged rigging of the presidential vote in favour of the incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They all tend to say the same thing: “I admit that I demonstrated under the influence of the BBC, the Voice of America and other foreign media.”
Their identities are not discernible, because their faces have been obscured. The reason for this was made horribly clear by remarks in The Guardian from a shopkeeper friend of an 18-year-old who had been “questioned” by the Iranian security services: “You could tell straight away he had just been released. His face was bruised all over. His teeth were broken and he could hardly open his eyes . . . [Later] the doctor told me that he had suffered rupture of the rectum.”
The shopkeeper quoted his 18-year-old friend to the effect that he had not “confessed” despite several days of beating while being hung from a ceiling with his hands and feet tied together. At that point two men tore his clothes off while a third “did it” – that is, inflicted the assault that ruptured his rectum. He was raped several times in this way, in front of four other detainees, but continued to refuse to sign a confession along the lines suggested by his interrogators.
So when we hear Ayatollah Jannati, chief of the Guardian Council, say of arrested Iranian employees of the British embassy in Tehran, “Naturally they will be put on trial, they have made confessions,” we should be only too aware of what will have been happening to some of Her Majesty’s servants. >>> Dominic Lawson | Sunday, July 05, 2009
