Showing posts with label protests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label protests. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
BBC: More than 250,000 people have attended a march and rally in central London against public spending cuts.
Labour leader Ed Miliband addressed crowds in Hyde Park and the main march organised by the Trades Union Congress passed off peacefully.
But splinter groups have attacked shops and banks, and a stand-off with police is taking place in Piccadilly. There have been 16 arrests.
Ministers say the cuts are necessary to get the public finances in order.
In the largest public protest since the Iraq war rally in 2003, marchers from across the UK set off from Victoria Embankment to Hyde Park, where Trades Union Congress general secretary Brendan Barber was first in a line of speakers.
"We are here to send a message to the government that we are strong and united," he said.
"We will fight the savage cuts and we will not let them destroy peoples' services, jobs and lives."
Mr Barber was followed by Mr Miliband, who said: "The Tories said I should not come and speak today. But I am proud to stand with you. There is an alternative."
The march began at 1200 GMT and it took more than four hours for the protesters to file past the Houses of Parliament on their way to the park. (+ video) » | Saturday, March 26, 2011
MAIL ONLINE: Anarchist groups are threatening to ‘release all hell’ today at a trade unions march to be addressed by Labour leader Ed Miliband.Police fear scores of violent anti-capitalist demonstrators could hijack the anti-cuts demonstration and cause chaos in London’s West End.
Up to 250,000 people are expected to join the march, with organisers saying it will be the largest since up to a million took to the streets in 2003 to oppose the war in Iraq.
Mr Miliband has hailed it as a ‘march of the mainstream’ and urged people to take to the streets to demand ‘an alternative, to save our services, to show the cuts are going too deep and too fast’.
The Labour leader is expected to address crowds in Hyde Park at the end of the rally. His appearance is risky, because he will be blamed by opponents if the event ends in violence. As Miliband prepares to address massive anti-cuts protest, anarchists vow: 'We'll unleash hell' » | Jack Doyle and James Chapman | Saturday, March 26, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
SAUDIWOMAN’S WEBLOG: Last Friday, the King made a three minute pre-recorded speech thanking Saudis for their loyalty in an obvious reference to no one coming out to demonstrate on the Friday before. After the speech, two tv presenters took turns announcing a number of royal decrees. The night before the king’s speech and announcements were made, all newspaper editors were told not to use the term “royal generosity” or anything similar to refer to financial packages. These little things are evidence that up high they really are listening to what we down here are saying.
Last Friday’s royal decrees were surprising in their traditionalism while we were anticipating the opposite. Retrospectively though, anyone who would have stepped back and looked at the big picture would have been able to foresee these decrees.
Besides the fun and bribe-like two month salary that almost every Saudi employee and university student is getting, the rest of the decrees are pretty much same old same old. A commission to fight corruption being set up, more interior ministry officers and a lot of money promised to infrastructure; where have I heard that before? The commission that was set up a couple years ago to examine the corruption behind the loss of millions assigned to Jeddah’s municipality has yet to name a culprit. We’ve all read about the millions poured into projects that never see the light of day like this outline prepared by fellow blogger Trad Al Asmari in which three different construction companies take turns being paid to build a ministry for education at a total cost of about 350 million US dollars. Continue reading and comment » | Eman Fahad Al Nafjan | Sunday, March 20, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES: Police have broken up a small protest outside the interior ministry in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, leading to the arrest of at least a dozen people.
According to reports, riot police prevented the crowd from rushing into the building.
Reuters reported that at least 50 police cars surrounded the ministry, with riot police vastly outnumbering the number of protesters.
"They arrested a lot of people," pro-democracy activist Mohammed Al-Qahtani told CNN. "They started putting them in police cars and even buses to take them away."
The demonstrators were demanding the release of people detained by the government without trial for long periods on security charges. » | Monday, March 21, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
REUTERS AFRICA: RABAT - Dozens of people were injured in Morocco's biggest city, Casablanca, on Sunday when riot police used truncheons to break up a rally by several hundred demonstrators demanding reforms, witnesses said.
"This was a peaceful rally, we don't know what made the police attack a peaceful protest," Ghizlaine Benameur, an opposition activist who took part in the rally, told Reuters by telephone from Casablanca.
"This has been their most violent intervention since the start of the protests last month," she said.
Spokesmen at Morocco's interior ministry could not immediately be reached for comment. >>> Reuters | Monday, March 14, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Four dead and hundreds wounded in Sana'a and Aden as William Hague expresses concern over ongoing violenceYemeni security forces have killed four people and wounded hundreds more in the second day of a harsh crackdown on anti-government protests, witnesses said. One of the dead was a 15-year-old student.
The assault with gunfire and tear gas was the toughest yet by the government in a month of protests aimed at unseating the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years. An ally in the Obama administration's fight against al-Qaida, Saleh had appeared to be one of the Arab leaders most threatened by the regional unrest inspired by revolts in Egypt and Tunisia.
The violence began with a pre-dawn raid on a central square in the capital, Sana'a, where thousands of pro-democracy protesters have been camped out.
Eyewitnesses said security troops surrounded the square with police cars and armoured personnel carriers shortly after midnight and began calling on protesters through loudspeakers to go home. At 5am, security forces attacked, firing bullets and tear gas.
One protester died from a bullet to the head, which may have come from a sniper on the rooftop of a nearby building, witnesses said. >>> Alan Evans and agencies | Saturday, March 12, 2011
THE OBSERVER: Armed children as young as 14 are said to have been deployed alongside riot police
Iran's Islamic regime is using "child soldiers" to suppress anti-government demonstrations, a tactic that could breach international law forbidding the use of underage combatants, human rights activists have told the Observer.
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran says troops aged between 14 and 16 have been armed with batons, clubs and air guns and ordered to attack demonstrators who have tried to gather in Tehran. The youths – apparently recruited from rural areas – are being deployed in regular riot police roles and comprise up to one-third of the total force, according to witnesses.
One middle-aged woman, who said she was attacked by the youths, reported that some were as young as 12 and were possibly prepubescent. They had rural accents, which indicated they had been brought in from villages far from Tehran, she said.
Some told her they had been attracted by the promise of chelo kebab dinners, one of Iran's national dishes.
"It's really a violation of international law. It's no different than child soldiers, which is the custom in many zones of conflict," said Hadi Ghaemi, the campaign's executive director. "They are being recruited into being part of the conflict and armed for it."
The UN convention on the rights of the child requires states to take "all feasible measures to ensure that persons who have not attained the age of 15 years do not take a direct part in hostilities". >>> Robert Tait | Sunday, March 13, 2011
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
THE TIMES: Masked youths fought running battles with police in Athens today as violence broke out during the country’s fifth general strike this year.
Riot police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse dozens of protesters who threw chunks of marble and set rubbish bins on fire.
Ferry passengers at Greece’s main port of Piraeus had to run a gauntlet of protesters who succeeded in blockading some departures to Aegean islands and there were marches in other major cities.
The strike was timed to coincide with the start of a parliamentary debate on reforms designed to make it easier for companies to sack employees and raise the retirement age.
Greece has had to agree to sweeping austerity measures in return for help to meet its sovereign debts.
The country avoided bankruptcy last month only after receiving the first instalment of a 110 billion euro emergency loan package from the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF). >>> David Charter, Europe Correspondent | Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
ARAB NEWS: MOSCOW: Russian police broke up an opposition demonstration in Moscow on Saturday, one of around 50 rallies across the country with thousands protesting falling living standards under Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
A coalition of opposition groups declared a national “Day of Anger” with nationwide rallies tapping into anger which has been rising since the economic crisis hit. The protests mixed local issues with anger at the federal government.
Opposition groups have been heartened by unusually large rallies in recent months. But riven by division they were unable to match the 10,000 people who gathered for a January rally in the western city of Kaliningrad, one of the largest in a decade.
“The mood has changed, but it has not yet turned into a movement,” said Masha Lipman, an analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center think-tank. But for the micro-managers in the Kremlin “the stakes are extremely high,” she said.
At least 1,500 people turned out in the Pacific port of Vladivostok, raising their hands to support a motion to dismiss Putin’s government. Around 1,000 rallied in Saint Petersburg and hundreds gathered in several other cities.
“People have no work and they are fed up,” said Ivan Fotodtov, 26, a Vladivostok web designer who braved snow to protest rising bills cutting into his stagnant wages. >>> Aydar Buribayev | Reuters | Sunday, March 21, 2010
Thursday, December 10, 2009
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.
The demonstrators at the rally had no doubt that Mr Obama was the real cause of the settlers' woes. Right-wing Israelis protest against West Bank settlement freeze >>> Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem | Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
MAIL&GUARDIAN ONLINE (ZA): Protesters smashed shop windows and threw rocks at police on Thursday as police used pepper gas and batons to disperse marches against capitalism at the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh.
Protesters wore bandannas and goggles and held aloft a large black sign declaring "No hope in capitalism" and another saying "Kick Capitalism While It Is Down."
One sign simply said "I'm mad as hell."
Protests -- usually against some aspect of capitalism -- have often marked summits since trade talks in Seattle in 1999, when demonstrators ransacked the centre of the city, targeting businesses seen as symbols of US corporate power.
"We have seen police use rubber bullets, batons and gas," said Noah Williams, a spokesperson for the anti-capitalist Pittsburgh G20 Resistance Project.
Officials said there were 15 arrests -- one for inciting a riot, four for aggravated assault and 10 others for failing to disperse.
Late on Thursday evening, several hundred protesters took to the streets near the Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh campus. Police discharged gas and pellet-filled "beanbags" and protesters broke windows at a McDonald's, a Rite Aid pharmacy, a Subway sandwich shop and a FedEx store.
By midnight, hundreds of police in riot gear moved down Forbes Avenue. With no obvious protesters in sight, they sprayed pepper gas on passersby and even students looking down from the balconies of their residences above the avenue.
"We were just looking, then there were loud sirens and then it was hard to breath and I was coughing up a lung," said student Dustin DeMeglio (19) who was watching as police moved by his apartment building.
Earlier, a crowd broke windows at Boston Market and KFC fast-food restaurants, a BMW dealership and a Fidelity Bank in the area, about a 1,6km from the fenced-off convention centre where the G20 talks were taking place.
Police in body armour with plastic shields threw pepper gas canisters and fired beanbags to disperse the protesters. >>> Michelle Nichols and Jonathan Barnes | Friday, September 25, 2009
Saturday, September 05, 2009
MAIL ONLINE: There were angry clashes in a city centre today as right-wing protesters fought with anti-fascist campaigners in a busy shopping street.
A planned demonstration by The English Defence League in central Birmingham descended into violence as the group charged along New Street, close to the city's main train station.
More than 20 men have been arrested.
'There were about 250 people in total, fighting and throwing bottles at each other,' one onlooker said.
The disorder spilled onto the adjoining Bennetts Hill, a street lined with a number of pubs, popular with shoppers.
Dozens of riot police worked to contain the disturbance and a police helicopter hovered overhead.
A police spokeswoman said there had been 'pockets' of trouble. West Midlands Police said it would deal with anti-social behaviour or criminal activity connected to the protests 'robustly' after a demonstration last month turned violent. >>> | Saturday, September 05, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
BBC: Angry scenes have been reported at Cairo airport as security forces barred Muslim pilgrims from travelling to Mecca because of fears over swine flu.
Hundreds staged a sit-in on Sunday when the Egyptian authorities implemented a plan to prevent anyone over 65 and under 25 from travelling to Mecca.
Another 180-200 belonging to the banned age groups were held back on Monday.
The curbs could affect large numbers of old people, some of whom expend great efforts to visit Mecca before dying.
An airport official said about 15% of would-be passengers to the Muslim holy city had been turned back on Monday.
"The people banned from leaving are those over 65 and those under 25 because they are the most at risk of being contaminated by swine flu," the official added. >>> | Monday, August 17, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
TIME: Not a single fan showed up Aug. 7 for the opening match of Iran's avidly followed football season. After the government caught wind of plans by protesters to bring the street demonstrations into the 100,000-seat national stadium, authorities decided to have the two rival teams from Tehran and Isfahan play to an empty house rather than risk yet another embarrassing show of green and chants of "Death to the dictators."
In recent days, despite the regime's heavy-handed efforts to stifle the resistance, public demonstrations have become more decentralized and frequent as protesters become increasingly bold and defiant. This shift in mood — from despondency in late June after the Basij fired on protesters following the June 12 presidential election, to a renewed sense of optimism — signals that the vocal opposition movement will not be going away anytime soon. "It's the national duty of every single man and woman to go to the streets," said a university student protester in her mid-20s. "This is far from over."
According to interviews with a half-dozen protesters, their objective appears to have evolved beyond reclaiming the votes for Mir-Hossein Mousavi in the disputed election. The aim is now to attack the very legitimacy of the theocracy. The immediate triggers for street protests, however, vary and are often tied to significant dates; for instance, in the past week demonstrators marched to protest the inauguration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a second term, to object to the renewed mass trial of political dissidents and, on another occasion, simply to take advantage of a religious holiday when many devout Basij members would be in mosques.
The most dramatic protests came July 30, when thousands turned out to commemorate the death of Neda Agha-Soltan, the 26-year-old woman whose death was captured on video and seen around the world. Because the two centers of protest were at opposite ends of the sprawling capital, security forces were spread too thin and could not quell the crowds in many neighborhoods; protesters began chanting "Death to Khamenei," a phrase almost no one dared utter in previous protests. >>> TIME Staff | Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
THE NEW YORK TIMES: BEIRUT, Lebanon — With his adversaries shunning the ceremony and security forces on the streets, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn into office for a second term Wednesday, almost two months after elections that divided the nation and sparked Iran’s deepest crisis since the Islamic revolution 30 years ago.
Protests erupted outside the parliament building as he was inaugurated, with several people arrested and police using pepper spray to disperse demonstrators, according to news reports. Severe reporting restrictions in Iran hindered efforts to gauge the scale of the demonstration.
The official IRNA news agency said there was no “disturbance of the peace” on major streets and traffic circles in the Iranian capital during the inauguration, The Associated Press reported, quoting witnesses as saying at least 10 people were detained by police.
Witnesses said the detainees included protesters in black T-shirts in a show of grief over Mr. Ahmadinejad’s inauguration, The A.P. said. The state-run broadcaster Press TV said more than 5,000 members of the security and police forces had gathered around the parliament building while officers with sniffer dogs patrolled the area.
In a relatively low-key speech, news reports said, Mr. Ahmadinejad attacked foreign detractors, appealed for national unity, pledged a “stronger” foreign policy with “more effective new plans” and said he would “spare no effort to safeguard the frontiers of Iran.”
Speaking from a podium bedecked with yellow flowers, he did not directly allude to the huge street protests that have riven Iranian society since opposition leaders accused the authorities of rigging the June 12 election in which Mr. Ahmadinejad was awarded an overwhelming victory. His election was formally endorsed earlier this week by the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
On Wednesday, Mr. Ahmadinejad urged national unity, saying: "We should join hands as we move forward to fulfill our goals,” The A.P. reported. He said his government would “resist any violation of law and interference.”
“We will not remain silent, we will not tolerate disrespect, interference and insults,” he said. >>> By ROBERT F. WORTH and ALAN COWELL | Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
BBC: Police have fired tear gas at supporters of a Sudanese woman charged with wearing "indecent clothing" shortly before her trial was postponed.
The trial in the capital Khartoum was delayed for a month.
Under Khartoum's Sharia law, Lubna Ahmed Hussein could face up to 40 lashes in public if convicted.
Earlier, she told the BBC she was not afraid to be flogged publicly, saying: "Flogging is not pain, flogging is an insult to humans, women and religions."
She says she was wearing trousers when arrested and has resigned from a UN job that would have given her immunity to take on the case.
"If the court's decision is that I be flogged, I want this flogging in public," she told the BBC's Today programme.
She says she has invited 500 people to attend the hearing. >>> | Tuesday, August 04, 2009
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