Why a King's Ransom Is Not Enough for Saudi Arabia's Protesters
THE GUARDIAN: King Abdullah's offer of bribes to his country's alienated youth is no substitute for genuine reform

No kingdom is an island, particularly when it sits in a sea of revolution. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, watching the assault on Libya's strong man Muammar Gaddafi with his monarchy's usual complacency, thinks he can buy off protests with the promise of gifts.

Of course, the scale of the bribes the king offered last week to his country's alienated young generation – £22bn – is something only an oil-rich monarch could deliver. The Saudi king speaks as a father to the youthful population – after all, this is the only royal family to give its name to its people – and he expects them to obey the name al-Saud as they would their own father.

But the king has compromised his authority by combining it with the role of "sugar daddy". Nowhere else are subjects promised such largesse to not rock the boat.

Throughout the Arab awakening that began in Tunisia, the 86-year-old monarch and several of his elderly royal brothers have watched the turmoil across the Arab world convinced that the traditional pillars of their political control would see them through: oil revenues, US protection and custodianship of the holy places.

But Abdullah's kingdom is surrounded by waves of revolutionary rage lapping at the fortress: Yemen in the south, Bahrain in the east, Egypt, Tunisia and Libya in the west. Even the usually docile kingdom of Jordan is racked by the spectre of change. Saudi Arabia's royals have no doubt been shaken to their core by these disturbances and feel threatened by the successive, swift revolutions that have put paid to their cronies in Cairo and Tunis. How is it possible, they ask, for a few hundred shahids [martyrs], in just two to three weeks, to bring down their fellow autocrats so quickly? Continue reading and comment >>> Mai Yamani * | Sunday, February 27, 2011

* Mai Yamani is the author of Changed Identities: The Challenge of the New Generation in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia King Rolls Out Reforms
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: RIYADH—Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah returned to the kingdom Wednesday after a three-month absence for medical treatment and introduced a number of nonpolitical reforms amid regional uprisings that have toppled regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and infected neighboring Bahrain.

The social and economic overhaul, estimated to cost around 135 billion Saudi riyals ($36 billion), include housing support, funding to offset inflation and guarantee of payment for students overseas, according to a series of royal decrees published on the official Saudi Press Agency, or SPA. They come as political upheaval continues to sweep the Arab world.

"The measures are paying particular attention to housing, unemployment, education and helping the brunt of Saudis who work for the public sector be better protected from cost of living pressures. The unemployment benefits are the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia," said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi. "The message from King Abdullah is that he's aware of the challenges facing the economy and steps are taken to address immediate and more medium-term issues." >>> Summer Said | Thursday, February 24, 2011

King Abdullah Back in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's king returns home after months of medical treatment abroad. Video courtesy of Reuters

Nick Clegg: Tell Us the Laws That You Want Scrapped
THE TELEGRAPH: The most radical redistribution of power from the state to the people for 200 years is to be made by the new coalition Government, Nick Clegg is to claim.

The public will be asked what laws they want ripped up, in far-reaching reforms designed to put back “faith in politics”, the Deputy Prime Minister will say.

The reordering of power will sweep away Labour legislation and new criminal offences deemed to have eroded personal freedom.

It will involve the end of the controversial ID cards scheme, the scrapping of universal DNA databases – in which the records of thousands of innocent people have been stored – and restrictions placed on internet records. The use of CCTV cameras will also be reviewed.

Dubbed the “Great Reform Act”, the measures will close down the ContactPoint children’s database. Set up by Labour last year, it includes detailed information on all 11 million youngsters under 18.

In addition, schools will not be able to take a child’s fingerprint without parental permission.

In an attempt to protect freedom of speech, ministers will review libel laws, while limits on peaceful protest will be removed.

Mr Clegg said the Government wanted to establish “a fundamental resettlement of the relationship between state and citizen that puts you in charge”.

In a speech in London he will say: “This Government is going to transform our politics so the state has far less control over you, and you have far more control over the state. This Government is going to break up concentrations of power and hand power back to people, because that is how we build a society that is fair.”

He will describe the plans as “the biggest shake-up of our democracy since 1832, when the Great Reform Act redrew the boundaries of British democracy, for the first time extending the franchise beyond the landed classes”. >>> Andrew Porter, Political Editor | Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Clegg Risks Rift with Tories on Tax and Human Rights
Nick Clegg, being interviewed by The Times. Photo: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Nick Clegg is promising to make the tax system fairer rather than lower the tax burden as he seeks to imbue the coalition with Liberal Democrat values.

In an interview with The Times, the Deputy Prime Minister said that he expected the Government to ease taxes on middle and lower-income families and to press ahead quickly with a rise in capital gains tax for higher earners.

Asked whether he expected the Government to reduce the tax burden, he said: “No, I am saying we will rebalance the tax system. We’re not making great claims about the overall tax burden.”

His comments are likely to expose faultlines with his Tory partners, for whom lowering the taxes borne by families and businesses is an article of faith. Read on and comment >>> Roland Watson, Political Editor | Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Clegg Hopes Coalition Will Produce A Great Reforming Government
TIMES ONLINE: Nick Clegg has made little impression on his new office. There are some family photographs on his desk, overlooking Horse Guards Parade and St James’s Park, and a big red ring binder on the large table. But the pictures on the walls are inherited from the previous occupant, Lord Mandelson: Chaucer above the fireplace, a photograph of the Queen posing for Lucien Freud, Hotel Splendide (Mornington Crescent) by Arturo Di Stefano.

It looks like he moved in a few minutes ago. The armchairs and sofa are undisturbed. Yet today, in his first speech as Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Clegg will promise the biggest shake-up of British democracy since 1832. That is only the start.

In his first interview since forging Britain’s first coalition government since the war, Mr Clegg makes clear that while he may be the junior partner in name, there is nothing secondary about his ambition.

The indecision of the electorate, the uncertainty of a hung Parliament and the brinkmanship of the coalition negotiations may yet produce “one of the great reforming governments of modern times”, he said.

Today he will set out how the State will shrink from people’s lives (no ID cards, curbs on personal details stored on government databases); how people will gain a more direct say in government (elected peers, voting reform, recalling misbehaving MPs); and “radical devolution” of power to voluntary groups and those other than the State to provide services. >>> Roland Watson, Political Editor | Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Socialists They Are and Socialists They’ll Be!
MAIL Online: The BBC and Channel 4 could be forced to use more female and ethnic characters and presenters in TV shows under controversial reforms of equality laws.

The change could hit programmes such as Top Gear, which has an all-male presenting team, and EastEnders, which has screened episodes featuring all-black, all-Asian and all-female casts.

State-funded organisations are being ordered to boost the proportion of female, black and gay staff to reflect the make-up of the UK population under plans unveiled by Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman. Now Even Top Gear Could Fall Foul of Harman Sexism Law >>> By Ian Drury and Sarah Harris | Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Turkey Breaks Company with EU in Gay Vote
HÜRRIYET: ANKARA - In an atmosphere where Turkey is being criticized for the slow pace of its EU reforms, the country refuses to sign a declaration calling all states to take steps to stop the criminalization of homosexuality, contradicting its commitments to the EU in promoting human rights

Turkey refused to sign a European Union-led declaration presented last week at the United Nations calling all states to take steps to stop the criminalization of homosexuality. The move contradicted Turkey’s commitments to the EU to promote human rights for all without any discrimination.

"It’s very frustrating for Turks who wish the state to become a member of the EU. Turkey’s position with regard to this issue is more important than Cyprus to us," an EU ambassador told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review after it became clear that Ankara declined to join the 27 EU countries who endorsed the groundbreaking initiative.

Co-sponsored by France and the Netherlands, the declaration urged all states "to take all the necessary measures, in particular legislative or administrative, to ensure that sexual orientation or gender identity may under no circumstances be the basis for criminal penalties, in particular executions, arrests or detention."

The appeal is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states in Article One: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." Out of 192, 66 countries signed the document, saying they "are disturbed that violence, harassment, discrimination, exclusion, stigmatization and prejudice are directed against persons in all countries in the world because of sexual orientation or gender identity."

The signatories "condemn the human rights violations based on sexual orientation or gender identity wherever they occur," especially "the use of the death penalty on this ground," as well as their "arbitrary arrest or detention and deprivation of economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to health." >>> By Serkan Demirtaş | Monday, December 22, 2008

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: EU Enlargement Commissioner Urges Turkey to Take Steps toward Admission

BRUSSELS: Turkey must overcome internal divisions and get back to long-delayed reforms early next year to show it is serious about wanting to join the European Union, the bloc's enlargement commissioner, Olli Rehn, said in an interview.

Rehn also said he expected more Balkan countries to apply for EU membership following Montenegro's move earlier this month, but he urged them not to rush in because they must first show a track record of reform.

He warned EU hopefuls in Southern and Eastern Europe not to take the financial crisis as a pretext to give up on reform, adding that these countries must be helped to avoid going into free fall because of the crisis.

Next year should also be the year of a settlement in Cyprus, Rehn said.

"Next year will be an important litmus test of whether Turkey is serious about its EU accession perspective," Rehn said in the interview. "After one or two years of domestic difficulties, we would expect Turkey now to put up a new gear and seriously start to pursue the reforms again."

Turkey began accession negotiations in 2005 and has made slow progress in satisfying the EU. Analysts say political distractions at home and a lack of appetite for further enlargement among EU states have pushed accession to the back burner in Turkey.

Turkish society has long been divided over the role of religion in an officially secular but predominantly Muslim country.

Turkey narrowly avoided a crisis this year over a public prosecutor's attempt to have the Constitutional Court ban the governing Justice and Development Party because of its Islamist bent.

"I am aware of the dilemmas of the Turkish society in relation with the more secular and more religious lifestyles," Rehn said.

"It is essential that Turkish society find a modus vivendi.

"There is too much energy used on internal tensions which could be used for pursuing legal and economic reforms that are required for EU membership."

He said it was essential for Turkey to reform its Constitution and increase freedom of expression, and religious and linguistic rights, to be in line with EU standards. He said trade unions and business federations were blocking a trade union law essential to Turkey's EU accession process. >>> By Ingrid Melander, Reuters | Sunday, December 21, 2008

LE MONDE: La Turquie négocie avec Bruxelles mais bute toujours sur Chypre

La Turquie a fait un pas supplémentaire dans sa marche vers l'intégration à l'Union européenne avec l'ouverture, vendredi 19 décembre, de deux nouveaux chapitres des négociations d'adhésion. L'un est consacré à la liberté de circulation des capitaux et l'autre à la société de l'information et aux médias. Cela porte à dix, sur trente-cinq, le nombre de volets des négociations ouverts depuis octobre 2005.

"La présidence tchèque, puis suédoise, pourra ouvrir de nouveaux chapitres comme l'éducation et la culture, ou la taxation, mais après, c'est terminé", prédit cependant Cengiz Aktar, directeur du département européen de l'université Bahçesehir d'Istanbul. Huit chapitres restent en effet gelés depuis décembre 2006 en raison du blocage sur la question chypriote : la Turquie refuse toujours d'ouvrir ses ports et ses aéroports aux navires et aux avions de la République de Chypre, qu'elle ne reconnaît pas. Les Vingt-Sept doivent réexaminer ce problème en 2009. >>> Istanbul Corresponance | Samedi 20 Décembre 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Changes Afoot in the Judicial System of Saudi Arabia
BBC: Saudi Arabia has announced an overhaul of its judicial system, including the allocation of $2bn (£981m) for training judges and building new courts.

The reforms, by royal decree, will lead to the creation of a supreme court, an appeals court and new general courts to replace the Supreme Judicial Council.

Reformers have welcomed the measures, which they say will improve human rights and help modernise the country.

They complain that the current judicial system is often opaque and arbitrary.

Until now, Saudi judges have had wide discretion to issue rulings according to their own interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

The judiciary has also long resisted the codification of laws or the reliance on precedent when making a ruling.

Defendants also do not have recourse to appeal and often have no right to proper legal representation.

Unchecked powers

The new reforms announced by King Abdullah are aimed at addressing some of these perceived failings and at introducing safeguards such as appeal courts that can overturn decisions by lower courts, the BBC's Heba Saleh says. Saudis to overhaul legal system (more)

Mark Alexander

Sarkozy Has His Work Cut Out For Him: It’s Going To Be A Rough Road Ahead
FINANCIAL TIMES: The election of Nicolas Sarkozy as the next president of France was greeted with a light smattering of riots across the country. Mr Sarkozy knows that could be just the aperitif. There is a real risk of social unrest, as France’s new president tries to deliver on his promise of “rupture” with the past.

Mr Sarkozy knows that three prime ministers of the Chirac era – Alain Juppé, Jean-Pierre Raffarin and Dominique de Villepin – were forced to abandon economic reforms in the face of popular demonstrations. But he is determined that things will be different this time. One member of the Sarkozy inner circle argues that previous rounds of reform failed because President Jacques Chirac lost his nerve. With “Nicolas” in the Élysée palace, things will be different.

The new president will certainly need nerves of steel because the reforms he hopes to push through in his first 100 days in office could almost be designed to antagonise every strike-happy interest group in the country. France braced for stiff dose of Thatcherism (Read on) By Gideon Rachman

FT: Sarkozy picks moderate as premier

NZZ: Sarkozy will von Reformen überzeugen: Keine Konfrontation mit Gewerkschaften

Mark Alexander