Wednesday, February 23, 2011
BBC: Libyan ruler Col Muammar Gaddafi is battling to retain control of Tripoli and areas in western Libya as protesters consolidated gains in the east and foreigners continued to flee.
Much of the capital is deserted as pro-Gaddafi gunmen roam the streets, with reports of uprisings in western towns such as Misurata, Sabratha and Zawiya.
Masses of protesters have been celebrating success in eastern towns.
Thousands of foreigners continue to leave, with chaos at Tripoli airport.
At least 300 people have died in the country's uprising.
Col Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, went on television on Wednesday evening to say that everything was "normal", Reuters reported.
"The ports, schools and airports are all open," he said. "The problem lies in the eastern regions. Life is normal. Brothers, Libyans should come together in this national battle." (+ video) >>> | Wednesday, February 23, 2011
BBC: Libya: Who is propping up Gaddafi? >>> | Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent | Wednesday, Fenruary 23, 2011
leJDD.fr: L'ancien chef du protocole de Mouammar Kadhafi, Nouri El-Mismari, a estimé mercredi que l'insurrection en Libye avait fait plus de mille morts, dont 600 à Tripoli. Il croit savoir que "les Libyens ne vont pas s'arrêter" et prédit une chute du dirigeant libyen. "Mouammar Kadhafi est à la fin. Il a tout perdu. Son discours de mardi, c'est un discours de quelqu'un de perdant. Il est seul", a-t-il jugé.
Selon cet ancien proche du dirigeant libyen, Mouammar Kadhafi portait un gilet pare-balles sous ses vêtements et une protection à la tête "sous son turban" lors de son discours retransmis à la télévision mardi. [Source: leJDD.fr] Mercredi 23 Février 2011
leJDD.fr: Le ministre allemand de la Défense, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, accusé de plagiat, n'est désormais plus titulaire de son doctorat, a annoncé mercredi l'université de Bayreuth. La thèse du ministre "n'a pas donné lieu à un travail scientifique correct", a déclaré, mercredi lors d'une conférence de presse télévisée, le président de l'université Rüdiger Bormann qui s'est diplomatiquement abstenu de qualifier ce travail de plagiat. [Source: leJDD.fr] | Mercredi 23 Février 2011
Related here, here, and here
THE NEW YORK TIMES: BAIDA, Libya — Thousands of African mercenaries and militiamen were massing on roads heading toward Tripoli on Wednesday to reinforce the stronghold of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi as rebels protesting his 40-year rule claimed to have taken control of cities closer to the capital, witnesses said.The week-old uprising that has swept the country now appeared headed for a decisive stage, with Colonel Qaddafi fortifying his bastion in Tripoli and opponents in the capital saying they were making plans for their first coordinated protest.
“A message comes to every mobile phone about a general protest on Friday in Tripoli,” one resident there said, adding that Colonel Qaddafi’s menacing speech to the country on Tuesday had increased their determination “100 percent.”
The looming signs of a new confrontation came as a growing number of Libyan military officers and officials said Wednesday that they had broken with Colonel Qaddafi over his intentions to bomb and kill Libyan civilians challenging his four decades of rule. >>> KAREEM FAHIM and DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK | Wednesday, February 23, 2011
THE NEW YORK TIMES: MANAMA, Bahrain — A day after one of the largest pro-democracy demonstrations this tiny Persian Gulf nation had ever seen, its king was in Saudi Arabia, a close ally and neighbor, to discuss the unrest engulfing the region.The visit of King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa on Wednesday came just as the aging Saudi ruler, King Abdullah, returned to the country after three months of medical treatment in the United States and Morocco.
Even before King Abdullah landed in Riyadh, the capital, the Saudi government announced that it would pour billions of dollars into a fund to help its citizens marry, buy homes and start their own businesses, the government announced. Reuters said the package was estimated at $37 billion.
King Hamad had already tried his own payout — offering $2,650 to every Bahraini family in the days before large protests broke out more than a week ago — but the economic concession was not enough to stem the tide of opposition from the country’s Shiite majority. Sunnis, the majority in Saudi Arabia, also form the ruling class in Bahrain, where Sunnis are a minority. >>> MICHAEL SLACKMAN and NADIM AUDI | Wednesday, February 23, 2011
THE INDEPENDENT: Militiamen loyal to Muammar Gaddafi clamped down in Tripoli, but cracks in his regime spread elsewhere across the nation, as the protest-fueled rebellion controlling much of eastern Libya claimed new gains closer to the capital. Two pilots let their warplane crash in the desert, parachuting to safety, rather than bomb an opposition-held city.
The opposition said it had taken over Misrata, which would be the largest city in the western half in the country to fall into its hands. Clashes broke out over the past two days in the town of Sabratha, west of the capital, where the army and militiamen were trying to put down protesters who overwhelmed security headquarters and government buildings, a news website close to the government reported.
Two air force pilots jumped from parachutes from their Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jet and let it crash, rather than carry out orders to bomb opposition-held Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, the website Quryna reported, citing an unidentified officer in the air force control room.
One of the pilots — identified by the report as Ali Omar Gaddafi — was from Gaddafi's tribe, the Gadhadhfa, said Farag al-Maghrabi, a local resident who saw the pilots and the wreckage of the jet, which crashed in a deserted area outside the key oil port of Breqa. >>> AP | Wednesday, February 23, 2011
AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: Read the article >>>
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Youths wearing ski masks hurled rocks and fire bombs at riot police as clashes broke out in Athens during a mass rally against austerity measures, part of a general strike that crippled services and public transportation around the country. Police fired tear gas and flash grenades at protesters, blanketing parts of the city centre in choking smoke. Thousands of peaceful demonstrators ran to side streets to take cover. A police officer was attacked and his uniform caught fire in the city's main Syntagma Square, before he was rescued by colleagues. To the picture gallery >>> | Wednesday, March 23, 2011
FOX NEWS: Swedish tabloid Expressen says Libya's ex-justice minister claims Muammar al-Qaddafi personally ordered the Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people in 1988.
Expressen on Wednesday quoted Mustafa Abdel-Jalil as telling their correspondent in Libya that "I have proof that Qaddafi gave the order about Lockerbie." He didn't describe the proof.
Abdel-Jalil stepped down as justice minister to protest the violence against anti-government demonstrations.
He told Expressen Qaddafi gave the order to Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the only man convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground.
"To hide it, he (Qaddafi) did everything in his power to get al-Megrahi back from Scotland," Abdel-Jalil was quoted as saying. >>> Associated Press | Wednesday, February 23, 2011
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Nach den Drohungen des libyschen Staatschefs, er werde seine Gegner „bis zum Ende bekämpfen“, wächst der internationale Druck auf das Gaddafi-Regime. Der Despot soll sich mit vier Brigaden in einem Stützpunkt in Tripolis verschanzt haben.
Während der libysche Staatschef Gaddafi sich weiter weigert, seine Macht abzugeben, wird im Osten Libyens am Mittwoch schon die „Befreiung“ gefeiert. Augenzeugen berichteten, in den östlichen Städten Benghasi und Tobruk seien die Vertreter der Staatsmacht entweder verschwunden oder hätten sich den Aufständischen angeschlossen. Die Straßen der Hauptstadt Tripolis waren nach Augenzeugenberichten am Mittwoch weitgehend menschenleer. Gaddafi soll sich am Mittwoch mit vier Brigaden in einem Stützpunkt in Tripolis verschanzt haben. >>> F.A.Z./cheh./hcr./sat. | Mittwoch, 23. Februar 2011
FAZ: „Kämpfe bis zum Ende gegen die Ratten“ : Libyens Staatschef Gaddafi hat sich mit einem Auftritt im Staatsfernsehen abermals an die Öffentlichkeit gewandt. Er sagte, er werde sein Land nicht verlassen, sondern als „Märtyrer“ sterben. Bundeskanzlerin Merkel reagiert bestürzt. >>> F.A.Z./cheh./hcr./sat. | Dienstag, 22. Februar 2011
CNN: Among the unwitting victims caught up in the violent unrest in Libya are asylum-seekers and refugees, the U.N. refugee agency said as it urged neighboring countries not to turn them away should they flee the upheaval.Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, the chief spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said that the reports she has received have been worrying.
"A journalist has passed information to us from Somalis in Tripoli who say they are being hunted on suspicion of being mercenaries. He says they feel trapped and are frightened to go out, even though there is little or no food at home," Melissa Fleming said. >>> CNN Wire Staff | Wednesday, February 23, 2011
LE POINT: Le chef de l'État appelle l'Union européenne à suspendre toutes relations économiques et financières avec Tripoli. Il "demande des sanctions concrètes".
Nicolas Sarkozy a demandé, mercredi, "l'adoption rapide de sanctions concrètes" de la part de l'Union européenne (UE) contre les responsables de la répression en Libye et a souhaité la suspension des relations économiques et financières avec ce pays "jusqu'à nouvel ordre". >>> Le Point.fr | Mercredi 23 Février 2011
LE MONDE: Le dirigeant libyen Mouammar Kadhafi a bâti un vaste empire financier dont les ressources se chiffrant en milliards de dollars restent difficiles à évaluer, rapportent le Guardian et le Financial Times, mercredi 23 février. Le Guardian évoque des comptes secrets à Dubaï, en Asie du Sud-Est, dans les pays du Golfe. La manne pétrolière aurait permis à la Libye d'investir près de 70 milliards de dollars (51 milliards d'euros) à travers la Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), fonds souverain créé en 2006. Ces milliards sont source de sérieuses disputes au sein du clan du dictateur, rapporte le Financial Times citant des câbles diplomatiques obtenus par WikiLeaks. >>> LEMONDE.FR avec AFP | Mercredi 23 Février 2011
THE GUARDIAN: • Guardian reporter enters country's second city
• Local doctors put massacre death toll at 230
• Rebel officers talk of army revolt against mercenariesLibya's second city, Benghazi, appears to have fallen beyond the control of Muammar Gaddafi, with the local military defying his regime and monarchy-era flags flying from government buildings.
As the first foreign news organisation to report from so-called Free Benghazi, the Guardian witnessed defecting troops pouring into the courtyard of a ransacked police station carrying tonnes of weaponry and ammunition looted from a military armoury to stop it being seized by forces loyal to the Libyan dictator.
Soldiers brought rockets and heavy weapons which had been used in an assault on citizens in central Benghazi on Saturday as Gaddafi tried to keep control of the city. Doctors in Benghazi said that at least 230 people were killed, with a further 30 critically injured.
There was also the clearest confirmation yet that Gaddafi's regime used outside mercenaries to try to suppress the rebellion. Adjoining the police station a large crowd gathered in another courtyard. Upstairs, the Guardian saw a number of mercenaries, allegedly flown in the previous week, being interrogated by lawyers and army officials. >>> Martin Chulov in Benghazi | Wednesday, February 23, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Glen Mundy, head of the International School Tripoli, based on the western outskirts of the Libyan capital, speaks to the Guardian's Adam Gabbatt via Skype about his experience of the recent turmoil
AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: Gaddafi defiant as state teeters >>> Al Jazeera and agencies | Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Related: Related >>>
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Gewalt und Horrorszenen in den Strassen von Tripolis, chaotische Zustände auf dem Flughafen der libyschen Metropole – italienische Passagiere berichten von Tagen des Schreckens in dem vom Umsturz erfassten nordafrikanischen Land.
«Auf der Fahrt von Sabratha nach Tripolis haben sie versucht, uns zu lynchen, es war entsetzlich», so ein Passagier noch mit Angst in den Augen, wie die Zeitung «La Repubblica» berichtete. Er war unter den ersten 175 am Dienstag nach Rom ausgeflogenen Italienern.
«Flughafen von Tripolis eine Art Flüchtlingslager»
«Im ganzen Land gibt es Kämpfe, überall wird geschossen», erklärt der Italiener Fabrizio Carelli bewegt. «Die Lage in Tripolis ist wahnsinnig, die Strassen sind leer, und die Privattruppen Gaddafis schiessen auf alles», fügt der dem Chaos entkommende Libyer Mohammed Sherif an. Von allen Seiten seien Schüsse zu hören gewesen, man habe sich nicht auf die Strasse gewagt, sagen auch andere. >>> agenturen/buev | Mittwoch, 23. Februar 2011
REUTERS: Bahrain has freed 23 people accused of trying to topple the island's Sunni Muslim monarchy, along with more than 200 other mostly Shi'ite prisoners detained in recent months, a lawyer said on Wednesday.
The prisoner release was a further concession to the mainly Shi'ite protesters who took to the streets last week to demand a constitutional monarchy and an elected government, emboldened by a surge of popular unrest across the Arab world.
It also preceded the expected return to Bahrain of Hassan Mushaimaa, leader of the hardline Shi'ite Haq party, one of two people tried in absentia for his part in the alleged coup plot.
Mohammed al-Tajer, a lawyer for the 23 activists, told Reuters that about 250 prisoners had been released. Most were detained as part of a crackdown launched on some Shi'ite opposition groups last August and during subsequent protests. >>> Frederik Richter, Manama | Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Lien en relation avec l’article ici
REUTERS: Muammar Gaddafi's increasingly desperate attempts to crush a revolt against his four-decade rule have killed as many as 1,000 people and split Libya, Italy's Foreign Minister said on Wednesday.
As countries with strong business ties to Africa's third largest oil producer scrambled to evacuate their citizens, and fear of pro-Gaddafi gunmen emptied the streets of the capital Tripoli, France became the first state to call for sanctions.
"I would like the suspension of economic, commercial and financial relations with Libya until further notice," President Nicolas Sarkozy said.
But in the latest sign of international division over how to deal with Gaddafi, the prime minister of Qatar said he did not want to isolate Libya, where several senior officials have declared their backing for protests that began about a week ago.
A senior aide to Gaddafi's influential son Saif was the latest to change sides.
"I resigned from the Gaddafi Foundation on Sunday to express dismay against violence," Youssef Sawani, executive director of the foundation, said in a text message sent to Reuters. >>> Tripoli | Wednesday, February 23, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Col Muammar Gaddafi threatened to unleash mob rule on his country on Tuesday night as he vowed to "cleanse Libya house by house" until he had crushed the insurrection seeking to sweep him from power.
With hundreds dead and violence spreading across the country, including the capital Tripoli, European states scrambled to evacuate thousands of their citizens left stranded by the turmoil.
Britain announced it would provide an airlift for nationals and a Royal Navy frigate was ordered to Libyan waters for added protection.
William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, said a chartered plane would arrive in Tripoli within 48 hours.
"The safety of British nationals in Libya is of paramount concern to us," Mr Hague said. "In light of the fluid and dangerous situation, we are urgently reinforcing our team on the ground with specialist personnel to provide help and assistance to British nationals."
Heedless of the growing international outrage prompted by his bloody repression of the protests against him, Mr Gaddafi took to the airwaves to deliver the most chilling speech of his 42 years in power.
In a diatribe that lasted an hour-an-a-quarter, the Libyan leader threatened death sentences against anyone who challenged his authority and declared that he had more justification to use force that the Chinese authorities who ordered the massacre in Tiananmen Square. (+ video) >>> Adrian Blomfield, in Cairo | Tuesday, February 22, 2011
THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — After New Year’s Day 2009, Western media reported that Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, a son of the Libyan leader Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, had paid Mariah Carey $1 million to sing just four songs at a bash on the Caribbean island of St. Barts.In the newspaper he controlled, Seif indignantly denied the report — the big spender, he said, was his brother, Muatassim, Libya’s national security adviser, according to an American diplomatic cable from the capital, Tripoli.
It was Muatassim, too, the cable said, who had demanded $1.2 billion in 2008 from the chairman of Libya’s national oil corporation, reportedly to establish his own militia. That would let him keep up with yet another brother, Khamis, commander of a special-forces group that “effectively serves as a regime protection unit.”
As the Qaddafi clan conducts a bloody struggle to hold onto power in Libya, cables obtained by WikiLeaks offer a vivid account of the lavish spending, rampant nepotism and bitter rivalries that have defined what a 2006 cable called “Qadhafi Incorporated,” using the State Department’s preference from the multiple spellings for Libya’s troubled first family.
The glimpses of the clan’s antics in recent years that have reached Libyans despite Col. Qaddafi’s tight control of the media have added to the public anger now boiling over. And the tensions between siblings could emerge as a factor in the chaos in the oil-rich African country.
Though the Qaddafi children are described as jockeying for position as their father ages — three sons fought to profit from a new Coca-Cola franchise — they have been well taken care of, cables say. “All of the Qaddafi children and favorites are supposed to have income streams from the National Oil Company and oil service subsidiaries,” one cable from 2006 says. >>> Scott Shane | Tuesday, February 22, 2011
THE TELEGRAPH: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. the son of the Libyan leader, is planning to make more than half a million pounds a year renting out his home in north London. He is trying to rent out an eight-bedroom home in Hampstead for £9,750 a week. He bought the house two years ago through a British Virgin Islands-registered company for £10 million. A Sunday newspaper reported that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Col Muammar Gaddafi, bought the house in the wealthy suburb of Hampstead in north London and spent some time there with his entourage | To the gallery >>>
BBC: During his speech on Libyan TV on Sunday, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, raised the spectre of civil war in Libya in the event of the anti-regime demonstrations continuing, with members of different tribes "killing each other in the streets".But how much of this is real and how much is scaremongering? What role do Libyan tribes play in society and how much influence do tribal chiefs carry?
During Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule, Libya has made great strides socially and economically thanks to its vast oil income, but tribes and clans continue to be part of the demographic landscape.
Women in Libya are free to work and to dress as they like, subject to family constraints. Life expectancy is in the seventies. And per capita income - while not as high as could be expected given Libya's oil wealth and relatively small population of 6.5m - is estimated at $12,000 (£9,000), according to the World Bank.
Illiteracy has been almost wiped out, as has homelessness - a chronic problem in the pre-Gaddafi era, where corrugated iron shacks dotted many urban centres around the country.
Tribal identity
However, the tribalism which dogged Libyan society during the monarchy is still very much a reality.
While many see the continued existence of tribalism as an obstacle to social mobility, equal opportunity and the development of civil society, its significance politically is less clear-cut.
Many Libyans continue to identify themselves as belonging to a tribe.
However, in reality tribal kinship has been on the wane due to the growth in education and urbanisation, which separated people from their traditional tribal areas and contributed to weakening their tribal affinity. >>> Mohamed Hussein, BBC Monitoring | Monday, February 21, 2011
BBC: A look at the roles and relationships of the Libyan leader's closest family, amid ongoing protests and violence across the country. >>> | Monday, February 21, 2011
BBC: The UN Security Council has condemned the Libyan authorities for using force against protesters, calling for those responsible to be held to account.
In a statement, the council demanded an immediate end to the violence and said Libya's rulers had to "address the legitimate demands of the population".
At least 300 people have been killed so far in the uprising.
Earlier, Col Muammar Gaddafi urged his supporters to attack the "cockroaches" and "rats" protesting against his rule.
Anyone who took up arms against Libya would be executed, he warned.
Interior Minister Abdel Fattah Younes al-Abidi - who is considered Col Gaddafi's number two - later resigned and called on the armed forces to "join and heed the people's demands".
The BBC's Jon Leyne, in eastern Libya, says people there reacted with anger and derision to Col Gaddafi's speech.
They fear the veteran leader is out to destroy the country before he is finally deposed. (+ video) >>> | Wednesday, February 23, 2011
FOX NEWS: PHOENIX -- An Arizona Senate committee late Tuesday narrowly approved a sweeping bill that would target illegal immigrants in public housing, public benefits and the workplace.The committee earlier Tuesday also approved a bill that would deny automatic citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants in a measure designed to set up a possible U.S. Supreme Court case on the issue.
Republican state Sen. Russell Pearce, who authored Arizona's controversial illegal immigration law last year that touched off a nationwide debate on whether states can enforce federal immigration laws, sponsored Tuesday's more sweeping measure.
"If you're in the country illegally, you don't have a right to public benefits, period," he said. >>> Associated Press | Wednesday, February 23, 2011
FOX NEWS: WASHINGTON -- The U.S. will try again Wednesday to evacuate American citizens from Libya, this time by ferry, as concerns rise about longtime leader Moammar Qaddafi's unpredictable behavior.
As security forces unleashed a bloody crackdown on protesters demanding Qaddafi's ouster, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called the violence "completely unacceptable."
"We believe that the government of Libya bears responsibility for what is occurring and must take actions to end the violence," Clinton said Tuesday.
But as it sought to safely extricate U.S. diplomats and other Americans from the spreading chaos, the Obama administration stopped short of criticizing Qaddafi personally or demanding that he step down. U.S. officials who spoke to the matter publicly on Tuesday, including Clinton, would not mention Qaddafi by name. >>> Associated Press | Wednesday, February 23, 2011
THE NEW YORK TIMES: TOBRUK, Libya — Vowing to track down and kill protesters “house by house,” Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya tightened his grip on the capital, Tripoli, on Tuesday, but the eastern half of the country was slipping beyond his control.A bloody crackdown drove protesters from the streets of Tripoli, where residents described a state of terror. After a televised speech by Colonel Qaddafi, thousands of his supporters converged in the city’s central Green Square, wearing green bandannas and brandishing large machetes.
Many loaded into trucks headed for the outlying areas of the city, where they occupied traffic intersections and appeared to be massing for neighborhood-to-neighborhood searches.
“It looks like they have been given a green light to kill these people,” one witness said. >>> KAREEM FAHIM and DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK | Tuesday, February 22, 2011
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Für Italien steht in Libyen besonders viel auf dem Spiel. Italien war seit Jahrzehnten ein besonders enger Partner Libyens. Sorgen machen sich etwa die Manager des Eni-Konzerns- mit der Benzinmarke Agip. Eni fördert in Libyen täglich mehr als 520.000 Barrel an Öläquivalenten.Die stillgelegten Förderanlagen des Öl- und Gaskonzerns Eni sind für Italien nur ein Vorgeschmack darauf, was die Lage in Libyen noch an Schwierigkeiten bringen könnte. Italien war seit Jahrzehnten, vor allem nun in der Amtszeit von Ministerpräsident Silvio Berlusconi, in der Politik ein besonders enger Partner Libyens und versuchte gleichzeitig, von diesen Verbindungen wirtschaftlich zu profitieren. Die nunmehr von der Opposition als zynische „Realpolitik“ kritisierte Haltung gegenüber dem libyschen Staatsführer Gaddafi verhinderte gerade auf europäischer Ebene Sanktionsdrohungen gegen das libysche Regime. Zugleich hält sich Italiens Regierung bedeckt und will weder offen mit Gaddafi brechen noch die Beziehungen zu einer etwaigen neuen Regierung gefährden. Denn Libyen ist für Italien wichtiger Handelspartner, der größte Lieferant von Erdöl (rund 25 Prozent) und Erdgas (etwa 12 Prozent), schließlich auch noch Aktionär bedeutender Unternehmen. >>> Von Tobias Piller, Rom | Dienstag, 22. Februar 2011
REUTERS: Shi'ite Muslim protesters filled streets in Manama on Tuesday demanding the fall of the Sunni-run government in the biggest protest since unrest began last week, while the return of a key opposition figure was delayed.
Tens of thousands of opposition supporters marched to Pearl Square -- the focal point of the week-long protests in central Manama -- to press demands for political reform in a country dominated by the Sunni Muslim minority.
Led by opposition groups such as Wefaq and Waad, it was the first organized demonstration and followed spontaneous protests by a rising youth movement relying on social media.
"We want the fall of the government" was the most common chant. "Some want the family out but most (want) only the prime minister (to quit)," said protester Abbas al-Fardan. "We want a new government, the people need to rule the country."
The protesters want a constitutional monarchy, in contrast to the current system where Bahrainis vote for a parliament that has little power and policy remains the preserve of an elite centered on the al-Khalifa family.
The al-Khalifa dynasty has ruled Bahrain for 200 years, and the family dominates a cabinet led by the king's uncle, who has been prime minister since independence in 1971. >>> Frederik Richter, Manama | Tuesday, February 22, 2011
REUTERS: Pressure mounted on the White House on Tuesday to intervene to stop Muammar Gaddafi's bloody crackdown on democracy protests as a lawmaker close to President Barack Obama urged oil firms to halt work in Libya.
The United States faced calls to impose sanctions but also to take direct action such as bombing Libyan airfields and imposing no-fly zones -- military steps that most analysts consider unlikely. Some critics questioned Obama's silence on the violence in which hundreds of Libyans have died.
U.S. officials called for an end to the violence but seemed to rule out any unilateral action, stressing the United States was working with other countries on a way forward.
Senator John Kerry, the influential chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the White House to consider reimposing tough sanctions on Libya.
"World leaders must together put Colonel Gaddafi on notice that his cowardly actions will have consequences," Kerry said. >>> Ross Colvin and Arshad Mohammed | Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)