Armies of Liberation

The latest Arab dictator, Usama bin Laden, has been issuing his edicts fast and furious. Bomb the oil pipelines. Bomb the Shiites and the Americans. Zarqawi is now the “Amir of Iraq,” and Iraqi Muslims should “listen to him.”

While the US may not have gone far in promoting the ideal of democracy in the Muslim world, bin Laden has done a remarkable job of stimulating forward thinking among Arabs and Muslims.

With each new diatribe and beheading video, with each car bomb and civilian massacre, al-Qaeda presents a challenge to the Arab world, an absolute vision of society and governance, and an estimate of its ultimate cost in blood. The Arab world has responded with a countervailing view and a renaissance of the Arab liberalism so hearty in the 19th and 20th centuries until the rise of Nassarism and Bathism.

Reform, elections, judicial independence, stemming corruption: these are the buzzwords on the Arab street today, and this is the essential work of the pioneering Iraqis. The transition of executive power in Egypt, Lebanese independence, minority rights in Syria, freedom of press in Yemen, youth enfranchisement in Saudi Arabia: these are the topics of modern patriots in the Middle East, their hope derived from free Iraqi labor unions and political parties and the anonymous anti-corruption hotline in Baghdad.

Opposite these concepts of reform are the nihilistic ideology of al-Qaeda and the bloody tactics of the “Amir of Iraq,” Zarqawi, who freely murders innocent children, patriotic Iraqis, and poor truckdrivers.

In bin Laden’s distorted mirror, tinges of Western Islamophobia are an unforgivable crime against billions of Muslims, but Eastern Anglophobia is a great revelation of truth. Hate speech vilifying a people is no sign of enlightenment at either end of the spectrum. (Read on …)

This week in Yemen: Four more journalists convicted, another editor attacked, justice delayed again for al-Khaiwani.

This is on top of one editor imprisoned, one editor murdered, and three newspapers closed. You can’t write about the Saudis-oh no-but trash Bush all you want. You can’t write about governmental corruption in your own country but its fine to demonize the US and UK governments until the cows come home. “Democratization” without a free press is just another way of gaining development aid and clinging to power until your son, Salah Jr., turns 40 and can take over the presidency. And the rationale for censorship is what: the citizens are so infantile that they can’t handle the truth? its impolite to discuss foreign relations with Arab states? an oped is going to cause an uprising? The whole premise is warped, the society harmed, and all these reform conferences a sham.

(Technical note: comment moderation is on-I’m getting slammed with spam, half pharacutical and half political. Even the spam here is freer than the press in the Middle East.)

(also known as Yemen 6) was actually published in …Yemen by the Yemen Observer. (The article is also up on Middle East Transparent a very interesting site with the latest thinking from Arab liberals. I’ve gotten lost there for hours reading some of the articles.)

The strategy for success in Iraq, that people will reject extremism when a hope of freedom exists, should be employed in Yemen now, in advance of the arrival of Al-Qaeda from Iraq next spring. The press, which acts as a watchdog against corruption and governmental improprieties, is essential for democratic progress. The targeting of the opposition and independent media in Yemen indicates a disturbing new trend toward authoritarianism in Yemen which is best opposed at its onset.

The death sentence handed down in Yemen to two Al-Qaeda operatives convicted in the bombing of the USS Cole may indicate a new intolerance for terrorism by the Yemeni government. Flourishing democratic institutions, specifically the free press, may strengthen that intolerance in Yemeni society as well.

Not that I submitted it to them, they just found it on the web and published it. Iran Daily,which Memri refers to as a “the Iranian reformist newspaper Iran Daily, which is close to Iranian President Muhammad Khatami,” did the same thing with Yemen 7 (The Power of the Pen).

at a rate of 1000 per day.

Detailed article on the fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo with the Rwandan Army.

Related post: A little bit of the Congo in your cell phone.

(You knew it was coming. Or maybe I should call it al-Khaiwani 3.)

Or as I like to call it “The Power of the Pen” was published in Pakiststan by by The Daily Times (not that they notified me) and also by the Arab Times in Kuwait, print edition. It is also up on the progressive website Middle East Transparent.

US version here.

Update: The article was also picked up from the Daily Times by the Iran Daily in Tehran. They dropped my name but kept the article verbatum. I like the graphic on this one.

It also found its way to the website South East Asian Media.

Update: Alsp published in Bangladesh by the Independent. Interestingly, this was the only paper that added anything (the first three sentences are not mine) and edited out anything (a reference to a Bangladeshi editor in jail).

More on Yemen.

is quite similiar to many in the region.

CEIP: It preserved penalties of up to five years imprisonment for those who defame the royal family. It affirmed the government’s right to ban Moroccan or foreign journals if the publications “undermine Islam, the monarchy, territorial integrity, or public order.” Morocco’s subservient judiciary has shown little hesitation to interpret this broad-brush legal wording in the most repressive manner.

Such an attitude is particularly short-sighted because the independent press offers a public space in which members of society can peacefully debate one another on controversial issues—a space generally lacking in Morocco.

To open regional democracy center and calls on the Arab League to institute the reforms he proposed.

How is President Salah going to fit all that into his busy schedule of shutting down newspapers and arresting journalists and imprisoning editors? Then there’s that editor’s murder to investigate.

“smacks of a targeted assasination” says the International Federation of Journalists. The following article includes the important information that Mr. Sagheer owned the one printing press that serviced the 26 indpendent and oppostion newspapers in Yemen. In the context of the imprisonment of Abdulkareem Al-Khaiwani, the closure of three publications and the new charges against seven journalists, the murder of al-Sagheer and his wife is a truely chilling development for the Yemeni people and journalists.

IFJ: The International Federation of Journalists today called for a “thorough and detailed” investigation into the shooting of Mohammed Salem Al-Sagheer, a leading Yemeni journalist and Editor-in-Chief of Al-Waseet newspaper.

“This appalling attack, in which Al-Sagheer and his wife were both gunned down, has all the hallmarks of a targeted assassination,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary.

Al-Sagheer, a press freedom campaigner as well as a businessman, was found dead with his wife in their home in downtown Sana’a on December 6. Police inquiries so far have uncovered evidence that the killer, described as a professional, had used a gun with a silencer in the attack in which both the journalist and his wife were shot in the head.

The killing has shocked the Yemeni community of journalists and the IFJ affiliated Yemen Syndicate of Journalists is following the police investigation closely. The exact motive for the attack remains unclear.

“This distinguished journalist was a rare breed of entrepreneur and press freedom fighter,” said White. Sagheer had worked to ensure that private sector and opposition newspapers were able to publish by providing printing facilities at affordable prices.

“The possibility that this tragedy is linked to his work and commitment to independent journalism cannot be ignored,” said White. “The authorities must act swiftly to find those responsible and bring them to justice.”

Ukrainian style demonstration: thousands in the streets

Arab News: Tens of thousands of Bangladeshi protesters linked hands yesterday to try to form a “human chain” across the country in what the main opposition party described as its biggest-ever successful anti-government protest. Up to 100 people were injured in clashes.

The protest was staged by the Awami League-led 14-party alliance.
Reports from 18 districts said leaders, workers and supporters of the Awami League, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) and National Awami Party took part in the one-hour demonstrations from 3 p.m….

The mid-afternoon protest held amidst heavy security halted traffic in some parts of Dhaka, forcing commuters to abandon buses and walk. Police helicopters hovered overhead. (Read on …)

Mysteriously (the headline says.)

Mohammed Salem Al-Sagheer along with his wife was found shot to death in his home in Sa’ana. In addition to being the editor of a prominent paper, he was the owner of an independent printing press in Yemen, servicing 26 other private and opposition newspapers.

It may be a random crime. It may be part of the unprecedented crack-down on the media in Yemen that includes one editor imprisoned after an absurdly bogus trial, three newspapers shut, and seven additional editors and journalists arrested with trials pending.

The discernable change in tone by the remaining newspapers is the greatest indication of the palpable concern in the journalistic community. A new era of censorship and repression is unfolding before our eyes in Yemen, which once had the freest media in the Middle East according to several experts.

LGF asks.
Too Cool.American Faith:

Now here’s the best part: today, without prior notice, Omar and Mohammed (from Iraq the Model Blog) went to the Oval Office and met with President Bush! They said that the meeting lasted about a half hour, and the President was very interested in hearing the thoughts and opinions of Iraqi citizens first hand. He wasn’t aware until then of the good things that Spirit Of America has been doing over there to help the Iraqi people and assist in their obtaining democracy. Omar joked that he got to meet POTUS and they didn’t even search his pockets beforehand.

Much more from Kesher Talk on their visit to the US.

All the details at The Jawa Report. I guess the video was staged and the kidnapping bogus. Or at least there’s enough evidence now to charge him with desertion.

(I’m just going to copy the whole article because its that interesting.)The New York Times: Muslim Scholars Increasingly Debate Unholy War By NEIL MacFARQUHAR

AIRO, Dec. 9 – Muhammad Shahrour, a layman who writes extensively about Islam, sits in his engineering office in Damascus, Syria, arguing that Muslims will untangle their faith from the increasingly gory violence committed in its name only by reappraising their sacred texts.
(Read on …)

Endorsement (for Me!) from an actual true and dedicated American Hero, for whom I have the greatest respect and sincere admiration.

He’s also a damn good writer and has a heart like a mountain, so I have been voting for Hook daily here.

So many people already on my blogroll were nominated (I’m very picky about the blogroll), so Kudos to Wizbang for the great selection of nominees and for highlighting these great bloggers to the rest of the blogsphere:
Beautiful Atrocities, the Llamas, American War Monger, Tim Worstal, The 3rd World View, Crossroads Arabia, Tim Blair, Caribpundit, Babalu, In Search of Utopia. Ace, Dean, Backcountry Convservative, In the Bullpen, LegalXXX, Cranky Neocon, Moderate Voice, Crack the Bell, My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, INDC, My Pet Jawa, and the outstanding Six Meat Buffet.

Congrats to you all! You deserve recognition for your wonderful work. Thank you for your great blog which I have appreciated daily. Keep up the good work!

All Africa: The report also says that the 185,9-million people who were unemployed in 2003 represent the “tip of the iceberg”, since more than seven times that number of people are employed but still live in poverty.

According to the report, some 2,8-billion people were employed worldwide in 2003, more than ever before. However, of these, nearly 1,4-billion the highest number ever live on less than 2 a day and some 550-million live under the 1- a-day poverty line.

Simply put, 49,7% of the world’s workers are not earning enough to lift themselves and their families above the 2-a-day poverty line.

Update: This link from the wonderful Final Historian at History’s End (brainiac extraordinair) shows GDP ect. One of the things I noticed was how generally the fertility rates go up as the GDP goes down.

in my series highlighting the sudden crackdown on the independent media in Yemen and the ongoing imprisonment of Abdulkareem al-Khaiwani:

Yemen in the Spring

(or as its also known Yemen 6)
Now I can add it to the list. Reference only (Read on …)

(I think they do it like this in India too. See also The Daily Star)

Arab news: Iraq’s Electoral Commission said yesterday it may consider holding next month’s elections over an extended period, as Prime Minister Iyad Allawi had suggested.

Allawi was quoted by a Swiss newspaper on Tuesday as saying the election of a new assembly could be spread over two or three weeks to counter violence and make sure everyone got the chance to vote under secure conditions.

“One can imagine elections spread out over 15 or 20 days, with the dates differing according to the provinces,” he was quoted as saying. “These would allow for adequate security measures to be installed.” … (Read on …)

Leaking into the Media:

From Channel 2 (Iran)

Voice: Dear friends, please be seated… Let us preserve the etiquette and honor of the university… I ask the dear friends… In the name of Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful… University etiquette and honor require that we be more tolerant towards one another.

Voice: At the university, Basij members have always been oppressed. In the entrance to the auditorium, some people were beaten. Those who were there saw me defend them. But the security men beat me too… They beat me as well as them. We have always been the oppressed in the university… Cannons, tanks, and Basij members are no more effective

Voice: I ask the friends to be more tolerant and patient.

[...]

Khatami: Sir, this is against the rules of democracy. What are you doing? How many people are booing? Don’t make me have you removed. Behave yourselves.

Crowd: (shouting)

Khatami: Listen… Be patient. If people not yet in government cannot be tolerant, God forbid, what will happen once they reach the government? I believe that different views are being presented here by different people. I hope that… I hope…

Crowd: No more lies! No more lies! No more lies! No more lies! No more lies!

Khatami: All right… Okay, okay… You must be reasonable… Only dictators do not accept anyone who is different.

Crowd: (cheering) (Read on …)

He is not allowed a pen in a country where guns outnumber people by three to one. He is in prison, sentenced to a year at hard labor. He has been beaten repeatedly and his jaw broken there. His colleagues may not speak to him. He is a newspaper editor.

His crimes: defaming the president, promoting discord, publishing lies. What he really did: write about corruption, violence, and human rights.

During trial, he was not permitted a lawyer. He could not respond to specific allegations. His case was decided while the judge was on vacation. The constitution of his country looks wonderful on paper but not in a courtroom.

The judge who set the date for the appeal was absent on that day, resulting in yet another postponement.

His paper was closed. Two other publications were recently shut down on technicalities. In the symphony that the press plays for the people, the musical instruments are disappearing one by one. Last week, seven more journalists were summoned for trial.

His colleagues speak for him at their own personal risk. Various NGOs and journalistic organizations have protested his imprisonment and petitioned for his release, with no reply. His family misses him.

His nation suffers his loss of freedom as their loss-of knowledge, of competing ideas, and of news. His nation has lost a watchdog. The people’s advocate has no pen.

He is not alone. They are not alone. The World Association of Newspapers 2004 report described the state of the media in the Middle East this way: “Freedom of expression continues to suffer throughout the region. The press freedom situation in many counties remains alarming, as government control over the press is rigid. In those countries where journalists do enjoy a measure of freedom of expression, they must contend with severe laws that often result in criminal prosecution, arrest and censorship.”

The situation is not unique to the Middle East. In Thailand, criminal defamation laws are used to silence journalists with the threat of imprisonment, when civil remedies are ample redress. Journalists have been detained in the Congo. In Kazakhstan, a video was confiscated from a news crew filming a protest. Google has been blocked in China. A journalist in Peru was assaulted by a police officer, as occurred nearly the same day in Pakistan. A Bangladeshi journalist has been detained, and in Belarus, an independent newspaper was closed. In Zimbabwe, new legislation regulating journalist carries a twenty year penalty for its breech. All of these events occurred in the space of a week.

Are all these countries leaders so sensitive that criticism makes them cry? Perhaps the most maligned president in history, George Bush, managed to win a strong majority despite constant criticism, defamation and outright slander. John Howard received a brutal grilling in the Australian media and also won his election. Tony Blair as well faces harsh treatment in his countries press. If these nations’ peoples are brainwashed, it is not by the media, no matter how hard it tries. If these nations progress, it is in part because of the media criticisms and investigations.

In some countries, leaders place their citizens’ rights and needs above their own, and they allow an independent pluralistic media. Why then in others the widespread fear of the pen, and the thoughts behind the pen and the readers in front of the page? Why do international readers know more about some nations than the residents themselves? In many parts of the world, the answer is not publishable. But Abdulkareem al-Khaiwani may tell us if he survives his term in prison.

In Bangladesh, this year’s is “theme of the day is – “Participation of males and Women’s empowerment are prerequisites for a Planned Family and Mother and Child Health”. Sounds right to me.

A related post here.

From the Population Reference Bureau.)