Blogging the democratic revolution
Despite the reappointment/disappointment of Karami back to the position of prime minister, several fantastic developments have occurred today. Like always, let’s begin with Hizb’allah. First of all, the European Parliament has finally designated them as a terrorist group. Christmas was a few months ago, but better late than never! European legislators on Thursday branded the radical Lebanese Hizbollah group a ???????terrorist??????? organization and urged EU governments to place the group on their terrorist blacklists, as the bloc did with the Palestinian Hamas group in 2003. ???????ÄEUÅ Parliament considers that clear evidence exists of terrorist activities by Hizbollah. The ÄEUÅ Council…
Recently proposed in the Senate and the House is the ADVANCE Democracy Act. This bill, as it suggests in the title, would make the spread of democracy and liberty official U.S. policy. To advance and strengthen democracy globally through peaceful means and to assist foreign countries to implement democratic forms of government, to strengthen respect for individual freedom, religious freedom, and human rights in foreign countries through increased United States advocacy, to strengthen alliances of democratic countries, to increase funding for programs of nongovernmental organizations, individuals, and private groups that promote democracy, and for other purposes. This bill is huge,…
Click here to see what I mean. Well, unless you’re at work. Here is another good picture that is more work safe.
Last week I reported on the brutal murder of the biggest opposition journalist in Azerbaijan, and between then and now over ten NGOs have condemned the murder. While there has been a near media blackout in terms of what has happened since then, a new scandal within the government has erupted. Top government officials have been found to be involved in a high-profile kidnapping ring, and the opposition is once again calling for the government’s resignation. BAKU, March 11 (AFP) – The Azeri opposition called Friday for the government to step down in the wake of the break-up of a…
There are two people who you absolutely need to keep up with in order to keep up with the growing protests in Kyrgyzstan. Nathan has got the latest dispatches from the ground. Meanwhile, Gateway Pundit has some cool pictures for you to check out, though they are from January when the weather was much colder. Right now, the weather is around 46 degrees fahrenheit as I post this.
If any of you read the story of a Bahraini blogger being arrested for “hate speech,” then this is a very encouraging story for everyone. Chan’ad recounts how a row of 200 peaceful protestors along Hall of Exhibition Avenue were stared down by a phalanx of riot police. Tensions evidently heated up, with protestors staging a sit-down in front of the officers, but all remained peaceful and organizers eventually ended the rally early at 8:30 to avoid an escalation. Chan’ad notes that four people were inexplicably arrested before the protest even began, and that police had blocked off part of…
Andy has this week’s news roundup of happenings inside and out of Russia.
Nathan is collecting exclusive information and accounts. One such account is from a Kyrgyz employee working for an international NGO. Notice how big the protests are getting. The most dangerous situation is in Jalal-Abad. In Jalal-Abad, about 10,000 people are continuing blocking the oblast administration and protesting in Central park. Several opposition famous figures are meeting with them and from yeserday Bakiev, supported with others, has started initiating the idea of conducting presidential elections first, remove current government and after that do the rest of parliamentary elections. And this: Opposition parties and movements of Kyrgyzstan have united to form the…
John Hawkins has an amazing roundup of quotes from people who predicted that Iraq would be the domino to start a trend of democratization in the Middle East. Check that out!
A lot has unfolded since the last roundup. There have been massive demonstrations organized by Hizb’allah, the deposed Prime Minister has just signed back on, Syria is quickening its pullout, and the U.S. is beginning to accept that Hizb’allah can’t be taken out of the picture yet. As I have said over and over, where Hizb’allah goes will determine a lot of the political landscape of Lebanon’s future. Now, just about everyone knows about the massive pro-Syria rally that Hizb’allah held on Tuesday. Disciplined and well-organised, Hizbollah mobilised about 200,000 supporters, although the day was carefully presented as a display…
There has finally been an update to the situation in Moldova, as there has been a relative media blackout post-election. Before anything, recall my latest post: I wasn????????t initially excited about the opposition????????s prospects here, or their ties to Moscow, but this could turn out to be very interesting. While the opposition is somewhat fragmented right now, they could potentially unite on their broader ideals and prevent Voronin from gathering the necessary votes he needs. Two things could happen then: the communists would have to settle for a more agreeable candidate in order to get the necessary votes, or the…
Sorry guys, I’m still working on my research paper. In the meantime, check out The Argus for the latest on the protests underway in Kyrgyzstan on the run up to the re-run this Sunday.
Very busy today, but Daniel is covering the whole thing over at Bloggledygook. Make sure to check it all out. I seem to have a fetish with them, so I’ll do a huge post on the implications of Hizb’allah in Lebanon’s political stratosphere tomorrow.
This is just a friendly notice that Andy from Siberian Light has purchased a blogad, money that will go toward paying our hosting costs. He has a very good blog that I reference often, and he also provides huge weekly news roundups of what’s going on in Russia. Check him out.
Regime Change Iran’s latest briefing has some news that is even more interesting than usual. Take a look: Iranian opposition leaders creating a united front against the Islamic Republic. One day after 565 dissidents in Iran published their open letter against the Iranian regime, a major coalition of Iran expatriates announced they are gathering to launch the long awaited “Iranian Opposition Council.” Tens of respected leaders and well known activists representing various Iranian political organizations, ranging from republican to monarchist, will be traveling from all parts of the U.S. and European cities to participate in a meeting this next Sunday…
Now, we all know about the huge surge of protests in Lebanon. I have also reported on the protests in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova. But what else is going on in the world? Let’s take a quick look. Kuwait After years and years of waiting, the Kuwaiti parliament is speeding up legislation for women’s suffrage. About 500 women demonstrated. KUWAIT (Reuters) – Around 500 Kuwaiti activists, mostly women, have demonstrated outside parliament to demand female suffrage amidst tensions in the Gulf Arab state over a government drive to grant women political rights. “Women’s rights now,” chanted the crowd, which included…
Bill from Dawn’s Early Light let me know about a conversation between himself and Simon from Simon World discussing the future of U.S.-Sino relations. Being that Simon is both a smart guy and lives in Hong Kong, he knows what he’s talking about. Check it out.
Don’t give up on Kyrgyzstan just yet! Gateway Pundit initially brought the story to our attention. “The authorities are losing control of the situation. Current developments in southern Kyrgyzstan, where a rally has been going on since March 4, suggest that not only the opposition, but also the people want change in the authorities,” said Otunbayeva. “The opposition has ample strength and opportunity to assume leadership of the popular movement. But we want to tackle these problems legally,” she said. … The Kyrgyz parliament is preparing to gather for an emergency session on March 10, Zeina Kurmanov, leader of the…
Who knew? The exit polls were pretty accurate. The president of ex-Soviet Moldova, a former ally of Moscow now committed to European integration, looked well placed in a parliamentary election on Sunday with an exit poll giving his Communists a healthy lead. But the poll also showed two opposition parties doing well enough to deny the Communists under President Vladimir Voronin the outright majority they currently enjoy. Voronin, who campaigned on forging closer ties with the West, accuses Russia of interference by helping separatists in the Russian-speaking Dnestr region. The Communists’ rivals say they lack democratic credentials and intend to…
Dan McMinn at Orange Ukraine has a great post comparing “normalcy” in Ukraine in 2004 to normalcy in 2005. From the end: I’ve been having a debate, of sorts, with one of those folks who still believe “Yushchenko has ushered in fascism”. His only major argument, so far, is that Yushchenko’s call for all public officials not to visit the sauna is a major limit on people’s freedom. If you really want to, you can read our exchange here. I’d just like to say that when the worst I have to bicker with him about is a slightly silly political…
Nobody is more on top of the municipal election than John Burgess. Check out his post on voting in the east, and the more recent in Najran.
Andy over at Siberian Light has the week’s worth of Russian news up at his blog.
In what can only be seen as terrifying, Hizb’allah has backed Syria against the opposition and “western inference.” Because of this, the situation has just become much more dangerous than it was previously. They are not only a powerful political party, but the only one with arms. BEIRUT (Reuters) – Hizbollah, Lebanon’s most powerful party, threw its weight against Syria’s opponents on Sunday, calling for a peaceful mass rally in central Beirut on Tuesday in support of Damascus and against Western meddling. The Shi’ite Muslim group, which has the largest following in the country and is the only one with…
Regime Change Iran has its week in review of Iran news. Lots of interesting, underreported news there.
And if anyone asks, that’s what the opposition has dubbed the revolution they are hoping for, due to Moldova’s vineyards. Elections are being held in Moldova today. In a nutshell, the parliament will be elected, and then the parliament will elect the president. Background But this election is much more complicated than meets the eye. The current president, Vladimir Voronin, is a communist. This is not so rare, except that he is leaning toward the EU and away from Moscow. Prague, 4 March 2005 (RFE/RL) — The Communist Party of president Vladimir Voronin is heavily favored to retain its strong…