Geography Archives: Middle East

  Elections held in Bahrain over the weekend are the latest ruse by the regime to feign democratic change.  While the charade of ballot box rituals is taking place, the trial of health workers expected to appear in court this week is a fresh reminder that repression in the kingdom is far from over.  It […]

  Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons issued a statement on Sunday, September 25, 2011, stating that they plan to begin an open-ended hunger strike on September 27, 2011, demanding an end to the isolation of Ahmad Sa’adat, an end to isolation for all Palestinian political prisoners, and an end to the policies of repression […]

  The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) organised on September 13-14 a two-day international trade union meet in the European Parliament complex in Strasbourg, France, to express solidarity with the fighting people of Arab countries and voice strong protest against the hegemonic interference of US imperialism and its European allies in the internal affairs […]

For a regime which has, as ICG put it, really inflicted so many wounds on itself (not to mention Syrians) . . . this strikes me as a very effective strategy going forward.  You corrupt, collaborationist, monarchical, brutal regimes in the region want us, Syria, to reform and transition out. . . .  OK — […]

  The Western and Arabic press is full of stories about Al Jazeera and the new direction it will inevitably follow with the selection of a new director-general for its operating networks.  The ouster (the official statement did not mention resignation) of Waddah Khanfar has opened doors for speculation.  No one really knows what goes […]

Decades of dedicated political activism have earned Hassan Abdul Azim the trust of friend and foe alike.  The old-time Nasserite may be uniquely positioned to mediate the country out of its deepening crisis. There were high expectation early on in the Syrian uprising when it seemed that Hassan Abdul Azim may assume a prominent role […]

“Al Jazeera is a vital component to the USG’s strategy in communicating with the Arab world.” — Joseph E. LeBaron, U.S. Ambassador to Qatar, November 6, 2008 “Al Jazeera Board Chairman Hamed bin Thamer Al Thani has proven open to creative uses of Al Jazeera’s airwaves by the USG beyond straightforward interviews.” — Joseph E. […]

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez called on peoples of the world last Wednesday to speak out for peace and against the imperial madness of the countries attacking sovereign nations. “May the peoples of the United States, of Europe, speak out against war.  Let us raise our voices, our chants, against war, for peace and life,” President […]

Israel prepares for the Palestinian Authority’s UN bid for a blue chair of its own called “Palestine’s Right” . . . Victor Nieto is a cartoonist in Venezuela.  His cartoons frequently appear in Aporrea and Rebelión among other sites.  Cf. “It is important to stress at the outset that whether the UN grants the Palestinian […]

Democracy, democracy.  Don’t we just love it?  Don’t we love it as a pretence for furthering our international ambitions?  Don’t we love it when it means cheaper oil and cosy partnerships? In the case of Libya, the façade of supporting a democratic movement has fallen from even our most blatant sources of propaganda.  To quote […]

The Syrian opposition urged protesters Sunday to go on with peaceful demonstrations, noting that continued protests are a “decisive factor” in pushing for reforms in the country. In a statement issued one day after a meeting of some 300 opposition figures, the opposition called on the government to immediately stop its “repression” on protesters and […]

  Over 200 Syrian opposition figures met in Halboun in the outskirts of the capital Damascus in order to coordinate efforts to build a national opposition movement and to address the anti-government protests that have gripped the country for the last six months. The meeting was attended by Michel Kilo, Fayez Sarah, and Mondher Khaddam, […]

International recognition of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people is an important and vital step in the process of internationalization of the Palestinians struggle for independence, freedom and equality.  It may possibly strengthen the Palestinians struggle against the occupation and hand over the responsibility for ending the occupation and eliminating racial discrimination to […]

The Arab uprising goes from strength to strength.  When the Egyptian protestors stormed the Israeli Embassy in Cairo last week, they showed that the power of protest can prevail over docile diplomacy.  Across the Arab World, protest power has shown its effectiveness.  The achievements are incontestable.  Yet, in the world of the excluded, the Arab […]

Yara Kassem is a cartoonist in Cairo, Egypt.  This cartoon was circulated via her Twitter account on 15 September 2011; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes.  Cf. “In the new, revolutionary state, instead of revoking emergency law as promised, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has announced its reactivation, in particular, […]

Maximilian C. Forte is an associate professor in anthropology at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.  His website is at www.openanthropology.org.  Cf. Maximilian Forte, “The War in Libya: Race, ‘Humanitarianism,’ and the Media” (MRZine, 20 April 2011); Maximilian Forte, “Libya — Lather, Rinse, Repeat — Syria: Liberal Imperialism and the Refusal to Learn” (MRZine, 10 August […]

The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) has been one of the leading critical Israeli peace and human rights organizations struggling for Palestinian rights during its more than 14 years of existence. ICAHD activists resist the demolition of Palestinian homes, both inside Israel and in the Occupied Territory, and together with our Palestinian and International […]

  Despite my very negative position on the regime for private and public reasons, the truth is that the regime is very strong, and neither the outside nor the inside were able to make it change its usual stances.  This strength does not come from a vacuum.  The regime has a broad popular base that […]

  “Libya is something very different from what happened in Egypt and Tunisia.  It was not a pacific demonstration of people.  It was, from the very start, armed groups against other armed groups, the regime.  I’m not at all defending Gaddafi, but what is very specific of the case of Libya is that the so-called […]

The Foreign Ministers of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, meeting in Caracas, Venezuela on 9 September 2011, recalling the Special Communiqué of the Political Council on 4 March 2011 and the Special Communiqué of the Ministerial Social Council on 19 March 2011, condemns the NATO intervention in Libya and its illegal […]