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The Middle East is ripe for Democratic Revolution

 
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stefania



Joined: 17 Jul 2003
Posts: 4250
Location: Italy

PostPosted: Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:08 am    Post subject: The Middle East is ripe for Democratic Revolution Reply with quote

The events in Lebanon and the popular movement in Iran show that the Middle East is ripe for Democratic revolution.

In Egypt, several hundred Egyptians
demonstrate to say "Enough" to the Mubarak dinasty

One can only hope that these events will spread across the region and we'll see the Islamic Regime collapsing, Democracy spreading in palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria ( there's a strong democratic movement there as well ), Yemen, etc..

The Democratic Revolution is coming in the Middle East : Lebanon and Iran's populations are ready to overthrow their regimes once they have moral,political and economic support from the outside world.

Now, Emirati reformists call for Free elections

And the Syrian Democrats call for Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon
_________________
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"I'm ready to die for you to be able to say your own opinions, even if i strongly disagree with you" (Voltaire)


Last edited by stefania on Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:13 am; edited 1 time in total
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stefania



Joined: 17 Jul 2003
Posts: 4250
Location: Italy

PostPosted: Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tens of thousands of Lebanese protest Syrian occupation

Associated Press
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.p....n_v.inc

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Tens of thousands of opposition supporters shouted insults at Syria and demanded the resignation of their pro-Syrian government in a central Beirut demonstration Monday, marking a week since the assassination of Rafik Hariri, Lebanon's most prominent politician.


As the massive protest _ the largest and loudest since the end of the civil war in 1990 _ coursed through downtown Beirut, there were signals from Syria that it would "soon" withdraw its army from Lebanon in accordance with a 1989 agreement.



In Damascus, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said President Bashar Assad affirmed that Syria would take steps to withdraw its army from Lebanese areas in accordance with a 1989 agreement, but it was not clear whether that meant Syria would completely leave Lebanon. Syria has pledged before to honor the Taif agreement and has made only minor withdrawals.


The four-hour Beirut protest passed without violence despite heavy military and police presence.


Beating drums and waving Lebanese flags, those of their own parties and portraits of past leaders assassinated during the 1975-90 civil war, the protesters gathered at the site where Hariri, a former prime minister, was killed Feb. 14 in a massive bomb that the opposition blames on Damascus.


"Syria out!" "We don't want a parliament that acts as a doorkeeper for the Syrians," some yelled, competing with loud insults shouted against Syrian President Bashar Assad.


The protesters wore scarves of red and white _ the colors of Lebanon's flag _ which have become the symbol of the opposition's "independence uprising," described as a peaceful campaign to dislodge the pro-Syrian government and force the Syrian army out of Lebanon. Each demonstrator was also handed a red rose by organizers from student groups and opposition parties.


Some carried banners reading, "Independence," and chanted, "The government of puppets must fall" and "Enough blood, leave us alone."


Gun-toting policemen and army troops in full battle gear stood guard without intervening, blocking roads with metal barriers.


"It is my civic duty as a Lebanese to take part in this uprising," said Youssef Mukhtar, a 47-year-old engineer who was shouting along with the crowd. "Enough bloodshed and disasters. It is the 21st century, and people should be able to govern themselves. The situation has become unbearable and we have to regain our country."


Many held pictures of Hariri and sang patriotic songs as they passed through rows of troops on both sides of the route. Some protesters held a copy of the Quran in one hand and the cross in another hand to signify Muslim-Christian national unity.


The protesters observed a moment of silence at the exact minute Hariri's motorcade was blown up, killing him and 16 other people and wounding more than 100.


The protesters, chanting "All for the Nation," the national anthem, then handed a letter to representatives of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and marched to Hariri's grave outside the Mohammed Al-Amin Mosque at the central Martyrs' Square and sang the national anthem.


"We want the truth," said one speaker who addressed the crowd at the square, which has become a pilgrimage site for anti-Syrian activists.


The Lebanese government, under pressure to find Hariri's assassins, said Sunday it would cooperate with a U.N. investigation team being dispatched but has rejected the idea of international probe taking charge.


Shortly before the protesters reached the grave, the family of the slain leader prayed there before heading to Saudi Arabia for a round of condolences. Hariri, a billionaire Lebanese, made his fortune in construction in Saudi Arabia, where he became a citizen.


Before the demonstration, about 30 opposition lawmakers wearing the white and red scarves stood on the steps of the Parliament building in downtown Beirut to protest an attempt by the legislature to hold a session to discuss law for elections set for April and May. The opposition has said it will refuse to participate in any parliamentary activity before a special session is held to discuss the assassination.

They met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who agreed to their demand and postponed the debate.

"It is shameful that the Parliament meets without debating this horrible act," said Nayla Mouawad, a legislator whose husband, President Rene Mouawad, was killed in a 1989 bomb blast.

Hariri's killing shook Lebanon and sparked an outpouring of sympathy for the man credited with rebuilding the country from the destruction of civil war, cutting across the sectarian divide. His funeral Wednesday turned into mass demonstration against Syria's control of Lebanon.

In Brussels, Belgium, Bush called again on Syria to withdraw its forces from Lebanon.

"The Lebanese people have the right to be free, and the United States and Europe share an interest in an independent, democratic Lebanon," he said, adding that if Syria stays out of Lebanon's spring parliamentary elections, the vote "can be another milestone of liberty."












_________________
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stefania



Joined: 17 Jul 2003
Posts: 4250
Location: Italy

PostPosted: Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote




















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stefania



Joined: 17 Jul 2003
Posts: 4250
Location: Italy

PostPosted: Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote








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Rasker



Joined: 03 Feb 2005
Posts: 1455
Location: USA

PostPosted: Thu Feb 24, 2005 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Will wonders never cease? Wink Thats a clever use of the clock, perhaps the sign if used in Iran will read "Time to go, IRI".

Defiant Syrians Call for Pullout in Open Letter to Bashar
Agence France Presse

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=59444&d=24&m=2&y=2005&pix=world.jpg&category=World

DAMASCUS/BEIRUT, 24 February 2005 — In a gesture of defiance, more than 200 Syrian writers, artists and rights activists issued an open letter to President Bashar Assad yesterday calling on his regime to withdraw from Lebanon. “Outside pressures are building in all sorts of ways.

The Syrian people don’t know what is awaiting them as the old political methods are no longer able to resolve crises,” the letter said, a copy of which was received by AFP. Bashar’s regime is facing intense international pressure and calls from the Lebanese opposition to end Syria’s long domination of its neighbor after the killing of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a massive Beirut bomb blast on Feb. 14.

US President George W. Bush has said Syria was “out of step with the progress being made in the greater Middle East” after recalling his ambassador to Damascus following the Hariri murder. Bush yesterday said Damascus would also have to withdraw its intelligence agents from its tiny neighbor. “Syria must withdraw not only the troops but its secret services from Lebanon,” he said during a trip to Germany.

The activists said it was “time for Syria to adopt a new policy which takes account of latest events, notably the aftermath of the killing of Rafik Hariri, and establishes a new healthy relationship with Lebanon based on equality”.

Meanwhile, more than 100 journalists staged a rally yesterday to denounce Hariri’s murder which the Lebanese opposition has blamed on the government in Beirut and its Syrian backers, a charge strongly denied by Damascus. The rally “reflects the sadness of the man in the street in Syria after the misfortune which has struck our two brotherly countries,” said Saber Falhout, head of the Syrian General Union of Journalists.

He also lamented what he said were “unjust declarations made by those who wanted to profit from the martyrdom of Hariri for political ends”, in a reference to the opposition in Lebanon.

“Syrian journalists want to know the entire truth about this odious crime and protest at the iniquitous accusations against Syria,” said one banner waved by the demonstrators.

A growing exodus of Syrian workers, fearful they will be scapegoated for the killing of Hariri, threatens to cost Lebanon’s construction and agriculture sectors millions of dollars. Businessmen in Beirut say many building sites are scarcely functioning amid reports of a spate of beatings, robberies and arson attacks targeting the 300,000-plus Syrian migrant workers, the backbone of Lebanon’s cheap labor force.

No hard figures are available for the number of revenge attacks since the assassination but Syrian workers interviewed by AFP clearly believed they were in danger from opposition sympathizers who blame Damascus for the huge bomb blast. Syrian street-vendors and night watchmen are widely suspected by ordinary Lebanese of working for their country’s powerful intelligence services, particularly in Christian, Druze and Sunni areas, where opposition to Damascus’ dominant role in Lebanon runs deep.

The scale of the resentment against all things Syrian in those areas prompted a call for calm from the leading opposition politician, Druze MP Walid Jumblatt.
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