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Too lazy to set a custom title
Industry Role:
Join Date: May 2001
Location: My network is hosted at TECHIEMEDIA.net ...Wait, you meant where am *I* located at? Oh... okay, I'm in Winnipeg, Canada. Oops. :)
Posts: 51,460
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Article part 2:
A main problem is the lack of a discernible end to the spreading protests. They could die down if governments engage in serious political changes, analysts said, and if the public is willing to accept gradual change. But old approaches like raising salaries or promising reforms as soon as the marchers disperse will only fuel the protest epidemic.
?Governments can no longer keep claiming they can take their time,? Mr. Muasher said, ?can no longer invoke the need for a homegrown process as an excuse to do nothing.?
In Bahrain, tens of thousands of people, virtually all Shiites, poured into Pearl Square on Wednesday. They demanded changes in a system that they say has discriminated against them for decades on issues like housing, jobs and basic civil rights.
The scene had seemed more like a picnic earlier in the day, complete with deliveries of Kentucky Fried Chicken, but the crowd swelled at night, tying up roads as far as the eye could see and creating a peaceful celebration of empowerment unparalleled for the country?s Shiites, who make up about 70 percent of Bahrain?s 600,000 citizens.
But early Thursday morning, hundreds of riot police officers surrounded the square, firing tear gas containers and concussion grenades at the demonstrators. At least two people died as the officers aggressively emptied the square, according to witnesses at a nearby hospital and news agency reports.
In Egypt, the military government issued its initial estimate of the death toll during the 18 days leading up to Mr. Mubarak?s resignation. At least 365 civilians died, not including police officers and prisoners, said the health minister, Ahmed Sameh Farid.
Despite two warnings in three days from the government to halt protests and strikes, hundreds of airport employees protested inside the terminals at Cairo International Airport for higher wages and health benefits, The Associated Press reported. Flights were not disrupted.
Textile workers also walked out, and a group of 60 women and community groups condemned a panel that was appointed to rewrite the constitution for failing to include a single woman.
In Iran, students were thwarted in their attempt to hold a separate memorial service for Saane Zhaleh, an art student who was killed Monday during the protests, the largest in more than a year. The authorities staged an official funeral for Mr. Zhaleh, saying he was a vigilante, which the opposition called a lie.
But students said they were blocked from attending the official funeral, with Basiji vigilantes overwhelming the campus of the Tehran University of Art. The vigilantes also prevented the fewer than 100 students who had shown up early from staging their own memorial.
?He was one of us, a member of the Green movement, and they stole him from us,? a student who tried to attend the funeral said via an Internet link. She spoke anonymously out of fear for her own safety.
In Yemen, police officers were deployed in large numbers around Sana, the capital, and in Aden and the town of Taiz in an attempt to end street battles.
Students again organized protests at the capital?s central university, calling for Mr. Saleh?s ouster. But there were also clashes between antigovernment and pro-government demonstrators.
In Kut, Iraq, security forces opened fire, killing at least three people, according to a local government official. Protesters then stormed the governor?s headquarters and his house, burning both buildings. At least 27 people were injured, the official said. The protest was the most violent in Iraq since unrest began in the region last month. Until now, there had been several small, scattered demonstrations calling for better government services.
Wednesday?s protests were organized by a group called the Youth of Kut, which wants the governor of the province to step down because it says he has failed to create jobs and increase the supply of electricity. The protesters also say the governor, Latif Hamad al-Tarfa, has stolen money from the government.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/wo...lines&emc=tha2
Iran, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, etc, all of them seeing the youth and student populations of the region showing how dissatisfied they are with the way things are, if not outright calling their goverment's performance "piss poor" by their actions.
So does this mean anything? Is it the beginning of real change for the ME, or will these so-called protestors simply be crushed, slapped down, or otherwise put back in their place by the ruling establishment?
All lies?... or a mix of western false hopes & propaganda?
You tell me. |