Egypt (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Where Next?
Saturday, February 12, 2011 at 6:51AM | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran
1500 GMT: More than 120 Arab civil rights organisations have issued a 13-point statement, in the context of the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings, calling for political rights, social justice, and the rule of law.1455 GMT: AFP say that, in Yemen, 4000 anti-Government demonstrators were confronted by 10,000 pro-Government protesters who have been holding Tahrir Square in Sanaa.
1450 GMT: The Algerian League for Human Rights (LADDA) says there have been 70 arrests in Oran and 30 in Annaba.
In Algiers, police and demonstrators are playing a "cat-and-mouse game", with about 2000 still around the fountain in the Place of 1 May. Police are blocking streets to the square.
1445 GMT: In Egypt, the Supreme Military Council has issued a holding statement after its meeting today, "There will be a peaceful transition of power to the government when the environment allows for a freely elected government that governs the land by democracy."
Prominent Egyptian businessman, Naguib Sawiris, has reportedly been appointed to act as the middleman between opposition and the military government.
1435 GMT: Protesters are saying they will occupy Place of 1 May in Algiers tonight. Helicopters are reportedly circling overhead.
1425 GMT: The latest from the protests in Algeria....
Riot police have reportedly charged demonstrators at the Place of 1 May in Algiers.
A member of the RCD opposition, Arezki Aider, claims more than 1,000 arrests have been made in Algiers on the sidelines of the event. He continues, "I was arrested five times since Saturday morning. With each arrest, I suffered a beating....The police stations are full and they do not know where to put those arrested."
Another demonstration is reported in Martyrs' Square in the Casbah of Algiers.
Le Monde summarises that there were 400-500 demonstrators in Oran, with about 30 arrests, including a professor and two journalists.
1400 GMT: Former Egyptian Minister of Information Anas El Fiqi has been prevented from travellingto London from Cairo.
1350 GMT: An activist reports that 40 persons have been arrested in Oran and 20 in Annaba, in east Algeria.
1345 GMT: Evan Hill of Al Jazeera English reports from Cairo, "Tahrir Square is still ridiculously full of people, and the barricades and ID checkers have all gone away to allow the new influx."
1330 GMT: A specialist on North Africa sends the message, "Spoke with mother of a friend in Algiers: son arrested 3 times, beaten twice. Back on the street, first in the air."
1320 GMT: The head of the Egyptian stock market, Khaled Seyam, said trading will resume Wednesday, according to State TV.
The curfew hours have been reduced to midnight to 6 a.m.
1245 GMT: The head of the opposition RCD, Said Saadi, declared in today's protests, "The Algerian system is condemned by history."
1240 GMT: In Yemen, pro- and anti-Government demonstrations have clashed today in Sanaa.
1200 GMT: An activist claims, "Crowd getting bigger and bigger, new groups of young men joining in, shooting 'Bouteflika Serrak' (Bouteflika the Thief)."
In contrast, another report says police are trying to scatter the demonstrators.
Protesters claim that police are confiscating mobile phones to prevent spread of news.
1140 GMT: The Ministry of Interior is claiming that there have been only 250 demonstrators today. It says 14 people were arrested but "immediately" released.
1125 GMT: Another image from the Algerian protests:
1105 GMT: Earlier report of tear gas has been retracted by Algerian news service DNA but it claims warning shots have been fired.
1100 GMT: Reports of more than 5000 people gathered at the Place of 1 May in Algiers. Police have charged and fired tear gas.
Also a report of more than 1000 gathered in Algeria's second city Oran.
1035 GMT: Ahead of protests planned to take place in Bahrain from Monday, King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa said on Friday that he will give 1,000 dinars ($2,650) to each Bahraini family.
1030 GMT: A march was supposed to begin at 11 a.m. local time (1000 GMT), but protesters are still gathered behind the Ministry of Youth and Sports, according to one activist.
A protester being taken away in Algeria:
1025 GMT: AFP reports that 2000 demonstrators have broken the police cordon in Algiers.
1020 GMT: The website of Algerian President Bouteflika has been knocked off-line.
1010 GMT: The latest from today's protests in Algiers....
Dozens are being held in police stations; one activist said, "There are protesters in offices, in corridors. We find it hard to breathe." The 82-year-old opposition figure Ali Yahia Abdenour was wounded in the hand by police while trying to help a woman struck by riot police, and activist and journalist Fodil Boumal has been arrested. Journalists have been warned not to take pictures of the demonstrations.
Still, several hundred people --- possibly "thousands" have reportedly gathered across the capital, chanting, "[President] Bouteflika resign". Said Saadi, the head of the opposition Rally for Constitutional Democracy told the crowd, " "The change will take place in Algeria in one way or another. Let each assume his responsibilities." The singer Amazigh Kateb, chanted, "The people want the fall of the regime."
1000 GMT: A photograph of last night's protest in Sanaa in Yemen:
0950 GMT: In Algeria, Radio Kalima reports that trains to Algiers have been halted today to prevent a build-up of protesters.
0820 GMT: The front page of Al Ahram, effectively controlled by the State under President Mubarak --- "Egypt is Back amd Hosni Mubarak is Gone":
0810 GMT: Brian Whitaker summarises yesterday in Yemen, including this report from Human Rights Watch:
Hundreds of men armed with knives, sticks, and assault rifles attacked anti-government protesters in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, as Yemeni security forces stood by....Within an hour, the 1,000-plus protesters had been pushed from the square and at least 10 had been detained by security forces.
Human Rights Watch witnessed at least 10 army trucks carrying men in civilian clothing to Sanaa's Tahrir Square, where a crowd of around 1,000 Yemenis had been demonstrating in support of the historic changes in Egypt and against the Yemeni government. Hundreds of men, their arrival coordinated by uniformed security agents, attacked the anti-government protesters with knives and sticks, prompting the majority to flee....
A few dozen anti-government demonstrators remained in the square, sitting on the street, but they too fled after being charged by hundreds of armed government supporters.
There were also protests in Taiz in central Yemen and by secessionists in the south. The National Defense Council met to consider "improving the wages of government staff and personnel of the armed and security forces".
0705 GMT: And so there were speeches, including one by President Ahmadinejad, and a ceremony for the 32nd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
There may be no better illustration of how the day came and went than this declaration from Kayhan.According to the newspaper, 50 million --- two-thirds of the Iranian population --- came out for the regime
0755 GMT: Slim Amamou, the Tunisian blogger who has become Minister of Youth and Sport, isinterviewed by Global Voices Online. His reply to "Do you think the revolution in Tunisia, and now in Egypt, will spread across the Arab world?":
It is already spreading, or more precisely it's already there. My only worry is Internet control. I've been fighting here in Tunisia against censorship because I knew that infrastructure is the key for change. In some parts of the Arab world Internet access is maybe still not enough developed to be a lever for change. So maybe it's just not the right time, and maybe it's more effective to focus on having internet infrastructure ready and free right now.
0730 GMT: It's 9:30 a.m. in Egypt. People are on streets with Egyptian flags, protesters are trying to clean up Tahrir Square in Cairo, and the military are removing barricades.
The Supreme Military Council is due to meet to discuss next measures after the resignation of President Mubarak.
0645 GMT: Only hours after the sudden departure of President Mubarak in Egypt and the celebration of millions, we move on this morning.
While we begin with an analysis of the challenge on the Day After for the Egyptians, "Yesterday Celebration, Today Hard Work", we are already drawn to Algeria where the opposition is attempting to march in Algiers. The protests are challenging the regime of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, which has ruled with a State of Emergency since 1992, complaining about mismanagement, corruption, and a "police state".
There is a heavy security presence, with 30,000 police brought across the country to the capital. One blogger, observing the fleet of police vans and the riot gear, says, "It's scary. It's unbelievable." At the same time, he notes, "The fall of Mubarak came at the perfect time."
Even as the world was being changed in Egypt, there were protests elsewhere. In Yemen, thousands continued the pressure on President Ali Abdullah Saleh. A Facebook video indicates that the challenge lasted into the night. In Jordan, where King Abdullah has been pushed to replace the Government, "hundreds" demonstrated in Amman.
Organisers are hoping to get demonstrators on the streets in Bahrain on the 14th and Morocco on the 20th.
And dare we note --- given we have covered the situation every day since 13 June 2009 --- that against all the weight of regime oppression, the Green Wave is hoping to appear again in Iran on Monday?
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