...Or Does It Explode?

15,000 Rally Against Sudan Genocide

The National Mall in Washington DC was flooded today as thousands upon thousands of Americans turned out for a rally in demanding action to stop genocide in Sudan. High-profile speakers included George Clooney, Def Jam's Russel Simmons, Elie Wiesel, Paul Rusesabagina (of Hotel Rwanda fame), and a bipartisan array of US congressional leaders.

(Check out Leilouta's firsthand report, complete with photos.)

Sudan has now become the hottest international issue on the grassroots American scene (aside from anti-Iraq War protests). It has captured the heart and imagination of so many people of so many different backgrounds. Not everyone has the same view on the causes of the conflict or the ideal solution, yet nonetheless diverse groups of people can come together to denounce genocide and demand action.

Alas, Omar Al-Bashir appears not to have gotten any serious mention at the rally, once again giving a pass to the dictator who has ruled Sudan since a 1989 coup.

Separated at Birth?

...as suggested by a friend.

Moroccan Regime Again Targets Journalists with Libel Suits

Thanks to Abu Aard for highlighting Rashi Khilnani's article in Open Democracy on the latest example of legal subterfuge in Morocco used to silence daring media outlets:

Le Journal Hebdomadaire, an independent political weekly celebrated for its investigations and long a thorn in the king's side, now finds itself under what can only be described as a government conspiracy to quash it. The publication, already targeted by protestors mobilised by the government, was fined 3.05 million dirham (€350,000) on 16 February 2006 for the "crime" of writing on sensitive topics relevant to Moroccans today.

Most media organisations in Morocco are either owned by the state or by those affiliated with it, and stay clear of the government stance on three taboo subjects: the monarchy, the conflict in Western Sahara and religion (especially political Islam). Le Journal published articles on two of these subjects – religion and Western Sahara – and, in turn, was attacked by the third, the monarchy.

With a history of throwing journalists in jail and even forbidding them from practising their profession, Mohammed VI has long used the courts as a weapon to express his distaste of independent media. When these tactics brought international attention and condemnation from such groups as Reporters sans frontières (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the government switched to a fresh strategy: financially suffocating the publications.

The huge fine imposed on Le Journal – upheld by the Rabat court of appeal on 18 April – was estimated by RSF as the equivalent of 138 years of minimum-wage work in the country. This is the largest-ever fine in a libel case in Morocco (and likely to bankrupt the magazine).   

Frequent readers of this blog will recall just a few months ago how Tel Quel magazine faced a similar, though less direct, libel charge with an outrageously large fine. TelQuel's swift response - launching an online petition that gathered thousands of signatures from around the world - helped offset the legal assault. As TelQuel reported a few weeks ago, the plaintiff Halima Assali has now renounced her financial claim against the magazine. The second libel case against TelQuel also appears to have been quietly dropped.

With Le Journal Hebdomadaire (The Weekly Journal), the charges of "writing on sensitive topics relevant to Moroccans today" are perhaps more daunting. All the more reason to get the international solidarity campaign into high gear. It worked with TelQuel, and it may be what's needed to get King Muhammad VI to stop his cheeky game of crushing censorship via financial asphixiation.

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Kissing in the Streets of Tehran

From the AP: "An Iranian policewoman, second left, (back to camera) watches as two Iranian friends kiss before restraining them on a street in Tehran, Iran Saturday April 22, 2006. Iran's Islamic authorities are preparing a crackdown on women flouting the stringent dress code. Police in Tehran will be under orders to arrest women failing to conform to Iran's definition of Istamic morals by wearing loose-fitting hijab, or headscarves, tight jackets and shortened trousers exposing skin."

No comment.

Iranian Feminists Score Goal; Guardian Council Seethes

A while back, we reported on the groundbreaking protests by Iranian women demanding admittance to Azadi ("Freedom," ironically) Stadium to watch the Iranian national soccer team play. The brave women stubbornly managed to push their way into the match, defying a ban since 1979 on women attending soccer games.

Now, in advance of the World Cup, the Iranian Soccer Feminists have scored a goal. Big time. By threatening to launch an international campaign decrying the ban on women at soccer games, they forced AhMADinejad (seen at right kicking one for the team) to act. Thus the new ruling that grants women and families entrance to soccer matches.

Sure the Farsi-Speaking Female Football Fans will be separated off in women-only and family-only sections. And the Iranian prez justified his decree by claiming that "the presence of women and families in public places promotes chastity." Nonetheless, the clerics are hopping mad: "Four grand ayatollahs and several MPs have protested against the move, saying it violates Islamic law for a woman to look at the body of a male stranger."

It will be interesting to see how this stand-off is resolved. But the larger lesson is that international campaigns shaming and spotlighting civil rights abuses CAN have an impact, even on the most repressive and brash regimes. A successful partnership between brave women inside Iran and supporters outside has achieved a small victory. May it herald many more.

New Assad Cult of Personality Billboards Unveiled in Damascus

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Assad billboards go up in Damascus!

Ok, so in Syria this is old news. The same paper-boy refrain could (sadly) have been shouted 40 years ago. But early this month marked the 59th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Baath party. And, like any good 59th anniversary celebration, Assad decided to roll out new cult-of-personality billboards of himself in downtown Damascus. After all, who wouldn't do the same?

Well, Bashar is again in the hotseat as the UN investigator looking into Rafik Hariri's murder is in Damascus (no doubt staring at the new billboards) to interview none other than Assad himself. Should be interesting. Meanwhile, enjoy this photo of the billboard in context:

Big brother is watching.

Three Random Stories for Monday

1. Albawaba reports that all is not well inside the People's Palace (love the name! love the digs!) in Damascus. Bashar's sister and Bashar's wife are having a tiff. It's a spat over political appointments and who has the ear of the Lion King who rules Syria - and it's also a sign of growing tension inside the ruling family. Question: if Bashar is the Lion King, does this make the fued a cat fight?

2. BBC Arabic reports that the first women-only mall in Israel has opened in a suburb outside Tel Aviv. No word if Saudi Muttawa are enforcing the gender segregation.

3. The big news out of Egypt today comes from Sinai, overshadowing a rough police crackdown on the pro-reform judges sit-in protest taking place in Cairo. Judge Mahmoud Hamza got beat up bad: "To my shock, someone snatched my phone out of my hand. Another came and held me from behind, and they dragged me across the road. I told them I was a judge, a head of a court, whack, they hit me. To my surprise they took my trousers off!"

Abdallah Family Missing in Syria

Last May, Ali Abdallah was briefly in the headlines when the Assad regime arrested him for reading a statement by the Muslim Brotherhood at the Atassi Salon (or Atassi Forum), an open dialogue group of which Abdallah is a member. Abdallah is by means an Ikhwanist, but was committed to open discussion. His mundane act earned him a visit by 10 armed members of the security services and six months in detention.

Now, Abdullah has been detained again, along with two sons, and none of the three have been heard from since. As Ammar notes:

The case of Ali Abdallah and his two sons Muhammad and Omar is probably the only case of a missing family of activists to emerge in Syria since the early eighties. The trio has gone missing for over two weeks and still there is no words as to their whereabouts or what security branch was responsible for their “napping.” Activists are getting arrested left and right these days, but the silence surrounding the disappearance of these fellows is quite inexplicable. I have a very bad feeling about this.

When a dissident goes missing for this long, the signs are not good. Normally they at least get paraded before the cameras during a court date or are allowed a brief family visit. But prolonged silence could suggest an aggressive bout of torture might have gone too far, resulting in a death or three. No way to know for sure, but that was what happened with Syrian-Kurdish imam Sheikh Muhammad Ma'shuq al-Khiznawi, who did not return alive.

The international community should insist on access to Abdallah and his sons, who are prisoners of conscience we cannot abadnon.

Alex & Cairo: Interfaith Rally & Judges Sit-In

The activist spirit is in the air once again in Egpyt. First stop, Cairo, where judges are holding a sit-in to protest Mubarak's heavy hand. Take it away BBC:

A group of 50 Egyptian judges is holding a sit-in protest at the judges' association in central Cairo, which has lasted three consecutive days. The judges are protesting against the  government's decision to prosecute two of their senior colleagues. The two judges had pressed for an inquiry into alleged electoral fraud during the general election in 2005. Hesham Bastawisi and Mahmoud Mekki are members of the Court of Cassation, Egypt's highest appellate court.

The protest will continue until 27 April, when the two judges appear before a disciplinary hearing. The protesters want a new law granting judges independence from the government...

Over the past year the two judges have emerged as the most vocal of a group of senior judges leading a campaign calling for honest elections, BBC Cairo correspondent Heba Saleh says. The judiciary in Egypt is required to supervise elections, but many judges have been angered by what they regard as attempts by the government to exploit them to legitimise fraud.

Second stop: Alexandria. This time, the major international media appear to have missed the story of a large interfaith rally. But thankfully Big Pharaoh steps in with a great firsthand report:

The demonstration included the opposition movements Kifaya, Youth for Change, The Popular Campaign for Change, and Ayman Nour's party Al Ghad. People with no specific party or entity affiliation , like myself, were present as well... The demonstration was a success as far as I am concerned. Around 400-500 people showed up, Muslims and Christians, all reaffirming the fact that Egypt is for all and sectarianism has no place in our country...

Al Hurra correspondent interviews a demonstrator. Sign on the right reads: "Egypt for all Egyptians." The one on the left: "Why the Hamayouni Line? It benefits who?" The Hamayouni Line is an 1856 Ottoman decree that requires non-Muslims to obtain the ruler's authorization to build or repair a place of worship.

Sadly, the reality of Hosni Mubarak's Egypt in 2006 is that judges who investigate election fraud get arrested and a 1856 Ottoman decree regulating dhimmis still prevents some Egyptians from even adding a bathroom to their house of worship without a presidential decree.

The good news is, some Egyptians aren't taking things sitting down. They're hitting the streets and demanding change. Although in the case of the judges, they are taking it sitting down: with a high-profile sit-in protest. Let's see what happens on April 27.

"What's behind the curtain, Jacques?"

"Well, my dear Hosni, tomorrow's blogpost at ...Or Does It Explode? about all the grassroots demonstrations going on in the streets of Egypt."

"Why build all the suspense, Jacques? Or are they just lazy?"

"Tous les deux, mon ami."