The Tunisia effect: where next?

London...

Algeria again. (housing riots)

I think it would be wise to open a new forum thread for Syria. Tomorrow appears to become a big day, after the at least 25, but may be more than 100, demonstrators killed yesterday, and the 20.000 mourners/ demonstrators today, on the streets of Daraa, one fifth of the population of this city with 100.000 inhabitants. This is not a copycat protest, or a small beginning, to be dropped in a list together with Armenia and Swaziland and so on. This is, in my impression, becoming the sixth big one, after Tunesia, Egypt, Bahrein, Yemen and Libya.

Jordan

@Mark: thanks, seen it: -)

Iraqi Kurdistan - Sulaimaniyah. This seems like a significant attack on the Kurdish parties: for example, 2 peshmergas, operating nowadays as official security forces, have been killed. For a critique of the Kurdish parties up to 1991 see this.

Just found this about Malawi (which students in Europe could study and learn a thing or two about), from 2 weeks ago:

Blantyre, Malawi - There was tension at the Polytechnic, the Blantyre-based constituent college of the University of Malawi, when irate students ran amok after their lecturers voted to end their two-week old class boycott. Polytechnic lecturers had joined their colleagues at Chancellor College, the Zomba-based constituent college, who have been boycotting classes for six weeks now protesting Inspector-General of Police Peter Mukhito's summoning of a political science lecturer over a classroom example he gave. Dr. Blessings Chinsinga had reportedly said crises like Malawi's persistent fuel crisis could lead to insurrections that had toppled governments in Tunisia and Egypt. One or some of the students reported him to the police chief thereby angering the lecturers who are demanding an apology and assurances of academic freedom. Mukhito has since put his foot down saying academic freedom must be balanced with state security.
President Bingu wa Mutharika, who is Chancellor of the University of Malawi, has since thrown his weight behind his police chief urging him not to apologise to 'people who are teaching revolutions'.
The Polytechnic lecturers, after failing to reach a consensus whether to continue boycotting classes or not, voted 34 to 29 in favour of the resumption of classes. Polytechnic Academic Staff Committee on Welfare (PASCOW) chairman Griffin Salima, however, said the decision had been taken under protest.
But this angered the student community who said their lecturers had betrayed their trust.
'We have all along been behind you but you choose to be cowards!' shouted one student as the lecturers tried to explain their case. 'How can you end the battle prematurely?' he asked.
Things quickly got out of hand as the students started burning tyres and pelting the lecturers with stones. The lecturers rushed to their cars and fled the campus in a huff.
The students then held an impromptu meeting where they resolved not to go back to class until Mukhito apologises and assures the university community of academic freedom.
'How can we go to a classroom where our lecturers will be gagged?' asked one student who did not want to be named for fear of being singled out as ring leader. 'We want quality education and quality education demands unfettered academic freedom.'
To further vent their anger the students broke into the Senior Common Room where the lecturers congregate to relax. They broke doors and window panes and raided the bar.
'We have looted all the whiskies and beers to console ourselves for our lecturers' betrayal,' said one of the students.
The students have warned the lecturers not to return to the campus unless and until they assure them they will not be cowed into submission.
'We have lost confidence in our Chancellor, we have lost confidence in the Inspector General of Police, we have lost confidence in the University Council and now the lecturers want to lose our confidence as well?' said another student.
Meanwhile, students from both the Polytechnic and Chancellor College have planned a joint street demonstration in Blantyre this week. Police sources, however, said Mukhito has issued instructions to erect roadblocks between Zomba and Blantyre to prevent Chancellor College students from joining their Blantyre colleagues.

(my emphases)

Jordanian ruling class moan about the effects on investments of demonstrations and sit-ins.

Ahwazi people in Iransave 3 political oponents from being hanged.

Burkina Faso:

Soldiers have shot into the air, stolen cars and looted shops in the western part of Burkina Faso's capital as protests by military guards against unpaid housing allowances spread, witnesses said.
The presidential compound in Ouagadougou was calm on Friday after gunfire erupted there overnight. President Blaise Compaoré was apparently not in the presidential compound at the time, a source there said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press.
Unrest that started from two presidential guard barracks spread to camp Lamizana in western Ouagadougou.
Scattered looting had begun overnight in the capital of one of the world's poorest countries and soldiers looted and burned the homes of Compaoré aides.
A presidential security source, who spoke on condition on anonymity for security reasons, told the Associated Press that the soldiers were expressing their discontent after promises to pay their housing allowances were not kept....
Burkina Faso has been hit by unrest recently. On 8 April people took to the streets of Ouagadougou to protest against the soaring prices of basic foods.
In March, students torched government buildings in several cities to protest against a young man's death in custody. The government said he had meningitis, but accusations of mistreatment have fuelled protests, resulting in the deaths of at least six others....

from here

Not sure if this goes here or not, but:

On April 18, the stage from which daily speeches at the demonstration were made was burnt to the ground. Over 1000 demonstrators and many pedestrians caught up in the square trying to flee the tear gas were shot at with live ammunition and rubber bullets, tear gassed, beaten, arrested, and threatened....
Since Tuesday, April 19, 2011 the city of Suleimaniya has been occupied by well over 10,000 armed soldiers. Azadi Square and the surrounding streets and alleys are filled with soldiers and rings of soldiers are spread out throughout much of the city. The markets close to Azadi Square are open to citizens but people must keep walking and if anyone appears to group together and approach the square, they are immediately subject to beating by clubs and arrest.
During the day of April 21, thousands more soldiers were called in and a ring of military bases and some tanks formed around the outskirts of Suleimaniya city. Jalal Talabani, president of Iraq and head of the PUK party appealed to Nouri Al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister for 3000 more Iraqi troops to be sent to the Suleimaniya province...
There have been hundreds of arrests in Suleimaniya city these past four days and most people have been released quickly but only after having been beaten and threatened by the security police. Many women have been arrested in this sweep. Journalists have been targeted for arrest and torture and one of the opposition party's TV channel KNN has been tampered with causing it to shut down for periods of time.
According to a reliable source, the teachers of Suleimaniya city submitted a demand for the forces to leave the city within 48 hours or they would strike beginning midnight Saturday, April 23.

- from here: Military Occupation in Suleimaniya Iraq. Should say that the characterisation of this movement as just "non-violent" by this site ("Common Dreams") is an ideological distortion of the facts: a few weeks ago 2 peshmergas (now acting as cops for the Kurdish nationalist State) were killed. Don't know much about it, but it could be that what seems to be the more non-violent development of the movement has given the State the green light for military occupation.
The following, however, claims that recent rock-throwing is mostly State-provoked, but then liberal/Left critics of State brutality tend to always say that and it's always hard to sort the truth from the ideology:

A new song was playing on Iraqi Kurdistan radio today, 18 April, 2011.
Two lines stick out: "Don't kill this generation" and "don't kill the
future". While the song played, guns were blasting and tear gas filled
the streets in both Suleimaniya and the KRG capital city, Hawler.
Day 61 of Suleimaniya's daily demonstrations against corruption and
tribal rule in Iraqi Kurdistan started early this morning. The CPT
team arrived at 11AM. Music was playing from the stage and small
groups of people were gathering. Two CPTers decided to use the quiet
time to grab a cup of coffee and juice in a cafe next to the square. A
few of the demonstration organizers were doing the same.
Meanwhile, the armed soldiers, anti-terrorism unit and police were
positioning themselves around the square. They actually formed a ring
about 500 meters back from the square. They were waiting, armed with
guns, tear gas, water cannons and riot gear.
When the two CPTers and organizers left the cafe, a group of about 20
young men were talking about confronting the soldiers and police. Some
were talking about throwing rocks. Others told us the soldiers would
throw the first round of rocks to provoke a fight. Still others told
us that the government pays some of these young men to throw the first
stones in order to provoke an escalation of violence. The organizers
and CPTers gave an impromptu workshop on nonviolence. Some of the
young men decided to stay in the square. Others were having no part of
it and were ready to confront the soldiers. One young man said he
needed the money.
By now, the demonstration was beggining to grow. The speakers gathered
around the stage. An announcement was made that Hawler's first large
public demonstration took off like wildfire. Maybe a thousand took to
the streets. The Suleimaniya crowd cheered. They have been carrying
these demonstrations for 2 months because the repression in Hawler has
been so much worse.
Next, news came to the square that the Suleimaniya University students
were sitting in the street. For the second day, they were stopped by a
ring of soldiers. Today, they were not able to enter into the square.
A crowd gathered on one of the streets exiting the northeast corner of
the square. And then the mayhem began. It started with tear gas. The
people who were closest to it came running back towards the square
with swollen eyes and faces. Some couldn't breath. Ambulances were
nearby and ready to treat them. News came that the soldiers were
moving closer to the square. The stench of the tear gas permeated the
streets. The demonstrators set up barricades on the street and began
burning tires in order to keep the soldiers from breaking into the
square.
The sound of gunfire was prolonged and getting closer to the square.
Shops along the street began to close down. Pedestrians ran towards
the square to get away from the worst of the tear gas and the
shooting. The team made contact with the US Consulate by phone and
stayed in contact throughout the day.
The organizers appealed to the people to stay in the square and to
remain nonviolent. Most of the people listened. Then the shooting
began on the other side of the square and soldiers were set up in
sniper positions on rooftops. Nobody knew where to go as the shooting
was coming from all sides. People crouched down behind stone walls.
Others began breaking up huge blocks of cement to make baseball-sized
rocks. The organizers appealed to the people to sit down. Many did and
all the while shooting was going on from all sides. Again, the team
kept in constant contact with the US Consulate. The representative
could hear the shooting over the phone and said they were in contact
with the highest level of KRG authority. Nobody seemed to know who was
giving the orders to shoot.
There was a call for the demonstration to end. Many people, including
the CPT team left although it was difficult to find a safe exit. At
6PM, the team received a report that approximately 500 to 700 people
were still in the square. The soldiers and police came in with guns,
batons and tear gas. 81 people were injured and taken to the hospital.
The armed forces set the stage on fire and also burned down all the
art displays set up on the wall in the back of the square.
At 9PM, 200 young people went back to the square and were immediately
surrounded by armed forces. The young people chanted, "you broke the
square, but you can't break us".

- from National Catholic Worker.

More on the movement in Iraqi Kurdistan (there seem to be a few errors in the English, but it's mostly very clear):

Sulaimaniya, April 24 - A spokesman said over 50 schools in Sulaimaniya province have declared strike “against military deployment” in the province. Officials also demand the campaigners keep educational establishments out of the political disputes.
Xopeshandan , Dargai SaraRebwar Ali, a spokesman for the so-called campaign of “Defending Teachers Rights” said the campaign organizers have been informed that since Sunday morning in Sulaimaniya city 21 schools and in its suburbs 32 schools have staged strike.
The teachers and students of the morning rotation of these schools have walked out of the classes, chanting national songs in the school yards to signal their protest and strike.
The two months public anti-government protests in Sulaimaniya (one of the three provinces of the Kurdistan Region) were intercepted by a decision from the security committee of the province on Monday when in one day 100 protesters and security forces were wounded in clashes between the two sides. The major squares across the province are swarming with military and security forces that are ordered to quench any unauthorized public rally.
The deployment is receiving rising discontent from the residents of the province from various walks of life.
The strike follows a 48-hour respite the campaign organizers declared for the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region authority (in northern Iraq) to clear the heavy military presence in the city.
Last night the deadline ended and the campaigners called on the students and teachers declare strike.
Citing to AKnews, Ali said critically that as opposition and independent lists the campaigners run for Teachers Union elections recently and won the majority in Sulaimaniya, whereas teachers affiliated with the ruling parties and also Sulaimaniya Education Directorate have put the teachers under pressure not to join the strike of a “minority.”
Jabbar Mohammed, education director general in Sulaimaniya, called on all the political parties and teachers to keep educational institutions away from the political disputes.
This is a disservice only to students, especially now that the final exams are approaching, he warned.
Ata Abdul-Jabbar, a teacher, also believed staging the strike now will be a disadvantage for the students. “It should have been staged before,” he told AKnews.
“Attendance will be regally in our university and any student or teacher declining to attend the classes will face up with legal consequences,” Ali Said, the president for Sulaimaniya University said in a press conference Saturday night.
Students formed a vital faction in the recent demonstrations in the province. Reports suggest some were arrested, abused and tortured.
Said the president said the university council underlines its impartiality and independence as a scientific and educational institution and will not allow for “any transgression against university’s sanctuary”.
The university in the past week was besieged by the security forces who forced the students into buses, leading them to unpopulated areas around the city. Inside the bus, where the students were held for hours, they were forced to say in front of cameras that the opposition parties asked them to protest against their own will, an opposition TV channel, KNN said.
Since Feb.17, the outset of confrontations between security and anti-government protesters, 10 people have been killed, over 700 wounded, and tens arrested.
The crisis is mounting as the protesters are banned from public rallies by the military and security while the opposition forces are pushing for replacing the government with a transitional one.

Oman.:

Demonstrations in three Omani cities
Muscat: Activists in Oman have pledged not to relax till reforms are implemented in the country.
After Friday prayers, people staging sit-ins in three cities took out marches in Muscat, Salalah and Sur. "Like in the past weeks, the peaceful march in Salalah was very strong in presence of people," an activist, who preferred anonymity, told Gulf News on Friday....
The protests have generally been peaceful and security agencies have avoided interference right from the start.
However, the protests in Sohar did turn violent on more than two occasions, forcing army to use force, including firing. Two people have so far died in action by the security agencies to quell violent protests in Sohar.
Since the last violent protest on April 1, Sohar has been peaceful as the army took charge of the Industrial Port town and forced out all activists from staging sit-ins and blocking roads.
Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed has taken several decisions that satisfied the demands raised by the activists but they are demanding more reforms, including freedom of speech and freedom of the media.
The Omani monarch raised minimum wages for Omani citizens in private sector, raised pension for retired civil service employees, ordered creation of 50,000 jobs for the Omani nationals and also sanctioned 150 Omani riyals as the unemployment allowance besides making series of changes......
For the last three weeks, rallies after Friday prayers has become regular in Salalah and this week people in Sur and Muscat also took out similar rallies.

Sorry - don't have any answers to your interesting questions, Mark - partly because I'm too tired, but there's this news from Uganda:

Riots have swept across Uganda's capital, Kampala, in the biggest anti-government protest in sub-Saharan Africa this year.
Security forces have launched a brutal crackdown, firing at unarmed civilians with live rounds, rubber bullets and tear gas. Two people have been killed, more than 120 wounded and about 360 arrested. Women and girls have been among those beaten, according to witnesses.
The growing unrest -- triggered by rising food and fuel prices -- has gained fresh impetus after the violent arrest of the opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, last week. ...
Some point to the political earthquakes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and wonder if the aftershocks could reach south of the Sahara. Already there are pockets of unrest from Burkina Faso to Senegal to Swaziland. Even South Africa, reputed anchor of the continent, is tormented by deadly protests over poor public services.
In Uganda there is an inchoate revolution struggling to be born. Protests have spread to several towns, leaving seven people dead and hundreds in jail. The riots, in which roads have been barricaded with burning tyres, mark a new level of defiance. Facebook and Twitter, which the government unsuccessfully tried to block, are reverberating with dissent. Museveni's heavy-handed attempts to put out the fire appear only to be fanning its flames.
The subversion here began on April 11 with a defeated politician and half a dozen allies walking down a street. The "walk to work" campaign is intended to highlight the soaring food and fuel prices, which leave many unable to afford public transport.
If Besigye, who has lost three elections to Museveni, had been ignored the protest might have fizzled out. But instead riot police blocked the group, used tear gas and arrested him. At a stroke this waning figure was reborn as a hero of resistance.
Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda, an MP-elect for Besigye's Forum for Democratic Change, said: "We never intended to have a Tahrir Square to remove Museveni. We just wanted a reawakening of the people. We started walking, the simplest thing on Earth, and Museveni said, 'You can't.'"
At the third protest Besigye was hit in the hand by a rubber bullet. Images of him with his hand bandaged and in a sling gave the opposition a publicity coup. With each walk he has attracted more followers.
Nganda, who was jailed for five days for taking part in a walk, said: "When you start a campaign, you never know what the response will be. Museveni's brutal reaction is what raised its profile beyond our expectations. It's dominating the media, the opposition, even Museveni himself."
The 37-year-old said Ugandans would prove as determined as their North African counterparts. "I don't think when the Tunisians started they knew it would be the end of Ben Ali, or when the Egyptians started they knew they would get rid of Mubarak. Nobody can be sure what shape it will take in Uganda, but we are going to continue until Museveni leaves."
Besigye (54), who was Museveni's doctor during the bush war against former president Milton Obote, was detained again in Kampala last week after police smashed their way into his vehicle and shot pepper spray into his eyes.
An hour earlier he had admitted that he was hesitant to draw comparisons with Egypt and Tunisia. "The only parallel goes to the extent that people are discontented with what is going on and their governments are non-responsive. How this popular discontent is channelled is always governed by the unique qualities of governments."
Asked if he was prepared to die for the cause, Besigye said: "I am not setting out to become a martyr of anything. I am simply asserting my citizen's rights, which are inherent, which are not offered by the state and which I am determined to defend at all costs."
Commodity prices could be the spark in a Ugandan tinderbox of resentment over corruption and neglected public services. Museveni has refused to copy neighbouring Kenya by cutting fuel taxes, while his re-election campaign is estimated to have cost $350-million, with a further $1,3-million allotted to his inauguration ceremony.
Public anger was burning on a street where no car was safe from flying stones. Robert Mayanja, a self-described activist, said: "What they are doing now shows that Museveni rigged the last election. If you look at Uganda, why should we vote for him after 25 years? We have high prices; we have hospitals without medicine."
Mayanja (31) said a repeat of the revolts in Egypt and Tunisia was "definitely" possible. "People are ready. We know they are going to arrest many people and put them in torture chambers. We know this regime has expired. These are the signs."
In Ntinda district youths shouted and hurled stones and chunks of concrete at passing cars. On one corner a man ran up to a passing council vehicle and smashed the driver's window with a rock.
A teacher, who gave his name only as Nixon (32), said he could not imagine an Egypt-like revolt in the short term. "But in the long term I believe it can happen," he said. "The military is still strong and many of the soldiers are unwilling to turn to the side of the people. But in time they might get tired of beating the people."
A young population, often seen as politically apathetic, has reached unexpected levels of activism. People who used to bolt at the first whiff of tear gas are losing their fear. But there are serious doubts about whether a critical mass of Ugandans has the will or the means to drive out the president, who retains a vice-like hold on the military and police.
Rosebell Kagumire, a journalist who is blogging and tweeting about the political crisis, said: "It's hard to get people to believe going to the streets will change anything, especially when they know the government is prepared to kill half of them. Ugandans have not reached that level yet."
Museveni, whose election victory has been denounced as fraudulent, is confident he can avoid the fate of Arab leaders. "Nobody can take over power through an uprising," he said recently. "Whoever thinks like that, I pity such a person."
His spokesperson, Tamale Mirundi, said: "In Tunisia and Egypt democracy was lacking; in Uganda we elect our leaders at every level. Besigye cannot say he was cheated and that is why he is jumping on oil prices."
Mirundi played down the power of the internet. "Go to the villages. How many people can access Facebook? Very few." Yet every day in Uganda new people are connecting and interacting for the first time. "Uganda is sitting on a time bomb," tweeted Richo Nuwagaba. "It's just a matter of time. I am scared."

Demonstrations and police repression in Morocco

More on Morocco:

Rabat...Those who managed to assemble chanted "We want our rights, even if we are condemned to death," before fleeing down sidestreets in the face of charging policemen. Demonstrators also complained about the high cost of living and lack of jobs.
Dozens of members of the movement later attempted to regroup in front of parliament, but were again violently dispersed by police.
By sunset, activists had taken refuge inside the headquarters of the main labor union while a heavy police presence waited outside.
Activists also reported that police violently dispersed similar protest marches in the northern city of Tangiers and Agadir, in the south. Many were arrested and injured, but the movement did not have an official count....
While the movement in Morocco is not calling for abolishing the monarchy, it is for reducing its powers, strengthening the prime minister, reforming the judiciary and combatting the corruption they say is rife in the country.
On March 9, the king promised constitutional amendments to address many of these concerns and a handpicked committee is expected to present its recommendations in June.
As the committee deliberates, however, the government appears to have instituted a new zero tolerance policy for demonstrations, which previously had been allowed.
On May 15, an attempt to hold a rally outside the intelligence headquarters in a suburb of Rabat was violently dispersed, with at least one protest leader severely beaten.
An attempt on Friday to hold a protest over the expense of Rabat's prestigious Mawazine world music festival was also charged by police and dispersed.

Togo:

Togo's government has ordered the indefinite closure of the country's largest university days after students started riots demanding better conditions and food.
Policemen and paramilitary guards patrolled the University of Lome campus on Friday. The university's vice chancellor says the rampaging protests began Wednesday and escalated Thursday on the campus in the capital of the tiny West African nation. Koffi Ahadzi Nonon says students damaged university property and tried to force others to join their protests at the university of some 12,000 students.
He says the students were upset about their food and about the introduction of a new curriculum for which they said they were not prepared.

Yemen again (though this might be called the "Mossos Effect").

Seems like there's a civil war brewing in Yemen between some of the tribes and the government.

Apparently the president was injured on an attack at his compound today. It's being blamed on the tribes.

There were also apparently huge demonstrations today after friday prayers.

Yemen seems to be something of a mess right now.

OK, this news about the rescheduling of the Bahrain Formula 1 race is significant. It's an opportunity to anarchists in the UK to make a symbolic, but meaningful intervention of solidarity into this process.

Bahrain is the other pole to Libya. Libya represents Western imperialism's attempt (clumsy and so far bungled) attempt to regain the initiative in this wave of revolt, through "hard power" intervention, in defence of material interests on one level (oil) and at another political (attempt to regain the appearance of dominance in the era of their decline). Bahrain was the blood price paid to the Saudis for the support of the Arab League for the intervention. A quid pro quo. The Saudis got to crush the Bahraini movement for the right of 90% of its population to throw off subjugation with the blessing (through silence) of the US and its Western allies.

This is common coin in today's Arab media. The traditional trope of the duplicity of the West is given new witness through the spectacle of the Libya - Bahrain double standard that is plain to all (at least in North Africa and the Middle East).

In this context, even token solidarity actions in support of the Bahrain struggle, have the potential to make a political difference.

Formula 1 is one of the most disgusting sports on the planet, the price for tickets for spectators is in the thousands, not the hundreds. It has the highest organic composition of capital of any sport, the manufacturers even get trophies, in recognition. Formula 1 is also, beneath it's carefully constructed guise of international or world sport, almost entirely a UK production. It is the private cash-cow of one UK "non-resident", and virtually all of the teams have their engineering in the UK.

This rescheduling of the Bahrain F1 race is a perfect storm. It represents everything that is sick and degenerate about both Bahrain and the UK. It also represents, thanks to their stupidity, a gift-horse in terms of international solidarity - a chance to defy/expose not only US-EU compliance with the Saudi line, but also to challenge the populist image in the bourgeois Arab media of western proles as gormless puppets of their state's media, and finally to intervene on the disruptive side of the sectarian composition of the Arabian peninsular and the Gulf region - that is on the minoritarian, Shi'ite side - in the Bahraini case, a minority distinct from the dominant Shia sect of Iran as well (contrary to ignorant or opportunistic Israeli/US propaganda).

Bahrain may not appear to be a big issue by the metrics of armchair generals who measure everything by weight of population and media coverage, but political judgement is based on awareness of the totality of interrelations and current processes. In that light I propose that this is a fault line worth attacking.

Here's a report of brutal repression in Yemen. Warning, horrible pictures there: http://janenovak.wordpress.com/yemen-protesters-burnt-alive-buried-in-mass-graves/

Obama administration "condemned" Yemen repression. They say "several" people have been killed, while it's been hundreds, including children who were burned alive!

ocelot: Not quite sure what you're proposing here. Everyone go off to Bahrain and build burning barricades out of racing cars across the track ? I realise you can't be too specific, but I seriously can't see how those outside Bahrain can make a "meaningful intervention of solidarity ".

Formula One Is Criticized After Rescheduling Grand Prix in Bahrain
June 3rd.
Formula One’s ruling body was criticized by human-rights groups after rescheduling a race in Bahrain amid anti-government protests.....
“This decision reflects the spirit of reconciliation in Bahrain, which is evident from the strong support the race receives from the government and all major parties in Bahrain, including the largest opposition group,” the racing body said.
It said the move was a “means of helping to unite people.”
The race had been slated to open the season on March 13. Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa suspended it on Feb. 21, three days after five people were killed as police broke up demonstrations by activists seeking democratic changes. At least 30 people have died since the protests began, the Associated Press reported.
“It seems like a highly questionable decision by Formula One,” Joe Stork, the deputy director of the region for New York-based Human Rights Watch, said in a telephone interview.
Teams and drivers now have to make a decision “influenced by financial reasons and personal feelings,” Stork said.
Lost Money
Canceling the event would have cost Formula One, owned by London-based buyout firm CVC Capital Partners Ltd., the $40 million fee it charges Bahraini authorities, the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph reported March 15, citing series Chief Executive Officer Bernie Ecclestone.
Human-rights activists in Bahrain said they would use the publicity of the most-watched motor sport to show their discontent with the government.
“On the one hand, Formula One isn’t respecting human rights, but on the other, it’s a good chance for the people to express how they feel on television worldwide,” Mohamed Al- Maskati, head of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, said from Manama, the capital.
On June 1, Bahrain lifted a state of emergency, warning in a statement carried by the official Bahrain News Agency against activities that could “affect security or harm the national peace and safety.”
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as hundreds of protesters marched towards Pearl Square in Manama today following the funeral of an elderly woman who died yesterday from the effects of tear gas, Al-Maskati said.
Bahrain has hosted Formula One since 2004 at a $150 million racetrack in the desert south of Manama.

From here

Samotnaf

ocelot: Not quite sure what you're proposing here. Everyone go off to Bahrain and build burning barricades out of racing cars across the track ? I realise you can't be too specific, but I seriously can't see how those outside Bahrain can make a "meaningful intervention of solidarity ".

No I wasn't suggesting anyone travel to Bahrain. I was pointing out that appropriate foci were available a few tube stops away for Londoners, for e.g.

Contact & Company details

Our contact details are as follows:
Postal address: Formula1.com, Formula One Management Ltd, 6 Princes Gate, Knightsbridge, London. SW7 1QJ. England.
Email: Due to the extremely high volume of traffic we receive, we regret to inform you that we are unable to respond to emails which are not specifically related to the two categories below:
For business enquiries, click here .
For editorial enquiries, click here .
Company details: 'FORMULA ONE MANAGEMENT LIMITED' is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 01545332 and with a registered office as above. VAT number: 391582332

from here

from the same page:

Formula One Management Limited ('FOM') is a wholly owned subsidiary of Formula One World Championship Limited ('FOWC') and acts as its agent and business manager and together with Formula One Licensing BV and Formula One Administration Limited, these companies form the Formula One group of companies ('Formula One Group').

The parent company of FOM, FOWC is also registered at 6 Princes Gate:

Company Name: FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP LIMITED
Company Number: 04174493
Company Address: 6 PRINCES GATE
LONDON
SW7 1QJ
Company Type: Private Limited Company
Company Status: Active

from here

So the immediate companies are handily located in central(ish) London. Above that level we get into a Jersey tax haven:

The Formula One Group is a group of companies responsible for the promotion of the FIA Formula One World Championship and exploitation of the sport's commercial rights.[1] The Group is owned ultimately by Delta Topco, a Jersey–based company owned by CVC Capital Partners' funds (approximately 70%) and JPMorgan (approximately 20%). Bernie Ecclestone's family trust owns the remainder apart from small shares held by financial advisers and Ecclestone himself.[2]

"Formula One Group" strictly refers to Formula One Management, Formula One Administration and Formula One Licensing BV,[3] which are subsidiaries of the Formula One Holdings holding company. However Delta Topco owns other Formula One businesses which are referred to in the same way.

from WP

And Bernie "Hitler got bad press" Ecclestone is also London based, but of course he'll be in Bahrain at the time of the race.

Bahrain Grand Prix cancelled.

Hungary, Clown revolution...

DAKAR, Senegal — Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Senegal’s capital to protest frequent power cuts.
Angry mobs attacked and destroyed government buildings across the city Monday, including the national electricity company’s offices. In some parts of Dakar, people claim they now go regularly without electricity for 24 hours or more.
Riot police fought back in some areas with tear gas and water cannons.

- http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/thousands-launch-demonstrations-across-senegals-capital-protesting-increased-power-cuts/2011/06/28/AGVpZroH_story.html

Malaysia Protests: Over 1,400 Arrested During Demonstrations
7/9/11
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian police fired repeated rounds of tear gas and detained over 1,400 people in the capital on Saturday as thousands of activists evaded roadblocks and barbed wire to hold a street protest against Prime Minister Najib Razak's government.

- here.

Iraq drafts harsh anti-protest law as Baghdad gets Tahrir Square movement
In a July 13 statement, Human Rights Watch called on the Iraqi government to revise a draft law it said would limit freedom of assembly and expression, in contravention both of international standards and Iraq's own constitution. The bill contains provisions that would curtail the right to protest hold demonstrations that are seen to violate the "public interest" or the "general order or public morals"—without providing any definition of those terms. Those provisions, as well as the proposed criminalization of speech that "insults" a "sacred" symbol or person, clearly violate international law, Human Rights Watch said. “This law will undermine Iraqis’ right to demonstrate and express themselves freely,” the watchdog’s deputy Middle East director, Joe Stork, said. (AFP, HRW, July 13)
The proposed law comes just as opposition groups have launched a campaign of Friday protests in Baghdad's Tahrir Square to demand the ouster of Prime Minister Nuri Maliki. At least seven protesters were arrested and beaten by Iraqi security forces as hundreds of angry demonstrators gathered last Friday July 8 in the capital's central square. Protesters chanted: "Friday after Friday until we get rid of al-Maliki," referring to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. (CNN, July 8)

http://ww4report.com/node/10124

The working class in Senegal has a long and noble history in the class struggle, including self-organisation and extension in extremely difficult circumstances and as a part of the global revolutionary wave following World War One, including here joint struggles with European workers and mutinies.

Chile student riots get out of control
SANTIAGO: At least 32 officers were wounded and 54 demonstrators were arrested here Thursday in a mass protest demanding more funds for public education, police said. Riot police used water cannons and fired tear gas to disperse the tens of thousands of demonstrators, who fought back by hurling rocks, sticks, and plastic bottles filled with paint. Santiago Police Chief Sergio Gajardo told reporters that 32 officers were wounded "as a result of the extremely violent actions that took place at the end of the march.
A police spokesperson separately told AFP that 54 protesters had been arrested. One of the officers, who was guarding the nearby Brazilian embassy, was seriously burned when an "incendiary artifact" burst on his shield and burning liquid spilled onto his legs, Gajardo said. Officials said that some 30,000 people joined the march down La Alameda, a main downtown thoroughfare, though organizers said the number was closer to 80,000, the same number that marched in similar demonstrations on June 14 and June 30.
The protesters-students, teachers, parents and children-swarmed several blocks of the avenue in a noisy, festive and colorful protest. The clash began when police moved in to stop the crowd from turning towards the Palacio de la Moneda, the presidential palace, where unlike the previous times organizers did not have a permit to demonstrate. "They are playing with fire. That march was not authorized," Deputy Interior Minister Rodrigo Ubilla told reporters.
"The students must understand that the street is not theirs," added Ena von Baer, a spokeswoman for President Sebastian Pinera. Students want the national government to take over the public school system, where 90 percent of the country's 3.5 million students are educated. The nationwide school system was broken up during the 1973-1990 military regime and handed over to municipal authorities. Protesters say the current system results in deep inequalities and is underfunded.
Protests have been mounting since Pinera, the first center-right president to govern Chile since the country returned to democracy in 1990, earlier in the year announced wide-ranging education spending cuts. Pinera has said the cuts are needed to trim the government's bloated bureaucracy, even as the country's economy is experiencing a six percent annual growth rate.
The government currently dedicates 4.4 percent of the country's gross national product to education, far below the seven percent recommended by UNESCO. The demonstration comes 10 days after Pinera proposed a "grand accord" that includes a $4 billion fund, but no systemic reform. In the June 30 protest, 13 people were detained and one police officer wounded.

http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=OTAyMTMyMTAzNQ==

http://labourstart-fr.posterous.com/algeria-assassination-attempt-on-snapap-leade

Algeria. Assassination attempt on SNAPAP leader Rachid Malaoui fails

Yesterday evening, 15th of July, an assassination attempt on Rachid Malaoui was foiled when the sabotaged brakes of his vehicle were discovered by chance. Chairman of the independent union of public service employees and human rights activist, friends now fear for his life. Brutally assaulted during a demonstration in Algiers on February 19, requiring hospitalization, Rachid Malaoui is also victim of a travel ban plot, preventing him from building solidarity with European and international trade unions. SNAPAP is one of the most active organizations in Algeria gathering the sympathy of unemployed and private sector workers who find it's action more adapted to their needs than that of the monopolistic UGTA. Last nights act sparks fears that the Algerian government, inspired by embattled "democratic transition" in neighbouring countries including Libya and Syria, might abandon constrained reforms in favor of stepped-up repression of the movement for social change.

Don't know if it is appropriate to use this as a catch-all for political protests that turn into more social forms of contestation, but didn't think it was worth putting this up as a separate news item (same with a lot of my previous posts on this thread):

Death toll in Malawi riots rises to 6
Death toll from the riots on Wednesday in Malawi rises to 6 as local media Joy Radio of Malawi reported another 2 died in the southern commercial city of Blantyre during the chaotic event.
Four people were previously reported dead following the riots that ensued in the cities of Malawi following the police's failure to contain the situation where protesters vandalized shops, offices and vehicles.
The violence ensued following an eleventh-hour court injunction obtained by one lawyer at 1 a.m. local time on Wednesday stopping the nationwide peaceful demonstrations organized by the civil society and the opposition parties in protest of President Mutharika's leadership.
The court order was issued despite the fact that President Mutharika had given a go ahead to the event on Monday.
The situation got out of hand when the police, following the court order, tried to stop the march.
It all started in Mzuzu, a city up north where, according to the local media, protesters overpowered the police and went on rampage and set ablaze the ruling party's vehicle, vandalized the party's offices and tore off all President Mutharika's billboards in the city.
A local radio, Zodiak, confirmed death of four people in Mzuzu city while unconfirmed reports indicated one death in the capital following police shootout.
In Lilongwe violence took root from early in the morning as the civil society and the opposition officials were negotiating with the court to have the injunction lifted.
The local media reports said one of the civil society leaders, Undule Mwakasungula, and a dozen local journalists were severely beaten by police while elsewhere in the city protesters overpowered the police, looted and vandalized banks, offices and shops.
Included on the list of the vandalized structures in Lilongwe and Blantyre are police vehicles and houses and ruling party officials' property.
In Zomba, however, the march was conducted peacefully and the police are reported to have handled the situation professionally.
Meanwhile, the protestors in all the Blantyre and Lilongwe succeed in presenting their petition to the authorities following the lifting of the injunction late in the afternoon.
Among other things the protestors are calling upon President Mutharika to address issues of critical shortage of fuel, forex, and poor governance.
As the riots carried the day throughout the country, elsewhere at State House in the capital, President Mutharika was presenting a public lecture on issues of sovereignty, political independence, forex, good governance and human rights, where he emphasized that Malawi will never dance to the donors' tune.

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90855/7447045.html

And more:

Troops were deployed in the southern African country’s commercial capital, Blantyre, and police fired tear gas at protesters who had gathered outside the stock exchange in defiance of a court order banning protests in Malawi, according to Reuters.
In Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, protesters burnt cars, offices and shops belonging to politicians from Mutharika's ruling Democratic Progressive Party and their allies, Reuters says. In the northern city of Mzuzu, demonstrators ransacked the DPP’s offices.....
Malawi is a landlocked nation sandwiched between Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania, and is heavily reliant on foreign aid. The country relies on handouts for 40 percent of its budget.
Mutharika, a former World Bank economist, was first elected in 2004, but recently has been embroiled in a diplomatic spat with Britain, Malawi’s biggest aid donor, over a leaked embassy cable that referred to him as "autocratic and intolerant of criticism.”
Mutharika's recent policies have included a ban on publications deemed "contrary to the public interest,” AFP says.
Malawi ejected Britain’s ambassador in Lilongwe over the leaked cable, and in response Britain kicked out Malawi’s representative in London and suspended aid worth $550 million over the next four years, Reuters says.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/110720/africa-malawi-anti-government-riots-lilongwe-protests-aid

For more information on Malawi, and a lot of moralising and nauseating liberal crap, see this Amnesty International report.

More on Malawi (doesn't say much except that rioting and looting continued yesterday):

Malawi president calls for clam amid continued riots
July 22, 2011
Malawi President Bingu Mutharika on Thursday appealed to the opposition and civil society organizations to come forward for a dialogue rather than going into the streets.
The president made the remarks during his State of the Nation Address on Thursday afternoon, as more riots were seen in the capital Lilongwe where more shops were looted.
In the address beamed on the state controlled broadcaster Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, Mutharika condemned the Wednesday riots where property, houses, vehicles and lives were lost.
He said it was very sad that some innocent people lost their lives.
"I know all the perpetrators of yesterday's riots and as the state president of this country I have the responsibility of bringing them to book," he said.
"It would be better if the opposition and the civil society organizations came forward for a dialogue," he added.
Mutharika accused the opposition and the civil society organization leaders of fuelling the riots by hiring the rioters to cause havoc in the cities.
Riots continued Thursday in many parts of the country. Uniformed and heavily armed Malawi Defense Force officers could be spotted in some locations where the riots were evident.
President Mutharika is expected to respond to the petition delivered Wednesday by the civil society organizations and the opposition through the city and town councils.
Local media quoted the country's health ministry as saying that nine people have died in Wednesday's riots among whom were two police officers killed in Mzuzu city by angry protesters.
The civil society in Malawi had planned to take to the streets in peaceful protest against what they call economic hardships and was granted by Mutharika on Monday. However a court injunction obtained by a lawyer early Wednesday denied the legitimacy of the demonstration.
Protesters rushed into streets in major cities early in the morning on Wednesday and clashed with police.
The injunction was lifted Wednesday afternoon when all demonstrators successfully presented their petitions to the president. However, the riots carried on Thursday when demonstrations became robbery and other forms of violence.
ZODIAK, a Malawi local radio said civil society organizations have called on the nation to be calm and the Malawi police has described the behavior of some misguided demonstrators as barbaric and condemned such acts in its strongest terms.

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90855/7448154.html

More about this in Ha'aretz, Wed, 20 Jul 2011

Tent protests spread in Israel as far north as Lebanese border
The protest against high housing costs spread yesterday to additional cities, with local residents coming out in support of the mostly young protesters. Tents went up yesterday in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona.
protest.
The first protest in the Arab sector appeared yesterday, with a single tent outside of Tamra in Western Galilee.
Tents are also expected to go up today at Beit Berl College near Kfar Sava.
The protesters who spent the night in 10 tents near the Kfar Sava municipality, woke up yesterday morning to find the media waiting for them, but later on, local residents began to stop by. "People in their 50s, 60s and 70s are taking part in the protest," said Merav Raymond, 24, who organized the "tent city" protest in Kfar Sava.
Tents are expected to go up today at Beit Berl College, where students are fighting the rising cost of dorm rental. Chen Sharabi-Cohen, 31, a student of public administration at Beit Berl College, who had also spent time at Tel Aviv's Rothschild Boulevard protest site, said: "We've had it; I'm living with my parents because I have nowhere else to live," he said.
Two-year-old Romi Shapira was running around among the tents. Her father, Shahar Shapira, came from nearby Hod Hasharon, where he said a tent protest would be starting soon.
"There are a lot of couples like us, with one or two children, who are struggling with living expenses... There's the term nouveau riche; well, we're the nouveau poor" - educated, intelligent, contributing to the state and still living like poor people," he said.
Muhammed Abu-Alhija, 25, a bachelor and informal educator, put up a tent at the entrance to the Western Galilee town of Tamra.
"We young Arabs also have to make our voice heard," he said. "I hope my cry will bring more and more young couples to support the struggle," he said.
According to a survey by the databank Rikaz, established by the NGO Galilee Society, half of the 55.2 percent of Arab families in Israel that will need housing in the coming decade, will will not be able to afford a place to live.
The group's director general, Baker Awawdy, said the situation in Arab communities is a lot worse because of the high percentage of poor people and lack of land for building.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acceded to a demand yesterday by MK Hanna Swaid (Hadash ) to halve the size requirement regarding a minimal planned number of dwellings in the new bill to streamline housing construction, from 200 to 100. Netanyahu also agreed to change the requirement that at least 80 percent of the new dwellings had to be built on state-owned land. Under the amendment, construction can be on privately-owned land. The original requirements had, in practice, eliminated Arab towns from eligibility.
In Jerusalem, there was barely room yesterday afternoon for the 10 tents that were taking up the little patch of grass near the Old City wall opposite IDF Square. Still, a big sign called on passersby to "bring a tent and join."
"This is only the beginning," the chairman of the Hebrew University Student Union, Itai Gutler, said. "Rental prices are almost as high in Jerusalem as in Tel Aviv, which is absurd, because there's nowhere near the quality of life in Jerusalem," he said.
Jerusalem Councilwoman Merav Cohen, 27, one of the protest's organizers in the capital said: "There is a mixture of people and movements who are partners to the struggle." Cohen said the government should stop trying to maximize its profits on state lands and offer lower-cost housing to young people.
Tents also went up yesterday in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, About 100 students from Tel Hai Academic College set up some 25 tents in the city's IDF Square, and said they would stay for as long as it took to advance the fight for affordable housing.
A number of the town's long-time residents joined the students.
Protesters sat in a large circle on the ground throughout most of Monday evening, discussing possible solutions.
Student Union chairman Aviad Rosenfeld said the monthly salary a student earned in Kiryat Shmona was about what a month's rent cost. "On the one hand they tell you it's expensive in Tel Aviv, come study in the outlying areas, but when you get here you find out there's no public transportation, housing is expensive and its hard to find a job," he said. Kiryat Shmona Mayor Nissim Malka remarks to protesters at the site were greeted with applause. "It's important to me for students to live in Kiryat Shmona," Malka said. He pledged to move ahead housing solutions for young people. He said contractors were waiting to build in the city, but his hands were tied because the Israel Lands Administration was delaying things.

The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has issued a ban stopping all private radio stations from broadcasting live the demonstrations taking place in the country.

Not sure if this is appropriate here but.........

Chile Union Will 'Indefinitely' Extend Strike At Escondida
Published July 22, 2011

--Union votes to "indefinitely" extend strike at Escondida copper mine

--Minera Escondida to likely lose 3,000 metric tons of copper production every day workers are on strike

--Escondida is the world's largest copper mine

The largest union at Chile's Escondida copper mine voted to "indefinitely" extend a strike at the mine, which is controlled by global diversified miner BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP, BHP.AU), union leader Jose Vidal said Friday.

Members of 2,350-strong Escondida Mine Workers Union No. 1 "unanimously voted" to extend the work stoppage, which began Thursday night and was initially slated to end 24 hours later at 8 p.m. EDT on Friday, Vidal told Dow Jones Newswires.

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/07/22/chile-union-will-indefinitely-extend-strike-at-escondida/#ixzz1StHwZLbq

I have nothing more to add about that, really. What I know through my friends is more or less what is up there. There are complaints that it's not political enough, praise that it's grass-roots, etc.

Another thing that I'm not sure if you're aware of is that the medical interns went on hunger strike, as well as checking in to emergency rooms complaining of exhaustion, thus crowding them and bringing many hospitals to a standstill over wages and conditions. Tunisia effect? I don't know. Sure does seem to be acting up over there, though.

Interesting development, despite the obvious contradictions. Worth looking at Mark's link - leads to things like:

A sign that seemed ubiquitous said: “the market is free – are you?” Here were some others, signs and chants and slogans:

Danger, construction – for the rich
[.......]
The answer to privatization? Revolution!

(my favourites)

and to this informative article:

http://972mag.com/understanding-the-tent-protest/

The attitude of the cops here seems strangely contradictory: though these anarchists were held in custody longer, they've only been banned from the tent cities for 7 days, as opposed to 30 days for the others. Anybody have any idea why?

Samotnaf

The attitude of the cops here seems strangely contradictory: though these anarchists were held in custody longer, they've only been banned from the tent cities for 7 days, as opposed to 30 days for the others. Anybody have any idea why?

I speculate that it's basically the results of haggling. Those who caved in earlier found themselves under worse restrictions than those who were willing to spend the night in jail and see what kind of demand would hold up in front of a judge. Since these were AAW members, the police could still find a way of convincing a judge to put some restriction on them, but not as much as they initially demanded from the rest.

Well, that clarifies it. Thanks.

Sorry I don't really post much up here. You cover what I would have been uploading, and the rest is in Hebrew and doesn't seem to add much.

I tend to use this thread as a catch-all for interesting events that are not really worth starting a new thread over:

Niger police intervene after demonstrations
August 2 2011 at 12:25am
Niamey - Security forces broke up demonstrations by hundreds of people after weeks of electricity cuts in Niger, with several protesters wounded and arrested on Monday, radio reports and police said.
Police fired teargas to disperse demonstrators who took to the streets of the central town of Tanout after a first day of protests on Sunday, private Anfani radio said.
Several people were hurt and about 20 were detained over both days, it said.
Demonstrators vandalised the premises of electricity provider Nigelec as well as the home of its main representative, a policeman told reporters by telephone.
“To demand the release of some of their friends detained on Sunday during a similar demonstration, the residents again took to the streets of Tanout on Monday,” he said.
A Nigelec official said on Anfani radio that the crowd had “badly beaten” another employee.
The impoverished country, much of it in the Sahara desert, regularly suffers power outages.
Since April the capital Niamey has suffered several long electricity cuts that Nigelec mostly blames on disruptions in Nigeria, which provides about 80 percent of Niger's power supply. - Sapa-AFP

http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/niger-police-intervene-after-demonstrations-1.1109948

http://www.leftcom.org/en/articles/2011-08-10/the-unfinished-business-of-the-arab-spring

Bahrain:

Police Injured During Demonstrations in Manama
MANAMA, Bahrain, Aug. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The General Director of Bahrain's Capital Governorate Police announced Thursday night that eight members of the security forces were injured after attempting to control demonstrators that vandalized public property and created roadblocks in Bahrain.
One policeman sustained a serious head injury and seven others were treated for minor injuries. Security forces warned protesters that acts of vandalism and disturbing the peace would not be tolerated.
Freedom of expression and opinion are guaranteed by Bahrain's constitution. Peaceful gatherings are allowed for those that seek appropriate authorization to demonstrate or gather publicly. Protests Thursday night in Manama lacked the proper permits.
Security forces in Bahrain follow strict protocol to avoid physical contact with protesters.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/police-injured-during-demonstrations-in-manama-127577738.html

(doesn't even attempt to say what the demo was about)

I'm not sure of its political stance but Sahel Blog has some coverage of the Sudan protests - mostly links to other media but I've found it interesting.

Egypt: Protest at Sudan Embassy against Bashir regime

Sudanese residents in Egypt hold protest at their embassy in solidarity with popular home revolt

Tens of Sudanese protested at their embassy Saturday in Cairo in solidarity with an ongoing revolt in their home country against President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, demanding democratic change.

"We are here in solidarity with the Sudan movement demanding democratic change, a peaceful transition of power, an end to Bashir's austerity policies, and the release of 250 political prisoners in
Khartoum," said Ahmed Essam, a Sudanese student residing in Egypt.

Protests, according to Essam, are taking place simultaneously in 14 different countries, all upholding the same demands. The invitation was spread on Facebook, initiated by members of the Sudan student movement. The call was for expat Sudanese around the world to demonstrate at their respective embassies.

Protests were witnessed in Dallas, New York, Washington DC, Toronto, London, Paris, New Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Canberra and Cairo, among other cities.

"The call was made to coincide with the Sudanese government's celebration of the 1989 coup that brought Bashir to power, also dating 30 June," explained Essam.

Demonstrations in Sudan against Bashir are now entering their third week. In recent days demonstrators were mobilised in "unprecedented" numbers, despite the arrest of hundreds by the regime's security forces, according to activists.

http://sahelblog.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/anti-government-protests-in-darfur/

It’s worth keeping an eye on the anti-government, anti-austerity protests that occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday in Darfur, Sudan:

Some 400 people gathered in the main market and two other areas of the western city of Nyala [on Wednesday] to protest against the government and rising inflation, but were dispersed by the baton-wielding police, a journalist and witness said.
[...]
More than 1,000 demonstrators clashed with police in Nyala on Tuesday, according to witnesses. Activists published a list of 12 people they said had been killed in Tuesday’s clashes, countering the official death toll of eight.

Map of Nyala here, and more on Tuesday’s protests here.

A wave of anti-austerity protests began in the capital Khartoum and elsewhere in mid-June. These protests in Darfur remind us that people are dissatisfied with the economic situation in various parts of the country, not just at the center. The protests are also a reminder that not all politics in Darfur revolve around rebel movements – though government officials have accused rebel groups of stirring up these protests. I was surprised to learn that Nyala has an estimated population of 500,000, a population is certainly large enough to support a movement of dissent.

In what may be an unrelated incident, a local government official and his driver were shot by unknown gunmen this week in Kutum, Darfur (map). Two similar incidents have occurred in recent months, with gunmen seizing land cruisers (Arabic).

the revolt is back in Tunisia after a well-known left-wing and secularist MP was killed:

- http://juralib.noblogs.org/category/la-liberte-est-le-crime-qui-contient-tous-les-crimes/linsurrection-tunisienne-et-ses-suites/

- http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/07/tunisia-general-strike-assassination-crisis

- http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article2885