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11 Jul 2011 17:24

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World: Pro-Assad protesters confront U.S. and French embassies in Syria

  • Embassies in Syria beset by protests: Throngs of protesters loyal to the embattled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad descended on the embassies of both France and the United States today, ostensibly to protest ambassadors visiting the violence-stricken city of Hama over the weekend. We say ostensibly because there’s little reason to doubt this was organized by the Syrian government, which has been using violence, intimidation and torture on its citizenry for months — rounding up a posse isn’t as hard when you wield that sort of brutal muscle. The U.S. thinks so, at least: “The Syrian government can organize protests at our embassy if it wants, but the world will not be distracted from the fact that it is the Syrian government that is imprisoning, torturing and killing people who want to peacefully protest,” said press attaché JJ Harder. source
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30 Mar 2011 13:06

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World: Obama speaks out on Ivory Coast’s Gbagbo

  • He’s now using his thugs to try to stay in power and intimidate the opposition and the duly elected president.
  • President Barack Obama • On the continued grip on power by Laurent Gbagbo, the Ivory Coast strongman who was electorally defeated by Alassane Ouattara last November. As power-hungry, unscrupulous leaders are prone to do, Gbagbo didn’t relinquish power to Ouattara, instead orchestrating a campaign of intimidation and violence against the citizenry. Some 400 people have been killed as a result, and it’s estimated more than a million have been displaced, fleeing their homes and seeking peaceful refuge elsewhere. It’s nice to hear the President talk about this, because frankly, the people of the Ivory Coast have gotten short shrift with all the upheaval in the Middle East. He emphasized that a diplomatic effort with surrounding African nations is the crux of the U.S. effort to isolate and pressure Gbagbo out of power, downplaying military options. source
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03 Feb 2011 14:27

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World: Egyptian pro-government forces try to intimidate foreign press

  • The Egyptian strategy is employing a strategy of eliminating witnesses to their actions.
  • Middle East Director for the Committee to Protect Journalists, Mohamed Abdel Dayem • Speaking on the increasingly apparent targeting of journalists by pro-government forces (CNN’s Andersen Cooper reports being attacked for the second time in two days), the director suggests a broad strategy by the Mubarak regime to minimize the media’s ability to bear witness to what’s happening in Cairo. source
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