Syria Feature: The Armed Struggle of the Opposition (Rosen)

Nir Rosen reports for Al Jazeera English, in a video interview and an article, after seven weeks travelling throughout Syria, including Daraa, Damascus, Homs, Hama, Latakia, and Aleppo:

HOMS: On August 31, I met up with a trusted acquaintance called Abu Omar (not his real name). I had been waiting for this meeting with anticipation, as the people involved were extremely hard to reach. They were constantly evading the regime.

Abu Omar called the night before to let me know it was going to happen. The next morning I awoke excited. Adding to my nervous energy, the mobile network in town was shut off. Unable to call Abu Omar, I decided to go to the café near where we had last met, hoping he would find me.

Click to read more ...

Iran Letter: Fatemeh Karroubi Writes Head of Judiciary from Her House Arrest ---- "We Have Been Denied Basic Rights"

Mehdi and Fatemeh KarroubiDo you truly believe that you will find one rational human being on this planet who will confirm that [my husband Mehdi] Karroubi is at home rather than under imposed house arrest?  Will the silence by the judiciary not lead to a new trend in which security institutions will impose the costs associated with such house arrests on the shoulders of the families of those arrested? Is this type of behaviour worthy of the Islamic Republic? Although you are fully aware that this newly devised and ridiculous tactic will be recorded in history as such,  the family has nevertheless chosen to comply with your demands in order to protect the physical well-being of Mr. Karroubi.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (24 September): The Imprisonment of the Filmmakers

Mojtaba Mirtahmasb1635 GMT: Press Release of the Day. And, as it's slow, let's give some airtime to General Yahya Rahim Safavi, senior military advisor to the Supreme Leader: “The US and Zionists are desperately seeking to rein in, restrict, replace...or take control of some of these revolutions” in the Middle East and North Africa.

Rahim Safavi, whose brother has told Western diplomats of the "political coup" of the 2009 Presidential election from the Supreme Leader's office, said the "West" started a “division of labour” system with France tasked to help bring Western-supported individuals to power through the National Transitional Council. He declared the US was seeking to infiltrate Egypt's Parliamentary Presidential balllots and interfere in the proposed changes to Egypt's Constitution.

Safavi urged Libyans and Egyptians to prevent this foreign interference, adding that the US was about to lose its political position in the region and said Israel was also facing a difficult situation.

Moving to Central Asia, Safavi said that terrorist groups in Afghanistan were linked to "Western hegemony", but the US would suffer the same fate as the former Soviet Union and finally leave the country after a humiliating defeat.

Click to read more ...

Bahrain, Syria, Yemen (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Reclaiming Pearl Roundabout?

2055 GMT: Manama Press, which is connected to the regime, has published a very interesting article about today's events. It starts out by describing a sermon by a leading cleric:

On Friday Sheikh Isa Qassim during his Friday sermon told worshippers “There is a class of society under repression and there are obstacles at every turn, blocking their voice. The cleric told worshippers in a mosque in Duraz, an opposition stronghold northwest of the capital, Manama, that the vote on Saturday is meaningless. This is fake democracy,”

The article then describes plans for protests. Up until halfway through, it almost reads as if the paper is supporting the protesters.

Then we get the bait and switch. The official line is that very few protesters showed up, but the Central Mall and some streets were filled with rioters who had to be dispersed and arrested.

City Centre was the Centre of the attacks where rioters created chaos and fear amongst the mall’s visitors. Security forces, including the women’s police force dealt with rioters as some of them were arrested for illegal actions. Shops in City Center were closed while the police force calmed the situation.

Two innocent female bystanders were injured by the rioters and rushed for treatment.

When the rioters entered City Centre they were chanting Down Down Hamad which led to visitors Chanting “People want Khalifa bin Salman”.

This assessment of the days developments differs starkly with reports that EA and other media groups have covered.

2044 GMT: A source in Bahrain reports that even at this hour there are many checkpoints in and around the villages that surround Sitra and Sanabis, including checkpoints at:

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (23 September): After the Ahmadinejad Road Show

See also Iran Analysis: Ahmadinejad 1, Interviewers 0 (and Why It Matters)

---

2038 GMT: Economy Watch. Kalemeh reports that imports of rice rose 27%, compared to last year, between March and August.

2035 GMT: Mohammad Ebrahim Nekounam, the head of Parliament's Article 90 Commission, has said that the file of 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi, accused of involvement in a major insurance fraud, is still under scrutiny by the judiciary.

Click to read more ...

Palestine Video and Transcript: Mahmoud Abbas Makes Statehood Bid at UN General Assembly

PART 1 OF 3

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I come before you today from the Holy Land, the land of Palestine, the land of divine messages, ascension of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the birthplace of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him), to speak on behalf of the Palestinian people in the homeland and in the the Diaspora, to say, after 63 years of suffering of the ongoing Nakba: Enough. It is time for the Palestinian people to gain their freedom and independence.

The time has come to end the suffering and the plight of millions of Palestine refugees in the homeland and the Diaspora, to end their displacement and to realize their rights, some of them forced to take refuge more than once in different places of the world.

At a time when the Arab peoples affirm their quest for democracy --- the Arab Spring --- the time is now for the Palestinian Spring, the time for independence.

Click to read more ...

Syria Video Special: Friday Protests Across the Country --- Set 2

Damascus suburb of Douma --- "Syria is for us, not for Assad's family":

Demonstration in Qosour in Homs tonight, "The people want the execution of the President"

Click to read more ...

Syria Video Special: Friday Protests Across the Country

Protesters in the Damascus suburb of Qudseya rip photographs of President Assad:

Idlib in northwest

Click to read more ...

US Politics Analysis: Obama and the Democrats Launch Their Populist Campaign

Right now, there is an even chance President Obama could become another Jimmy Carter-style loser, or another Bill Clinton-like resurgent winner, but there is little doubt he will be going before the electorate without the aid of any positive policy achievements in his final year, and, if the IMF is correct, with the country in another recession. No wonder he is taking the fight to Republicans.

Click to read more ...

Turkey Feature: Erdoğan at UN --- A Blast at Israel, A Criticism of Assad, and a Warning to Cyprus

Israel's rulers must make a choice. They must see the fact that the real security comes with the real peace. They must see that it is not possible to maintain the state of conflict in the Middle East permanently. It is necessary to show that Israel is not above the law.

The most important step to be taken in this matter is the Palestine's taking part in the UN. Turkey's support to Palestine is unconditional.

Click to read more ...