Category Archives: Reference

Egyptian Revolution 2011 يناير الثورة المصرية في يوم الغضب

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Egyptian Revolution 25/1/ 2011

يناير الثورة المصرية في يوم الغضب

Egypt’s Last Pharaoh? The Rise and Fall of Hosni Mubarak

BLOG

Egyptian Chronicles

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A Facebook for the Egyptian revolution:

كلنا خالد سعيد

We are all Khaled Said

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On Jan. 26, the day after protests erupted that eventually forced Mr. Mubarak from office, Egypt’s government-run newspaper Al Ahram, one of the Arab world’s oldest newspapers,  had a banner headline about a protest — in Lebanon.  The headline reads: “Wide Protests and Disturbances in Lebanon.” !!!

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HyperCities Egypt: Voices from Cairo through Social Media

HyperCities’ project for mapping tweets sent by protesters in Cairo during the Egyptian revolution. “HyperCities Egypt: Voices from Cairo through Social Media,” tracks tweets since January 30, and continues to collect tweets sent from within Cairo that mention hashtags relevant to the protests, such as #jan25 or #egypt.

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Egyptian Revolution: a view from the inside

Cairo resident, Safa H. Ashoub provides an illuminating account of the days leading up to the ousting of President Mubarak.

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Novelist and best-selling writer Alaa Aswany has a great deal to say about one of the most pressing questions on everybody’s mind and is not afraid to speak out and to use his international fame to back calls for political change: Who will be the next president of Egypt, and how will he be elected? In a new collection of his weekly newspaper columns previously published in Arabic, “On the State of Egypt,” he explores Western fears of Islam and Arabs and broach subjects like the hijab full-face covering, false religiosity and preachers who hypocritically buttress tyrannical regimes. He discusses the moral ambiguity of appointed politicians, the suitability of democratic reforms in a Muslim society, and the inherent contradiction in the actions of the religiously observant policeman who tortures or the man who harasses women. He was out with protestors from the first day of the revolution and witnessed first-hand the state’s brutal response. On Jan. 28, he saw two young men killed by snipers near Tahrir Square. After Egypt’s 18-day revolution, Mr. Aswany’s weekly columns have become regular features in the top-selling daily al-Masri al-Youm. And, in a March 2 guest appearance on a late night talk show on the ONTV private satellite television channel, he faced Ahmed Shafik, the prime minister appointed by Mr. Mubarak on Jan. 29, and told him to resign. “When you were a minister in Hosni Mubarak’s cabinet, haven’t you heard that state security practiced torture?” Mr. Aswany asked him pointedly. “The prime minister should be concerned with trying the people who killed the martyrs, more than presenting candy and chocolates” — a reference to a moment when Mr. Shafik, trying to show good will, had offered to pass out candy to protesters outside Parliament.

When Mr. Aswany woke up the next morning, Mr. Shafik had submitted his resignation.

Mr. Aswany has always been dismissive of the idea that democracy would usher Islamists into power.

The strongest party in Egypt “is the party of Facebook,” he told another literary and political salon on Jan. 27.

“That is a real party, which has allowed a group of youth to get 400,000 people on the streets. No other party, including the Muslim Brotherhood, has succeeded in doing that.”

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اللجان الشعبية للدفاع عن الثورة المصرية

شهداء ثورة مصر 2011

Egypt Revolution 2011: A Complete Guide To The Unrest

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Egypt Revolution 2011: A Complete Guide / (huffingtonpost.com)

THE BASICS

What’s Going On In Egypt?: Protests started on Tuesday, January 25, when — inspired by the successful revolution in Tunisia — thousands began taking to the streets to protest poverty, rampant unemployment, government corruption and autocratic governance of President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled the country for 30 years. These were the first protests on such a large scale in Egypt since the 1970s. Read more here.

Why Egypt Matters: Why is the story gaining traction? There are a number of factors that make Egypt’s unrest important, in both that country, the Middle East, and the world. Click here to see the top reasons why Egypt should matter to you.

What It’s Being Called: The Egyptian revolution is also referred to as the Egyptian Protests, Days of Rage, the Papyrus Revolution and the Lotus Revolution.

Quick Facts About Egypt: Established in 3100 B.C., Egypt today has a population of approximately 79 million. Its people speak Arabic and 99% are Egyptian. The country staged its first modern revolution in 1919 and established independence in 1922. Continued instability due to remaining British influence led to a second revolution in 1952 and the creation of the Egyptian Republic in 1953.

{MORE} —–>Egypt Revolution 2011: A Complete Guide

handar4Egyptian protests Q&A from BBC News

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Democracy Digest

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(CBSNews) Complete Coverage: Anger in the Arab World

Egypt: Revolution at Hand?

BLOG / By Denis J. Sullivan and Kimberly Jones

Egypt is undergoing a major social and political transformation—perhaps even of a revolutionary nature. This process, characterized by mass, popular protests (largely nonviolent) has been cause for much speculation and collective head-scratching by those watching from the sidelines. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians have taken to the streets in the last several days calling for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak and his government, dominated by his National Democratic Party. Journalists and regional analysts have raised several excellent questions, for which there are frequently a lack of definitive answers. Here are our own observations.

The “new” government — The reconstitution of President Mubarak’s government is too little too late. Vice President (and former spy chief) Omar Suleiman is an interesting choice because he is palatable to the military (far more so than the once heir apparent son of a Mubarak — Gamal) and offers some Egyptians stability. Egyptians’ real need for stability should not be overlooked in contrast to the perceived need for radical regime change. However, he is a Mubarak appointee, and his human rights record leaves much to be desired.

The Muslim Brotherhood — The MB have largely been on the sidelines, and many have wondered why. Did they miss the revolutionary boat as it left the dock for Tahrir Square, or did they strategically decide to let the protests take their course without their leadership or organizational savvy? Without the Brotherhood at the helm, the Egyptian government (and those who support them) has been prevented from raising the specter of an (other) Islamist government in the region. Key, however, is that the MB is still Egypt’s largest organized opposition movement, and although they have suffered from their own internal divisions, they remain popular and populist in orientation. They may not (by their own choice) dominate a future Egyptian executive, but they could certainly command a significant block in parliament.

The next government — Former presidential contender Ayman Nour and former International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohammed El-Baredei are the oft-mentioned non-Mubarak contenders. Both have positives and negatives, and either would be a gigantic improvement over Mubarak. Nour has not been heard much and he is unlikely to be a contender anymore. El-Baredei has far greater visibility, literally, in the streets of Cairo as well as internationally.

Looters — Egyptians of all classes, all socio-economic walks of life, are on the streets as we write; they are protecting their families and their personal property with whatever “weapons” they have — golf clubs, sticks, pistols. The looters? They are largely seen as government “thugs”; indeed, many reports confirm that many are undercover police, the mukhabaraat.

Human rights — The Egyptian people are being beaten and killed while clamoring to have their rights respected. This uprising should serve as a lesson for those who try to portray human rights as Western and Arabs and Muslims as undemocratic. These rights must be understood within each country’s historical, social, and political context. Key is that there is a connection between security and stability and respect for human rights, and understanding, at the same time that real democracy is not Cup-a-Soup — it’s not a quickly assembled short-list of ingredients but a lengthy and difficult process.

The role of the United States — The U.S. is finally calling out the Mubarak government for what it is — although in much more diplomatic terms than many Egyptians are using. It’s putting its democratic and human rights rhetoric where its foreign assistance reality is — on the table. While in some respects this is also too little too late, it is a welcome shift in policy which is better late than never given our strategic relationship with Egypt and its neighbors.

Egypt’s future — Mubarak’s refusal to abdicate thus far is not terribly surprising but also worrying, and it is difficult to imagine the maintenance of his much weakened presidency into the future. Notably, the longer he stays in power the more unstable the state becomes, which worries some neighbors and allies. Key, however, is that Egypt’s stability has been a well-crafted illusion maintained through an authoritarian and repressive executive and hegemonic party politics. Pulling down the curtain on this decades-long effort can bode well for both internal Egyptian politics and regional relations, eventually resulting in a truly democratic Egypt that is genuinely stable.

The Muslim Brotherhood is not the Islamist boogeyman that some have made it out to be. They are a pragmatic, socio-political movement, albeit one with an Islamist agenda. The organization is very unlikely to make a radical play for power, and further destabilize the situation, but it should remain a key actor in Egyptian politics in the near-term.

At the end of the day (or the revolution), Egypt’s future lies in the hands of ordinary Egyptians. This is the first time in a very long time that Egyptians have not only had a voice, but made their voices heard. It is up to the world, and more importantly, the government of Egypt to listen.

Ben Ali le ripoux

Ben Ali le ripoux:


 

Un ouvrage en PDF est paru sur le web. L’auteur serait un certain “Aly Zmerly”. A mon avis, c’est un pseudo. Le vrai auteur n’est pas difficile à deviner pour les personnes qui suivent l’actualité politique tunisienne depuis des années (et il n’a rien à voir avec le site Kapitalis qui diffuse cet ouvrage).D’ailleurs, il y a des informations qui sont fausses dans cet ouvrage même si la majorité des informations sont confirmées.

Ben-Ali-le-ripoux-tunisie.JPG

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Ben Ali’s Party Officially Dissolved

rcd_dissolutionTUNIS, March. 9, 2011  – The Democratic Constitutional Rally Party RCD has been officially dissolved after the ruling on Wednesday morning by the court of first instance of Tunis.

“The court of first instance of Tunis ruled that the RCD be disbanded and its funds and property liquidated through the state property department” the ruling says.

The announcement was followed by a burst of jubilation, applause and chants by the crowd gathered at the court and in the neighbouring street, reports a TAP news agency journalist.

Lawyer Faouzi Ben Mrad representing the Interior Ministry which filed the request, said that the dissolution of the RCD had today fulfilled one of the major objectives of the revolution.

He said this is not a final judgment since defendants can appeal against it, adding that however the appeal did not defer the implementation of the decision.

But in the absence of RCD lawyers, no reaction of defendants could be obtained.

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Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution, 14 January, 2011

Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution

14 January, 2011

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Jasmine Revolution – Tunisia 2011

This collection consists of websites documenting the revolution in Tunisia in 2011. Partners at Library of Congress and Bibliothèque Nationale de France have contributed websites for this collection, and the sites are primarily in French and Arabic with some in English.

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Tunisia lifts censorship on books, movies import

22 January 2011 | 22:46 | FOCUS News Agency

Home / World

Tunis. The import of books, magazines and movies in Tunisia no longer requires initial permission, announced the administration of the customs services in the country, AFP reports.
The import of all kind of information carriers, which so far required initial permission from the censorship watchdog, will enter the country freely.

See also:

[Tunisians Embrace Life Without Censorship / NPR]

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BLOGS

  • Nawaat, (Tunisian group blog / video-sharing)
  • (Slim Amamou, a dissident blogger who joined the Government as Youth & Sports Minister)
  • Tunisia Watch

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March 11, 2011

Tunisian Bloggers Win Online Press Award

Press watchdog Reporters Without Borders has awarded its Netizen award to a Tunisian blogging group that played an important role in the uprising that led to the January ouster of the North African country’s longtime autocratic leader.

A jury of press specialists chose the Netizen winner — blogging group Nawaat.org, which is granted a euro2,500 ($3,450) prize. Riadh Guerfali, or Astrubal, accepted the award Friday.

The prize is backed by Google because, as regional president Carlo d’Asaro Biondo said in a statement, it “defends our company’s core values”: making information accessible to all.

RSF Secretary General Jean-Francois Julliard said Net freedom is fragile with 119 people currently detained for expressing opinions online, mainly in China, Iran and Vietnam.

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Tunis – Mardi 25 janvier 2011

Annulation des autorisations d’importation des livres et des publications

Il est interdit d’interdire

L’administration générale de la douane a publié, samedi dernier, un communiqué déclarant que l’importation des livres, des publications, des CD ROM, des films et de tous les supports électroniques n’est plus soumise à une autorisation préalable. Le communiqué destiné aux services de la douane et au public, précise que le système Sinda sera actualisé à la faveur de cette décision.

Jusqu’ici l’importation de ces supports était soumise à la censure du ministère de l’Intérieur.

Cette décision est conforme à l’engagement pris par le gouvernement d’union nationale d’instaurer la liberté totale de l’information. C’est dans cet esprit que le ministère de la communication, organe de propagande et  de censure des médias à été supprimé.

Ainsi, les Tunisiens pourront avoir accès à tous les livres interdits, qui allaient de “La régente de Carthage” au “Guide du routard”. Ils sont d’ores et déjà exposés sur les vitrines de certaines librairies, bien qu’ils ne soient pas encore tous disponibles à la vente, faute de livraison.

Aussi, les journaux français interdits sont enfin disponibles, de Libération au Monde en passant par le Canard enchainé.

Liste non exhaustive de livres anciennement

interdits établie par la Ligue des Ecrivains Libres

* Jalel al Touibi, “Militant malgré lui” (nouvelles) 123 p., 1995, 2ème éd., 2004, 176 p.

* Abdelwahab al Mansouri, “Rien ne me plait”, (poèmes), 2003 ;

* Samir Ta’mallah, “Dits en marge de l’interrogatoire” (poèmes) ;

* Mohamed Al Chabbi, “Un témoin a dit”, poèmes, Edition Al Akhilla, 1999 ;

* Abdel Rahmane Abid, “De l’orientation démocratique et de la réconciliation nationale”, Tunis, 1989 (en arabe) ;

* Ibrahim Darghouthi, “Le pain amer” (nouvelles en arabe), Dar Samed, 1990 ;

* Abdel Jabbar Al Ich, “Poèmes pour l’Irak”, coédition Dar Samed (Tunisie) et Dar al Hikma (Algérie), 1991 ;

* Fadhel Sassi, “Mon destin est de partir”, poèmes et nouvelles choisies par Sabah Sassi et Jelloul Azzouna, éd. journal Al-Cha’ab, 1994 ;

* Tawfik al Bachrouch, “Notre femme à travers nos fetwas”, (cent fetwas sur mille ans) ;

* Mohamed el Hédi Ben Sabagh, “Le retour de Azza, l’émigrée”, 235 p. (nouvelles), Ed. Bouzid, 1994 ;

* Hicham Al Karoui, “L’aigle et les frontières”, Dar al Nawras, 1989 ;

* Sadok Charaf, “La grande catastrophe, ô ma patrie”, poèmes, Al Akhilla, 1990 ;

* Mohamed Talbi, “Les enfants d’Allah” ;

“Le musulman à travers l’histoire”, collectif, Faculté des Lettes de la Manouba ;

* Afif Al Bouni, “De la stabilité politique en Tunisie”, 1997 ;

* Tawfik Ben Brik, “Maintenant, écoute-moi”, poèmes, Exils et Aloès Editions, 2000 ;

* Tawfik Ben Brik, “Ben Brik au Palais”, coédition Maison Al Kaws – Al Nahar (Tunis-Beirut), 2000 ;

* Mohamed Ammar Khawaldya, “Le discours utile sur le nouveau régime”, Edition à compte d’auteur, 2001 ;

* Ali Azizi “Les ailes du silence” (nouvelles) 2001 ;

* Moncef Marzouki. “Le voyage”, 2002 ;

* Jelloul Azzouna, “Liberté et littérature, même identité”, Dar Sahar, 232 p., 2002 ;

H.A.

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Ben Ali’s Party Officially Dissolved

rcd_dissolutionTUNIS, March. 9, 2011  – The Democratic Constitutional Rally Party RCD has been officially dissolved after the ruling on Wednesday morning by the court of first instance of Tunis.

“The court of first instance of Tunis ruled that the RCD be disbanded and its funds and property liquidated through the state property department” the ruling says.

The announcement was followed by a burst of jubilation, applause and chants by the crowd gathered at the court and in the neighbouring street, reports a TAP news agency journalist.

Lawyer Faouzi Ben Mrad representing the Interior Ministry which filed the request, said that the dissolution of the RCD had today fulfilled one of the major objectives of the revolution.

He said this is not a final judgment since defendants can appeal against it, adding that however the appeal did not defer the implementation of the decision.

But in the absence of RCD lawyers, no reaction of defendants could be obtained.

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faida0

Case Against Tunisian Police Officer is Dismissed – NYTimes.com

A court on Tuesday dropped charges against a policewoman whose dispute with a fruit vendorwho later killed himself — sparked a chain of events that unleashed uprisings around the Arab world.

فايدة حمدي ل«الشروق»: هذه حقيقة ما جرى بيني وبين الشهيد البوعزيزي

حاورها: سفيان الأسود
تونس ـ «الشروق»:
لم يكن سهلا أن نتحدث عن فايدة حمدي «الشهيدة الحية» عون التراتيب التي أنصفها القضاء في قضية محمد البوعزيزي تحملت فايدة وزر قضية وتهمة كانت بحجم كل الدنيا.. عانت السجن ودفعت ثمنا باهظا لجريمة لم ترتكبها وجدت فايدة حمدي نفسها وحيدة أمام كل التونسيين وأمام كل العالم الذي اعتبرها ونظر إليها كمذنبة في حين كانت فايدة تقوم بواجبها وكانت كما تقول «أقوم بواجبي باعتباري أتقاضى مرتبي من الضرائب التي يدفعها الشعب» أهلها وعائلتها ومحاميتها فقط وبعض الأحرار في تونس وقفوا مع فايدة عندما كانت في محنتها وفي سجنها…
داخل السجن تعاطف معها المساجين والسجانين… كانوا معها في كل لحظة وفي كل حين… لم تكن فايدة وحدها في السجن كانوا هم معها في الوقت الذي كان فيه الوطن والعالم يتحدث عنها كمذنبة. لكنها كانت بريئة وكان هناك من يريد أن يحملها ذنبا لم ترتكبه.
الكل يعرف فايدة… موظفة تقوم بواجبها ومنضبطة للقانون…الكل يعرف تلك المرأة التي اشتغلت في التراتيب البلدية بكل حرص وبكل انسانية.
«الشروق» تحدثت مع فايدة حمدي «الشهيدة الحية».
فايدة، كيف كانت الحادثة مع البوعزيزي يوم 17 ديسمبر وهل كنت تتوقعين ردّ فعله؟
ـ لقد كنت أقوم بعملي في اطار القانون وأنا لم أمنع المرحوم محمد البوعزيزي من بيع بضاعته، بل طلبت منه عدم الانتصاب بذلك المكان وقبل يوم من وقوع الحادثة كان أصحاب محلات الخضر في سيدي بوزيد قد اعتصموا وطالبوا بتطبيق القانون ضدّ الانتصاب الفوضوي ثم أنني أعرف البوعزيزي من خلال عملي ولم أتوقع منه أن يرد الفعل بحرق نفسه خاصة أنه تصرف تجاهي بجذبي من زيي الرسمي كما قام بجذب الشعار الذي كنت أرتديه ورغم أن زملائي حينها طلبوا مني تقديم قضية عدلية ضده بتهمة الاعتداء على موظف إلا أني رفضت.
هل كنت تطبقين القانون بحزم كبير وهو ما آثار ردّ الفعل بتلك الطريقة؟
ـ الكل يعرف أنني قبل كل شيء موظفة أعمل وفق القانون وضدّ الفوضى ولكن في سيدي بوزيد يعرف الجميع أنني دائما أطبق القانون مع مراعاة الظروف الاجتماعية والانسانية وأنا أستغرب ردّ الفعل بتلك الطريقة فهناك مواطنون صدرت ونفذت ضدهم قرارات هدم في اطار القانون وأنا كنت ولازلت دائما أقف مع الحق وأراعي كل الظروف الاجتماعية والانسانية وكل من في سيدي بوزيد يعرف ذلك.
كيف كان التعامل معك في السجن؟
ـ إنني أتوجه بالشكر الى كل العاملين في السجن والى كل السجينات على التعامل الجيد معي وعلى تقديم المساعدة لي… داخل السجن الكل كان متعاطفا معي والكل كان يؤمن بأني مظلومة وبريئة… لقد كان الجميع معي في حين كان الاعلام ضدي ويقدمني كمذنبة.
لكن الاعلام وقف معك بعد ذلك؟
ـ إنني ألوم الاعلام بشكل كبير، الاعلام كان متحاملا ضدّي ولم يكن محايدا وقدمني لكل العالم كمذنبة في الوقت الذي لم يقل القضاء كلمته. لقد تمّ منع عائلتي من تقديم وجهة نظرها وموقفها والصورة الحقيقية للحادث كما أن وسائل الاعلام لم تبحث عن الحقيقة، بل انساقت وراء التيار… كان من المفروض أن يساهم الاعلام في كشف الحقيقة وفي نصرة المظلوم فأنا مواطنة تونسية كان من المفروض أن يكون لي الحق في الدفاع عن نفسي فأنا طيلة حياتي المهنية أعمل على انصاف الحق وانصاف الناس.
هل طلبت محاكمتك عندما تم اعتقالك؟
ـ نعم كنت أطالب بمحاكمتي وطلبت ذلك من حاكم التحقيق لكنني تعرضت للظلم من النظام السابق قبل 14 جانفي ثم تعرضت للظلم من الاعلام الذي قدمني كمذنبة.
لكن من كان وراء اشاعة خبر أنك اعتديت على محمد البوعزيزي؟
ـ لا أعرف، لكن اسأل من هو في سيدي بوزيد لقد كنت الشماعة التي علقوا عليها المظلمة، لكن الحقيقة ظهرت وأنصفني القضاء التونسي المستقل؟
محاميتك الأستاذة بسمة الناصري وقفت معك حتى النهاية وكانت منذ الوهلة الأولى مقتنعة ببراءتك؟
ـ أتوجه بالشكر الكبير الى محاميتي الأستاذة بسمة الناصري كل الشكر لها وكل الشكر لمن وقف معي وأشكر كل أعوان التراتيب في كامل تراب الجمهورية وأشكر القضاء التونسي المستقل والنزيه وأشكر كل أحرار تونس والعالم وأشكر خاصة كل أهالي سيدي بوزيد الذين وقفوا معي ومع عائلتي.
متى تعودين إلى عملك؟
ـ لا أعلم أنا الآن أتلقى العلاج، صحتي متدهورة جدّا وأحتاج الى العلاج…
هل ستطالبين بالتعويض باعتبارك بريئة والقضاء أنصفك؟
ـ ليست لي إجابة الأمر يهم محاميتي الأستاذة بسمة الناصري المناصري التي أشكرها على كل ما بذلته وقامت به…