Middle East

Entrevista al escritor Santiago Alba Rico sobre la “primavera árabe” y el 15M

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“El mundo árabe se ha reivindicado como adelantado de un movimiento global de renovación democrática”
Laila Muharram Rey
Rebelión

La Primavera Árabe y el 15M son fenómenos complejos. Para entenderlos, es imprescindible recoger los testimonios de quienes los han presenciado en primera persona. El escritor y ensayista Santiago Alba Rico, incansable observador de los procesos sociales, no sólo expone lo vivido en Túnez durante los últimos dos años, sino que analiza y profundiza sobre sus reverberaciones a lo largo y ancho del mundo entero. Esta entrevista, realizada para un reportaje sobre los paralelismos de ambos movimientos, reflexiona sobre cuestiones tan interesantes como la organización horizontal, el ciberactivismo y de cómo la “primavera árabe” es causa y efecto de un cuestionamiento general del sistema. Espero que disfruten leyéndolo como he disfrutado yo.

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"La situación en Siria está muy mal"

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Al Jazeera

A continuación, presentamos la traducción de una entrevista realizada por el canal catarí Aljazeera que solo se ha publicado doblada al árabe con el intelectual Noam Chomsky, grabada en EEUU el 24 de marzo de 2012 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wTS1Or_0p8I#!). La última pregunta se ha omitido por no responder al tema de este blog que es la revolución siria. Las demás preguntas están reformuladas para hacerlas más breves, mientras que las respuestas se han reproducido literalmente.

¿Cómo ves la situación en Siria?

Que está muy mal. Es una masacre y aún no he escuchado ninguna propuesta constructiva sobre lo que debe hacerse y parece que las opciones que se barajan ahora son, bien que la situación acabe en una guerra civil más cruel y salvaje y con resultados mucho más destructivos sobre la sociedad siria, bien que se produzca algún tipo de negociación que desemboque en una solución diplomática que pueda suponer el apartar a la familia Asad del poder de forma pacífica y permitir algún tipo de reconstrucción. Ahora bien, si hay una tercera alternativa, yo no he oído hablar de ella.

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US expands ties to Syrian opposition, report says

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REUTERS, WASHINGTON
Syrian opposition forces battling President Bashar al-Assad's government are beginning to get more and better weapons in an effort paid for by Persian Gulf nations and coordinated partly by the United States, the Washington Post reported late on Tuesday.

The report cited opposition activists and US and foreign officials.

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Egypt’s Presidential Vote: Minorities Divided

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Egyptian presidential hopefuls Amr Moussa (R) and Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh smile during a televised debate in Cairo 10 May 2012. (Photo: REUTERS - Mahmoud Khaled - Handout)

By: Rana Mamdouh

Published Monday, May 14, 2012

Salafi and Coptic voters will have a major say in who becomes the country’s next president, but neither group is united over which candidate to back.

Cairo – While Egyptian expatriates have already begun voting for their next president, Egyptians at home have yet to make up their minds.
The final list of candidates was not actually confirmed until Saturday, when an administrative court ruling upheld the candidacy of former premier Ahmad Shafiq until the constitutional court judgement on the validity of the Disenfrachisement Law, which disqualifies senior members of the former regime from running.
The same court also ruled that the election must be held on schedule.
Yet with only nine days left to choose between the 13 presidential hopefuls, many Egyptians—including political and other groups – remain undecided.
These include the country’s array of Salafi groups, who are divided over which candidate to back.

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Las intifadas árabes y la contrarrevolución

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Santiago Alba Rico
Directa

Hacer un balance de las convulsiones que vienen sacudiendo el mundo árabe desde hace más de un año obliga a moverse al mismo tiempo en dos niveles paralelos cuya convergencia puntual no debe inducirnos a simplificaciones ideológicas. Por un lado, tenemos a unas poblaciones humilladas durante décadas -política, social y económicamente- que han escogido el peor momento para reclamar democracia. ¿Por qué es el peor momento? Porque la democracia, que ha sido siempre el privilegio económico de los centros capitalistas, está retrocediendo a toda velocidad en las metrópolis occidentales que la predicaban y la impedían fuera de Europa. La guerra que llaman crisis está desmantelando en Occidente la combinación de Estado de Bienestar y de Estado de Derecho, disolviendo su matrimonio “natural” con el capitalismo y reconstruyendo muy deprisa las condiciones que hace 80 años llevaron al fascismo y a la guerra mundial. En este sentido, la ingenua reclamación de libertad de los árabes, espontánea, arrolladora, desconcertantemente subversiva, sólo puede ser canalizada por las fuerzas ya organizadas de la región, y en particular las islamistas, que carecen de un programa económico alternativo y que, para aplicar el ajeno, tendrán que poner en cuestión los propios principios de las revoluciones que las han llevado al poder. En Túnez, por ejemplo, donde todos los problemas sociales permanecen inalterados o agravados, han bastado cuatro meses para desacreditar a un gobierno que, frente a las protestas, vuelve a recurrir, como la dictadura, a la represión policial. Podemos decir que el Estado español, cuesta abajo, y Túnez, cuesta arriba, uno bajando y otro subiendo, convergen hoy en el máximo de democracia formal compatible con el capitalismo global en recomposición destructiva.

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No change in sight for Syrian policy of post-election Europe

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GÖZDE NUR DONAT,
ANKARA
The Europe of the coming decade was determined with the recent elections across the EU, but despite the changes in leadership, it appears there will be no change in the EU’s “Syrian policy,” which will likely continue in its current indeterminate state.
Political analysts speaking to Sunday’s Zaman said international Syria envoy Kofi Annan and the EU’s internal problems are the top two reasons for the European governments’ passive attitude towards the 15-month-long Syrian crisis.

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‘If we can solve Karabakh, Turkey can open border’

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Former Foreign Minister of Armenia Vartan Oskanian (Photo: Reuters)
CELİL SAĞIR , YEREVAN
Vartan Oskanian, former Foreign Minister of Armenia (1998-2008), founder of the Civilitas Foundation and member of the Prosperous Armenia Party, has said that if the problem over the Nagorno-Karabakh could be solved by Armenia and Turkey, then Turkey could open its border with Armenia.

“The Armenian government wants to normalize ties with Turkey. The problem is how to do it. This whole protocol process made clear to everyone that there are obstacles in the way. The question is how both sides could overcome these obstacles. The major obstacle is the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. As long as that issue is not being addressed or somehow resolved I really don’t see how we can move forward on Turkey-Armenia ties,” he said to a group of reporters on Monday from Turkey who came to Armenia with the sponsorship of the Hrant Dink Foundation and the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

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Syria says 55 dead in Damascus suicide blasts

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An injured member of Syrian Security Forces accompanying U.N. monitors is pictured after the vehicle he was in was hit by a blast in the southern syrian province of Deraa in this handout photo released by Syria's national news agency Sana, May 9, 2012. (Photo: Reuters)
AP, DAMASCUS
Two suicide blasts ripped through the Syrian capital Thursday, killing 55 people and leaving scenes of carnage in the streets in the deadliest bombing since the country's uprising began 14 months ago, the Interior Ministry said.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene said paramedics wearing rubber gloves were collecting human remains from the pavement after the explosions. Heavily damaged cars and pickup trucks stood smoldering in the area. The blasts ripped the facade off a military intelligence building, which appeared to be the target of the attack.

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Prof Haluk Gerger talks about Turkey-Syria relations

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Turkey considered the developments in Iraqi, Iranian and Syrian Kurds as an “internal issue”, says professor Gerger
Middle East specialist Professor Haluk Gerger pointed out that Turkey considered the developments in Iraqi, Iranian and Syrian Kurds as an “internal issue”. Gerger offered his evaluations on the recent developments in Syria, Turkey’s policy on Syria and Kurds, the situation in the Middle East and the Annan Plan.

Gerger firstly noted that the rebel in Syria differs from other Arab rebels for three separate reasons and explained these points as follows; “The first reason is the fact that the external intervention in Syria played a role in revealing the public opposition from the very beginning, contrary to what happened in Tunisia and Egypt. The second reason is the presence of significant public support for the regime of Assad who is at least not in a desperate situation like seen in Egypt and Tunisia. The other reason is the external support Syria gets from Russia and China. From this point of view, Syria differs from other countries.”

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Dos muertos y cientos de heridos en nuevos disturbios en El Cairo

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La Junta Militar decreta el toque de queda en los alrededores del Ministerio de Defensa tras los enfrentamientos entre la Policía y los manifestantes

Nuevos disturbios en los alrededores del Ministerio de Defensa en El Cairo (Egipto). Al menos dos personas han muerto y cerca de 300 han resultado heridas, según fuentes hospitalarias y del ministerio de Salud egipcio. De estos últimos, 131 han sido trasladados a hospitales por heridas relacionadas con el impacto de piedras, la asfixia por inhalación de gases tóxicos y cortes, ha informado Al Ansari a la agencia oficial egipcia Mena.

Según el subjefe del Servicio de Ambulancias del Ministerio de Sanidad, Ahmed al Ansari, uno de los fallecidos es un recluta llamado Anuar Samir, que ha sufrido un tiro en el abdomen.

Como respuesta a los graves enfrentamientos entre la Policía y los manifestantes, la Junta Militar egipcia ha decretado el toque de queda desde las 23.00 hora local (21.00 GMT) de este viernes hasta las 07.00 (05.00 GMT) del sábado en la zona y 170 manifestantes han sido arrestados, según ha comunicado un fiscal militar.

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La contrarrevolución en Medio Oriente

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Robert Fisk
 Página 12

Fue mi viejo amigo jordano-palestino Rami Khouri quien primero vislumbró lo que hoy ocurre en Medio Oriente: es la contrarrevolución. Bahrein aplasta la disidencia, al igual que Siria. El siniestro Omar Solimán, ex jefe de inteligencia de Hosni Mubarak, se postula para presidente; la cancelación de su candidatura, decidida la semana pasada por un nada confiable comité electoral, bien puede ser revocada. Libia está en guerra consigo misma. Yemen tiene de regreso al hombre de confianza de su antiguo dictador. Hubo 61 muertos en una batalla entre soldados y Al Qaida la semana pasada... en solo un día. En total, un desbarajuste tremendo.

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Syria 'in contravention' of peace plan

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UN chief voices "grave alarm" after reports of shelling of populated areas amid demands for Security Council meeting
Syrian state media said 16 people died in the blast in a house used as a bomb factory by "armed terrorist groups" [AFP]

The Syrian government is "in contravention" of an internationally agreed peace plan by keeping troops and heavy weapons in cities, Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, has said.

He also said he was "gravely alarmed" by reports of shelling of populated areas in Syria, in a statement released after a deadly explosion on Thursday in the flashpoint city of Hama.

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Turkey bypasses Syria to reach Middle East via Egyptian ports

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Egypt’s Minister of Transport Galal Moustafa Saeed and Turkey’s Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday for the establishment of a transit transportation route connected by a Ro-Ro line. (Photo: AA)

AYDIN ALBAYRAK, ANKARA
The first Ro-Ro ship to take Turkish goods to Gulf countries via Egypt is to leave the Port of Mersin on April 26. The much-awaited Ro-Ro line, taking the place of the Syrian route that has become too costly for Turkish exporters because the Syrian side significantly increased fees to transship goods, will allow Turkish exporters to reach not only Jordan and Gulf countries on the Arabian peninsula, but also African countries with relative ease.

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China meets with Syrian foreign minister

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Syrian Foreign Minister Aalid al-Moualem (L) shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing on April 18, 2012. (Photo: Reuters)
AP, BEIJING
China's foreign minister met with his Syrian counterpart on Wednesday in the latest show of Beijing's support for Damascus despite its tentative engagement with Syria's opposition.

Yang Jiechi exchanged views with Walid Moallem on the latest Syrian developments "in a broad and extensive way," the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Yang as saying.

No details were given, although China, along with fellow UN Security Council member Russia, has shielded Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime from UN sanctions over its deadly crackdown on a popular uprising.


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No fans of Assad, Syria's Kurds distrust uprising

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In a Dec. 25, 2011 photo, a Syrian Kurdish boy who lives in Lebanon carries a banner during a protest outside the Arab League office in Beirut. (Photo: AP)

AP, BEIRUT
Syria's Kurds, who have long complained of discrimination under President Bashar Assad, would seem a natural fit to join the revolt against his rule. Instead, they are growing increasingly distrustful of an opposition they see as no more likely to grant them their rights.

Kurdish parties angrily pulled out of a recent conference aimed at unifying the opposition ranks after participants ignored their demands for more rights and recognition in a post-Assad Syria.

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Sobre levantamientos e intervenciones

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Una entrevista con el escritor y profesor Vijay Prashad
Magid Shihade
 Jadaliyya.com
Traducido del inglés para Rebelión por Sinfo Fernández.

Desde que comenzaron en el Mundo Árabe los acontecimientos denominados “Primavera Árabe”, Vijay Prashad ha estado escribiendo acerca de los diferentes países donde los pueblos de toda la región se levantaron contra sus regímenes. Sus análisis han contextualizado constantemente los acontecimientos, sin dejar de ofrecer un análisis exhaustivo de las dinámicas e historias locales. En su libro “Arab Spring, Libyan Winter”, Prashad aborda el caso de Libia, sus parecidos y diferencias con otras revoluciones en el mundo árabe, la historia del régimen libio y la intervención “internacional”.

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Después de Estambul, confianza por confianza

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Negociaciones con Irán
Kaveh L Afrasiabi
Asia Times Online
Traducido del inglés para Rebelión por Germán Leyens

El sábado, el mundo retrocedió del borde de un enfrentamiento sobre el problema nuclear de Irán, ya que las dos partes de las conversaciones nucleares multilaterales emergieron de una negociación de 10 horas en Estambul de un humor positivo, estableciendo la base para una “reunión sustantiva” de seguimiento en Bagdad a finales de mayo.

Las conversaciones, después de una pausa de 13 meses, incluyeron a representantes de los “Seis de Irak” –conocidos también como P5+1: EE.UU., Gran Bretaña, Francia, China y Rusia, más Alemania.

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Euro-American misperceptions of the Tunisian Revolution

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Benjamin Claude Brower
is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Texas, Austin. He has authored A Desert Named Peace: The Violence of French Empire in the Algerian Sahara, 1844-1902 (2009).

A social crisis threatens Tunisia as the gap grows between those benefitted from the Revolution and those who haven't
The battle for social dignity that brought people into the streets after the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi has not been won [GALLO/GETTY]

Tunis, Tunisia - Spring has come late to the Arab world this year. This can be seen clearly in Tunisia, home to the Revolution of January 14 (2011), an event widely understood to be the great success story of the "Arab Spring". Whereas war and violence have split countries like Libya and Syria, and a creeping authoritarianism characterises post-revolutionary life in Egypt, Tunisia enjoyed a relatively smooth passage to freedom. This comforts observers in Europe and the United States, who see a mission accomplished in Tunisia. But a year after popular demonstrations swept the old regime from power, cracks have emerged in the revolutionary edifice.

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Panel due to rule on Egypt candidate appeals

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Commission set to decide whether it will review rulings barring three leading candidates from running for presidency

Omar Suleiman's campaign says he was disqualified because of a problem with collecting voter endorsements [Reuters]

Three of Egypt's main presidential candidates have filed appeals after the election commission barred them from running, shaking up an already tumultuous race and political transition.

The election commission is expected to decide on Tuesday which appeals will be reviewed, and a final list of candidates will be released on April 26, just under a month before the May 23-24 vote.


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UN monitors arrive in Syria as fighting rages

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City of Homs shelled as advance UN team of observers arrives in Damascus to reinforce Annan's six-point peace plan

The first international observers tasked with monitoring a tenuous United Nations-backed ceasefire have arrived in Syria, where activists said government forces were continuing to attack opposition neighbourhoods.

"They've arrived and they will start work tomorrow morning," said Kieran Dwyer, a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping department, announcing that six unarmed military observers arrived in Damascus late on Sunday evening.

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