2111 GMT: The latest news from Yemen is that 3 soldiers and 5 civilians have died in Taiz, as the government shelled the city for yet another day. Earlier, before some of this violence, Mohammed Basindwa, appointed by the opposition to lead the transitional government, said that if the violence continues it could threaten the GCC deal. Well, the violence did continue throughout the day, and the death toll did rise, so we'll soon see whether Basindwa withdraws from the negotiated deal.
2015 GMT: Activists share this video, which reportedly shows anti-Assad protesters chanting in the clear presence of tanks and snipers in Taftanaz, Idlib province, reportedly today. We have no way of verifying the details:
Wael Ghonim, February 2011Months have gone by without any meaningful change in how the country is governed. The military is not listening to the angry youths who led the revolution; some have been arrested, tried in military courts and thrown into military prisons. Leaders of the former regime have been tried in ordinary courts, despite the gravity of their crimes against the nation. Each day that passes without a clear road map for radical change in the management of our country leads young people to feel more frustrated and driven to escalate the situation.
But I believe that anyone participating in effecting change cannot be a pessimist. This is why, when it comes to Egypt’s future, I am an optimist. Revolution is a process; its failure and success cannot be measured after only a few months, or even years. We must continue to believe.
2125 GMT: Josh Shahryar has done a great job wrapping up our Egypt coverage in the previous update, and we'll close the blog looking forward. By tomorrow, we should see the fuller results, and we'll watch as the nation, and the political parties, react. Suffice it to say, the Islamists did quite well, though with no single party likely to hold a majority, we'll most likely be looking at a coalition government. Then Egypt will have to learn the first lesson of Democracy - how to govern when not everyone agrees.
In Syria, we started by looking to Turkey, as new sanctions were announced today, but the big stories were closer to home. With tanks storming Dael, a mass-shooting in Idlib, and large student demonstrations in Aleppo, today was just another sign that this conflict is hardly isolated to Homs and Hama. Assad's problems are everywhere.
Which brings up the next point. Idlib has not seen violence like this in many weeks, though protests have steadily been growing there. Dael had zero military presence at the start of the day, and the army had to deploy dozens of tanks, armored vehicles, buses, and perhaps as many as 1000 soldiers to the city in order to commence a new crackdown. Aleppo, once untouchable, has seen protests of some sort nearly every day for the last week. Assad has problems, but he does not have forces everywhere he has problems, and even where he thinks he does not have problems he has problems.
As evidence of this, the LCCS has posted this video, reportedly showing the military bombardment of Rankous, north of Damascus. Two weeks ago we did not know where this town was, but since then we've seen an increased presence of protests, and now several days of bombardment:
And we've seen yet another crack in Assad's armor, as a large army unit defected today in Idlib. So even within Assad's forces, his trusted solution, he still has problems.
Mona Eltahawy After Her ReleaseLast Thursday I woke to the news that Egyptian security forces had detained and beaten the journalist Mona Eltahawy. She was released hours later, with a broken left arm and broken right wrist. In the interim, a vocal campaign had arisen on Twitter, #FreeMona.
Later, I watched Zeynap Tufekci engaged in debate about activism, social movements, and the Internet with Evgeny Morozov, who repeated his standard line that claims of activism's effect via the Web are usually shallow and misguided.
Invoking both analysis and specific cases --- Morozov's general claims often cover up a lack of knowledge or even interest in the reality of events --- Tufekci effectively, if politely, took Morozov apart while putting out a thoughtful examination of what Web-based activism might achieve.
Among the cases that Tufekci considered was the fresh episode of Mona Eltahawy, and by Friday, she was posting a reflection and examination on her blog Technosociology.
One more thought --- after Eltahawy's release but before I read Tufekci's article, I posted the story from Bahrain, "How Activist Zainab Alkhawaja Defied the Police...And Escaped Arrest". In her Twitter narrative, Alkhawaja paid tribute to the power of social media, "I have to thank loads of people, many of them on Twitter. It seems the news got out fast & thats why the orders of arrest were changed".
But she also added this important caveat, "I also feel sad, that my brothers & sisters, the other protesters, who I would die for, are not protected the way I am".
An Activist Hands Out Leaflets to VotersWhat we saw today — so far at least — is that even amidst public uncertainty about the future, split public opinion on Tahrir and SCAF, and organizational chaos, the Egyptian people are eager to participate in the democratic process that may have real meaning for the first time in their lives. They are sharing in the fruits of the revolution, with pragmatism and hope, and testing whether the change is real. I don't see the high turnout (or what we think is a high turnout as we await official data) as a sign of support for SCAF. It's a sign of support for the democratic process and hope for its improvement.
That is a testimony of the Egyptian people's seriousness. But it does not change the fact that these elections were prepared with staggering, perhaps even malicious, incompetence and on that basis alone should not have been held, and that the transition blueprint in general is a bad one.
Rock throwing and fireworks between two sides at 6th october bridge on abdel moneim riyad st
No sign of CSF or army
There are maybe 200-300 involved on this battle on each side.
2049 GMT: The situation in Tahrir Square is again worsening. Tweeps are reporting that thugs have started to clash with activists inside the square where at least two people have so far been stabbed.
Others report of of thugs bringing guns and some even report of shooting on protesters by these thugs. Ambulances have arrved at Tahrir and at least one injured protester has been transported out.
1820 GMT: There are reports that port workers in Suez have stopped a ship with seven tons of tear gas among its cargo. There are fewer details on where the product has been manufactured, but reports indicate it was sent from the US, the reports say. So far, only Ahram has the story.
There have been claims that hundreds of tons of tear gas have arrived in Egypt on ships in the past few weeks, but none have been fully verified.
1900 GMT: As voting ends in Egypt, reports indicate that Tahrir Square is slowly turning into a tent city again. So far, there are virtually no reports of serious violence during the first day of an election process that will not end until next year. Meanwhile, former Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa called the elections "the beginning of a new era in Egypt".
Basindwa, Foreign Minister from 1993 to 1994, will form a new government under the deal signed in Saudi Arabia last Wednesday by President Saleh, who returned to Yemen last night.
On Saturday, Hadi called Presidential elections for 21 February.
2019 GMT: Claimed footage of a Saudi armoured vehicle trying to run over protesters in Qatif in Eastern Province --- demonstrations by the Shi'a population escalated this week, as four people were killed by security forces:
1954 GMT: Egypt's new prime minister will have more power than his predecessor, a concession to the protesters, perhaps, but will it be enough to alleviate their fears and frustrations?
Kamal el-Ganzouri, 78, served as prime minister between 1996 and 1999 and was deputy prime minister and planning minister before that. He also was a provincial governor under the late President Anwar Sadat.
Friday, December 2, 2011 at 6:59
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