Bahrain Feature: In Deaths, The Kingdom Handily Beats Yemen, Egypt and Tunisia

Fadhel AlObaidi, killed March 2012Last week over a pleasant cup of coffee, a colleague asked me a strange question: "I don't get it. Only 80 or so Bahrainis have died in the uprising. Why are they so furious?"  

Citing the number of people killed in the uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen --- not to mention civil wars in Libya and Syria --- she said that by the umbers, Bahrain was at the bottom of the list. The anger and frustration expressed by Bahraini protesters was lost on her since "King Hamad really hasn't been as bad as Saleh, Ben Ali, and Mubarak."

I was a bit puzzled by this assertion. So I looked up the figures.

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Tunisia Feature: Women Speak Out for Rights in a "New Country" (Le Nevez)

Yasmine Bhar, a student who has a part-time job in a call center, was another protester who had given up a days’ pay to attend the protest. “I’m afraid actually. I’m afraid for my Tunisia, for my future, for my rights” she said. She too was frustrated by a perception that too little was being done, both by the government and citizens to counter the influence of the Islamist movement. “I hope that people move. I want people to stop being cowardly and indifferent,” she said.

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Tunisia Feature: Islamists, Faith, and Democracy (Shadid)

An Ennadha Party Supporterjani, a senior member of the Ennahda Party:

The epiphany of Said Ferjani came after his poor childhood in a pious town in Tunisia, after a religious renaissance a generation ago awakened his intellect, after he plotted a coup and a torturer broke his back, and after he fled to Britain to join other Islamists seeking asylum on a passport he had borrowed from a friend.

Twenty-two years later, when Mr. Ferjani returned home, he understood the task at hand: building a democracy, led by Islamists, that would be a model for the Arab world.

“This is our test,” he said.

If the revolts that swept the Middle East a year ago were the coming of age of youths determined to imagine another future for the Arab world, the aftermath that has brought elections in Egypt and Tunisia and the prospect of decisive Islamist influence in Morocco, Libya and, perhaps, Syria is the moment of another, older generation.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Hundreds Dead in Homs as Regime Strikes

Sounds of the overnight assault on Homs

See also Syria Snap Analysis: What the Massacre in Homs Means
Syria 1st-Hand Video: Inside Homs Before the Massacre
Syria Video Special: The Dead, Dying, and Injured in Homs
Friday's Egypt, Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Triple Feature of Protest

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2140 GMT: Bahrainis have met in the forum of the "Bahrain Debate" to try and find a political accommodation.

Eyad Ebrahim, one of the organiser, said, Everybody is worried. We don't want to see violence on the streets, from police or civilians. We want people to be able to talk freely and express their opinions. We need to move beyond this social tension because even if we have a political problem, there is no need for the community to disintegrate."

"A fundamental solution to the political problem is needed to end the vicious circle," said Omar Al Shehabi, who heads the Gulf Centre for Policy Studies, citing unrest going back decades. "I don't know any home or family that has not been affected or had someone imprisoned. All parts of the population need to have a role in writing the constitution. The constitution of 2002 was written behind closed doors."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/04/us-bahrain-dialogue-idUSTRE8130OM20120204

2116 GMT: Claimed footage of the regime troops captured by the Free Syrian Army in the Khalidiya and Bayada sections of Homs:

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Tunisia Video: A Revolutionary Model? (Al Jazeera English)

Al Jazeera English's Empire series looks at Tunisia a year after the toppling of President Ben Ali and considers the political situation and future of the country:

Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Opposition Expands

Claimed footage of Syrian troops and tanks moving into Ghouta suburb, east of Damascus

See also Syria Opinion: "Women Have Been Essential in the Uprising"
Bahrain Feature: Rubber Bullets --- Another "Non-Lethal" Weapon For The Police
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: More than 100 Die But Opposition Slowly Advances

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2052 GMT: Earlier today (see 1535 GMT) we posted video of a march in Kafranbel in northwest Syria, with Free Syrian Army soldiers holding their weapons high. Now we are pointed to claimed footage of the insurgents standing in a "liberated" main square:

2045 GMT: Video from Dumistan in Bahrain on Friday, as police shoot tear gas inside a car --- a woman, reported to be driving, faints after she gets out of the vehicle:

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North Africa Feature: Has "Arab Spring" Brought Reconciliation in Region? (Malkhy)

Saad Eddine OthmaniOn 14 January, the first anniversary of the Tunisian Revolution, leaders from Morocco, Libya, Algeria, and Morocco travelled to the country in a show of solidarity. The visit also highlighted the interest in building links across the region, in part through revival of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA).

This weekend, it was announced that interim Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki will be reciprocating the gesture, with official visits to Morocco and Algeria in early February. In a further indication that the regional disagreements which led to the suspension of the AMU in 1994 are easing --- for now at least --- Morocco's new Foreign Minister Saad Eddine Othmani will arrive in Algeria today for two days of discussions. Writing for MoroccoBoard News Service,Hassan Masiky examines the significance of the visit, and how a thawing of hostilities will play to domestic populations still seeking greater political reform and economic opportunities.

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The "Arab Spring" Spurs Algeria to Reconcile with Morocco"
Hassan Masiky

Reports of the upcoming visit by the new Moroccan Foreign Minister to Algiers are signs that recent political and social events in North Africa are forcing the Algerian government and the Moroccan authorities to reconsider their long-simmering rivalry.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A University Under Curfew

A crowd in Tunisia marks the first anniversary of the downfall of the President "Ben Ali, assassin!"

See also Friday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: How Long Can This Go On?

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1550 GMT: A Friday night protest in Imbaba against Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces:

1540 GMT: Footage of arrival of Syrian military in Kafrsita in Hama Province today:

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: What Happens When the Observers Leave?

Protesters stand in front of massed ranks of police in Sitra in Bahrain today (Photo: Mazen Mahdi)

See also The Real Net Effect: Andy Carvin & the Power of Twitter
Saudi Arabia Feature: A Princess in London Calls for Reforms
Bahrain Feature: An Uprising In The NumbersBahrain 1st-Hand: Mariam Al Sarraj and the Raid on Salihiya
Tuesday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Newsflash --- "The Killings Continue"

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2115 GMT: The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information updates on four activists of the 6 April Movement who were detained on Monday for sticking up posters critical of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. One was released today, but three remain in detention and will appear before judge on Thursday morning.

2035 GMT: More photographs from Mazen Mahdi of protest and police in Sitra today:

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Syria, Egypt, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: From Mohamed Bouazizi to the Tear-Gassing of Protests

2124 GMT: Earlier we reported that cell phone communication was shut down in the Salahaddine district, near the center of Aleppo (Map). Now we may know why.

This video is impossible for us to verify, but activists claim that it was taken from a protest on the Salahaddine district:

2105 GMT: The LCCS has once again raised the death toll:

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