ANALYSIS:The popular discontent that toppled the Tunisian regime has spread across much of the Middle East, writes MICHAEL JANSEN
DEMONSTRATIONS HAVE rolled across the Arab world, maintaining pressure on rulers to reform or resign. In Libya, protesters yesterday defied security forces by staging rallies against the rule of Muammar Gadafy in four cities – Benghazi, the scene of clashes earlier this week; Tripoli; Bayida; and Zentan.
At least 14 have been killed since Wednesday while 14 organisers were arrested as they prepared for the “day of rage” commemorating 14 deaths at a 2006 Muslim fundamentalist demonstration in Benghazi.
In the capital Tripoli, Gadafy appeared at a rally of government supporters who circulated in cars chanting slogans and waving Libyan flags.
In Yemen, 1,500 protesters clashed with pro-government elements on the seventh day of demonstrations calling for an end to the 32-year rule of president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Two have been killed in Aden since protests began.
“The people want the fall of the president, the people want the fall of the regime,” shouted anti-government activists who traded rocks with pro-Saleh crowds. The skirmishes prompted a group of senior clerics to call for the formation of a national unity government to prepare for free and fair elections. Saleh met tribal leaders who have long been the base of his hold on power.
In the capital Sana’a, Saleh supporters have occupied the central Tahrir (Liberation) Square in order to prevent his opponents from seizing this location, which bears the same name as the square in Cairo which was the epicentre of the Egyptian uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak.
In addition to unrest in the streets, the Saleh regime is up against a clan uprising in the north, secessionists in the south and al-Qaeda in the mountains.
In a bid to stem the unrest, Saleh has pledged to step down when his term ends in 2013 and not to hand over to his son. Analysts suggest he could mollify southerners by agreeing to devolve power in a federal system.
In the Palestinian West Bank city of Ramallah, 2,000 demonstrators rallied at Manara Square to demand national unity.
This was the largest popular gathering since the Tunisian up- rising toppled the Ben Ali regime in mid-January.
Palestinians have been divided physically and politically since June 2007 when Hamas seized control of Gaza and ousted the government and security forces of the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority which administers Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
In response to the unprecedented wave of unrest in the region, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has asked premier Salam Fayyad to reshuffle his cabinet to broaden its base by bringing in factions other than Fatah. Abbas has also called for local elections in July and parliamentary and presidential polls in September. Hamas has rejected elections, making it impossible for national polls to be held.
In the port city of Basra in southern Iraq, several hundred demonstrators have rallied outside the governor’s office, demanding an end to electricity outages, improvements in public services and action against rampant corruption. On Wednesday, three people died and 27 were wounded in Kut, capital of the eastern province of Wasit, when protesters drove the governor from his office and burned down three government buildings.
Shia clerics in the holy city of Najaf have called on officials to heed the demonstrators’ demands. Next week, legislators are set to approve pay cuts for themselves and ministers to stem fury over their hefty salaries and perks while public and private sector salaries remain low.
February 25th has been declared a “revolution of Iraqi rage” by internet activists inspired by Egyptian youths.
Protests are expected to continue today following noon prayers in mosques.