marine1
Honorary Master
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/w...can-protests-subside-in-middle-east.html?_r=0
Just goes to show, all these countries do is change one dictator for another.
No such thing as democracy in the Arab world.
Across the region, the anti-American protests that convulsed cities in many parts of the Islamic world last week subsided at least temporarily, a fragile calm taking hold a day after violent and sometimes deadly demonstrations at American and Western installations spread to more than 20 countries.
In Cairo, where the protests against a crude video denigrating Islam began on Tuesday, security forces expanded the fortifications around the American Embassy. On Friday, despite a new concrete barrier, hundreds of young men battled security officers near the embassy, hurling rocks and homemade bombs as the police fired tear gas.
But by midday Saturday, security forces had cleared the streets around the embassy. Only a faint scent of tear gas remained.
Hisham Qandil, Egypt’s prime minister, said Saturday that he had visited the American Embassy to express his support and told the BBC’s Arabic news channel that it was regrettable and wrong that so many blamed the American government for a video to which it had no connection.
But he also called for the West to “strike a balance between freedom of expression and to maintain respect for other people’s beliefs.” He said the violence was caused by “a small group of people doing irresponsible work, and everybody is paying the price for these people’s work, and we have to do all it takes to stop this from happening again.”
Even as the violence abated, Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen urged its followers to “expel the embassies of America from the lands of the Muslims” and praised the killing of the American ambassador to Libya. The violence raised questions about political instability in Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries where newfound freedoms have given way to an absence of authority. In Egypt, leaders sought to repair ties with Washington that have been strained by their initial response to attacks on the embassy, tacitly acknowledging that they erred in not vehemently condemning the violence.
The toll of the demonstrations became clearer on Saturday, with Egyptian state news media reporting that at least one person had died in the clashes. More than 224 people have been injured in four days of street battles, according to state news media, and by Friday at least 99 security officers had been hurt.
Across the region, there were reports of about a dozen deaths during the six days of protests, some in confrontations with security forces, others in riots.
In Benghazi, Libya, where four Americans were killed Tuesday, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, the authorities appeared to be rounding up many men who were at the diplomatic compound during that attack.
On Saturday, President Obama condemned the violence but also reached out to Muslims.
“We stand for religious freedom,” he said in his weekly radio address. “And we reject the denigration of any religion — including Islam. Yet there is never any justification for violence.”
Political and religious leaders in the Arab world also called for calm. In Saudi Arabia, where no protests were reported, the grand mufti, the highest religious authority in Islam’s birthplace, denounced the attacks and said “it is forbidden to punish the innocent for the wicked crimes of the guilty,” state news media reported.
In Tunis, where the American Embassy was attacked Friday by protesters who smashed windows and set fires, the moderate Islamist governing party condemned the violence, which left at least 3 dead and 28 injured, for threatening Tunisia’s progress toward democracy.
Two protesters died in Sudan, two died in Tunisia and one was killed in Lebanon. On Thursday, four people were killed as protests turned violent at the American Embassy in Sana, Yemen.
Some of the worst violence on Friday was in Khartoum, Sudan, where about 5,000 people rallied, news reports said, before marching to the American Embassy.
Sudanese police on Saturday said that two protesters had died in a traffic accident that resulted from the chaos on Friday, The Associated Press reported.
Sudan rebuffed a request by the United States to deploy Marines around the embassy, but talks continued and Washington reminded Sudan of its obligations to provide diplomatic security. Marines have already been sent to Libya and Yemen, although the Yemeni Parliament demanded on Saturday that the Marines leave the country, according to SABA, the state news service. “We do not accept any foreign forces in Yemen, be it small or big forces, and for any reason,” the Parliament statement said.
The State Department said it was evacuating all family members and nonemergency staff members from the embassies in Tunis and Khartoum, citing the security situation. It also warned American citizens about travel in both capitals.
David D. Kirkpatrick reported from Cairo, and Marc Santora from New York. Reporting was contributed by Moises Saman from Cairo, Monica Marks from Tunis, Steven Lee Myers from Washington and Nasser Arrabyee from Sana, Yemen.
Just goes to show, all these countries do is change one dictator for another.
No such thing as democracy in the Arab world.
Across the region, the anti-American protests that convulsed cities in many parts of the Islamic world last week subsided at least temporarily, a fragile calm taking hold a day after violent and sometimes deadly demonstrations at American and Western installations spread to more than 20 countries.
In Cairo, where the protests against a crude video denigrating Islam began on Tuesday, security forces expanded the fortifications around the American Embassy. On Friday, despite a new concrete barrier, hundreds of young men battled security officers near the embassy, hurling rocks and homemade bombs as the police fired tear gas.
But by midday Saturday, security forces had cleared the streets around the embassy. Only a faint scent of tear gas remained.
Hisham Qandil, Egypt’s prime minister, said Saturday that he had visited the American Embassy to express his support and told the BBC’s Arabic news channel that it was regrettable and wrong that so many blamed the American government for a video to which it had no connection.
But he also called for the West to “strike a balance between freedom of expression and to maintain respect for other people’s beliefs.” He said the violence was caused by “a small group of people doing irresponsible work, and everybody is paying the price for these people’s work, and we have to do all it takes to stop this from happening again.”
Even as the violence abated, Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen urged its followers to “expel the embassies of America from the lands of the Muslims” and praised the killing of the American ambassador to Libya. The violence raised questions about political instability in Egypt, Tunisia and other Middle Eastern countries where newfound freedoms have given way to an absence of authority. In Egypt, leaders sought to repair ties with Washington that have been strained by their initial response to attacks on the embassy, tacitly acknowledging that they erred in not vehemently condemning the violence.
The toll of the demonstrations became clearer on Saturday, with Egyptian state news media reporting that at least one person had died in the clashes. More than 224 people have been injured in four days of street battles, according to state news media, and by Friday at least 99 security officers had been hurt.
Across the region, there were reports of about a dozen deaths during the six days of protests, some in confrontations with security forces, others in riots.
In Benghazi, Libya, where four Americans were killed Tuesday, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, the authorities appeared to be rounding up many men who were at the diplomatic compound during that attack.
On Saturday, President Obama condemned the violence but also reached out to Muslims.
“We stand for religious freedom,” he said in his weekly radio address. “And we reject the denigration of any religion — including Islam. Yet there is never any justification for violence.”
Political and religious leaders in the Arab world also called for calm. In Saudi Arabia, where no protests were reported, the grand mufti, the highest religious authority in Islam’s birthplace, denounced the attacks and said “it is forbidden to punish the innocent for the wicked crimes of the guilty,” state news media reported.
In Tunis, where the American Embassy was attacked Friday by protesters who smashed windows and set fires, the moderate Islamist governing party condemned the violence, which left at least 3 dead and 28 injured, for threatening Tunisia’s progress toward democracy.
Two protesters died in Sudan, two died in Tunisia and one was killed in Lebanon. On Thursday, four people were killed as protests turned violent at the American Embassy in Sana, Yemen.
Some of the worst violence on Friday was in Khartoum, Sudan, where about 5,000 people rallied, news reports said, before marching to the American Embassy.
Sudanese police on Saturday said that two protesters had died in a traffic accident that resulted from the chaos on Friday, The Associated Press reported.
Sudan rebuffed a request by the United States to deploy Marines around the embassy, but talks continued and Washington reminded Sudan of its obligations to provide diplomatic security. Marines have already been sent to Libya and Yemen, although the Yemeni Parliament demanded on Saturday that the Marines leave the country, according to SABA, the state news service. “We do not accept any foreign forces in Yemen, be it small or big forces, and for any reason,” the Parliament statement said.
The State Department said it was evacuating all family members and nonemergency staff members from the embassies in Tunis and Khartoum, citing the security situation. It also warned American citizens about travel in both capitals.
David D. Kirkpatrick reported from Cairo, and Marc Santora from New York. Reporting was contributed by Moises Saman from Cairo, Monica Marks from Tunis, Steven Lee Myers from Washington and Nasser Arrabyee from Sana, Yemen.
