Protest for Changes Persist in Middle East

The protests that led to the fall of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt caused a wave of reactions in several countries of the Maghreb and the Middle East.

BAHRAIN

Since Monday in Bahrain, there have been demonstrations calling for political and social reforms, which were violently suppressed in several Shia villages, leaving two dead. The Shiite bloc suspended its participation in the Assembly and the king announced the formation of a commission of inquiry. Security forces used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators that were protesting for the death of Ali Abdelhadi Mushaima and Matruk Fadl.

Protesters have already taken the center of the city and have spent the night in the square of the Pearl, which has been renamed as Liberation Square in honor of Tahrir Square in Egypt where milion of protesters achieved Hosni Mubarak’s resignation. The government has blocked Internet access in Bahrain.

YEMEN

In Yemen, since mid-January, demonstrations in Sanaa and in provinces gathered thousands of people demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh that has been in power since 1978. The opposition agreed to resume the dialogue with the power after it made promises of reforms.

A Yemeni student was injured this Wednesdays during clashes between protesters and loyal people to President Ali Abdullah Saleh on the campus of the University of Sanaa, in the center of the capital.

About 500 protesters gathered at the campus, while 300 other ruling party supporters demonstrated outside the university.

IRAN

In the Iranian capital, thousands of people marched on Monday, despite a ban by the authorities. The reformist opposition seeking to overthrow the current president of the nation called the protests. It left a toll of two dead and nine troops of law enforcement injured.

Deputies called on Tuesday to “hang” the former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi and former parliament speaker Mehdi Karubi, the two main opposition leaders.

One of the dead was a college student; today he has been declared a martyr, since hundreds of people have escorted the coffin wrapped in an Iranian flag.

By Friday the government has called for a march to demonstrate their strength. The demonstration is directed against “the leaders of sedition Karroubi and Mousavi. These have ensured not to be afraid of threats from the regime and urged to continue with the protests.

LIBYA

The first riots occurred this morning in Benghazi, a crowd protesting against the arrest of a lawyer and human rights activist, Fathi Tarbela. 600 people armed with Molotov cocktails and stones gathered in front the head quarters of Government.

At least 38 people were injured, including 10 policemen.

The Government, aware of the growing social climate, will released 110 political prisoners who were imprisoned because they were members of an illegal organization called Islamic Fighting Group in Libya.