Arab Spring and Western Style Democracy

This is an excellent article regarding the Arab Spring, cultural diversity and Western style democracy.  It gathers insight into the Western false perceptions of the Middle East culture and the Arab Spring.  a must read

Middle East:  To Challenge the Patriarch

Repost from:  Ideas That Shape (ITS) Think Tank

Authored by Joseph Lerner, Edited by Col. Gordon Forbes (ret.)

© Copyright 2012 Ideas That Shape (ITS)

It is essential to be prepared for a possibility that the plans for implementing the Western-style democracy in Middle Eastern countries may be unsuccessful.  The Tunisian uprising ignited the Arab Spring, which had a domino effect that resulted in an uprising in Egypt and removal of Mubarak, the toppling of Gaddafi in Libya, an ongoing rebellion in Syria against the minority Alawite ruling class, led by Bashar al-Assad, and protests in Bahrain.  These events have been interpreted in the West as a desire for establishing Western-style democracy by the people of the Middle East.  However, those in favour of adopting Western-style democracy in the Middle East are in the minority and they were not instrumental in igniting the Arab Spring.

“This is not how the West, nor many Egyptians, thought the Arab Spring would turn out in Egypt. Their mistake was overestimating the significance of the democratic secularists, how representative the anti-Mubarak demonstrators were of Egypt as a whole, and the degree to which those demonstrators were committed to Western-style democracy rather than a democracy that represented Islamist values.” George Friedman, The Egyptian Election and the Arab Spring, Stratfor, May 29, 2012

In International Relations circles and amongst analysts the Arab Spring is perceived as a series of revolutions in the Middle East.  The term, Egyptian Revolution, was already used at the first gathering of the Egyptian people in Tahrir Square, who were demanding changes.  Comparing the Arab Spring to a revolution might be jumping to conclusions too soon.  Why?  The Arab Spring hardly consists of a series of revolutions in the Middle East.  The Arab Spring has been a series of decentralized and spontaneous uprisings and rebellions against oppression without having any clear, centralized leadership or well-structured political ideology.  Furthermore, one should realize that the circumstances that sparked the uprisings in most Arab countries were of an economic and social nature.   However, the uprising in Syria and Bahrain are of a political and sectarian nature.

During the Arab Spring, the reaction of many in the West, especially the mainstream media, was based on the misperception that the Arab Spring is a clear sign that the Middle Eastern people are eager to establish Western-style democracy.  For example, in October 2012 Doug Bandow in an article that was published by Forbes wrote: That blocking power is now at issue. While visiting Kuwait last week I increasingly heard people insist on creation of a government dependent on parliament, as in most Western nations. Some Kuwaitis even questioned the monarchy, whose ruling family goes back centuries in this region.

The cause of these uprisings was the oppression and frustration of the Arab population, especially the youths, who have no hope in planning for their future.  A majority of the youths in the Arab countries have no gainful employment and no means of supporting themselves, getting a higher education or developing skills that would lead to gainful employment.  Furthermore, the youths in these countries hardly have any proper social life.  All these frustrations and negative energies have been redirected towards uprisings, rebellions and in many cases the religious extremism in the Middle East.

“I don’t think the Arab Spring is necessarily a democratic manifestation, I think it is a populist manifestation,” Henry Kissinger, WSJ, May 21, 2011

The Middle East has a longstanding tradition of male leadership (patriarchy) that extends from the family to the structure of tribal elders and leadership of today’s nations.  For thousands of years the Middle Eastern nations have been ruled by kings and sheikhs.  Such form of leadership symbolically represents a king or sheikh as a father figure according to the traditions and cultures of the Middle East.  The king is the nation’s patriarch.  In the Middle Eastern traditions and cultures a nation is similar to that of a family.  The national unity of each Middle Eastern country, for thousands of years, has always been ensured under such a patriarchal model of governance.

Furthermore, similar cultural and traditional political structures could even be identified in Middle Eastern countries whose form of government is a Republic.  Today, in the Republic of Turkey, the Prime Minister plays a similar symbolic role to that of the great patriarch of the Turkish nation.  The same principle applies to the governing structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran.  The Supreme Leader of Iran is a Shiite religious leader who is a king archetype.  The word, supreme, alludes to such a concept.  People of the Middle East have a longstanding traditional, cultural and spiritual affinity with such concepts, symbolism and leadership archetypes that represent kingship and patriarchy.

Whether Western values and standards are compatible with the Middle Eastern traditions or cultures or not, the people of the Middle East highly respect and treasure their way of life.  Therefore, the West must realize and acknowledge that the Middle Eastern uprisings and rebellions are hardly an indication that the people of the Middle East are interested in adopting the Western values, culture or Western-style democracy.  Essentially the people of the Middle East want economic opportunity and a better life rather than Western-style democracy that is socially alien to them.

However, this does not mean that those who started the Arab Spring are not interested in certain elements of  Western-style democracy, like Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assembly.  The traditions and cultures of the people of the Middle East hardly pose a threat to the Western values and way of life.  To develop a deeper understanding of such realities and to be able to better assist the region in economic advancement, Human Rights, stability and rule of law, it is necessary to learn about the traditions, cultures and history of the Middle East.  Western countries need to be flexible and adapt to these realities in their foreign policies and trade interactions with the Middle East.

Furthermore, it is important to realize and acknowledge that the Middle East is a region with many nations that are rich in natural resources such as oil, gas, precious metals and minerals.  The West needs the natural resources of the Middle East to be industrious and sustain its economic growth.  The Middle Eastern countries need to export their natural resources to the West and rest of the world to grow their economy and develop their infrastructure.  There is an undeniable symbiotic economic relationship between the West and Middle Eastern countries.  Therefore, trade, investment and infrastructure building need to become the central focus of the development of relationships between the West and Middle Eastern countries, within the context of International Relations, International Development and International Trade.

People of the Middle East enjoy and appreciate having Western high-tech and other products such as cars, smart phones, gaming devices and many more.  Furthermore, they are the consumers of Western entertainment, including movies and TV programs.  East and West share common economic and cultural grounds.

One wonders that whether Western-style democracy was really a proper lens to view the Arab Spring?  If it was yes, then to what extent?
The next question then is:  Are there forms of government that are compatible with both the Western interest in openness and the patriarchal traditions and cultures of the Middle East?  One might find some answers to this question.  However, regardless of how rational and pragmatic the solutions would be, the political and sociocultural obstacles in working towards such a model of governance will be:
b) how to gradually assist the Middle Eastern nations to install the concept of probity in the hearts and minds of each one of their citizens from an early age and throughout their public education.a) how to ensure that Human Rights violations, especially Women’s Rights, are properly addressed within the cultural and traditional context of each Middle Eastern nation; and 

Joseph Lerner is an Analyst who regularly writes about the subjects of International Relations, International Trade and Geopolitics.  Joseph has over two decades of experiences in strategic planning, communication strategy, project management, corporate training, geopolitical analysis, qualitative and quantitative research.  He has served in executive capacity and as expert advisor on various Board of Directors.  His formal education has been in Cultural Studies and Liberal Arts focusing on the areas of literature, political science, philosophy, classical composition and linguistics.  Joseph has extensive experiences in culture of trade and negotiations amongst various indigenous cultures and traditions of the Middle East and Mediterranean regions.  In the past, he has served as Campaign Strategist during Canada’s 2011 Federal Election running a successful War Room. In 2007 during the Ontario’s Provincial Election,  Joseph held the position of Communication Analyst and Strategist.  He is multilingual and has extensive experiences working in environments that benefit from diversity.  Furthermore, Joseph has produced numerous radio programs and has interviewing many celebrities, academics, dignitaries and politicians.

Obama vs Romney on Libya and security WOW

I must include this part of the debate. This is the point where Obama takes a stand, and becomes the strong person that we wanted him to be when he was elected the first time. Obama tells it like it is and Romeny continues to point fingers without any real solutions.

Who is Sam Bacile?

Susan Brannon
Who is Sam Bacile pseudonym?
14 September 2012

I reported in "The Film that Sparked the Violence, Egypt, Libya" by using what I would call "credited" mainstream news reports, AP said that they interviewed Sam Bacile while the New York Times reported the same.  I used other outlets who all said the same thing, in the end I could not figure out why the Arab world was attacking American interests, when Bacile was quoted as saying that he was an Israeli Jew.  Later, I read a comment from the state of Israel saying that they could not find a Sam Bacile as a citizen, yet they could not explain more because they protect their citizens.  This left me with my syndical concepts, yeah, Israel would not admit such a thing.

Instead, I played the role of a journalist who took the story and added my opinion.  What I should have done was question the AP (?) who is to be credible and able to research who this Sam Bacile is, their contact and source.  It must have been a hot story to want to get it in the press so quickly without research if the person actually exists.  In the end the media and myself took a run on it.

So, what's the real story?  In Italy, the news is saying that Mr. Bacile is not Israeli but Egyptian, CNN quotes an anti-Muslim activist Steve Klein, who was a script consultant for the movie and was called, "Innocence of Bin Laden" to reveal "facts, evidence and proof" about the prophet Mohammed.  Klein stated that the man with the pseudonym, Sam Bacile, was upset about the events of the film and what happened to the ambassador.

We know that the trailers were translated into Egyptian dialects of Arabic and that the Egyptian television aired certain segments.  The fury followed.

CNN was able to interview some of the actors of the film, who reported an outrage for the producer for "misleading" them regarding the films contents and possible dubbing.  One of the staff told CNN that he knew the producer as Sam Bassil and that is how the check was signed.  He was 99% positive that "Bassil" was not Jewish and had several Madonna's in the home.

Rumors have it that this Bassil/Bacile is a Coptic Christian.  Sam Bassil had an indictment for a bank fraud conviction in 2009 for Nakoula Basseley Nokoula.  With aliases such as:  Mark Basseley Youssef, Yousseff M. Basseley, Nicola Bacily and Malid Ahlawi…were aliases in the indictment.  There is a list of other names on other indictments as well. Does any of these names have anything to do with the film and who produced it or is it just another false lead?

The Feds consider Sam Bacile/Sam Bassil to be Nakoula Basseley Nakoula…says Time magazine. He was tracked down Wednesday at his Los Angeles area home by the AP.  Nakoula denied having any connection to Bacile, that he managed "logistics for the film" However, as the investigation continues…the AP discovered that the cell-phone number used by the man who identified himself as Bacile to the press is registered to the same address where the reporter found Nakoula. It has also been reported by ABC that the police were summoned to Nakoula's home to provide extra protection.  However, asking the police for protection does not mean that he is the actual producer.

The mystery remains, who produced the film and who financed it?  We all know that it was a flop during the screening and someone took the July posting (who posted it?) and translated it into Egyptian Arabic to be shown to the Arab world.

In the end, the film has caused protesters aired their anti-American anger in Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Violent mobs attacked the U.S. Consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi leaving the ambassador and three other Americans dead.

Information taken from Time http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/09/13/friends-of-sam-bacile-a-whos-who-of-the-innocence-of-muslims-film-project/
CNN http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/13/world/anti-islam-filmmaker/index.html

The Film that Sparked the Violence, Egypt, Libya

Susan Brannon
12 September 2012

The Israeli-Jew filmmaker, Sam Bacile, 56 went into hiding after his movie caused an international controversy in Egypt and Libya, where the American ambassador Chris Stevens was killed along with three others from his staff on Tuesday 11th September late in the evening. Sam Bacile defends his film saying, "Islam is a cancer and that he intended his film to be a provocative political statement condemning the religion."

 In Egypt protesters climbed the walls of the U.S. embassy and replaced the American flag with an Islamic banner. While in Libya, the American consulate was attacked and came under fire by an angry mob in response to the film. Bacile expected something "like this to happen" to be the next Theo van Gogh, the Dutch filmmaker killed by a Muslim extremist in 2004 after making a film that was perceived as insulting to Islam.

The film that triggered the violence is titled, "The Innocence of Muslims" and the movie trailer was released on You Tube on 2 July 2012. Someone dubbed the film into Egyptian Arabic with correct translations. Through the use of the internet through channels of "rumor-heavy" media, has been playing the highly offensive clips from the film. The word quickly spread around the globe regarding the continual insults towards the Islam Prophet Muhammad, violence, and sexual implications that insult the Islam religion.

The film costs $5 million to make and was financed with the help of more than 100 Jewish donors. The film claims that Muhammad was a fraud whose obedient followers act as a cadre of goons. Muhammad approves of child sexual abuse, adultery, rape and stealing of others goods. Mr. Bacile says, "The U.S. lost a lot of money and a lot of people in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we're fighting with ideas." He identifies himself as an Israeli Jew although he lives in California. He wants "the movie to help his native land by exposing Islam's flaws to the world". Bacile is apologetic about the American ambassador who was killed, but blames the embassy security in the failure of protecting the embassy. 

However, there are two sides to the story, one as an "artist/activist" who has the right to "be creative" and voice freedom of speech" and the second are those who belong to the Muslim the religion themselves. A filmmaker must understand that when he steps out to clearly insult those of another belief system, it will create havoc. In terms of the Jewish/Islam conflicts that have been going on for decades, this is without question a very delicate matter. As a filmmaker, to put oneself and others at high risk and to be willing to produce such insulting materials is arrogant and irresponsible to civil society.

Bacile, knowing that he was insulting the leader of millions of Muslims around the world, as an "American/Israeli" put our country, our leaders and people at a security risk around the globe. Already three people have been killed and the pot is now at the boiling point. The pot against the American people has been at a high simmer for a very long time, and it only took these insults to raise the heat. 

However, if Bacile clams to be an Israeli Jew, living in California, then why did the Muslims in Egypt and Libya attack the American embassy and consulate? Don't you think they should be attacking Israeli embassies instead? No, I am not anti-Semitic, quite the contrary but I can't understand why the uprising was set against the American people.

Even if I was Israeli, or Jewish, I would be angry because Bacile imposes his beliefs as representations of Israeli or Jewish beliefs.  Imagine if the film attacked Judaism in the same manner as it attacks Islam, the news outlets would not only focus on the "uprisings" without mentioning the film's name (as they are doing now), but I am sure that they would include the name of the film and details as to the attack against the Jewish religion with the Rabbis and Israeli Prime Minister making some anger statement for the film.

Yet, I do not believe that the Israeli's would attack the American embassy or consulates and kill innocent people.  I do not condone the violent actions against the American people, it is not the way to resolve the problem and it is not right.

However, it is the action like Bacile's has taken the lives of innocent people through his anti-Muslim attitude and this too is not right.  One life is too much when it is those who are standing on the sideline trying to get by day to day.  I am sorry that we lost our Ambassador to Bacile's arrogance.

Immigrants speak out: ''NATO has destroyed our lives in Libya'' (April 4, 2011)

This older video expresses the feelings of immigrant workers, who were chased out of the country because of NATO's ''revolution'' in Libya. We need more videos of common Libyans who express their view on NATO's toppling of the Libyan government and the introduction of violence in their peaceful cities.

Demonstration against NATO's Takeover of Libyan Resources (September 3, 2011)

A fragile Peace in Libya Sept 2, 2011

In some towns there is peace but it is an uneasy peace

Global Leaders Discuss the Future of Libya

http://youtu.be/fiIDoZ1mriA

NATO and Libya

Susan Brannon
11 September 2011
NATO and Libya Missions

As of 10 September 2011 below is a report of the latest military operations:

Mission
NATO took control of all military operations for Libya under United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1970 & 1973 on 31 March 2011. The aim of Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR is to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under attack or threat of attack.

The mission consists of three elements: an arms embargo, a no-fly-zone and actions to protect civilians from attack or the threat of attack.

Over the past 24 hours, NATO has conducted the following activities associated with Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR.

Air Operations
Since the beginning of the NATO operation (31 March 2011, 06.00GMT) a total of 22,006 sorties, including 8,256 strike sorties*, have been conducted.

Sorties conducted 08 SEPTEMBER: 113
Strike sorties conducted 08 SEPTEMBER: 36

*Strike sorties are intended to identify and engage appropriate targets, but do not necessarily deploy munitions each time.

Key Hits 08 SEPTEMBER:
In the vicinity of Sirte: 2 Armed Vehicles, 1 Multiple Rocket Launcher.
In the vicinity of Waddan: 9 Anti Aircraft Guns, 3 Radars Systems.
In the vicinity of Sebha: 1 Military Vehicle Storage Facility.
In the vicinity of Bani Walid: 1 Surface to Surface Missile Storage Facility.
Arms Embargo Activities
A total of 14 ships under NATO command are actively patrolling the Central Mediterranean.
18 Vessels were hailed on 08 SEPTEMBER to determine destination and cargo. 1 boarding (0 denied) were conducted.
A total of 2539 vessels have been hailed, 263 boardings and 11 denials have been conducted since the beginning of arms embargo operations.

International Humanitarian Assistance Movements as recorded by NATO
Total of Humanitarian Movements**1000: (air, ground, maritime).
Ships delivering Humanitarian Assistance 08 SEPTEMBER: 2
Aircrafts delivering Humanitarian Assistance 08 SEPTEMBER: 14 (http://nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_71994.htm

Humanitarian Update:
Reports of an escalating humanitarian crisis is occurring in Libya. Twenty-Five doctors are trying to enter into one of Muammar Gaddafi's strongholds in the attempt to avert the crisis.  Bani Walid is believed to have no power or water for a week, and food is running low.  The Rebels have surrounded the town, one of the last towns under Gaddafi's grip.

The people in Libya are relying on the food that is stored in their homes because there is no fruit or vegetables with a shortage of water.  The doctors want to supply food, not fight and they feel that they cannot go in, until it is safe.

The increase in NATO's bombing is escalating the humanitarian crisis, with artillery fire, bombing, airstrikes and special forces making it unsafe for Aid to come in.  Libyan Arab Jamahiriya reports that humanitarian efforts are ongoing in the country except for in Tripoli because of the tension in the area.  "The protection of civilians remains a humanitarian priority in Libya. There have been reports from human rights organisations and in the media that migrants and refugees (particularly Sub-Saharan Africans) are being subject to unlawful discrimination and harassment."

Treatment of conflict related injuries are high and difficult to maintain in the Tripoli ares. There are no confirmed figures of the number of killed and wounded in Tripoli. The Ministry of Health is
currently using the working figure of 3,000 wounded. In addition, INGOs report that an increasing number of
war-wounded are being treated in medical facilities in the Nafusa Mountains. The interim health minister has
provided a first estimate of the number of casualties since conflict broke out in Libya in February: around 30,000 people have been killed, 50,000 wounded, and around 4,000 people are missing.

For food concerns they also report: "People in greatest need of food
support include internally displaced persons, returnees, migrants, refugees, and people in areas affected by interrupted trade and supply. Since the last week of August, WFP has distributed more than 1,400 MT of mixed food items, covering the needs of some 84,500 beneficiaries in Gharyan, Sabratha, Surman, Zuwara and Tripoli."  In addition they need support for up to 400,000 people in Southern Libya and 200,000 in Gharyan and surrounding villages.  For more visit Libyan Arab Jamahiriya report. 

Video:  Letter from Tripoli - Sept 5th

Libya uprising Update: Crimes against humanity 1/2 [libyasos]

Changing Hands

Susan Brannon
17th August 2011

Sometimes I feel like the actress Milla Jovovich who played the part of the fifth element in the movie “The Fifth Element” (1997) staring Bruce Willis.  You know the woman who came down to earth with super powers to help save the world?  No, I do not have any super powers.  I am thinking about the part where she sits down to watch some TV to learn about the world.  All she saw when she switched channels was violence, fighting, killing, yelling, crying and she could not find anything else.  Remember that part?  She was so shocked, that all she could do was to sit there with tears rolling down her cheeks.

For me, the world seems to be falling apart just like that.  As an American expat living abroad for 13 years and counting, I have had the wonderful experience of watching the world change before my eyes.  Headlines screech of the failing economy in Europe, and the United States, with famine in Somalia, protests in the Middle East including Israel and new demands on the American economy from China. 

The news is like switching the channel without finding anything else and I feel that all I can do is to sit in my chair and watch the collapse of an age, the collapse of a “mindset” and the collapse of the way of life as we know it.  The fight for freedom in Syria so far  has taken 2, 354 lives (including civilians and army personnel) it seems that the world just sits and watches.  Palestine stands behind barbed wired walls and army lookout towers with a reported death count of 1,754 and 6,297 injured. While in Libya where there is oil, NATO and the United States decided to join in creating a death count that could be as high as 30,000.  What is in the bargain here?  Is oil really worth the cost of that many lives?  NATO is involved and does that make this bombardment okay? 

What starts as peaceful march can turn into deadly violence.  People need to have their voices heard and citizens can only take so much from their leaders, times change and the old ways do not work anymore. Yet, we can see with the numbers that when other countries bring in their warplanes, the battle front changes, the purpose changes and those who started the demonstrations do not want others fighting their wars.  Imagine, America is still in Iraq and Afghanistan costing a failing economy trillions of US dollars at the expense of their own people and lives of all.

Something in my gut is screaming at me to take notice, to be alert, to be prepared; but to be prepared for what?  I am not a doomsdayer; I am a realist and an analysist.  With the global economical concerns, corrupt leaders, journalist, constant wars and famines at some point the balloon will pop.  What happens as a result we can only guess.  Will the developed countries fall and the new developing countries rise for instance both China and India? This would leave those living in Europe and in the America’s searching for ways to survive because of the change in the standard of living?  In fact, is that not already happening?  Millions are without work; factories are shutting down; high country debts; and the slashing of expenditures that assist the populations; cutting of education and medical benefits while raising taxes on those who cannot already afford to live.

I see this change in Italy, and Spain and I have spoken with those in Germany, the UK, Canada, Mexico and the United States. They all say the very same thing. I see more tourists from China, Japan and Russia than ever before walking through the streets of Rome and Florence.  The balance is changing and I wonder, will the American’s become the new immigrants to developing countries in order to survive instead of being the country of immigrants?
Related Articles:
Making Since of the Failing Economy Debt crisis
Italy in Crisis
Which Countries Have the Most Days Off?
Global Confidence in Economy Collapses
Making Since of the Bank of America Mortgage Fraud
Debt Plan Fact Sheet

Libya: List of Journalist, Killed, Missing, or released

Susan Brannon

Censorship Background:

23 May, 2011 Italy-The Libyan Authority for External Communications, a government body responsible for regulating the work of international media, said that Libya is not responsible for the safety of foreign journalists who enter the country without following procedures that include government permission and supervision. "[Libya] does not bear any legal or ethical responsibility for any harm that might befall media. Libya's deputy foreign minister, Khalid Kaim, said journalists who enter the country "illegally" would be treated as "outlaws" and "al-Qaeda collaborators."  (CPJ)

CPJ  (Committee to Protect Journalists) has documented more than 80 attacks on the press since the uprising. Up to 25^th of April, CPJ reports that there have been 49 detentions ,11 assaults, “two attacks on news facilities, the jamming of Al-Jazeera and Al-Hurra transmissions, at least four instances of obstruction, the expulsion of two international journalists, and the interruption of Internet service. At least six local journalists are missing amid speculation they are in the custody of security forces. One international journalist and two media support workers are also unaccounted for.”

Some journalists who are entering the country are “imbedded” journalist following the stories and action from the perspective of the collocation military. Censorship by Gaddafi explains why there are many amateur videos used by media resources in the attempt to follow the conflict inside.  Most of the videos are taken in the field from the perspective of the protesters.

In the end, it was difficult for me to find one complete list of the journalist covering the Libyan Revolution that are missing or killed.  As a result, I compiled a timeline of those missing, killed or freed until March 20th. Keep in mind that because of the lack of communication coming from Libya at this moment, there may be many more missing that is difficult for us to find out about.   If you have any names that you want to add, please let me know so I can update it.

Early March: Three Al-Jazeera journalists who were arrested in early March – Mauritian reporter Ahmed Vall Ould el-Dine, Norwegian photographer Ammar Al-Hamdane and British photographer Kamel Ataloua – are meanwhile still being held by pro-Gaddafi forces in the west of the country. A fourth Al-Jazeera journalist who was arrested at the same time, Tunisian Lotfi Messaoudi, was released on 31 March

(RSF).

12 March: Ali Hassan al-Jaber, journalist of Al Jazeera reports that he was returning to the eastern part of Benghazi after filling a report when “unknown fighters opened fire on a car he and his colleagues were traveling in.” Two people were killed. (Al Jazeera)

March 15: The Times said it received reports that it could not confirm suggesting that the journalists were taken by Libyan government forces in the city of Ajdabiya.

The journalists are: Anthony Shadid, a Pulitzer Prize winner and the paper's Beirut bureau chief; Stephen Farrell; and two of the paper's top photographers, Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario.  (Huffington Post)

16 March: Reporters Without Borders condemned the detention of Lofti Ghars, a journalist with Canadian and Tunisian dual citizenship who works for Al-Alam TV. He was arrested by pro-Gaddafi forces on 16 March as he arrived in Libya from Tunisia.

16 March: Four New York Times reporters are detained, and the authorities say that they will release them shortly. (CPJ)

18 March: Agence France-Presse previously said it had received no word from two of its reporters – Dave Clark, 38, and Roberto Schmidt, 45 – since the evening of 18 March, when they were near the eastern city of Tobruk. Getty Images photographer Joe Raedle was traveling with them. (CPJ)

19 March: Mohamed Al-Nabous, the founder and manager of a Libyan online broadcaster was killed by gunfire. (CPJ)

20 March:  Al-Jazeera said that the Lybian authorities have been holding four of its journalists in Tripoli, they are: Ahmed Vall Ould Addin and Lotfi al-Messaoudi, and cameramen Kamel Atalua and Ammar al-Hamdan. (CPJ)

20 March: Stéphane Lehr, an experienced French freelance photographer working for Polaris Images, who went missing shortly after arriving in Benghazi with a French TV crew. (NewsWatch)

21 March: NY Times journalists released Anthony Shadid, a Pulitzer Prize winner and the paper's Beirut bureau chief; Stephen Farrell; and two of the paper's top photographers, Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario crossing the Tunisian border. (USA Today)

28 March: Rana Akbani, a reporter for the arts and culture section of the Libyan daily Al-Shams, local journalists told CPJ. Akbani, a Syrian national, was detained on charges of "conspiring with the enemy during war." Reporters Without Borders reports, “presenter Hala Misrati accuses her of lacking objectivity, lying in her coverage of street demonstrations in Benghazi and of collaborating with foreign countries. In a televised interview on Al-Libya TV, a presenter accused her of spying.

5 April: American photographer James Foley, was detained near Brega on April 5, was permitted to call his family on Saturday for the first time since his capture, Global Post reported. He told his mother that he was being treated well and was uninjured (CPJ)

5 April: Spanish photographer Manuel Varela, who was detained with Foley

5 April: Anton Hammerl South African national, missing then discovered that he was killed.  He was in a remote desert location, was shot and could not receive medical treatment.

5 April:  Clare Gillia and James Foley was with Anton Hammerl, they were detained then released on May 19^th, 2011 (Media Spy)

14 April: Libyan authorities released Rana Akbani

15 April: Libya, authorities released Al-Jazeera cameraman Ammar al-Hamdan on Thursday, the Qatar-based news station said. Al-Hamdan was detained in mid-March.

   

20 April: Tim Hetherington, British-American photojournalist, The Guardian reported, “Hetherington and Hondros were among eight to 10 journalists reporting from Tripoli Street in Misrata. When shooting broke out, they took shelter against a wall, which was hit by fire and was killed. (Guardian)

20 April: Chris Hondros,  an American photojournalist who was working for Getty Images was killed along with Tim Hetherton covering the demonstrations in Misrata. (Chris Hondros) The last Photos weblink

22 April: Anton Hammerl, a freelance South African photographer who was detained in early April, has appeared in government custody in Libya and is apparently in good health. (Times Live)

22 April: Manu Brabo, a Spanish journalist has been detained in Libya for illegally taking photographs without permission.

22 April: Clare Morgana Gillis, an American freelancer for The Christian Science Monitor, The Atlantic, and USA Today, who was detained near Brega on April 5, was allowed to call home on Thursday for the first time since her capture. She told her parents she is well and being held in a women's civilian jail in Tripoli.

24 April: Manu Brabo, a Spanish journalist, called home and said that he is okay. (Times Live)

18 May: Clare Morgana Gillis, an American freelancer for The Christian Science Monitor, The Atlantic, and USA Today was released today with for other journalist; James Foley of the GlobalPost, Manu Brabo, a Spanish journalist and Dorothy Pravaz was missing in Syria and deported to Iran, because she holds an Irianian passport that was expired, she was not heard from Since April 22. (Boston Globe)

20 May: It was discovered that Anton Hammerl who was thought to be missing, has been killed. (See 5 April) (The Guardian)

Censorship of Media in Libya Lack of Information

Susan Brannon
13 May 2011, Italy - The Internet was a main source in organizing the dates, times and places for the demonstrations in almost all of the Middle East uprisings. As a result, Libya has blocked all social networking sites, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.  They have also banned international journalists to enter into their countries to cover the revolutions and on 7^th of April Gaddafi decided to deport 26 foreign journalists who had previously been invited to Tripoli.  Gaddafi blames the international media, activists, and journalists for the uprising and holds them responsible if the uprising continues to increase. 

The Libyan revolution was first organized and planned using the Internet for 15^th of February with around 200-500 demonstrators showing up in various towns.  As a response, Gaddafi cut off the Internet and tried to impose a blackout on information from Libya. Libya jammed Al-Jazeera’s coverage and website, that disrupted it coverage it’s signal in the Middle and North Africa, according to a report on Reuters Africa and the 23^rd of February.   On March 8^th, they jammed signals from the local news program Al-Arabiya and a majority of Saudi owned MBC network.  He has arrested Libyans who had previously given phone interviews to the media and made it a crime to speak to foreign journalist. (The New York Times, February 21) In addition, the phone lines were shut down and cell phone service was shut down in the attempt to block all means of communication between the people.

Gaddafi wanted to control what was published to both his people and the international world, and therefore, targeted, and attacked international journalists by the military and gave mercenaries full reign of control. On March 9^th, a BBC news crew was beaten and lined up against a wall by the soldiers, and then shot next to a journalist’s ear while laughing. (Telegraph March 9^th)  (See Video)  

As the violence increased against the protesters so did the violence against journalists. A local journalist was shot in the head and killed after exposing false reports related to the cease-fire declaration. (Guardian March 19) He was known as the “face of citizen journalism” and set up an independent Internet station in Benghazi. 

The local citizens attempt to report from the inside, through videos, and using Twitter.  They can do this by leaving a voicemail on an international phone numbers and the service will tweet the message.  However, the tweets have caused some confusion, leaders would post on tweet as well as the protestors.  A flood of messages and users rushed to re-post the references to it, yet there have been numerous unconfirmed reports.

For example, this week Italy’s news (La Repubblica)  has been flooded with reports of a bomb exploding on the bunker of Gadaffi.  Yet, when I attempt to re-confirm this news, I have no proof through the mainstream American and international media, that the bombing has actually occurred.  (May 12, 2011) Yet, the reports continue today in the Italian news, posing the question if Gaddafi is missing, showing images of a video that was played after the bombing, yet the video date has not been confirmed, and has not been aired.  The Italian newspaper Corriere  reports on 13^th of May, “NATO has no proof that Gaddafi is still alive.” Quoting Brigadier General Claudio Gabellini, in response to questions from journalists at a press conference in Naples.  They report eight nights of raids over three hours that targeted Tripoli and Gaddafii’s bunkers.  At least four children were injured.  There are also reports from an eye witness, of two explosions against the state television and official news agency Jana.  Foreign journalist’s were present in the building.

However, the NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said in a message to Gaddafi, “The game is over: there is no future for him or his regime” If all this were true, it would be big news. (May 13^th, 2011) My question is:  Why are we not seeing this in the American news?  Are we being censored as well or did this even really take place.  If not, then why is the Italian news flooded with this event?

Chris Hondros: Libya HD.mov

Libya: Al Jazeera cameraman killed in Libya

Libya: Mohammed Nabous last report from the phone 19th March 2011

ITN News: News Crew Beaten In Libya

Libya and Syria censorship

Libya and Syria are censored from foreign journalists most of the reports are coming from the locals who are capturing the moments with small video cameras.  Syria is totally closed, but many journalists are embedding with the collation forces to report news in Libya.  However, embeded journalists are to stay with the troops and thus we only get one point of view.  The videos on this site reflect both mainstream media news and local reporting in order to gather a clear picture of what is going on in the Middle East.

Libya: No end to Misurata suffering May 4 2011

The deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Misurata.