“Jasmine Revolution”
Symbol of peace: Flowers placed on the barrel of a tank
in very much calmer protests than in recent days in Tunisia

'The Protester' - Time Person of the Year 2011

'The Protester' - Time Person of the Year 2011
Mannoubia Bouazizi, the mother of Tunisian street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi. "Mohammed suffered a lot. He worked hard. but when he set fire to himself, it wasn’t about his scales being confiscated. It was about his dignity." (Peter Hapak for TIME)

1 - TUNISIA Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)


How eyepatches became a symbol of Egypt's revolution - Graffiti depicting a high ranking army officer with an eye patch Photograph: Nasser Nasser/ASSOCIATED PRESS

2 - EGYPT Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)


''17 February Revolution"

3 - LIBYA Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)

5 - SYRIA Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)

"25 January Youth Revolution"
Muslim and Christian shoulder-to-shoulder in Tahrir Square
"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) -
(Subjects: Egypt Uprising, Iran/Persia Uprising, Peace in Middle East without Israel actively involved, Muhammad, "Conceptual" Youth Revolution, "Conceptual" (without a manager hierarchy) managed Businesses, Internet, Social Media, News Media, Google, Bankers, Global Unity,..... etc.)
"The End of History" – Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)
(Subjects:Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Muhammad, Jesus, God, Jews, Arabs, EU, US, Israel, Iran, Russia, Africa, South America, Global Unity,..... etc.) (Text version)

"If an Arab and a Jew can look at one another and see the Akashic lineage and see the one family, there is hope. If they can see that their differences no longer require that they kill one another, then there is a beginning of a change in history. And that's what is happening now. All of humanity, no matter what the spiritual belief, has been guilty of falling into the historic trap of separating instead of unifying. Now it's starting to change. There's a shift happening."


“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013.

They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."



African Union (AU)

African Union (AU)
African Heads of State pose for a group photo ahead of the start of the 28th African Union summit in Addis Ababa on January 30, 2017 (AFP Photo/ Zacharias ABUBEKER)

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela
Few words can describe Nelson Mandela, so we let him speak for himself. Happy birthday, Madiba.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Violence erupts across Syria; at least 27 dead in protests

CNN News, by the CNN Wire Staff, April 22, 2011


Syrian anti-government protesters taking part in a demonstration in Banias
in northeastern Syria on Friday April 22, 2011.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Deaths reported in Homs, Izraa and Damascus suburbs
  • Groups have urged Syria not to suppress protests
  • More than 200 people are said to be killed since demonstrations began last month

(CNN) -- Security forces fired on demonstrators during mass protests across Syria on Friday, another bloody day of confrontation between government forces and demonstrators that resulted in at least 27 deaths.

The deaths came as thousands of Syrian protesters defiantly marched after Muslims' weekly prayers, another showing of mass discontent toward the government.

An opposition leader in Homs confirmed four deaths and more than 30 wounded as security forces fired on demonstrators. Protesters raced from the main streets for cover, and have taken refuge in smaller streets and alleys where they are waiting for the situation to calm. An eyewitness said one of those slain was a 41-year-old demonstrator who was shot in the neck.

A witness in Douma said eight people died and around 25 were wounded when security forces fired on several thousand protesters. Riot police and secret police comprised the security forces and a sniper on a hospital roof was seen taking shots at people. Pellets and lethal rounds were used, the witness said, as people chanted for the downfall of the regime.

A doctor in the Damascus suburb of Moadamy said thousands of citizens were fired on in an "indiscriminate and disproportionate manner." Three died and about 80 were injured, he said.

Five people were slain in the Damascus suburb of Zamalka, a witness said.

Wissam Tarif, a human rights activist, said security forces also fired on demonstrators in Izraa, located near the southern city of Daraa. He said demonstrators wanted to join the protesters in Daraa, but were shot as they advanced. Seven died and nine other people were wounded, he said. Two people in Izraa also confirmed what they said was an assault on demonstrators and many casualties.

RELATED TOPICS

In Daraa, where the protests got their start last month, people shouted "dignity and freedom."

Activist Razan Zaitouneh in Damascus said security forces in the suburb of Sit Zainab fired on demonstrators tearing down a statue of Hafez al-Assad, the president's late father and the former ruler of Syria.

She said three people were wounded when security forces opened fire in Hasaka in the northeast.

An activist in Harasta in the south said 2,000 to 3,000 people met with a fierce crackdown by security forces, and heavy gunfire could be heard as the eyewitness spoke on the phone.

Witnesses reported demonstrations in the capital, Damascus, where people chanted slogans and tear gas was fired amid a moderate security presence.

Amateur video obtained by CNN purportedly shows demonstrations in Homs, Damascus, Banias, Kiswah, and Qamlishi. CNN cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the material.

There was no immediate comment from the government about the gatherings.

There have been daily demonstrations across Syria for weeks and huge rallies have been common in the authoritarian state after Friday prayers across the predominantly Muslim nation. As people gathered to express their grievances toward the government, they've frequently been greeted with force from police.

Amnesty International says the death toll has exceeded 228 since the demonstrations began in mid-March.

Human rights groups have been urging the government to refrain from cracking down on peaceful turnouts during what is a Facebook-inspired outpouring dubbed "Great Friday."

The turnouts come a day after President Bashar al-Assad lifted the country's 48-year-old state of emergency and abolish the state security court, both key demands of demonstrators who've taken to the streets.

"It is imperative that these demonstrations are policed sensibly, sensitively and in accordance with international law to avoid further bloodshed on Syria's streets," Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's director for the Middle East and North Africa, said on Thursday.

"These 'Great Friday' protests could be the largest yet. If government security forces resort to the same extremely violent tactics they have used over the past month, the consequences could be exceedingly grave."

Human Rights Watch also called on authorities "to permit Syrians to exercise their right to peaceful assembly" on Friday.

It said the president's decision to lift the state of emergency "will only be meaningful if Syria's security services stop shooting, detaining and torturing prisoners," Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.

The group says it has "documented a regular pattern of arbitrary detention of protesters, activists and journalists, many of whom have been tortured and mistreated."

The emergency law permitted the government to make preventive arrests and override constitutional and penal code statutes. The security court was a special body that prosecuted people regarded as challenging the government.

Al-Assad's decrees on Thursday also included recognizing and regulating the right to peaceful protest. They also extended the period that security forces can hold suspects in certain crimes.

Human Rights Watch says the decrees don't "address the extensive immunity that Syrian law provides to members of its security services."

It urged al-Assad to undertake more change, such as releasing political prisoners and those arrested for peaceful protests, order probes in security force violations, ensure detainees "prompt access to a lawyer," and amend repressive provisions of the penal code.

It said the government, which is controlled by the Baath Party, should "enact a political parties' law in compliance with international human rights norms." Such a law would allow the establishment of independent political parties.

"The Syrian people want real reforms, and such reforms cannot take place as long as Syria's security services are above the law and can violate people's basic rights at will," Stork said.

CNN's Joe Sterling, Arwa Damon, Nada Husseini and Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report

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