In honour of the determination of people like Algerian TV producer, Aziz Smati, who was shot exactly twenty years ago today, we must support all those who wield song against suicide belt, and wage art against fundamentalism, writes Karima Bennoune
Pour rendre hommage à la détermination de gens comme le producteur Algérien Aziz Smati, qui était victime d’un attentat il y a exactement 20 ans, il nous faut soutenir tous ceux qui opposent des chansons aux ceinture d’explosifs et luttent par l’art contre l’intégrisme, écrit Karima Bennoune
A cycle of military repression and violent jihadi resistance in Egypt threatens to eclipse the democratic hopes of the Arab awakening.
The Arab world, after analyzing the nature of states in the Middle East, needs to find its own indigenous path to democracy, based on its own unique historical, and societal conditions.
By replacing the cement block with gates, the regime is not only curtailing the infrastructure of protest and dissent, but it is also destroying many of the meanings that Tahrir stood for: freedom, justice, and citizens’ reclamation of public space.
An ordinary citizen in Tunisia must ask if the new constitution will change anything in the near future. There are only two things that will give hope; to see projects being implemented, and to see those who manipulate the system being tried.
Arab Awakening's columnists offer their weekly perspective on what is happening on the ground in the Middle East. Leading the week, Bulgaria's 'chilly welcome' to Syrian refugees.
The January 25th uprising offered Egypt the opportunity to become a role model for peaceful transition in the region and beyond. But with the hijack of the will of the people almost completed, Egypt is moving further away from realising democracy.
The battle in Egypt is now no longer about an ousted elected president or a counter-revolution taking place. As if this were not enough, it is about fundamental human rights being violated publically and systematically by a military regime.
