For years, Egypt has been frustrated at being sidelined in the regional order. If Iran was surprised at Morsi’s bold statements at the summit, then so were the US and Israel.
Many opposition communities embraced and sponsored the fighters, who represented at that time the local defenders of these communities. But then their goals seemed to change.
Stifling the media can lead to the emergence of robust new media, like those that accelerated the end of some of the most autocratic Arab dictators.
There is a palpable dissatisfaction towards both the Tunisian Government and the National Constitutional Assembly: protests, marches, sit-ins, campaigns etc.
It was as though, twenty-four years later, the Sudanese people awoke from an apathetic coma. It was refreshing. Everyone joined forces.
Jordan probably won’t censor its internet. But just the fact that it is still trying is extremely disappointing.
Each of the key players perceives peace as desirable but not at any price. This is the message of the exchanges of views aired in Bitterlemons over the years. We still need to enable discourse that is ‘equal and fair’.
G4S became a big international news story when they failed to supply enough security guards to protect the London Olympics. This debacle was just one in a history of grave and multiple instances of incompetence and abuse. Yet G4S continues to be rewarded with government contracts.
The closure of well-known zine Bitterlemons, providing fresh perspectives on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, poses the question: is there is still a need for voices from the region and writers with expertise on the topic? To that, I would answer an emphatic “yes.”
After twenty years of failed statehood, Somalia shows the first signs of a new political conjuncture that could bring about peace. Yet Islamist militant group al-Shabaab will continue to play a role in shaping the country's future.
A year after the English riots, Miranda Iossifidis and Philippa Thomas review the means by which scholarship and the media have reacted, disputed and converged in their responses. To what extent have these efforts been productive, and what voices are still to be heard?
