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Tuesday
Feb152011

Egypt (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Protest Here, Protest There

2100 GMT: The Lede at The New York Times has further information on the occupation of Pearl Roundabout in Bahrain, including a picture of the popcorn machine brought in amongst the tents.

Video earlier today from the Roundabout:

2055 GMT: Al Masry Al Youm summarises the continuing protests across Egypt over working conditions, including university workers, police, sugar cane workers, and fishermen.

2050 GMT: Back to Bahrain again, where thousands of protesters at Pearl Roundabout are settling in for the night.

1630 GMT: Al Jazeera has more on today's clashes in Yemen:

Pro-regime supporters on Tuesday waded into the anti-government protest in the capital Sanaa with batons, sparking violent clashes in which three people were hurt, according to AFP news agency.

The loyalists were joined by plainclothes police wielding electric tasers, who sent the crowd of around 3,000 protesters, mostly students and rights activists, fleeing, witnesses said.

"What we are seeing is thousands of pro-government protesters, armed with batons, attacking the pro-democracy protesters and dispersing the crowd using violence," Hashem Ahelbarra, Al Jazeera's correspondent, reporting from Sanaa, said.

1240 GMT: More developments in Bahrain, with King Hamad Bin Isa al-Khalifa going on television to express condolences to the families of slain protesters and say that the deaths at the hands of police will be investigated.

The speech comes as thousands have gathered at the Pearl Roundabout after the funeral of one protester this morning and killing of another when the procession was attacked by police (see special Bahrain in Pictures entry).

1035 GMT: Reports are coming in that the Shi'ite party AlWefaq has suspended it participation in Bahrain's Parliament after clashes between police and protesters.

1015 GMT: Egypt's Supreme Military Council have appointed Tareq al-Bishry, a retired judge, to head a committee considering constitutional reforms.

Al-Bishry was a strong supporter of an independent judiciary during President Mubarak's rule.

Adly Fayed, the director of public security at Egypt’s interior ministry, and Ismail El Shaer, Cairo’s security chief, have been fired for their involvement in the decision to open fire on anti-Mubarak protesters during the uprising.

0950 GMT: A report from Yemen, "Just back from the university in Sanaa]. Only pro-[President] Saleh supporters today. Children as young as 10 waving broom handles & sticks in support of President."

The Associated Press has been reporting that university students and rights activists are marching toward the centre of Sanaa, chanting slogans against President Saleh, such as "Down with the president's thugs."

A large police force and about 2,000 pro-government supporters are waiting for the protesters.

0945 GMT: In Egypt, Essam El-Erian, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, has said the group will not seek to form a Parliamentary majority in the next elections.

The Brotherhood said in a statement, however, that it will form a political party. The group was banned by the Government since the 1950s until the recent uprising against President Mubarak.

0825 GMT: There have been conflicting reports on the death of Fahdel Ali Al Matrook, the second person to be killed in Bahrain's protests. Some reports said he was wounded on Monday, but Maryam Alkhawaja, head of foreign relations at the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, said Al Matrook was killed when riot police fired on a funeral procession this morning.

0810 GMT: Global Voices Online has a snapshot of reactions from Bahrain to today's police assault on a funeral procession and the second death of a protester from Monday's clashes.

A statement from Bahrain's Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, expressed "sincere condolences and deep sympathy" to the family of Ali Mushiama, the first person to die from wounds on Monday. He said the death will be investigated and charges would be filed if authorities determined excessive force was used against the protesters.

0755 GMT: Michelle Shephard profiles Tawakul Karman, one of the organisers of protest in Yemen.

0650 GMT: Claims are being made that a second person was killed in Monday's clashes in Bahrain. He is named as Fahdel Ali Al Matrook.

0630 GMT: Today's protest in Bahrain has already started, with reports of "thousands" walking alongside the coffin of Ali Mushaima, the demonstrator killed on Monday. Protesters and police are clashing outside Salmaniyia Hospital where the body was kept, with reports of tear gas being used.

A participant writes, "This is horrible. Eyes, lungs sore. People generally dispersing, finding way to cemetery."

0610 GMT: Yesterday, we opened the LiveBlog with the question, "Asserting Command?" We did not exactly get a ringing affirmation throughout Monday.

Our initial look was at Egypt, where the Supreme Military Council had tried to set out the image of political stability with its Communique No. 5 and a general, if somewhat vague, path to a handover to civilian rule and a new Constitution. But the dramatic action came outside the Council's meetings and in Tahrir Square, the symbolic centre of the effort to topple President Mubarak. 

Yesterday morning, the military was on the verge of clearing the square, with the last few dozen protesters threatened with arrest. But by Monday afternoon, Tahrir was filled with thousands of demonstrations in a cross-section of the issues facing Egypt: police were complaining that they were being scapegoated for the crimes of the Mubarak era, workers were protesting against poor pay and conditions, activists were maintaining their challenge to an uncertain transition to democracy.

And Tahrir was only one high-profile location of challenge. Strikes and protests continued across Egypt. A spokesman for the Council said late in the afternoon: "Noble Egyptians see that these strikes, at this delicate time, lead to negative results," but in the context of the day, this seemed no more than a weak assertion.

Elsewhere, the clashes were even more violent. Video displayed the efforts by security forces in Bahrain to disperse thousands of protesters against the ruling monarchy. One person was confirmed dead, and about 20 others were injured.

In Yemen, anti-regime demonstrators clashed with supporters of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Both sides were estimated to be in the thousands, but the significance now seems to be the persistence of confrontation: this was the fourth straight day where there were battles amongst security forces and the two opposing political camps.

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