World Threats

Like I said yesterday, think about what happened as a result of the overthrow of Tunisian President Ben Ali and now think about what will happen following the removal of President Mubarak of Egypt, a country with 80 million people.

Here’s a round-up of what’s happened in the past few days and today, only one day following Mubarak’s departure:

In Algeria, organizers say about 10,000 are demonstrating in violation of a government ban on protesting right now (the government claims it’s only 1,500) and an estimated 400 people have been arrested.

In Morocco, a Facebook group is saying that protests are scheduled for Sunday, February 20.

In Yemen, hundreds are protesting in San’a and the security forces are now assaulting them, which I believe is the first time this has happened since the uprising began.

In Saudi Arabia, a group of human rights activists and Islamists have formed an opposition political party, a direct challenge to the Royal Family’s ban.

In Sudan, the government briefly arrested a group of female activists, including the daughter of former Prime Minister Sadeq al-Mahdi and then released them in different areas.

In the Gaza Strip, a Facebook group is calling for a revolution to topple Hamas with 2,338 supporters. The report says that Hamas stamped out a demonstration last week in support of the Egyptian protestors.

In Bahrain, protests are planned for Monday, February 14. Shortly before Mubarak stepped down, the King announced each citizen would receive almost $2,700.

In Kuwait, the government banned all protests following Friday prayers. Members of the Al-Umma party, the Constitutional Movement and the Democratic Podium gathered yesterday in front of the Grand Mosque to express solidarity with the Tunisians and Egyptians. They said they hoped to do it again next Friday.

In Libya, an opposition leader named Jamal al-Hajj called for protests on March 2, after which he was arrested by the Gaddafi regime for an alleged hit and run.

In Iran, Karroubi has been put on house arrest and the opposition is planning rallies today. The opposition has pulled a fast one on Iran by planning protests in honor of the Tunisian and Egyptian protestors because the regime has endorsed their uprising. If the regime prevents the demonstrations, it will show its hypocrisy.