Protests Continue Across Middle East

The Saudis regime hopes that a $37 billion package to buy off the discontented Saudi populace to the extent that they will not rise up to topple the regime. The Saudis, by acting quickly may have averted the kind of bloodbath seen in Libya, but money isn't going to solve the problem.

Oman, after first trying to disperse the crowds with force, has taken a similar tact, but it doesn't appear as though the attempts to buy off the crowds will work in the long term - especially when they see the success of Tunisians and Egyptians in ridding themselves of autocratic and kleptocratic regimes that brutally crushed opposition groups for decades and stifled economic and social development. Just because the Omani leader Sultan Qaboos bin Sa’id isn't as bad or harsh an autocratic rule as others in the region doesn't make him a role model, let alone someone that should have unfettered power. The Omani people are realizing this as well. They want something different, and something better than autocratic rule.

Protesters in Yemen have once again taken to the streets.



There are now attempts by an imam aligned with al Qaeda to claim that the efforts are an attempt by Israel and the US to destabilize the Arab world. It's a laughable claim, considering that the US strategic interest in the region was to maintain stability - by backing regimes it considered loyal to US interests, regardless of their domestic policies.

As thousands of demonstrators for and against President Ali Abdullah Saleh took to the streets on Tuesday, a cleric accused by the United States of having links to Al Qaeda joined the protesters for the first time to call for the replacement of the government with an Islamic state.

An elderly antigovernment protester reacted during a demonstration demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen in Sana.

The call by Sheik Abdul Majid al-Zindani seemed a marked contrast to the upheaval that brought down the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt and threatens the rulers of Libya, Bahrain, Oman, and Yemen where uprisings have been seen as secular and inspired by democratic goals.

Mr. Zindani’s appearance coincided with an unusual display of anti-American sentiment by Mr. Saleh, who accused Washington and Israel of fomenting unrest to destabilize the Arab world — an accusation that seemed more remarkable because the United States has been Mr. Saleh’s most powerful Western backer during his three decades in power.

“From Tunis to the Sultanate of Oman,” Mr. Saleh said, the wave of protest is “managed by Tel Aviv and under the supervision of Washington,” he said.

Bahraini officials are trying to negotiate with opposition groups ahead of planned protests following the deaths of several protesters last week.

A Bahraini minister urged opposition protesters on Tuesday to sit down for a national dialogue with the government, as another mass rally was expected later in the day in the capital, Manama.

'We cannot have a fruitful discussion unless we sit at one table. Everyone can bring his ideas and his thoughts about the future of Bahrain,' said Minister of Social Development Fatima al-Balooshi, speaking with reporters in Geneva.

His plea came days after members of an Islamic Shiite opposition group resigned from parliament. There has also been a partial cabinet reshuffle, and the release of hundreds of prisoners by the king.

Parliamentarians from the largest opposition bloc, al-Wefaq, resigned on Sunday to protest seven people killed in clashes between protesters and security forces. The group, which held 18 of 40 seats in the lower chamber, is calling for the government to step down.

The Bahraini government also denies reports that Saudi tanks were involved in the show of force to stop additional protests, but that those tanks that crossed the causeway into Bahrain were Bahraini tanks returning from celebrations in Kuwait.

Khadafi's Regime Under Assault as Protests Spread To Oman

Mumar Khadafi's regime continues to come under a withering assault from those who have defected from the regime (which includes the diplomatic corps, much of the Army, and tribal groups across the country). Despite the fact that it appears that the number of Khadafi loyalists is dwindling and he's increasingly reliant on mercenaries and paid thugs to carry out his deranged attempt to stay in power by murdering his countrymen to retain power in Tripoli, Khadafi and his sons claim that the opposition is actually a tiny minority that was egged on by al Qaeda, Islamists, and the West (including the US).



There's a huge disconnect between events and what the Khadafi regime thinks is going on - and the disconnect is only going to increase the death toll since the regime's control over the country is apparently limited to not much beyond Tripoli although there are reports that Khadafi loyalists are preparing to assault a town taken over by the opposition just 30 miles from Tripoli.

Khadafi, who had resisted allowing journalists access to the country, brought in journalists to Tripoli to show them that the situation was normal, but those journalists in the western part of the country tell a different tale - one where Khadafi no longer rules. Journalists were taken to a town Zawiyah, located 30 miles from Tripoli, to show that the situation was well in hand, but those journalists saw that the opposition was firmly in control.

Sanctions by the EU and other countries isn't going to affect Khadafi's ability to increase the death toll across the country, and the UN is contemplating war crimes against the Libyan regime.

Meanwhile, protests have broken out in the Gulf country of Oman. Two protesters were killed as several thousand people demonstrated against the Omani regime.



Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets against the protesters, who were demanding more rights and freedoms. The Omani government attempted to fend off the demonstrations by bribing the population with a claim that thousands would be granted jobs and compensation while looking for jobs:

The nation’s ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, has so far announced the creation of 50,000 new government jobs and an unemployment program that will pay job seekers $390 per month until they find work, reports CNN.

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These concessions appear to have done little to quiet protesters, whose demands include an increase in power for the legislative body, although they have stopped short of calling for the resignation of Sultan Qaboos. The leader has so far replaced six cabinet members, the Guardian reports.

“We want new faces in the government and we have a long list of social reforms,” Habiba al-Hanay, a 45-year-old civil servant, told the Guardian. “We just hope he will hear us and make changes.”

The most violent protests have taken place in the industrial port city of Sohar, where thousands of demonstrators are said to have clashed with police on Sunday. There are conflicting reports as to whether police fired live ammunition or rubber bullets at demonstrators and how many people have died in the protests. Oman’s health minister said only one protester died in Sohar, but Reuters reports that doctors in Sohar’s main hospital recorded six deaths.

As we've seen in Bahrain and other countries in the Middle East, bribery isn't sufficient to quell the demonstrations - the demonstrators are demanding greater rights and political access in addition to economic opportunities.

There's a sea change going on in the Middle East, and the regimes are slowly beginning to realize the depths of despair and lack of opportunities, tied with repressive regimes with limited political opportunities has created a wholly untenable situation.

UPDATE:
Apparently Khadafi is now passing out cash in hopes of staving off the inevitable. Government minders were accompanying journalists around, so is it any surprise that the people journalists interviewed in Tripoli were repeating the government line?