Global Voices Online » Algeria

Algeria: On France's burqa ban

Jillian C. York — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:18:21 +0000

Algerian-American blogger The Moor Next Door remarks upon France's intended burqa ban, saying, “The trouble the French may want to worry about is not the burqa as it is worn in France today, but that such a ban, as the headscarf ban has done, will make the garment a greater symbol of Muslim identity and sign of cultural defiance.”

Maghreb: Views on Iran

Hisham — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:11:07 +0000

As the world watches events unfolding in Iran, Maghreb blogs have been following and commenting on the rapidly developing crisis there. Some questioned the motives behind the way western media covered the events; others criticized Mir Houssain Moussavi's reaction, but it seems that the majority are supporting protesters.

Untitled picture of an Iranian protester by SIR on Flickr

Moroccan blogger Badr al Hamry [Ar] writing on Aghora, praises the role played by microbloggers and citizen media in covering the situation inside Iran, circumventing government restrictions and efforts to block access to main online platforms. He writes:

يوما بعد يوم تأكد صحافة المواطن أنها المستقبل بامتياز!
مناسبة هذا الكلام هــو ما قامت به السلطة الإيرانية و بكل قوة، منع الــعديد من المنابر الإعلامية والصحافية تغطية المظاهرات والاحتجاجات و نقل أخبارها للعالم، و تعطيل لخدمات الرسائل الهاتفية. في الوقت الذي حققت فيه مجموعة من المدونات على الأنترنيت انتصارا كبيرا / كمدونات الفيس بوك،و التويتر، و فليكر، و اليوتوب الموقع العالمي لشرائط الفيديو، محققة بذلك انتصار على كل سلطة تحاول منع تسرب أية معلومات خارج إيران، و خنق حرية التعبير.
و نظرا للاقبال الهائل الذي حققته تلك المدونات،و تغطيتها المتميزة للأحداث فقد وصفت هذه الحركة الإلكترونية من طرف المتتبعين بــــــ “الثورة” وهذا ليس غريبا على دولة يوجد فيها 23 مليون مشترك في خدمة الإنترنيت من أصل 70 مليون نسمة.

Day after day, citizen journalism proves to be the future par excellence!
Iranian authorities heavy-handedly tried to prevent the Press and many media outlets from covering demonstrations and protests, and broadcasting news to the outside world, disrupting telephone SMS messages [for example]. Meanwhile a group of Internet users and bloggers achieved a victory against the authorities' attempts to stop information filtering outside of the country and stifle freedom of expression, using diverse platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Youtube.
Given the enormous popularity of those blogs and their excellent coverage of events, some observers have gone as far as to describe the phenomenon as an electronic “revolution” in a country where 23 million subscribe to Internet services out of a 70 million strong population.

The central role new information technology seems to be playing in the Iranian crisis is apparently recognized even by the media run by governments who have a poor record as far as freedom of the Press is concerned. This double standard is what Tunisian blogger Khannouff is denouncing in this post [Fr]:

Dans son édition d’aujourd’hui la Pravda Tunisienne se permet comme toujours de parler (ou plutôt de copier coller intégralement les dépêches étrangères de presse), donc de s’étaler à propos des restrictions imposées aux ”autres”, ailleurs sans piper mot du quotidien sous haute surveillance qui est le notre.

In its today's edition, [LaPress.tn,] the Tunisian Pravda, would still like to talk (or rather copy and paste all foreign news dispatches) about the restrictions imposed on ”others”, without uttering a word about our daily lives under surveillance.

Another Tunisian blogger The Overman [Ar], expresses his support for protesters and explained why he thinks allegations of electoral fraud are credible:

اكثر حاجة ظاهرة للعيان هي طريقة الانتخاب في حد ذاتها، و الي تتمثل في كتابة اسم المترشح على ورقة الانتخاب. و في حالة الي يكون فيها الناخب امّي، يقوم واحد من الحرس الثوري الموجودين في مركز الانتخاب بالعملية في بقعتو. و وقتلي نعرفو الي نسبة الامية في ايران حوالي 20% و الي الحرس الثوري يخدم تحت امرة المرشد الاعلى للثورة الاسلامية (الي عبر، ولو بصفة غير مباشرة، عن مساندتو لنجاد)، نفهمو الي امكانية التزوير ماهيش مستبعدة بالكل.
اضف الى ذلك انو في ايران ما فماش قوائم انتخابية : مجرد مضمون ولادة يعطيك الحق في الانتخاب. و بالتالي امكانية الانتخاب اكثر من مرة في اكثر من مكتب ممكنة.
من ناحية اخرى، تنتظر لجنة الانتخابات في العادة ثلاثة ايام قبل ما تمرر النتائج للمرشد الاعلى باش يصادق عليها. لكن الي صار في الانتخابات هذي انو السيد خامنئي وافق على النتائج فور صدورها، و هو ما يثير اكثر من سؤال حول مصداقية هذه النتائج

The most obvious was the way the elections were conducted, where every voter had to write down the name of his chosen candidate on a voting paper. In case the voter is illiterate, he/she is helped by a Revolutionary Guard. But if one takes into consideration that illiteracy affects around 20 per cent of the Iranian population and that Revolutionary Guards serve directly under instructions from the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution (who has already voiced his support for Ahmadinejad -although indirectly), then the possibility of fraud seems plausible.
What's more, in Iran there are no voters' registration lists, a simple birth certificate gives you the right to vote, therefore multiple voting in more than one place by the same person at the same election is possible.
On the other hand, the Election Commission usually waits for three days before passing the results over to the Supreme Leader in order for him to approve them. But what happened this time around was that Mr. Khaminai (the Supreme Leader) approved the results immediately after they were issued, which raises questions about their credibility.

On the other side of the argument, Moroccan blogger Farid [Fr], writing on La croisée des chemins, rejects what he considers canards disseminated for political reasons against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Farid corroborates his position quoting international analysts and some mainstream media editorials:

L’analyse des résultats de l’élection présidentielle iranienne, au vu des votes précédents et des sondages commandés sur place par les États-Unis, ne laisse pas de doute : Mahmoud Ahmadinejad est largement réélu. Ceci n’est guère surprenant, observe le professeur James Petras : le peuple a voté pour un national-populiste, tandis que seules les élites occidentalisées ont voté pour le candidat libéral, chouchou des médias occidentaux. Le même phénomène a déjà été observé dans d’autres pays.

The careful reading of the Iranian presidential election, in view of previous votes and surveys commissioned by the United States and conducted inside Iran, leaves no doubt that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was widely re-elected. This is hardly surprising, observes Professor James Petras: The people voted for a national-populist, while only westernized elites have voted for the Liberal candidate, who's the favorite of Western media. The same phenomenon has already been observed in other countries.

Unimpressed by the events unfolding in Iran, Massinissa [Fr] from Algeria, criticizes what he sees as a self deluded western discourse trying to portray Moussavi supporters as pro-democratic. He writes:

Le monde occidental a les yeux rivés sur l'Iran croyant naïvement qu'une révolution est en train de se produire et qui pourrait emporter le régime despotique en place depuis la chute du Chah. Mais à y bien regarder Ahmadinejad et Moussavi sont les deux faces d'une même pièce. Ils sont tous les deux inféodés au clergé qui décide de tout.

The Western world has its eyes fixed on Iran naively believing that a revolution is taking shape and that it could overthrow the despotic regime in place since the fall of the Shah. But looking carefully, one realizes that both Moussavi and Ahmadinejad are two sides of the same currency. They are both loyal to the clergy, who eventually decides on everything.

Tunisian blogger Citoyen du Monde (world citizen), blogging on Intras-Muros [Fr], explains how, regardless of whether the elections were rigged or not, he was captivated by the role microblogging played in the crisis. He warns though, about the dangers of what he calls “Infobesity”:

L’afflux permanent d’informations parfois non vérifiées[…] laisse à désirer, il serait dés lors difficile de vérifier leur véracité ainsi que la crédibilité de la source. De plus, il y a un risque de glisser dans l’infobésité, du fait qu’on est submergé par des flux informationnels dénichés à gauche et à droite et tweeter à la hâte. Sans oublier que ca peut être une redoutable armes propagandiste.

The constant flow of sometimes unverified information is regrettable. This renders difficult the task of checking the actuality and credibility of the sources. Furthermore, there is a risk of slipping into infobesity, overwhelmed as we are by information picked up left and right and tweeted in a hurry. Additionally, this can be a formidable propaganda weapon.

Sarah [Fr], a French blogger (Un Oeil sur la Planète) who follows Maghreb affairs, criticizes the Moussavi camp and explains that unless evidence of massive fraud is brought against the victors, losers should accept the will of the people of Iran. She writes:

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a été réélu avec 63%. Au lieu de le féliciter comme tout opposant se revendiquant démocrate, Monsieur Hossein Moussavi, candidat favori des pays occidentaux, arrivé deuxième avec 33% réclame l'annulation du scrutin.
Désolée pour lui, mais ce sont les citoyens iraniens qui ont voté, et non les politiques et les médias étrangers, et les citoyens iraniens ont fait leur choix, c'est Ahmadinejad. C'est un coup dur pour lui, qui se croyait vainqueur car il avait le soutien des pays étrangers, et bien justement si les citoyens iraniens ne veulent pas de sa politique, qu'ils aiment bien avoir de la dignité contre un monde contrôlé par les plus forts, il n'a qu'à respecter leur choix.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was re-elected with 63% of the votes. Instead of congratulating him, like any politician who claims to be democratic, Mr. Hossein Moussavi, a candidate favored by Western countries, and who came second with 33% of the votes, called for the cancellation of the election.
Sorry for him, but Iranian citizens have voted, not foreign politicians, nor foreign media; and Iranian citizens have made their choice clear. It is a blow for Moussavi who believed he would be the winner because of the support he received from foreign countries. Iranian citizens rejected his policies; they chose dignity over a world where they would be ruled by the strongest. Moussavi has to respect their choice.

Finally, Tunisian blogger Overman, wonders [Ar] whether there is any chance the Arab street would be contaminated by the winds of revolution that seem to be blowing from Tehran. he writes:

شخصيا يظهرلي انو يجب ربط الاحداث هذي بإلِّي قاعد يصير في العالم من عشرين سنة لتالي، بمعنى رغبة الشعوب الي تعيش في انظمة قمعية في الانعتاق : هالشعوب الي عانت طويلا من جراء التقوقع و الانغلاق على جميع المستويات (الاقتصادي و السياسي و خاصة الفكري والثقافي).
و السؤال الذي يطرح نفسه في الوقت الحالي بالنسبة لي هو : هل ستصل رياح التغيير هذه الى البلدان العربية، على الاقل في مستوى التوجه الشعبي ؟

I personally think that those events should be linked to what has been happening in the world during the last two decades or so; i.e. the sheer desire for the emancipation of peoples living under oppressive regimes. Those people have been suffering for so long from a state of crispation at all levels (politically, economically, intellectually and culturally).
The question that remains at the moment for me is: will the winds of change reach the Arab countries, at least at the people's level?

Arab World: Berkman Launches New Arab Blog Study

Amira Al Hussaini — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:24:59 +0000

Harvard University's Berkman Centre for Internet and Society has released a study of the Arabic blogosphere entitled Mapping the Arabic Blogosphere. About 35,000 active blogs were covered. “The goal for the study was to produce a baseline assessment of the networked public sphere in the Arab Middle East, and its relationship to a range of emergent issues, including politics, media, religion, culture, and international affairs,” announced the centre.

North Africa: Berber Books Online

Ayesha Saldanha — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:12:36 +0000

Lameen Souag links to Berber books available online for downloading.

Algeria: The President and the Military

Amira Al Hussaini — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:17:58 +0000

Writing at the Maghreb Politics Review, Alle discusses Algerian politics, and the relationship between the country's president and officers in its military establishment.

Algeria: Praise for Obama'a Address

Amira Al Hussaini — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:36:11 +0000

Kal, from Algeria, reacts to Obama's address to the Muslim world which he delivered in Cairo, Egypt. “The speech carrying both substance and elegance. It will be widely praised and cited in the future as a major event in the “post-9/11″ period and in America’s relationship with the Muslim world,” he writes.

Arab World: What are Arabs waiting for?

Amira Al Hussaini — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:03:17 +0000

Two bloggers on either side of the Arab world are mulling over the condition of Arabs, from the ocean to the gulf. One asks how long we will sit back for while other countries continue to build up and develop their arsenals and weapon stocks - and another wonders why Saudi Arabia doesn't have its own space programme.

Algerian blogger Bilad Talisman [Ar] wonders why Arabs are bystanders in the current “missiles” war:

العرب قاعدون من المحيط إلى الخليج لدرجة أن استثماراتهم في الجزائر أو في أي بلد من بلدان العالم لاتخرج عن دائرة الكباريهات .العرب يتفرجون هذه الأيام على معركة الصواريخ الكورية تماما مثلما جلسوا يتفرجون على الجزيرة وهي تنقل حرب الصواريخ افسرائيلية على غزة وجلسوا قبلها وهم يراقبون مدى الصواريخ الإسرائيلية على لبنان في صيف 2006 ويسخرون من صواريخ حزب الله على إسراائيل. العرب سيجلسون أمام الجزيرة ذات يوم لمتابعة أخبار سقوط الصواريخ الإيرانية على الكويت والرياض وعمان وغيرها . هكذا هم العرب يتابعون مثل أي مشاهد مهذب باهتمام حرب الصواريخ دون حركة.

The Arabs are sitting from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf, investing their money in cabarets, in Algeria and other countries around the world. Nowadays, Arabs are watching the Korean missiles war, just like they sat back, watching on Al Jazeera the Israeli missiles war on Gaza and just like they sat, before that, watching the range of Israeli missiles falling on Lebanon in the summer of 2006. They mocked Hizbulla's rockets falling on Israel. The Arabs will also sit one day in front of Al Jazeera, following the news of Iranian missiles hitting Kuwait, Riyadh, Oman and others. This is how the Arabs are. They sit, like any well-mannered spectator, closely watching the missiles war, without moving.

From Saudi Arabia, American Bedu, an American married to a Saudi, asks why Saudi Arabia hasn't embarked on its own space programme:

I am curious why a rich country like Saudi Arabia has not chosen to have its own indigenous space program, instead depending on reliance and collaboration with allies? To date only one Saudi national has made it into space, Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud.

[…]

So why do you think Saudi Arabia with its resources and abilities has chosen not to have an indigenous space program of its own? I asked one Saudi for his take on this subject. His response was “Saudis can’t drive on the roads yet so how do you expect them to navigate space?” (of course that was said in jest but does make one wonder…

Algeria: Lamenting the Freedom of Press

Amira Al Hussaini — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:40:26 +0000

Algerian blogger Bilad Talsiman [Ar] laments the conditions of media in the Arab world in this post he wrote to mark the Freedom of Press day.

Algeria: Berber, Arabic or French?

Amira Al Hussaini — Thu, 07 May 2009 22:08:57 +0000

Algerian linguist Lameen Souag asks: “The key issue in Algerian linguistic politics - substantially overshadowing the question of the role of Berber - is what should be the language of bureaucracy and education: Standard Arabic (the official language, and the primary pre-colonial language of literacy for all Algeria) or French (the colonial language, and hence ironically
the language which most of the few educated Algerians at independence had studied in.)”

Algeria: Countdown to the crackdown

Amira Al Hussaini — Thu, 07 May 2009 22:07:20 +0000

The Maghreb Politics Review reports: “After the recent hostage release by the southern/Saharan wing of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, there has been much political and military movement in Algeria, Mali and the surrounding countries. According to numerous press rumors, a major joint operation in the border areas is about to go into action any day now.”

World Book Day: Women's lives in the mirror of their men

Suzanne Lehn — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:15:45 +0000

There are so many men in a woman's life, from the first to the last one: «father, grandfather, son, brother, lover, husband, boss, colleague»…Some are present, others are forgotten, some are gone, others are still mysteriously there, captivating or suffered, changing, staying, transforming; and, pieced together, their portraits and contributions will depict better than she could herself, the woman crossing their road, in intimate and intricate stories, heartbreaking and inspiring, funny and modest, introspective and shedding light on historical and social backgrounds.

First on my discovery list was Denise Bombardier, a journalist, novelist, essayist and media personality from Quebec, well known for her outstanding reporting and often scathing sense of humour. In «Nos hommes» (1995) she writes, as quoted in Nicole Savard's literary blog [Fr]:

Les hommes sont, dit-elle, des êtres qui nous inspirent sur chacun d'eux, chacun d'eux étant la facette de ce qu'est un autre. De plus, l'homme est cette personne qui nous révèle à nous-mêmes, nous les femmes. Ils sont un peu ce que nous voulons qu'ils soient: amoureux, amants, fougueux, touchants, amicaux, professionnels, séducteurs, parfois cruels, et souvent terrifiés par le pouvoir qu'exerce la femme sur eux. Enfin, ces hommes sont à l'image de ce que la femme veut, croit ou “désespère d'être”.

Men, she says, are beings who inspire us about every one of them, each being the facet of another one. Moreover, man is this person who gives us women a new awareness of ourselves. They are in some way what we want them to be: in love, lovers, hot-headed, friendly, professional, seductive, sometimes cruel, and often terrified by the power a woman exerts on them. Finally, these men are a picture of what a woman wants to be, thinks she is or «has lost all hope of being».

Camille Laurens [Fr] represents a controversial trend in French literature, called «autofiction», combining autobiography and fiction. In 2000, she published «Dans ces bras-là» («In those arms»), which earned her the Femina prize, a book ballerines ou converses loved [Fr]:

Les hommes. Quel sujet ! Passionnant. Je regrette d’avoir été une femme en lisant ces lignes. J’aurais aimé être masculin pour mieux comprendre ce qui se passe dans le ventre des femmes face à nous, mais je suis fille, je ne fais qu’aquièscer au chemin chaotique et amoureux de l’héroïne. Car il y a toujours une histoire d’amour avec un homme : qu’il soit père, grand-père, fils, frère, ami, amant, mari, patron, collègue.

Men. What a topic! Gripping. While reading these lines I was sorry I was a woman. I would have loved being a male in order to better understand what is going on in the bellies of women facing us, but I am a female, I just aquiesce to the heroine's chaotic path through love. Since there is always a love story with a man – whether he is a father, grandfather, son, brother, lover, husband, boss, colleague.

But my favorite is no doubt My Men by Malika Mokkedem, an Algerian writer established in France, where she studied medicine and long practised as a nephrologist, before deciding to dedicate her time to literature.
The daughter of an illiterate, formely nomadic family of South Algeria, she succeeded in wrestling her independent life against the heavy traditions of the time and her family, and through the sheer power of her determination, became what she irrepressibly craved to be. She writes [Fr]:

I left my father to learn how to love men, a continent still hostile, because it is a foreign one…. I made myself with and against them. They embody everything I needed to conquer, in order to attain freedom.

La muse agitée, the blogger of the Vallauris bookshop, is enthusiastic [Fr]:

Voici le « carnet de bal » de Malika Mokkedem, qui déroule le fil de sa vie comme on ouvre un tiroir aux souvenirs. Y sont rangés son enfance de petite fille algérienne qui compte moins que ses frères et à qui on demande d’être la plus transparente possible, son adolescence de jeune fille qui trouve dans les livres et l’instruction une porte ouverte à la liberté, une jeune femme avide d’amour, indépendante et déterminée, une femme construite avec ses blessures, sa culture, sa rage et son besoin viscéral de reconnaissance.
Les hommes de sa vie sont ceux qui ont compté et l’on soutenue, ceux avec qui elle a bataillé, contre qui elle a dormi, pour qui elle a fait l'amour. Leurs traces intimes imprègnent de forces conjuguées et de déceptions cuisantes la vie de l’auteur. […]

This is Malika Mokkedem's «dance card», unwinding the thread of her life as you would open a drawer of keepsakes. Kept there are her childhood as a little Algerian girl who matters less than her brothers and is asked to be as invisible as possible, her teenage years as a girl who finds in books and learning an open door to freedom, a young woman eager for love, independent and resolute, a woman built out of her own wounds, her culture, anger, and deep-rooted need of recognition.

The men in her life are those who mattered and supported her, those against whom she battled, next to whom she slept, for whom she made love. Their intimate marks imprint the author's life with joint strengths and bitter disappointments. […]

Le livre se lit comme un récit de vie, un témoignage, une confidence, une sorte de gifle à l’ordre établi, l’ignorance et la servitude, une vérité toute crue qui n’accuse pas mais enveloppe l’avenir d’un espoir encourageant pour les femmes algériennes. […]

The book reads as a life-story, a testimony, a confidence, a kind of slap in the face of established order, ignorance and bondage, a raw truth that does not indict, but rather wraps the future in a cheering hope for Algerian women. […]

This obstacle race facing women leads us to great Algerian novelist Assia Djebar, who is also a translator, filmmaker and a professor of Francophone literature at New York University, one of the few women ever accepted into the Académie Française. Among her most famous works and memorable reads are L'Amour, la Fantasia (1985), and Femmes d'Alger dans leur appartement (2002). On his blog Le bateau libre, literary critic Frédéric Ferney points, about her latest book Nulle part dans la maison de mon père («Nowhere in my father's house», 2007) [Fr]:

Le titre sonne comme une dénégation et un aveu, il tient sa promesse.
[…]
Grandir, est-ce apprendre à désobéir? Et comment grandir sans (se) trahir? Comment être fidèle à soi sans renier les siens? Assia Djebar a cette phrase: “Se dire à soi-même adieu” que chacun est libre d'interpréter comme il veut.

The title sounds both like a denial and an admission, it does not fail to keep its promise.
[…]
Does growing-up mean, learn to disobey ? How can you grow up without betraying (and betraying yourself)? How can you stay faithful to yourself without disowning your people ? Assia Djebar has these words: «Bid oneself farewell», which everybody is free to understand his own way.

What brings together most of French-language Algerian writers is their style, their rich and vivid, energetic and never starchy handling of language, as well as the audacity of their subjects. So, finally somehow drifting from women's destinies, I feel compelled to end this short round-up with the entrancing books of Yasmina Khadra (a pen name for a man, to avoid military censorship during the Agerian civil war), whose Wolf Dreams (1999), The Swallows of Kaboul (2002) The Attack and The Sirens of Baghdad (both 2006), among others, aim to «give the readers in the West a chance to understand the core a problem that he usually only touches on the surface [that is, fanaticism].

More about this fascinating writer on these blogs : Un oeil sur la planète, and Cocola's [Fr].

MENA: Reflections on Durban II

Eman AbdElRahman — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:26:10 +0000

Wikipedia - President Mahmūd Ahmadinejād speaking at Columbia University on 24 September 2007

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech, and the way European Union representatives reacted to it at the United Nations Conference on Racism in Geneva (Durban II), has stirred debates among bloggers across the Middle East. Some bloggers accused him of showing off for his next electoral campaign, others accused the world of showing no willingness to work together for a better future, while others rejoiced because what Ahmadinejad said is exactly what they wanted to hear.

Saudi blogger The plucky, who is based in Australia, wrote:

بالأمس استمعت لحديث الرئيس الإيراني أحمدي نجاد في مؤتمر العنصرية في جنيف و التي نظمته الأمم المتحدة. أستغرب حقيقة من دول تدعي الديموقراطية و حرية التعبير تغضب و تثور ثائرتها و تغادر المؤتمر بمجرد انتقاد نجاد لـ عنصرية إسرائيل. لا أستطيع تفهم الأسباب التي تجعل دول مثل إسرائيل و الولايات المتحدة (و حلفائهما) ترفض الحضور ، و لا أتفهم أيضاً ردة فعل الاتحاد الأوروبي حين غادر معترضاً على تصريحات الرئيس الإيراني. أليس من الأجدر مناقشة هذه الانتقادات بشكل حضاري و متمدن باستحضار لغة الأرقام و الحقائق بدلاً من هذا الضجيج المفتعل الذي يدعم حجة نجاد في حديثه ؟

Yesterday I listened to Iranian President Ahmadinejad's speech in the UN Conference on Racism in Geneva. I was surprised by countries, that call for democracy and freedom of expression, yet showed anger and left the conference as soon as Nejad criticized Israel's racism. I can not understand the reasons why countries like Israel and the United States (and their allies) refused to attend the conference, and also I do not understand the reaction of the European Union when its representatives left due their objection to the Iranian president's remarks. Isn't it better to discuss these criticisms in a civilized way, recalling facts and figures instead of the fabricated clamour - which actually supports Ahmadinejad's claims?

From Palestine, Natalie bitterly compared the boycotting of the conference to the time when “people of conscience refused to shake hands with South African whites during the Apartheid regime as an objection to the racist system there.

Another blogger and human rights activist, Marcy Newman, who lives in the West Bank, Palestine, wondered - just like The plucky - on the irony she finds in the situation, saying:

The Zionist entity’s racist in chief is calling ahmadinejad racist. where is the irony? the Zionist entity is plotting a bombing campaign of Iran and the man who regularly calls for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is calling ahmadinejad racist.

From Bahrain, Esra'a, who was invited to be a panelist at the pre-Durban summit, reflected her thoughts after she realized how people were confusing between anti-semitism and the hatred of Israel, and how Iran was condemned for the wrong reasons despite having a lot to be criticized for at the conference.

The Iranian regime was attacked NOT for oppressing their people in this Summit; despite these crimes being mentioned, that was barely the focus. They were attacked for threatening to “destroy Israel,” that was the premise of every criticism against Iran, even though Israel also threatened to nuke it! “Oh, but that was in retaliation.” It’s no different. Both governments are equally dangerous with an absolute disregard for human rights. Israel having a liberal “lifestyle” doesn’t change its corrupt politics that is threatening many of us, just like Iran is threatening us by funding militant organizations and violently oppressing anyone opposing it.

Arab-American blogger Fayyad, who writes at KABOBfest was skeptical in regards to US President Barack Obama's intentions after boycotting the conference and changing the draft text of the conference to omit mentions of the racism inherent to Zionism and the Israeli state.

Fayyad wrote:

With George Bush, we had a clear villain; a murderous abuser of human rights and executor of imperialist policies that many of his actions came under scrutiny, and even though he managed to get away with many crimes, they were not accepted as righteous by the wider population.

Obama, on the other hand, with his liberal movement mandate, gets away with more crimes than Bush, because the liberal who scrutinized Bush’s every action, are sleeping rotten when it comes to Obama, thinking that Change towards an equitable progressive society was achieved on election day.

[…]

So be careful, if Obama looks better than Bush, it means you just don’t know how he’s about to screw you. Careful Cuba and Venezuela. And if you’re looking for a black president to finally make America discuss its history of racism, wait a little longer.

From Syria, Omar who's based in Toronto, expressed his sorrow at how the world missed another opportunity to frankly discuss global injustices for a better future.

Conferences like the one held today are a great idea. They should be an open forum for discussing injustices no matter which side the injustice is incurred by. As soon as you limit what can be said at a conference
like this, you take away all credibility. Sadly, this is exactly what happened today.

Another Syrian blogger Dubai Jazz, who lives in Dubai, echoed a different idea, questioning ‘what after the conference? what are Arabs doing about it?'

Today, he’s (AhmediNejad) the only loud voice in the region. The Europeans will find reasons (hell, they will concoct them if they have to) to walk out of any conference. The Arabs are more or less silent. And the Palestinian people are left in limbo.
That's what's happening today.

Back in Palestine, Mohamed who said that Durban II was a great platform for Israel, also criticized Ahmadinejad's speech:

Of course, that Ahmedinejad went surely didn't help, and that jackass is as much guilty for the failure of the conference as various Israel-lobbies in OECD capitals. If he really cared about the racism that the Palestinians face on a daily basis, he should've stayed at home and let the conference follow its course, rather than beautifully assist those attempting to hijack it into a pro-Israel choir.

Lebanese blogger Antoun, who lives in Australia, blamed the “West” as well as Israel for the Palestinian's suffering. He added that the West didn't storm out of Durban because of Iran, but because it didn't want to hear the truth. Highlighting excerpts from Ahmedinejad's speech, he further comments:

Ahmedinejad didn't deviate from the obvious, didn't descend into anti-Jewish vitriol, nor did he racially attack Jews. So why the furore?

Hundreds of thousands worldwide protested against Israel's racism in Western capitals throughout the Gaza war. Yet, Western governments continue to remain blind and deaf to Israel's racist policies.

And last but not least, Kal, an Algerian blogger and a student of International Relations and Middle Eastern/African Studies, also summed up his opinion in two lines:

The bottom line at Durban II: Durban is a platform on which despotic majorities and dictators may stand on the backs of those whom they pretend to represent and agitate on behalf of.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Algeria: Bouteflika Takes On Third Term

Jillian C. York — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:33:44 +0000

On Friday, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was elected for a third term in office, extending his already ten-year tenure. Along with former Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem, Bouteflika changed the constitution to remove the presidential term limit, a revision that was approved by the Council of Ministers in November 2008. According to Daily Maghreb, he won his third term with 90.24 percent of votes cast.

Moroccan and Algerian bloggers had much to say about his re-election. Prior to the win, Algerian-American The Moor Next Door said:

The Algerian presidential campaign is dominated by Abdelaziz Bouteflika, substantively and visually. So vigorous has been his campaign that Boutelfika skipped the Arab Summit in Doha, sending FM Medelci instead. Others have attempted to initiate their own narratives — this is implicit in Hanoune’s, as she is a Trotskyite, and it is increasingly clear in Mohamed Said’s campaign, though he was an remains a relative unknown. Touati has for the most part tried to coopt Bouteflika’s platform using a different face, and Younsi and Rebiane have used their campaigns as platforms to attack the regime, with the former’s platform being the more dissident of the two, ideologically speaking

Larbi [fr], commenting on the margin by which Bouteflika won, said:

Félicitations au Candidat Abdelaziz qui rentre dans notre top 5 à la troisième place.

Bachar Al-Assad reste toujours à la tête du classement avec un score de 97% (réélu le 29 mai 2007).

Au deuxième rang on retrouve un fidèle à l'émission: Zine el-Abidine qui obtient 94,49 % (réélu 24 octobre 2004).

Puis le jeune Abdelaziz qui avec ses 90,24% d’hier est troisième. Un rang honorable tant la compétition est rude et il y a de nombreux joueurs qui ne déméritent pas.

Congratulations to Candidate Abdelaziz for coming in third in the top 5.

Bashar Al-Assad is still in the lead with a score of 97% (re-elected on 29 May 2007).

In second place we find someone ever faithful: Zine el-Abidine obtains 94.49% (re-elected 24 October 2004).

Then the young Abdelaziz who with 90.24% yesterday is third. An honorable rank as the competition is fierce and there are many players who never lose points.

At Bilad Tlisman [Ar], Algerian blogger Baroudi doesn't necessarily agree:

إن الذين يذرفون دموع التماسيح على الحرية هم أولئك الذين حجزوا لوحدهم دون سواهم تذكرة الحجر على هذه الديموقراطية لأن الجزائر برأيهم غاشي وليست أمة وتاريخا وكيانا. الذين يتباكون الديمقراطية هم هؤلاء الذين يمجدون سنوات غيابها. والذين يبكون الديموقراطية في الجزائر هم الطيف السياسي الذي حجز الصحف المعربة وأغلق باب المطابع في وجه كل صوت عربي ذات يوم. الذين يبكون الديموقراطية في الجزائر لأن شخصا اسمه عبد العزيز بوتفليقة فاز بولاية ثالثة هؤلاء هم أنفسهم الذين باركوا الحجر على ثوابت الأمة من لغة ودين وهم الذين باركوا تصفية المدرسة الجزائرية وهم الذين صفقوا طويلا لقتل العربية في عقر دارها بل هم الذين طالبوا بجعلها في المرتبة الثالثة. هؤلاء ليسوا صادقين لأنهم ظلوا يحاربون قيم الأمة و معتقداتها الوطنية بل ويشككون في قدرة الأمة على النهوض بواسطة مقوماتها. إن المواطن في الجزائر أصبح لاهتم لخطاب الديمقراطية لأن من رفعوا راية هذه الديمقراطية ذات يوم كذبوا عليه واحتالوا علينا.

Those who shed crocodile tears on freedom are the ones who have quarantined this democracy with their own hands as Algeria, in their opinion is a tyranny and not a nation, with history and an entity. Those who pretend to cry over democracy are those who praise the years of its absence. Those who cry over democracy in Algeria belong to the political spectrum which once shut down Arabized newspapers and closed printers in the face of every Arab voice. Those who cry over democracy in Algeria because some one called Abdelaziz Bouteflika has won for a third term are the ones who have blessed the ban on the fundamentals of this nation, such as language and religion. They are the ones who blessed the assassination of the Algerian School, and are the ones who clapped long for the murder of the Arabic language in its own home, and have even called for making it a third category language. Those people are not sincere and have continued to fight the values of this nation and its national beliefs and have also suspected the ability of this nation to rise, using its own potential. People in Algeria are not interested in the democracy dialogue, because those who carry the banner of democracy are the ones who have once lied to them and cheated them.

Citoyen Hmida had a few choice remarks as well:

Seul candidat crédible, seul candidat ayant accès aux médias officiels, seul candidat bénéficiant de tous les moyens de l’état pour mener sa campagne, seul candidat à avoir une chance d’être élu, seul candidat à bénéficier du soutien logistique d’un parti, seul candidat à avoir exercé le pouvoir et à en connaître les arcanes et les arnaques, Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA a été le seul candidat à pouvoir devenir (ou plutôt à rester) président !

The only credible candidate, the only candidate who has access to official media, the only candidate benefiting from all the resources of the state to conduct his campaign, the only candidate with a chance of being elected, the only candidate to receive logistical support from a party, the only candidate to have exercised power and know the inside stories and scams, Abdelaziz Bouteflika was the only candidate able to become (or rather to remain) President!

Morocco: Crossed Loyalties

Jillian C. York — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:37:10 +0000

Ibn Kafka remarks [fr] on the fact that, despite long-term disagreements between the two nations, the monarch of Morocco sent a congratulatory telegram to re-elected Algerian president Bouteflika.

Algeria: Botanists Vs Linguists

Amira Al Hussaini — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:06:48 +0000

“Ever found yourself trying to sort out a plant name you've elicited, not knowing any botany worth mentioning? Well, it turns out the botanists are a step ahead of the linguists on the digital libraries game,” asks Algerian linguist Lameen Souag.