Rolling Rebellions Topics

The revolution in Tunisia inspired people in Egypt to brave a popular uprising of their own. And now pro-democracy protests are spreading throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Democracy Now! follows the political unrest closely.

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  • Play_syria

    Syria Crackdown: Syrian Dissident Haitham al-Maleh Speaks from Hiding as Al Jazeera Journalist Dorothy Parvaz Remains Locked Up

    Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has sent tanks into the country’s third city, Homs, escalating a military campaign to crush a seven-week-old popular uprising against his autocratic rule. According to the Syrian human rights organization Sawasiah, as many as 800 civilians have been killed since the uprising began. More than 10,000 people have been arrested. Today, we look at two cases. One of Syria’s most prominent human rights defenders,...
    May 09, 2011 | Story
  • Play_sharif

    Sharif Abdel Kouddous Reports from Cairo on Rising Sectarian Tension in Egypt After Deadly Attack on Coptic Christian Church

    In Egypt over the weekend, 12 people died and more than 180 were wounded during clashes between Muslims and Christians in Cairo. Egypt’s army has said that 190 people were detained after the fatal clashes and that they will face military trials. Saturday’s violence started after several hundred conservative Salafist Muslims gathered outside the Coptic Saint Mena Church in Cairo’s Imbaba district. They were reportedly protesting over...
    May 09, 2011 | Story
  • Chomsky_button

    Noam Chomsky: "The U.S. and Its Allies Will Do Anything to Prevent Democracy in the Arab World"

    Speaking at the 25th anniversary celebration of the national media watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, world-renowned political dissident and linguist Noam Chomsky analyzes the U.S. response to the popular uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa. "Across the [Middle East], an overwhelming majority of the population regards the United States as the main threat to their interests," Chomsky says. "The reason...
    May 11, 2011 | Story
  • Yemen_button

    "Friday of Decisiveness in Yemen”: Tens of Thousands Protest as President Saleh Defiantly Rejects Demands to Resign

    Tens of thousands of Yemenis have taken to the streets today for what organizers have called the "Friday of Decisiveness,” days after Yemeni forces opened fire on demonstrators. The death toll from weeks of protests has surpassed 160. The violence comes as Qatar has pulled out of international talks on a deal that would see Saleh voluntarily resign. We are joined on the phone by Iona Craig, a Times of London correspondent based in the Yemeni...
    May 13, 2011 | Story
  • Steve_earl

    Pt. 2 of Interview with Steve Earle: "Democracy is Something that is Contagious"

    Singer-songwriter, actor and author Steve Earle joins us for an extended interview on the popular uprisings in the Middle East, the connection he sees between his antiwar and anti-death penalty activism, and to perform a ballad he wrote from the perspective of the captured American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh, who is now serving a 20-year prison sentence. [includes rush transcript]
    May 13, 2011 | Web Exclusive
  • Palestine_button

    Did Obama's Mideast Speech Signal U.S. Shift on Israel-Palestine? Democracy Now! Roundtable

    In a major speech on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and on the Arab Spring, President Obama said a Palestinian state must be based on the 1967 borders, the first time a U.S. president has explicitly taken this position. The Israeli government immediately rejected Obama’s comments, calling the 1967 borders "indefensible." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in the United States today and will meet Obama at the White...
    May 20, 2011 | Story
  • Egypt_button

    Egyptians Fill Tahrir Square for a 'Second Day of Rage': "We Have Demands that Haven't Been Met Yet"

    Last Friday, more than three months after former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power, tens of thousands of protesters poured into downtown Cairo’s Tahrir Square for what they called a "Second Day of Rage." Democracy Now! correspondents Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar filed this report. [includes rush transcript]
    Jun 01, 2011 | Web Exclusive
  • Yemen_button

    Clashes Spread Across Yemen, Raising Fears of Civil War

    Clashes are continuing across Yemen in the growing conflict over President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s refusal to step down. At least 15 people were reportedly killed in overnight clashes in the capital city of Sana’a. Dozens have been killed since Monday, when artillery explosions and machine-gun fire shattered a tenuous ceasefire that lasted less than 48 hours. We get a report from Iona Craig of The Times of London, who is in Sana’a. [includes...
    Jun 02, 2011 | Story
  • Dorothy_button

    “A Country of Dark Corners”: Freed Journalist Dorothy Parvaz on Her Syrian Detention and the Assad Regime Crackdown

    Al Jazeera correspondent Dorothy Parvaz disappeared for 19 days when she flew to Damascus to cover the uprising there at the end of April. Parvaz was jailed in a Syrian prison, where she underwent interrogation and witnessed the abuse of pro-democracy protesters. She was ultimately deported to Iran, where she was detained again and then finally released. We speak with Parvaz about her ordeal and the unfolding human rights crisis in Syria. [includes...
    Jun 02, 2011 | Story
  • Hersh_mideast

    Seymour Hersh on the Arab Spring, "Disaster" U.S. Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the Looming Crisis in Iraq

    Veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hersh assesses the popular uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa amidst ongoing U.S. wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. Despite touted gains and an upcoming U.S. military withdrawal deadline in Iraq, Hersh says, "Whatever you’re hearing, Iraq is going bad... It’s sectarian war. And the big question is going to be whether we pull out or not." On the uprisings, Hersh...
    Jun 03, 2011 | Story