Voices of the Middle East and North Africa

VOMENA Feb 13, 2020: The role of internal and external actors in Libya's crisis by VOMENA Team at KPFA

The tension between the countries entered a dangerous phase when on January 3rd the US assasinated Maj. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, in a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport- the assassination had been ordered by Donald Trump.

The killing of Qasem Soleimani put in mention a series of events that many people feared may lead to another devastating war in the middle east- but for now there seems to be a world-wide sigh of relief as the U.S. and Iran both appear to signal a desire to avoid further conflict-

So how did it all begin? Why did the US decide to assassinate Soleimani, and what are the ramifications of the this move on Iranian domestic and regional policies as well as the future of any possible negotiations between the US and Iran?

To explore these issues, shahram Aghamir spoke with

Mohammad Ali Kadivar – an Assistant Professor of Sociology and International Studies at Boston College, whose work contributes to political and comparative-historical sociology by exploring the interaction between protest movements and democratization.

and Mansour Farhang, professor emeritus of international relations at Bennington College, who served as the Islamic Republic of Iran’s first ambassador to the U.N. from 1979 to 1980, stepping down in protest during the Iran hostage crisis of 1979, in which 52 Americans were detained at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran.

On Friday Nov 15, protests broke out in 30 cities across Iran after a surprise announcement by the government it would ration gasoline and raise prices by 50 percent to 300%. The protests swiftly turned into anti-government demonstrations targeting the theocratic regime as a whole.

And, as in previous protests, demonstrators utilized twitter and other social media platforms to organize, to communicate with the outside world and document the typically heavy-handed response by the regime. In the first twenty four hours, hundreds of images and video clips showed security forces brutally attacking protesters -

Amnesty International Verified video footage as well as eyewitness testimony from people on the ground and information gathered by human rights activists outside Iran reveal a harrowing pattern of unlawful killings by Iranian security forces: At least 106 protesters in 21 cities had been killed as of Wednesday, and tAmnesty International believes that the real death toll may be much higher, some reports suggesting as many as 200 fatalities. State media have reported only a handful of protester deaths, plus those of four members of the security forces.

Adding to lethal attacks on the protests, within twenty-four hours, the government has used other tool in their arsenal - The Iranian authorities shutdown the internet for 5 days to stop the flow of information to the outside world and to cut off communication among the Iranian people themselves.

NetBlocks, a non-governmental organization that monitors Internet accessibility around the world, has reported that “The ongoing disruption is the most severe recorded in Iran since President Rouhani came to power, and the most severe disconnection tracked by NetBlocks in any country in terms of its technical complexity and breadth."

Shahram aghamir spoke with Peyman Jafari, a historian at princeton University about the latest wave of anti-government protests in Iran

Protesters took to the streets of Baghdad once again on October 25 calling for radical changes to the existing political and economic system

Ever since a new waves of protests erupted in Baghdad on October 1 and quickly spread several southern cities, Iraq has been rocked by demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience rooted in long-standing grievances over unemployment, inadequate services, economic mismanagement and corruption. The security forces have responded harshly; killing more than 260 protestors and injuring thousands more. Nevertheless, the unrest continues, and the protestors have expanded their demands to include an overhaul of Iraq’s political structure, which was established after the U.S. led invasion in 2003.

To get a better picture of what is happening in Iraq and the role of the US and regional players in that country, shahram Aghamir spoke with NY Professor Sinan Antoon

Guest:

Sinan Antoon is a celebrated poet, novelist, translator, and scholar of modern Arabic literature and contemporary Arab culture and politics at the Gallatin school at NYU. His latest novel is titled 'The Book Of Collateral Damage,

On October 9, Turkey launched an offensive into northeastern Syria dubbed Operation Spring Peace in which Turkey provided air and artillery support to thousands of Syrian rebels in an assault on an area governed by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

At the onset of the operation, Turkish president Erdogan stated “The main aim of the operation is to take out “PKK/YPG terror organizations from the area and to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees,". Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) are the main component of the Syrian Democratic Forces, but the Turkish government claims that the YPG is an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been in conflict with the Turkish State since 1984.

Ankara launched its assault two days after a green light was given by Donald Trump in which he announced that the U.S. would withdraw its forces from the area. Scores were killed in this Turkish offensive, and more than 300,000 people were displaced before a US-brokered ceasefire went into effect, and a Russian-Turkish agreement was subsequently reached.

This week, we bring you an in-depth conversation about the worsening situation in North Eastern Syria, the future of The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (also known as Rojava), and the role of regional and international players

Guest:

Dr Cengiz Gunes, faculty of Arts & Social Sciences at the Open University, and the author of three books including his forthcoming The Political Representation of Kurds in Turkey: New Actors and Modes of Participation in a Changing Society

Vomena Sept 27th, 2019: Presidential elections in Tunisia; Democracy movement in Algeria by VOMENA Team at KPFA

In the past two months, the Turkish Authorities have escalated their crackdown on Syrian refugees living in Istanbul arresting thousands and giving them an ultimatum until August 20th to move to the cities they obtained residency in when they first arrived into Turkey OR face deportations back to Syria. The deadline is now extended to the end of October.

But the crackdown left thousands of Syrian refugees fearful for their future and the possibility of uprooting their families for the second time. Turkey hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees, an estimated 3.6 million people. Human Rights organizations are also reporting that Turkey is deporting Syrians back into Syria, a charge the Turkish government denies… International law prohibits the forcible return of anyone to a place where they would face a real risk of persecution,or a threat to life.

To understand the background of these crackdowns and the status of Syrians in Turkey we speak with Professor Ayşen Üstübici. She is an Assistant Professor at Koç University Department of Sociology and the Department of Political Science. She is the author of The Governance of International Migration: Irregular Migrants' Access to Right to Stay in Turkey and Morocco (University of Amsterdam Press).

Next, we air the first episode of ‘Mal Amal’ a podcast about migrant labor in Jordan. The podcast is produced by the Arab podcast platform Sowt (or voice), with support from the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

But first, to learn more about the idea behind the podcast ‘Mal Amal’ and which focuses on the struggles of migrant workers in Jordan, I Reached Sowt’s Executive Director Ramsey Tesdell in Amman Jordan.

For more 'Mal Amal' episodes: https://soundcloud.com/sowtpodcasts/sets/malamal-english

Last May, Donald Trump unilaterally violated the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the United States and 5 other world powers, and followed this up by reimposing harsh economic, trade and financial sanctions against Iran-

Back in July of 2015 Iran, the US, along with Russia, China, and the European Union had agreed to a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA.) Under this agreement, Iran would be protected from economic sanctions in exchange for accepting to subject its nuclear research program to international inspections. This agreement was widely seen as a crowning achievement of former president Barack Obama’s foreign policy but was vociferously opposed by Israel, Saudi Arabia and Zionist forces and their allies in the US.

Once in power, the Trump administration decided to violate and terminate this hard-won accord, calling it a “bad deal” and it has since ramped up a new “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, a maneuver aiming to strangulate Iran’s economy which now extends as far as bribing Iranian tanker captains to surrender control of their ships to the US.

With so much attention given to the war of nerves between Iran and the US, how are the US’s back-breaking sanctions impacting the Iranian population and the Iranian economy in general?

To get some clarity on these issues, I spoke with Iran expert and journalist at the NY Times, Farnaz Fassihi.

Last May, Donald Trump unilaterally violated the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the United States and 5 other world powers, and followed this up by reimposing harsh economic, trade and financial sanctions against Iran.

Back in July of 2015 Iran, the US, along with Russia, China, and the European Union had agreed to a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA.) Under this agreement, Iran would be protected from economic sanctions in exchange for accepting to subject its nuclear research program to international inspections. This agreement was widely seen as a crowning achievement of former president Barack Obama’s foreign policy but was vociferously opposed by Israel, Saudi Arabia and Zionist forces and their allies in the US.

Once in power, the Trump administration decided to violate and terminate this hard-won accord, calling it a “bad deal” and it has since ramped up a new “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, a maneuver aiming to strangulate Iran’s economy which now extends as far as bribing Iranian tanker captains to surrender control of their ships to the US.

With so much attention given to the war of nerves between Iran and the US, how are the US’s back-breaking sanctions impacting the Iranian population and the Iranian economy in general?

To get some clarity on these issues, we spoke with Iran expert and journalist at the New York Times, Farnaz Fassihi.

Later in the show, we speak to Palestinian director Sameh Zoabi about his film “Telaviv on Fire”.

Almost nine years after its Jasmine revolution, which precipitated a chain reaction of revolts in the Arab world, Tunisia is seen as the only one among the ten countries directly impacted by the Arab Spring to have succeeded in establishing a formal democracy and, as such, has been accepted into the world’s club of democratic countries. It is now poised for its third round of presidential elections since the 2010-2011 revolution.

However, with a weak economy and an increasingly restive population struggling with poverty, and being surrounded by countries that are politically unstable and with the very notion of liberal democracy in serious jeopardy worldwide, how long can Tunisia maintain the trappings of a formal democracy if it does not at the same time alleviate the serious socio-economic problems that afflict its society?

We pose these questions to US-based Tunisian scholar Mohammed Hammami, who spoke to us from his home in Tunis.