In support of and solidarity with Alaa

I want to express my full support and solidarity with Alaa Abd al Fattah , whom recieved a 15-day detaiment by the Military Prosecution at C28. Civilians should not be tried in military courts, full stop. The Maspero incident as such should definitely not be under the jurisdiction of any military court, while the military was an active part http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifn the incident. This case symbolizes everything that is wrong with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, they have done a lousy job of convincing the people that they are the custodians of the #Jan25 revolution. They are the single largest stumbling block on the road to a free society , a road that was paved with the blood of the 865 + martyrs whom payed the ultimate prize. I don't have an answer to the question of what should replace the SCAF , i only know that something is terribly wrong in the state of Egypt , and it's a four letter word #SCAF

My thoughts goes to Alaa, Manal and their family.

Please read Sarah Carr's brilliant piece.

Yemeni activist Tawakul Karman , Nobel Peace Laurete 2011

The Yemeni activist Tawakul Karman is one of three Nobel Peace Prize lauretes this year, the other two being Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Liberian Women's rights and peace activist Leymah Gbowe.

The Jury's motivation was:

for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.

Tawakul Karman's reaction upon recieving the Nobel Peace Prize:



She dedicates the prize to the youth an women of the Yemeni and the Arab Revolution, and the peaceful way of these revolution. She celebrates at Change Square in Sanaa.

In my view, the fact that tawakul Karman recieved the prestigious award is a recognition of the crucial part played by women, not only in Yemen , but also in general in the uprisings during the "Arab Spring" This is as much a prize for Nawarra Negm, Esra Abdel Fattah , Mona Seif , Gigi Ibrahim, Lina Ben Mehenni to name but a few. It's also a tribute to the reclaiming of peoples power and an active citizenry in the Arab World as a whole.

I'm immensely proud and happy for Tawakul Karman and the Yemeni revolution whose struggle for freedom continues.

Above is a profile on Tawakul Karman from al Jazeera English series People & Power, Yemen: A tale of two protests from March 16th 2011. Another blogger's view on the matter for those knowing German from Hannes Alpen and Cristoph Sydow can be found here.