A Revolution In Syria

•  The people of Syria have begun to revolt against their current government, which is headed by President Bashar al-Assad.
• However, “momentum has not caught on”, there are not as many protestors as there were in Egypt or Tunisia.
• It seems the alliance between the Assad controlled Alawite leadership, which runs both political and security forces, and the country’s large population of Sunnis is strong.
• The protests are too weak and are mainly headed by the small, impoverished region around Daraa.  Therefore, it is expected that the present government will remain in tact.
• March 25^th was to be an important day of protest where the people would march out of the mosques demanding freedom and change but the protests did not spread to the major cities and have only been isolated.
• For now the revolution of Syria seems to be stalled but it is too early to be completely certain.

Bashar al-Assad 

• President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party, and the son of former President Hafez al-Assad.
• He is a controversial figure both in Syria and internationally.
• He has been criticized for his disregard for human rights, economic lapses, sponsorship of terrorism, and corruption. Al-Assad is an outspoken critic of the United States and Israel.
•  His family has filled security organs with loyal members of his own religious group with the purpose of retaining his power. His military, ruling elite, and secret police are closely interweaved.

Repression

• ·      Assad's regime has tightened Internet censorship with laws such as forcing Internet cafes to record all the comments users post on chat forums.  He has permitted existence of radio stations playing Western pop music but websites such as Wikipedia, Youtube, Facebook and Amazon have been blocked.
• ·      He has implemented travel bans against dissidents, a practice that is illegal under international law. Syria is the worst offender in the Middle East.
• ·      In an interview with ABC News he stated: "We don't have such [things as] political prisoners," yet the New York Times reported the arrest of 30 political prisoners in Syria in December 2007

The Libyan No-Fly Zone

• In an attempt to get Muammar Gaddafi’s military to stop massacring its own citizens, several countries in the United Nations have attempted to instate a “no-fly zone” over Libya. Though five nations - including Germany, China, and Russia - chose not to vote, none of the UN Security Council members voted against the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973.

• The military operation began on 19 March 2011, with the launching of missiles, raids across Libya, and a naval blockade. Having eliminated the Libyan air defense, US military officials stated that the campaign has moved to focusing on decimating Gaddafi’s ground forces, with new forces targeting fuel depots and local military installations in Tripoli, Libya’s capital.

• Since the beginning of the intervention, the initial coalition of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Qatar, Spain, the UK, and the US has expanded to 15 nations. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization took control of the arms embargo on 23 March in order to prevent Gaddafi from firing on his own people. On 24 March, NATO agreed to take control of the no-fly zone, while command of the targeting ground units remains with coalition forces.

• Exact casualty figures are difficult to make out. On March 20, Abdul Hafiz Ghoga, spokesman for the National Transitional Council, stated that "more than 8,000" people are killed as a result of the uprising. No military fatalities have been reported, despite the fact that an American fighter jet crashed near Benghazi due to a mechanical failure.

Definitions:

• Coalition: A partnership of several countries to fight for a common cause.
• Embargo: An official ban on trade with a particular country in an attempt to deplete supplies and force the government of that nation to surrender. (An arms embargo is a ban on weapons.)
• No-fly zone: A territory over which aircraft are not permitted to fly.
• NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization): An international organization for peace and defense founded in 1949. Its headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium. Member nations are Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, UK, and US.

Note: The font change isn't working properly so I apologize for the strange changes.

The Yemeni Protests

             The 2011 Yemeni protests followed the initial stages of the Tunisian Revolution and occurred at the same time as the Egyptian Revolution in early 2011. The protesters originally fought against unemployment, economic conditions, corruption, and the government’s proposals to modify the constitution of Yemen. The protests escalated, and those involved called for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign.

             Ali Abdullah Saleh has been president of Yemen for more than 30 years. It is believed that his son Ahmed Saleh is being groomed to replace him. On 2 February 2011, the president stated that he would not pass on his powers to his son and that he would quit in 2013.

Yemen is facing a conflict with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and a revolt from secessionists in southern Yemen who wish to see the old South Yemen become a nation again. There is also a Shia Houthi rebellion in the north of the country; they seek independence as well.

Almost half the Yemeni population lives on less than $2 a day, and one-third suffer from chronic hunger; there is a great popular movement because of this. Some political parties would like to see reform under President Saleh, while students and human rights activists wish to continue the momentum of other uprisings and change leaders. The popular movement is not organized or supported by the political parties and is therefore relatively weak.

Yemeni protesters wore pink to symbolize their non-violent intent. It is supposedly meant to represent love and to signal peaceful revolutions. Despite original intentions, there have been at least 112 deaths and 1,000 injuries.

Definitions:

• Constitution of Yemen: Defines Yemen as being a country that follows the sharia, or Islamic law, as the basis of all laws.

• Popular movement: A type of group action involving protesters in a nation that focus on the social and political issues of said country. It is the manifestation of carrying out, resisting, or undoing a social change.

• Political movement: The trend in politics of a nation.

Written By: Daniella

News, News, News!

Here is the plan for the nest few weeks/days:

1. Amnesty Letters (Friday)
2. Bulletin Board (to be finished by Friday or early next week)
3. Everyone will be added to the Facebook group
4. We will be accepting articles and profiles for the board.
5. We will also be accepting links and articles for the blog.
6. We will begin writing announcements to increase awareness.
7. There will be a guest speaker coming in shortly!
The first few articles are coming soon!


So, without further adieu, here is our current logo as designed by Quinn:

The Educare Project

Welcome to the educare project!
The purpose of this group is to encourage change through knowledge.
It has three goals:

Educate Self: Educate ourselves on global justice issues through books, films, and discussions.


Educate Locally: Help spread awareness of world events to our school and community by announcements, posters and bulletin boards within our school, and by presentations within neighbouring grade schools.

Care Globally: Create globally-minded projects and fundraisers supporting areas around the world in need!

On this blog, we'll have articles and updates on world issues. If you know of any social justice events happening that you feel the public should be aware of, let us know at educareproject@hotmail.com or on our face book page: The Educare Project