U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United Nations must act to end what she calls the Syrian government’s “divide and conquer” strategy against its own people. But Russia vows to veto any U.N. action against its allies in Damascus. A Look at the Arab League The League of Arab States, or Arab League, is an association of 22 Arab states, based in Cairo. It was founded on March 22, 1945 in Cairo, with the aim of strengthening the relationships between member states through political, cultural and economic cooperation. The first six members of the organization were Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan (later renamed Jordan), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Yemen joined a few months later Nabil Elaraby was elected secretary-general of the Arab League in May 2011. Syria’s membership was suspended in November 2011, following bloodshed caused by brutal government crackdowns on pro-democracy protests. On Jan. 22, 2012, the Arab League proposed to Syria that President Bashar al-Assad should transfer power to a deputy and form a national unity government within two months. The plan was rejected by Syria. After meeting with her French and British colleagues in New York, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went before the United Nations Security Council to support Arab League action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “The United States urges the Security Council to back the Arab League’s demand that the Syrian government immediately stop all attacks against civilians and guarantee the freedom of peaceful demonstrations,” she said. Secretary Clinton says President Assad has driven his country to the brink of chaos and the longer he continues, the harder it will be to rebuild Syria once he is gone. “We all know that change is coming to Syria.  Despite its ruthless tactics, the Assad regime’s reign of terror will end and the people of Syria will chart their own destiny.  The question is how many more innocent civilians will die before this country is able to move forward to the kind of future it deserves,” she said. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says U.N. action could make the situation even worse. “An essential element of any U.N. resolution must be the firm statement that this resolution can not be interpreted to justify any kind of outside military intervention in Syria,” he said. Steve Heydemann, a Middle East analyst for the United States Institute of Peace, says Moscow fears a change of government in Damascus would weaken Russia’s position. “If the regime were to change and Syria were to move in a more pro-Western direction, I think the Russians would view that as a blow to their strategic posture in the region. And so one of the things that the U.S. might do is to offer reassurances to the Russians that even if a process of regime transition happens in Syria, they won’t be left out,” he said. In order to avert a Russian veto, U.S. officials say they are ready to work with all U.N. members to pass a resolution supporting Arab League efforts to end the crisis. Secretary Clinton says failing to do so would abandon the Syrian people and embolden a dictator. Join the conversation on our social journalism site – Middle East Voices . Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page.

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Egyptian activists have gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday, as the country continues to mark the first anniversary of the uprising that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak. A small group of protesters has camped out in the square since Wednesday, when massive crowds of Egyptians filled the streets – some celebrating the anniversary of the start of the protests, others calling for an end to military rule. Friday’s protest is dubbed by many as the “Second Friday of Anger,” in reference to the climax of last year’s 18-day revolt. At least 27 pro-democracy groups are expected to take part in the protest. Many protesters, such as Mohamed Gerisha, are demanding the immediate end to military rule and the transfer of power to a civilian government. “Our demand is to continue to the uprising, it is to move forward the transfer of power to civilians,” he said. “We want to maintain the stability of the country.” The election of a newly-seated lower house of parliament has failed to satisfy many liberal politicians and activists, who say the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has resorted to the same brutal tactics used by former President Mubarak to quell dissent. The military council, led by Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, has promised to hand over power to an elected president by the end of June. The council has made several apparent concessions to reformists in recent days, pardoning about 2,000 prisoners and promising to partially lift the country’s 30-year-long state of emergency. But, the ruling military said authorities will continue to apply the widely-disliked law in fighting acts of “thuggery.” The New York-based Human Rights Watch says the exception is an “invitation to continued abuse” and an “insult” to Egyptians. It says Egypt’s military rulers frequently have described “peaceful” demonstrators as “thugs” and put them on trial in military courts for the offense. Join the conversation on our social journalism site – Middle East Voices . Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page.

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Thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday, demanding that Egypt’s ruling military council cede power to a civilian government. Friday’s rally began with a few hundred people, but by late afternoon the crowd had swelled to several thousand, who chanted demands for an end to military rule. The marchers represented a broad spectrum of Egyptian society, with liberal groups, conservative Salafis and women’s rights activists standing side-by-side. A march in support of Egyptian women drew hundreds of people to the square. Guwayha Gaber held a sign detailing what she called a list of abuses against women by the ruling military council. “The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces is guilty of attacking Egyptian women here in Tahrir Square,” she said via translator. “But more than that, the laws in Egypt are unfair to women.” Egyptian women have become increasingly assertive in recent days, organizing marches and protests that spotlight what they call vulnerability of women in Egyptian society. Several amateur videos of female protesters being clubbed and kicked by Egyptian troops have shocked and angered Egyptians and drawn thousands to the streets in recent days. A separate march in memory of a prominent Egyptian religious leader drew hundreds more to the square. Islamic scholar Sheikh Emad Effat was fatally shot in the heart during a demonstration in Cairo last week. Twenty-three-year-old Omar Baghdash carried a photo of the scholar and said Effat’s death — and the army’s denial of any involvement — has infuriated many Egyptians. “He was killed by the army with a sniper shot in his heart,” said Baghdash. “We call for the rights of Sheikh Emad. They said he was killed by a bullet shot to his stomach, not his heart. They say who killed him is not the army, that it’s a third party. It’s a lie.” Despite their different backgrounds, protesters agreed on at least one thing: Egypt’s ruling military council should step aside and hand over power to a civilian government. Egypt is in the midst of parliamentary elections that have seen surprising success among conservative parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and the strictly conservative Salafi parties. Presidential elections are scheduled for July of 2012. Some Egyptians want that election held sooner. A separate rally in support of the military council reportedly drew several thousand demonstrators in Cairo’s Abbasiya neighborhood. Many Egyptians feel that the country would descend further into chaos without the firm hand of the military council. Join the conversation on our social journalism site – Middle East Voices . Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page.

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