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Libya uprising continues – live updates

The Libyan government has accepted a plan by Venezuela to seek a negotiated solution to the conflict in the north African country, a spokesman for president Hugo Chavez said on Thursday. The Venezuelan plan would involve a commission from Latin America, Europe and the Middle East, along with talks between Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi and opposition forces. Venezuela’s information minister also confirmed to Reuters that the Arab League has shown interest in the plan. Arab League President Amr Moussa says the plan is under consideration. “It is a Venezuelan proposal and sent to us and we are considering it and that is all,” Moussa told Reuters

This article titled “Libya uprising continues – live updates” was written by Paul Owen, for guardian.co.uk on Thursday 3rd March 2011 17.38 UTC

5.52pm: Some useful links: • Richard Seymour on the “siren song” of the neocons in David Cameron’s cabinet. • A Q&A on Libya and the international criminal court from Human Rights Watch. • James Meikle’s story on Khaled Att-ardi, the man from Manchester who has reportedly been killed in Brega.

5.19pm: Here are today’s key events on another eventful day for Libya: • The Libyan government has accepted a Venezuelan proposal to seek a negotiated solution to the crisis in the country, according to Hugo Chavez’s information minister (see 3.53pm). It is unclear how exactly this initiative would work and whether it would help (see 12.46pm). • Muammar Gaddafi and his sons are to be investigated by the international criminal court for possible crimes against humanity. Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Gaddafi’s security forces were alleged to have attacked peaceful demonstrators in several towns and cities across Libya since 15 February. Gaddafi has denied using violence against demonstrators, whom he has described as agents of al-Qaida. International media have been unable to witness the worst of the reported incidents. • Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, has indicated that establishing a no-fly zone over Libya is unlikely, in what was seen as something of a snub to British prime minister David Cameron. Germany has come out against foreign military intervention in Libya (see 3.12pm). • Brega and Ajdabiya have reportedly been bombed by Gaddafi’s forces as troops loyal to the Libyan leader continue their bid to reclaim towns and cities controlled by anti-Gaddafi demonstrators. Reuters reported that the airport in Brega was targeted, while strikes in Ajdabiya were aimed at forces massed at the city’s western gate. • Khaled Att-ardi, a man from Manchester who was born in Tripoli, has reportedly been killed in Libya (see 4.24pm). A British citizen who had lived in Manchester for 13 years, Mr Att-ardi had reportedly gone to Libya to bring back his daughter. • In Egypt, prime minister Ahmed Shafiq has resigned on the eve of a protest rally, and has been replaced by former transport minister Essam Sharaf, who is seen as closer to the protesters. For all today’s events as they happened, click here.

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March 3 2011, 12:06pm | Comments »

Egypt’s generals unveil reform package

The reform package being offered by the Egyptian army in power falls way short of the list of demands put forward in the peoples communique number 1 from the organising committee of protesters from January 25th

This article titled “Egypt’s generals unveil reform package” was written by Jack Shenker in Cairo, for The Guardian on Sunday 27th February 2011 15.56 UTC Egypt’s ruling generals have unveiled a package of far-reaching constitutional reforms, following mounting criticism of the way in which the military is handling the country’s post-Mubarak transition period. A committee of legal experts appointed by the interim government has proposed changes to eight articles of the Egyptian constitution, which will be put to a national referendum next month. The amendments would create new term limits on the presidency, make it easier for Egyptians to run for president, ensure stronger judicial oversight of elections, and restrict the government’s power to maintain emergency laws – all ahead of a general election expected later this year. Committee member Sobhi Saleh, a lawyer who has previously represented the banned Muslim Brotherhood movement in parliament, described the amendments as a historic achievement. “I am very satisfied,” he said. The announcement comes at a critical time for the armed forces, following violent street clashes between soldiers and pro-change demonstrators in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Peaceful protests calling for the resignation of interim prime minister Ahmed Shafiq, who was a cabinet member under Mubarak and is closely associated with the old regime, were met with a brutal response by military police who used tasers and batons to attack those rallying in the capital. Senior generals later offered a semi-apology for the assault, insisting the aggression was “unintentional”, but that has done little to reassure protesters, some of whom are now comparing the military to Mubarak’s much-hated central security forces. “The army and the police are one,” claimed one activist, deliberately inverting a popular protest chant during the anti-Mubarak uprising that declared “the army and the people are one.” The military remains a popular institution in Egypt for its role in defending the nation during wars in 1956 and 1973, and bound emotionally to many families through a policy of national conscription. Yet with an emerging body of evidence suggesting that the army has been complicit in torture and other human rights abuses during the past month’s unrest, plus the supreme military council’s growing intolerance of strikes and apparent unwillingness to confront lasting remnants of the Mubarak regime, many of those who initially welcomed the generals’ takeover following Mubarak’s downfall are now having second thoughts. “I’m not sure how long the general Egyptian public can maintain the bizarre idea that the army is so great,” said Issandr El Amrani, a political analyst and blogger based in Egypt. “This is the army that took power in a coup in 1952 and ended political pluralism, lost tonnes of wars after that and continued to justify its predation on the national budget despite not having had to fight anyone since 1973.” The process of amending the constitution has been criticised by many of the pro-change protesters who helped end Mubarak’s three-decade rule and who wish to see a new constitution written from scratch. Such a move has been resisted so far by the armed forces, but in an attempt to appease its critics the supreme military council has said that parliament will be formally mandated to draft a completely new constitution following the next election. “What is needed now is to scrap the existing constitution and not to amend it,” said Bahieddin Hassan, director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, who has warned that Egypt is in danger of falling prey to “neo-Mubarakism”. “No amendments, however extensive, would be enough to salvage it because the philosophy and spirit of the constitution are diametrically opposed to democratic values and human rights. The present constitution can only encourage despotism.” El Amrani agrees: “Although the amendments may signal some great improvements … it will also deliver the interim military government a clear public mandate. You can expect millions of Egyptians voting overwhelmingly in favour of the amended constitution, delivering a clear sign of public support for the transition model chosen by the military. It will be difficult for opposition groups to then challenge the army, which can point to this popular mandate as the source of its legitimacy.”

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February 27 2011, 12:00pm | Comments »

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