With leaders sworn in and others kicked out, 2013 has certainly been an eventful year in the global political arena
January 2013 
Barack Obama re-elected 
21 January 
<a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/01/21/inaugural-address-president-barack-obama">Inaugural Address</a> by President Barack Obama, United States. The inauguration coincides with <a href="http://mlkday.gov/">Martin Luther King Day</a> in the United States. Obama’s re-election comes during a difficult period. 
Likud’s victory in Israeli elections 
23 January 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud’s Party wins between<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/22/world/meast/israel-elections/"> 31 and 33 Knesset seats</a>. This victory raises questions regarding the prospects of a settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate. 
 February 2013 
Assassination of leftist Tunisian activist Chokri Belaid 
6 February 
The ensuing anger of supporters, friends and relatives from Belaid’s political and ideological family have mounted and escalated into bloody clashes and a political crisis. 
Italian parliamentary elections deadlock 
24-25 February 
The <a href="http://themonkeycage.org/2013/02/28/the-italian-general-election-of-february-2013-deadlock-after-technocracy/">election turnout</a> reaches 75.11 per cent and the votes cast result in a heteroclite outcome: Bersani’s coalition (113 seats), Berlusconi’s 12 party bloc (116 seats), Grillo’s Five Star movement (54 seats) and Monti’s bloc (18 seats). The results of the elections, accompanied with the euro crisis, have made it even more difficult for the Italian political actors to form <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/tag/2013-italian-elections/">coalitions</a>. 
March 2013 
Xi Jinping becomes president of the People’s Republic of China 
14 March 
Presidential elections in Kenya marked by a controversial outcome 
26 March 
Uhuru Kenyatta sworn in as <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/spotlight/kenya2013/">Kenya’s new President</a>. Kenyatta faces several <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/04/201349752557578.html">international charges</a> attended by diplomats, leaders and thousands of Kenyans. 
April 2013 
North Korean crisis 
3 April   
In an <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2013/0403/North-Korea-unexpectedly-closes-entry-to-key-industrial-park-upping-tensions">unexpectedly</a> bold and hostile move, North Korea blocks South Koreans from the joint Kaesong Industrial complex. This was the only remaining <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr/03/north-korea-blocks-souths-factory">bilateral initiative</a>. The border town of Kaesong hosted up to 120 South Korean-run factories. The industrial complex <a href="http://www.nkeconwatch.com/category/economic-reform/special-administrative-regions/kaesong-industrial-park/">reopened</a> in September. 
Nicolás Maduro elected the new president of Venezuela 
14 April 
Late Hugo Chavez, former president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela died on 5 March 2013, after a long battle with cancer, and designated Maduro as his successor. 
May 2013 
Muhammad Nawaz Sharif becomes new prime minister of Pakistan 
12 May 
Sharif <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/nawaz-sharif-formally-elected-prime-minister-of-pakistan/2013/06/05/2d1a1fee-cdd0-11e2-8f6b-67f40e176f03_story.htmlhttp:/www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/nawaz-sharif-formally-elected-prime-minister-of-pakistan/2013/06/05/2d1a1fee-cdd0-11e2-8f6b-67f40e176f03_story.html">pledges</a>, “We have no other option expect for democracy”. Many promises are made, particularly regarding the chronic energy shortages in the country. Warnings are addressed to the American administration concerning the drone strikes in Pakistan which are continuing to harm civilians. 
Mass protests erupt in Turkey 
29 May 
The <a href="http://occupygezipics.tumblr.com/">Occupy Gezi</a> Protests contested the urban development plan for Istanbul&#8217;s Taksim Gezi Park. 
June 2013 
The US National Security Agency (NSA) secret surveillance programme unveiled to the public by the Guardian 
6 June 
On 9 June, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/the-nsa-files">Edward Snowden</a> steps out as the major leaks source. Snowden is still being pursued by the United States. He is presently in Russia under asylum. The major leaks have sparked a wide-ranging and controversial debate regarding the right to privacy of common citizens. 
Dr Hassan Rouhani elected as the new president of the Islamic Republic of Iran 
14 June 
Elections in Iran witness the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/iranian-presidential-election-2013">victory</a> of Dr Hassan Rouhani, who <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/17/iran-hassan-rouhani-path-moderation">pledges a path of moderation</a>. Rouhani represents <a href="http://www.the-platform.org.uk/2013/12/25/the-new-iranian-presence-a-real-transition/">a new hope</a> for change in both domestic and foreign policy affairs. His seemingly proactive and determined posture calling for dialogue and peace are laudable. 
July 2013 
Egypt’s Military Coup 
3 July 
The first democratically-elected Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, is <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23159066">overthrown</a>; mass <a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/specialcoverage/egyptians-overthrow-morsi/">protests</a> and bloodshed follow. A state of emergency is declared. Supreme Court Chief Justice Adly Mansour is chosen by General Sisi to step in as <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/foreign-affairs-defense/egypt-in-crisis/timeline-whats-happened-since-egypts-revolution/">Egypt’s interim president</a>. Some factions still refuse to call what happened in Egypt a ‘coup’. 
Malala Yousafzai speaks at the United Nations 
12 July 
Malala Yousafzai has become an emblem of resistance across the world. She embodies hope not only for Pakistani girls, but more broadly for girls and women worldwide. 
August 2013 
The Ghouta Chemical Attack, Syria 
21 August 
Chemical weapons are used against civilians, including children, on a relatively large scale in the Ghouta area near Damascus. The Syrian regime denies use of such chemicals while <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/12/world/meast/syria-civil-war/">an 82-page report</a> by a UN-expert team later in December confirmed the initial September report. 
Robert Mugabe wins presidential elections in Zimbabwe 
3 August 
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/03/zimbabwe-election-mugabe-wins_n_3700922.html">Eighty-nine-year-old</a> Robert Mugabe is the oldest standing president in Zimbabwe with a 33-year rule. His victory has been contested but the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe arbitrates by <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/10254858/Zimbabwe-court-rules-Robert-Mugabe-won-free-and-fair-election.html">announcing</a> that “Mugabe won free and fair elections”. 
September 2013 
Landslide victory for Angela Merkel 
22 September 
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/22/world/europe/germany-elections/">conservative </a>coalition <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24197994">wins</a> Germany’s Federal <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/topic/germany_votes_2013/">election</a>. The Social Democrats (SPD) win 26 per cent of the vote while the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) win only 4.8 per cent, significantly less than the Green Party (8.4 per cent) and the communist Left party (8.6 per cent). Prospects of <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/22/us-germany-election-idUSBRE98K06220130922">tough coalition</a> scenarios ensue. 
Binding resolution on Syria adopted 
27 September 
The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopts <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24308763">a binding resolution</a> on Syria’s chemical weapons. US Secretary of State, John Kerry, declares that the UN showed that “diplomacy can be so powerful that it can peacefully defuse the worst weapons of war”. 
October 2013 
United States federal government shutdown 
1-16 October 
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24343698">Deadlock</a> and failure to reach an agreement between the two houses of Congress on a bill lead to significant losses for the economy, and federal employees and agencies. 
US Budget Deal 
17 October 
President Barack Obama <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/10/16/government-shutdown-debt-limit-congress-deal/2993181/">signed</a> into law a controversial bipartisan deal approved by Congress to reopen the government and <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/10/us-government-partial-shutdown-ends-201310162387774904.html">end</a> the 16-day impasse triggering a government <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-government-shutdown-cost-2-billion-in-lost-productivity-omb-report-says/2013/11/07/e883c3ec-47f2-11e3-bf0c-cebf37c6f484_story.html">shutdown</a>. 
November 2013 
Political Crisis in Ukraine over admission into the EU 
21 November 
Trigger of the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25304797">biggest political crisis</a> since the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine. The opposition camps in Kiev’s Independence Square are protesting for greater <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-protests-what-you-need-to-know-2013-12">cooperation</a> with the EU. 
Anti-government rallies in Bangkok with 100,000 protesters 
24 November 
A <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/thailand-political-crisis-timeline">Thai Color War</a> ensues between the <a href="http://links.org.au/node/3604">Yellow Shirts</a> and the Red Shirt Movement. The political crisis has been <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/12/protesting-against-thailand-big-brother-20131227421913272.html">pushed to the streets</a> by the now-stalled amnesty bill that would have allowed Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck’s brother, to return to the country from exile. 
December 2013 
A legend departs 
5 December 
Nelson Mandela <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/05/world/africa/nelson-mandela-obit-coverage.html?_r=1&amp;">dies at 95</a>. Three cornerstones of Mandela’s immortal legacy include: an incredible strength; his eternal dedication to learning as a driver of progress both at the individual and societal level; and his ability to move beyond enmity to partnership. 
Execution of Kim Jong Un’s Uncle, Pyongyang, North Korea 
12 December 
Reasons put forward for <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/12/12/250556545/kim-jong-uns-uncle-formerly-north-koreas-no-2-is-executed">the execution</a> by the official media <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-kim-appears-20131216,0,3079144.story#ixzz2oqMykM00">include</a>: “anti-state, counterrevolutionary actions, and other crimes including womanising, drug abuse and gambling”. Jang Song Taek was a No. 2 official in North Korea. The leadership of Kim Jong Un in light of this event is found to be increasingly <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/13/execution-kim-jong-un-uncle-instability-north-korea">unstable</a>.
<pre>Image from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/in-pictures-thai-antigovernment-protesters-continue-to-occupy-government-ministries-8969869.html?action=gallery&amp;ino=1</pre>

Global Political Events of 2013

Iran&#8217;s new administration heralds a change; one that has the fragile potential for lasting peace and prosperity 
&nbsp; 
The new political leadership in Iran seems determined to demonstrate a real transition from the former regime, or at least it appears to be willing to do so. The hardline aggressive tone of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been replaced by a softer and more pragmatic one, as embodied in Dr Hassan Rouhani’s speech. Rouhani has <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2343255/Irans-moderate-new-leader-Hasan-Rowhani-vows-make-nuclear-process-transparent--says-wont-enrichment.html">stressed</a> that his presidency will pave the way for a new era and that he would follow “the path of moderation and justice, not extremism”. The extent to which electoral and post-electoral promises will be kept remains to be seen, although the first signs are seemingly positive indicators of change. 
Rouhani seems to be <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/july-dec13/iran_08-05.html">trusted</a> by the people of Iran, who place high hopes on his term. The Iranians are certainly tired of the economic sanctions, which have harshly impoverished the population. As Rouhani emphasized during his first UN appearance, unjust sanctions imposed on Iran actually harm the common people who do not have the means to cope with them. By pursuing the sanctions on Iran it is the latter who are targeted and not the political elites and/or the State. 
We must recall that Rouhani has <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Iranian-Threat/News/As-sanctions-bite-Irans-Rouhani-presents-austerity-budget-to-parliament-334311">inherited</a> a complex situation both domestically and internationally. While the priority is to be placed on helping Iranians deal with economic hardships, the domestic challenges cannot be resolved without engaging with the international scene as well. Therefore, the difficulty is twofold for the new leadership. No matter how well-intentioned the Rouhani’s administration might be, in reality, the tasks it faces are huge, from trust building and preserving its legitimacy to triumphing over the economic crisis. The <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25075776">Geneva Deal</a> will be one of the key tests for assessing whether the new Iranian leadership represents a new presence on the international arena and a real transition for the Islamic Republic of Iran. 
The new president, in his first UN appearance, has pointed out two main remarks regarding the nuclear program; first, the imperative that it be used exclusively for peaceful ends, and second, the need to go ahead with uranium enrichment as a necessary condition for achieving the first end. Amid the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25326782">skepticism</a>  of the American Congress, US Secretary of State John Kerry pushed for the conclusion of a new deal with Iran regarding the development of the nuclear programme. He referred to this period of trust building between the P5+1 group of nations and Iran as a very sensitive diplomatic period, which could turn out to be a <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/12/kerry-raises-doubts-over-iran-nuclear-deal-2013121019320922265.html">historic</a> transition point for the Middle East. Indeed, diplomatic skills and trust will be major assets to be showcased. The Geneva Deal might be the most significant brokering deal reached over a decade with Iran.   Its potential for success depends on the sincerity of all the stakeholders. Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammed Javad Zarif has <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/kerry-in-geneva-raising-hopes-for-historic-nuclear-deal-with-iran/2013/11/23/53e7bfe6-5430-11e3-9fe0-fd2ca728e67c_story.html">stated</a> recently that the Geneva Deal is a “process of attempting to restore confidence.&#8221; 
Iran’s new tone is pushing for constructive and substantive <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23591371">negotiation</a>, it does not seem that the ‘new’ Iran is looking for conflict or violence. Rouhani reiterated, on many occasions, the need to shift away for the policy of ultimatums and deterrence towards one of dialogue and bridge-building. It looks as though Iran will be given a <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/25/world/meast/iran-nuclear-deal/">last chance</a> to prove its good intentions. The first consequence to be expected is the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/10/us-iran-nuclear-talks-idUSBRE9B912020131210">gradual relief</a> from the international sanctions. However, these sanctions are still viewed by Iran as impediments, which could <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/12/13/uk-iran-nuclear-sanctions-idUKBRE9BC0D420131213">terminate the agreement</a>. Thus, Iran is prompted to warranty its good will despite the pressures. Alternatively, if the country loses what is perhaps a very last chance it is being granted, I am afraid it will become increasingly difficult to end the tension or guarantee peace and well-being for its population in the midst of an already unstable region. The Geneva Deal is not just a deal between Iran and the P5+1, it is a deal with a regional outreach. Its consolidation in the coming months offers joyous and peaceful prospects for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as a whole as this interim accord does hold the keys to <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21590911-not-only-was-deal-iran-best-offer-it-can-transform-worlds-most-troubled">unlock</a> several regional stalemates, including the Syrian crisis and the wars through proxies. 
Finally, it is to be emphasized that the level of trust is already extremely low and that any faulty step may lead to another looping round of sanctions. Iran has everything to gain if it fills its part of the contract and everything to lose if it defaults on any of the clauses of this interim six-month test deal. If Hassan Rouhani and his colleagues decide to make the ‘right’ decisions and place its people at the centre, it must take this historic moment very seriously and prove right the ones who still may want to take its words at face value. If the Geneva deal is just one <a href="http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/24/what-critics-are-getting-wrong-about-the-iran-deal/">step</a> and not necessarily a land sliding transition, it remains a beacon of hope, for the peace and prosperity much deserved by the Land of Persia.
<pre>Image from: <a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/07/does-irans-green-movement-need-us-aid/">http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/07/does-irans-green-movement-need-us-aid/</a></pre>

The New Iranian Presence: A Real Transition?

It is becoming clear that a military coup should not have been the last resort, as events unfold and taint Egypt’s hopes for democracy 
&nbsp; 
I would like to start with a few thoughts on Patrick Galey’s <a href="http://patrickgaley.com/2013/07/01/the-day-the-revolution-died/">article</a> on the situation in Egypt. It seems from the outset that the author was cautious of yet another post-military coup environment. Galey’s remarks regarding what democracy is supposed to mean are not to be ignored. The Morsi government was, incontestably, a democratic outcome, and the pro-Morsi demonstrations were and still are too significant to be ignored. Pro-Morsi rallies of over 2,000 people have even taken place in <a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/egypt-21121">Turkey</a> on the night of July 5. Although, Galey’s article, as an Egyptian friend assessed, “brushes over the Brotherhood&#8217;s own deceitful record”, there are questions which remain unanswered, among which, a few that come to mind are: Will the alternative(s) to the Morsi regime do better amid the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/16/egypt-worst-economic-crisis-1930s">systemic</a> obstacles, while the bitterness of the secular-religious divides will remain  &#8211; if not increase &#8211; in the post-military coup environment? We must take the time to reflect on the consequences of coup, as there are concrete political and economic dark sides which will follow the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23192620">celebrations and protests</a>. Is Egypt ready to host another round of <a href="http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/36418.aspx">costly</a> elections? And with Ramadan approaching, should we expect another <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/business/international/egypt-faces-struggle-to-maintain-bread-plan-1.1542157">bread crisis</a> in Egypt? 
So is democracy agonising or resuscitating in the land of the Pharaohs? Supporters of the Tamarod Movement list different reproaches to Morsi among the following: he involved mostly members of the Brotherhood thus <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/when-is-a-military-coup-not-a-military-coup-when-it-happens-in-egypt-apparently-8688000.html">minorities</a> felt excluded; he did not keep his <a href="http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/07/morsi-brotherhood-lost-egypt-bsabry.html">promises</a>, which is again not a surprise in the midst of the present conditions pertaining to the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/07/03/the-economic-roots-of-egypts-crisis/">context</a>; and finally, his government was <a href="http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/08/egypts-corruption-woes/">corrupt</a>. It seems that what is at stake is not necessarily apprehension of the Islamists. In the same line of thought, Fisk <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/demands-of-2011-revolution-were-not-met-but-the-army-does-not-hold-the-answers-8682480.html">explains</a>: “The argument was not mosque vs. state so much as Islamism vs. reality.” 
Those who supported the army-led transition claim that they have learnt from their past mistakes and that they have once and for all rejected the ‘me or chaos’ type of reasoning, therefore it seems that they would be ready to take the uneasy road of high uncertainties, even if it leads to perpetual periods of transitions-to-be in hopes of eventually establishing a true democracy and <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/01/egypt-thought-democracy-enough-morsi">radical change</a>. 
Breaking from the past in Egypt and signifying a real rupture is also about breaking with a past of military coups. The question really becomes, was the military coup the last resort? In other words, the succession of military coups is setting a <a href="http://world.time.com/2013/07/04/an-elected-president-has-been-deposed-egypts-party-looks-premature/">dangerous</a> historical precedent.  Recent events have shown that the military is above all the other institutions. The ‘revolutionaries’ seem at this stage to agree to let the army arbitrate supremely. But what if the president and his government were supported by the army as was the case with the Mubarak regime? For <a href="http://www.courrierinternational.com/article/2013/07/04/mahmoud-badr-le-nouveau-visage-de-l-opposition">Shadi Hamid</a>, the director of research at the Brooklyn Doha Center, there were no legal or constitutional ways of chasing Morsi from power as he did not agree to step down. As noted by <a href="http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/video/2013/07/04/mohamed-morsi-evince-et-maintenant_3442540_3212.html">Christophe Ayad</a>, adjunct director of the international service of Le Monde in Egypt, the only institution which is still standing, united and operational seems to be the army. As the Brotherhood was unable to construct a strong government apparatus, the judiciary is discredited, and the police are completely absent. 
The army announced that the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court is to be sworn as an interim president on 5 July. We might be tempted to ask what makes this choice democratic. Or rather, should we ask what makes this choice binding other than the fact that it is the army’s ‘decree’? Sixty-seven-year-old alumnus of the prestigious French Ecole Nationale d’Administration, <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/07/20137322150549685.html">Adli Mansour</a>, served as a judge under Mubarak and was nominated by Morsi himself to the top judicial post of the country. As Morsi has been literally ousted and the constitution is suspended now, how is this choice democratic? In Marwan Bishara’s words on the <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/07/20137515562854215.html">army</a>: “By definition and by its own organisational structure, a military is anything but democratic.” 
Those who celebrated the fall of the Morsi government did not seem to give a <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/07/20137515562854215.html">thought</a> to some of the <a href="http://instagram.com/p/bZtIW2TBDj/">chaotic</a> consequences &#8211; both immediate and long term &#8211; of such an event. On Friday 5 July, the anger and retaliation of <a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/egypt-21121">tens of thousands</a> of Muslim Brotherhood members culminated in massive mobilisations in Cairo and other places in Egypt to condemn what was perceived to be a multi-level injustice: a stolen revolution, a backlash &#8211; if not a democratic regression &#8211; notwithstanding the mass arrests of Muslim Brotherhood members and officials, including former President Morsi, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/04/egypt-military-arrest-warrants-muslim-brotherhood">Mohamed Badie</a> and the deputy head of the Brotherhood in Egypt, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/egypt-coup-muslim-brotherhood-calls-for-protests-as-military-arrests-leader-mohammed-badie-8687274.html">Khairat el-Shater</a>.  The death toll from ongoing violence has reached <a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/egypt-21121">30</a> people on the morning of Saturday 6 July (including police officers and soldiers) and around 246 injuries in accordance with health ministry sources. While the security forces were absent in the beginning of the 5 July demonstrations, they ended up by <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/07/201375183931989733.html">intervening</a> after the escalation of the clash. Ironically, Colonel Ahmed Ali declared concern regarding the army’s intervention, stating “We are not taking sides. Our mission is to secure the lives of protesters.” 
Now let us turn briefly to the mitigated reactions to the current upheaval in Egypt on the international scene. The African Union (AU) has been the first to take a <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/07/20137518523285137.html">decisive</a> action following Morsi’s overthrow by suspending Egypt’s membership to the organisation, while <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/07/20137518523285137.html">other nations</a> “have expressed their concern and hope for a rapid return to democracy.” Parting from Kerry’s or Obama’s <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/when-is-a-military-coup-not-a-military-coup-when-it-happens-in-egypt-apparently-8688000.html">stand</a>, US Republican Senator McCain has <a href="http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/07/06/19316011-mccain-urges-us-to-end-military-aid-to-egypt-as-30-die-in-clashes?lite">called</a> for suspension of the aid to the Egyptian army and not to repeat the past mistakes of supporting the removal of freely-elected governments, most probably referencing Iran and Afghanistan. 
The Freedom and Justice Party released <a href="http://www.dw.de/egypt-muslim-brotherhood-deputy-leader-el-shater-arrested/a-16932708">a statement</a> on 5 July claiming that demonstrations across Egypt will continue until Morsi is back in office. The statement also urged the Brotherhood’s members to hold peaceful protests. 
Events might escalate and uncertainty is mounting in the midst of an institutional anarchy and a political vacuum. Even if the anger is contained, the bitterness won’t vanish until trust is rebuilt, democracy restored, and unity re-established, thus the necessity of a legitimate institutional apparatus able to reconcile the emblematic divisions of a society on the verge of civil war.  The latest and most worrisome development as I write are <a href="http://gulfnews.com/news/region/egypt/new-islamic-group-ansar-al-sharia-threatens-violence-in-egypt-1.1205923">threats</a> of violence by Ansar Al Sharia. This is a sad reminder that violence perpetrates violence.
<pre>Image from: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/07/201374131418638208.html</pre>

Agony or Revival of Democracy in the Land of the Pharaohs?

FEMEN has been making headlines with its provocative protests, yet support for them is not unanimous 
&nbsp; 
On 29 May I watched <a href="http://hespress.com/videos/80358.html">a video</a> of a FEMEN protest in front of the ministry of justice in Tunis. The protest was staged to support Amina Sboui alias Tyler, the first Tunisian FEMEN. The protest took place one day before Amina’s trial. The three protesters were European citizens: two French women and a German who came to Tunisia to support Amina’s case. They have been arrested and were <a href="http://www.liberation.fr/monde/2013/05/29/trois-femen-interpellees-a-tunis-apres-une-action-de-soutien-a-amina_906580">charged</a> for public breach of decency which in Tunisia is liable to a term of up to six months in prison. They have been <a href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/tunisia-imprisoned-femen-activists-should-be-released-2013-06-13">sentenced</a> to four months in prison for “public indecency, undermining public morals, and making noise disturbing peace”; however an <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/18/femen-activists-in-tunisia-set-for-appeals-hearing-on-friday/">appeal</a> hearing is scheduled to take place on 21 June 2013. 
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=sB629zvO_6s">Amina Tyler</a>, a 19-year-old Tunisian girl posted last March topless photos of herself online with “my body is my own” scrawled on her body. She explains that the triggering event for her act was the assassination of the Tunisian leftist activist Chokri Belaïd, considered a<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/08/tunisia-general-strike-belaid-buried"> political murder</a> by some. She reappeared in May painting “FEMEN” on a wall near Kairouan’s main mosque, on the same day that the Salafist group, Ansar al-Sharia, was going to hold an annual meeting.  She was afterwards immediately <a href="http://www.lepoint.fr/monde/les-femen-bousculent-la-societe-tunisienne-29-05-2013-1674359_24.php">arrested.</a> She was charged with carrying an <a href="http://www.france24.com/en/20130530-trial-femen-activist-tunisia-amina-tyler">incendiary object</a> (a canister pepper spray). Sboui is still in <a href="http://www.tunisia-live.net/2013/06/18/appeal-of-femen-activists-jail-sentences-to-be-heard-friday/">custody</a> waiting for the judge to take a decision regarding her charges. 
Every time I hear about the FEMEN in the Arab World or elsewhere, I cannot help but be curious about their ideology and reasoning. The question for me is not so much to judge whether the FEMEN are right or wrong, good or bad from a moral standpoint, but rather to raise a debate as to the agency and weight of their actions and most importantly to keep the debate open and critical. There is not much reliable <a href="http://femen.info/books/femen-book-2013/">literature</a> on the FEMEN movement. It is defined in its official website as follows: “<a href="http://femen.org/en/about">FEMEN</a> – is sextremism serving to protect women&#8217;s rights, democracy watchdogs attacking patriarchy, in all its forms: the dictatorship, the church, the sex industry.” 
The <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-new-suffragettes-witness-the-barechested-defiance-of-femen-8634988.html">FEMEN</a> was born in Ukraine in 2008 to protest against prostitution and sex tourism: “with the slogan ‘Ukraine is not a brothel’ the women dressed as brides and ripped their clothes off, to protest against a New Zealand radio show that offered the winner the chance to come to Ukraine and pick a wife. The man never got his wife, and a movement was born.” They chose initially to protest in the way they did to symbolise the situation of Ukrainian women marked by poverty and vulnerability. These women only owned their bodies. They consider their bodies to be their <a href="http://www.ecrans.fr/Entendu-sur-le-web-Au-coin-de-la,16421.html">arms</a>. What is called “topless jihad” by the FEMEN movement is <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/three-topless-femen-activists-arrested-in-tunis-tunisia-a-902667.html">defined</a> as “…self-determination over their bodies that they say is threatened by Islamism.” 
Their means of protest is meant to function as an <a href="http://television.telerama.fr/tele/programmes-tv/nos-seins-nos-armes,48577030.php">electric shock</a> to raise awareness about women’s rights. They want to <a href="http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2013/02/26/01016-20130226ARTFIG00668-femen-des-seins-nus-pour-quel-message.php">redefine</a> nudity, in a sense. They argue they have to stand against patriarchal values and religions, but to what extent do they grasp the difference between religions and the use of religions in going against the universality of women’s rights? While, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20028797">some Western feminists</a> have welcomed the debate FEMEN has begun, as well as the attention they have brought to a cause that for decades has not dominated the news, support for FEMEN even in western capitals is <a href="http://www.marianne.net/l-arene-nue/Pourquoi-les-Femen-francaises-sont-elles-deja-demodees_a106.html">not unanimous</a>. 
As for the FEMEN protest in Tunisia, it has led to <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/29/tunisia-femen-protest-amina-tyler">controversial</a> reactions to say the least; while some were trying to <a href="http://rt.com/news/femen-tunisia-topless-protest-971/">cover</a> the three young protesters, others were trying to <a href="http://www.tunisia-live.net/2013/05/29/femen-activists-protest-topless-in-tunis/">stop</a> the journalists from filming. We could not help but feel the coexistent vulnerability and strength of the protesters, how they dared to stand where they stood and carry their message on their bare bodies in front of a mostly <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/04/20134511838270701.html">hostile audience</a>? Press articles speak of an offended and scandalised Tunisian public. The FEMEN in Tunis confirmed what the global FEMEN claim regarding their <a href="http://tabloid.pravda.com.ua/photos/4c9787a7b35d4/">methods</a>: “This is the only way to be heard in this country. If we staged simple protests with banners, then our claims would not have been noticed.” 
We cannot but be concerned about the mounting <a href="http://lci.tf1.fr/monde/afrique/le-site-des-femen-pirate-7909391.html">alienation</a> which will follow; no matter how important FEMEN think their cause is, the way it is portrayed to the public gives rise to severe critics. This includes mounting violence but also lack of understanding &#8211; if not unwillingness &#8211; to try to understand what is really going on from the FEMEN standpoint. Amina Tyler unsurprisingly faced death threats coming from the different conservative strands of her society. Predictably the reactions of her own family following the incident were virulently violent to say the least, although she seems now to have the support of her father Mounir Sboui. He <a href="http://www.ouest-france.fr/ofdernmin_-Tunisie.-Manifestation-anti-Femen-avant-le-proces-d-Amina_6346-2197462-fils-tous_filDMA.Htm">declared</a> he is proud of his daughter, although the case is increasingly being politicised. He understands that even though her acts might seem “excessive”, she actually defended her ideas. However, reverse effects could also result from such protests. <a href="http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201303252145-0022635">Anti-FEMEN</a> protests were already witnessed on 30 May at Kairouan only hours before the start of Amina’s trial. Being by definition extremist or partisans of what they call sextremism, we could easily argue that extremism breeds and even feeds extremism, the kind of extremism that the FEMEN are claiming to battle against. 
It seems to me legitimate to raise questions regarding the current context in Tunisia. What would the Tunisian FEMEN and/or their supporters answer to those who believe that there is no need for that type of nudity to protest; aren’t there other ways to join feminist activism, aren’t the FEMEN going <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/05/femen-tunisia-expels-three-ukrainian">too far</a> perhaps? Don’t they fear falling into cheap, or even worse, free <a href="http://www.albawaba.com/news/femen-salafis-behind-tunisias-chaos-500370">sensationalism</a>? To what extent is an 18-year-old able to weigh in a sound manner her decision to join the FEMEN? What do the FEMEN reply to those who discuss the fact that the FEMEN activists get paid for their <a href="http://newsper.net/en/article/region/3/theme/6?id=2312560&amp;date=2013-03-19">participation</a> in protests? <a href="http://french.ruvr.ru/2012_09_22/femen/">Allegedly</a>, FEMEN activists are paid around 1000 dollars per month, which represents three times the average salary in Kiev. Many questions arise regarding the sources of funding. 
We cannot ignore the identity, cultural or even religious <a href="http://www.courrierinternational.com/article/2013/05/30/que-veulent-ces-femen-venues-d-europe">barriers</a> proper to the Tunisian context, without contesting anyone’s freedom and <a href="http://blogs.mediapart.fr/blog/salah-horchani/300513/soutenons-la-femen-tunisienne-amina">liberty</a> to dispose of their bodies as they wish. The body, a woman’s body is not neutral; it is definitely not an object in the sense it could be interpreted to be in FEMEN protests. By crossing certain barriers in a radical manner, which definition is adopted of concepts such as respect for a person’s body and his/her dignity? Dignity was at the forefront all throughout the different uprisings in the region. 
The question seems relevant; prior to the first FEMEN protest, a member of the FEMEN movement <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/tunisian-police-stop-femen-activists-disrobing">stated</a> the following, “FEMEN is planning the first topless action in an Arab country as a sign of a big changes… FEMEN is announcing the <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/05/29/tunisian_police_stop_femen_activists_disrobing/">women’s spring</a> that (is) starting in Tunisia.” What is sensitive is not so much being open about so-called taboos in society. Rather, I believe, what is at stake is the necessity to think about the kind of image, consistency, and content the FEMEN want to give to feminism, to this <a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/commentary-femen-feminism/24783178.html">new wave of feminism,</a> and more particularly to Arab feminism in association with the People’s Spring.
<pre>Image from: <a href="http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/the-muslim-women-who-won-039-t-be-quot-liberated-quot-by-femen/islam-feminism-amina-tyler-topless/c3s11396/">http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/the-muslim-women-who-won-039-t-be-quot-liberated-quot-by-femen/islam-feminism-amina-tyler-topless/c3s11396/</a></pre>

The FEMEN and a Women’s Spring?

The UK Jewish Film Festival is an opportunity to learn from and appreciate the different perspectives of Jewish – and non-Jewish – experience through a diverse line-up of films 
&nbsp; 
Films have a role in teaching us about the world. The best movies are the ones which deliver a message, tell a story and have a purpose; they truly can change and shape our perspectives. As such, film festivals and screenings are great events not to be missed as they present an opportunity to learn and unlearn through a series of images masterfully put together to speak on specific issues. We cannot mention movies without mentioning film festivals. Neither can we talk about film festivals without pointing out the <a href="http://ukjewishfilm.org/festival-2012">UK Jewish Film Festival</a>. 
For those who have never heard about the Jewish Film Festival, a great way to start is to visit their excellent and richly documented <a href="http://ukjewishfilm.org/festival/programme">website</a> where it is possible to find answers to almost all questions one might have. 
The major motive of its founder and executive director, Judith Ironside, <a href="http://ukjewishfilm.org/people/judy-ironside">‘an ideas person’</a>, has been the ambition of promoting tolerance and understanding. The UK Jewish Film Festival, which currently has screenings in Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Leeds and London, is rooted in the tradition which gave birth to the 1997 Brighton Film Festival. Today Jewish Film Festivals are also held in Las Vegas, Zagreb, Amsterdam and San Francisco, and Jewish films are celebrated at a universal level. 
The festival is now celebrating its 16th anniversary and will showcase more than 70 movies from 1 to 18 November 2012. The films are divided into eight categories: Galas (buzzes), Become (identities), Conflict (stories of-), Embrace (on the human condition), Icons (heroes), Reminisce (time travel), Roots (the word says it all), and Schtik (Jewish humour). 
If I had to choose must-see movies, I would identify six films which, in my opinion, have the potential to bring the two sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict together:
<ol>
<li><a href="http://ukjewishfilm.org/films/zaytoun">Zaytoun</a> is a movie where a Palestinian refugee and an Israeli fighter pilot embark on the same journey. Among the many questions we cannot help but ask throughout the movie is: does friendship know borders? How about the definition (and the search) of a home?</li>
<li><a href="http://ukjewishfilm.org/films/bottle-gaza-sea">A Bottle in the Gaza Sea</a> is the story of a correspondence between an Israeli girl and a Palestinian boy. Beginning with a bottle thrown in the sea and carried on through emails, it is a correspondence which changes each one’s view of the other side and feeds the curiosity about the other. It is the desire for peace and the search for a home which shines out in this film and makes me wonder how far reality is from what the movie captures.</li>
<li><a href="http://ukjewishfilm.org/films/sharqiya">Sharqiya</a> tells the story of Kamel Najer, a young Bedouin man who discovers one day that his nomadic camp has to be demolished. His first reaction is to plan the bombing of a bus station to draw light on the problems he faces. He soon decides he has to act to prevent such an attack.  This film is a must-see for the way it deals with concepts such as anger, revenge, violence and land. This is not only a meticulous study but is also an exploration of key concepts of the Israel-Palestine conflict.</li>
<li><a href="http://ukjewishfilm.org/films/other-son">The Other Son</a> narrates the story of a Jewish baby and a Muslim baby switched at birth during the Gulf War. When Yacin and Joseph are 17, the ‘mistake’ is revealed. When the truth is discovered, two universes confront each other. Will tolerance and understanding win over biases and assumptions?</li>
<li><a href="http://ukjewishfilm.org/films/david-0">David</a> tells the story of the son of a religious Muslim Imam mistaken for a Jewish boy. He becomes drawn to act two parts: David with his Jewish friends and Daud with his family. The movie shows subtly why Daud continues playing out a double role in his daily life. It also denounces discrimination and the heavy weight religion has been on Daud’s identity and how acting changes his life, as well as the relationship with his friends.</li>
<li><a href="http://ukjewishfilm.org/films/price-kings-shimon-peres">The Price of Kings: Shimon Perez</a>: A State is not its leader no matter how emblematic he/she might be, and vice versa. However, getting closer to understanding who the ‘real’ Perez is can perhaps tell us something about the State of Israel, its politics, decisions, the Israel-Palestine conflict, plus the man himself and his vision. More importantly how the vision translated (or not) on the ground.</li>
</ol>
Finally, I choose to conclude by quoting Mark Twain: “Truth is stranger than fiction but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.” There is a fine line between truth (non-fiction) and fiction in films. The UK Jewish Film Festival blurs that fine line and promises to at least raise thought-provoking questions, if not construct a new understanding and a better, more informed perspective on many issues, particularly on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the films I have listed. 
&nbsp;
<pre>Image from: <a href="http://ukjewishfilm.org/festival-2012">http://ukjewishfilm.org/festival-2012</a></pre>

UK Jewish Film Festival: Contributing to Building Peace and Understanding

The most high profile assassination in recent years took place in Beirut on Friday and presents alarming consequences for stability in Lebanon 
&nbsp; 
Yes, why Sassine? Why a car bomb in the mostly Christian neighbourhood of Beirut to kill at least eight, wound reportedly more than 80 people, and actually many more in reality? How many pictures did we see of rescuers and civilians carrying children out of the rubble? These pictures cannot but awaken the sad memories of sectarian violence in Lebanon.  I venture to quote Rofiqul Islam in a brilliant<a href="http://www.the-platform.org.uk/2012/10/17/paris-the-city-of-light-with-its-own-dark-secrets/"> article</a> where he uses the term “corrosive divisions” to qualify the controversies darkening the city of light. Indeed, corrosive divisions can be used to describe the sectarian divisions in Lebanon and their enduring weight on the magic of the ‘Country of the Cedars’. 
As reported by the<a href="http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=448287#ixzz29pfD4FMj"> AFP and Now Lebanon</a>, it all started when a car “was blown off dozens of meters from where it was parked on a street off Sassine Square”. No less than 30 kilos of explosives were needed for such an explosion experts asserted.  The car bomb in Ashrafieh (location of the offices of the anti-Damascus Christian Phalange Party) killed Internal Security Forces Information Branch Chief General Wissam al-Hassan. Late Wissam al-Hassan was a major figure of the March 14 Alliance and a prominent defender of Sunni interests in Lebanon. In the past, he used to be the chief of protocol and head of guard of the former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. 
This blast is about Lebanon’s stability &#8211; and the region’s stability, if I may add. However, it is not just about fear of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/19/lebanon-divide-assassination-security-chief">surging instability from Syria</a>, which is already hosting too many unresolved and mounting conflicts. Innocent civilians including children, some of Armenian descent, were wounded or killed; their houses have been shattered. What is the agency of the wounded and killed, and what is at stake for Syria or Hezbollah? Can we expect the friends and families of the killed and wounded to forgive and forget? The events of last week are unearthing past wounds which were not healed in the first place. 
This incident was not the end of the story. The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/19/wissam-al-hassan-dead_n_1988115.html?utm_hp_ref=world">Reuters news agency </a>reports, based on witnesses’ testimonies, that, “Sunni Muslims took to the streets and burned tyres across Lebanon in protest against the killing of senior intelligence official Wissam al-Hassan in a car bomb on Friday”. Fierce anger has been stirred and fed. Beirut is a city, I believe, which has still not healed from the wounds of the civil war. Even at the legal or constitutional level, the Lebanese society still conserves elements of this conflict, which digs further into the corrosive divides I have briefly mentioned above. Corrosive divides lie at the heart of many sectarian problems, which have survived the passage of time in Lebanon and elsewhere. There is no way peace and stability can be recovered without in-depth resolve of these divides. The comeback of violence is no answer to such issues; violence only feeds and perpetrates violence, insecurity and wounds. Pictures, which have reached us from Lebanon, truly depict <a href="http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/10/19/a_Beirut_horror_story">“A Beirut horror Story”</a>, as termed by Foreign Policy. In the words of the former Lebanese Interior Minister Ziad Baroud on the past wounds of Lebanese society: <a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/10/05/the_weathervane?page=full">“We had our share &#8211; for years. And we know what civil war is about”</a>. The Telegraph’s correspondent Ruth Sherlock reported, “Lebanon has already seen so many decades of warfare and people fear that this may be the start of another war. A lot of people are frightened that this is a warning that there will be more to come”. 
Finally, Mr Rafik Khoury, editor of the independent Al-Anwar Daily <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=163290856">wrote</a>, “The side that carried out the assassination knows the reactions and dangerous repercussions and is betting that it will happen. Strife is wanted in Lebanon”. Taking all due distance from any conspirational approach or logic, can we say that no strife can be sustained in Lebanon if Lebanon does not want to let it be and propagate? Or is the proximity to Syria, the location being a “hot” region, the past wounds and “corrosive divides” going to win over the attachment to peace and stability, the ideals of unity in diversity, and the glorious pasts and histories of many of the societies of the region? 
Personal paybacks should not be allowed to win because we fear another war. Yes &#8211; we fear another war &#8211; another one which could have been avoided. Floods of tears and blood, which can be avoided. Today civilians, innocent children, women, men and elderly pay the highest price – the suffering. Wars today should be too expensive to even consider. As the Lebanese government proclaims a national day of mourning for the victims, I express my most sincere condolences and compassion to the families and friends of the victims for their irrecoverable losses, grief and distress. 
Article updated 26/10/2012, at 11.45
<pre>Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/lebanon/9623169/Lebanons-political-leaders-struggle-to-control-political-crisis-after-deadly-car-bomb.html</pre>

Mounia Slighoua