[This is a bi-weekly roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Resistance and Subversion in the Arab world and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the DARS Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each bi-weekly roundup to DARS@jadaliyya.com by Sunday night of every second week.]
News & Commentary
Five Things To Understand About Turkey’s Protests, by Tom A. Peter
Three weeks after mass anti-government protests began sweeping across Turkey, the nation is tensely calm and an enduring resolution remains elusive. The unrest is unlikely to become a “Turkish Spring,” but it is testing democracy in Turkey.
Turkey’s “Standing Man” Protest By Erdem Gunduz Spreads Across Country, by Karim Talbi
A man stood still in Istanbul`s Taksim Square: silent, staring straight ahead, he had not moved for hours. He was staring at a portrait of the revered founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk that hangs from the top of the old cultural centre. This man was choreographer Erdem Gunduz: his one-man protest was designed to get around the ban on gatherings in the square.
Turkey Unrest: “Standing Man” Inspires Hundreds With Silent Vigil in Taksim Square, by Majid Mohamed
Hundreds of protesters stood still for hours on squares on main streets in several cities, mimicking a lone protester who started the trend on Istanbul`s Taksim Square on Monday and has been dubbed the "Standing Man." Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc has approved this form of peaceful resistance which has spread through Turkey after almost three weeks of protests.
Gezi Park Protesters “Will Find Other Ways” to Voice Discontent Against Ankara, by Ceren Kumova
The stormy anti-government demonstrations that rocked Turkey for nearly three weeks appear to have subsided, but the fault lines have been drawn and protesters will find other ways to voice their discontent, observers say.
Egypt’s Army to Step In If Anti-Morsi Rallies Become Violent, by Patrick Kingsley
Egypt’s army has cautioned that it will intervene next weekend if mass rallies against the president descend into violence, in one of its strongest warnings since it handed over to civilian government a year ago. Morsi’s opponents plan to organise massive protests on 30 June, the first anniversary of his election – a day that is the subject of frenzied speculation on both the Egyptian streets and in its media. Many claim they will not leave the streets until the fall of Morsi`s regime.
Lebanese Protesters Denounce Electoral Delay, Beaten by Security Forces, by Chloé Benoist
Hundreds of protesters staged a sit-in in Beirut Thursday and Friday to denounce the postponement of Lebanon’s parliamentary elections, and vowed to carry on their demonstration after clashes erupted with security forces.
120 Prisoners on Hunger Strike in Saudi Arabia, by Alalam
More than 120 Saudi prisoners are on hunger strike to express their anger at inhumane prison conditions in the Arab Kingdom. The hunger strikers are also objecting to their detention without charge or trial.
Global Protest Grows As Citizens Lose Faith in Politics and The State, by Peter Beaumont
The myriad protests from Istanbul to São Paulo have one thing in common - growing dissent among the young, educated and better-off protesting against the very system that once enriched them. Unlike the protest movement of 1968 or even the end of Soviet influence in eastern Europe in 1989, these are movements with few discernible leaders and often conflicting ideologies. Their points of reference are not even necessarily ideological but take inspiration from other protests, including those of the Arab spring and the Occupy movement.
Campaigns
“Ya Filastini Tamarrud!” or “Palestinians Rebel!” is a campaign organized to protest the Palestinian Authority, the division between the West Bank and Gaza, and the Israeli occupation.
Art
Cartoonist’s Pen Leaves Mark Across Arab World, by Isma’il Kushkush
There are many players in a protest — the sign makers, the rabble rousers, the logisticians. And then there are the political cartoonists, who sketch the events unfolding on the streets and, if they are like Khalid Albaih, inspire even more tumult.
#OccupyGezi: The Art of the Turkish Protests, by Yaman Kayabali
As the Gezi protests developed, artists, designers and other creative quickly responded to the photographs circulating on social media. Some of these images now enjoy an iconic status since they have been used over and over in different media.
Conferences & Events
Middle East Studies Center Summer Institute: The Arab Uprisings, 12-14 July 2013, Portland State University, USA
Summer School on Democratization and Political Transitions in the Arab World: Actors, Challenges, and Policy Options for the EU, 17-19 July 2013, University of Minho, Portugal
Representation, Politics and Violence, 11-13 September 2013, Brighton, UK
Revolt and Revolution, 4-6 November 2013, Athens, Greece