Voices Of The Middle East And North Africa

VOMENA Nov 17 2021- Megan Mylan's SIMPLE AS WATER doc and Laila Lalami's Conditional Citizens by VOMENA Team at KPFA

vomena nov 15, 2021- the protests against the coup in Sudan- part 2 by VOMENA Team at KPFA

Last month, a military coup took place in the Sudan, barely two years after a popular uprising forced the removal of dictator, Omar al-Bashir, who had ruled the country for 30 years with an iron grip with the support of the military and Sudanese Islamists. The 2019 protest movement was not able to exclude the military from national politics entirely. In August of that year, a power sharing arrangement was reached among the military leaders, a coalition of groups and organizations called the Forces for Freedom and Change and a joint ruling body, named the sovereign Council, which was established to govern the Sudan for a little over three years until elections could be held. Following last month’s overthrow, coup leader, Gen Burhan, declared the dissolution of the Sovereign Council as well as that of the transitional government of Prime Minister Hamdok. Meanwhile, across the Sudan, millions of people have engaged in protests, acts of civil disobedience and strikes to denounce the military’s power grab

For most of a century, the region including north Africa and large swaths of west Africa all came under one and the same flag: the red white and blue of the French colonial empire. Following the loss of Louisiana in the early nineteenth century, which at the time encompassed about one third of what we know today as the United States of America, and partly to compensate for that tremendous loss, France began colonizing large swaths of North and West and central Africa, bringing under its rule close to a third of the continent’s total area. Two hundred years later, and more than half-a-centruy after its former colonies regained their independence, France is struggling to deal with its problematic legacy in that part of the world, finding itself embroiled once again in a bloody conflict six thousand kilometers from home that shows no signs of resolving itself. Operation Barkhane, launched in 2014 by then-president Francois Hollande ostensibly to restore order in Mali and protect France from the consequences of

guest: Nabil Salih, Iraqi journalist and photographer

After more than a year of sustained weekly demonstrations, in March 2020 the covid pandemic came to the rescue of a contested government seen as illegitimate by many in Algeria, forcing the popular Hirak movement to suspend its protests throughout the country in the interest of public health and safety. One year and a half later, the north African country is now beset by multiple deep crises, after a series of devastating fires swept across the country a month ago, exacerbating the political and health crises that preceded them. Khalil Bendib speaks with Algerian activist, Hamza Hamouchene in London about the way these multiple catastrophes are affecting the country and how people are coping. Hamza Hamouchene is a London-based Algerian researcher-activist, commentator and a founding member of Algeria Solidarity Campaign (ASC), and Environmental Justice North Africa (EJNA)

Last month Tunisia’s president Kaies Saeid decided to consolidate power around himself by suspending parliament, firing his prime minister, and assuming leadership of the defense, interior, and justice ministries. The country is now teetering over the edge of a possible return to the one-man rule Tunisians had rejected ten years ago. This week, we’ll get an update on the political crisis in Tunisia from Tunisian scholar and political analyst Mohamed Dhia Hammami- Later in the program, we will speak with Elham Fakhro, a Senior Analyst at the International Crisis Group about the Abraham accord: On August 13th the United States brokered a normalization agreement between Israel and The United Arab Emirates, which was soon followed by Bahrain Sudan and Morocco.​​

The 1988 Executions of Iranian Political Prisoners - Interview with Nasser Mohajer by VOMENA Team at KPFA

Professor Cihan Tugal Examines The Structure Of TheTurkish Regime and its Evolution by VOMENA Team at KPFA

This week, we bring you the second part of our conversation with Iranian scholar and researcher Nasser Mohajer about his new book Voices of a Massacre; Untold Stories of Life and Death in Iran, 1988. Later in the program, we speak with Lara Bitar, the editor in chief of The Public Source, a Beirut-based independent media organization about the economic crisis in Lebanon and the one-year anniversary of the Beirut port explosion that killed more than 200 people. Additional resources: https://thepublicsource.org/disability-justice-beirut-blast https://thepublicsource.org/aug4/ https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/beirut-explosion-what-happened-impact-force-analysis-investigation-engineering-blast-study-1.916971 https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/05/01/lebanon-sinking-into-one-of-the-most-severe-global-crises-episodes https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/08/03/they-killed-us-inside/investigation-august-4-beirut-blast

On August 10th, Hamid Nouri, a former prosecutor in Iran, went on trial in Sweden for his alleged role in the executions of thousands of political prisoners in Iran in 1988. According to the indictment brought by Swedish public prosecutors, Nouri is accused as part of the systematic execution of thousands of political prisoners in the summer of 1988. The historic trial against Nouri will hear testimonies from dozens of witnesses and it will be the first time that one of the worst crimes of the past 40 years in Iran will be examined in a court of law. In July 1988, the Islamic Republic of Iran agreed to bring an end to the brutal eight-year war with Iraq. Over the next two months, under the orders of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, political prisoners around the country were secretly brought before a tribunal panel that would later become known as the Death Commission. They were not told what was happening and did not know that one ‘wrong' answer concerning their faith or political affiliation would send t

Since the 2010/2011 revolution, Tunisia has been seen as the most successful democracy in the Arab world but at the moment it tethering at the edge of what some people call have called a constitutional coup. Here is what happened- On July 25th, after a day of protest over the government’s handling of the covid-19 pandemic and the economy, Tunisian President Kais Saied invoked an emergency act, dismissed the Prime Minister, suspended the Parliament the next day for at least a month, and took charge of the executive powers One of the major contributing factors to this crisis has been the pandemic- According to Reuters. So far, around 940,000 people have been fully vaccinated among a population of 11.6 million. Tunisia has reported around 18,000 deaths and more than half a million infections. At one point last month it had the worst infection rate in Africa. Khalil Bendib spoke with Tunisian researcher Mohamed Hammami about the pandemic and the political and economic crisis in Tunisia.

When the Palestinian Nakba (or the catastrophe of 1948) is discussed it's commonly understood to refer to the destruction of villages and the displacement of about 700 thousand Palestinians. What gets left out is what happened to the people who remained in the borders of what became Israel and the transformations the new state created on the land, natural resources, the public space, and urban development. This week Mira Nabulsi speaks with Palestinian architect and urban planner, Lama Shehadeh about Israel's settler-colonial project and how it manifests in urban planning within the 1948 Territories and how it impacted Palestinian citizens of Israel. Lama Shehadeh is a Palestinian architect and urban planner based in Haifa. Shedadeh’s research focuses on the intersection of architecture and urban planning with spatial justice, environmental and political conflicts, and social formation. she is currently she works on master plans for Palestinian towns and villages within 1948’s borders. Additional Resources

Shadyar Omrani is a journalist, Poet, Novelist, Researcher and Public Lecturer. https://twitter.com/shadyaromrani?lang=en Resources: https://iranhumanrights.org/2021/06/oil-industry-workers-go-on-national-strike-in-iran/ https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iran-oil-strikes-contract-workers-engulf-industry

Since its occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem in 1967, Israel has practiced a policy of Jewish-only settlement expansion over Palestinian land. A land that the International Community designated as the territory of a future Palestinian State. Jewish-only settlements constitute a violation of international law and international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, but they have remained a stable policy of consecutive Israeli right-wing and left-wing governments. Even with the upheaval inside Israeli politics, the Israeli cabinet still had the time to green-light the construction of over 500 new settlement units in the Bethlehem region, in May. And as protest and legal challenges to forced evictions, of Palestinian families, continue in East Jerusalem, we take a look at the the American non-profits supporting Israeli settler expansion in the occupied territories. Mira Nabulsi speaks with journalist Alex Kane. He is a contributing writer for Jewish Currents and +

Khalil Bandib speaks with Samia Errazzouki about the rising tension between Spain and Morrocco after thousands of migrants crossed from Morroco into the North African enclave of Ceuta, considered Spanish territory. It is believed that Moroccan border guards eased the crossing of the migrants in response to Spain's hosting of Brahim Ghali, the leader of the Polisario Front, which campaigns for the independence of Western Sahara. Samia Errazzouki is a PhD candidate examining early modern Northwest African history. Prior to UC Davis, she worked as a journalist based in Morocco reporting for the Associated Press, and later with Reuters. Samia also worked as a research associate in Morocco with the University of Cambridge, researching the dynamics of surveillance and citizen media in light of the "Arab Spring." She is currently a co-editor with Jadaliyya. Her work and commentary appeared in various platforms including the Washington Post, BBC, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, the Carnegie Endowment's Sad

Professor Tugal speaks with Shahram Aghamir about the so-called Turkish liberal Islamic model once hailed by the US as a model to the Muslim World, what's left of that and what are the limitations of this model. Cihan Tuğal is a professor of sociology at UC Berkeley. He studies three interlocking dynamics: 1) capitalism’s generation and destruction of communities, livelihoods, and places; 2) the implosion of representative democracy; 3) the crisis of liberal ethics. His ongoing research focuses on populism, the radical right, and neoliberalism in the United States and the Middle East. Tuğal’s most recent book, Caring for the Poor (2017, Routledge). Additional resources: TURKEY AT THE CROSSROADS? newleftreview.org/issues/ii127/art…t-the-crossroads

Professor Tugal speaks with Shahram Aghamir about the so-called Turkish liberal Islamic model once hailed by the US as a model to the Muslim World, what's left of that and what are the limitations of this model. Cihan Tuğal is a professor of sociology at UC Berkeley. He studies three interlocking dynamics: 1) capitalism’s generation and destruction of communities, livelihoods, and places; 2) the implosion of representative democracy; 3) the crisis of liberal ethics. His ongoing research focuses on populism, the radical right, and neoliberalism in the United States and the Middle East. Tuğal’s most recent book, Caring for the Poor (2017, Routledge). Additional resources: TURKEY AT THE CROSSROADS? https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii127/articles/cihan-tugal-turkey-at-the-crossroads

Beshara Doumani is the inaugural Mahmoud Darwish Professor of Palestinian Studies, the first chair of its kind dedicated to this field of study. He is also the founding director (2012-2018) of Brown's Center for Middle East Studies (CMES), and founder of New Directions for Palestinian Studies, a CMES initiative since 2012. From 2012-2020 he was the Joukowsky Family Distinguished Professor of Modern Middle East History. Doumani's research focuses on groups, places, and time periods marginalized by mainstream scholarship on the early modern and modern Middle East, with a focus on the social, economic, and legal history of Eastern Mediterranean. He also writes on the topics of academic freedom, and the Palestinian condition. His books include Rediscovering Palestine: Merchants and Peasants in Jabal Nablus, 1700-1900, and Family Life in the Ottoman Mediterranean: A Social History. He is currently working on the modern history of the Palestinians through the social life of stone.

On April 3rd, rumors started circulating about the arrest of Jordan’s former crown Prince Hamzah Bin Hussein, and some senior officials. A brief statement by the army denied the arrest but confirmed the prince was asked to stop, what the statement called, activities that were employed to target Jordan's security and stability. In a leaked video, Prince Hamzah said that he was placed under house arrest anddenied involvement with foreign powers and aligned himself with the Jordanian street which is growingly frustrated by what he called the corruption and incompetence of the system. How can we understand this turmoil inside the royal family and is there truly a rift at the highest ranks of the jordanian regime? How do these events link to the public discontent around the country's suffering economy? And how will it impact civil liberties and the social and political movements already bearing the brunt of restrictive anti-terrorism and cybersecurity laws. Vomena’s Mira Nabulsi spoke with Dr. Ziad Abu-Ris