On Wednesday, the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem announced travel restrictions on the U.S. Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, and on the French Ambassador to Syria, Eric Chevallier. The two are now restricted from travelling outside of Damascus without permission. Moallem said he would impose a blanket ban on all ambassadors if Ford and Chevallier disregard this ban. A U.S. State Department spokesperson condemned the restrictions and insisted that these diplomats be ...

On Monday Partners for Democratic Change hosted the Society for International Development, Washington’s Middle East Workgroup for a monthly brown bag lunch entitled “An Update from Bahrain with Bahraini Human Rights Activist, Maryam al-Khawaja.” Monalisa Salib, Senior Manager, Partners for Democratic Change opened the event. Cole Bockenfeld, Advocacy Director for the Project on Middle East Democracy provided background information on events in Bahrain and introduced Maryam al-Khawaja. Notes on the event ...

Human Rights Watch released a report detailing attacks by Bahraini security forces on doctors, nurses, clinics, hospitals, and other medical personnel. The report's summary noted the attacks included, "denial of medical access to protesters injured by security forces; the siege of hospitals and health centers; and the detention, ill-treatment, torture, and prosecution of medics and patients with protest-related injuries." 48 medical personnel remain on trial for protest related crimes.

Dina Guirguis from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy analyzed the growing frustration within Egypt regarding the pace of constitutional change. Guirguia presented an argument of conflict and uncertainty within the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), especially concerning the extent to which SCAF would suppress popular protest. She noted the disagreements between SCAF and the Islamists, especially the Freedom and Justice and Party of the Muslim Brotherhood. ...

On Thursday, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems hosted a panel discussion on the “Road to Reform in the Middle East and North Africa.” Panelists included Ambar Zobairi, Deputy Director, Middle East and North Africa, IFES; Elmar Brok, German Member of the European Parliament; and Michele Dunne, Director of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, Atlantic Council. The panel was moderated by Bill Sweeney, President and CEO, IFES. For ...

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a hearing on human rights in Syria. The witnesses were Michael Posner, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; Andrew Tabler, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy; Radwan Ziadeh, the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy; Mona Yacoubian, the U.S. Institute for Peace Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention; and ...

On Wednesday, Robin Wright, Distinguished Scholar for the United States Institute of Peace and the Wilson Center, discussed her new book Rock the Casbah, which focuses on a new phase of Islamic activism termed “counter-jihad” by Wright. The discussion was moderated by Hala Esfandiari, Director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center. Video footage of the event can be found online. For full notes, continue reading. Or click here ...

Yesterday, the IFES released a report detailing Tunisia's new election process which started July 11. Elections will take place on October 23, 2011 for in-country voters holding a valid state-issued ID and will begin October 20 for out-of-country voters holding a valid passport. Currently, the transitional government in Tunisia is comprised of interim president Fouad Mebazaa, prime minister Beji Caid el Sebsi as well as a cabinet. The October 23rd elections ...

Michael Posner, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, testified at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday about the current situation in Syria and the U.S. response. Posner discussed the visit to Hama by Ambassador Robert Ford, noting that Ambassador Ford's presence signaled to Syrians, and to the world, that the U.S. stood in solidarity with ...

Robert Satloff, executive director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, analyzed the confirmation today by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the U.S. was having "limited contact" with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Satloff commented that this is not new news, because U.S. officials have engaged with this group in the recent past, although on different terms. However, the trust of his comments were about what he felt was a ...

The U.S. State Department has announced more details about Tunisia's selection as one of the inaugural winners for the Democracy Partnership Challenge. The Partnership's purpose is to help various country's consolidate their democratic institutions. The Tunisian application specifically requested support to "reform public administration, the security sector and the judiciary, support regional development, and promote the role of civil society to succeed in their transition to a democratic state." The ...

Tariq Aldoais, an activist in the Yemeni youth revolution and a doctor, heading the revolution's field hospital at Tahrir Square in Sana'a, wrote in the Guardian newspaper about the demands of the leading revolutionary committee. The demands are: to form an inclusive temporary presidential council of 5 - 7 people with integrity, experience, and competence to limit the transitional period to 9 months, dissolve the current constitution and government structure, guarantee the rights ...