Voices of the Middle East and North Africa

VOMENA Feb 13, 2020: The role of internal and external actors in Libya's crisis by VOMENA Team at KPFA

The tension between the countries entered a dangerous phase when on January 3rd the US assasinated Maj. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, in a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport- the assassination had been ordered by Donald Trump. The killing of Qasem Soleimani put in mention a series of events that many people feared may lead to another devasta...

On Friday Nov 15, protests broke out in 30 cities across Iran after a surprise announcement by the government it would ration gasoline and raise prices by 50 percent to 300%. The protests swiftly turned into anti-government demonstrations targeting the theocratic regime as a whole. And, as in previous protests, demonstrators utilized twitter and other social media platforms to organize, to communi...

Protesters took to the streets of Baghdad once again on October 25 calling for radical changes to the existing political and economic system Ever since a new waves of protests erupted in Baghdad on October 1 and quickly spread several southern cities, Iraq has been rocked by demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience rooted in long-standing grievances over unemployment, inadequate services, eco...

On October 9, Turkey launched an offensive into northeastern Syria dubbed Operation Spring Peace in which Turkey provided air and artillery support to thousands of Syrian rebels in an assault on an area governed by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). At the onset of the operation, Turkish president Erdogan stated “The main aim of the operation is to take out “PKK/YPG terror organizations from the area...

Vomena Sept 27th, 2019: Presidential elections in Tunisia; Democracy movement in Algeria by VOMENA Team at KPFA

In the past two months, the Turkish Authorities have escalated their crackdown on Syrian refugees living in Istanbul arresting thousands and giving them an ultimatum until August 20th to move to the cities they obtained residency in when they first arrived into Turkey OR face deportations back to Syria. The deadline is now extended to the end of October. But the crackdown left thousands of Syrian...

Last May, Donald Trump unilaterally violated the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the United States and 5 other world powers, and followed this up by reimposing harsh economic, trade and financial sanctions against Iran- Back in July of 2015 Iran, the US, along with Russia, China, and the European Union had agreed to a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA.) Under this agreement, Iran woul...

Last May, Donald Trump unilaterally violated the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the United States and 5 other world powers, and followed this up by reimposing harsh economic, trade and financial sanctions against Iran. Back in July of 2015 Iran, the US, along with Russia, China, and the European Union had agreed to a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA.) Under this agreement, Iran woul...

Almost nine years after its Jasmine revolution, which precipitated a chain reaction of revolts in the Arab world, Tunisia is seen as the only one among the ten countries directly impacted by the Arab Spring to have succeeded in establishing a formal democracy and, as such, has been accepted into the world’s club of democratic countries. It is now poised for its third round of presidential election...

Sixty years ago, Algeria was known as a poster child for anti-colonial revolution and became a magnet for liberation struggles worldwide after reaching independence in 1962. Half-a-century later, the Algerian people are back in the streets, this time for a revolution against autocracy and corruption, national independence having failed to deliver the full emancipation that Algerian citizens feel t...

Yemen’s southern secessionist forces appear to have taken effective control of the port city of Aden, seat of the internationally recognized government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. In this latest conflict, fighters loyal to Southern Transitional Council (STC), which seeks an independent south Yemen, began an offensive against the government forces on August 7. Both sides have been part of...

Since the overthrow of long-time dictator Muammar Al Qadafi in 2011, with the support of NATO, Libya was thrown into chaos with no foreseen end. For the past few years a power struggle has emerged between the internationally recognized government led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj and the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army led by General Khalifa Haftar who receives military support from regio...

In this Interview Khalil Bendib talks with the Israeli scholar Ilan Pappé about his book "On Palestine" which he co-authored with Noam Chomsky. Published in the aftermath of Israel's offensive on Gaza known as "Operation Protective Edge" which left thousands of Palestinians dead and cleared the way for another Israeli land grab. Khalil asks Pappe about where he agrees and disagrees with Chomsky, t...

An exclusive interview with Samer N. Abboud (@samer_abboud ‏), Associate Professor of historical and political studies at Arcadia University about his latest book "Syria: Hot Spots In Global Politics" With more than 500,000 people killed and at least half of the population displaced, Syria’s conflict is considered the most deadly of the twenty-first century. In his new book, Professor Samer Abboud...

In recent months, the Trump administration’s plan to add a citizenship question on the 2020 US census, has garnered significant controversy and media attention. For now the supreme court decide to bloc the question but the decision is not yet final. The census is supposed to count all people living in the United States regardless of citizenship status, and is crucial for determining how federal fu...

This week, we’ll cover the crackdown on Sudanese protesters and the ongoing fight for democracy in Sudan. We speak with McGill University political scientist Khalid Medani Later in the program, we mark the 10th anniversary of Iran’s 2009 mass protests. We speak with Iranian-German documentary filmmaker Ali Samadi Ahadi about his searing film “The Green Movement” which integrates animation and live...

For hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world, Ramadan is a month for fasting, praying and family get-togethers. In the Arab World, Ramadan also happens to be the time when people feast on their favorite TV series and soap opera. This week, we speak with CUNY anthropologist Professor Christa Salamandra about Syrian dramas and how the ongoing war in Syria has impacted the drama scene in the...

This week, we bring you an exclusive interview With Samer N. Abboud (@samer_abboud ‏), associate professor of historical and political studies at Arcadia University about his new book "Syria: Hot Spots In Global Politics" With more than 500,000 people killed and at least half of the population displaced, Syria’s conflict is considered the most deadly of the twenty-first century. In his new book, P...

What does justices mean to those who have been tortured by state actors? How should we hold governments accountable for killing and torturing their citizens? This week, we speak with Robert Bahar about a new exceptional documentary, "The Silence of Others", which chronicles how the victims of Franco’s 40-year dictatorship in Spain, have been seeking justice, decades after the crimes were committed...

This week, we bring you a conversation on the latest dramatic political developments in Sudan with Elsadig Elsheikh, the Director of the Global Justice program at the Haas Institute at UC Berkeley Later in the program, award-winning multidisciplinary artist, and author Niloufar Talebi joins us to talk about her new opera Abraham in Flames, inspired by the stunning imagery of the late iconic Irania...

Elsadig Elsheikh is the Director of the Global Justice program at the Haas Institute, where he oversees the program’s projects on food system, global equity, and human rights.

It was February 11th, 1979, after a few moments of silence on Radio Tehran's broadcast, the voice of Jamshid Adili goes "In sedaaye enghelaab-e mardom-e Iran ast" -- "This is the voice of the Revolution of the Iranian people." He went on to repeat the announcement as if he was trying to reassure the audience that the revolution had brought an end to monarchy in Iran. The streets became flooded wit...

This week, we speak with New York-based visual artist Mariam Ghani about her new documentary "What We Left Unfinished", which is part of a long-term research, film, exhibition and book project centered around five unfinished Afghan feature films shot, but never edited, between 1978 and 1992. Later in the program, we talk about the new play "Scenes from 71 Years" currently on stage at Potrero Stage...

On Tuesday, April 9th, over 6 Million Israeli voters headed to polling stations to choose their next government in a race that displayed all shades of right-wing blocs in Israel. Results as of Thursday evening indicate that the incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leading. His main rival the Blue and White alliance led by former Chief of the Israeli army Benny Gantz, scored the same numb...