wind of change in arabe world

The dictators of the Middle East aren’t going down without a fight. As anti-government protests escalated in Bahrain, Libya and Yemen, so has the states’ response. Dozens of peaceful demonstrators have been killed in the three countries over the last few days, but the tidal wave of revolution sweeping across the Middle East shows no sign of retreating.

In Bahrain, security forces raided peaceful protesters while they slept in a square in central Manama, the capital, Thursday. According to Democracy Now!, heavily armed riot police fired tear gas and rubber-coated bullets into the surprised crowd, killing at least six people and wounding hundreds more. Bahrain’s main hospital is “flooded” with victims, and security forces attacked doctors, nurses and patients alike. Demonstrators were attacked again today. Bahrain’s special envoy to the United States, Latif Al-Zayani, told CNN’s Candy Crowley that his government’s response to the peaceful protests has been “proportional,” but the deadly crackdown has drawn a rebuke from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “The United States strongly opposes the use of violence and strongly supports reform that moves toward democratic institution building and economic openness,” she said. “I called my counterpart in Bahrain this morning and directly conveyed our deep concerns about the actions of the security forces and I emphasized how important it was that, given that there will be both funerals and prayers tomorrow, that they not be marred by violence.”