Thousands rally for democracy in Morocco (AFP)

CASABLANCA, Morocco (AFP) – Thousands of demonstrators, including Islamists, held peaceful rallies in Rabat, Casablanca and Tangiers Sunday to demand greater political reforms and social justice in Morocco.

The latest protests were organised by the youth-based February 20 Movement behind months of demonstrations calling for reforms in the Arab world's oldest reigning monarchy.

In Casablanca's Sidi Othmane suburb, several thousand protesters shouted slogans to demand "a democratic constitution" and "greater social justice", AFP reporters witnessed.

Militants of the Islamist Justice and Charity Group, banned but tolerated by the government, were among the group.

Hundreds of pro-government protesters also gathered in Sidi Othmane, waving flags and portraits of King Mohammed VI, chanting: "Long live the King" and singing the antional anthem.

The two groups were kept apart by the security forces, out in large numbers.

At the same time, more than 1,000 protesters gathered in the capital Rabat and several thousand in Tangiers.

The protests are inspired by similar movements that have toppled regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and by popular uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world.

They continue despite a referendum in which 98 percent of voters approved reforms proposed by the king, but boycotted by the February 20 Movement, which curbs the monarch's near-absolute powers.

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Thailand's Election: A Test of Its Fragile Democracy (Time.com)

Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's exiled former Prime Minister, likes to compare himself to Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Burma's pro-democracy movement. Both are in conflict with their country's military-backed leaders. But that's where the similarities end. Suu Kyi is a Nobel Peace Prize winner, whereas Thaksin backed two violent anti-government protests. Suu Kyi spent more than decade under house arrest for her political convictions, while Thaksin fled rather than do time for corruption. Suu Kyi is a champion of democracy, Thaksin's critics call him an autocrat.

But as Thailand heads toward a national election this weekend, Thaksin looks set to get a new lease on his political life. The Pheu Thai party, which he controls from Dubai, is poised to defeat incumbent Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his Democrat Party. And the person he can thank for that turnaround is the woman he hand-picked to lead and who may become Thailand's first female prime minister: Yingluck Shinawatra - his youngest sister. (Read about the tumultuous Thai election.)

Although Yingluck Shinawatra has never held office, the 44-year old executive has emerged as this election's brightest political star. She either carries the sheen of the Shinawatra name or the taint of Thaksin, depending upon a Thai's political point of view. Many aren't sure what to think; Polls show between 20% and 40% of voters remain undecided. The split reflects lingering anger about the violent protests that rocked Bangkok last year. To sway voters, Yingluck has cast herself as a pacifist: "As I am a female I do not encourage violence. I will unite Thailand,'' she told Time.

Indeed, Yingluck displays none of her brother's notorious temper. With her soft physicality, photogenic looks and ever-present smile, she has the aura of the "good girl" that so many Thais root for in television soap operas. "Her gender, in Thailand's male-dominated politics, also serves to take the edge off her party's portrayal as representing a dangerous autocratic extreme,'' says Hasan Basar, the founder of Bangkok Public Relations.

Although her opponent, Oxford-educated Abhisit, also has soap-star looks, he is backed by the military. Top generals haven't been shy about urging voters to elect what they call "good people," a euphemism for non-Pheu Thai candidates. The military's involvement "drives people away," says Pavin Chachavalpongpun of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies in Singapore. "They don't appreciate the direct intervention in politics.'' It also sets up a dynamic reminiscent of Burmese politics, where powerful generals appear to bully 'The Lady.' Yingluck certainly isn't Aung San Suu Kyi, but the narrative could sway some of the undecided.

If it doesn't, Yingluck and her party are offering voters a raft of goodies: free tablet computers for one million students, a guaranteed rice price, credit cards for farmers and taxi drivers, and debt moratoriums. Economists worry that the programs will create unmanageable levels of government debt. The Democrats are offering their own populist package, but it pales in comparison to Pheu Thai's giveaways. (Read about the Thai elections one year after the protest.)

Although much is still unknown, most analysts predict that Pheu Thai will win the most seats but not an outright majority in Thailand's 500-seat House of Representatives. In that case, the military may lobby smaller parties to join a Democrat-led coalition government. Even if Pheu Thai wins an outright majority, or succeeds in putting together a coalition, uncertainty may persist. Victors have been disqualified in the past. "If the traditional elite decide to overturn the results, a new round of violent conflict may start,'' says Pavin.

As Prime Minister Yingluck could also generate conflict by granting her exiled brother amnesty, allowing him to return to Thailand. She's vowed to clear anyone charged with political crimes in the aftermath of the 2006 coup, including her brother. "That would be a mistake,'' says Pavin. Yingluck has now back-tracked, saying only that a committee will consider amnesties. Few, however, believe she won't facilitate her brother's return. "For a Thai, where family bonds and loyalty are extremely important, it is perfectly natural and 'right' for her to do as her older brother would want her to do,'' says Hasan.

The country is so politically polarized that some prominent Thai columnists express fear of a civil war between Thaksin camp (the rural and urban poor in the north and northeast, the Red shirts and those who oppose the military meddling in politics) and anti-Thaksin factions (the Democrat Party, the military, members of the conservative establishment, middle class voters, southerners, monarchists, and the Yellow Shirts). Jon Ungpakorn, a former Senator, warns of a "long and violent civil war." "The next opportunity for reconciliation may well not arrive again for many years," he wrote.

In that sense, Sunday's election may be the easy part. With so many post-vote scenarios and warring factions, the future of Thailand, once regarded as the most stable country in Southeast Asia, looks anything but bright.

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U.S. urges immediate Yemen move to democracy (Reuters)

RIYADH/SANAA (Reuters) – The United States on Monday called on Yemen to move toward democracy while President Ali Abdullah Saleh recovers from shrapnel wounds in Saudi Arabia.

While Yemen's acting leader insisted Saleh would return in days, diplomats and analysts feel Saleh's stay in Saudi Arabia may be prolonged as regional heavyweight Riyadh tries to press Saleh to hand over power to prevent its neighbor imploding.

"We are calling for a peaceful and orderly transition," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters. "We feel that an immediate transition is in the best interests of the Yemeni people."

Saleh, 69, is being treated in a Riyadh hospital after he was wounded on Friday when a rocket struck his Sanaa palace, killing seven people and wounding senior officials and advisers.

"(Saleh) is in Saudi Arabia receiving medical treatment. There is a civilian government that remains in place in Yemen. We believe that the time is now to begin that peaceful transition toward a democratic process," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told a news briefing.

Pressure has mounted on all parties to find an exit strategy to clashes bringing Yemen to the brink of civil war, amid worries it could become a failed state home to an al Qaeda wing adjacent to the world's biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia.

A Saudi-brokered truce was holding in Sanaa after two weeks of fighting between Saleh's forces and a powerful tribal group which killed more than 200 people and forced thousands to flee.

But there was fresh fighting in the flashpoint southern city of Taiz, where the United Nations said it was investigating reports that as many as 50 have been killed in the past week.

An opposition party coalition, which joined months of street protests to end Saleh's three-decade rule, said it backed transferring power to the vice-president, Abu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who is now the acting leader.

Hadi was quoted as saying on the Saba state news agency that Saleh's health was improving and he "would return to the homeland in the coming days."

But a diplomat in the region said: "I don't think the Saudis or his people want him back. He doesn't have regional support."

Yemenis have awaited word on whether Saleh would sign a Gulf-brokered transition deal he has so far rejected.

In a joint statement, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and the Prime Ministers of Britain, Spain and Italy, thanked Saudi Arabia for receiving Saleh for treatment, and called on all parties in Yemen to "find a means of reconciliation on the basis of the GCC initiative."

SAUDI INFLUENCE

The Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council urged all parties to work to end violence and said it was continuing its efforts to negotiate a power-transfer deal.

Yemen , which relies on oil for 60 percent of its economy, has been dealt a heavy blow by the closure of an oil pipeline that trade sources said have caused a fuel shortages.

But the future of Yemen, riven by complex rivalries among tribal leaders, generals and politicians, remains uncertain.

"Saleh's departure to Saudi Arabia isn't just courtesy from the Saudi ruling family," said Egyptian political analyst Nabil Abdel-Fattah. "The security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf is linked to security in Yemen."

Youthful protesters, interpreting Saleh's absence as potentially permanent, continued to celebrate in Sanaa where they have staged anti-government demonstrations since January.

"Who is next?" asked one banner held up by protesters in a sea of red, white and black Yemeni flags, referring to the wave of uprisings in Arab world that has toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia and inspired revolts in Syria, Libya and Bahrain.

Yemen's pro-Saleh state media said his supporters took to streets to celebrate "a successful operation" in the provinces of Ibb and Dhamar with song, dance and shooting into the air.

Saleh's departure could make it hard for the veteran president to retain control, although his close relatives still command key military units and security forces.

Other contenders in a possible power struggle include the well-armed Hashed tribal federation, breakaway military leaders, Islamists, leftists and an angry public seeking relief from crippling poverty, corruption and failing public services.

In the meantime, fuel shortages in many parts of the country worsened as the main oil pipeline remained shut and tight funding hit imports.

A blast in March on the pipeline, suspected to have been carried out by angry tribesmen, has stopped the flow of light Marib crude, which has forced the 130,000 barrels per day (bpd) Aden refinery to shut and hurt fuel supplies.

Saleh, a political survivor, has defied global calls to step down and survived the defection of top generals, ministers and ambassadors who left the government after troops killed many demonstrators in March. More than 450 people have been killed in the unrest shaking the nation of 23 million since late January.

Saleh has exasperated his former U.S. and Saudi allies, who once saw him as a key counter-terrorism partner, by repeatedly reneging on the transition plan, even though it offered him immunity from prosecution -- something rejected by protesters.

(Additional reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf in Aden, Andrew Hammond, Reed Stevenson; Humeyra Pamuk in Istanbul and Jonathan Saul in London; Writing by Jon Herskovitz, Shaimaa Fayed and Martina Fuchs in Dubai; Editing by Jon Hemming)

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Obama to al-Assad: Embrace democracy

(CNN) -- President Barack Obama's new blueprint for change in the Middle East slammed the Syrian government for "murder and mass arrests" and sent a blunt message to President Bashar al-Assad to get with democratic change.

In a wide-ranging speech about Middle East policy on Thursday, Obama touched on the fierce Syrian crackdown against the street demonstrations that have rippled across the country since mid-March.

Obama told an audience at the State Department that Syrians have displayed "courage in demanding a transition to democracy" but the regime "has chosen the path of murder and the mass arrests of its citizens."

"President Assad now has a choice: He can lead that transition, or get out of the way. The Syrian government must stop shooting demonstrators and allow peaceful protests; release political prisoners and stop unjust arrests; allow human rights monitors to have access to cities like Daraa; and start a serious dialogue to advance a democratic transition. Otherwise, President Assad and his regime will continue to be challenged from within and isolated abroad," he said.

He also said that Syria has sought help from Iran "in the tactics of suppression."

"This speaks to the hypocrisy of the Iranian regime, which says it stand for the rights of protesters abroad, yet suppresses its people at home. Let us remember that the first peaceful protests were in the streets of Tehran."

Obama's speech was aired on Syrian state television.

On Wednesday, Obama imposed new sanctions against al-Assad and those around him, and earlier Thursday, Syria denounced the move, state TV reported.

"The measures by the United States are one in a series of sanctions imposed by the consecutive American administrations against the Syrian people, as part of its regional plans, whose priority is to serve the Israeli interest," state-run Syrian TV reported.

"Any hostile act against Syria is an American contribution to the Israeli aggression against Syria and the Arabs."

The sanctions also target two top Iranian officials whose unit was a "conduit for Iranian material support" to Syrian intelligence, according to a copy of Obama's executive order issued by the White House.

But, the Syrian TV report said, "the sanctions have not and will not affect Syria's independent decision making, and its resistance in the face of continuous American attempts to control its national decision making and the completion of comprehensive reform."

Hezbollah, the Shiite militant movement based in Lebanon, also blasted the U.S. sanctions toward Syria, saying the United States is "settling a score with Syria and its leadership for its commitment to the choice of resistance and its objection against the Israeli occupation and the American hegemony, and its rejection to obey the American-Israeli dictates."

It ridiculed U.S. claims to protect the freedoms of Arabs, citing bloodshed in Iraq and Afghanistan and Israel's "crimes" in the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria during the Six Day War in 1967.

"We are confident that this blatant American intervention and exercising of pressure and the instigation will not prevent the Syrian people and its leadership from keeping their national commitments towards the rightful causes of the nation and at its front the Palestinian cause, and the struggle with the Israeli enemy and the rejection of American occupation of Arab and Muslim lands."

Obama's speech touched a range of Middle East-North Africa flashpoints -- including Egypt, Tunisia, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Yemen, Bahrain, and Libya.

The speech came nearly two years after Obama delivered an address in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, calling for "a new beginning" between the United States and the Muslim world.

On Sunday, clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces erupted along Israel's borders and occupied territories, leaving at least 12 dead on a Palestinian mourning day marking the birth of the Jewish state.

Two protesters were killed and 170 were wounded Sunday when fighting broke out in the Golan Heights area, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said. And at least 10 were killed and 112 others were injured in clashes along the line of demarcation with Lebanon, Lebanon's state news agency reported.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said troops fired on demonstrators who were illegally crossing from Lebanon and Syria and damaging "security infrastructure." But Syrian and Lebanese officials criticized what they said were Israeli attacks, state media reported.

Israel's military accused Syria of inciting a crisis to divert attention from its own clampdown on anti-government demonstrations. Ten Israeli soldiers and three officers were injured in the clashes, the Israel Defense Forces reported.

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