*MOROCCO:* Peaceful demonstrations, attended by thousands, took place on Sunday in Casablanca and several other Moroccan cities. Larbi.org (in French) *Videos and Photo's: *http://www.larbi.org/post/Live-manifestations-du-20-mars-au-Maroc
www.al-bab.com *Revolutionary updates: 21 March** * Aside from Libya, which is getting wall-to-wall media coverage, here are some other noteworthy events from the weekend: *SYRIA:* In the southern city of Deraa, protesters clashed with security forces on Sunday, for the third day running. Numerous buildings associated with the regime were set on fire, including Syriatel (the mobile phone company owned by President Assad's corrupt cousin, Rami Makhlouf). The Omari mosque was turned into a makeshift hospital (video<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDhqvXy6zlM>). Al-Jazeera<http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/2011320113138901721.html>and al-Arabiya <http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/03/21/142350.html> have reports on the situation in Deraa. Smaller protests have been reported in other parts of the country, mostly resulting in dispersal and arrests. As I suggested<http://www.al-bab.com/blog/2011/blog1103b.htm#stirrings_in_syria>on Friday, it does seem that an uprising in Syria is now under way, though still in its early stages. The picture is likely to become clearer today. March 21 marks the start of the Kurdish new year (Nawroz) which has often been a time for agitation by Syria's Kurdish minority. In the light of disturbances elsewhere in the country, they may see this as an opportune moment for some action. *EGYPT:* Saturday's referendum<http://www.arabist.net/blog/2011/3/20/the-results-are-in.html>on constitutional amendments produced a 77% "yes" vote: 14 million in favour, four million against. Many activists (though not all) had been opposing the amendments, seeking an total overhaul of the constitution instead. Issandr el Amrani discusses<http://www.arabist.net/blog/2011/3/20/two-important-question-on-egypts-referendum.html>the referendum on the Arabist blog, while Sandmonkey considers the struggle ahead <http://www.sandmonkey.org/2011/03/20/playing-politics/>. *YEMEN:* Following the massacre of demonstrators<http://www.al-bab.com/blog/2011/blog1103b.htm#terrible_day_for_yemen>on Friday and the declaration of a 30-day state of emergency, President Salih dismissed his cabinet (though he has asked members to stay on until a new government can be appointed). This brings to mind the old quip about rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic. The Yemen Observer suggests<http://www.yobserver.com/front-page/10020994.html>this is a step towards forming a national unity government allegedly in reponse to Saudi-led mediation (!). If so, the question now is how many opposition figures will be willing to help Salih by becoming ministers in his hour of need. Dismissing the government could also be a move to forestall any further resignations. In a separate article<http://www.yobserver.com/front-page/10020997.html>, the Yemen Observer says "Politicians and academics are continuing to turn their backs on the ruling General People's Congress." The human rights minister, Huda al-Ban, resigned at the weekend the third minister to do so since protests escalated last month. The Yemen Times has more on the resignations <http://www.yementimes.com/defaultdet.aspx?SUB_ID=35788>. *MOROCCO:* Peaceful demonstrations, attended by thousands, took place on Sunday in Casablanca and several other Moroccan cities. Larbi.org (in French) has a series of photos and videos<http://www.larbi.org/post/Live-manifestations-du-20-mars-au-Maroc>. News reports: al-Arabiya<http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/03/20/142313.html>, AFP<http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iu2GgwAB5vFQmq-iZrp2ZsSD4W3Q?docId=CNG.30929bbed886ca3041584a88b0537905.d81>and Reuters<http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/20/us-morocco-protests-idUSTRE72J2GT20110320>. AFP says: "The call for demonstrations was backed by the youth wing of the Justice and Charity movement, regarded as Morocco's main Islamist movement, and by several human rights bodies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH)." Reuters notes: The Socialists' USFP party announced late on Saturday that it would join the protest the first government coalition party to do so. Complaints about corruption and lack of civil rights figured strongly in the protests. On March 9, the king made a speech<http://www.al-bab.com/blog/2011/blog1103a.htm#moroccan_king_promises_reform>promising a series of reform but this does not appear to have dampened the protests. Reuters quotes a government official as saying that the numbers on the streets on Sunday were "at least as many" as those who protested on February 20, before the king's speech. [image: Tweet this!]<http://twitter.com/home/?status=Revolutionary+updates:+21+March.+Latest+developments+in+Syria%2C+Egypt%2C+Yemen+and+Morocco+http://bit.ly/hx80yK> *Posted by Brian Whitaker, 21 March 2011. Comment<http://www.al-bab.com/blog/feedback1.htm> .* Yemen: military manoeuvres In Yemen, Monday began with what appeared to be an attempted coup by the president's kinsman, General Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar who announced<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/21/yemen-regime-army-chiefs-defect?intcmp=239>that he was siding with the protesters and tanks duly appeared on the streets of Sana'a. Since Ali Muhsin is the person Yemenis (including President Salih) probably fear the most and is a prime example of all that is wrong with the regime, his decision to support the popular struggle was a mixed blessing. Meanwhile, troops loyal to Ahmed Salih, the president's son, took up positions around the palace apparently to protect Salih from Ali Muhsin's forces. During the course of the day, large numbers of military officers, officials and Yemeni diplomats based abroad having seen which way the wind was blowing jumped ship and withdrew their support<http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/2011321164113728994.html>from Salih. However, a Yemeni diplomat in Washington later told al-Jazeera<http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/middle-east/yemen-live-blog-march-22>this did not necessarily mean they were joining the opposition: "What's going on in Yemen is not about opposition parties. It's about those young people in the university, militants, and a lot of people so the opposition is not the one who's leading this. It's a national movement, it's everybody protesting and we've joined that. "I'm still in my office, I'm doing my job because we're serving the Yemeni people. Yes, we are representing the government but at the same time we're representing Yemeni people. The government of Yemen changes from time to time but the diplomatic corps are still there." Despite all that, defence minister Mohammed Nasser Ahmed (who had been formally dismissed by Salih along with the rest of the government at the weekend) claimed<http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2011/03/22/key_military_leaders_join_yemen_opposition/>that the military remained loyal to the president. The foreign minister also made a hasty trip to Saudi Arabia, carrying a letter from Salih. It is unclear at present whether Salih is still seeking to cling on or trying to negotiate a dignified departure with an orderly transition. Either way, the Saudis seem to be heavily involved behind the scenes and perhaps acting partly on behalf of the United States. This may be the reason why Salih is not gone already: there are hints that the Saudis may want him to stay, while the US if not actually wanting to keep him in power is worried about the future without him. There are still those in the US who regard Salih as an important ally against al-Qaeda, not fully appreciating that he is a very tricky customer, as the WikiLeaks documents demonstrated (here<http://www.al-bab.com/blog/blog1012a.htm#wikileaks_a_tragi-comedy_in_sanaa>and here<http://www.al-bab.com/blog/blog1011b.htm#wikileaks_salih_petraeus_meeting_in_yemen>). This morning, al-Jazeera is reporting<http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/middle-east/yemen-live-blog-march-22>that its offices in Sana'a were attacked by gunmen who fled with some equipment. There are also posts on Twitter saying that a deal<http://twitter.com/#!/JebBoone/status/50061552329572352>has been reached overnight between Ali Muhsin and the president. At the time of writing there is no indication as to the nature of this deal. [image: Tweet this!] <http://twitter.com/home/?status=Yemen: military manoeuvres. Armed stand-off in the capital as president clings on http://bit.ly/fAAnI2> *Posted by Brian Whitaker, 22 March 2011. 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