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Citizens speak out. People in many regions of the world continue to convey their wish
for greater freedom, human rights, improved living conditions and participation in their
nation's government, they gather in countries such as Bahrain, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast),
Libya, Sudan, Syria, United States and Yemen.
Thousands of people marched in several US cities, including Seattle, Washington and
Los Angeles, California, to demand that US President Barack Obama meet a campaign promise
to grant legal residency status to millions of undocumented people who made the arduous
journey to the US in search of a better way of life.
On Monday, former Côte d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo called upon his supporters
to refrain from political quarrels and instead work together to rebuild the West African
nation’s stability after months of conflict over disputed November 2010 presidential election.
He met with a delegation of elder statesmen from the group known as The Elders, including
former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former
President of the Republic of Ireland Mary Robinson, who asked government officials to
allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit with President Gbagbo and his
wife, who are being held in the country’s north.
Many of the 85,000 Thai and Cambodian residents living near a disputed ancient temple were
able to return home on Monday, May 2 as tensions between the two sides eased, although a conflict
between troops late Monday night claimed the life of a Thai solider and left three others
wounded.
In Sudan, Popular Congress Party leader Hassan al-Turabi was released Wednesday after three
months in detainment. Hours after his release, he called for a complete transition in government
to a true democracy.
In Libya, residents in the western mountainous region report town of Yafran, which has come
under siege from government forces, are facing starvation as they run out of food, water
and medicine. Revolutionaries in Misurata have asked the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) for assistance, as Libyan forces continue bombarding the port to block humanitarian
ships and other supplies from reaching the city. Turkey has meanwhile joined other nations
in closing her Libyan embassy due to the unsafe conditions in the country. In the revolutionary
stronghold of Benghazi, leaders there have formed a Committee of Wise Men to make plans
for the creation of a civil, free and sovereign Libyan state.
Syrian rights group Insan reports that in the besieged city of Daraa, government security
forces are arresting countless men between the ages of 18 to 45. Insan estimates that
800 people have been detained since last Thursday alone, with 2,434 known arrests across the
country and at least 5,000 others who have gone missing since the protests began. Among
them is Al Jazeera journalist Dorothy Parvaz, who disappeared after arriving in Damascus.
Concerned for her safety, Al Jazeera and Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi have both
called for the Syrian government to locate and return her immediately. Meanwhile, on
Tuesday, Algerian journalist Khaled Sid Mohand, a reporter for both the French public radio
station France Culture and French daily news Le Monde, was freed. French Foreign Minister
Alain Juppé welcomed Mr. Mohand's release as he stated, “No democracy can function
without freedom of the press.”
The Bahraini government is continuing its efforts of suppressing protesters, arresting
two members of Parliament from the minority Al Wefaq party who had resigned from their
posts. Bahraini forces also abducted 10 school children on Tuesday, with no explanation as
to why.
With sadness for the loss of cherished lives, we are encouraged by the dawning of peace
in turmoiled regions as we pray for an end to the conflicts in all countries and that
citizens everywhere may choose to live in shared harmony, dignity and freedom�