Page 4 The Lion’s Eye March 2,2011 Eve.on World & Local Protesters Rock Libya and the Middle East By Dave Serpentine - Lion's Eye World & Local News Editor-dms5419@psu.edu Libya follows the lead of Egypt and Iran in the fight for democracy, sparking unrest and protests as the world watches and waits. After the protests that escalated in Egypt causing President Mubarak to resign, Libya and other Arab countries have rebelled against their oppressed government as well. As of February 18, 18 Middle Eastern and North African countries are facing current protesting and uprisings from their people in their respective countries. The protests started on December 18, 2010 in Tunisia and snowballed into other surround- ing countries. Ever since then, the other 17 countries currently going through protests include: Algeria, Libya, Jordan, Mauritania, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Djibouti, Morocco, Iraq, Somalia, Bahrain, Iran, and Kuwait. - However, intense protests include these six countries: Algeria, Libya, Yemen, ‘Djibouti, Morocco, and Iran. As for Libya, the protests started around January 13, but demonstrations have strongly increased around February 15. The protesters are seeking an end to their gov- ernment and their Leader and Guide of the Revolution of Libya, Muammar al-Gaddafi, 68. al-Gaddafi lead a military coup in 1969 against King Idris to assume power and he has been in power ever since. Ironcially, he lead a rebellion to be in power, now a there is a rebellion to remove him of his power. : On Feb. 18, protestors seized Libya’s second largest city, Benghazi. The government “was swift with reaction using troops and police force, but it was too late as the protests took over the city. However, more than 200 people died during this protest. As of Feb. 21, protesters are in the process of taking control of the country’s capital, Tripoli. In addition, because of these protests, many Libyan leaders have stepped down and some leaders have distanced themselves from al-Gaddafi. On Feb. 22, al-Gaddafi gave an hour-long speech to his people stating he his going to continue to fight and “I will die as a martyr at the end,” he said, “to my last drop of blood.” During his speech, he yelled and shook his fists. In regards to al-Gaddafi’s speech, Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was “very appalling,” saying it “amounted to him declaring war on his own people.” In order to protect Libya, the United Nations has enforced a no-fly zone over the Supporters of the Libyan leader, Muammar al-Gaddafi, kiss his photograph at a pro-government rally in Tripoli. For the first time since the unrest in Libya began, anti-government protests have spread to the capital, sending the country to the brink of civil war. (photo courtesy thenewstatesman.com) country. Furthermore, Europe does not know how to handle this situation as Europe is highly depended on Libya’s oil and they now don’t want to negotiate with an unstable govern- ment. Libya’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Ibrahim Dabbashi has suggested al-Gaddafi to step down. Dabbashi went on to say, “I think the genocide has started now in Libya. The Gadhafi statement was just code for his collaborators to start the genocide against the Libyan people. It just started a few hours ago. I hope the information I get is not ac- curate but if it is, it will be a real genocide.” HEE SS LL LIBYAN PRESIDENT al-GADDAFI TRIES TO BURY DEMOCRACY ~ BY: DAVE SERPENTINE Why won't you stay buried?! Middletown Township Historical Society Presents Lecture Series Special to The Lion’s Eye In celebration of Middletown Town- ship's 325th Anniversary, it was founded in 1686, the Middletown Township Historical Society presents the Middletown Mondays Lecture Series. The talks begin at 7:30 p.m. on the fourth Monday of the month in 2011 (except June, July, August and December). They will be held at Penn State Brandywine, Main Building, Room 101, 25 Yearsley Mill Road, Media, PA. All lectures are free and open to the public, no registration required. Along with several other local historians and scholars, Penn State Brandy- wine’s own Phyllis Cole will be presenting her research entitled Founding Families: The Painters and Pratts on Monday, May 23, 2011. For several years Dr. Cole's Ameri- can Studies students at PSU Brandywine have been researching the early residents of Middletown who are now buried in Historic Cumberland Cemetery across from the Penn State campus on Middletown Road. Learn about the contributions of these impor- tant early Middletowners. Additional lectures will take place on Monday, September 26, Monday, Oc- tober 24, and Monday, November 28. Speakers and topics will be announced in early 2011. This schedule is subject to change, for up-to-date information please visit our website www.mthsdelco.org or call 610-316-5620. This program has been supported in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, the Federal-State Partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Coming in September of 2011 will be Middletown Township, Delaware County, PA a new book in Arcadia Publishing's "Images of America" series. Mary Anne Eves, Vice President of the Middletown Township Historical Society, is currently compiling the photos and writing the captions. If you have any photos of Middletown Township that you would be willing to share please contact her at info@mthsdelco.org or phone 610-316-5620. For a full schedule of events, please visit www.middletown- Dr. Phyllis Cole (photo courtesy Penn State Brandywine) township.org
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