Domestic Politics

The political situation in Georgia had been building up to a crisis for some time, and the situation became more tense following the return to the country of former president Mikheil Saakashvili, who had earlier been sentenced to several terms of imprisonment for crimes committed during his term of office. Saakashvili was duly arrested and has since gone on hunger strike.

Uzbek president Shovkat Mirzyoyev, re-elected for a second term on Sunday said there is no going back for his country. However it is not clear yet if Uzbekistan is slowly but surely moving out of its autocratic past into a pluralistic political process, because there are contradictory signs.

Sudan’s military seized power Monday, dissolving the transitional government hours after troops arrested the prime minister. Thousands of people flooded into the streets to protest the coup which undermines efforts towards a democratic government.

Kuwait’s emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah has initiated an amnesty process to pardon political dissidents and critics as part of wider political reforms in the country. The amnesty decision is expected to include the self-exiled parliamentarians who fled imprisonment after taking part in the 2011 storming of the parliament over alleged corruption and mismanagement by the government.

Anti-government demonstrators took to the streets of Khartoum for the second day running to demand the removal of Sudan's transitional joint civil-military Sovereign Council and demanding it be replaced by a total military rule.   

Lebanon has a history of decades of sectarian strife between Christians and Muslims, and groups within them. Foreign interference since the 1950's has made Lebanon a battle field for Middle East states and groups to fight proxy wars. The latest incidents raise concerns of a further deterioration of what is already for many Lebanese people a very dire situation.