Citizens Speak out - 19 May 2011

Citizens speak out - 19 May 2011Citizens speak out. Calls for improved living conditions and fair participation in government continue to be heard as protesters gather in nations like Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Syria and Yemen. Algeria's health services came to a standstill on Monday, May 16 after some 80% of the members in two public health practitioner and specialist unions went on strike to protest the Health Ministry's lack of follow-through on pledges to improve benefits. A group of human rights activists in Oman have spoken out against the government's ongoing arrests of peaceful protesters who are calling for dialog to create reforms in the kingdom. The Palestinian Liberation Organization announced the Fatah and Hamas groups had reached an agreement on the majority of the most challenging issues between them, with reports of positive and truthful dialogue between them. Around 3,000 Afghans in Taloqan protested the deaths of four innocent people during night raids conducted by a joint force made up of Afghan and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) soldiers. In Yemen, Press TV reports that as people continue rallying in calls for the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, gunfire was heard in the capital of Sana’a while over a dozen were confirmed wounded in Dhamar and Aden. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday once more reiterated the nation's call for an immediate ceasefire by the Libyan government, as the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo stated that the court would investigate allegations of organized *** violence by Libyan security forces. On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton affirmed their joint readiness to impose additional sanctions on Syria to halt the violent crackdown on protesters. Meanwhile, the hundreds of Syrian refugees fleeing into Lebanon for safety were most recently joined by several unarmed Syrian soldiers, and activists called for a general strike across the country on Wednesday as another way to peacefully protest government violence. With deep sadness for the loss of precious lives, we are glad for the dawning of tranquility in some regions of turmoil and pray that all strife may cease as citizens of every nation choose to reside in shared freedom, dignity and peace�