Middle East Protests: Stock Markets Hit

12:58pm UK, Wednesday March 02, 2011

David Connolly, Sky News Online

Protesters across the Middle East and North Africa have continued to challenge the authority of their leaders, driving down share prices as the unrest spreads.

Yemen's president has failed to quell more than two months of protests

Yemen:
President Ali Abdullah Saleh has blamed the United States and Israel for a wave of protests against his 32-year rule.

"I am going to reveal a secret," he said in a speech at Sanaa university. "There is an operations room in Tel Aviv with the aim of destabilising the Arab world. The operations room is in Tel Aviv and run by the White House."

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in a so-called "Day of Rage" to demand that Saleh step down on Tuesday.

In the capital, demonstrators chanted "With blood and soul we support you, Aden," referring to the southern port city where most of the 24 people killed in the past two weeks of protests have died.

"Organisers told me it was the biggest turnout they've seen in two weeks of protests," said Tom Finn, a journalist in Sanaa.

"I was at the Sanaa University, which has become the centre of anti-government protests. The atmosphere there is largely jovial and festival-like. The place is flooded with tents, people are sat their chewing qat - a mildly narcotic leaf - and singing and dancing.

"There was also a pro-government demonstration in Tahrir Square in the centre of Sanaa and the scenes were very similar there."

Saleh is a key US ally and receives military aid to help fight al Qaeda in the country, but on Tuesday the president claimed that the US ambassador in Sanaa was holding meetings with the opposition.

The White House rejected Saleh's criticism saying the Yemeni government should focus on political reform rather than "scapegoating".

Saleh proposed forming a unity government to quell two months of protests, but the opposition rejected the offer. On Tuesday, he replaced the governors of five mostly southern provinces at the centre of the protests.

Saudi Arabia:
The kingdom's stock markets hit a 22-month low amid fears that unrest across the region could spread to the world's biggest oil producer.

Activists have used Facebook to spread calls for demonstrations to demand political reform on March 11 and 20.

Selling on the largest Gulf Arab bourse picked up pace on Tuesday after human rights activists said authorities had detained a Shia cleric who had called for a constitutional monarchy.

Meanwhile, more than 70 Saudi intellectuals urged King Abdullah to oust corrupt politicians, curb government spending and provide better oversight of government business deals.

In a statement they also also called for the release of people detained without judicial orders and more rights for the Shia Muslim minority.

Iran:
Tehran's chief prosecutor has denied that opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi have been arrested.

"There is a limit to lies, and rumours of transferring Mr Mousavi and Karroubi to a prison are a sheer lie," Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi was quoted as saying by Mehr news agency.

Karroubi was reportedly arrested after calling for protests on February 14 (File)

Family members of the two men said on their websites that Mousavi, Karroubi and their wives had been transferred to Tehran's Heshmatiyeh jail from their residences in the Iranian capital.

About 200 people were detained by security forces after thousands of people took to the streets to protest over the reported arrests, an opposition website said.

Meanwhile, a parliamentary investigation into anti-government protests called by Mousavi and Karroubin on February 14 has called for "firm legal action" against the opposition leaders.

Tunisia:
The resignation of three more cabinet ministers has increased uncertainty about the interim administration's ability to govern the country until elections can be held.

Nejib Chebbi, who founded the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, was the most high-profile to quit. He said he was not happy with the new prime minister and "unjust" government measures that prevent him from seeking the presidency.

Chebbi's party was long the primary legal opposition group in Tunisia. Many other opposition parties were banned.

One of those was legalised on Tuesday after more than 20 years.

Ennahdha, branded an Islamic terrorist group by Tunisia's deposed leader but considered moderate by scholars, said it would now focus on rebuilding and electing a new leader to prepare for the elections.

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