Protesters Killed In Ivory Coast:
Five protesters have been killed by Ivorian security forces during protests demanding that President Laurent Gbagbo to step down. Alassane Ouattara, Gbagbo’s rival, is recognised by many as the winner of a presidential election last year, but Gbagbo has refused to cede power. At least 300 people have been killed in unrest since the presidential election. Ivory Coast’s largest bank has shut down, joining other international banks, as part of an international embargo against Gbagbo. Meanwhile, hundreds of farmers have burned sacks of cocoa beans in a protest at how the embargo is destroying their trade.

Wife Of Nobel Laureate Held Hostage:
Liu Xia, wife of jailed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, is being treated like a ‘hostage’, with widespread belief that she is under house arrest. The Washington Post said it has received a document from a friend of Liu Xia, stating that she believes “no can help (her)” and she “can’t go out… the whole family are hostages.” The statements are the first contact Liu Xia has had with the outside world for four months. Liu Xiaobo is serving an 11 year sentence for inciting subversion of state power for co-authoring Charter 08, a charter for democratic reforms.

Libyan Protests Leave Over 230 Dead:
Over 230 activists have been killed and at least 900 have been injured during protests against President Muammar Gaddafi’s 41 year rule of Libya. Libyan security forces shot at unarmed activists during protests in the city of Benghazi. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Muammar Gaddafi’s son, went on Libya TV to warn “there is a plot against Libya,” blaming “an Islamic group with a military agenda” for the unrest. “Muammar Gaddafi, our leader, is leading the battle in Tripoli, and we are with him,” al-Islam said. At least 200 have held a protest outside the Libyan embassy in London, calling for Gaddafi to step down. William Hague, the UK Foreign Secretary, said, “Governments must respond to legitimate aspirations of their people rather than resort to the use of force, and must respect the right to peaceful protest.”

China Protest Broken Up:
Police in China gathered en mass in cities across the country after word circulated on the internet of a “jasmine revolution in China.” The message, a reference to the uprising in Tunisia, went on to call for people to demand: “We want food, we want work, we want housing, we want fairness.” According to the Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, a Hong-Kong human rights NGO, more than 100 activists have been detained by the police, prevented from leaving home or have been reported missing. Wang Soglian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Human Rights Defenders network, said the message “linked it to the jasmine revolution and I guess that made the government nervous… it really show us how much the government has identified with regimes in the Middle East where people are so aggrieved about social justice.”

Words: Richard Lemmer
Photo: Flickr user Pan-African News Wire File , of Libyan President, Muammar Gaddafi, addressing a UN assembly in 2009.