CNN news 2011-02-21
You're tuned in to CNN Student News, where Fridays are always awesome! Hi, everyone. Carl Azuz is off today. I'm Joyce Joseph. Let's get to the headlines.
First up, political protests turn violent in some of the Middle Eastern nations we've been talking about these past few weeks. The U.S. government says it's "deeply concerned" about the crackdown on anti-government protesters in Bahrain. Yesterday, several people were killed and hundreds more were injured in fighting between protesters and security forces. In Yemen, at least 20 people were hurt when groups that support and oppose that country's government threw stones at each other yesterday. And in Libya, some web sites called for a "Day of Rage" Thursday. That could be a sign that anti-government protests are picking up in the country.
In all of these countries protesters are calling for change. That's already happened in Egypt, where long-time President Hosni Mubarak has stepped down. Sandra Endo explains why Egypt should study history to see where things might go from here.
A revolution in Iran 32 years ago. Months of bloodshed, protest, but success: the ouster of the Shah and his oppressive government. Three decades later, a similar fight, this time powered by Egyptians. The sweet taste of victory, forcing a dictator out of office. But what's next?
For Iranians, more than thirty years later, the battle for freedom still remains. Mehdi Amini was 17 years old when he took part in the Iranian revolution. He says the honeymoon was short lived after the Shah's regime was over and a repressive Islamic republic took charge. He wants Egyptians to learn from Iran's history.
We have Iran as a good example of the hopes that people had and what it eventually ended up being. So, I'm just hoping that they don't have the same outcome and that they should be under watch.
A big warning for Egyptians.
It's very positive that there's so much optimism, but it should not be translated into naivety. This is where the hard work begins, to ensure that getting rid of a dictatorial system actually translates into achieving democracy. And that's a very, very hard path that the Egyptians will walk. But hopefully, they will be more successful than the Iranians were in 1979.
For Iranians like Amini, their fight will continue.
I hope to see a day where I can go and vote freely for someone who I choose. I hope to see a day when women and men have the right to just, basically, walk with each other, not be fearful of the repercussions of what's going to happen. And I hope to see, basically, a day when I can go back to my country.
Sandra Endo, CNN, Washington