Riz Khan

Violence against revolution

As protests continue across the Middle East and North Africa, are they being met with greater levels of violence?

As the demand for political reform spreads throughout the Middle East and North Africa, are some governments increasingly turning to violence to quell these uprisings?

Reports say at least 170 people were killed in Libya when the army fired on demonstrators demanding the resignation of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s president. His son has warned of a bloodbath if pro-democracy protesters do not back down.

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Iran is also seeing anti-government rallies across the country with security forces on high alert. There were reports of violence in some parts of the capital Tehran.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, has called for democratic reform in Bahrain after its police launched a brutal crackdown against protesters demanding  change.

On Monday, we will be discussing the issues with Mark LeVine, a professor of modern Middle Eastern history and Islamic studies at the University of California, Irvine; and Hamid Dabashi, a professor of Iranian Studies at Columbia University in New York.

This episode of Riz Khan aired from Monday, February 21, 2011.