…from beneath the crooked bough, witness 230 years of brutal tyranny by the al Khalifas come to an end

Tunisia’s Islamists attack union activists
5 December, 2012 – Al Akhbar

Supporters of Tunisia’s ruling Islamist party on Tuesday attacked a demonstration by the country’s main labor union, in the latest unrest two years after the revolution.

Several dozen assailants attacked members of the General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT) who were gathered outside the union’s headquarters in Tunis to mark the 60th anniversary of the assassination of its founder, Farhat Hached.

The police intervened to separate the two sides, but 10 demonstrators were wounded in the attack, according to the trade union.

The interior ministry confirmed clashes had taken place between trade unionists and members of the League for the Protection of the Revolution.

In October, an opposition party accused the League, which claims as its mission to protect the aims of the revolution that toppled former dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011, of beating a party official to death.

UGTT secretary general Houcine Abassi blamed the “enemies of democracy” for Tuesday’s violence and denounced what he said was an unprecedented attack against his organization.

“They want to assassinate the UGTT on the day that it commemorates the assassination of Hached, who sacrificed his life for his people and his country,” Abassi told private radio station Shems FM.

He said such an attack had never been witnessed before, “neither during the time of (Tunisia’s first president Habib) Bourguiba, nor of Ben Ali.”

The League hit back, accusing the UGTT of provoking the clashes by attacking its members with batons when they tried to participate peacefully in the demonstration.

“Whenever there is a protest by the left, they insult us, they insult the government and al-Nahda, even though no one has touched them. The reality is that they (leftist groups) are professional criminals,” the group said on its Facebook page.

Rights organizations such as The Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH) and the National Union of Journalists are to hold urgent meetings to discuss the implications of the incident. …more

Egypt on Precipice: Silence is not an option
Cario Institute for Human Rights Studies – Nadine Sherif – 5 December, 2012

Standing at the precipice of history, Morsi has a choice to make: be president of Egypt or be a leader in the Muslim Brootherhood.

At this moment, two persons have been reported died, including a female protestor. Petrol bombs and birds shots are being used by Morsi supporters against his opponents in front of the presidential palace. Reporters have been attacked, and cameras have been damaged.

A coalition of well respected opposition figures and political parties unified behind ElBaradei, Mousa, and Sabahi to demand an inclusive Constitutional Assembly and withdrawal of the Constitutional Declaration, and mobilize hundreds of thousands in more than 7 governorates to protest for more than a week. In press conference today they all came together announcing Dr. Elbaradei as the leader of the coalition.

Before the election at Fairmont Hotel agreement, president Morsi promised more than 72 of the revolutionary and liberal force to be inclusive and include them in executive decsisions as well as to reform the Constitutional Assembly. Yet he recent actions have been anything but inclusive.

Today at a press conference the Vice President announced that even he wasn’t consulted on the Constitutional Declaration. Previously, the Minister of Justice stated the same. Two of the Presidents advisers, including the Advicer on Democratic Transition resigned in protest. Four members of the National Human Rights Council resigned due to Islamist intervention into council business and absence of institutional independence.

Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood have closed all avenues for peaceful dissent. With the Constitution Declaration Morsi closed all legal means to challenge his decisions and hold him accountable. A measure that wasn’t taken by any other Egyptian president.

Yesterday, Egypt’s most prominent independent newspapers staged a one day media blackout, followed by major Egypt’s Satelite channels, in protest continuous violations and threats to freedom of expression. These are not limited to violations committed since Morsi took presidency but extends to oppression soon to be enshrined in the newly drafted constitution.

The Muslim Brother have gone as far as to used force to stop government institutions from functioning. The Constitutinoal court has not be able to convene for five days. Muslim Brotherhood supporters have stop judges from entering building by force. Police forces haven’t intervened in time to regulate the protests and allowing a peaceful passage of the judges into the court. There has been no comment from the president regarding hampering the functioning of state institutions.

Today, pro-democracy protestors, respected the institution of the presidenacy and didn’t prevent the President or the Vice President from entering the presidential palace. Yet, pro-Morsi supporters, who were rallied by Muslim Brotherhood beginning at 10 pm yesterday, have violently attacked the protestors. Near by churches have been declared field hospitals to deal with injured. This is an alarming turn of events.

Egypt is on the edge of an irreversible path. If Morsi does not step up to the role of President of all Egyptians the peace revolution of Jan 25, 2011 is at risk of becoming blood drenched.

Please publicly and privatly urge President Morsi to live up to his responsibility, and to take action to prevent further escalation by the Muslim Brotherhood and/or the police.

…more

Wikileaks, Anonymous: ?
By Ryan O’Neill – Global Research – 4 December, 2012

Throughout early 2011, the European liberal left were in a frenzy over the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings that were sweeping across the region. The Mainstream Media supplied around the clock coverage of the mass demonstrations in Tahrir Square as we were told that the people of the Arab world were standing up to tyranny and demanding the democratic freedoms and human rights that are held in such high esteem in the west.

However, this hysteria took a dark turn in February and March of that year when armed gangs managed to take control of Benghazi in Libya and everyone from FOX News to far left political organizations immediately began to hail these events as part of some progressive revolution. In London, demonstrations began to break out in support of these rebel groups and members of the Socialist Workers Party even scaled the walls of the Libyan Embassy and replaced the Libyan flag with that of the King Idris flag which represented the Benghazi rebels.[i]

It’s incredibly problematic when organisations in the West feel they not only have a right to attach themselves to developments and struggles throughout the third world but that they can instinctively and egotistically act on them. This type of behavior rarely considers the importance of contextualization and takes sides in such conflicts depending on which narrative fits their romantic notions of ‘global revolution’ and which version their newly assumed role would sit more comfortable with. Wikileaks and Anonymous for instance, despite being relatively new organisations, are merely a new form of such behavior.

The problem is that most of these groups in the west are based on the liberal ideas of individualism and human rights formed in more privileged societies that exist in comfort at the expense of oppressed nations. Whilst following a neo-colonial agenda, countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom are able to portray themselves as progressive, philanthropic nations delivering democracy, aid and human rights to poorer nations and their apparent protection and tolerance of such free and democratic values amongst their own populations only serve to support such claims.

The type of dissent that these organisations represent and attempt to address are always with regards to ‘authoritarianism’, ‘libertarianism’, ‘freedom of expression’ and ‘democratic rights’ that merely frame the issue to the extent that the rights and injustices that are at the center of third world struggles go largely ignored. Whistleblowing in this sense serves the same purpose as the publishing of political memoirs, or the occasional negative self reflection of the press on past events that are always too little, too late. They do not hold any real clout to make a difference politically yet serve the notions that “dissent” is tolerated, and published in the west.

In 2012, Wikileaks released 2.4 million emails that showed correspondence between political figures, ministries and associated companies in Syria from between 2006 and 2012. Sarah Harrison of the Associated Press claimed that the

“material is embarrassing to Syria” but claims that Syria’s opponents will equally be ashamed. “It helps us not merely to criticize one group or another, but to understand their interests, actions and thoughts. It is only through understanding this conflict that we can hope to resolve it.”[ii]

The problem with such action from Wikileaks is how it completely failed to take into account the already established campaign by western governments and media outlets to slander Bashar Al Assad’s government in Syria and how this could, and would be used to give support and legitimacy to their claims. When the most powerful country in the world with the most powerful media agencies at its disposal are targeting Syria, slandering its government and constantly pushing for “Humanitarian Intervention”, this irresponsible lack of contextualization can only serve Syria’s enemies.

For instance, the emails revealed arms trading between Russia and Syria despite the UN (under pressure from the US) imposing sanctions on the country. These leaked documents were then used by the Mainstream Media to support Hilary Clinton’s claims that Russia were blocking their resolutions at the UN Security Council based on a desire to continue to sell weapons to Syria. However, no mention was obviously made of the high tech weapons and support given to the Free Syria Army by western nations or the Saudi and Qatari mercenaries at the heart of their struggle, nor did it mention Russia’s reservations that the same scenario had led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Libyans less than a year earlier.

Wikileaks and Julian Assange, as a figure who is no stranger to the power of media propaganda certainly know how dangerously convenient these actions are to those conducting war against Syria and this irresponsible conduct as if Syrians are struggling on a level playing field and that Wikileaks have a right, or even a responsibility to act in such a way is incredibly damaging.

Dollar-Less Iranians Discover Virtual Currency
By Max Raskin – 29 November, 2012 – Bloomberg

Under sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies, dollars are hard to come by in Iran. The rial fell from 20,160 against the greenback on the street market in August to 36,500 rials to the dollar in October. It’s settled, for now, around 27,000. The central bank’s fixed official rate is 12,260. Yet there’s one currency in Iran that has kept its value and can be used to purchase goods from abroad: bitcoins, the online-only currency.

Created in 2009 by a mysterious programmer named Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoins behave a lot like any currency. Their value is determined by demand, and they can be used to buy stuff. Bitcoin transactions are encrypted and handled by a decentralized global network of tens of thousands of personal computers. Merchants around the world accept the currency, from a bakery in San Francisco to a dentist in Finland. Individuals who own bitcoins and wish to exchange them for physical currencies like euros or dollars can use exchange sites such as localbitcoins.com, a Finland-based site founded by Jeremias Kangas. “I believe that bitcoin is, or will be in the future, a very effective tool for individuals who want to avoid sanctions, currency restrictions, and high inflation in countries such as Iran,” Kangas wrote in an e-mail.

The advantage for Iranians is that bitcoins can be swapped for dollars that can then be kept outside the country. Another plus: Regulators can’t easily track the transactions, since bitcoins aren’t issued from a central server. Bitcoin users can conduct business on virtual private networks, which hide customers’ identities.

At online store coinDL.com, shoppers can use bitcoins to buy Beyond Matter, the latest album from Iranian artist Mohammad Rafigh. Anyone in the U.S. downloading songs, which fetch .039 bitcoins or 45¢ each, risks violating U.S. sanctions. That doesn’t bother Rafigh, who’s studying computer engineering as well as playing music. “Bitcoin is so interesting for me,” Rafigh wrote in an e-mail. “I wish the culture of using digital money spreads all over the world, because it does not have any dependency on anything like politics.” Rafigh has translated some bitcoin software into Farsi for his friends. “I love Iran, and if bitcoin is good for me, it can be good for more Iranians like me.” …more

This is Part 2 of a four-part series, “How Petraeus Created the Myth of His Success.” Part One: “How the Myth Began – Petraeus in Mosul” was published November 27, 2012.

How Petraeus Quietly Stoked the Fires of Sectarian War Without Getting Burned
4 December, 2012 – By Gareth Porter – Truthout

Introduction

The discovery of his affair with Paula Broadwell has ended David Petraeus’ career, but the mythology of Petraeus as the greatest US military leader since Eisenhower for having engineered turnarounds in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars lives on.

A closer examination of his role in those wars reveals a very different picture, however.

As this four-part series shows, Petraeus represents a new type of military commander, whose primary strength lay neither in strategy nor in command of combat, but in the strategic manipulation of information to maintain domestic political support for counterinsurgency wars of choice, while at the time enhancing his own reputation.

The series shows how Petraeus was engaged from the beginning of the Iraq war in creating a myth about himself as a commander with unique ability to defeat insurgents, that he had failed in his first two commands in Iraq and that he did not believe that war was winnable.

But the account also shows that Petraeus seems to have eventually begun to believe his own myth of himself as successful counterinsurgency strategist. The shift from deception of others to self-deception is the dominant theme of his command of the war in Afghanistan.

Sectarian Militias and “Frago 242”

In April 2004, the US-supported Iraqi Civil Defense Corps units, recruited from Sunni communities, collapsed in the face of insurgent offensive, shrinking overnight by more than 50 percent – including 82 percent of the troops in the Sunni stronghold of western Iraq. The US military and the Bush administration suddenly realized that they could not rely on the Sunni troops and police to fight the Sunni insurgency.

That event propelled David Petraeus into a new level of responsibility. He was given a new command to oversee the creation of a new Iraqi military and police force, along with his third star. Petraeus told Newsweek that he had met with President George W. Bush and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, and they had told him, “Whatever you need, you’ve got it.”

The decision to name Petraeus commander of Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I) was accompanied by another momentous decision: the Defense Department abandoned its previous public policy of requiring that sectarian militias disband – a policy it had not actually carried out. In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 19, 2004, Wolfowitz said, “The approach to those militias is to try over time to integrate them into new Iraqi security forces.”

The militias in question were both Shi’a and Kurdish, and the idea of using them to fight Sunni insurgents raised the specter of sectarian and ethnic warfare. But that was consistent with the larger strategy of Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, the undersecretary of defense for policy: a de facto alliance with the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and its military arm, the Badr Organization.

Their friend Ahmad Chalabi, head of the anti-Saddam Iraqi National Congress who was aligned with SCIRI and Badr, had promised them that that a Shi’a government would normalize relations with Israel. Along with the rest of the neoconservative elite, Wolfowitz and Feith refused to believe Chalabi’s allies intended to pursue a sectarian Shi’a political agenda, with support and direction from Iran.

A third consequential Bush decision followed the Petraeus command decision and the new reliance on Shi’a troops: an order to US commanders not to interfere, in effect, with the torture of prisoners by Iraqi security forces. On June 26, 2004, the US military command in Baghdad issued “Frago [fragmentary order] 242,” regarding the handling of incidents of detainee abuse by Iraqi troops and police. The order said, “Only an initial report will be made for apparent LOAC [Law of Armed Conflict Violations] … not involving US personnel. No further investigation will be required unless direct by higher HQ.”

That order, issued a few weeks after Petraeus had set up the new training command, opened the door for the use by newly formed Iraqi security forces of brutal interrogation techniques on suspected insurgents. It came shortly after the Abu Ghraib scandal over mistreatment of Iraqi detainees by US troops had blown up in April, raising serious questions about Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s previous approval of the use of torture by the US military to obtain intelligence on the Iraqi insurgency from detainees. …more

Urgent Appeal: Political Prisoner Ali Radhi’s Health Rapidly Deteriorating on 4th Day of Hunger Strike
4 December, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The 23 year-old political prisoner Ali Radhi from Al-Eker village is on the fourth day of a hunger strike to protest being placed in a solitary confinement for the last four days without any explanation. His health is rapidly deteriorating.

Following his arrest last October, Ali Radhi has been allegedly beaten, tortured, and forced into signing a confession against his will as well as implicate a list of people in other alleged crimes; Ali did not know many of the people on the list. During his interrogation, one of the main interrogators and torturers, Isa Al-Majali, told Ali “You will say what we want you to say, or you will be taken into the ‘black room’”. Ali continued to demand to see a lawyer, and he was taken into the ‘black room’ where he was brutally beaten.

Radhi was taken to the office of the Public Prosecution, and initially was relieved to be in a location where there is not supposed to be any facilities for torturous interrogation. When Radhi spoke to the Public Prosecutor, he informed him that the confession was made under duress, that he was tortured, and that he wanted to see a lawyer. The Prosecutor warned Ali to not continue with these claims, and when Radhi repeated his demand for a lawyer, according to information received by the BCHR, he was taken behind some stairs in the public prosecution building, and severely beaten.

When Ali was sent to the Dry Dock prison, he could barely walk and required the use of crutches. During the attack on prisoners few days ago, Ali’s cell has been raided by prison guards, and he was severely beaten before being moved from to Alnabih Saleh police station and put in solitary confinement without giving him any explanation. According to what he has told his lawyer during a quick phone call yesterday, Ali has started a hunger since 1 Dec 2012 to demand that he is taken out of solitary confinement and is returned to the Dry Dock where he was originally being held. On the 4th of December, his family received an update on his health, after a doctor was allowed to examine his conditions: his blood sugar level is low, and he is urinating blood.

Radhi was arrested in Al-Eker village, which has recently been the site of an intense government crackdown in association with the incident of a policeman’s death in which the government has accused the protester. Police officers and civilian militias raided homes and beat and arrested people without warrants, and blocked the supply of food and medical supplies to the injured. (See BCHR article from October 21st, 2012: bahrainrights.org/en/node/5487 and bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/5486 )

The BCHR has received reports that many other prisoners are on a hunger strike, but because of the lack of transparency and communication, it has not yet been possible to confirm these other cases.

BCHR believes these acts are in violation of the prisoners’ rights and aim at discouraging other prisoners from speaking out against the abuses they are subjected to. BCHR believes that the Bahraini authorities are taking extra measures, including placement in solitary confinement, to control the hundreds of political prisoners, in absence of regular and independent monitoring of the prisons. …more

UN calls on Israel to open nuclear facilities
4 December, 2012 – By Edith M. Lederer – Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS: The U.N. General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling on Israel to quickly open its nuclear program for inspection and backing a high-level conference to ban nuclear weapons from the Middle East which was just canceled.

All the Arab nations and Iran had planned to attend the conference in mid-December in Helsinki, Finland, but the United States announced on Nov. 23 that it wouldn’t take place, citing political turmoil in the region and Iran’s defiant stance on nonproliferation. Iran and some Arab nations countered that the real reason for the cancellation was Israel’s refusal to attend.

The resolution, approved Monday by a vote of 174-6 with 6 abstentions, calls on Israel to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty “without further delay” and open its nuclear facilities to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Those voting “no” were Israel, the U.S., Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau.

Resolutions adopted by the 193-member General Assembly are not legally binding but they do reflect world opinion and carry moral and political weight.

Israel refuses to confirm or deny it has nuclear bombs though it is widely believed to have a nuclear arsenal. It has refused to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, or NPT, along with three nuclear weapon states – India, Pakistan and North Korea.

The Arab proposal to create a weapons-of-mass-destruction-free zone in the Mideast, and to pressure Israel to give up its undeclared arsenal of perhaps 80 nuclear warheads, was endorsed at an NPT conference in 1995 but never acted on. In 2010, the 189 parties to the 1970 treaty called for convening a conference in 2012 on the establishment of a WMD-free zone in the Middle East.
…more

Royal Guard patrol cars could be used to crush ‘popular dissent’ in the Gulf Kingdom

Storm over German plan to supply Saudi Arabia with armoured vehicles
Tony Paterson – 3 December, 2012 – The Independent

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is reported to be considering a request from Saudi Arabia for the supply of several hundred German-made “Boxer” armoured patrol vehicles which are purpose built to help the military combat rebel forces and could be used to crush popular dissent.

In a report on the proposed arms deal which was leaked to Der Spiegel magazine, it was said that the request was discussed last week at a secret session of Germany’s federal security council which had previously given the go ahead for the controversial supply of anti-tank rocket launchers to Israel.

The magazine said the Saudi government had requested the Boxer vehicles for the Saudi Royal Guard – a unit whose role is confined mainly to protecting the Saudi royal family. “The Boxer is roadworthy and suitable for combating uprisings,” it noted.

It said that in the event of the “Arab Spring” spreading to Saudi Arabia, the Royal Guard would almost certainly be used to defend the royal family to the last. “Then there would be the possibility of German armoured vehicles being used against the masses,” the magazine wrote.

The Boxer is currently used by German forces in Afghanistan as an armoured troop transporter and patrol vehicle. It can also be used as a mini field hospital. The Saudi demand for the vehicles comes on top of a request for the supply of 270 German-built Leopard 2 tanks, which rate as the most sophisticated of their kind in the world.

The Leopard 2 “A7” version Saudi Arabia has requested is specifically designed for use in close combat situations such as house-to-house fighting. The deal could earn the manufacturers, the German arms producer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, up to €2bn.

Krauss-Mafffei is reported to have sent a Leopard 2 “A7” to Saudi Arabia for test purposes in July this year. A German army tank specialist was also sent along to monitor firing tests. However, Ms Merkel’s government is reported to have postponed any decision about the Saudi request for both the Leopard 2 tanks and Boxer armoured vehicles until next year.

The supply of German Leopard 2 tanks to Saudi Arabia was dismissed as “morally indefensible” by German opposition parties when news of the request emerged last year. Critics pointed out that the Saudi government had helped to crush a popular uprising in Bahrain in 2011. Volker Rühe, a former conservative defence minister, protested that Saudi Arabia needed “far-reaching reforms not weapons”.

Germany’s federal security council, which Ms Merkel presides over in person, was said to have secretly waived through the supply of anti-tank rocket launchers to Israel after first postponing the idea.

The German manufacturers, Dynamit Nobel Defence, advertise the weapons as being ideal for use over short distances or for firing from inside buildings. “They would be perfect for use against Hamas in the Gaza strip,” Der Spiegel wrote.

The security council decided against taking any decision about an Israeli request for anti-tank rocket launchers in June this year because of German Foreign Ministry concerns that they might be used for house-to-house fighting in areas of civilian unrest. However, on Monday their export was agreed because Israel was perceived to be under serious threat from Hamas, Der Spiegel said.

Like all her post-Second World War predecessors, Chancellor Merkel has insisted that for Germany the security of the state of Israel is “not negotiable”. Earlier this year the German government was reported to have supplied Israel with submarines capable of being equipped with nuclear warheads. …source

President Bush said: “The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear-weapons production.”

But Thielmann disagreed with Powell’s statement: “My understanding is that these particular vehicles were simply fire trucks. You cannot really describe as being a unique signature.” ….more

Alarm over Syria’s secretive chemical weapons
4 December, 2012 – Agence France Presse – The Daily Star

WASHINGTON: Activity around Syria’s chemical weapons is ringing alarm bells in Washington and other world capitals, but secrecy surrounding the stockpile makes it difficult to gauge its nature and size.

US President Barack Obama on Monday warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “there will be consequences” if he unleashed those weapons in the civil war wracking his country.

A US official told AFP that Syria had begun mixing chemicals that could be used to make sarin, a deadly nerve agent, while CNN reported Damascus could deploy the gas in a limited artillery attack on advancing rebels.

Experts, though, are unable to define the extent of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal, emphasising that little public information exists. Syria is one of the few countries that has not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Damascus has however signed the Geneva protocol, which bars the first use of chemical and biological weapons, though it does not make stipulations about production, storage and transfer.

“We are closely following information about Syria… but we can’t say more without sending inspectors on the ground,” Michael Luhan, a spokesman for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, told AFP.

Intelligence services also have little to say on the subject.

“Syria’s well-established chemical warfare program includes a stockpile of nerve agent, which can be delivered by aircraft or ballistic missiles,” Defense Intelligence Agency chief Lieutenant General Ronald Lee Burgess said in March 2011 testimony before a Senate panel.

“Syria continues to seek chemical warfare-related precursors and expertise from foreign sources.”

Syria is stockpiling “hundreds of tons” of various chemical agents, according to Leonard Spector of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

…more

Nearly two years on from Bahrain’s uprising, protests continue on a daily basis and human rights violations are rampant. Roshan Muhammed Salih argues the revolution has proven an inconvenient one not only for a complicit West but for the region’s Sunnis too.

Despite Western complicity and Arab indifference, Bahrain’s revolution goes on
By Roshan Muhammed Salih – 2 December, 2012 – Ceasefire

Bahrain has all the ingredients of the typical Arab Spring uprising – mass protests against pro-western despotic rulers, human rights violations, unlawful detention, military courts, foreign intervention, heroic resistance and bravery.

This cocktail has proven to be an effective mobiliser of the so-called Arab street, encouraging millions to support “good against evil, the “people versus the regime”. But not in Bahrain.

The truth is that much of the Arab and wider Muslim world remains indifferent to the situation there, buying into the sectarian propaganda bandied about by satellite TV stations and media commentators.

This uprising is seen by many as a Shia revolt which might extend Iran’s influence in the region. This attitude, in my view, is a serious error which will only entrench US-led imperialism through its Saudi proxy, and will poison Sunni-Shia relations when Muslim unity is a pre-requisite for Arab Spring success.

Rather, the uprising in Bahrain should be seen as a mutiny against despotism and western imperialism. And it should be supported by Sunnis whose own schools of thought have always considered Shias to be their brothers, and who should realise that western imperialism is the major obstacle to true and meaningful change.

Yet the fact is that nearly two years after the uprising first broke out in February 2011, not much seems to have changed in the country itself. Protests take place every day (largely unreported), human rights abuses and discrimination remain rampant, and the so-called reform process remains stalled.

The uprising has also been overshadowed by events in Syria, and more recently in Gaza, while regional and international support for Bahrain’s despotic rulers remains firm. And the Sunni world, it seems, just doesn’t care.

Human rights

A year ago the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) excoriated the country’s rulers for using “excessive force” during a crackdown on protests in early 2011.

The head of the commission, Cherif Bassiouni, said many detainees were subjected to “physical and psychological torture” and their basic human rights had been violated. Many inmates, he added, had been blindfolded, whipped, kicked, given electric shocks and threatened with rape to extract confessions.

Sayyid Ahmad, who was recently granted asylum in Britain, says he has direct experience of this.

“Masked men beat me, they blindfolded and cuffed me when I was in detention,” he told me. “They made me chant slogans against Shia leaders, they pulled my hair, spat in my face. But the worst thing was when they sexually abused me – that was the only time when I felt I couldn’t take it anymore. That made me hate myself.”

Ahmed obtained his degree in electrical engineering from Brighton University before going back to Bahrain to find work in 2010. But on his return, he says, he couldn’t find a job because the best ones were reserved for Sunnis.

So after a frustrating 8 months unable to find the job he felt he deserved, Ahmad was more than ready to join the protests when they erupted in February 2011. …more

Bahraini Activist: Al-Khalifa Regime Powerless to Suppress Popular Revolution
3 December, 2012 – Bahrain Freedom Movement

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Bahraini opposition figure said that the incapability of the Al-Khalifa to suppress the popular uprising in the tiny Persian Gulf island shows that the regime lacks the power to confront people’s peaceful revolution.

“Some security and military bodies of Bahrain, whose decision-makers are not known and are involved in the suppression of the nation, are now facing internal differences emanating from power-mongering,” Jamil Kazzem, a senior member of Bahrain’s National al-Wefaq party, told Al-Alam television channel on Saturday.

He further lashed out at the Bahraini media for censoring the news coverage of the regime’s suppressions and besieging many regions of the country, specially Mahza village near the capital Manama.

Yesterday, hundreds of Bahrainis staged large demonstrations across the country, calling for the ouster of the al-Khalifa regime and the establishment of a democratic ruling system in their tiny Persian Gulf island.

The protesters asked for the downfall of the Bahraini regime, establishment of a democratic system, and voiced support for people in Mahza village, southern capital City of Manama, which has been under siege by the Bahraini security forces since two weeks ago.

According to the Bahraini media, the security forces have launched several night raids on the village residents.

The Bahraini government, facing protracted unrest by an overwhelming majority of the people, has resorted to any harsh measure to suppress popular protests and arrest political activists. It also revoked the nationality of 31 men on charges of harming national security earlier this month.

The men include London-based dissidents Saeed al-Shehabi and Ali Mushaima, the son of jailed opposition leader Hassan Mushaima, as well as clerics, human rights lawyers and activists.

Also on the list published by Bahraini News Agency (BNA) were two former parliamentarians from the leading Shiite party Wefaq, Jawad and Jalal Fairooz.

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty’s over-40-year rule, end of discrimination, establishment of justice and a democratically-elected government as well as freedom of detained protesters.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13, 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

So far, tens of people have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured. …source

Bahrain: ANHRI calls the Bahraini regime to respect the freedom of expression and the religious belief
Cairo – 2 December, 2012

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) today condemned the Bahraini security forces use of excessive force to address the demonstrations that took place in several villages near Manama on Friday, November 30, 2012.

Several villages near Manama had witnessed mass demonstrations to protest on the security siege imposed by the security forces since three weeks on “Mahza” village, in an answer to the call of the February 14 coalition. They carried banners include slogans opposes the regime and pictures of the detainees in the Bahraini prisons. Bahraini security have addressed the demonstrations by dense tear gas, sound bombs and shut gun bullets which resulted in several injuries among the protesters; such as “Ahmed Mohamed El-Elwani” who was arrested from the village of El-Mosli with a group of his friends then they were tortured before his releasing his friends and he still in the El-Khamis police station.

In a related context the Bahraini security forces destroyed some Shiite mosques in the some villages, among them “Abutaleb” mosque in “Hamd Dawar 19” city and the military mosque of El-Hussien in the city of Hamd Dawar 22. In addition to destroying a wall of Fadak mosque as well as tearing some religious banners and slogans in some regions.

ANHRI said that “the repressive policy of the regime, which escalated recently, begin to clear that it discriminates between the people. The regime started to follow the Shiite activists and villages in addition to destroying their worship houses and assaulting their special ceremonies. The regime also prosecuted the preachers due to their speeches in Friday prayers in order to represent the revolution as if its sectarian not popular in addition to increasing the intransigence of the regime in dealing with the legitimate requests of Bahraini people”.

ANHRI called the Bahrini regime to respect the freedom of expression and the freedom of belief to all the people. …source

330 Houses Raided in Mehazza, 90 arrested
4 December, 2012 – Shia Post

Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society held a forum Sunday in solidarity with the Mehazza village under siege, in Sitra island, in which it demanded the siege be lifted and an immediate stop to daily house raids. Al-Wefaq sees these practices as part of the regime’s collective punishment against villages and areas where any opposition exists.
Al-Wefaq stated that the regime bears full responsibility of the abuses against citizens in the village of Mehazza.

Sayed Jameel Khadim, head of al-Wefaq Shura Council, said during the forum that abuses and violations are perpetrated in bright day light in Mehazza by the regime forces with no shame whatsoever. He denounced the immoral behavior of the forces and the regime’s silence.

Khadim questioned the role of the international community that has limited its condemnation of violence to the opposition. ” The authority is the one responsible for violence and incitement against and targeting of the opposition. Where is the international community from this? Is it only going to be concerned?”, he said. He also called on everyone that has been subjected to abuse or any kind of violation to document such incidents.

Sadeq Rabea, a municipal member representing Sitra who has been dismissed, mentioned in his speech at the forum that 330 houses in Mehazza village have been raided, some of which were houses of families of martyrs of the revolution. Rabea said that more than 90 citizens were arrested during these house raids, some have been released while others remain in detention.

Rabea also pointed out that the detainees have been forced to sign on confessions they knew nothing of. He mentioned, “A detainee’s wife said that her husband has been subjected to immoral torture,” he added, ” this is no exaggeration”. …source

Bahrain: Reports of Abuse, Threats & Beatings of Political Prisoners at the Dry Dock prison
02 December, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) expresses its grave concern over the wellbeing and safety of the Dry Dock political prisoners, especially the prisoners of section 3, who have been reportedly attacked on more than one occasion after the release of a statement by a newly formed Prisoners of Conscience Coalition (PCCB).

The statement was released on 27th, Nov 2012 and concentrates on the need for starting a new phase to object the injustices experienced by the political detainees. It also asked for the support of political societies, human rights and international movements. The statement ends with a promise of announcing more details in the coming few days.

On Thursday 29th Nov, the BCHR received information that section 3 was stormed by riot police and attacked. The families of section 3 detainees have had no communication with their sons since the day of the reported attack and there are worrying reports of political prisoners being beaten and some transferred to solitary confinement.

According to the information received by the BCHR, the prisoners were first attacked on the 27th of November less than 15 minutes after the release of the statement, which spoke of the worrying conditions of Bahraini political prisoners and vowed to take action in demanding their rights. PCCB stated that “the abuse” of prisoners “starts from the first stages of the usually brutal arrests carried out by security forces and secret agents, to the physical and psychological torture during interrogations, where prisoners are forced to sign confessions which are then used against them in courts that lack any form of justice and independence”

The BCHR has documented thousands of cases of abuse of political prisoners since the start of the February 14th mass protests, including physical and psychological torture, lack of medical treatment of injured prisoners, and imprisonment of minors. The BCHR fully supports the prisoner’s right to form a coalition to call for their rights and an end to violations.

Based on the above, the BCHR calls on the US, the UK, the UN and all other allies and international institutions to put pressure on the Government of Bahrain to:

1. Immediately grant access to the prison to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other independent human rights organizations with qualified and honest inspectors to examine the situation. Also, to reform the situation and to prosecute those involved in any violations and to punish or isolate delinquent administrative authorities.
2. Immediately release all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience who were detained for merely exercising their rights as granted in the universal declaration of human rights.
3. Immediately drop all trumped up charges, especially those relating to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.
4. Immediately stop systematic torture of prisoners & allow them to call their families.
5. Hold all those within the government, it’s ministries and employees who are responsible for human rights violations accountable.

…source

Bahrain Continues to Drag Feet Along Pathway to Reform
3 December, 2012 – Human Rights First

Washington, DC – Today’s postponement of the an appeal hearing for the prominent dissidents known as the Bahrain 13 marks another missed chance for the Kingdom’s authorities to start making real human rights progress, said Human Rights First. The appeal hearing was postponed until January 7, 2013.

“The constant delays in court hearings only adds to the perception that Bahrain authorities are dragging their feet along the path to reform,” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley. “These men were given a sham trial in military court last year and today’s decision just further postpones justice in this case.”

Last week, a Bahraini court ruled in the appeal of nine members of the political society Amal. Four of the men had their original sentences reduced from 10 to five years in prison, while the other five were released. Those still in jail are Sheikh Mohammed Ali Almahfoodh, Talal Abdulhamid, Sheikh Jasim Aldimistani, and Sayed Mahdi Almusawi .

“The delay to release the Amal people means a delay in reaching any solution in Bahrain,” a close observer of the case in Bahraini told Human Rights First. “The charges against them do not even meet the standards of official charges, and till now, there is no real evidence against them in court.”

The Amal Society, also known as the Islamic Action Society, was one of the groups prominent in the protests in Bahrain early last year. During the crackdown following the February and March protests the government closed its headquarters and de-registered Amal as a political society.

This week a four-member UN human rights team is in Bahrain to assess the human rights crisis and next week, on December 11, leading human rights defender and President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) Nabeel Rajab is due to hear his verdict in his appeal against a three-year prison term for taking part in illegal gatherings.

Human Rights First President and CEO Elisa Massimino recently traveled to Bahrain, where she witness court proceedings in the case of 28 medics prosecuted after treating injured protestors during the democratic uprising last year. Her account of that trip was featured in an opinion piece published today by The Washington Post. …source

A joint Event between the European-Bahraini Organisation for Human Rights and «Amnesty International – Netherlands
1 December, 2012

A joint Event between the European-Bahraini Organisation for Human Rights and «Amnesty International – Netherlands» to highlight the human rights abuses in Bahrain

‘Bahrain: Shouting in the dark’, a documentary by Al Jazeera English was screened to emphasize to those present about the violation of human rights in Bahrain. The screening was followed by a paper that was distributed among those present in which “Ahmed Al-Hadad”, who is a member of EBOHR and Amnesty International defined the human rights violations continuing in Bahrain, and the absence of accountability by local and international authorities; which in turn enables the authorities in Bahrain to continue the violations despite the issuance of the first recommendations of the Independent Commission of Inquiry, and other recommendations of the human rights Council of the United Nations.

Mr. Ahmed Al-Haddad, head of information and media at the European-Bahraini Organisation for Human Rights

Among those present were a number of university professors, politicians and previous representatives of the United Nations, including an ex-rapporteur of torture on the Human Rights Council.

The activity was applauded and the discussion that followed confirmed that the principles of human rights are the right of all humans, without exception and must be respected. Also, international and local accountability should not exclude anyone, regardless of political and economic interests.

Foreign students signed a petition submitted by Amnesty International (Netherlands – Maastricht branch), and the European Organization – Bahrain Human Rights, which will be raised to the human rights office and foreign affairs of the European Union, demanding the Union to take effective action to stop the violations and hold those responsible accountable. It also requested the release of all detainees of opinion, especially of Bahraini-Danish AbdelHadi El-Khawaja, Nabeel Ragab, defender of global human rights, and the Bahraini-Swedish citizen, Mohammad Habib al-Miqdad.

At the end of the event, the students declared their solidarity with the people of Bahrain, and denounced the daily human rights violations suffered by the people of Bahrain. They raised placards in a show of solidarity, and a message to the People of Bahrain: “You have friends who have not forgotten you.” A week of solidarity was also promised in solidarity with the Bahraini people specifically and the people of the Arabian Gulf in general.

A group of Dutch students holding photographs and messages of solidarity with the people of Bahrain

…more

=========================

Ahmed Al-haddad
Amnesty International
Head of Information & Media Relations
European-Bahraini Organisation for Human Rights (EBOHR)
www.ebohr.org
Twitter: @Diablohaddad
Mobile: +31623800921
Skype: a.alhaddado

Nobody loves Kim but those who stand to profit from her image. Face it Kim your hateful sales presence is hated around the globe. You make me wana puke Kim! Phlipn out.

Bahraini’s protesting Kim Ks “milk shake” chain redefined by Western media as “hardline Islamists”. Not only does this definition of the protest fit with the dumbshit journalists in the Western press, it fails even pretend to understand what the protest was about. Can you image the reaction in the US if protesters were to be gassed and beat in the streets protesting a milkshake shop they found distasteful. Phlipn Out.

Bahrain police deploy teargas at anti-Kim Kardashian protest

Hardline Islamic demonstrators clash with police as reality TV star visits Middle East kingdom and tweets its praises
1 December, 2012 – the Guardian

Bahrain police deploy teargas at anti-Kim Kardashian protest

Hardline Islamic demonstrators clash with police as reality TV star visits Middle East kingdom and tweets its praises

Just hours after the reality TV star Kim Kardashian gushed about her impressions of Bahrain, riot police fired teargas to disperse more than 50 hardline Islamic protesters who were denouncing her presence in the Gulf kingdom.

The clashes took place just before Kardashian opened the Bahrain branch of her Millions of Milkshakes shop.

An Associated Press journalist saw protesters chanting “God is Great” near the shopping complex in Riffa, about 20km (12 miles) south of the capital, Manama. The demonstrators were cleared before Kardashian appeared late Saturday.

Earlier, Kardashian posted glowing remarks about Bahrain on her Twitter account, calling it “the prettiest place on earth”. The remark was re-Tweeted by Bahrain’s foreign minister.

Kardashian was in Kuwait earlier this week, to open another branch of the shop. …source

Amidst widening of the Islamic-Secular Divide

Showdown in Egypt
By: Esam Al-Amin – Counter Punch

Ever since the fall of former dictator Hosni Mubarak on that fateful day in February 2011, Egyptian society and its political factions have been sharply divided. On one side is the Islamic parties led by the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) but also includes the more conservative Salafi groups as well as other smaller moderate ones such as Al-Wasat Party. On the other is a myriad of secular groups that includes many liberal, leftist, as well as youth revolutionary groups such as the April 6 movement.

There is no doubt that the unity displayed during the eighteen revolutionary days that ousted Mubarak had soon after dissipated when Egyptians went to the polls five weeks later and voted to hold parliamentary elections before writing a new constitution. The Islamic parties, which supported this referendum, won it with over seventy-seven percent of the electorate as Egyptians voted in unprecedented numbers.

The Islamic political parties reasoned that a new constitution must be written by an elected body that represents the will of the Egyptian people while the secular parties, realizing that they would be overwhelmingly outnumbered at the ballot box, argued that a new constitution must be written by representatives of all political stripes outside any claim of a popular mandate even if legitimized through elections.

Hence, throughout the tumultuous transitional period supervised by the Egyptian military that lasted over sixteen months, the gulf and mistrust between the two sides have continued to widen. Basically, there have been four main active blocs in the Egyptian political theatre, with each maneuvering to obtain or maintain an advantage over the others. They are namely: the Islamists, the secularists, the revolutionary youth, and the remnants of the old regime. Each group determined its objectives according to its general political overview or narrow interests, and tried to establish its own transient coalition with the others in order to accomplish its goals. The wild card during this political wrangling was the military, which had its own agenda and was able to play these various forces against each other.

But what were the objectives of all these players?

Feeling empowered by their vast support in the streets, the Islamists wanted to hold elections as soon as possible in order to set the agenda and dominate the discussion on the writing of the new constitution and the future direction of the country. They argued that the principles of democracy dictate no less than holding elections at all levels to embody the will of the people. Early on the Islamists established a tacit understanding with the military in order to establish a smooth transition through popular elections. In return, the military hoped to maintain stability and order while figuring out the new political landscape.

On the other hand, the secular factions, which include many traditional liberals, leftists, nationalists, and some revolutionary youth groups, as well as the Coptic Christian community, feared a possible crushing defeat at the polls since they were hopelessly divided and terribly disorganized. So their main tactic during that period was to frustrate the agenda of the Islamists while trying to impose certain constitutional principles without debate by having the military council issue several decrees and appointing several committees dominated by many of them but only to see them fail or wither away.

The main agenda of many revolutionary youth groups such as the April 6 movement, the Ultras (non-affiliated youth groups willing to confront authority), or the Egyptian Current, was to press for the revolutionary demands such as purging the Egyptian institutions from the elements of the old regime, especially in the security apparatus, the police, the media, the judiciary, as well as exposing and isolating the corrupt politicians. Throughout the transitional period they applied full pressure and maintained continuous presence in the streets in order to force the military council and its appointed government to hold trials against senior members of the Mubarak regime and those responsible for the almost 1000 people killed during the early days of the revolution. But in many instances the revolutionary youth in the streets felt betrayed by the Islamists as often times their demands and actions were met with either lip service or disdain.

Meanwhile, the remnants of the old regime, called the fulool (Arabic for remnants) stayed in the background waiting for the right moment to regroup and launch a counterrevolution. The fulool included not only many pro-Mubarak politicians from the old regime but also many corrupt businessmen and oligarchs. They knew that if a new order was allowed to be established they would lose their ill-gotten wealth and possibly face imprisonment as many prominent senior officials of the former regime had to contend with.

But the military, which control as much as thirty percent of Egypt’s economy and has been autonomous with little governmental oversight or accountability for decades, was determined to maintain this status-quo and as much of its privileges as possible. It also did not want any politicians or political groups to interfere in, let alone control, its decision-making process, especially in its internal financial conglomerates or national security affairs. So for the entire transitional period the military council pitted these groups against each other, with each group calculating and selfishly protecting its own short-term interests regardless of the overall consequences on the main objectives of the popular revolution.

With this as the backdrop the Egyptian people went to the polls seven times during this period: voting on the constitutional referendum in March 2011, four times to elect both chambers of parliament between November 2011 and January 2012, and two times to elect a president in May and June 2012.

More Egyptians went to the polls during this period than in any election in the past six decades. During the Mubarak regime the electorate had never exceeded 6 million, or less than 15 percent of eligible voters. But during the 16 months transitional period, over 62 percent of Egyptians went to the polls as 18 million Egyptians voted in the referendum, 30 million in the parliamentary elections, and 26 million in the presidential elections. Not surprisingly, in every one of these elections, the Islamist position or candidates won (77 percent in the referendum and 73 percent of parliament.)

In the presidential elections, despite the polarization that engulfed the country, the overt support of the military council, the Egyptian bureaucracy, the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC), and the Elections Committee to the fulool candidate, as well as the massive propaganda machinery campaign against Dr. Muhammad Morsi; the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, still won though barely with 52 percent of the vote. It is important to note that both the Elections Commission and SCC were Mubarak’s appointees who also oversaw and overlooked many fraudulent elections during the Mubarak era, most notably the 2005 and 2010 rigged elections. Although it took over a week for the commission to announce the results, Morsi took office on June 30, 2012 in a polarized atmosphere. Despite the presence of the military council as the real power behind the thrown, people still had great expectations for the new president. …more

Okay, but what does “full democracy” mean and for whom? And what of preconditions and demands to free the Political Prisoners, Remove Security Forces from Villages, Restoration of Right to Protest and Assembly, Restoration of Banned Societies, Restoration of Citizenship Rights, Free Press, Oversight of Judiciary by an independent body… …all before any “dialogue” or “reconstitution” toward “full democracy”. And who would negotiate “full democracy”? Could there such negotiations without the freedom and participation of the political society leaders that languish in Hamad’s prisons? Phlipn

Activist: Establishment of Democracy only Way to Restore Security in Bahrain
1 December, 2012 – FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior member of Bahrain’s Islamic Action Society slammed the Bahraini regime for continuing detention and torturing of activists even 18 months after the start of popular protests across the country, and warned that establishment of democracy will be the only way to restore security and tranquility in the country.

“Without establishment of full democracy in Bahrain, security and calm will not be materialized, and security officials have no other way but to reconsider their decisions and correct their way of interaction with the people,” Hisham al-Sabbagh, a senior member of Bahrain’s Islamic Action Society told Iran’s Arabic-language news network, Al-Alam, on Saturday.

He further blasted the al-Khalifa regime for his hostile approach to the Bahraini people, apprehension of activists and opposition figures, killing and cracking down on citizens and villagers and launching night raids on their houses.

The Bahraini government, facing protracted unrest by an overwhelming majority of the people, has resorted to any harsh measure to suppress popular protests and arrest political activists. It also revoked the nationality of 31 men on charges of harming national security earlier this month.

The men include London-based dissidents Saeed al-Shehabi and Ali Mushaima, the son of jailed opposition leader Hassan Mushaima, as well as clerics, human rights lawyers and activists.

Also on the list published by Bahraini News Agency (BNA) were two former parliamentarians from the leading Shiite party Wefaq, Jawad and Jalal Fairooz.

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty’s over-40-year rule, end of discrimination, establishment of justice and a democratically-elected government as well as freedom of detained protesters.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13, 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

So far, tens of people have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured.
…source