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

EU preparing for new Iran sanctions
8 September, 2012 – Al Akhbar

European Union nations waved the threat of new international sanctions against Iran over its contested nuclear drive Saturday, as Russia complained such measures harm its interests.

With frustration mounting over the lack of progress in talks between global powers and Iran, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Tehran has made no “substantial offer” to reassure the world of its nuclear intentions.

“Therefore we must prepare new sanctions,” he told journalists at the close of two days of informal talks among EU foreign ministers, their first since the summer break.

“Atomic weapons in Iran are not acceptable,” Westerwelle added.

Iran had a right to nuclear energy for civilian purposes, said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, but “we consider unacceptable, highly dangerous, the prospect of Iran possessing nuclear weapons.”

There was “a growing consensus” at the talks to slap new punitive measures against Iran failing a breakthrough in negotiations, ministers said.

Russia said this week that no evidence of Iranian plans to develop nuclear weapons exist.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said existing sanctions were having “a serious impact” and that it was “necessary to increase the pressure on Iran, to intensify sanctions, to add further to the EU sanctions.”

Iran has seen a 50 percent cut in state revenues from the oil sector and faces dire storage problems because it cannot sell, a diplomatic source said.

The calls came just as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov grumbled that US sanctions on Syria and Iran were harming Russian business interests because they were “increasingly becoming extra-territorial in nature.”

He said Russian banks were particularly being affected.

But Russia has stirred Western and Arab world anger by vetoing three UN Security Council resolutions to sanction Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and some EU ministers showed little sympathy for the stance.

“If Mr Lavrov wants to avoid sanctions it would be simpler to take part in a political consensus at the Security Council,” said Belgium’s Foreign Minister Didier Reynders.

“If he criticizes the sanctions because they affect the economy, we should also, we Italians, and we Europeans, be the first to criticise the sanctions,” said Giulio Terzi, Italy’s foreign minister. …more

Iraq’s Shocking Human Toll: 1 million killed, 4.5 million displaced, 1-2 million widows, 5 million orphans
8 Septemebr, 2012 – ShiaPost

We are now able to estimate the number of Iraqis who have died in the war instigated by the Bush administration. Looking at the empirical evidence of Bush’s war legacy will put his claims of victory in perspective. Of course, even by his standards — “stability” — the jury is out. Most independent analysts would say it’s too soon to judge the political outcome. Nearly six years after the invasion, the country remains riven by sectarian politics and major unresolved issues, like the status of Kirkuk.

We have a better grasp of the human costs of the war. For example, the United Nations estimates that there are about 4.5 million displaced Iraqis — more than half of them refugees — or about one in every six citizens. Only 5 percent have chosen to return to their homes over the past year, a period of reduced violence from the high levels of 2005-07. The availability of healthcare, clean water, functioning schools, jobs and so forth remains elusive. According to Unicef, many provinces report that less than 40 percent of households have access to clean water. More than 40 percent of children in Basra, and more than 70 percent in Baghdad, cannot attend school.

The mortality caused by the war is also high. Several household surveys were conducted between 2004 and 2007. While there are differences among them, the range suggests a congruence of estimates. But none have been conducted for eighteen months, and the two most reliable surveys were completed in mid-2006. The higher of those found 650,000 “excess deaths” (mortality attributable to war); the other yielded 400,000. The war remained ferocious for twelve to fifteen months after those surveys were finished and then began to subside. Iraq Body Count, a London NGO that uses English-language press reports from Iraq to count civilian deaths, provides a means to update the 2006 estimates. While it is known to be an undercount, because press reports are incomplete and Baghdad-centric, IBC nonetheless provides useful trends, which are striking. Its estimates are nearing 100,000, more than double its June 2006 figure of 45,000. (It does not count nonviolent excess deaths — from health emergencies, for example — or insurgent deaths.) If this is an acceptable marker, a plausible estimate of total deaths can be calculated by doubling the totals of the 2006 household surveys, which used a much more reliable and sophisticated method for estimates that draws on long experience in epidemiology. So we have, at present, between 800,000 and 1.3 million “excess deaths” as we approach the six-year anniversary of this war.

This gruesome figure makes sense when reading of claims by Iraqi officials that there are 1-2 million war widows and 5 million orphans. This constitutes direct empirical evidence of total excess mortality and indirect, though confirming, evidence of the displaced and the bereaved and of general insecurity. The overall figures are stunning: 4.5 million displaced, 1-2 million widows, 5 million orphans, about 1 million dead — in one way or another, affecting nearly one in two Iraqis.

By any sensible measure, it would be difficult to describe this as a victory of any kind. It speaks volumes about the repair work we must do for Iraqis, and it should caution us against the savage wars we are prone to. Now that Bush is gone, perhaps the United States can honestly face the damage we have wrought and the responsibilities we must accept from it. …source

Obama’s War on Humanity
by Stephen Lendman – 8 August, 2012 – OpEd News

Obama targets humanity at home and abroad. Illinoisans paying attention knew long ago. He served as senator for the state’s 13th district.

He sold out straightaway. Real estate interests had their man. Gentrification demolitions rewarded them. Poor folks were driven out. Most were Black.

Banking, finance, insurance, and real estate interests comprised his political base then and now. Needs of constituents he represented were ignored. Community uplift rhetoric disguised harming people who needed help.

Critics called his record kick back cronyism. Convicted felons and big monied interests funded him. Every dollar invested returned multiples.

Pay-to-play was always Chicago’s way. City and state politics are notoriously corrupt. Obama played the game down and dirty.

He earned his bona fides. He was well suited for bigger and better things in Washington. He was singled out and took full advantage. Nationally he betrayed the poor and disadvantaged the way he did in Illinois. Globally it’s much worse.

As US senator, his voting record told all. He supported power and big monied interests. He backed commodifying public education. He stood by medical providers in wrongful injury suits.

He opposed capping credit card interest rates. Mining companies loved him. He endorsed strip mining everywhere, including on public land.

He supported huge energy company subsidies, vastly expanded nuclear power, deregulation, harmful biofuels, other agribusiness interests, GMO food proliferation, and privatized healthcare.

He stood solidly for corporate friendly trade agreements, fraudulent financial deals, expanding America’s prison-industrial complex, repressive immigration legislation, police state laws, military tribunals, spying and secrecy, controlling the media, and he was still just a senator.

Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) executive director Mara Verheyden-Hilliard said he “eviserat(ed)” civil and human rights. He exceeded the worst of Bush. He silenced acquiescent liberals. They support someone they should condemn.

On August 1, Gerald Celente headlined “The Next Four Years,” saying:

“What will it take to change” America’s future? Voters have no choice. Both candidates tout their credentials. “Obama the Osama Slayer vs. Romney the Corporate Commando.”

Each says I’m your guy. “And what will they lead us to? Economic nirvana, world peace, environmental renewal, social harmony, cultural foment, spiritual enlightenment?”

Campaign 2012 comes down to “who is best qualified to destroy the most the slowest.” Why can’t people see what’s obvious? Why do people who should know better wear blinders?

Why do they mindlessly “drink the Kool-Aid?” At issue is stop playing follow the leader and start “lead(ing) yourself.” It can’t be “bought, given, or imposed.”

Grassroots activism alone offers change. It’s “having the courage not to cower to power. The dignity to claim your rightful and sacred place on earth. To respect yourself, demand it of others, and show respect to all who merit it.”

It means opposing corrupt political leaders “and the unprincipled and oppressive systems they represent.” When enough people change, so will policies.

Washington and Jefferson’s America “ended up led by freaks.” It happened the same way in Germany and Italy.

Bach, Beethoven, Goethe, Michelangelo, DaVinci, and Galileo ended up Hitler and Mussolini. Modern-day equivalents await in America.

Reagan, Bush I and II, Clinton, Bush, Cheney, and Obama showed steady downward decadence. Expect Obama term two or Romney to be worse. They’re two sides of the same coin.

European leaders and Arab League despots replicate their dark side. They’re “two-bit freaks,” says Celente. “And they’re dangerous.”

“They start wars, kill millions, destroy nations. They steal your money and give it to their friends.” They treat ordinary people like garbage. Why don’t they resist? “(T)hey argue among themselves why (one) freak is better than the other.”

They defend what they should condemn. They let Obama, Cameron, Hollande, Merkel, Monti, Harper, Netanyahu, and others get away with murder. If they won’t fight for what’s right, who will?

America is ground zero. Policies made here affect everywhere. Wealth extraction, mass killing, destruction, and dominance define them. Crackdowns target nonbelievers. Expect current harshness to get worse. …more

Bahrain takes legal action against opposition over march
by Angus McDowall – Reuters – 8 September

MANAMA (Reuters) – Bahraini authorities are taking legal action against the opposition Al Wefaq group for organising a banned anti-government march in which six protesters were arrested, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday.

It was not immediately clear what the action might entail, but the government has threatened to ban the group in the past and its statement comes despite calls from Washington for Bahraini leaders to pursue a meaningful dialogue with the opposition.

Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based, has been in political turmoil since a protest movement dominated by majority Shi’ite Muslims erupted in February last year.

Opposition parties led by Al Wefaq are demanding full powers for the elected parliament to legislate and form governments. Many Shi’ites complain of being politically and economically marginalised, which the government denies.

Police used teargas and stun grenades to break up Friday’s march, which dozens of protesters took part in.

“The Interior Ministry holds Al Wefaq responsible for violating the law and encouraging their supporters to participate in a non-sanctioned event,” said a statement from the ministry distributed by the government’s public relations office.

The statement said Al Wefaq had been told a day earlier that its protest had not been authorised and that the demonstrators engaged in “the blocking of roads, vandalism and spreading fear and concerns among the business owners in the area”.

“The ministry affirms its support for free speech but reminds all citizens that freedom of expression does not include vandalism, spreading fear amongst the community and attempting to create chaos‫. The ministry has taken legal action to file a case against Al Wefaq,” it said.

It added that the ministry had also filed cases with the public prosecutor against the six arrested protesters.

“Wefaq has been threatened in the past, but the level and the wording, all of these show it is possibly more serious than at any other time,” Jasim Husain, one of the group’s leaders, said.

“But they are not threatening yet a ban. The wording is legal action.”

Armoured vehicles and riot police had closed off some of the main roads leading into the city, but dozens of protesters attended the march, which had been tweeted as “freedom for prisoners of conscience”.

Last week, a march attended by tens of thousands of demonstrators that had also been organised by Al Wefaq together with other opposition groups and which the authorities had approved passed off without incident.

On Tuesday jail sentences of between five and 25 years against leaders of last year’s uprising were upheld by a civilian court, prompting condemnation by Al Wefaq.

The United States in June said it was “deeply disappointed” that a Bahraini court had upheld verdicts against medics accused of participating in last year’s uprising, while President Barack Obama last year called on the government to talk to Al Wefaq.

…more

With western complicity, Bahrain’s crackdown on human rights continues
By John Lubbock – 7 Septmeber, 2012 – CeaseFire

Bahrain’s decision this week to uphold the sentences of all the prominent opposition leaders and activists was met with international condemnation by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay. Even the US has been voicing its discontent over the continued harsh sentences for those criticising Bahrain’s government.

Not that Bahrain’s government is listening. It seems to have stuck its head in the ground like an ostrich while repeating the mantra that it is “reforming”, presumably out of some other orifice.

So the rounds of appeals and protests continue indefinitely, with no end in sight. Bahrain has been stuck in political limbo since 1975 when the then Emir Isa ibn Salman al-Khalifa decided to dissolve the parliament and constitution because it refused to ratify his State Security Law – which allowed detention without trial for renewable periods of 3 years. The attempt by current King Hamad to bring back parliament and the constitution in 2001/2 was disingenuous and has now proved a complete failure.

What President Obama said last year – you can‘t have a real dialogue with parts of the peaceful opposition in jail – still stands. But it’s pretty obvious now that the BICI report, commissioned by the King last year, was just another PR stunt designed to present a veil of transparency over a state which has been the personal fiefdom of one family for almost 200 years. All the reforms they promised to make based on the recommendations of the BICI report have been superficial if they have been carried out at all, yet the government claims to have achieved most of them. You might like to compare Bahrain Watch’s assessment of the reforms with the government’s own assessment.

The most important recommendation of that report, to review convictions and release all those convicted because of exercising their rights to free expression, remains unmet. Sir Nigel Rodley, one of the report’s writers, clarified to Human Rights Watch last November that the report intended that the government free them and void their convictions. Almost a year later and the trials of the 13 opposition leaders and all the medical staff accused of ridiculous crimes like giving AK-47s to protesters are still ongoing. The doctors are due back in court next week, on the 11th of September, and Nabeel Rajab, President of Bahrain Center for Human Rights and Zainab Alkhawaja, activist and daughter of BCHR founder Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, are due back in court a day earlier, on the 10th of September.

Nabeel was given a three year jail term a few weeks ago for “inciting illegal protests” and has been in and out of jail on various tenuous charges such as insulting the people of Muharraq island, which were later dropped. Bahrain’s Penal Code, an incredibly vague document which can be put to all sorts of repressive purposes, was clearly criticised by the BICI report, though its recommendations neglected to call for the reform of these laws. …more

Iran breaking free from its imperial chains, U.S. author says
by Kourosh Ziabari – 7 September, 2012 – Tehran Times

Iran is breaking free from its imperial chains given its vast reservoir of history and knowledge from which to draw on in getting back on its feet, said Dr. Colin S. Cavell during a recent interview with the Tehran Times.

Colin S. Cavell is a member of the American Political Science Association (APSA) and the Massachusetts Community College Council (MCCC). His writings have appeared on Press TV and Global Research, among other publications.

Following is the text of the interview:

Q: What’s your viewpoint on the U.S. media’s portrayal of Iran and its people? I think as a result of the biased and lopsided coverage, many U.S. citizens are unaware of Iran’s rich culture, civilization and its people’s cosmopolitan lifestyle. What’s your view?

A: Iran has a long rich history dating back to ancient Greece and Rome, and its culture predates the rise of Islam in the seventh century. Reclaiming its dignity and patrimony in the 1979 revolution, it is logical that Iran would be the first country in the Middle East to break free from its imperial chains given its vast reservoir of history and knowledge from which to draw on in getting back on its feet.

The extent and richness of Persian culture intimidates the monarchs across the Persian Gulf, as their regimes are relatively new creations forged by or with the assistance of imperialist powers only within the last 200 years or less. And Iran’s greatest asset today, and what most threatens its Western enemies, is the democratic aspects of its government, aspects which are imbued with an ethos which is anathema to the autocratic and hereditary Arab despots which are trying to fend off the rising democratic aspirations of its own peoples. To the extent Iran continues to develop as the champion of democracy in the Persian Gulf region, it will become invincible and a beacon to be emulated throughout the region.

Q: What’s your prediction for the upcoming presidential elections in the U.S.? Will President Obama successfully convince the American voters that he is a suitable choice for the Oval Office?

A: If there is a fair vote, then Obama will win reelection to a second term this November. With Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, now designated as the official nominee of the Republican Party after their convention in Tampa, Florida in the last week of August, the race is now clearly between a White venture capitalist millionaire and a Black law professor and community organizer.

The profit bubble for the top U.S. capitalists during the George W. Bush years popped in 2008 causing widespread unemployment and misery to millions, as well as bringing to office the first African American in the nation’s history, and this is a significant development for the U.S. Bush spent billions to bail out the top banks and financiers, and Obama is trying to provide some relief to middle class Americans and workers who have been most severely impacted by the economic recession and depression of 2008-2009. Since taking office in 2009, Obama has tried traditional Keynesian measures, including increasing effective demand through increased government spending, but he has been largely hampered by a highly partisan Republican Party which is appalled both by the fact that a Black man has taken control of the nation’s highest political office and, as well, that he is attempting to implement the rudiments for a national healthcare program, which eventually could become as popular as the Social Security program implemented by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1935.

As a consequence, the Republican Party representatives in Congress have virtually blocked most of Obama’s initiatives in the last four years, and this includes Obama’s attempt to close the U.S. detention and torture camp in Guantanamo, Cuba. Many progressives here in the U.S. have been disappointed with Obama’s lackluster performance and may stay home during the upcoming presidential election. However, given the outrageous display of juvenile behavior by disgruntled capitalists who miss the casino years of the George W. Bush Administration and their Tea Party front organizations, many will turn out to the polls on November 6th to prevent these predatory capitalists, racists, and warmongers from returning to power. In addition, Obama is currently running at least ten percentage points ahead of Romney with women voters, and this could be the decisive group to clinch the election for Obama. Don’t get me wrong: Obama is a capitalist and is supportive of continued U.S. imperialist policies; but in the present election, he is definitely the lesser of two evils.

Q: The alternative press has reported that the Israeli officials have come to conclusion that Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons. So, what are these sanctions, war threats, assassinations and Stuxnet stuff all about? Why should Iran be the target of such an intensive campaign of economic sanctions?

A: The attacks on Iran, including U.S. sanctions, assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists by Israel and its Mujahedin-e-Khalq clients, insertion of computer viruses, or worms, like Stuxnet and Flame, to destabilize Iran’s nuclear centrifuge program, and the overall attempt to redirect the Arab Spring revolt against Iran and its ally Syria has its origin in a very scared and paranoid Saudi Arabia, whose aging monarch, King Abdullah, is, in his last days, fearful that the days of the House of Saud are numbered. And, he is correct, as the Arab peoples are fed up with the autocratic dictators which have ruled over them for the past thirty, forty, or even fifty years or more.

The complete loss of legitimacy of the Al-Khalifas in Bahrain was a wake-up call for the Saudi royals who reacted by sending in troops from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council Peninsula Shield forces in March of 2011 in an attempt to wipe out the democratic activists and pacify the Kingdom, an effort which has been a dismal failure. Trying to get control of the massive rebellion against the 229-year-old Khalifa monarchy, both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain reached into its well-worn bag of tricks and began to accuse Iran as the instigator of this latest revolt. Ever since the successful 1979 revolution in Iran against the pro-Western dictator Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, when the Iranian people were able to reclaim their patrimony of vast reserves of oil and other natural resources, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, along with the other Persian Gulf monarchies, have been playing a two-track rear-guard action which entails portraying themselves, on the one hand, as the true interpreters and guides of Islam while, on the other hand, attempting to undermine and subvert the Iranian revolution hoping to install a counterrevolutionary regime, reclaiming control over Iranian oil, and thus putting a stop to anymore movement towards democracy in the Persian Gulf region. However, with the successful ouster of Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2003, Mubarak in Egypt, Ben Ali in Tunisia, and Muammar Gaddafi in Libya in 2011, followed by the ouster of Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen this year, the Saudi royals have grown increasingly worried that their longtime ally and defender, the United States, may abandon them in a classic case of clausula rebus sic stantibus (Latin for “things thus standing”) which, in international law, means that under changed conditions, prior agreements no longer hold validity.

And conditions have indeed changed. In the case of Saudi Arabia and the United States, the deal in question is the famous agreement between President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Saudi Arabia’s Ibn Saud in the Great Bitter Lake in Egypt in 1945 wherein FDR promised U.S.-backed military security for the House of Saud and its regime in the Arabian Peninsula in exchange for steady and relatively cheap access to the Kingdom’s crude oil. Sensing correctly that the U.S. is in the process of restructuring its longtime relations with its Arab client states—in order to both bring some semblance of democracy to these states and, as well, to bring these states’ business production and cultural relations into the modern world—the Saudi regime is thus faced with an existential threat. Consequently, it has attempted to defend itself with the largest purchase of weapons from the U.S. in history worth over 60 billion dollars. It has increased its social welfare spending dramatically and has attempted to buy off its population with significant salary increases. Moreover, in an effort to divert attention away from the internal corruption and lack of democratic freedoms in the Kingdom, the regime has, along with Israel and the U.S., instigated a massive Western effort to overthrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria which, if accomplished, will then set the stage—in their view—for a final confrontation with Iran. So, again, subverting and overthrowing the Iranian revolution is seen as the only solution to Saudi Arabia’s existential crisis, and this is why Iran is the current international scapegoat from a Western power perspective.
…more

Iran to host intl. conferences on human rights violations in Bahraini prisons
07 September, 2012 – Theran Times

TEHRAN – International conferences on human rights violations in prisons run by the Bahraini government will be held in five Iranian cities from October 4 to 6, the International Union of Unified Ummah reported on Thursday.

According to Ali Reza Komeili, who is one of the organizers of the events, a number of Bahraini opposition groups and European human rights activists are scheduled to attend the conferences.

“The crimes that are being committed in Bahrain are only occurring due to the support of the United States and Saudi Arabia for the Al Khalifa (royal family). Otherwise, the Bahraini people would have already brought their revolution to fruition. They (the U.S. and Saudi Arabia) are aware that any form of democracy in Bahrain, be it a constitutional monarchy or a true democracy, would lead to the majority gaining power, and that runs contrary to their geostrategic interests in the region,” Komeili stated. …source

Reuters

Russia-Saudi Arabia: A growing strain
6 September, 2012 – Muslim World News – By Alexey Pilko – IANS

Relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia, which have never been cloudless, are quite tense today, something that seems unlikely to change in the foreseeable future, says a RIA Novosti commentary from Moscow.

This is not just because of their conflicting approaches to resolving the crisis in Syria. The reason is that Moscow and Riyadh are on opposite sides of the barricades in the transformation of the Middle East that is currently under way.

Nevertheless, in some ways these countries are very dependent on each other and could become partners at some time in the future. Unfortunately, that could be quite a long time from now.

It is almost forgotten now that the Soviet Union was the first non-Arab state to diplomatically recognise Saudi Arabia, in February, 1926 (even before its formal independence).

Moscow viewed Saudi independence as one more sign of the inevitable collapse of the colonial empires. However, diplomatic relations were broken off in 1938 at the initiative of Riyadh, and relations between the two states remained unfriendly, if not hostile, for a long time.

During the Cold War, Moscow placed its Middle East stake on secular political regimes, such as Egypt (before its realignment in 1974), Syria and Iraq.

Being a monarchical and theocratic state, Saudi Arabia automatically fell off the list of potential Soviet allies or partners. In the meantime, Riyadh regarded the Communist regime as anti-Islamic and incompatible with Saudi values.

Of course, both approaches were purely ideological. But there were also a number of serious clashes between Moscow and Riyadh, especially due to the Soviet support of the Communist regime in South Yemen. The secularization and political modernization (on the basis of socialism) of the Arab Peninsula threatened to undermine Saudi stability.

Finally, these processes could lead to the collapse of Saudi Arabia as a unitary state. This forced Riyadh to strengthen its relationship with the West, particular with the US (the only power that could provide the Saudi government real political and military support in case of serious tensions with Moscow).

At the same time, Russia has its own claims against Saudi Arabia. In the 1980s, Riyadh backed the mujahideen in Afghanistan and the Saudis reached agreement with Washington to drive down the price of oil, reducing the Soviet Union’s oil export revenue.

This atmosphere left little grounds for cooperation. However, after Mikhail Gorbachev revised Soviet foreign policy, Moscow began to look at the Middle East from a different perspective. In 1990-1991 it abandoned its unpredictable ally, Saddam Hussein, and did not oppose the Desert Storm. In 1990, diplomatic relations between Soviet Union and Saudi Arabia were restored.

Perhaps it might have been a successful restart.

But further developments showed that relations between Moscow and Riyadh faced other challenges. These appeared very soon when in the 1990s Saudi Arabia (along with a number of other countries) began to transfer money to radical Muslim organisations in Russia and other post-Soviet countries.

It would certainly be inaccurate to say that Riyadh intentionally backed separatists in the North Caucasus to weaken the Russian state and to cause domestic problems for Russia.

However, it is evident that at least a part of these financial resources fed the extremists and encouraged them to continue their bloody work. Saudi militants also fought on the side of the separatists in the Chechen wars. It was definitely an irritant in bilateral relations.

Nevertheless, after the end of counterterrorist operation in Chechnya, there was some slight progress. In November 2003, the Saudi delegation headed by the future King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud visited Russia and held negotiations with President Vladimir Putin.

As a result cooperation between Russia and Saudi Arabia received fresh impetus that finally led to ratification of a number of agreements in the oil and gas sector, science and technology. In February 2007, Putin was the first Russian leader who visited Saudi Arabia.

Up until the Arab revolutions began, it seemed that the steady improvement in relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia was continuing.

In fact, disregarding the political and ideological contradictions of the past, cooperation between Moscow and Riyadh is still promising. Both states could cooperate in the global energy market, regulating oil prices to the benefit of both.

Russia was ready to sell to Saudi Arabia its advanced weapons and military equipment, reducing its dependence on US supplies. Also Russia could present opportunities for Saudi investments. But at present, none of these are likely to be realized soon.

Since the beginning of the Middle East uprisings, in particular after the war in Libya broke out, Moscow suspected (with good reason) that Saudi Arabia was financing and arming the anti-Gaddafi forces.

Later, Moscow was dismayed by the Saudi decision to suppress the opposition in Bahrain. It looked like the classical double-standard game: support the Libyan opposition and shoot Bahraini protesters. …more

CODEPINK Activist Speaks Out During Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer Speech At Democratic Convention: End the War in Afghanistan, Stop the Killer Drones

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 5, 2012

CONTACT:
Rae Abileah, (415) 994-1723
Alli McCracken, (860) 575-5692, alli@codepink.org
Follow @codepink

CODEPINK Activist Speaks Out During Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer Speech At Democratic Convention:

End the War in Afghanistan, Stop the Killer Drones

Charlotte, NC— Representative Steny Hoyer from Maryland’s 5th district was interrupted by CODEPINK co-director Rae Abileah calling for an end to current US wars and drone strikes. Abileah, 29, from San Francisco, stood up, unfurled a pink banner which read “Bring Our War $$ Home!” and said, “Bring our war dollars home! End the war in Afghanistan! Stop the killer drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia! Money for healthcare and education, not war!”

When asked why she spoke out, Abileah said, “Too many young people my age can’t afford healthcare, college, or even make rent. Meanwhile, both political parties are squandering our taxpayer dollars on big military contracts.” She added, “Instead of bombing homes and killing innocents abroad, we need to pursue real security through diplomacy and negotiations.”

CODEPINK has campaigned for the past ten years to end US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, stop funding weapons to Israel, and redirect our federal budget away from the bloated Pentagon spending and into programs that address human needs and the environment. Last week CODEPINK was at the Republican Convention where they were inside the convention every night protesting the Republican policies around war, money in politics, and women’s rights. CODEPINK will continue to protest both parties ongoing funding for war. …more

Statement on Nabeel Rajab by The Hon. Jane Harman, Director, President and CEO, the Wilson Center
8 May, 2012 – The Wilson Center

WASHINGTON – For a second time since he received the Ion Ratiu Democracy Award last year at the Wilson Center, human rights activist Nabeel Rajab has been detained by the Government of Bahrain.

“On behalf of the Wilson Center, I urge Mr. Rajab’s prompt release,” said former Congresswoman Jane Harman, current director, president and CEO. “The Government of Bahrain would be wiser to tolerate dissent and promote the free expression of views. Events in the region in the past year make clear that local voices will not remain silent and repression will be resisted,” she added.

The Ion Ratiu Democracy Award aims to bring international recognition to the ideas and accomplishments of individuals around the world who are working on behalf of democracy. Whether in exile from repressive regimes or operating within emerging democracies, recipients of the Ion Ratiu Democracy Award are democracy advocates with the type of life-changing experience in Washington that Ion Ratiu encountered as a young Romanian democracy activist in the 1970s and 1980s. The Award provides a month-long scholarship at the Wilson Center during which awardees have an opportunity to immerse themselves in the scholarly, policymaking, and NGO communities in Washington, D.C. Recipients also provide the keynote address at an international symposium on major issues confronting their democratic activism.

Nabeel Rajab received the award in a ceremony at the Wilson Center in Washington D.C. in December 2011. When Rajab was badly beaten during a rally in the Bahraini capital of Manama in January 2012, Jane Harman joined the State Department in expressing concern direct to the Bahraini Ambassador to the United States and called for a full investigation into the incident.
…source

Wife of Nabeel Rajab reveals his harsh conditions: stripped naked, put in a dirty cell with dead animals and water is limited!
6 September, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Further to the last update published by the GCHR and BCHR about ill-treatment of the imprisoned Human Rights Defender Nabeel Rajab in Bahrain prison by putting him in solitary confinement (read it here), we have received more details in that regard.

Sumaya Rajab, wife of human rights defender Nabeel Rajab, stated that she met Nabeel (4 September 2012) in Jaw Prison for the first time in three weeks.

Sumaya confirmed that Nabeel is subjected to degrading conditions and ill-treatment through repeated personal inspections, whereby they take off all his clothes during the inspection and leave him with only a small piece of fabric to cover his private areas. He said he was subjected to deliberately humiliating inspections.

With regards to being put in solitary confinement in August, Nabeel told Sumaya that he was taken to solitary on the day he was sentenced to three-years imprisonment, which seems to indicate a desire for revenge and punishment, and added that the atmosphere of the cell suggested to him that he would be exposed to “repeated meals of severe torture.”

She continued by saying that in his solitary cell, Nabeel was stripped of all his clothes, forced to wear a small piece of fabric (“a wrapper”) only, then forced to stand and sit 40 times as part of the physical torture he suffered despite the fact that he suffers from a herniated disc in his back, and has requested a special medical belt to help cope with the recurrence of pain. He was also hit on the back by security forces several times previously.

Sumaya said that Nabeel does not know how many days he spent in that cell, because he could not tell day from night. Also, he said his cell was filled with dirt and even a dead cat!

As well, Sumaya confirmed that Nabeel doesn’t eat the food he’s given by the prison because he does not trust them, so he has lived for nearly two months on what is left of his corn flakes cereal and some canned food, as he’s allowed to buy from the prison cafeteria only once a week. Also, he’s allowed to only take 6 litres of water per week, although he suffers from kidney and gallbladder stones.

Sumaya said that for the first time in two months Nabeel ate cooked food today, as his family were able to give him a sandwich. He is prohibited from having sugar as well.

She continued saying that the prison administration refused to give Nabeel an electric shaver which she brought after Nabeel was refused shaving blades she brought the last time. As a result, he cannot shave and looks inappropriate, which she considers is one of the degrading actions committed against him. …more

OP-ED: Bahraini Repression Amidst a Failing Strategy
6 September, 2012 ⋅ by Mauro Teodori – IPS

This week’s decision by the Bahraini court of appeals to uphold the prison terms against Bahraini opposition activists is a travesty of justice and an indication that Bahraini repression continues unabated.

Bahraini officials, when confronted with angry world reaction to the court’s decision, cynically hid behind the claim they would not interfere in the proceedings of their “independent judiciary”.

Despite the threat to U.S. national interests and the security of U.S. citizens in Bahrain and elsewhere in the Gulf, Washington remains oblivious to the ruling family’s violent crackdown against peaceful protesters in the name of fighting “foreign elements”. Pro-democracy Bahrainis are wondering what we are waiting for.

Because of our muted reaction to what’s happening in Bahrain, the ruling family and their Saudi benefactors have not taken seriously Western support for democratic transitions in the Middle East.

The United States and Britain maintain deep economic and security relations with these states but also enjoy strong leverage, including the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, which they must revisit in the face of continued egregious violations of basic human rights by some of these regimes. Bahraini civil rights organisations and activists are expecting the United States to use its leverage to end regime repression.

Despite their pro-Western stance, there is nothing exceptional about the autocratic Gulf Arab regimes. And they should no longer be given a pass on the importance of democratic reform.

Staying in power will require Bahrain’s Al Khalifas and other Gulf tribal family rulers to do more than push a vicious sectarian policy and employ slick public relations firms. Their cynical and deadly game might buy them some time, but, in the end, they will not be able to escape their peoples’ wrath.

In the absence of genuine reforms in the next three years, the Gulf’s autocratic regimes will be swept aside by their peoples. The “people power” that emerged from the Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, and now Syria, cannot be kept out of these tribal states. In reality, they all have been touched by peoples’ demands for dignity and justice.

While Iran might be exploiting the protest movement to discredit these regimes, the pro-democracy movement in Bahrain goes back to the 1960s and 1970s – way before the Islamic Republic came on the scene.

Even more troubling for U.S. national security are the continued efforts by Al Khalifa to whip up anti-American attitudes among Bahrain’s more rabidly anti-Shia and xenophobic Sunnis. Bahrain and some of their Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) allies perceive the growing rapprochement between the U.S. and the new Islamic democrats, such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Tunisia, as a sign of tacit opposition to Gulf autocrats. …more

Bahrain should scrap life sentence of blogger Alsingace
6 September, 2012 – Global Freedom Movement

New York, September 6, 2012–Bahraini authorities should toss out the unjust conviction and life sentence handed to an online journalist who was imprisoned for exercising his right to free expression during the country’s 2011 popular uprising, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

The High Court of Appeal on Tuesday upheld a life sentence given to Abduljalil Alsingace, a prominent independent blogger and human rights defender, on charges related to “plotting to topple” the regime, according to news reports. Alsingace had been convicted and sentenced by a military court in June 2011, the reports said.

The appellate court on Tuesday also upheld harsh sentences given to 19 co-defendants, including human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who was handed a life term, news reports said. The court also upheld a 15-year jail term against Ali Abdel Imam, an online journalist who had been convicted in absentia, the reports said.

The defendants plan to appeal the ruling again with the Court of Cassation, which is the highest court of appeals, news reports said.

The conduct of the prosecution has been questioned by an independent panel commissioned by the Bahraini government. The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry suggested that Alsingace and his co-defendants be granted a civilian retrial since they had initially been tried in military tribunals, news reports said. In response, authorities conducted the appeal in a civilian court.

Human rights groups reported that the appeals process was marred by procedural irregularities. The court appointed new defense lawyers against the wishes of the defendants, not all of the defense witnesses were heard, and the court did not investigate reports that the defendants had been tortured in custody, the groups said.

“More than a year after the anti-government protest movement in Bahrain, the government is still prosecuting journalists and human rights defenders for their dissenting opinions,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “The expression of critical opinion is protected by international law and can never be a crime.”

Alsingace and Abdel Imam were arrested in December 2010 and detained for two months on anti-state conspiracy charges during a government crackdown, according to news reports. They were re-arrested in March 2011, news reports said. …more

Bahrain: 16 years old child Ali Al Muhafdha detained and deprived from proper medical care
07 September, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Although Bahrain is a signatory of the convention of the rights of the child, children in Bahrain continue to be subjected to ill-treatment, torture and arbitrary detention by the Bahraini force. Bahrain Center for human rights (BCHR) expresses its grave concern over the high number of detained children.

Sayed Ali Al Muhafdha, 16 years old, was arrested from 14 Jun 2012 to date as his detention was extended several times. According to his family he was severely beaten on the head and other parts of his body and was deprived of water for a day. He was kept in ward 7 in a dry dock prison which has detainees from all ages and later moved to a childrens’ ward. Sayed Ali is ill and because of the conditions during his detention, his illness was worsened. On 28 Aug 2012, his father stated that Sayed Ali had a high fever and abdominal pain, that he could not urinate for 10 days, was suffering from serious pain and that he was not able to move or speak clearly. He was taken after midnight to Salmaniya hospital after deterioration of his health, but he was only given some painkillers and returned to prison. He was then taken again to the hospital on 26 Aug where the doctor advised that he might have kidney stones and asked for him to be admitted. However he was taken back to prison. Sayed Ali is still in detention and is being denied proper medical care.

More than 80 children are in Bahraini prisons on sham charges and being tried in unfair trials. With no regard to their age and emotional status, children are being kept in detention for months while at least one was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment by a military court (link). …more

Saudi protesters once again hold demos against Riyadh regime
7 September, 2012 – PressTV

Anti-government protesters have once again staged demonstrations in Saudi Arabia, as anger flares in the kingdom over Riyadh’s harsh crackdown on dissent in recent months.

The protests come in defiance of Saudi officials’ strict ban on any anti-regime gatherings in the kingdom.

The demonstrators called for the release of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nemr al-Nemr who was attacked, injured and arrested by the security forces of the Al Saud regime while driving from a farm to his house in the Qatif region of the Eastern Province on July 8.

Since February 2011, protesters have held demonstrations on an almost regular basis in Saudi Arabia, mainly in Qatif and the town of Awamiyah in the Eastern Province, primarily calling for the release of all political prisoners, freedom of expression and assembly, and an end to widespread discrimination.

However, the demonstrations have turned into protests against the repressive Al Saud regime, especially since November 2011, when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others in the Province.

According to Human Rights Watch, the Saudi regime “routinely represses expression critical of the government.”

On August 13, Swedish Defense Minister Karin Enstrom criticized Riyadh for its human rights violations, describing Saudi Arabia as “an authoritarian regime and an absolute monarchy where serious human rights crimes are committed.”
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U.S. congressman confirms high-level U.S.-Israel spat over Iran
7 Septemebr, 2012 – By Tabassum Zakaria -Reuters

WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blew up at the U.S. ambassador last month because he was “at wits’ end” over what he sees as the Obama administration’s lack of clarity on Iran’s nuclear program, a U.S. congressman who was at the meeting said.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican, made his first public comments about the late August meeting in Israel in an interview with Michigan’s WJR radio on Tuesday.

Continued controversy over the meeting comes as President Barack Obama on Thursday night will accept his party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention, where the level of the Obama administration’s support for Israel was a contentious topic.

“Right now the Israelis don’t believe that this administration is serious when they say all options are on the table, and more importantly neither do the Iranians. That’s why the program is progressing,” Rogers said.

Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful energy purposes.

Israel is facing growing international pressure not to unilaterally attack Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and the United States has made clear it opposes any such strike.

Rogers said if the United States does not show Israel more clarity on where it draws “red lines” on Iran’s nuclear program, then Israel might conduct a strike.

“If I were betting my house today, I would guess that they probably will do it if we don’t have a change in more clear red lines from the United States,” he said.

A spokesman for Israel’s embassy in Washington declined to comment. The State Department would not comment on private diplomatic meetings but spokesman Edgar Vasquez said, “We have a rock solid relationship and an ironclad commitment to Israel.”

The spat between Netanyahu and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro appears to confirm a deep chasm over how to deal with Iran, which the two allies have tried to play down publicly.

Obama has vowed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, but says there is still time for sanctions and diplomacy to work. The White House says it has brokered international oil and banking sanctions that are far tougher on Iran than previous administrations achieved.
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THIRD MEETING OF STATES PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS

The Third Meeting of States Parties (3MSP) to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) will take place in Oslo, Norway, from 11 to 14 September, 2012.

At this meeting, States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions will give progress updates on implementing their treaty obligations and will take key decisions relating to the implementation and universalization of the Convention. States that have not yet joined the Convention or have yet to ratify will also be present to give updates on their progress.

Logistical and sponsorship information

We would like to invite all participants to carefully read the logistical memo below and to register on the official registration page as soon as possible. In the memo, you will find useful information on the registration process, sponsorship criteria and rules, the provisional schedule, the visa process, hotels, side events and further practical information. …more

Syrian regime using cluster bombs: report
7 September, 2012 – By Alessandra Rizzo – Reuters

LONDON: Syrian government forces have almost certainly used cluster bombs, which kill and maim civilians long after conflicts end, during their crackdown on a 17-month revolt, a disarmament group said Thursday citing video and photographic evidence.

The Cluster Munition Coalition said it had collected pictures and footage from Syrian activists showing fragments of cluster munitions at two sites at least in Syria.

The Damascus government has not signed a convention against the weapons, meaning it would not have broken any international laws by using them, said officials at the center.

But many humanitarian groups and governments have condemned the use of the munitions, which spray hundreds of small explosives over wide areas of land, where they can lie undetected for months if not years.

“We think the evidence is compelling that the Syrian government forces have used cluster munitions,” Stephen Goose, from both CMC and the campaign group Human Rights Watch, told reporters in London as he launched a report on the use and disposal of the weapons worldwide.

The group could not be 100-percent certain how the bombs were used, as it did not have eye witness accounts of fighting from the sites, it said.

But “cluster munitions are there, there’s no question. They’re cluster munitions that have been used, they haven’t just been pulled out of a warehouse and torn apart with a screwdriver,” said Goose.

Damascus has not made any public comment on whether it uses the bombs, CMC said, urging the Syrian government to confirm or deny the reports.

The group cited videos posted online in July showing cluster munition remnants and bomblets in Jabal Shahshabu, a mountainous area near Hama, a flashpoint city in the uprising against President Bashar Assad
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US led attempt to allow cluster bomb use is rejected at UN negotiations
26 November, 2011 – Cluster Munitions Coalition

(Geneva, November 25, 2011) – An attempt by the United States and other remaining producers and stockpilers of cluster munitions to push through a weak new law which would have allowed these indiscriminate weapons to be used, has failed. Over fifty states at the United Nations negotiations rejected outright the cynical attempt to give legal cover to use these weapons in the future. This ends four years of negotiations on this issue.

“This was not a diplomatic game. It was about saving a great number of lives – the outright rejection of weaker standards shows that small and medium size states in partnership with the UN, ICRC and civil society can set the agenda in international politics” said Grethe Ostern, Policy Adviser, Mine Action Department, Norwegian Peoples Aid, Cluster Munition Coalition member.

The failure to set up a weaker alternative to the existing ban strengthens the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions which like the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty prohibits the use, production and transfer of an entire category of weapons and promotes the rights of victims and survivors. The Cluster Munition Coalition calls on all remaining countries to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

“The message from the failed efforts today is clear – cluster bombs are indiscriminate, kill long after they are dropped and are illegal. Countries like China, India, Israel, Russia and the US who say they are seriously concerned about the humanitarian impact, should go home and immediately begin destroying their stockpiles” said Amy Little, Campaign Manager for the Cluster Munition Coalition.

The US was the key promoter of the proposed law. Opposition was led by Norway, Austria, and Mexico, with powerful support from the Cluster Munition Coalition, the ICRC, and a large number of UN agencies, notably the UN Development Programme, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions has been signed by 111 nations, including some of the biggest users, producers, and or stockpilers in recent decades, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. Twenty-two of the twenty-eight NATO members have joined the ban convention. …more

Harsh sentences for Bahraini activists ‘deeply regrettable’ – UN human rights chief
UN News Center – 6 September , 2012

6 September 2012 – The United Nations human rights chief today described the a Bahraini appeals court’s decision to uphold convictions and sentences of 20 human rights activists and political opponents as “deeply regrettable.”

“Criticizing the Government and calling for reforms are not crimes,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said in a news release. “The Government must engage in an open, genuine and meaningful dialogue with the opposition, across the political spectrum. This is the only constructive way to defuse an increasingly tense situation.”

Since February, there have been clashes in Bahrain between security forces and demonstrators, a year after widespread civil protests first emerged in the Gulf country.

According to a news release from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the individuals whose sentences were upheld Tuesday were initially convicted last year by Bahrain’s Court of National Safety, essentially a military court, on charges of conspiracy to overthrow the Government, amongst other changes. Some were also charged with espionage.

After the convictions were upheld by the National Safety Appeals Court, the Government announced that all the cases would be transferred to civilian courts. The appeals proceedings took place this year.

“I had welcomed the Bahraini Government’s decision to transfer these cases to civilian courts, as military trials of civilians raise serious problems as far as the equitable, impartial and independent administration of justice is concerned,” Ms. Pillay said.

“But now, given the gravity of the charges, the scant evidence available beyond confessions, the serious allegations of torture and the irregularities in the trial processes, it is extremely disappointing that the convictions and sentences have been upheld in appeals proceedings that often took place behind closed doors,” she added. …more

Bahrain security forces attack pro-democracy protesters
5 September, 2012 – Tehran Times

The regime forces on Wednesday used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the protesters in the capital, Manama, the northeastern island of Sitra, the northern village of Tubli and the western village of Sadad, Press TV reported.

The demonstrators also expressed solidarity with leading opposition figures and condemned the recent verdicts against them.

The protests came after a Bahraini civilian court on Tuesday upheld jail sentences against at least 13 opposition leaders.

The jail terms, seven of them life sentences, were previously issued by a military court.

Human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and opposition leader Hassan Mushaimaa are among those sentenced to life in prison.

On August 23, a Bahraini appeals court upheld a three-year prison term for prominent rights activist Nabeel Rajab over taking part in “unauthorized protests.”

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-government protesters have been staging regular demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.

On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded the country to assist the Bahraini government in its crackdown on the peaceful protesters.

According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds arrested in the crackdown.

Physicians for Human Rights says doctors and nurses have been detained, tortured, or disappeared because they have “evidence of atrocities committed by the authorities, security forces, and riot police” in the crackdown on anti-government protesters.
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