Saturday, April 16,2011 09:57 – IkhwanWeb

Change has definitely come to the Arab world and it has come at the hands of the youth. They are not just changing the political scene, but also how Westerners see the Middle East .

The Arab youth are rising up against authoritarian governments and so far they have fought and won two revolutions, and more is on the way.

From subservient, disenfranchised young people, the Arab youth have turned into victorious rebels whose subtle influence has stretched from Tunisia , Egypt , Libya , Bahrain and Yemen .

The youth are not interested in political intrigue or Islamic radicalism; they just want freedom, education, jobs and marriage. …more

(Reuters) – Bahrain’s foreign minister said on Monday Saudi and UAE forces called in to help quell street unrest would leave only when “any external threat” he associated with Iran was seen to be gone.

Pro-democracy demonstrators in Bahrain have denied any link with the Islamic Republic.

Bahrain’s prime minister described the several weeks of anti-government protests by the Sunni Muslim-ruled country’s disaffected Shi’ite majority as a coup attempt and said those who took part would be held to account.

The mostly Shi’ite protesters in the outpouring of unrest in February and March demanded more freedom, an end to discrimination and a constitutional monarchy in Bahrain, a U.S. ally that hosts Washington’s Fifth Fleet. ..more

As the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters continues in the Gulf state of Bahrain, we speak with Zainab Alkhawaja, whose father, husband and brother-in-law were detained last Saturday following a late night raid at their home. Zainab is on the eighth day of a hunger strike that she vows to continue until her family members are released. We also speak with Human Rights Watch researcher, Faraz Sanei, who just spent six weeks in Bahrain. “What we’re seeing in Bahrain today is a full-scale crackdown on any sort of dissent in the country,” Sanei says. “We are now seeing an absolute slide into a police state and dictatorship in Bahrain. …more

“Bahrain is sliding rapidly towards absolute dictatorship, and the authorities seem intent on creating and deepening sectarian divisions. The Bahraini trade unions have been at the forefront of the movement for dialogue, peace and reconciliation, yet the government has clearly decided to try and destroy them. The international trade union movement will not simply stand by and allow this to happen. If the government does not change course, the global diplomatic and economic consequences will be severe,” said Wienen.

Some 2,000 workers in 30 mainly government enterprises have been sacked for joining trade union actions in support of dialogue and an end to violence, including 6 members of the Executive of the ITUC-affiliated General Federation of Bahraini Trade Unions (GFBTU) and 22 local trade union leaders. The ITUC understands that employees of the key employer body, the Chamber of Commerce, have also been dismissed.

The campaign of intimidation by government-sponsored groups has intensified in recent days, with the appearance of billboards including names and photographs of opposition leaders, calling for “no mercy and execution”. …more

Mass Hunger Strike Begins Monday in Bahrain
By: Siun Sunday April 17, 2011 6:00 pm

As the news from Bahrain continues to get worse, the opposition once more takes nonviolent action to move the world to intervene. Inspired by Zeinab Alkhawaja (@angryarabiya) hundreds of Bahrainis and their supporters worldwide will begin a four day hunger strike beginning Monday:

This peaceful civilized movement has been suppressed brutally. And that was not enough for the criminal Bahraini regime and the Saudi nasty invader… what they planned for and what they are doing now is a decadent sectarian, ethnic cleansing. More than 25 martyrs were killed; four of them were killed under the brutal torture in custody. There are more than 500 detainees that no one knows what the situation they are living in detention is, 30 of them are women, and 116 of them are kids, all of them were arrested because they had a mouth that wanted to speak for freedom…

Me, you, anyone of your family might be with them in any moment… just being one of the people who passed by a protest one day is an enough reason to be arrested, save the detainees lives and save yourself from being arrested…

One more time Bahrainis will prove to the whole world that they are peaceful civilized people; they are going to raise their demand through a hunger strike this time, join it pro-freedom protest against the unjustness in Bahrain…

Zeinab’s own hunger strike continues and her health is quickly deteriorating. When family members took her to a hospital for care, they were informed that treatment would require notification of the authorities – who are known to then arrive and kidnap the patients – so she is home without treatment and getting weaker. …more

By Fredrik Richter and Martina Fuchs

MANAMA/DUBAI | Mon Apr 18, 2011 11:54am EDT

MANAMA/DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain’s prime minister, who has faced calls for his ouster by street protesters, described the unrest as a coup attempt and said those who took part would be held to account.

The country’s foreign minister said Saudi and UAE troops called in to help quell weeks of pro-democracy protests by the Sunni Muslim-ruled country’s disgruntled Shi’ite majority would stay until an Iranian threat is judged to be over.

“Bahrain has witnessed a coup attempt,” Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa said in remarks carried by pro-government media on Monday. “No violators would get away with it. All co-conspirators and abettors must be held accountable.”

Weeks of anti-government protests in February and March by mostly Shi’ite protesters demanded more freedom, an end to discrimination and a constitutional monarchy in the Sunni-ruled country, a U.S. ally that hosts Washington’s Fifth Fleet.

Bahraini rulers crushed the protests last month, deploying security forces in the capital and calling in troops from Gulf neighbors Saudi Arabia and the UAE under the aegis of a Gulf defense pact, a move demonstrators saw as an act of war. …more