Posts from — June 2011

Continuing Crackdown in Bahrain
Interviewee: Roy Gutman, Middle East Correspondent, McClatchy Newspapers
Interviewer: Bernard Gwertzman, Consulting Editor, CFR.org
June 8, 2011

Roy GutmanPresident Barack Obama met briefly June 7 with Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa and supported the Sunni royal family’s ending of martial law, calling for a national dialogue to begin in July. However, the crackdown on Bahrain’s majority Shiite population continues. Dozens of doctors and nurses went on trial June 6 on charges of participating in efforts to overthrow the monarchy, and leading Shiite political figures are in prison. It seems that little has changed, says Roy Gutman, Middle East correspondent for McClatchy newspapers, who believes the ending of martial law was largely staged to encourage the staging of the Formula One in Bahrain this fall. While the visit of the crown prince, a reform proponent, was an effort to ease tensions, Gutman says the government seems to be pressing its offensive against protesters.

The United States government has been critical of the arrests of Shiite protesters in Bahrain, and President Obama, in fact, called for Bahrain to release prisoners and facilitate a dialogue. How do you see the situation in Bahrain?

I’m not there, to be honest. The Bahraini authorities wouldn’t let me in. They don’t let reporters in except perhaps one a week from the international media. Everything I say is with the caveat that I’m speaking to you from Baghdad.

From what I hear, Bahrain is a very tense place. The state of emergency was formally lifted on June 1, but so many elements of the state of emergency prior to June 1 are still there. In some ways, things are not getting any better. They might in fact be getting worse. In the last twenty-four hours, Bahraini authorities put forty-eight doctors and nurses on trial on charges that were possibly invented. The lawyers and defendants did not see the charges until yesterday. This has been a military tribunal where the international media was completely excluded. It’s shocking that they’ve done this on the eve of the crown prince’s visit to the United States (CSMonitor).

What is the crown prince hoping to do here? He was recently in England, where he met (AFP) with Prime Minister David Cameron.

There’s an effort to restore some good will between Bahrain and its major international partners in the West, as opposed to the Middle East, because these relations have been very strained by this brutal crackdown. The crown prince is the face of reform in Bahrain; he’s the man who really called for it, supported it, urged it, put his neck on the line to achieve it. He’s about the best person they could possibly send, in terms of a person who has respect. The problem is, he has not been in charge. In fact, one has the feeling that most everything he stands for is being stripped away and undermined by hardliners in the same regime.

The crown prince is the son of the king, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. But many experts say that the real power belongs to the prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa. Is that true?

There’s a lot of evidence that he is getting his way, and certainly over issues of great importance. This is all a guessing game. Nobody except for the royal court knows what’s going on inside the palace. I will say that two days after Obama delivered the speech that was quite critical of Bahrain–the first time that the Obama administration had used strong words and called for changes of policy publicly–the prime minister gave an interview and used very harsh language regarding the people who were being detained and the respected, moderate Shiite political opposition. Perhaps it was not an intentional rebuff to Obama’s speech, [but] he was saying, we’re going to continue with the crackdown. He’s the strongman, and the king is probably the person in the middle between the crown prince and the prime minister. The chief of the armed forces is also a hardliner. …full interview

Bahrain faces fresh torture claims over health workers’ trial

Most of the medical staff facing trial work at Manama’s Salmaniya Medical Complex

The Bahraini authorities must independently investigate fresh claims that dozens of doctors and nurses on trial before a military court were tortured in detention and made to sign false confessions, Amnesty International said today.



Relatives of the accused have alleged to Amnesty International that security officials at Bahrain’s Criminal Investigations Directorate forced detainees to stand for long periods, deprived them of sleep, beat them with rubber hoses and wooden boards containing nails, and made them sign papers while blindfolded.

One of the detainees, who was bailed last month, was slapped in the face while blindfolded, insulted and threatened: “if you don’t confess I’ll take you to someone who will make you confess”.

The same detainee was forced to remain standing for hours, denied sleep and placed in front of a cold air conditioning unit all night and then interrogated again the next morning while still blindfolded.

“I was so tired that I kept quiet and only answered yes or no,” he told Amnesty International.

“After a while he gave me some papers and made me sign them while I was still blindfolded. I did not see what I signed, but I signed on eight or nine papers.”

The trial of the 48 medical staff, most of whom worked at the Salmaniya Medical Complex, opened at a military court in Manama on Monday but was adjourned until 13 June. Some of the defendants have been released on bail but others remain in prison.

The doctors and nurses face a range of charges arising from their involvement in treating people injured when security forces violently crushed mass pro-reform protests in February and March. They are accused of misusing their positions at Salmaniya hospital to make false allegations of security force violence, to have operated on some patients unnecessarily causing their deaths and to have denied medical treatment to others for sectarian reasons, as well as a string of related offences.

A relative of one of the accused who attended the court yesterday told Amnesty International that the prisoners’ heads had been shaved and most had lost a lot of weight since their arrest weeks ago. The men among them were made to stand in the hot sun for around 30 minutes before the session began: “They were blindfolded and handcuffed, and these were only removed when the session began.” …more

Euromoney Country Risk June results: MENA and Eurozone slide in global rankings
07 June 2011
Andrew Mortimer

Bahrain now ranks 54th in the table, 17 places below its peak. The kingdom, which economists had previously ranked alongside Spain, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia in the table, needed $10 billion of financial support from the Gulf Co-operation Council in March to avert a financial crisis after mass demonstrations in March.

But political unrest in the country is far from over. The lifting of emergency laws on June 1 was immediately followed by clashes between security forces and protesters. King Hamad has called for a national dialogue to begin on July 1, but opposition parties warn that discussions cannot take place without concessions over political reform. “Bahrain remains vulnerable to unrest among the civilian population, and we expect to see more flashpoints during the second half of 2011,” says Said.

The military intervention in Bahrain by Saudi security forces on March 14 also increased tensions between Saudi Arabia (down three places) and Iran (unchanged). Meir Javedanfar, founder of the Middle East Economic and Political Analysis Company (MEEPAS), says: “The entry of Saudi armed forces into Bahrain has opened a new phase in the cold war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and has intensified the conflict between the two. The repercussions will be felt in the region for years to come.”

Egypt falls by one place to 96th in the overall table, a cumulative fall of 24 places since January. Egypt now has a lower survey score than Lebanon, Nigeria and Venezuela. The results could indicate a potential overcorrection by economists. CDS spreads on 5-year sovereign debt have been on a downward trend since May, while the country remains relatively stable. The Supreme Military Council has demonstrated a willingness to co-operate with secular opposition movements. The IMF’s decision to grant a $3 billion standby credit facility is a further boost to the beleaguered country.

Said points out that “significant political developments have occurred [in Egypt]: the creation of new political parties, the constitutional referendum vote, dissolving the National Democratic Party and announcements by key figures of their plans to run for the presidential election – most notably Mohamed El Baradei and Amr Moussa”.

But she warns: “The transition will be messy if things continue at their current pace, with dire economic repercussions that could further hamper the transition phase.” …see full article charts

Business standstill hits Bahrain economy
Farah Halime
Apr 10, 2011

Billions of dollars have been wiped off the value of Bahrain’s economy in the month of protests that brought business there to a virtual standstill, top banking executives in Manama say.

“Definitely there is an impact on growth … but the impact cannot be more than 10 to 15 per cent impact of Bahrain’s GDP,” said Yousif Taqi, the chief executive of the sharia-compliant Al Salam Bank in Manama.

“As a financial centre there will be challenges for the government. I’d be surprised if it was more than 15 per cent.”

Mr Taqi estimated losses of at least US$3 billion (Dh11.01bn) from Bahrain’s GDP of $22.9bn last year. The Bahraini economy accelerated in the final quarter of last year from the previous three months, and grew 4.5 per cent for the whole year, data from the government showed.

The small oil exporter, which is not a member of Opec, grew 1.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, up from a revised 0.9 per cent rise in the third quarter.

Sheikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Bahraini crown prince, said the kingdom’s economy had experienced “painful losses” worth hundreds of millions of dinars during the unrest.

In a speech on Bahraini TV last week, Sheikh Salman said the protests had “escalated beyond all limits”, forcing the security forces and government to step in.

“Bahrain’s progress and prosperity cannot be ruined by a few that wanted to make it fail,” he said. “The main challenge … is to work for the continuation of the process of building, modernising and development in this country.” …more

Is Bahrain Creating a New Terrorist Threat?
By leaving no room for peaceful dissent, the Bahraini monarchy is creating the conditions for a violent revolt.
BY HUSSEIN IBISH | APRIL 14, 2011
[excerpt]
A campaign of violence by opposition extremists might seek and receive support from Iran or other regional Shiite powers such as the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. But it would not require it. Iran and Hezbollah might, for their own reasons, strongly urge any Bahraini Shiites considering such action to restrain themselves. But would all of them heed such a call? Modern urban terrorism only requires a tiny handful of people with rudimentary knowledge, armed with a combination of readily available household items and both deep ruthlessness and extreme recklessness, to begin the process.

Such a movement need not initially be particularly ambitious in its destructive acts to have a powerful impact. A handful of people with crude devices acting around the same time in strategic locations is capable of stoking extreme panic. The goal of a modest opening salvo of urban terrorism is typically to provoke an overreaction on the part of the authorities, and in this case that seems virtually guaranteed. The calculus would then be that the overreaction would seem to justify these violent acts in the eyes of many people who otherwise might have been disapproving, allowing the movement to gain strength and develop over time to the point that it becomes a real threat to national security and political stability. The Bahraini government and its allies have already succeeded in turning what should have been a manageable political situation into an unmanageable one. How likely is it that they would react in a more rational and prudent manner to a violent security threat, however limited and symbolic?

The total crackdown in Bahrain has plainly opened the door for just such a scenario. If this situation continues for an extended period of time, it is probably more a matter of when rather than if some group eventually walks through that door. Largely because of their own actions, all the worst fears of Bahrain’s royal family and the Sunnis of both the island and the rest of the Gulf are perfectly positioned to begin to come true, and the opportunity to avoid this is dwindling by the day. …full article

High oil prices not a panacea for Gulf economic woes
By Damian Reilly
Tuesday, 29 March 2011 10:37 AM

High oil prices will hurt Gulf economies’ prospects of recovering from the global economic downturn, forcing up the cost of imports to the region, Nick Bullman, founder and CEO of London-based consultancy firm CheckRisk said on Monday.

Speaking to Arabian Business, Bullman said: “A high oil price is of course good for the Gulf economies, but anyone who thinks it is a cure-all for all economic problems there is mistaken. The cost of oil is factored into everything. Fuel is used to import foodstuffs and building materials. The higher the oil price, the higher those fuel costs, the higher the prices at market.”

He added the optimum oil price for Gulf economies was around $80 a barrel.

“$80 is the price that puts a smile on everyone’s face. It doesn’t scare buyers away, it doesn’t cause the cost of filling cars in the West to rocket, and it’s twice the price upon which most GCC states’ fiscal budgets are predicated. If we could keep the price at $80, everyone wins,” he said. …more

Winning the Battle, Losing the (Media) War: Formula 1 Edition
It seems that Bahrain’s authorities have spent a bit too much time recently attacking the U.S. and Embassy Manama (in the press) and Shi’a religious processions (in real life) and not enough time convincing the international community that “Business-friendly Bahrain” is indeed back in business. Just days after apparently reinstating the Bahrain Grand Prix, Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone now says the race is “not on.” And, as the BBC aptly summarizes,

If, as Bernie Ecclestone accepts, the Bahrain Grand Prix will not go ahead in October, it will be a huge and humiliating blow to the tiny Arabian island.

Indeed. It will also mark the utter failure of what Simon Henderson in a great piece in Foreign Policy today describes as “Bahrain’s diplomatic charm offensive,” an effort doomed by the apparent assumption that somehow the world would pay attention only to government press releases and not to actual events in Bahrain.

For, as Henderson outlines in systematic fashion, the days following the end of martial law on June 1 and King Hamad’s coinciding “National Dialogue Initiative, Part Deux” have witnessed a Bahrain that has hoped to win over international observers at the same time that it “declares war on protesters back home.” …more

Posted on Monday, June 6, 2011
Bahrain media charge that U.S. backs regime’s overthrow

By Roy Gutman | McClatchy Newspapers

BAGHDAD — As Bahrain’s reformist Crown Prince headed to Washington Monday for top-level talks, official news media in the Gulf state stepped up a drumbeat of anti-American attacks, some even accusing of the U.S. administration of colluding with opposition leaders they claim are trying to overthrow the state.

Al Wasat, the onetime opposition paper now under direct control of the Sunni minority government, carried an editorial with possible racial overtones Monday that claimed that “American black fingers are aiming to weaken the Gulf” states so the U.S. can create its own “Greater Middle East.”

Media attacks have also been directed against individuals at the U.S. Embassy, first the human rights officer, who departed early, and now against the acting head of mission, Stephanie Williams, a foreign service officer.

The Akhbar Al Khaleej newspaper on Sunday accused Williams of “collusion” with the moderate opposition group, Al Wefaq, and adopting what it said was the group’s “sectarian Shiite agenda.”

Another paper, Al Ayyam, charged in a column Monday that the U.S. is in an “evil alliance” with the opposition group.

The government ostensibly lifted martial law on June 1, but it’s still rushing highly dubious cases to its military tribunal. On Monday, 47 doctors and nurses were formally charged with a variety of crimes, from the murder of patients to attempting the overthrow of the regime, as well as some lesser offenses, such as taking part in an unauthorized public gathering.

In a May 19 speech on the “Arab Spring,” President Barack Obama called for Bahrain to release political leaders now in jail. “You can’t have a real dialogue when parts of the peaceful opposition are in jail,” he said.

But more than a month after arresting two former members of parliament, the Bahrain government hasn’t allowed them to see their families or consult lawyers, and seems to be preparing to bring them before the military tribunal.

It’s out of this cauldron of shrill rhetoric that Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa, 41, a graduate of American University in Washington, is coming to call on members of the Obama administration, which has done its best to avoid public criticism of Bahrain, with the exception of the Obama speech. …more

Bahraini poet set to face verdict for protest reading
Ayat al-Qarmezi has reportedly been tortured in prison.
8 June 2011

A Bahraini poet faces possible imprisonment for reading out a poem criticizing the country’s King when a military court rules on her case next Sunday.

Ayat al-Qarmezi, 20, a poet and student was arrested in March for reading out a poem at a pro-reform rally in the capital Manama. She has been charged with “incitement to hatred of the regime” and has reportedly been tortured while in detention.

“Ayat al-Qarmezi has been put on trial merely for expressing her opinion, peacefully and openly. Her case represents an appalling and sinister attack on free speech. The charges against her should be dropped and she should be released immediately,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“If convicted, Ayat al-Qarmezi could face a long prison sentence. If she is imprisoned, she will be the first woman prisoner of conscience to be locked up in Bahrain for peacefully expressing her views,” he added.

While attending a pro-reform rally in Manama’s Pearl Roundabout in February, Ayat al-Qarmezi read out a poem which she said was addressed to King Hamad bin ‘Isa Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s head of state.

Its lyrics include the lines “We are the people who will kill humiliation and assassinate misery/ Don’t you hear their cries, don’t you hear their screams?”.

She was forced to turn herself in to the authorities on 30 March after masked police raided her parents’ house repeatedly and reportedly threatened to kill her brothers unless she did so.

She was held incommunicado for the first 15 days of her detention and since then has only been permitted to see her family twice.
[Read more →]

BCHR Letter on the Deterioration of Laborers’ Rights in the Kingdom of Bahrain

08 June 2011
Mr. Juan Somavia
Director General, International Labor Organization

Greetings,

Sub: Letter on the Deterioration of Laborers’ Rights in the Kingdom of Bahrain

We would like first of all to cordially extend our thanks for your precise follow-up on the laborers’ conditions in Bahrain; for the tremendous efforts as reflected in the various statements in which you declared your deep concern on the deteriorating situation of the Bahraini workforce; and for the ILO Delegation that visited Bahrain at the end of April to look into the working conditions of laborers. This led to the assembly of a committee chaired by the Labor Minister to address the issues pertaining to the cases of mass lay-offs.

Although such a committee was formed, the number of laborers being laid off is accelerating day after day. The estimates released by The General Federation of Workers Trade Unions in Bahrain show that, as of May 29, 2011 the total number of sacked laborers reached 1724 [1]. The actual number, however, is even greater than this as it incorporates only the laborers who reported their cases to the Union and not the total number who have actually been laid off. According to the same statistics, Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) and Bahrain Aluminum (Alba), of which the government of Bahrain owns 100% and 70% respectively, have topped the list for layoffs, accounting for around 40% of the total number of sacked laborers in Bahrain.

ALBA has dismissed 364 laborers. About 250 of these were dismissed without any Interrogation. ALBA alleges that the main reason for dismissal was due to participation in the strike which was called by the company’s Trade Union as well as the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions in solidarity with the protesters who were violently oppressed. However, Bahrain Center of Human Rights (BCHR) received several testimonies from some ALBA laborers that they were not absent from work but were still dismissed. Other laborers said that they were absent from work due to the deteriorating security situation, or due to annual or sick leave however they were also dismissed. BCHR has documented a case in which an ALBA laborer was arrested from his workplace and dismissed under the pretext of an absence of more than 10 consecutive days. Other employees were given the option of either resignation, demotion or immediate dismissal [2]. …more

Planned Talks Bring Hope for Peace
By Suad Hamada

MANAMA, Jun 8, 2011 (IPS) – A national dialogue with no preconditions could bring the situation in Bahrain back to normal after a military crackdown that followed months of unrest.

Three opposition groups – the Democratic Nationalist Rally, the Democratic Progressive Tribune and the National Democratic Action Society (Waad) – have welcomed the dialogue slated to start Jul. 1. The Al Wefaq National Islamic Society that led protests in February and March before the declaration of a three-month state of emergency also hinted that it approved of the talks.

In a statement issued early this month, Al Wefaq welcomed a comprehensive dialogue based on a national consensus to achieve the demands and aspirations of Bahrainis. The group hinted that its engagement in the talks would depend on the involvement of Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who suggested the idea at the height of the unrest in February.

The protests in Bahrain, inspired by the political movements in Egypt and Tunisia, started on Feb. 14 with calls for better housing services and living conditions, and escalated to demand the overthrow of the regime.

The unrest has affected people’s lives and the economy. One example was the postponement of the Formula One race that had been scheduled for March. The announcement of the dialogue might have influenced the FIA Grand Prix’s decision to agree to hold the games in October. …more

The ProPublica Blog
White House Makes Nice With Bahrain as Detentions and Prosecutions Continue
by Marian Wang
ProPublica, June 8, 2011, 11:42 a.m.

As the Bahraini government continued its crackdown on largely Shiite pro-democracy groups, the Obama administration reaffirmed its friendship with Bahrain this week.

More Shiites were arrested and about 50 medical workers were charged by the Bahraini government this week. The government has accused the doctors and nurses of supporting the pro-democracy protests that the government has been trying for months to stop. Reuters reported yesterday that the medics have been denied access to their attorneys.

The Crown Prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, paid a visit to the White House yesterday and met with State Department officials as well as President Obama. There, the Obama administration’s soft touch on Bahrain continued, with Obama urging the Sunni monarch to “hold accountable” those responsible for human rights abuses without specifying who be held accountable, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Bahrain, of course, has long been a close ally of the United States, which has in turn benefitted from the Persian Gulf country’s willingness to host the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. As we’ve noted, the U.S. has kept its criticism muted in the face of a slew of alleged abuses—mass arrests of protesters, activists and medical workers; torture; abuse of Shiite women and girls and the destruction of at least 47 Shiite mosques.

The strongest condemnation came in President Obama’s Middle East speech last month, when he cited Bahrain’s “mass arrests and brute force,” calling them “at odds with the universal rights of Bahrain’s citizens.” But words of partnership and friendship have remained at the forefront. (Read the White House’s account of the Crown Prince’s visit with the president.)

“Bahrain is a partner, and a very important one, to the United States,” Hillary Clinton said in remarks yesterday. “We are supportive of a national dialogue and the kinds of important work that the Crown Prince has been doing in his nation, and we look forward to it continuing.”
[Read more →]

Bahrain accepts U.N. rights mission
Published: June 8, 2011 at 11:59 AM

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 8 (UPI) — Bahrain has accepted a U.N. mission in the country to examine reports of human rights violations during pro-reform demonstrations, the United Nations said.

Bahrain is facing international criticism for its response to a Shiite uprising in the country. The governing body of Formula One racing said Wednesday it was canceling a race in Bahrain because of security concerns expressed by the teams.

Rupert Colville, a spokesman for U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, said Manama had agreed to let a U.N. mission examine alleged violations in the country. “The mission has been accepted in principle by the Bahraini government but no dates have yet been set,” he said in a statement.

Pillay’s office Tuesday complained her recent comments in the official news agency of Bahrain about the conflict were “blatantly” misrepresented. Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa said in Washington during talks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the uprising was a challenge for his country.

“It is a great test, but also a great opportunity to drive the nation forward,” he said in a statement.

Bahrain is a key strategic ally to the United States, hosting the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
…source

Bahrain: Crackdown on teachers Society due to it is active role in protecting the rights of those working in educational institution
June 8th, 2011

On 8 June 2011, The first hearing was held at the National Safety court ( Military court) for Bahrain Teachers Society (BTS).The case has been adjourned till 15 June, 2011.

The defendants were present at the trial :

1- Mr. Mahdi Isa Abu Dheeb – Chairman, Bahrain Teachers Society

2-Ms. Jalila Mohammed Ridha Al Salman – Deputy Chair, Bahrain Teachers Society

Charges:

1-inciting others to commit crimes;
2-calling for the hatred and overthrow of the ruling system;
3-holding pamphlets, disseminating fabricated stories and information;
4-leaving work on purpose and encouraging others to do so;
5-taking part at illegal gatherings.

The Society was founded in 2002, previously called for improvement in teachers working conditions, and contributed to the protests since February 14, 2011.

BTS: Activities”2009″

On 13 March 2011, The BTS issued a statement criticizing the violations by the security forces in schools and called for a strike. (Ref: http://www.bhteachers.org/portal/news.php?action=view&id=61)

On 23 March 2011, Issued a statement to suspend strike. (Ref: http://www.bhteachers.org/portal/news.php?action=view&id=62)

On 6 April 2011, The Bahrain Teachers Society (BTS) suspended by Ministry of Development. (Ref: http://www.bna.bh/portal/news/451949).

BTS’s website blocked by Bahraini authorities: www.bhteachers.org

Bahraini authorities arrested some members of the Board of Directors.

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) expresses deep concern at the targeting of institutions of civil society and calls for urgent action to stop the punishment of civil society institutions by the Bahraini authorities.

irishtimes.com – Last Updated: Tuesday, June 7, 2011, 12:15
Arrests over Bahrain protests

Bahraini police arrested a number of Shias at the weekend for shouting anti-government slogans during a religious festival in the Gulf Arab state, the interior ministry said today.

Police clashed with Shia marchers on Sunday, less than a week after the kingdom, ruled by its Sunni Muslim minority, repealed an emergency law that quashed weeks of protests.

“Some small groups broke the law on Sunday by exploiting the commemoration of the death of the Imam Hadi to stage marches and repeat political slogans that violate [the law],” the official news agency quoted spokesman Tareq bin Dayna as saying.

“A number of those provoking disturbances were arrested … and have been transferred to public prosecution.”

Residents and leading Shia opposition group Wefaq said on Sunday that police used tear gas, rubber bullets, sound grenades and birdshot to break up marches in several Shia villages around the capital Manama.

Marchers in some of the parades shouted “Down, down (King) Hamad” and “The people want the fall of the regime.” Some of the gatherings were purely religious, residents said. …more

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
June 07, 2011
Readout of the President’s Meeting With His Highness Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of Bahrain

The President met today and had a productive discussion with His Highness Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of Bahrain, following the Crown Prince’s meeting with National Security Advisor Tom Donilon. The President reaffirmed the strong commitment of the United States to Bahrain. He welcomed King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s decision to end the State of National Safety early and the announcement that the national dialogue on reform would begin in July. He also expressed strong support for the Crown Prince’s ongoing efforts to initiate the national dialogue and said that both the opposition and the government must compromise to forge a just future for all Bahrainis. To create the conditions for a successful dialogue, the President emphasized the importance of following through on the government’s commitment to ensuring that those responsible for human rights abuses will be held accountable. The President noted that, as a long-standing partner of Bahrain, the United States believes that the stability of Bahrain depends upon respect for the universal rights of the people of Bahrain, including the right to free speech and peaceful assembly, and a process of meaningful reform that is responsive to the aspirations of all. …source

Islamic-World
Bahrain medical staff ‘tortured for confessions’
Tuesday, 7 June 2011

Bahrain, June 07: Doctors and nurses put on trial in Bahrain yesterday told relatives they were beaten with hoses and wooden boards embedded with nails and made to eat faeces. They also had to stand without moving for hours, or even days, and were deprived of sleep in order to force them to sign false confessions.

The Bahraini authorities have put on trial 47 doctors and nurses before a security tribunal, accusing them of trying to overthrow the government, though they say all they did was treat injured pro-democracy protesters. Relatives of the health workers, who were allowed to speak to them for 10 minutes after the hearing, said the accused alleged that they had been psychologically and physically abused during their confinement.

One eyewitness said the health workers said the worst “forms of torture were during the interrogation in the Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) in Adiya. But at the jail it was mainly humiliation and constant verbal abuse with the occasional beatings, however not as severe and extreme as at the CID.”

The trial is a sign that the end of martial law on 1 June has had no effect on the government’s repression of the majority Shia community. The court trying the health workers, most of whom worked at the Salmaniya Medical Complex, has military prosecutors and military and civilian judges, suggesting the end to martial law may have been a ploy ahead of Formula One’s decision to stage the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Before the hearing yesterday, families of the doctors and nurses had only been able to communicate by phone. Lawyers had not seen their clients at all. Eyewitnesses said the appearance of the doctors confirmed fears of abuse. A witness told The Independent: “They were blindfolded and handcuffed and these were only removed when the [court] session began.” The witness asked for their name to be withheld. …more

Mosley writes off Bahrain chances
Author: Nigel Brown
Posted on:07 June 2011 – 01:50 PM

Former FIA president Max Mosley has written off the chances of the reinstated Bahrain Grand Prix actually going ahead.

The race had originally been scheduled as the season opener on March 13 but was postponed in February because of civil unrest in Bahrain.

The sport’s governing body unanimously agreed to restore the race to the calendar on October 30, with the inaugural Indian Grand Prix moved back to December 11.

Mosley believes Formula One’s image will be damaged if the race goes ahead, while also adding that there needs to be unanimous agreement from the teams, who have already expressed their dissatisfaction against the season finishing as late as December.

Mosley told BBC Radio 5 live: “I will be astonished if the event goes ahead. I don’t think it will happen.

“One thing that everybody seems to have overlooked is that the teams have to agree a change of calendar.

“You can’t simply move the Indian race from one point to another without asking all the people who have entered.

“You need the written agreement of every team and I don’t believe that is going to be forthcoming.” …source

(AP) WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has met with the crown prince of Bahrain at the White House and is welcoming the Gulf kingdom’s decision to end emergency law last week.

In a statement, the White House says Obama told Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa that stability in Bahrain depends on respect for the universal rights of citizens there, including the right to free speech and peaceful assembly. He also reaffirmed America’s strong commitment to Bahrain.

Bahrain imposed emergency rule in mid-March, giving the military wide powers to suppress demonstrations led by the country’s Shiite majority against the minority Sunni rulers. Bahrain invited 1,500 troops from a Saudi-led Gulf force to help suppress the unrest when emergency rule was imposed. Those troops will remain in Bahrain indefinitely. …source

Spain: Wellsprings of an explosive movement
Sunday, June 5, 2011
By Dick Nichols, Barcelona
Protest camp in Madrid, May 19.

In late April, the progressive Spanish daily Publico asked why there was so little resistance to the economic crisis, despite the country’s 5 million jobless and rising misery.

The union and social movement leaders and left academics interviewed pointed to the numbing impact of mass unemployment, the casualisation of work, the bureaucratisation of organised labour, widespread scepticism that striking could achieve anything, and the economic cushion provided by Spain’s extended families.

They also cited the apparent failure of French and Greek general strikes against austerity.

The consensus was that, given the absence in Europe of even one successful struggle, people in Spain were resigned to battling their way through the crisis as best they could.

No-one sensed the new wave of struggle just over the horizon.

Just over one month later, camps of thousands of los indiganados (“the outraged”) are pitched in the squares of at least 80 Spanish cities and towns.

The eyes of the world are on Mardid’s Puerta del Sol and Barcelona’s Plaza Catalonia, where the occupiers are denouncing pro-corporate austerity, political corruption and demanding a “new system”. …more

The Return of the Zapatistas? They Never Left
May 2011 – Written by Michael McCaughan

San Cristobal de las Casas
Tuesday, 17 May 2011

Mexico is caught in the grip of an escalating drug war which has cost 40,000 lives in the past five years and has no end in sight. By comparison, the Zapatista uprising in January 1994, with less than 200 casualties, prompted peace rallies, a speedy ceasefire, and a national dialogue. The body count varies from day to day, 29, 41 or 33, numbers and methods varying as decapitation and mutilation complete with asphyxiation and the traditional bullet in the head. This endless war of unimaginable cruelty has numbed most Mexicans who observe from afar and hope the river of blood doesn’t arrive at their doorstep.

Once in a while, however, a single incident can trigger a powerful reaction. The death of Juan Francisco Sicilia, one of seven people gunned down in march, sparked a national mobilisation and a new movement aimed at shifting government policy away from perpetual warfare and toward an integrated political solution to the conflict. Javier Sicilia, poet and father of Juan Francisco, launched ‘The March for Peace with Justice and Dignity’ this month, a three-day event which culminated in a rally in Mexico City. The idea was simple: a silent march and a single slogan, ‘Estamos hasta la madre – no mas sangre’ (‘We’ve had it up to here, no more bloodshed’). This idea captured the popular imagination and on Sunday, May 8, hundreds of thousands of people marched all over Mexico demanding a radical change to government policy.

In Chiapas, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) answered the call and issued a communique in which they announced their plan to march into San Cristobal de las Casas, the town where the Zapatistas first appeared in January 1994. It has been five years since the Zapatistas last mobilised in this manner and for many people the movement has become a fading memory, a noble insurrection which inspired millions but ultimately fizzled out; victims of a sterile and bitter debate over the pitfalls and possibilities of electoral politics. …more

Twenty reasons why it’s kicking off in cyberspace
Posted on June 7, 2011 by deterritorialsupportgroup

In February the Newsnight economics editor Paul Mason very succinctly laid out the radically different nature of recent popular uprisings across North Africa, the Middle East and Europe compared to earlier political movements, and the economic and sociological reasons behind it. This incisive blogpost rang true for many of those involved in those social movements, articulating, as it did, a new sentiment and new political priorities amongst those populations. The short article sketched out a more cohesive image which the media in general was missing, partly through structural failings, but largely because events were unfolding at speed and trying to drag the chaotic events into an understandable analysis was difficult.

Running alongside the (still unfolding) Arab Spring, informing and shaping and being shaped in turn by those events, was a developing online conflict with major similarities; young, optimistic graduates who saw societies in more generalised terms of “power”, highly networked, informal and decentralised decision making processes and a deep cynicism and mistrust of traditional power elites and political ideologies. In the last month especially we’ve seen a series of events and developments that are changing the game of cyber-war (and cyber-class-war).

So what’s going on in cyberspace? What we’re seeing is a significant escalation in serious geo-political combat, and the mainstream press has failed in it’s coverage so far. Perhaps years of rehashing press releases have left many hacks without the critical journalistic capabilities to monitor, study, explain and contextualise the recent events of the cyber-war, leaving the majority of the populace completely in the dark as to what’s happening, and how governments and (unelected) transnational organisations are investing significant resources in an attempt to limit online freedoms.

Make no mistake- this is not a minor struggle between state nerds and rogue geeks- this is the battlefield of the 21st Century, with the terms and conditions of war being configured before our very eyes. Given the significant economic disruption online activism and hacking can cause, and the power online tools have to agitate, plan and execute IRL activism, the current increase in tensions between hackers and the capital/state partnership is every bit as significant as the continuing developments of the Arab Spring, with which the online activist movements are inextricably linked. Below we have laid out a brief overview of recent events. This list is necessarily partial, given the complexity, history and depth of the situation, and we are by no means experts in the field; we would recommend people use it as a jumping off point to help get more educated (we have heavily hyperlinked the text FYI). Get googling.

1. At the heart of it is a newly politicised generation of hackers who have moved from a lulz-based psychic-economy to an engaged, socially-aware and politically active attitude towards world events, primarily as a reaction to the way governments and multinationals dealt with the fallout of Wikileaks. The “politicisation of 4chan” and the birth of Anonymous have set the stage for a practice of socially-engaged hacktivism of a form and scale we’ve not seen before. …more

Bahrain protests and Obama’s ‘drop by’ diplomacy

President Obama just happened to ‘drop by’ a White House meeting with Bahrain’s crown prince today even as the government brutally suppresses protests. Why the secrecy?

The small kingdom is home to America’s Fifth Fleet and is of particular concern to Sunni-led Saudi Arabia, which regards the majority-Shiite protests in Bahrain as a proxy battle with Iran. Yet the government crackdown has been particularly brutal, even targeting women for torture.

No wonder then that Mr. Obama had to hide his meeting today with the Bahraini crown prince.

The president didn’t have the meeting on the official White House schedule. Yet he was able to “drop by” the office of National Security Advisor Tom Donilon just about the time a meeting began with Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa.

The crown prince is regarded as the lonely reformer in Bahrain’s ruling family, worthy of consulting but not in a visible way that might confuse people that the US condones the crackdown. His great-uncle, Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman, is the conservative – and brutal – one, defending the country’s minority Sunni elite against the pro-democracy rabble with an iron fist. He might also have the power to boot out the US Naval base.

“Drop by” meetings are often used by presidents to send or receive messages in situations that need delicate diplomacy. The Dalai Lama, for example, gets such treatment, so as not to offend China by holding an official, cameras-clicking meeting.

Prince Salman is a graduate of American University in Washington, and thus may have an appreciation for the human-rights concerns of the US over Bahrain’s violence. Perhaps he might even take back a tough message from Obama that reform must come quickly and an end to violence even more quickly. …source

Two more journalists summoned by military court
Published on Monday 6 June 2011.
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Hossam Al-Suwaifi, a reporter for the newspaper Al-Wafd, and Sayyid Abdel Ati, the editor of the newspaper’s weekly edition, were questioned by the military prosecutor’s office on 3 June about a 26 May article referring to a possible pact between the armed forces and the Muslim Brotherhood.

They are the latest in a series of journalists to be summoned for interrogation by military prosecutors. Reporters Without Borders wrote to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on 1 June voicing concern that such interrogations were becoming increasingly systematic (see below).

3.06.2011 – Military rulers urged to allow freedom of expression

Reporters Without Borders called today on Egypt’s military regime to stop the “threats, arrests, interrogations and physical violence” it said the country’s journalists and bloggers had been subjected to in the months since the revolution that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak.

The organisation said it feared that a media forum the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has convened on 5 June with the main political groupings and leading media figures taking part, would be used by the army to “dodge criticism of recent abuses for which it is heavily responsible.” It called on the Council to listen to the demands at the forum for media freedom and show new respect for the work of journalists. The Council says civil society organisations can submit their demands by fax. …source

Nasrallah: U.S. keen to hijack Arab revolts
June 07, 2011 01:57 AM
By Hussein Dakroub
The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah accused the United States Monday of seeking to hijack the wave of pro-democracy popular uprisings sweeping the Arab world.

He also praised Palestinians who confronted Israeli troops on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights despite knowing they would be fired upon.
Damascus said 23 people had been killed Sunday when Israeli troops opened fire on hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators who tried to push through the mined cease-fire line across Syria’s frontier with the Golan Heights. The protesters rallied on the Syrian side of the border with the Golan to mark the Naksa, which refers to the defeat of Arab armies in the June 5, 1967, Middle East war which resulted in Israel capturing Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

Israeli troops killed more than a dozen people along the Lebanese and Syrian borders on May 15 when Palestinian protesters gathered near the border with Israel to commemorate the Nakba, Arabic for catastrophe, marking the 63rd anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel.

In a televised speech addressing the opening session of an intellectual conference on Iran’s Supreme Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei in Beirut, Nasrallah said: “We hold the Palestinians and those youths who rallied at the border of Syria’s occupied Golan Heights in high esteem and respect for their insistence on confrontation in a clear message of determination in this [Arab] nation.”

“What happened yesterday on the anniversary of the Naksa on the Golan Heights has revealed that the U.S. administration wants to hijack the Arab revolutions,” Nasrallah said.

“This event has confirmed Washington’s absolute commitment to Israel’s security. This is Washington which talks about human rights and freedoms,” he added, referring to U.S. officials’ statements that Israel has the right to defend itself against protesters who attempt to cross its border. …more