Bahrain has a long history of Human Rights abuse. The USA and it’s lacky, the UN, has a long history of ignoring the problem. How long can the world sit back and allow the Al Khalifa regime to play lip service to Human Rights while it utterly crushes it’s own citizens? “Dialogue and Reform” are words for those who would subscribe to Bahrain’s “business as usual” approach. Al Khalifa behaves much as the most brutal of wife abusers. When the crisis of his violence comes, he declares repentance and promises change that seems to appear for awhile. The grand charade relieves and reassures his friends and advocates. The world returns to a “repentant norm” and the abuse reappears and often with far more devastating results.

It seems we are in that place again. UNSECO(The UN) pretends it’s okay, Obama and the US pretends it’s okay. They hear what they want to hear; the promise of reform, the lifting of “The National Safety Emergency” (AKA bloody crackdown), all the repentant dialogue. This time it’s a little different, everyone is witness to the crime on the Internet. It’s not so easy to hide anymore. Some even get it, salute to the F1 teams who wanted nothing to do with Al Khalifa’s festival of abuse.

The world has changed but too much denial remains. The enablers assume their familiar role. Bahrain’s Al Khalifa remains in control just as the husband who just smashed his wife’s face and bruised his child. And just like a wife abusers best friend who fears the loss of his drinking buddy, some of the Societies, those that might benefit for the so called “reform”, shove the wife and child into a closet. They pretend all is going well while other Society members are all but forgotten in King Hamad’s torturous dungeons. Strange how justice and freedom so often lose to the lust for power.

The consequence is likely something as tragic as the wife and child beaten bloody unto to death but with global dimension. Blow-back, the unavoidable civil war, the Iranian proxy everyone tried to avoid and warned about. And all the enablers saying “we never saw it coming”… All one has to do is take a look back at Al Khalifa’s history of Human Rights Abuse. Al Khalifa doesn’t get better, he’s pathological, he just becomes more brutal each time he repeats his crime, just like the wife abuser… ….where does anyone really expect this to end up? If Al Khalifa is not stopped now the disaster around the corner will likely cost the West for generations to come. Maybe the USA, my country, can find a way to stop enabling this bastard and actually do the right thing for once. It’s your choice President Obama. No bombs necessary. Mr.President, do you keep America’s drinking buddy around to beat his wife and child another day, or do you stop him from causing anymore grievous harm and suffering?

…for me, I think he needs to go and with great haste.

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Bahrain 2005 – see the document here

Jonathan Whittall, MSF’s head of mission in Bahrain, has recently returned from the country. He says that troops routinely tortured patients at the main Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) in the capital, Manama. “The security forces basically took control of the hospital on 17 March when tanks moved outside and set up checkpoints for anyone entering or leaving. Inside, many of the wounded with injuries that could have been sustained during the protests were taken to the sixth floor, where they were beaten three times a day.”

Action Alert: UNESCO / Bahrain – Bahrain to Chair UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee whilst destroying its own heritage
Wednesday, 15 June 2011 20:23

IHRC urges all campaigners to wirte to the Director-General of UNESCO calling for the removal of Bahrain from the committee’s list.

Contents
1. Summary
2. Background
3. Action Required
4. Sample Letter

1. Summary

On 19 June 2011 Bahrain will be chairing the 35th Session of The World Heritage Committee at UNESCO in Paris, France.

IHRC urges all campaigners to write letters to Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO calling for the removal of Bahrain from the committee’s list. Furthermore, condemning the decision to give Bahrain the chairing position while destroying its own heritage, including demolishing mosques, destroying traditional jobs and its social natives.

2. Background

The World Heritage Committee consists of 21 States who examine the proposals made by State Parties, in order to identify cultural and natural properties of outstanding universal value to be protected under itsConvention and further added to the World Heritage List.

The Committee members are:

Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Iraq, Jordan, Mali, Mexico, Nigeria, Russian Federation, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates.

Bahrain is currently undertaking brutal crackdown on protests with the support of GCC troops from Saudi Arabia. It will be chairing UNESCO’s 35th Session of the World Heritage Committee in Paris.

Bahrain has been carrying out a systematic destruction of heritage and culture over the past 50 years, where old buildings, palm tree huts, were demolished as well as a group of 21 ancient and licensed mosques, including one that is more than 640 years old. Furthermore many traditional industries such as carpentry have been destroyed.

Bahrain is a chain of islands where residents in the past used to rely on fishing as their main source of income. Bahraini residents feel that their history is being stamped out due to the demolition of their heritage and culture by the Bahraini government and feel that it is hypocritical for that same government to be chairing this event.

3. Action required

Write to Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO calling for the removal or Bahrain from the World Heritage Committee’s list and condemning the decision to give Bahrain the chairing position. …source and more actions you can take

US to probe Bahrain labour rights under trade deal
(Reuters)

17 June 2011
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration said on Thursday it would investigate charges brought by the largest US labour organization that Bahrain has failed to meet its obligations to protect workers’ rights under a free trade pact with the United States.

Richard Trumka, president of the 12.2 million-member AFL-CIO labour federation, hailed the decision published in the US Federal Register, the official publication used by the US government to make public regulatory actions.

“The egregious attacks on workers must end, and the Bahraini government’s systematic discrimination against and dismantling of unions must be reversed. These actions directly violate the letter and the spirit of the trade agreement,” Trumka said in a statement.

The AFL-CIO has urged the US government to notify Bahrain it could withdraw from the five-year-old free trade agreement over human rights abuses in the kingdom’s crackdown on anti-government protests.

“The trade union movement in Bahrain is critical to democratic and peaceful coexistence in a pluralistic society and should be part of a national dialogue to solve Bahrain’s crisis,” Trumka said.

“Yet instead of working toward dialogue with labor and civil society, the Bahraini government’s actions deal a dramatic setback to civil liberties and freedom of association,” he said.

Earlier this month, President Barack Obama urged Bahrain’s rulers to hold accountable those responsible for human rights abuses in the crackdown and pressed for a compromise between the government and the opposition.

The trade agreement, which went into effect in 2006, eliminated tariffs on consumer and industrial trade between the two countries and made other reforms that opened the kingdom to more US farm and services exports.

When the agreement was completed in 2005, the US Trade Representative’s office said the pact’s labor provisions “fully support and complement the democratic reforms by the Kingdom of Bahrain in the political and labor areas.”

It requires Bahrain to enforce domestic laws that provide internationally recognized labour rights. …more

UN labour chief deplores call for Bahraini union leaders to resign or face legal action
ILO Director-General Juan Somavia
20 June 2011 –

The head of the United Nations labour agency today condemned a call by prominent business figures in Bahrain for trade union leaders in the Middle East nation to either resign or face legal action, describing the threat as an act of intimidation.

Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO, issued a statement in response to what he called “this confrontational ultimatum” by the Joint Committee of Major Companies in Bahrain – which are entirely or partly owned by the Government.

The small country has been beset by unrest in recent months as protesters have taken to the streets to demand greater democracy, part of a broader movement across North Africa and the Middle East since the start of the year.

As many as 2,000 workers at Government-owned enterprises have been dismissed from their jobs.

Mr. Somavia urged the Government to seek the immediate withdrawal of the business figures’ call for the 15 members of the Executive Committee of the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions to resign or face prosecution or civil law action.

Authorities should “do everything to bring all parties to the table of social dialogue,” he said, citing “the very positive announcement” last month by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa for a national dialogue to start on 1 July.

“The threat of criminal and civil prosecution… is an act of intimidation which takes Bahrain still further away from the course of respect for trade union rights on which it had embarked since 2002 and which has been widely recognized and praised by the ILO in the past,” Mr. Somavia noted. …more

Bahrain medics’ trial hears prosecution witnesses
By shiapost – June 20, 2011Posted in: Bahrain

DUBAI — Prosecution witnesses in the trial of 47 Bahrain doctors and nurses charged with supporting a Shiite-led protest in the kingdom appeared before a military tribunal on Monday, the state news agency BNA reported.

The 24 doctors and 23 nurses from Salmaniya hospital in Manama, not far from the capital’s Pearl Square that became the focal point of protests inspired by the Arab uprisings, are accused of “incitement to overthrow the regime by force.”

The prosecution witnesses told the court that some of the doctor defendants had handed round sachets of blood to be smeared on the injuries of some protesters before they were filmed by television crews.

Others testified that knives and two firearms were seized at the hospital, and that the facility had been used for political gatherings.

One prosecution witness alleged that medical staff discriminated in favour of Shiites when treating people injured in the protests.

The 47 accused medics were referred to a military court on May 4.

The medics have all worked at the Salmaniya Medical Complex, which was stormed by security forces after they drove protesters on March 16 out of Pearl Square.

BNA said the court set the date of the next hearing for June 30, when defence witnesses will be heard.

Authorities in the kingdom ruled by the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty have said that 24 people were killed during the unrest, most of them demonstrators. …source

Ex-editors in Bahrain reject charges of unethical coverage
June 20, 2011 01:29 AM
Associated Press

MANAMA, Bahrain: Lawyers for three former top editors of Bahrain’s main opposition newspaper Sunday challenged allegations of unethical coverage by their clients during mass anti-government protests in the kingdom.

The trial of the editors of Al-Wasat newspaper, who were forced to resign from Bahrain’s most widely-read newspaper after the government imposed emergency rule in March to quell dissent, is part of a crackdown on the island nation’s Shiite-led opposition.

The charges against the three former editors, who pleaded not guilty last month, include publishing false news and endangering public order. If convicted on all charges, they face at least two years in jail and hefty financial fines.

Two employees of Al-Wasat newspaper told Bahrain’s highest criminal court Sunday that the editors overlooked fabricated information because of the difficult conditions facing the kingdom’s only opposition paper during demonstrations against Bahrain’s Sunni rulers.

The two employees said the newspaper’s offices had been vandalized and its staff had been threatened, forcing the staff to work from home.

Al-Wasat’s founder and former chief editor, Mansoor al-Jamri, told the court during last week’s hearing that the paper published the fabricated items after it fell victim to a plot aimed at undermining Al-Wasat’s role as the main voice for pro-reform advocates. …more

MSF Alleges Torture in Bahraini Hospitals
By Shannon June 20, 2011

The humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, or Doctors Without Borders), alleges that Bahraini security forces regularly tortured patients at the Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) in Manama. Recently returned from Bahrain, MSF’s head of mission Jonathan Whittall reports that after security forces took control of the hospital in March, “many of the wounded with injuries that could have been sustained during the protests were taken to the sixth floor, where they were beaten three times a day.” The MSF testimony essentially describes a “torture chamber” within the hospital, providing new evidence that the crackdown has not been limited to protest leaders. Whittall says, “the hospital became a place to be feared.”

The 47 medical professionals currently on trial worked at the SMC hospital. After working with Bahraini doctors and nurses for months, MSF claims that the charges against them are groundless. Rather, Whittall says, “many of the doctors feel that they have been singled out and targeted because of their standing in society; because they spoke out against the violence, and that some worked at medical stations set up in Pearl Square during the height of the protests.” Whittall also agrees with many critics, that the recent reforms implemented by the regime have been superficial. …more

UK to be sued over Bahrain crackdown
By shiapost – June 18, 2011

A group of lawyers are set to take the United Kingdom to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague over its role in the brutal crackdown of Bahrainis.

The lawyers from Lebanon, Spain, France and Italy accuse Britain of selling arms, including sniper rifles, to the Manama regime and training Bahraini police forces, who are accused of using heavy-handed tactics against anti-government protesters in the Persian Gulf sheikdom, a Press TV correspondent reported.

The legal dossier targets both members of the British government and the Ministry of Defense.
It includes harrowing testimonies, medical records and photographic evidence of what are described as crimes against humanity.

“We know that they have trained Bahraini police how to capture and how to stop protests in Bahrain,” Chief Representative of Beirut-based International Coalition against Impunity, May el-Khansa, told Press TV.

The ICC has promised to examine the dossier within the next month, but it is not yet clear if it will open an investigation into the case.

The coalition of lawyers is now hoping that the ICC will refer the case to the United Nations for further investigation.

The United Kingdom has a long history of meddling in Bahrain.

The UK helped establish the Al Khalifa dynasty in Bahrain — whose ruling system was inspired by the British monarchy. …more

Bahrain: A mentally ill (mentally disabled) person has been detained for more than two months incommunicado.
June 19th, 2011 – BYSHR

“Hassan’s Medical Diagnosis”

On the 28th of March 2011, security forces stormed the home of Nooh Yahya Abdalqahir; the security forces wanted to arrest Mr.Mohammed Nooh, however he was not at home.

Mr.Hassan Nooh (mentally disabled) 29 years old, was in the house during that time, the security forces therefore arrested him instead of Mohammed until Mohammed surrenders himself to the police station.

On 29th March 2011, Mr.Mohammed surrendered himself to the police station in order for the release of Mr.Hassan.

The security forces have also on a later date arrested – Mr.Yousif and Mr.Jaffar – Nooh Yahya.

His family stated to the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), “we received calls from Mohammed, Yousif and Jaffar, but so far we have no knowledge of Hassan’s fate”.

The family expressed to the BYSHR, “their fear on the fate of Hassan especially that he is mentally disabled and cannot take care of himself.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) expresses its deep concern regarding the fate of Mr.Hassan Nooh and demands the disclosure of his fate immediately and to provide him with urgent medical care. As well as the investigation with whomever arrested a mentally disabled, and bringing them to trail. …more

iRevolution: Online Warriors of the Arab Spring premieres Sunday, June 19, 8:00pm ET & PT

CNN correspondent Amber Lyon reports from the digital edges of the democratic revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, and Bahrain on the movements spreading through North Africa and the Middle East. Using computers and cell phones, and social media like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, young citizen journalists have leveraged the technology of the Internet to call out injustices, demand democratic change, organize protests, and share news about how to evade authorities desperately trying to contain the spread of revolution.

CNN Presents – iRevolution: Online Warriors Of The Arab Spring debuts Sunday, June 19 at 8:00p.m. ET and PT it replays on Saturday, June 25 at 8:00p.m. ET and PT on CNN/U.S.

Though the historic changes sweeping the Middle East and North Africa have been collectively dubbed the “Facebook revolution,” Lyon reports how the digital roots of reform were actually sown years before the extraordinary street demonstrations of 2010 and 2011. Riadh Guerfali, whose online handle is “Astrubal,” is one of the founders of Nawaat, a crowd-sourced digital newspaper in Tunisia. In 2007, he launched a salvo with his exposé about the misuse of the president’s official airplane. His site was banned by the Tunisian government within days of its launch. Later, Astrubal created TuniLeaks, a website hosting the first set of WikiLeaks releases. The revelation that even the U.S. government suspected rampant corruption within the Tunisian regime, spawned even more outrage that ultimately led to President Ben Ali’s resignation.

From Tunisia, Lyon’s team travels to Cairo to report on activists Gigi Ibrahim and Mona Seif who are using the Internet to hold the new Egyptian government accountable for its actions, including allegations of torture. They take Lyon to the streets of Tahrir Square where activists use Twitter to battle alleged government enforcers. “Piggipedia” is a rogue’s gallery photo-sharing website used by Egyptian protestors to post the identities of authorities reported to have harassed demonstrators; the “Tahrir Diaries” serves as a digital blog that captures the testimony of protestors who report being emotionally, physically, and sexually tortured by authorities. …more

Published on Monday, June 20, 2011 by The Independent/UK
Bahraini Leadership Faces New Claims That Torture Took Place in Hospital
Human rights group says suspected protesters – and doctors and nurses who treated them – have been systematically abused
by Alistair Dawber

The government of Bahrain faces fresh allegations that it systematically tortured people it suspected of taking part in demonstrations against its autocratic rulers earlier this year, and of deliberately undermining the country’s health system as 20 doctors go back on trial today for their supposed role in the protests.

A Shia man from a village near Manama with shotgun wounds. One of the world’s most respected humanitarian organisations, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), alleges that security forces loyal to the tiny Gulf state’s authoritarian leader, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, regularly beat hospital patients who had injuries that could have been sustained during the rallies that started in February. (AFP/GETTY) One of the world’s most respected humanitarian organisations, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), alleges that security forces loyal to the tiny Gulf state’s authoritarian leader, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, regularly beat hospital patients who had injuries that could have been sustained during the rallies that started in February. It also says that, after working alongside the country’s doctors and nurses for months, the charges against them are without merit.

The MSF testimony is the first to document the existence of what was effectively a torture chamber maintained by Bahraini forces within the hospital. And it provides fresh evidence that retribution was not limited to the alleged ringleaders of the protests.

Jonathan Whittall, MSF’s head of mission in Bahrain, has recently returned from the country. He says that troops routinely tortured patients at the main Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) in the capital, Manama. “The security forces basically took control of the hospital on 17 March when tanks moved outside and set up checkpoints for anyone entering or leaving. Inside, many of the wounded with injuries that could have been sustained during the protests were taken to the sixth floor, where they were beaten three times a day.”

MSF says that young men with injuries such as broken limbs or gunshot wounds were particularly targeted for abuse, but that it did not appear that the security forces were looking for particular individuals.

“The hospital became a place to be feared,” says Mr Whittall, who was in the Salmaniya hospital at the same time as Bahraini troops and spoke to a number of eye-witnesses and victims of violence. “One patient was caught trying to leave and he was beaten both at Salmaniya and then later in jail – there was no evidence that he was a ringleader. The situation was so bad some people didn’t dare come to the hospital – in some cases, people had no access to healthcare and that is still the situation today.”

Some of the injured were removed from hospital, only to reappear later with more serious injuries, Mr Whittall adds. “One guy was brought into the hospital with a saw injury to the head, but he was removed by government forces and disappeared for weeks. His family had no idea what had happened to him until he reappeared with severe brain damage. There were no medical reports or any indication of what had happened to him during his detention.”

Unlike protests in other Middle Eastern countries, such as Tunisia or Egypt, where pro-democracy demonstrators have ousted unpopular dictatorships, Bahrain has effectively quelled its protests. Largely, those on the streets, who took over Manama’s central Pearl Square, were from the majority Shia population, who argue that they are denied the opportunities afforded to the minority Sunnis. The ruling al-Khalifa family are Sunni.

In March, Bahrain asked neighbouring Saudi Arabia, where the ruling royal family is also Sunni, to send in troops to put down the protests. ….more