Posts from — July 2011

Clinton: Democracy must emerge in Arab world
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warns of risk Middle East and North African nations will slip back into autocratic ways.
By The Associated Press

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that the rule of law, political parties and democratic institutions must emerge in the Arab world if it is to emulate Eastern Europe’s remarkable transition two decades ago from authoritarianism to truly free societies.

In Lithuania for an international democracy conference, Clinton cited the real risk of Middle East and North African nations slipping back into autocratic old ways. She lamented the latest accounts of violence in Syria, with security forces and knife-wielding, government-organized thugs reportedly attacking protesters in the city of Aleppo.

“Today there are new democracies fighting for life, there are vicious autocrats clinging to power,” Clinton said in a speech at the “Community of Democracies” meeting. “This is an hour of need. And every democracy should stand up and be counted.” …more

Greece halts US Boat’s bid for Gaza
Published today (updated) 01/07/2011 21:58

ATHENS, Greece (Ma’an) — The US Boat to Gaza left the Athens Port at 4:50 p.m. on Friday, expecting to be stopped by Greek authorities in the country’s coastal waters on its way to meet a French ship that had already left port.

Shortly after it sailed the US boat was intercepted by Greek officials, at the same time organizers of the Canadian boat to Gaza said the coastguard surrounded their vessel and prevented it from leaving.

At sea, the US ship attempted to secure passage through coastguard ships – one with armed soldiers aboard – which demanded it return, following the passage of a decision by the Greek Cabinet that afternoon, which according to organizers mandated that “no boat will sail for the Gaza Strip from Greece.”

“The Greeks declared that there would be no boats leaving from Greece to Gaza, no boats at all,” organizer Ann Wright told reporters as the ship was being escorted back to shore, where coastguard officials said the activists would not likely be arrested, but were being kept on board the vessel.

“If we did not comply with what we said they would board us,” she said, confirming that the decision to turn around was made by the captain and seconded by organizers. …more

Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Leonard Peltier ‘Take your place in the struggle’
Today: Oglala Commemoration, Pine Ridge, South Dakota
June 26, 2011 Censored News

By Leonard Peltier

Hello my friends and relations,

I always try to come to you full of good spirit and vigor. But I cannot lie. There are days when the ugliness of my situation weighs me down. I swear I never thought this could happen. I never believed law enforcement and the government of this country would go so far for so long to keep their dirty laundry hidden away.

Over the years, you my dedicated friends and believers have kept a vision of justice alive. That really is something special. Because of you, we have learned of hidden evidence, coerced testimony, and outright lies by the FBI and prosecutors. Because of you we have been able to uncover thousands of documents the government wanted to stay secret. And yet they
have been able to squirrel away thousands more pages of their biggest secrets about me, about the theft of Indian land, their motives behind murder, and their operations to silence people like me. I am living proof that my case is about squashing Indian rights and Indian sovereignty, otherwise why would I be serving a sentence so much longer than what is
normal for my so-called conviction?

Those that believe in law and order should be the loudest voices calling for my release! The fact is the day I walk free is the day they are forced to deal with my innocence, and they are so very afraid of doing just that! No matter what they say, the dirty little secret underneath all of this is America’s fear and loathing of Indian people. In over five hundred years, they have not yet learned how to deal honorably with us. …more

One dies in fresh Bahraini clashes
By shiapost – July 1, 2011Posted in: Bahrain

As anti-regime demonstrations continue in Bahrain, one protestor has died of injuries on his head sustained by a stun-bomb thrown by the regime’s security forces.

Thousands of protesters marched in streets across the country on Friday, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Protesters renewed their call for an end to the Al Khalifa regime. They also demanded the release of all detained protesters, activists and opposition leaders.

Security forces of the Saudi-backed regime responded with tear gas and stun grenades, according to some activists.

Anti-regime protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty’s rule.

In March, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have deployed some 1,500 military forces to Bahrain to help the government crush the nationwide protests. Yet, the protests have only grown more popular. …more

Disturbing wave of prosecutions on eve of national dialogue
Published on Thursday 30 June 2011.

Reporters Without Borders accuses the authorities of continuing to crack down on journalists and media freedom in violation of the spirit for the national dialogue that King Hamad Ben Issa Al-Khalifa wants to begin tomorrow with the aim of relaunching political reforms after the unrest that began last March and the ensuing repression.

Journalists and media are still being prosecuted before military courts, although the state of emergency was lifted on 1 June. The authorities are also maintaining strict control over the circulation of news and information and are pumping out propaganda aimed at both Bahraini and foreign media.

Reporters Without Borders calls for a response from the international community that includes the dispatch of a United Nations special rapporteur to Bahrain.

Bahrain Society of Photography president Mohamed Salman Al-Sheikh, a freelance photographer who was arrested on 11 May, was brought before a military court in Riffa, the second largest city, on 28 June. His family was not told about at the hearing and therefore was unable to organize his defence. No information has been released about the charges being pressed against this journalist, who has won many international awards. …more

Tensions high as Bahrain dialogue looms
By Reed Stevenson and Erika Solomon

MANAMA/DUBAI | Fri Jul 1, 2011 12:56pm EDT

MANAMA/DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain launches a national dialogue Saturday but many in the Shi’ite majority doubt the ruling Sunni monarchy will offer the concessions that could heal wounds caused by a crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

The kingdom, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has accused its mostly Shi’ite protesters of a sectarian agenda backed from non-Arab Shi’ite power Iran, across Gulf waters.

In March, Bahrain’s Sunni rulers imposed emergency law, inviting Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to send troops, and tanks rolled into the island as local forces cleared the streets of protesters, arresting hundreds of people.

Inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt that toppled rulers in those countries, Bahrain’s Shi’ites called for a greater say in government and an end to what they say was systematic discrimination in access to jobs and social services. …more