Jordan: The King’s Survival Strategy
By William Fisher – The Public Record
Jun 25th, 2011

Jordan’s King Abdullah II and his new government appear to be racing the clock to begin enacting political and economic reforms before the largely peaceful street demonstrations turn ugly.

Whether his proposed reforms will be seen by the people as going far enough, and whether he can light a fire under his government to actually begin implementing the first serious reforms – these are the key questions that remain to be seen.

The recommendations were produced by a 52-member National Dialogue Committee. They include proposing an increase in the number of seats in Parliament from 120 to 130, call for an independent panel of retired judges appointed by royal decree to oversee elections, instead of the Interior Ministry, and a new draft law to make it easier to form political parties and encouraging participation by women. …more

ACLU Supports Moving Terror Suspect to U.S. Court but Questions Unlawful Military Detention
July 6, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org

NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed support for the transfer of terror suspect Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame to the federal criminal justice system. But his imprisonment and interrogation for over two months aboard a Navy ship raises serious questions about unlawful detention.

The following can be attributed to Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU National Security Project:

“We welcome the announcement that the Obama administration will prosecute Warsame in the criminal justice system. Unlike the discredited military commissions, federal courts are able to achieve justice and unquestionably have jurisdiction over the material support and conspiracy crimes with which Warsame is charged. But the Obama administration has put a criminal conviction at risk by holding Warsame in unlawful military detention for over two months. The government could have obtained intelligence through law enforcement rather than military interrogation, as it successfully has in hundreds of terrorism cases, without jeopardizing its criminal case. We are deeply concerned that the Obama administration continues to assert a worldwide war authority wherever terrorism suspects are found, and it is incumbent upon Congress to impose necessary and wise limitations on the administration.”

Saudis and Anglo-Americans take note of divergent interests
Voltaire Network | 1 July 2011

At a recent meeting that discretely took place on the Molesworth NATO air base in the UK, Prince Turki al-Fayçal conveyed to his Anglo-American allies the official Saudi position with regard to the “Arab Spring.”

In the first place, Riyad does not perceive the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain as being color revolutions triggered by the U.S. It looks at them instead as popular movements instigated by Iran.

It logically follows that Saudi Arabia deployed its regular troops to Bahrain and Yemen, and its Wahhabi mercenaries to Syria and Libya. Moreover, Riyad intended to transform the Gulf Cooperation Council into a coalition of Sunni monarchies to lead the ideological combat and repression against the influence of the Iranian Shia Revolution.

Besides, in spite of mutual expressions of friendship, Washington and Riyad have come to realize that they are no longer as inter-dependent as in the past. The United States looks to a future chiefly based on gas instead of oil, while Saudi Arabia beholds the dwindling of its reserves, with China as its principal commercial partner.

Although they rely on the Saudis to corrupt Lebanese, Palestinian and Egyptian leaders with billions of petrodollars, and that they enlist Al-Qaeda contingents in Syria and Libya, the Anglo-Americans are speculating on the collapse of the Saudi monarchy in the medium term. They envision the remodeling of North Africa structured around Morocco and the Berbers, and of the Middle East around Turkey and the Muslim Brothers.

During the meeting, Prince Turki al-Façal brought up the need for his country to obtain nuclear weapons if Iran was doing the same. This issue has been covered by the Guardian, the first outlet to release the thrust of the proceedings.

In this connection, Riyad is not without knowing that the Iranian military nuclear program is nothing but a hoax proliferated by U.S. war propaganda. Thus, the announcement was intended as a message that Riyad anticipates to be dumped by its Anglo-American allies and is planning its own defense should the revolutions backed by Iran continue to spread.

The closest partners in the world are preparing to divorce by mutual consent.…more

HRW: Bahrain: Investigate New Death in Custody
Thorough, Prompt, and Impartial Inquiries Needed
April 13, 2011

(Manama) – The death of businessman and activist Kareem Fakhrawi on April 12, 2011, shows the urgent need for thorough and impartial investigations into allegations of torture, Human Rights Watch said today. It was the fourth detainee death reported by the Bahrain government in nine days.

At Fakhrawi’s funeral on April 13 in Manama’s Hoora district, a crowd of mourners demanded to see his corpse because of concerns he had been tortured. They wrestled the shrouded body from pallbearers on the way to the cemetery, and took videos and photographs of the body.

“Four detainee deaths in nine days is a crime, not a coincidence,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The government tells families of detainees nothing about their whereabouts or well-being while they are alive or about the circumstances of their deaths.”

Fakhrawi, 49, had been detained since April 3, after he went to the Exhibition Centre police station to complain about a predawn police raid on the house of a relative, one of two nephews who were being sought by the police. The photos of Fakhrawi’s body show a red area on each of his upper arms to his shoulders, similarly discolored areas on his legs, and what appears to be blood on the right side of his neck. Human Rights Watch did not see the body. The Bahrain News Agency, in a Tweet, said an official at the military’s Bahrain Defense Force Hospital “confirmed the death of Kareem Fakhrawi was from kidney failure.” …more

‘Bahrain natl. talk is merely a monolog’
Wed Jul 6, 2011 7:21AM
Interview with Collin Cavell, Professor at Holyoke Community College, Seattle

see video here

There is only a “national monologue” in Bahrain as the Manama regime’s call for a dialogue appears to be an appeasement on the heels of the severe suppression of anti-government protests.

Press TV has interviewed Collin Cavell, a professor at Holyoke Community College in Seattle, to elicit his opinions on the so-called national dialogue which has been described by some as a gesture to quiet down international criticism of the brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters in the Persian Gulf littoral state.

Following is the text of the interview (also supported by Mohammed al-Maskati, head of the Youth Society on Human Rights in Manama and Raza Kazim with the Islamic Human Rights Commission in London).

Press TV: Mr. Cavell, despite human rights situation in Bahrain of the torture taking place reportedly of the political opposition members who are in prison and that is why they cannot join the national dialogue, now we are seeing however that the national dialogue has started. Al-Wefaq and Al-Waad, two of the opposition parties, have joined it.

Do you think this is however a step in the right direction or as some are calling it just a gesture to please the international community?

Cavell: Well, this national monologue is a one-way talk between the king and himself. It is not a dialogue, it is a sham, it is a farce and the only way that this supposed dialogue can have a positive outcome is if the regime makes the minimal concession of allowing the position of prime minister to be elected or placed by the largest electoral party or society in the National Assembly.

That is the minimal concession that will make any positive step forward. Other than that the entire monologue would be a sham.

Press TV: Let’s see where this dialogue idea originally came from. Collin, is it, do you think, Washington that has advised the monarch now to open talks “with all options on the table” rather how strong an influence do you think the US has on the monarch’s policies because we did see the very harsh crackdown on the protests which of course was supported from the (P) GCC [(Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council] members as well.

I’d like you to point to the US as well right here and tell us if you think this is some advice that the United States is currently giving the Bahraini monarch?

Cavell: Absolutely. I am quite sure that the United States has told crown prince Salman Bin Hammed bin Isa al-Khalifa as well as king Hammed the same thing that they must allow the position of prime minister to have some democratic aspect to it and the only way that the minimal possible way that can happen is to allow the largest party of the National Assembly to appoint the prime minister.

So for the US they have told this to the crown prince, they have told this to the king logically whether the two can do that and gang up on one of the richest men in the world is very questionable and I do not see it happening.

Press TV: Collin, the thing is what people and political observers have been saying is that the US is actually not looking for a regime change in Bahrain but it is looking for regime alteration.

What is the rationale behind the approach that the United States government is taking on Bahrain? Do you think it is looking for that regime alteration keeping the fundamentals of the structure of government rather than changing the regime?

Cavell: I am not saying that the US is an honest broker in this process. No, what it is looking for is to maintain its hegemonic control of the region and in order to do that it has to replace the autocratic leaders that has been supporting for the last 40 or 50 years with a new generation of leaders and they have to make some minimal window-dressing with democratic appendages to make it appear that it is popular and the minimal concession that must b made in Bahrain for there to be democratic peace and for there to be continued foreign investment in the country is for the position of prime minister to be appointed by the largest electoral party in the National Assembly.

Now that is what the US would ultimately like to happen otherwise there will be no civil peace in Bahrain and there will be a continuous decline in foreign direct investment in the country.

Press TV: Collin, do you think that the strategy that the Bahraini government is taking, the crackdown we are seeing it is continuing, do you think that this crackdown is going to continue or it might even lead to other serious military confrontations?

Cavell: Absolutely, the crackdown will continue, the arrests, the detentions, the disappearances of the anybody who opposes the regime will continue.

The dialogue as an attempt for the Bahraini regime to say the reconciliation is on the way and business is back to normal but as I said unless that minimal concession is made this national dialogue or as I call it ‘monologue’ will amount to nothing.
…source

The United States reverse policy on the Middle East will backfire as regional autocrats, traditionally backed by the US, find out that the American administration is an existential threat to them.

Press TV talks with Colin Cavell, a former assistant professor at the University of Bahrain, who points out that Arab autocracies fear US foreign policy that seeks to transform regimes in Mideast once popular uprisings take hold.

Press TV: Let’s reflect on what American political activist Noam Chomsky has said – “The US and its allies will do anything to prevent democracy in the Arab world. It (the US) says it supports democracy so why should it want to stifle pro-democracy movements in the Arab world”. Can we have your opinion on that?

Cavell: US principles are in support of democracy when it speaks as a government; US actions on the other hand are often anti-democratic as is the case with its current support for all of the autocratic regimes in the Gulf region, Middle East and North Africa.

What is happening now is that the US fears that if they continue to support the creations that they have endowed and financed and supported with weaponry over the past forty to fifty years that they will lose all control in the region.

What is happening now with the initiative of the Obama Administration and the State Department – and I know some of your viewers will object to this, but – they are trying to refashion the governments of the Middle East, to change the rulers that they have supported in the ME. They did not initiate this, but it is what is happening.

To get ahead of the game they are trying to install client regimes in these particular states who will continue to serve US interests and have a semblance of democracy, but as in all democracies it will be a very limited democracy.

Press TV: When we look at what Robert Gates said about Iran, Syria and Libya; it’s interesting that they don’t put Saudi Arabia, Yemen, or Bahrain into the equation as if they are model democracies. I’d like you to reflect on what Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor has said regarding Bahrain (audio extract played). Basically this message says that the repression goes on, but we’re still a supporter of Bahrain. Would you please provide your comments to what you’ve just heard?

Cavell: US policy in the region is selective, it’s biased, it’s uneven, it’s hypocritical absolutely. It’s trying to gradually push for transformation of the autocratic regimes in the ME without losing its traditional allies and it cannot do that all simultaneously at one point and so it’s been very quiet when it pushes for democratic reforms in Bahrain whereas in regards to Egypt or Tunisia it can support those quite quickly.

This is a policy that is based upon gradual change in the region and it’s a policy that is going to backfire. Why will it backfire? – Because the remaining autocratic regimes see President Obama as a threat to their existence. Obama’s administration is an existential threat to their existence.

In the US there are different factions to the political system. The Bush administration would let the Gulf monarchs do whatever they wanted to; they would have a wink of the eye and they may spout democratic slogans at some point, but nothing would ever happen and no one ever expected anything to happen.

In the Obama administration there is a slight difference and people are seeing change happen. And as our other guest, Sara Flounders admitted that the US is behind much of the military action in the region and the financial subversion of the existing autocratic regimes that is going on. So we do see a difference between the policies of Obama and Bush and the autocratic leaders in the region know this. And they will spend lots of dinars and rials in the upcoming election to unseat Obama. …source

‘US seeks capitalist Middle East’

Interview with Colin Cavell, Fmr University of Bahrain Assistant Prof., Seattle

The sentencing of eight opposition activists to life in prison by a military court in Bahrain for “plotting to overthrow the ruling system” has provoked anger around world.

Press TV has interviewed Colin Cavell, a former assistant professor in the University of Bahrain, regarding the ruling and the lack of action by the US and the UN in Bahrain and its human rights violations.

Press TV: An official of the Human Rights First, Brian Dooley, has been to the court, he said “This was not a fair or proper legal process by any standard, there was evidence of torture, denial of proper contact with lawyers and failure to provide basic legal safeguards. This was a sham trial, another stain on Bahrain’s already discredited human rights record.” Do you agree with his assessments?

Cavell: Well from the perspective of legal juries prudence when you are summarily rounded up in the middle of the night by armed thugs, and you are disappeared to some jail or prison who knows where, because your family is not notified where you are taken to, and when you are beaten to submission, and then told weeks later, you would be put on trail the next morning, and you go there, and found guilty, and sentence to either to life in prison or several multi year sentences, then this is what we call a farce. It is not fair, it is what legal expert around world refer to as kangaroo courts. Kangaroo referring to Australian animal that jumps around. Because when you have no due process, and it is arbitrary, then the courts can do whatever it wants without any rhyme or reasons, and that is exactly what is happening here with these savage sentences of these human rights activists, these defender of democracy, these fighters for freedom in Bahrain.

Press TV: Let me ask you about statement that Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights made back in June 2010, before visiting the US base, he went to villages, and talked to people in Bahrain, and later announced that US will double its military presence in Bahrain to do the second phase of the construction there. Is this the reason why that the US does not want to push the Bahrain regime for reforms, and possibly lose the overall presence in there?

Cavell: Definitely the US does not want to give up its military presence in Bahrain. The fifth fleet stationed there, has a docking rights in Bahrain, and they police the entire Middle East region from Bahrain, so the US does not want to give that up. However, on the other hand the Obama Administration is engaged in a policy, I would say generational necessity, to get rid of autocratic client in the region. It’s already engaged in transplanting transitioning different the regimes in Tunisia and in Egypt, and in Yemen, its former clients autocratic states. As well as also chipping to supplant the regime of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya as well as the Assad in Syria, which is not his client states. So it’s trying to transform the entire region, can he do so and ignore the Persian Gulf monarchy? I don’t think so. So I agree with Mr. Ali Ahmad and Mr. Jafar al-Hasabi that the Bahraini regime is deceiving the world, and deceiving itself, when it is putting on these trials and attempting to look legitimate. However there is disagreement, I do think that the US wants to transition these monarchies regimes to traditional capitalist regime and they are going slow at it, because they cannot do all transitioning and transforming at same time.

Press TV: The role of the UN is also under question; just recently UNESCO in Paris asked Bahrain to chair a meeting of a UNESCO’s mission to preserve world heritage sites. But Bahrain’s regime demolished several mosques during protests, so how does that explain the role of the UN in Bahrain?

Cavell: Well, I know Ban Ki-moon Secretary General of the United Nation has spoken out against the violence in Bahrain against the opposition. Why UNESCO is doing this I cannot explain, however, I can say that just yesterday the President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek came out against the regime in Bahrain and spoke quite strongly against the violence of the regime and many others, specially the news papers in the US, they are not all claiming that Bahraini Crown Prince is the human rights advocates, there are other news papers that have charged him royally. So there is mix opinion of that in the US and also around the world condemnation of the Bahraini regime in general. …source

test

Bahrain Students: Expelled, detained, and prosecuted for expressing their views , as the country starts the National Dialogue
06 July 2011

Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) expresses its deep concern for the continuing and escalating systematic targeting of university students by the Bahraini regime and the Ministry of Education, which are supposed to protect the students’ right to education, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Despite previous calls[1] from BCHR and other rights groups[2] , the Bahraini authorities continued targeting students with expulsions from universities, arrests and prosecution in military court. Up to now, around 300 students have been reportedly expelled in less than two months.
Interrogating Students On Campus

Investigation committees has been established to interrogate the students in University of Bahrain, Bahrain Polytechnic, Bahrain Training Institute and other educational institutions, accusing them of false and baseless allegations like “participating in marches to overthrow the regime” and criminalizing their exercise of basic rights for expressing their opinions.

The investigation process, as described in detail by the students, was as far as could be from professionalism and respect to the students. More than 20 students from Bahrain Polytechnic said almost the same story about the process. They were called for a meeting without knowing the reason; a panel of four headed by Deputy CEO, Dr. Mohammed Al Aseeri, who has been recently appointed, started with reading the accusations that were all around “participating in marches to overthrow the regime” which they all denied.

Students were asked:
– Do you have a facebook account?
– What is your username?
– Have you posted anything anti-government? (They were shown screenshots of their facebook accounts if they deny that they have)
– Have you participated in any marches to overthrow the regime?
– Have you been to lulu (Pearl) roundabout? When? And how many times?
– How long have you been studying in the university?

The answer to the questions above would be followed by one of the members of the investigation panel stating that the student is studying because of the generosity of the king and the ruling family and that they should be more appreciative for the education they were getting. …more