Bahrain: Pressure mounting for fact-finding mission
Bahrain Freedom Movement – 09/07/2011 – 10:21 am

The political crisis in Bahrain has deepened in the past few days after it became clear that the long-awaited “dialogue” has failed drastically. Instead of dealing with the core issues relating to governance and the future role of the Al Khalifa, the regime turned it into a public meeting arguing about trivial issues that had nothing to do with the underlying causes and demands of the revolution.

The American Embassy in Manama exerted enormous pressure on the political societies to join the meeting and the Al Khalifa dictatorship blackmailed some of those societies threatening them with severe reprisals if they did not join. The main forces of the revolution have, however, rejected any attempt to undermine the main aims including that of regime change. The first week of this futile attempt to derail the revolution has failed; the youth have returned to the streets and made their presence felt through their demonstrations and slogans like: “The people want regime change” and “Down with Hamad”. Few now believe that it would be possible for the two sides to co-exist following the enormous crimes committed by the Al Khalifa against Bahrain’s people.

The enormity of the situation has led to international campaigns against the regime. Major news media such as The Times, The Independent, The Guardian have continued coverage of the illegal trials of Bahraini doctors and athletes. The Al Khalifa have been weakened and humiliated to such an extent that as soon as an international body threatens to take action against the Al Khalifa they would cave in without any resistance. When Fifa asked the Al Khalifa to give details of the crimes allegedly committed by the Bahraini athletes such as Alaa Hubail and his brother, Mohammad, the two were released despite their two years prison sentences. On Friday 8th July, both The Independent and Guardian newspapers carried full page adverts against the ongoing summary military trials of doctors and nurses. Almost all international human rights bodies are convinced that senior figures of the Al Khalifa had committed serious crimes against humanity. A recent videos shot secretly on Thursday 7th July depicts clearly members of the Death Squads openly torturing a Bahraini youth after being arrested in the street. There are many similar videos that could be used in any international court as evidence against senior members of the regime. New revelations of the forms of torture being inflicted on the doctors have confirmed that some of the methods may not have been used before. These include stuffing human secretion the mouths of the detainees to force them to sign false confessions. Senior figures of the opposition were given the choice either to utter words of apology to the dictator or being raped.

Meanwhile the 14th February youth have called for more protests to bring about a regime change. While public anger is rising against the American support of the regime, there is mounting pressure on international bodies to take action against the Al Khalifa dictatorship. Although Bahrain’s dictator is trying to avoid international sanctions by forming his own committee to “investigate” the crimes committed in the past few months, there are pressures on the Human Rights Council to send a fact-finding mission to Bahrain. The appointed committee is unlikely to scrutinize the dictator because it has to report to him and is financed by him. The UN Human Rights Council is urged to send her own team to investigate the Al Khalifa crimes against Bahrainis immediately, otherwise the Council will be accused of bias, double standards and failure to do its duties. Up to forty people have been killed by the regime’s machines of terror which is still committing serious crimes against more than 1000 prisoners.

Bahrain Freedom Movement
9th July 2011
…source

The Irish Times – Friday, July 15, 2011
Bahraini minister pledges to ask king to free medics
CATHERINE WYLIE

BAHRAIN’S HEALTH and human rights minister told an Irish delegation yesterday she would ask the king for the release of the 14 medics in custody – one of whom is reportedly suicidal – after their arrest during pro-democracy protests in the Gulf monarchy earlier this year.

Damian McCormack, the orthopaedic surgeon leading the group, told The Irish Times it had been an “extremely successful trip” despite earlier doubts over getting visas.

“We’ve had very positive meetings with the health minister. We met a lot of families of detainees and some of the released doctors on Wednesday, and heard first-hand accounts of their torture and experiences. We put all of that to the minister today.

“The bottom line is that the health minister has agreed to ask the king for the release of the remaining 14 medics,” said Prof McCormack.

The group, which includes Independent MEP Marian Harkin and former minister for foreign affairs David Andrews, told minister Dr Fatima Al Beloushi that one of the detainees was suicidal.

“We have credible stories that one of the detained doctors is suicidal and we’ve pointed out to her [Minister[Ms Al Beloushi] that time is running out. One of the medics could die in detention, which would be a disaster, and I think she realises that.

“So we would be hopeful that she will speak to the king and something positive will come out of this,” said Prof McCormack.

Senator Averil Power spoke of the “very harrowing accounts” they had heard about how the medics were mistreated.

One person told of having to stand handcuffed for days with his back against the wall, while another spoke of how they would only find out what they were charged with on arrival at court.

The Bahraini authorities had indicated they were not keen on the visit by the Irish group, describing it as “interference”.

Officials at the Bahraini embassy in London said on Monday they would prefer if the visit took place in October, when reconciliation talks, which began earlier this month, will have concluded. …more

Analysis – Saudi policy on Yemen and Syria seen floundering
Wed Jul 13, 2011 6:13am GMT
By Andrew Hammond

DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia has helped damp down democracy movements sweeping the Arab world but is waiting now to see how events play out in places like Syria and Yemen for fear of overplaying its hand.

After witnessing the sudden collapse of rulers in Egypt and Tunisia this year, the Al Saud family that monopolises power in Saudi Arabia orchestrated Gulf Arab moves to stop the unrest from spreading through the Gulf region.

Saudi, United Arab Emirates and Kuwaiti forces went to Bahrain in March to help crush protests threatening to force the ruling family there to make democratic changes.

They offered money to Oman and Bahrain for more social spending, and Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV toned down its hard-hitting Gulf coverage after meetings between Saudi and Qatari officials.

Riyadh was the prime mover behind a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) proposal to enhance relations with Jordan and Morocco in an apparent effort to boost other Arab dynastic systems. A Saudi official said Jordan was given $400 million (251 million pounds) last month.

In March and April it also brokered a peace deal in Yemen, a republic different in size and social make-up to the GCC countries, that was to see President Ali Abdullah Saleh step down one month after forming a cabinet.

Yet following that flurry of interventions, Saudi diplomacy has largely gone quiet, most notably on two fronts where Riyadh has major interests — Yemen and Syria. Its response also has been muted in Libya, a more distant concern for Riyadh.

Analysts and diplomats say there are disputes within the ranks of senior princes and officials on whether to take a back seat, intervene more forcefully to stop democratic changes or, in some cases, to back them. …more

Shiite bloc stands by majority rule for Bahrain
Agence France-Presse
Jul 14, 2011

Bahrain’s main Shiite opposition bloc said a government led by the parliamentary majority would be the only way towards reconciliation after a dispute during the National Dialogue.

“The solution to the political crisis is through the acceptance of [its] demands,” and “any other option would only deepen the crisis”, Al Wefaq said in a statement on Tuesday.

Since the start of the National Dialogue on July 2, which is aimed at forwarding political reforms after Shiite-led protests were crushed in a crackdown in March, Al Wefaq has called for a government led by the parliamentary majority.

The group won 18 of 40 seats in the most recent parliamentary elections, but its MPs resigned in protest against violence used on demonstrators.

On Tuesday, a Sunni representative in one of the dialogue sessions called Shiites “naturalised rejectors [of Islamic orthodoxy]”, in reference to the Iranian origin of some members of the community to which a majority of Bahrainis belong, Al Wasat newspaper reported.

In reaction, Al Wefaq’s representatives walked out of the meeting, which was dealing with reforming naturalisation laws.

Many Shiites accuse the kingdom’s Sunni rulers of naturalising Sunnis in a bid to change Bahraini demographics. …more

Bahrain: Revoke Summary Firings Linked to Protests
US to Investigate Compliance With Free Trade Agreement
July 14, 2011

(Manama) – The Bahrain government should investigate and remedy the summary dismissals of more than 2,000 workers since late March, apparently as punishment for having participated in or otherwise supported pro-democracy demonstrations, Human Rights Watch said today.

The dismissals may have violated Bahraini labor laws as well as international standards, in particular those prohibiting discrimination on the basis of political opinion, and should be rescinded, and those affected should be compensated if investigations show that this is the case, Human Rights Watch said.

“It appears that hundreds of workers have been dismissed arbitrarily, ostensibly because they missed some days of work,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “It seems more likely that it was because they supported peaceful protests or heeded the union federation’s strike call.”

As of July 12, 2011, a total of 2,186 workers, many in key firms in which the state has a financial stake, had been fired since late March, according to the independent General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU). In most cases the stated reasons seem to have been absence from work during street protests and the initial days of martial law.

The government narrative that the pro-democracy protests constituted an Iranian-inspired plot to overthrow the ruling family also casts the leadership of the union federation as playing a major role. Those fired by companies include 41 local union leaders and seven out of 15 members of the federation’s executive board.

Human Rights Watch interviewed 18 workers fired from six companies. All said they were given no advance warning and that the companies did not conduct independent investigations to determine that they had violated company or government regulations before they were dismissed. Human Rights Watch also contacted management in these six firms. In the course of this research, the government informed Human Rights Watch’s researcher that it would not extend his visa and that he had to leave the country within 24 hours. …more

The most powerful weapon is our humanity
Dina Elmuti – The Electronic Intifada – 13 July 2011

When I left Palestine a few weeks ago, I left behind more than the place I had come to call home, its generous people I had come to call family, and all the warm, exotic sights, smells, tastes and sounds of a world that revived my spirit, conscience, passion and will to live.

I left my heart behind. Driving away toward Tel Aviv, the Palestine I know and love began to fade into the background, as I quickly made one last mental map of the geography of occupation around me, evident in the carefully-plotted demarcations separating “us” from “them.” A world compartmentalized; the settlements, gates, trenches, and watchtowers confine my heart, leaving a caustic pang in my gut as I continued driving on my way through modern-day apartheid.

After passing an extensive security inspection at the checkpoint a mile outside of Ben Gurion Airport’s main terminal, my family and I were permitted entry into the airport where we stood in line, along with all the other Muslims, Arabs, and people of color, waiting and watching our baggage unpacked and inspected for the second time around, continuing to answer the same questions for the tenth time from the tenth person.

Watching every last thing unpacked and inspected with a chemical sniffing device, I realized that Palestinians are not the only ones strangled and imprisoned by this system of oppression and constant fear of existential threats. Israelis are too. Behind barbed wire and power-operated gates controlled by guard towers and security cameras, their lives have been reduced to the state of animals trapped behind metal cages in the zoos they’ve built themselves on the bloodshed and demolition of others.

A life consumed by fear, intimidation, and oppressive censorship not only dehumanizes the oppressed but the oppressor as well. As I watched the guards meticulously leaf through and swab the pages of my books for bomb residues or any other suspicious evidence, I pitied the ethnocentric hysteria and racial profiling creating Israel’s most dangerous threat and worst enemy: itself.

A life consumed by fear, intimidation, and oppressive censorship not only dehumanizes the oppressed but the oppressor as well. As I watched the guards meticulously leaf through and swab the pages of my books for bomb residues or any other suspicious evidence, I pitied the ethnocentric hysteria and racial profiling creating Israel’s most dangerous threat and worst enemy: itself.

In recent days, hundreds of activists from all around the world flew in to Ben Gurion Airport. Dozens have been deported and dozens more are in detention for nothing more than accepting an invitation from Palestinians to visit them in the West Bank in a peaceful challenge to Israel’s apartheid.

They have refused to be bullied into omitting where they’ll be going or who they’ll be seeing. They won’t play the “tourist card” or hide their affiliation with a noble cause in exchange for a stamped visa by an oppressive state.

Standing on the side of justice is never something to fear, and to ultimately be liberated from our oppression, we must first have the courage to liberate ourselves from the inferiority complex that has debilitated us too long. And when we do, the look on the oppressor’s face will no longer strike fear into our hearts or nail us to the spot. Their voices will no longer petrify us, and we will no longer be uneasy in their presence or be made to feel guilty for crimes we did not commit.

If defending the lives of children, traumatized by being shot at while flying kites, by having to witness their families massacred right before their eyes, and by having their childhoods stolen before ever beginning for the crime of being born Palestinian, makes us criminals and terrorists, then so be it. …source

Saudi Arabia: Free Islamic Scholar Who Criticized Ministry
Dr. Yusuf al-Ahmad Arrested for Defending Detainee Rights
July 14, 2011

The Saudi Interior Ministry seems intent on arresting every last critic standing. Now it’s put behind bars a prominent cleric, apparently just because he dared to criticize the government’s policy of arbitrarily detaining people without any sort of judicial process.

(Beirut) – The Saudi interior minister, Prince Nayef bin Abd al-‘Aziz, should immediately release an Islamic scholar who was detained after he criticized the ministry’s handling of detainees, Human Rights Watch said today. Dr. Yusuf al-Ahmad was detained without charge the day after he published his criticism, apparently as a direct result of his internet post.

On July 7, 2011, al-Ahmad posted a video message on YouTube in which he criticized the long-term detention of security suspects without charge or trial. In the video, the Islamic scholar, who teaches at Imam Muhammad bin Sa’ud University in Riyadh, also criticized the arrests of women who went to the ministry on July 2 and on previous occasions to protest, peacefully, the long-term detention of their male relatives.

“The Saudi Interior Ministry seems intent on arresting every last critic standing,” said Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Now it’s put behind bars a prominent cleric, apparently just because he dared to criticize the government’s policy of arbitrarily detaining people without any sort of judicial process.”

Al-Ahmad’s Twitter account administrator reported on July 8 that the scholar had been arrested that day at his father’s house in Dammam, in the Eastern Province. Saudi authorities have not announced any charges against al-Ahmad. …more

In the Wake of Arab Revolts: Women’s Rights in the Balance – Interview with Hanan Abdel Rahman-Rabbani
Interview by Layla Al-Zubaidi, April 9th, 2011.

Perspectives: It seems that many women, also young women representing different social groups, have been participating in the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt and have been present in the public. Is that true?
RABBANI: The revolutions in both Tunisia and Egypt were of a popular nature where various sectors of society participated in the protests leading to the toppling of the two presidents and continued to take part in the events taking place in the aftermath. As women have always been active participants in the political, economic and social spheres in these two societies, it was only normal that they would play a role in the protests. The fact that these protests were led by youth encouraged more young women to be in the forefront and to have their share in paying

“After the revolutions, it was interesting to conclude that priorities in relation to women’s rights in the context of the transition in Tunisia and Egypt were identical.”

the price for freedom and democracy. Women were among the martyrs, injured, detained, and the price they paid extended beyond that when they were attacked , harassed and subjected to humiliating tests of virginity carried out by the army in Egypt on March 9th. In Tahrir Square, women were there leading the protests, using their creativity and talent in writing slogans, performing art, providing support to other protestors and keeping the moral high. No difference was witnessed between secular and religious women as all felt part of the same people believing in the same cause. Melting down social, ideological and political barriers among the masses and strengthening the sense of solidarity and collectivity were in my view, among the most important achievements of the two revolutions. …more

WikiLeaks And A Truth Revolution
By The Public Record – The Public Record – Jul 13th, 2011
From RevolutionTruth.org

Open Letter to the United States Government Regarding WikiLeaks, Julian Assange and the Fundamental Tenets of Democracy and Open Societies

To President Obama, US Senators and Congressmen and women, Attorney General Eric Holder, the Department of Justice, and all of those involved in the attempt to prosecute Julian Assange, founder of the nonprofit news organization WikiLeaks.org:

We are a diverse group of people from around the world who have come together for a common purpose: to defend WikiLeaks, to ask the United States to cease its attempts to manufacture a case against Julian Assange, and to defend democratic principles and our fundamental rights guaranteed therein. We are professionals, homemakers, activists, students, and others who believe that government derives its power from the consent of the governed, as stipulated in the Declaration of Independence, but that citizens can only give meaningful consent if they are fully informed about their government’s actions. Nothing more violates American principles, which inspire both those of us who are and are not American citizens, than the idea that “government knows best” and has the right to deceive its own people.

The Wikileaks documents have revealed that the U.S. government has been keeping enormously important information secret from the American people, such as the fact that the U.S. government knew of the mass murder of civilians in Iraq even though it claimed it did not; that the U.S. government failed its legal responsibility as an occupying power by handing civilians over to Iraqi police units knowing they would be tortured and killed, even though it claimed it did not; that U.S. officials believe the Afghan government is corrupt and unpopular, even as they falsely claim to be fighting for democracy in Afghanistan; and that U.S. officials are extremely worried about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear stockpile, a potential matter of life and death that they have kept from the people of the world.

When the N.Y. Times released the Wikileaks “Afghan Logs” on July 25, its headline read: “View Is Bleaker than Official Portrayal of War in Afghanistan.” This revealed, according to America’s “newspaper of record,” that the U.S. Government was hiding the truth from its own people. Is it really right that the proud citizens of America should need Wikileaks to discover vital truths denied them by their own government?

U.S. officials claim they have a right to deceive the American people, and prosecute WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, on the grounds of “national security”. But this information is clearly known to America’s enemies. It is the American people who have been denied it, information critical to their ability to make an informed decision as to whether or not to support their government’s war-making, including putting their sons and daughters at grave risk of death or crippling injuries.

The U.S. Government claim that Wikileaks has endangered national security has been invalidated by its own Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, who has stated “is this embarrassing? Yes. Is it awkward? Yes. Consequences for U.S. foreign policy? I think fairly modest.” The German Interior Minister has stated that “WikiLeaks is annoying, but not a threat”, and the BBC has reported that “Wikileaks: US allies unruffled by embassy cable leaks.”

The result of any U.S. government prosecution of Wikileaks and Julian Assange will be to restrict the truthful information American citizens receive about their government’s foreign policy. But the U.S. cannot promote democracy abroad by limiting it at home.

We urge you to halt your undemocratic prosecution of Wikileaks; and to instead learn from it by providing the public with the honest and truthful information upon which democracy depends. …more

Egypt’s Reinstatement of Information Ministry is a Setback
Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Committee to Protect Journalists

The reinstatement of Egypt’s Information Ministry that was abolished in February constitutes a substantial setback for media freedom in Egypt, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On Saturday, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), swore in the former editor-in-chief of the daily Al-Wafd, Osama Heikal, as minister of information. Tantawi asked Heikal to “reorganize the Egyptian media and draw up a plan that addresses all the shortcomings that came from abolishing the post of minister of information,” a military source told Agence France-Presse. The ministry and the post of information minister were scrapped in February, just days after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. Doing away with the ministry–viewed by many journalists and press freedom advocates as the propaganda arm of Mubarak’s regime–was a key demand of members of the 18-day revolution that took place in January and February.

“Reinstating the Ministry of Information is an unambiguous setback for media freedom in Egypt,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem. “A government body whose primary function was to enforce media orthodoxy and punish dissent during decades of authoritarian rule is not a suitable entity to reform the media sector.”

On Sunday, the National Coalition for Media Freedom, an alliance that includes 13 human rights groups, research organizations, trade unions, and 20 media activists rejected the appointment, saying in a statement that it constituted “a step backwards with the liberalization of media policy and independence from the executive power, stressing that the Ministry of Information exists only in totalitarian states and dictatorships.” …source

Obama’s Alleged Link to Secret Prisons and Extraordinary Rendition
Africa, Security and Human Rights, Torture, USA | Posted by: Tom Parker, July 14, 2011 at 10:00 AM

Following hard on the heels of the revelation that the Obama administration had held Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame in secret detention on a US naval vessel patrolling off the coast of Somalia for over two months, comes a startling new claim from The Nation magazine that the Obama administration is back in the extraordinary rendition business.

Writing in the latest edition of The Nation, journalist Jeremy Scahill alleges that since early 2009 the United States has maintained a secret prison located on a compound within the perimeter of Mogadishu Airport and that in July 2009 the United States was involved in the extraordinary rendition of Ahmed Abdullahi Hassan from Kenya to Somalia.

Without further independent investigation it is difficult to make a definitive judgment about Scahill’s claims but it is worth noting that he is the author of the well-regarded study “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army” and has extensive contacts in the intelligence, special forces, and private military contractor communities.

Hassan’s plight has been taken up by the UK-based human rights organization Reprieve and by the Kenyan human rights lawyer Mbugua Mureithi. Together they have obtained the following testimony from Hassan about his detention relayed by a former fellow prisoner:

“They put a bag on my head, Guantánamo style. They tied my hands behind my back and put me on a plane. In the early hours we landed in Mogadishu… I have been here for one year, seven months. I have been interrogated so many times. Interrogated by Somali men and white men. Every day. New faces show up. They have nothing on me. I have never seen a lawyer, never seen an outsider. Only other prisoners, interrogators, guards.”

The Warsame case has raised the possibility for the first time that the Obama administration might actually be holding other prisoners in secret detention facilities hidden around the world. Ahmed Hassan may be one such prisoner. …more

Egypt’s elections pushed back
Published: July 14, 2011 at 7:51 AM

CAIRO, July 14 (UPI) — Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces says it is delaying scheduled September elections until October or November, officials said.

Bikya Masr reported Thursday the military, which took power after the overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak, still supports democracy and a transition to civilian rule, but the announced delay angered protesters gathered at Cairo’s Tahrir Square where the movement to oust Mubarak began.

“We want an end to the old guard, former ruling party members and we want to see the trials of Mubarak … and others for what they have done to us and this country,” said Ahmed Gabr, 31, a protester who has been in Tahrir Square daily since July 8.

Human rights activists have voiced mixed feelings over the recent announcement by Interior Minister Mansour al-Essawy that more than 600 high-ranking police officers would be released, including 27 officers implicated in the killings of protesters in Tahrir Square, al-Masry al-Youm reported. …source

Bahrain puts protest poet under house arrest
DUBAI | Thu Jul 14, 2011 7:16am EDT

DUBAI (Reuters) – A young Bahraini Shi’ite poet sentenced to a year in prison told Reuters Thursday she had been released and placed under house arrest, but would continue to voice demands for democratic reforms to the Gulf island kingdom’s constitutional monarchy.

Ayat al-Qurmozi, 20, was released Wednesday afternoon, a month after a military court sentenced her to a year in prison for reciting a poem mocking Bahrain’s Sunni rulers and demanding the king step down during pro-democracy protests led by the Shi’ite majority in February and March.

“I hope Bahrain can move away from the crisis to a transition into a better future, without discrimination or sectarianism,” Qurmozi told Reuters by telephone.

Bahrain crushed the protests and enforced a fierce crackdown in which hundreds, mostly Shi’ites, were arrested and some 2,000 people sacked from their jobs.

Rights groups said Qurmozi was among some 200 people released after months in jail.

Qurmozi stepped out of her car Wednesday to hundreds of well-wishers celebrating her release from prison, where she said she was beaten and forced to stick her hands in toilets during interrogations.

The government says there is no systematic abuse in its prisons and has vowed to investigate any charges of torture.

Qurmozi said she was made to sign a paper saying she would remain at home, not join protests and not speak to the media.

“I’m not afraid to speak out though. I have something to say and I won’t be afraid because of a paper I signed,” she said.

The kingdom’s rulers blamed sectarianism and Iran’s manipulation of its Shi’ite population for the protests. Qurmouzi said in the poem that led to her arrest that Sunnis and Shi’ites were united against Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa.

The young poet said she was surprised to learn small protests were still erupting daily in Shi’ite villages around Manama — most are now demanding the opposition walk out of a national dialogue launched by the government.

Many Shi’ites are angry that not all prisoners have been released, including eight Shi’ite leaders given life terms by a military court. They also doubt the dialogue will ensure political reforms, such as a representative parliament.

“The demand isn’t to overthrow the regime, but we want a real constitutional monarchy,” Qurmozi said. …more