Iran hopes for end to ‘misunderstandings’
AFP/Tehran

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said yesterday that he hoped “misunderstandings” with Saudi Arabia could be resolved after a war of words erupted over its military intervention in Bahrain. Saleh said that Iran respected the sovereignty of Bahrain and hoped that a national dialogue launched by King Hamad after the March crackdown on Shia-led protests would bear fruit.

“We have no particular problem with Saudi Arabia and we regard it as an important country in the region that has influence in international affairs,” Salehi said in an interview with the official Irna news agency. “We have had friendly relations with Saudi Arabia for a long time. After recent events in the region there were differences of analysis and interpretation,” he said without elaborating. “I believe these misunderstandings can be resolved. I hope that we will find an acceptable way to continue consultations between our two countries.”

Salehi’s overture to Saudi Arabia came after a sharp downturn in relations in the months since Saudi-led troops intervened to help Bahrain put down the protests. Several Iranian officials and Shia clerics have spoken out against the intervention, drawing an angry response from Gulf Arab states.

Salehi inisted that Iran “respects the national sovereignty and independence of Bahrain and wants peace, stability and security in Bahrain.” “We think that the Bahrain issue needs to be settled between Bahrainis,” he said. “We have political relations with the government of Bahrain and we regard as positive the decision by the king of Bahrain to launch a dialogue with the people. We hope that this dialogue will allow a solution to be found.”

Iran received a formal protest note from the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) on Monday after senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Ahmed Janati used a sermon at the main weekly prayers in Tehran on July 8 to criticise the Bahrain crackdown and dismiss the dialogue as a “ploy.”

Janati said that the protesters in Bahrain had done nothing more than call for “one person, one vote,” and hit out at the prosecution of doctors and academics for their part in the protests. GCC Secretary General Abdullatif Zayani said Janati’s comments were “provocative and false,” and constituted “blatant and unacceptable interference” in Bahrain’s internal affairs.

In a major blow to the national dialogue, Bahrain’s main Shia opposition bloc, the Islamic National Accord Association (Al Wefaq), which took a majority of the vote in the last parliamentary elections, announced on Sunday that it was pulling out, saying the talks were not aimed at achieving serious results. …more

Bahrain and Human Rights
By Anthony Newkirk, July 22, 2011

It is becoming painfully obvious that the United States is hostile to the “Arab Spring.” In Egypt, U.S. military aid programs remain in force, and in Yemen a “secret” U.S. war may be in the offing. In the United Arab Emirates plans may be afoot to develop a for-profit rapid reaction force (to crackdown, surely, on UAE citizens for “publicly insulting” their leader). The U.S. government continues to support the Israeli blockade of Gaza. But perhaps the quintessential example of U.S. reactionary policy is in the tiny Kingdom of Bahrain.

July 1 marked the beginning of a “National Dialogue” in Bahrain that King Hamad Isa bin Al Khalifa called to promote reconciliation in his strife-torn land. But it is unclear what the point of the National Dialogue is when the king is also attempting to silence Bahraini civil society. The country’s ongoing domestic conflict between an unpopular Sunni elite and a Shia majority came to a boil in February when mostly Shia Bahrainis began protesting against long-standing discrimination. The ruling family offers the pretext that over half of the country’s 500,000 citizens are under the thrall of Shia Iran. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been proclaiming that the United States will stand up for human rights in Bahrain and also ensure its status as a “major non-NATO ally.”
Send in the Marines

On March 16, one month after the demonstrations began, King Hamad imposed martial law and police attacked Pearl Roundabout, where most of the protesters were camped out. Two days earlier, at least 1,000 Saudi troops and 500 UAE police attached to the Peninsula Shield Force (PSF) entered Bahrain. Although part of the occupation force may have already left Bahrain after the official end of martial law last month, the PSF presence in Bahrain may last long-term in order to “protect its borders.”

A report recently issued by Human Rights Watch (HRW) details ongoing human rights violations, including torture, disappearances, and a systemic crackdown on the majority Shia. Such matters should be of grave concern to the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, which officially plays a key role in formulating U.S. human rights policy.

But the Obama administration sees the situation quite differently, regardless of Secretary of State Clinton’s statements about human rights and administration declarations about “the rule of law.” In this case, actions are a much more dependable guide to U.S. policy. On March 1, Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps General James F. Amos informed the House Armed Services Committee that a Marine Expeditionary Brigade headquarters for operations in the Middle East and Africa had already been established in Bahrain. Both former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen visited Bahrain amid the protests. Bahrain, of course, hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet and is the naval headquarters of U.S. Central Command.

The administration’s actions suggest that it is closer to the perspective of such private sector representatives as S. Rob Sobhani, president of Caspian Energy Consulting. Sobhani, a member of the right-wing Committee on the Present Danger reconstituted in 2004, has characterized King Hamad as a “thoughtful and progressive leader” committed to “economic growth” and “stability.” …more

UK parliamentary panel calls for ‘end to torture and politically motivated arrests’ in Bahrain
Wednesday, 20 July 2011 – By RAY MOSELEY – Al Arabiya

A British parliamentary committee called on Wednesday for immediate action to ensure an end to torture and politically motivated detentions in Bahrain and accused Iraq of widespread human rights abuses, including torture and poor conditions in prisons.

The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee also said it plans to launch in inquiry in the autumn concerning aspects of British foreign policy and the Arab Spring.

In a report on human rights around the world, the committee said events of the Arab Spring should remind the Foreign Office that there are risks for the United Kingdom in failing to take a stronger and more consistent stance against rights violations by foreign regimes.

It said the committee was less confident than the Foreign Office that there is little conflict between Britain’s simultaneous pursuit of commercial interests and improved human rights standards abroad.

The Foreign Office, it recommended, should take a more robust and consistent position on human rights violations in the Middle East and North Africa. It said the Foreign Office should have treated Bahrain as a “country of concern” in its 2010 annual human rights report.

The committee welcomed the Bahrain government’s establishment of a commission to investigate recent events involving protestors but said: “We remain concerned that immediate action is needed to ensure an end to torture and politically motivated detentions.”

Human rights, it said, should be at the heart of Foreign Office work in implementing its so-called Arab Partnership program. The government recently announced a four-year, £110 million partnership fund to support political reforms, give economic aid and carry out public finance reforms. …more

The Criminalization of Palestinian Solidarity Activism by the US, Israel
By: Kevin Gosztola Friday July 15, 2011 5:50 pm

Earlier in the week, it was reported that Israel passed a law punishing people who advocate for a boycott of the settlements. The law is definitely not only a blow to freedom of speech in Israel but also another act of repression against Palestinian solidarity activism in Israel.

Also, this week the Committee to Stop FBI Repression put out a statement in solidarity with activists who have engaged in flotillas to Gaza. The group of antiwar and international solidarity activists, who have each been subpoenaed by the FBI to appear before a grand jury over the past months, all for exercising their civil liberties, condemned the State Department for seeking to make delivering humanitarian aid to Palestinians a crime. They called out the State Department for “threatening arrests, trials, and lengthy prison sentences for Americans on board the solidarity boat named, “The Audacity of Hope.”

I spoke with Maureen Murphy, a journalist and Palestinian solidarity activist who has done work for Electronic Intifada. You can follow her on Twitter @maureen_70. First Part of Interview with Maureen Murphy

KEVIN GOSZTOLA: Israel has passed a law to punish those who are boycotting the settlements. I was wondering if you could provide some background and reactions to this development and what you think this means for people seeking to engage in Palestinian solidarity activism in Israel.

MAUREEN MURPHY: It’s worth putting this piece of legislation into the general context of the series of really draconian and politically motivated legislation that has been passed by the Knesset or is under consideration. Earlier this year, the Nakba law was passed, which basically penalized groups that observe a day of mourning regarding the establishment of the state of Israel, and that’s a direct attack on the Palestinian community.

There’s a bill that I think is still under consideration called the loyalty oath bill that will require civil society groups and individuals wishing to gain Israeli citizenship to pledge allegiance to the Jewish and democratic state. And then, there’s been a number of laws that are intended to dictate the curriculum that are used in Palestinian schools in Israel. So there’s a heightened and escalated number of laws that are being used to, one, attack the Palestinian community in Israel and, two, to penalize Israeli civil society, especially human rights groups which assisted with the UN fact-finding mission (better known as “The Goldstone Report”).

There’s been a number of these kinds of laws and, instead of allowing civil society to operate, with this new law, the boycott law, it’s effectively preventing civil society from holding the government accountable to international law. And it provides protection for the whole settlement project in the occupied West Bank by preventing people from being able to speak out about it and by muzzling and critics and human rights groups that document the settlement project in the West Bank.

I think it’s also worth noting that Israel has actively prevented or tried to prevent ties of direct solidarity between Israeli activists and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip by making it illegal for Israeli citizen to enter certain parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. And, it’s also for years turned away and deported international solidarity activists or even people working for international development agencies or civil society groups, to prevent them from accessing and build relationships with Palestinians and outside observers from witnessing what’s happening on the ground. …more

…photo source and more photos

Explosion has rocked government HQ in Oslo, several injured
By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, July 22, 8:36 AM

OSLO, Norway — A loud explosion shattered windows Friday at the government headquarters in Oslo which includes the prime minister’s office, injuring several people.

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is safe, government spokeswoman Camilla Ryste told The Associated Press. There was no immediate word on the cause of the blast

Witness Ole Tommy Pedersen was standing at a bus stop about 100 meters (yards) from the high-rise at around 3:30 p.m. (1330 GMT) when he saw the blast shatter almost all windows of the 20-floor highrise. He said a cloud of smoke is billowing from the bottom floors.

“I saw three or four injured people being carried out of the building a few minutes later,” Pedersen told The Associated Press.

Video shown by Norwegian broadcaster NRK showed most of the windows of the building had been blown out. The bottom floor appeared to be completely gutted. Shattered glass and debris littered a square in front of the building.

Nearby offices were evacuated including those housing some of Norway’s leading newspapers and news agency NTB. Some of them were also damaged.

An AP reporter who was in the NTB office said the building shook from the blast and all employees evacuated the building as the alarm went off. Down at the street he saw one person with a bleeding leg being led away from the area.

The government building houses the prime minister’s office and his administration. Several ministries are in surrounding buildings.

The blast comes as the Scandinavian country has grappled with a series of homegrown terror plots linked to al-Qaida, and six years after an uproar over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in neighboring Denmark.

Last week, a Norwegian prosecutor filed terror charges against an Iraqi-born cleric for threatening Norwegian politicians with death if he’s deported from the Nordic country.

The indictment centered on statements that Mullah Krekar — the founder of the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam — made to various media, including American network NBC.

Danish authorities say they have foiled several terror plots linked to the 2005 newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that triggered protests in Muslim countries.

Last month, a Danish appeals court on Wednesday sentenced a Somali man to 10 years in prison for breaking into the home of a cartoonist who caricatured the Prophet Muhammad. …source

New cabinet sworn in amid protests
By RFI

New ministers in a sweeping reshuffle of Egypt’s cabinet took their oaths in front of the country’s military ruler on Thursday, as the prime minister sought to appease protestors over the pace of reform.

Roughly half of the ministers in the reshuffled cabinet are new.

The new team was meant to take office on Monday but the ceremony was delayed amid wrangling which led to Prime Minister Essam Sharaf’s brief hospitalisation with exhaustion.

Sharaf had hoped the new cabinet would mollify activists who have been camped out in Cairo’s Tahrir Square since 8 July, but they have rejected the new line-up, which retains several ministers they want sacked.

According to a list published on MENA, the official news agency, several controversial ministers kept their posts, including two appointed under ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

The protesters wanted Sharaf to replace Justice Minister Abdel Aziz al-Gindi, whom they accused of delaying trials of former regime officials, including Mubarak himself.

Activists have called for a mass demonstration on Friday, dubbing it the “Decisive Friday”, while hardline Islamist groups say they are organising a counter-demonstration for “stability.”

It will be the second cabinet to take office in the face of protests since a nationwide revolt overthrew Mubarak in February. …more

Bahraini Unrest Stirs Unease in Washington – by Stephen Lendman

After months of ruling Al Khalifa family crackdowns against nonviolent protesters, political opponents, human rights activists, medical professionals, independent journalists, and others wanting democratic change, reports suggest Washington may move its Fifth Fleet elsewhere.

According to the Australian and London Times, “Sources in Washington and the Gulf confirm (a) growing consensus” around the idea of relocating away from Bahrain because of unease over violence and instability.

On July 21, Hugh Tomlinson said:

“Politicians in Washington are concerned the navy’s continued presence a few kilometres from the centre of the capital Manama lends tacit support to Bahrain’s suppression of the opposition, amid allegations of systematic human rights abuses.”

Other concerns are that violence and instability may compromise base security. According to one source:

“There was talk on Capitol Hill about moving the fleet within days of the protests breaking out, and that increased in March and April as people realized that what was happening in Bahrain ran counter to our interests.”

In mid-March, however, Obama backed Saudi troops invading Bahrain guns blazing, attacking peaceful protesters, arresting opposition leaders and activists, occupying the country, denying wounded men and women medical treatment, and enforcing Al Khalifa family imposed martial law.

Earlier, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Bahraini human rights “deteriorated sharply in the latter half of 2010” with around 250 government critics detained and tortured, including 25 prominent activists. In addition, opposition publications and web sites were shut down, after months of street protests.

Moreover, a February 2010 HRW report concluded that from 2007 – 2009, authorities tortured and abused security suspects during interrogations. Officials denied the findings, but conducted no criminal investigations nor ordered disciplinary measures against alleged perpetrators. …more