Egypt’s Youth Revolution: Building a New Future
Posted on August 11 2011

25 January 2011 was a day like no other for 26-year-old Egyptian women’s activist Sally Zohney. Through a youth-led campaign on Facebook, she received a message to protest against poverty, unemployment and corruption. As a successful, educated middle-class woman, Zohney says her parents did not understand why she had to go. But she could not turn her back on the issues. Zohney snuck out of her home in the direction of Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where she was met with thousands of others demanding a new Egypt.

“Being in the square was a 24-hour adrenaline rush, a place of utopia that I cannot put into words,” describes Zohney, who says there was no turning back.

Those 24 hours turned into 18 days of protests that would eventually topple the country’s 30-year regime under Hosni Mubarak. Some call the defining moment Egypt’s “Berlin Wall,” others the “Social Media Revolution” for its use of Facebook and Twitter to mobilize crowds. To Zohney, like many of her generation, it was a “Youth Revolution.”

“It was the first time for so many of us, the young generation, to take to the streets and see how large our numbers are,” says Zohney, who today is a Youth Specialist at UN Women. Well before the protests, youth were already speaking out and mobilizing through Facebook groups, such as “We are all Khaled Said,” to protest against corruption and police brutality. What is more, she says, was the sheer strength and determination of all around her, particularly women, who dispelled the image of women wearing “burkas” to the world. Instead, they were “chanting, leading protests, organizing meetings late at night.”

“Now activism allows diversity,” adds Zohney. She explains that before the revolution, women’s movements were led by older generations, mainly upper-class women from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and established institutions. Since the uprising, she sees a younger crowd, including young women from different educational and social backgrounds, shaping the dialogue for Egypt’s shared vision. …more

Stand against fascism and imperialism, stand with the revolutionary Arab masses
Bassem Chit – International Viewpoint

On August 2nd, 2011 a sit-in was called in-front of the Syrian embassy in Beirut at 8:00 pm in support of the syrian revolution. Around 50 independent activist and leftist gathered at the embassy, in 10 minutes time, groups of pro-Assad supporters (which included members of the Syrian Baath Party and Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP)) gathered as a counter sit-in and stood at the gates of the embassy.

At 8.15, the pro-Assad supporters launched an attack at the activists standing in support of the Syrian revolution, with knives, metal rods, and leather belts, which resulted in the injury of five people, two of them having severe injuries.

The police present at the scene retreated and did not even call for any backup but let the protestors get severely beaten up, as a result none of the attackers were arrested, and when some of the activist tried to report the attack at the local police station the reply came: “we do not have the jurisdiction to file this incident” while another policeman said that: “the counter attack is covered by the SSNP, and reporting it will lead us to loose our jobs”.

Both of these political parties are solid supporters of the Assad regime in Syria, and after the outbreak of the Syrian revolt, they have been spreading security checkpoints all over Hamra (one of the busiest streets in beirut, and the street where the Syrian embassy is based). Attacks have been widespread against many pro-Syrian revolution activist throughout the past few months.

The threat of these groups trespasses the incident that occurred on August 2nd, but warns of the development of a extremely violent political wing that threatens the state of liberties in Lebanon, especially that the direct allies of the syrian regime are now in government in Lebanon.

Moreover, the opposition currently composed of Pro-Hariri political groups, who since 2005 have been the classical enemies of the Syrian regime are attempting to ride the wave of protests to benefit their positions within the Lebanese political scene and to win leverage over the loyalist forces currently in government.

The hypocrisy of both the loyalist camp and the opposition camp in lebanon when dealing with the Arab uprisings has been widely exposed, as their support is limited to the extent of their regional allies, while the loyalists support the uprising in Bahrain, while supporting the regime in Syria, the opposition supports the uprising in Syria, and opposes the uprising in Bahrain.

The reasons behind these double standards are due to the sectarian affiliations both camps are strongly engaged in, on the one hand Hizbullah supports the uprising in Bahrain, due to the fact to its oppressed Shia population, and Hariri supports the uprising in Syria due to its oppressed Sunni population, while ignoring calls from the masses of both countries to reject sectarianism.

The revolutionary left, along with some independent activists (excluding the Communist Party) have been pushing since the outbreak of the Tunisian revolution to create a political space that gather popular support to the Arab revolutions as a whole, and pushing to look at this revolutionary wave as a process, that engages the whole of arab masses, while acting against sectarian politics that are being injected by the ruling dictatorships and western imperialism as well as the dominant regressive political forces in the region.

This last incident in Beirut, triggered a widened support for the Syrian uprising, but it is still not enough, and a new correlation now exists between supporting the syrian uprising and defending the freedoms of expression in Lebanon that are being threatened by a bourgeoning fascist political forces such as the SSNP, which is a copy-cat organization of Nazi Party in germany, and whose main ideology call for the purification of Natural Syria from “alien elements”, while the Syrian Baath Party which is the ruling party in Syria is trying to extend its oppression into Lebanon and threatening the lives of both syrian and lebanese activists who dare support the syrian people in their fight against the regime.

Due to this situation, we call on all progressive and revolutionary currents to heighten the level of support to the Arab masses in their struggle for freedom and especially in Syria, as it is one of the hardest knots in this revolutionary wave, and to stand united against the interference of western powers in these revolutions and to show that the only real ally for these uprisings and revolutions are the world masses and not western ruling classes.

The only guarantee for the success of the Arab uprisings are the heightening of the struggle against the ruling classes, heightened solidarity with the Syrian and the Arab people as a whole in its fight against oppression, dictatorship, impoverishment and for freedom and social justice.
…source

September rallies to avoid confronting army
13 August, 2011 Maan News Agency

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — All rallies in support of the Palestinian bid for UN membership in September will be confined to areas where the Palestinian Authority has security control, thus avoiding confrontation with the Israeli army, high-ranking Palestinian Authority sources told Ma’an Thursday.

“Ramallah rallies will be carried out in Manara square, Bethlehem rallies will be carried out in yard of the Nativity Church and so on,” the sources said, adding “we will not give the [Israeli] occupation any excuse to abuse our children or to kill our residents.”

The locations are in the heart of urban areas that were designated “Area A” under the 1993 Oslo agreement — and thus formally under full Palestinian Authority civil and security control, making up 17.2 percent of the West Bank.

All other areas are under Israeli military control, and Israeli incursions into “Area A” are not unknown.

The Ramallah-based government sources told Ma’an, however, that rallies — whether organized or spontaneous — would not spill over into “Area C,” where Israeli military and settlers have entire freedom of movement.

Palestinian students will return to school come September, the sources said, as this does not contradict the Palestinian struggle for a state, independence, and freedom.

The Palestinian Authority are preparing to ask the UN’s recognition of a Palestinian state, with the UN General Assembly due to vote on the proposal on September 20.

The date is expected to see large-scale demonstrations in support of Palestinian statehood, and the Authority has vowed not to allow them to get out of control.

The government sources criticized the role of the Israeli media in publicizing Israel’s preparations for September protests, saying that stories had been falsified in order to mislead the public.

Referring to the wide-scale protests being held in Israeli cities on socio-economic issues, the sources said the media stories speculating about violence in September are “an attempt by [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to export his internal crisis with the protesters in Israel to the Palestinian territories.” …more

Published 23:03 12.08.11
Latest update 23:03 12.08.11

Syria uprising may lead to regional war
The brutal crackdown in Syria continues unabated, and is likely to become the stage for a regional conflict involving Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the rest of the Gulf.
By Zvi Bar’e – HAARETZ

Thousands of Egyptians have already signed a petition circulating on Facebook that calls for the expulsion of the Syrian ambassador from their country. For once, it is not an Israeli ambassador who receives such attention. The initiators of the petition hope to have over one million Egyptians sign the appeal, which may push the current Egyptian military government to publicly condemn Syrian President Bashar Assad.

New Syrian Facebook pages have decided to use humor to recruit people to the opposition, ironically describing the recent events in Syria as if they happened in Britain. Turkey, however, does not find the situation in Syria so funny.

In recent days, the Turkish army summoned hundreds of officers for reserve duty, placing them in bases near the border with Syria. Turkish sources report that the military has been on high alert along the border to prepare for a massive flight of Syrian refugees into the country, as well as for the possibility of NATO strikes in Syria. Only hours after Turkey’s foreign minister visited Damascus did the government understand that Prime Minister Erdrogan’s ultimatum to Assad fell on deaf ears, after news broke that the city of Homs was being battered by Syrian security forces.

The protests and the bloodshed continued on Friday, when human rights organizers claim 13 protesters were shot to death by Syrian security forces. According to reports, live fire was shot at thousands of worshippers on their way home from Friday prayers in the town of Dir al-Zur. Crowds went out into the streets across the country calling for Assad to step down.

While Turkey prepares for the worst, Iran refuses to print any news on the uprising in its state-run newspapers, while the government has warned that Syria may become the center of an international war. Iran has also transferred approximately five billion dollars to Syria in recent weeks, and according to Iraqi sources, Iran has demanded that Iraq transfer ten billion dollars to the Syrian government.

The involvement of Iran, Turkey, Saudia Arabia, and other gulf states has turned the Syrian uprising from an internal event – resulting from mass poverty, oppression, and a lack of economic and political future – into a potential regional war. Syria, whose regional strategic importance is based less on oil and natural resources, and more on its strong relationship with Iran and ability to intervene in Iraqi affairs, has been able to prevent the establishment of a military front against it. As opposed to the immediate international consensus that allowed for a military offensive in Libya, there has been no initiative to promote a similar UN Security Council in regards to Syria. …more

Egypt: The Education Of The Generals
By William Fisher – The Public Record – Aug 12th, 2011

While the leaders of Egypt’s revolution argue with the ruling generals about when to hold elections and when to rewrite the Constitution, many Egypt experts are saying that the problem central to the success of the revolution is being cosmeticized or ignored altogether: Overhaul of the government security apparatus.

“Comprehensive reform of the security state — and specifically, the Ministry of Interior and its sub-organizations, the ‘bowels’ of Mubarak’s repressive state apparatus — is crucial if Egyptians are to establish a democratic society based on the rule of law,” says one such expert, Samer S. Shehata, professor of Arab Politics at Georgetown University.

Shehata charges that during the Mubarak administration, “ensuring the regime’s survival, not protecting the citizenry or upholding the rule of law, was its primary function.”

Speaking at a conference organized by Jadaliyya magazine, Shehata said, “Absent was the understanding that the police and the security forces more generally, are not above the law or immune from accountability. In fact, Habib El-Adly, the despised former Minister of Interior, now on trial, changed the police’s motto several years ago. The motto had long been – somewhat ironically — “the police in the service of the people.” Adly replaced this with an Orwellian-sounding slogan, “the police and the people in the service of the nation” (the old motto has since been readopted).

He explained: “Abuse by security personnel took both small and large forms: in daily interactions with the police, on the street, at traffic stops, and police checkpoints, to more serious cases involving torture and human rights violations. The arbitrary exercise of authority was widespread. In the absence of any real accountability, security officials acted with near impunity. Suspected criminals were routinely mistreated, especially those accused of petty crimes. Heavy-handed techniques were the norm. Police stations were feared by many. Few rights or protections were afforded, especially to those without connections or money. And corruption was endemic.” …more

UK’s Cameron seeks U.S. advice on gangs after riots
Thu, Aug 11 2011 – By Jodie Ginsberg

LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron, under attack over his leadership during the rioting and looting that swept English cities this week, has enlisted U.S. street crime expert William Bratton to advise the government on handling gang violence.

“I’m being hired by the British government to consult with them on the issue of gangs, gang violence and gang intervention from the American experience and to offer some advice and counsel on their experience,” Bratton told Reuters in New York.

British police flooded the streets again on Friday night to ensure weekend drinking does not reignite the rioting that shocked Britons and sullied the country’s image a year before it hosts the Olympic Games.

Steve Kavanagh, deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said 16,000 officers, instead of the usual 2,500, would remain on duty in London in their biggest peacetime deployment — a measure of the perceived public order challenge.

Other forces, including those in Nottingham, Birmingham and Liverpool, said they would maintain a high level of policing over the weekend, though they said they did not expect further trouble after a couple of nights of quiet.

Even in normal times, alcohol-fueled street disorder is common across urban Britain at weekends.

Cameron, describing the four nights of looting, arson and violence, in which five people were killed, as “criminality, pure and simple,” said the initial police response had been inadequate.

His remarks drew a sharp reaction from the police service, which is facing deep cuts in numbers as part of a government austerity drive aimed at cutting the large public debt.

“The fact that politicians chose to come back is an irrelevance in terms of the tactics that were by then developing,” said Hugh Orde, head of the Association of Chief Police Officers, referring to Cameron and other senior ministers who cut short their holidays after two days of mayhem at home. …more

Saudi-backed forces attack Bahrainis
Friday, 12 August 2011

Bahrain, August 12: Saudi-backed forces have stepped up their attacks on anti-regime demonstrators that have once again taken to the streets of Bahrain, calling for the downfall of the Al Khalifa regime.

The rallies on Friday were held in the capital Manama and the town of Sitra, Press TV reported.

Reports also indicate that regime forces have responded by firing tear gas at protesters as well as by cutting off electricity in Sitra.

The protesters, however, have refused to give in until a new democratic government is formed.

Since mid-February, Bahraini protesters have been holding anti-government protests demanding an end to the rule of Al Khalifa dynasty, which they say has instituted despotic governance, discrimination, and the suppression of all dissent.

The US-backed regime has met the popular protests with a brutal crackdown, killing scores and arresting hundreds.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have harshly criticized Bahrain for its violence against protesters as well as doctors, nurses, lawyers and journalists that expressed support for the protest movement. …source

Bahrain opposition plans boycott of election to fill parliament seats after walkout
By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, August 12, 11:03 AM

MANAMA, Bahrain — Bahrain’s main Shiite opposition party will boycott next month’s special parliamentary elections for seats left vacant by mass resignations to protest a crackdown on anti-government demonstrators, a senior opposition official said Friday.

An election snub by the group Al Wefaq would be a serious blow to efforts by Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy to portray stability in the strategic island kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. But Bahrain remains bitterly divided after months of unrest and clashes between security forces and protesters seeking greater rights for the country’s majority Shiites.

Al Wefaq envoys walked out of reconciliation talks last month after claiming they were insulted by pro-government officials. The Sept. 24 ballot was called after Al Wefaq 18 lawmakers resigned in March — a month after Shiites began protests inspired by other Arab uprisings.

Shiite’s represent about 70 percent of the population, but are denied top political and security jobs. Protesters also demand that Bahrain’s more than 200-year-old Sunni dynasty loosen its control on top government posts. More than 30 people have died and hundreds have been arrested or purged from jobs in the crackdown on the opposition.

Moments after Al Wefaq official Khalil al-Marzooq announced the planned election boycott at a rally, the crowd chanted: “No going back after our sacrifices.” …more

Published: Friday, Aug. 12, 2011 / Updated: Friday, Aug. 12, 2011 07:28 AM
Police Injured During Demonstrations in Manama
Bahrain Ministry of Interior

MANAMA, Bahrain, Aug. 12, 2011 —
The General Director of Bahrain’s Capital Governorate Police announced Thursday night that eight members of the security forces were injured after attempting to control demonstrators that vandalized public property and created roadblocks in Bahrain.

One policeman sustained a serious head injury and seven others were treated for minor injuries. Security forces warned protesters that acts of vandalism and disturbing the peace would not be tolerated.

Freedom of expression and opinion are guaranteed by Bahrain’s constitution. Peaceful gatherings are allowed for those that seek appropriate authorization to demonstrate or gather publicly. Protests Thursday night in Manama lacked the proper permits.

Security forces in Bahrain follow strict protocol to avoid physical contact with protesters.

SOURCE Bahrain Ministry of Interior

Riot police litter Magaba Village with Less-than-lethal artifacts – rubber bullets, assorted CS gas canister

Concern that social networks to be targeted as BlackBerry helps British police identify rioters
Published on Friday 12 August 2011. – Reporters Without Borders

Reporters Without Borders is worried about cooperation between Research in Motion (RIM), the Canadian manufacturer of the popular BlackBerry smartphone, and the British authorities in the wake of this week’s rioting in London and other cities in which, according to the authorities, rioters used its messaging service, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), to communicate with each other.

BBM uses the Internet rather than the mobile phone network and requires user authentication, which makes it hard for the authorities to intercept messages. To help address this difficulty, RIM has already provided Scotland Yard with information about a number of BlackBerry users, jeopardizing their personal data.

“We have engaged with the authorities to assist in any way we can,” RIM announced on Twitter.

What consequences will this cooperation have on respect for the privacy of BlackBerry users? If information provided by RIM leads to arrests, questions will be raised about the validity of the evidence and the legality of the way it was acquired. Reporters Without Borders is also concerned about habeas corpus implications.

Reporters Without Borders is not minimizing the gravity of the situation in the United Kingdom and the urgency of the need to restore order, but it believes that the provision of personal data to the police sets a disturbing precedent in a western country and could have significant consequences as regards setting an example for others kinds of government.

Reporters Without Borders is also shocked by the statements of several politicians. David Lammy, the parliamentary representative for the London district of Tottenham, went so far as to ask BlackBerry to consider suspending its messaging service. This is an astonishing suggestion in a democracy, one with potentially grave consequences. The threats to freedoms are now real. …more

Bahrain to sack 23 health workers over protests
11 Aug 2011

DUBAI, Aug 11 (Reuters) – Bahrain’s health ministry will sack 23 workers and temporarily re-instate 200 who were suspended during a crackdown on anti-government protests early this year, state news agency BNA said on Thursday.

Hundreds of public sector employees, some of them health workers, were fired when the Gulf kingdom crushed the protests led by the majority Shi’ite Muslim population, who were calling for more political freedom and an end to discrimination by the ruling Sunni minority.

Preliminary findings of the committees tasked with looking into “staff violations” indicate 23 health ministry workers will lose their jobs, a spokesman was quoted by BNA as saying. He put the total number facing investigation at 428.

Two hundred employees will return to work next week pending the results of the disciplinary committees’ investigations, on top of 115 who were re-hired in June and July, he said.

Their re-instatement is conditional on their pledging to follow all public sector laws and regulations.

Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has been criticised for its handling of the protests. Fellow Sunni Arab monarchies sent troops to help suppress them in March.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday it was “extremely concerned” about events in Bahrain and mentioned the country in a report on attacks against health care workers and hospitals.

Last month the offices of medical charity Doctors Without Borders were raided by armed security personnel who confiscated medical equipment and supplies. …more

Bahraini’s hold mass anti-regime rally
Fri Aug 12, 2011 – PressTV

Thousands of Bahraini anti-government protesters have poured into the streets near the capital, Manama, to demand equality and liberty in the country. Demonstrators have also called for an elected government and an end to regime discrimination against the opposition’s overwhelming majority. The mass rally in Abu Quwa, a village west of Manama, is reported to be organized by Bahrain’s influential opposition bloc, al-Wefaq.

Recently released former opposition lawmakers also attended the rally. Jawad Fairooz and Matar Matar, who were detained in May after resigning from parliament in protest at the brutal crackdown on protests, said they had been tortured in prison.

Bahraini protesters have vowed to continue their protests until they achieve their “legal demands.”

Since mid-February, Bahraini protesters have been holding anti-government protests demanding an end to the rule of Al Khalifa dynasty, which they say has instituted despotic governance, discrimination, and the suppression of all dissent.

Manama, backed by Saudi troops, has met the popular protests with a brutal crackdown, killing scores and arresting hundreds.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have harshly criticized Bahrain for its violence against protesters as well as doctors, nurses, lawyers and journalists that expressed support for the protest movement. …source

ICRC: Health care in danger: making the case
10 Aug 2011 – BCHR

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday it was “extremely concerned” about events in Bahrain and mentioned the country in a report on attacks against health care workers and hospitals.

“We are extremely concerned about what is going on in Bahrain. We are doing our utmost to ensure we have access not only to hospitals but to detention centres,” ICRC director-general Yves Daccord told a news briefing in Geneva on Wednesday.

The report, which surveyed 16 countries and took more than two years to research, warned that the very foundations of the Geneva Conventions – the right of those wounded in war to receive medical attention, and the right of those treating them to work unimpeded – are under threat.

The report cited several examples as evidence that attacks on health care workers are increasing, from the murder of medical students in Somalia, to the invasion of an Afghan hospital by militia groups, to the shelling of hospitals in Sri Lanka. All of these incidents took place in 2009.

One year later the picture was, if anything, even bleaker, with doctors in Libya attacked, and ambulances fired upon. In Bahrain, patients were reportedly snatched from their beds, and hospital staff intimidated.

The ICRC said the violence is driving thousands of medical professionals from their jobs, and putting millions of lives at risk.
Extracts from the report regarding Bahrain

VIOLENCE AGAINST HEALTH-CARE FACILITIES

Attacks on health-care facilities during armed violence and internal disturbances tend to fall into four main categories.
[..]
The second category of attack is also deliberate, but this time for political, religious or ethnic reasons rather than for military advantage per se. Such assaults against health-care facilities include [..]; the cordoning off and military takeover of Salmaniya referral hospital in Bahrain in early 2011 after it was perceived to support the cause of anti-government protesters;

What the law says:

• Health-care facilities shall be respected and protected at all times and shall not be the object of attack.
• Protective emblems such as the red cross, red crescent and red crystal identifying medical units shall be respected in all circumstances.
• Small arms are permitted in health-care facilities for the purpose of self-defence or defence of the wounded and the sick (against bandits, for example). The presence of all other weapons
compromises the neutral status of a facility.
• Health-care facilities lose their protection if they are used to commit “acts harmful to the enemy.”
• “Acts harmful to the enemy” include the use of health-care facilities to shelter able-bodied combatants, to store arms or ammunition, as military observation posts or as a shield for military action.

VIOLENCE AGAINST THE WOUNDED AND THE SICK

In some contexts, the wounded and the sick face discrimination in access to, and quality of, health care. Although prohibited by international humanitarian law and human rights law, as well as contrary to medical ethics, health-care personnel have refused to treat, or given inferior treatment to patients on the basis of their ethnicity, religion or political affiliation. [..] In recent unrest in Bahrain, Syria and Yemen, protesters have been too afraid to use medical facilities for fear that their wounds will identify them and provoke harsh reprisals.

What the law says:
The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional rotocols of 1977 contain the following rules:
• The wounded and the sick, as well as the infirm, and expectant mothers, shall be the object of particular protection and respect.
• The wounded and the sick must be protected against ill-treatment and pillage.
• No one may be left wilfully without medical assistance and care.
• Whenever circumstances permit, and particularly after fighting, each party
to a conflict must, without delay, take all possible measures to search for, collect and evacuate the wounded and the sick without adverse distinction between them.
• The special role of the ICRC is recognized in facilitating the establishment of neutralized zones to protect the wounded, the sick and civilians from the effects of war.
• Parties to a conflict have the first obligation to care for the wounded and the sick. Any care provided by the local population, humanitarian organizations or other third parties does not relieve the parties of their obligations.

VIOLENCE AGAINST HEALTH-CARE PERSONNEL

Health-care personnel face many challenges working in situations of armed conflict and other violence, having to adapt standards of care to the resources available and dealing with large influxes of patients requiring immediate life-saving attention. Beyond these professional challenges often lie grave dangers associated with the nature of their work.
[..]
On occasion, health-care personnel have also been arrested for carrying out their professional responsibilities to treat all in need regardless of who they are and what they have done.
In Bahrain, 47 doctors and nurses who treated protesters have been detained in sweeping arrests of health workers that followed the crackdown on protesters and face trial in a military court on a range of other accusations.

What the Law says:
• Health-care personnel, whether military or civilian, may not be attacked or harmed.
• Health-care personnel shall not be hindered in the performance of their exclusively medical tasks.
• Parties to a conflict shall not harass or punish health-care personnel for performing activities compatible with medical ethics, nor shall they compel them to perform activities contrary to medical ethics or to refrain from performing acts required by medical ethics.
• Medical personnel may not be required to give priority to any person except on medical grounds. Medical personnel decide, in accordance with medical ethics, which patient receives priority.
• The protection of medical personnel ceases when they commit, outside their humanitarian function, acts harmful to the enemy. …source

Reconciliation in Bahrain still faces obstacles
National Editorial – Aug 9, 2011

Six months after demonstrations in the Pearl Roundabout degenerated into violence, Bahrain is still troubled by regular street protests. The crackdown on the opposition and subsequent reconciliation efforts have so far failed to restore complete calm, much less heal the deep political divisions.

There have been efforts. In the past week, an international commission investigating the violence has made some progress. Two former MPs from the opposition Al Wefaq party were set free on Sunday, among 41 prisoners who reportedly have been released.

In the worst of the violence, there was wrongdoing on both sides. But there will be no reconciliation possible unless security forces are held to account. The commission, appointed by King Hamad Al Khalifa, has indicated its readiness to investigate regime loyalists, visiting Al Gareen prison to interview prisoners from the opposition and arresting police officers on charges of torturing detainees. This investigation needs to show its evenhandedness if it is to resolve the bloodshed.

But even that is just a starting point. There needs to be a distinction between investigating the crimes of the recent protests and the fundamental process of reform that was at issue in the first place. It remains clear that only a political solution can provide for Bahrain’s future.

For decades, Bahrainis have been negotiating issues including fairness in housing and land allotments, political prisoners, representation in parliament and the constitution. The February protests began as a peaceful, cross-sectarian movement to address these issues. The subsequent violence, encouraged radical elements on both sides and aggravation of the Shiite-Sunni split has only made a resolution more difficult.
The National Blogs

Last month a national dialogue that was supposed to begin the reconciliation process ended in a walk-out by Al Wefaq, the only opposition group that attended. It was a disappointing, predictable conclusion: the forum was inordinately skewed towards regime loyalists, the agenda precluded important issues that needed to be addressed and proceedings were closed to the public.

As much as anything else, it is the lack of debate that is unproductive. A high-profile trial of editors at the opposition newspaper Al Wasat has symbolised the clampdown on discussion; the state-run media is widely distrusted.

Bahrainis across the divide need to be part of any reconciliation process. Everyone lost in the recent unrest. …source