Posts from — September 2011

October 4 at the Wilson Center: Bahrain, the Forgotten Uprising in the Arab Spring

Bahrain: the Forgotten Uprising in the Arab Spring
October 04, 2011 // 12:00pm — 1:00pm – RSVP

Event Speakers
Maryam Al-Khawaja
Head of Foreign Relations, Bahrain Center for Human Rights

As the Arab Spring has swept across much of the Middle East and North Africa, large-scale popular protests have been generally absent in the Persian Gulf except in Bahrain where massive demonstrations have been met simultaneously with a strict government crackdown on dissent and only limited promises of reform. Al-Khawaja will discuss the prospects for change in Bahrain, the current status of the protest movement, and options for U.S. policy in this regard.
Location:
4th Floor, Woodrow Wilson Center
Directions to the Wilson Center

Bahraini Protesters Jailed in Harsh Crackdown After Election Boycott
Obama administration sells Bahrain monarchy $53 million in arms as false praise of democratic progress continues
by John Glaser, September 26, 2011 -AntiWar.com

Bahrain jailed 46 Shiite protesters after clashes amid an election boycott on Saturday, sentencing 32 of them to 15 years in jail over violent anti-government protests. The head of a teachers union was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for calling for the overthrow of the monarchy.

Only 17 percent of eligible voters visited the ballot box in Bahrain’s by-elections held on Saturday. The low turnout was the result of a boycott led by the majority Shiite population that has been protesting against the minority Sunni-led monarch.

The elections were held to fill 18 seats in the 40-seat parliament that the Shiite opposition party al-Wefaq vacated in protest due to the government crackdown in recent months. Some now are calling for new elections.

The government argued that the low turnout was primarily because of intimidation of voters and candidates by the opposition. Opposition groups instead claimed that security forces cracked down on some Shia villages, beating protesters and using teargas, shotguns, stun grenades, and rubber bullets to prevent successful demonstrations at the Pearl roundabout.

Opposition groups also claimed that the elections, absent a boycott, would have been a sham. In the weeks leading up to voting day, the monarch prevented Bahraini civil rights groups from monitoring the election.

Serious abuse within Bahrain’s prisons has been alleged by many in the opposition, and the New York Times reported on claims that detainees had been forced to eat their own feces, among other mistreatment.

In his speech to the United Nations, President Obama reaffirmed that the US is a “close friend of Bahrain” and that he has hope for the so-called National Dialogue, decried as a farce by the majority of Bahrainis. Eight days before the by-elections, the Obama administration demonstrated their firm partnership with the Bahraini dictatorship by selling them $53 million in arms, including equipment that could be used against protesters. …source

WINEP interprets the Shiite representation of the end of the world through the prism of its own postulations. …according to the Islamic revolutionaries, the purpose of politics is to raise human consciousness until reaching the era of the Mahdi on earth. In contrast to Jewish or Germanic apocalyptic thinking, it does not envisage any final destruction, but a development of human consciousness.

According to WINEP, the Shiites banned the atomic bomb to better conceal they are building it
Voltaire Network – 27 September 2011 -français

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), which denounced the supposedly military nature of the Iranian nuclear program, must regularly be confronted with a hefty contention: how is it possible that the Revolutionary Guards could be developing such a program in secret when the manufacture, stockpiling, threat and use of weapons of mass destruction were forbidden by a fatwa of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution? [1]

After its long-standing denial of the fatwa’s existence, the WINEP responds to this argument in a new report. Yes, the prohibition exists, but the Islamic Revolution has always been flexible in interpreting Islam according to its needs. What is forbidden today could be allowed tomorrow. In addition, WINEP maintains that, with the Iranian Shiites’ gift of dissimulation, it can not be excluded that they have already changed their doctrine and are currently conducting under cover military nuclear research. In this case, the fatwa issued by the Supreme Leader would serve as a lure to dupe the West. Moreover, the danger is all the greater considering the rise of new Iranian leaders imbued with an apocalyptic ideology which could lead them to use the atomic bomb.

The reader will not fail to be amazed at the bad faith oozing from this report. Thus, after having long denied the existence of the fatwa, the WINEP now explains that, on the contrary, it is proof that the Iranians must be hiding something because they are intrinsically perverse. The most preposterous part is certainly the end of the reasoning: WINEP interprets the Shiite representation of the end of the world through the prism of its own postulations. President Ahmadinejad repeated in many of his speeches that, according to the Islamic revolutionaries, the purpose of politics is to raise human consciousness until reaching the era of the Mahdi on earth [2] In contrast to Jewish or Germanic apocalyptic thinking, it does not envisage any final destruction, but a development of human consciousness.

The WINEP is the think tank created by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Its mission is to provide briefing documents to the pro-Israel lobby in the United States. …source

U.S. warns Mikati over Syria sanctions
September 27, 2011 – By Mirella Hodeib -The Daily Star

NEW YORK: Prime Minister Najib Mikati told U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Lebanon will fulfill its international obligations Monday, while Clinton cautioned Mikati against becoming involved in the situation in Syria.

“We discussed the many international obligations that Lebanon has and the prime minister assured me that Lebanon would always fulfill [its] international obligations,” Clinton told reporters following a meeting with Mikati at the office of the president of the U.N. Security Council in New York.

She also vowed that the U.S. would continue providing assistance to the Lebanese Army.

Mikati told The Daily Star that the U.S. administration was “understanding” and aware of the peculiar nature of Lebanese politics.

“They showed understanding for our situation and the most important thing for them is that Lebanon keeps a neutral stance,” he added, in reference to events in Syria.

Echoing Mikati, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said Clinton expressed to the Lebanese prime minister the U.S. administration’s understanding of Lebanon’s “very delicate situation.”

“The secretary reiterated our strong commitment to Lebanon, our understanding that Lebanon is in a very delicate situation and our support for Lebanon’s unity, Lebanon’s stability, and Lebanon’s sovereignty,” said the former U.S. ambassador to Lebanon.

“We also cautioned the prime minister that Lebanon needs to be very, very careful in not getting caught up in the unrest in Syria, in terms of not allowing Lebanon to be a way for Syria to evade sanctions and accountability for the brutality that the Syria government is showing against its people,” he said.

According to a statement circulated by Mikati’s media office, the prime minister informed the U.S. delegation that his government was working on “promoting stability in Lebanon and safeguarding it against the negative repercussions of events in the region.”
…more

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Letter from Birmingham jail, April 16, 1963,

Bahrain military court to rule on appeal of jailed opposition activist
Amnesty International – 27 September 2011

A military court in Manama is due to hand down its verdict on 28 September on an appeal brought by a group of prominent opposition activists in Bahrain after they were jailed in one of the ongoing trials linked to pro-reform protests earlier this year.

The military-run National Safety Court of Appeal is expected to confirm or overturn the conviction of 14 people jailed for their alleged roles in mass demonstrations at the capital’s GCC Roundabout (formerly Pearl Roundabout) in February and March 2011.

Amnesty International has repeatedly criticized the unfair military trials at the National Safety Court of First Instance, which convicted and sentenced the 14 along with seven others who were tried in absentia. There has been no independent investigation into allegations by some of the defendants that they were tortured in pre-trial detention, when they were held incommunicado.

“These opposition leaders were tried and sentenced by a court that is neither independent nor impartial,” said Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

“We believe some or all of them may be prisoners of conscience, imprisoned possibly solely for their participation in peaceful protests.”

“It was quite wrong for the government to send civilians for trial before military courts to penalize them for their participation in anti-government protests.”

The defendants were previously sentenced to between two years and life imprisonment, on charges that included “setting up terror groups to topple the royal regime and change the constitution.” They all deny the charges.

The military prosecution is said to have failed to provide any substantive evidence to show that the accused used or advocated violence during the protests.

An Amnesty International observer attended the appeal hearing session for the group on 6 September, where defence lawyers asked the presiding judge to hear the defendants’ testimony about alleged abuses during their arrest and interrogation, including beatings and other ill-treatment.

“The detention and trials of these activists and others linked to pro-reform protests in Bahrain have been riddled with problems that tainted the legal proceedings,” said Malcolm Smart.

“Bahrain’s authorities must carry out a thorough and independent investigation into allegations that detainees were tortured and otherwise abused in custody, and bring to justice those responsible.”

Hundreds of Bahrainis have been arrested since pro-reform demonstrations began in central Manama in February and March, and scores of health workers, activists, teachers and others have faced military trials that have failed to meet international fair trial standards.

On 25 September, another military court sentenced the former president and vice-president of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association to 10 and three years in prison, respectively, after convicting them on protest-related charges that they deny. …more

[cb editor: King Hamad, a good place to start – stop the violence, boot the Saudi’s, free the captives, repent and plead for mercy.]

Bahrain asks Iran to help solve crisis

September 27, 2011 – Shia Post

Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid ibn Ahmad Al Khalifah has asked for Iran to help the country resolve the current crisis.

He made the remarks during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on the sidelines of the 66th annual session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday, IRNA reported.

Salehi raised concerns about recent developments in Bahrain, saying that the crisis can only be solved through dialogue between the Bahraini authorities and the people.

Sheikh Khalid said a fact-finding committee, led by renowned human rights expert Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni, is investigating the events and will publish its report by the end of October.

The Bahraini foreign minister also stated that Manama will abide by the committee’s findings.

Bahrainis have been holding anti-government demonstrations since mid-February, demanding an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty’s 40-year rule.

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others have been arrested in a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters in Bahrain, which is the base of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf.

Salehi also held separate meetings with the Sudanese, Syrian, and Bulgarian foreign ministers on Monday.

Salehi and his counterparts discussed the latest international and regional developments and called for the expansion of bilateral relations. …source

Bahrain seeking Iran’s help to defuse crisis
September 27, 2011 – JafriaNews.com

JNN 27 Sept 2011 TEHRAN – The Bahraini foreign minister has called on Iran to help resolve the problems gripping his country.

Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa made the remarks during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi held in New York late on Monday.
The Bahraini foreign minister had requested the meeting.

During the meeting, Khalid expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Iran and Bahrain do not currently have ambassadors to each other’s country and said he is keen that the ambassadors resume their activities.
He also said that dissension among Muslim nations in the region is unacceptable.

On the fact that a number of countries have expressed serious concern over the situation in Bahrain, Khalid said, “We have established a fact-finding committee chaired by Mr. (Mahmoud Cherif) Bassiouni, (an international United Nations war crimes expert), which will announce the result of its investigation by October, and we will accept the result and will act accordingly.”

The Iranian foreign minister said that the Islamic Republic has adopted a clear stance on the developments occurring in the region, does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, and respects their national sovereignty.

Salehi also said, “Iran believes that the only solution to problems facing Bahrain is practicing restraint and holding dialogue between the Bahraini officials and the people of the country.” …source

Obama knows what’s at stake politically–conservative Jewish and evangelical Christian money and votes–and is allowing his election agenda to overtake his international responsibilities. Those include respecting the “Arab Spring”, a fight for democracy in a sea of autocratic rule. Obama is once again choosing not to do the right thing…

Obama and Netanyahu Left in the Dust, Overtaken by the Arab Spring and Bid for Palestinian Statehood
By Merle Lefkoff, September 26, 2011 – FPIF

Tony Blair got one thing absolutely right.

The special envoy to the Middle East Quartet (the UN, the U.S., the EU, and Russia) did not get much sleep at the UN meeting in New York last week. In an environment made frenetic because of the Palestinian bid for full recognition as a UN state, Blair seems to be alone in a deep understanding that the most auspicious time for diplomatic negotiations is when everyone who matters is bumping into everyone else who matters in the same space. His insistence on using the chaos to the fullest allows him to be especially resilient in the face of Palestinian anger at the suggestion that negotiations replace the Palestinian application. No problem. Blair is now affirming Prime Minister Abbas’s strategy to make a bid for full UN membership. In this period after the vote, negotiations are certain to be even more frenetic. It was never an either/or situation: either negotiations for a two-state solution, or application for statehood at the U.N.

If scientists and mathematicians were on the scene they would no doubt have a theoretical interest in the diplomatic scurrying for some kind of behind-the-scenes results. “Aha!” they might say. “Here we have a collection of ‘agents” interacting with one another in pursuit of a seemingly simple result, and what might emerge is something much more complicated that cannot be predicted on the basis of the collective action.” This ambiguity, the hallmark of what theorists call nonlinear systems (what goes in is not necessarily what comes out), is what makes everyone crazy and often unable to find solutions to a complex problem. Like Tony Blair, scientists find the chaos challenging and seductive, knowing that this is a terrific opportunity for changing the game.

Unlike President Obama, stuck in the legend of present-day Israel read to him by the American Jewish right, Blair seems able to scan a larger library, maneuvering deftly through the stacks for an answer at the edge of chaos. He is comfortable in not knowing which book off the shelf might suggest the happy ending he is searching for. Where Blair is diplomatically nimble and adaptive, Obama is disappointedly rigid and adamant.

Complex systems science is often called “the science of surprise,” or the “science of emergence.” In order to assist difficult negotiations in today’s world, the mediator must give up the need to control the outcome of a very nonlinear, very chaotic, quite unpredictable process. Otherwise, there are no surprises and no breakthroughs, just the same old tired outcomes. Because Netanyahu and Obama are wedged in the old and increasingly discredited paradigm of command and control, they are failing as leaders facing a much more complex world. This failure of leadership disrupts, and ultimately disables, what little respect is left for U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East.
[Read more →]

Power struggle deepens divisions among Bahraini royal family
Police suspended for torture reinstated as hardliners seek to marginalise their ‘liberal’ prince
By Patrick Cockburn – Tuesday, 27 September 2011 – The Independent

Senior Bahraini police officers suspended for torturing detainees are being swiftly reinstated in a sign of a growing struggle for power within the al-Khalifa royal family over the extent of the repression to be used against pro-democracy protesters.

In addition, 90 Jordanian officers, serving in the Bahraini police force and alleged to have mistreated prisoners, are having their contracts terminated and are being sent back to Jordan, opposition sources have told The Independent. They say it is not clear if this is to purge the security forces of the worst offenders or to get rid of witnesses to the wholesale use of torture when the government crushed the Arab Awakening movement in Bahrain in March.

Increasing divisions within the Sunni royal family are becoming more blatant as statements by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa aimed at conciliating the majority Shia community are not followed up by action. Though he told state and private companies to reinstate the 2,500 employees sacked for taking part in pro-democracy protests, many have been unable to get their old jobs back.

The government’s actions are also contradictory. Earlier this month it suspended several senior police officers, some of them members of the al-Khalifa ruling family, after they were accused of being implicated in torturing prisoners. One officer held an important position at Riffa police station, notorious for the use of torture, and another was a section chief of the CID. Demonstrations by Sunni in Riffa in favour of the suspended officers were followed by the immediate reinstatement of at least one of the men.

The hardliners in the royal family are led by the army commander, Khalifa bin Ahmed, and his brother, the Royal Court Minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed. They were once at odds with the Prime Minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman, who has held his job for 40 years since the British left in 1971, but they closed ranks when the Arab Awakening started in February in Bahrain, sparked by pro-democracy uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

The largely peaceful demonstrations centred on Pearl Square in the middle of the Bahraini capital Manama, but the government reacted as if it was facing an armed insurrection. A Saudi-led military force crossed the causeway from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain in the middle of March and a brutal crackdown followed with mass arrests and use of torture. Forensic experts brought in by an investigating commission verified that 63 detainees had been so severely mistreated that marks of torture were still visible three or four months later.

The hardliners in the royal family, supported by Saudi Arabia, have sought to marginalise Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad, seen as the most liberal royal. Before the March crackdown he sought to work out an agreement with al-Wifaq, the main opposition party. Since then he, along with King Hamad, has lost much of his authority.

The government crackdown was accompanied by the state media launching an anti-Shia campaign, claiming, without any evidence, that Iran had fomented armed rebellion against the al-Khalifa dynasty. Sectarian hatreds increased, leading to Sunni-run private companies and state organisations refusing to re-employ sacked Shia employees despite the King’s order.

Mohammed Sadiq of Justice for Bahrain says that among those sacked who have not been re-employed are 24 Shia journalists, working on Al-Ayam newspaper, who were fired on 16 March. Some 402 workers at Aluminium Bahrain (almost all Shia) were sacked and only 50 have been re-employed though they have had to sign new employment contracts whereby they lose all annual leave and sickness benefits.

The continuing repression has not returned stability to Bahrain and is not likely to do so. There are nightly protests in Shia districts with the police using rubber bullets and stun grenades. Occasional deaths of protesters enrage the Shia community. Particular fury was caused by the death of Ali Jawad al-Sheikh, 14, apparently killed by a tear gas grenade fired at point-blank range.

The ruling family – from liberal voice to hardline colonel

Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa

Seen as the most liberal member of the Khalifa family, the Crown Prince had sought an agreement with opposition parties before protests began. Now, increasingly marginalised by hardliners in the royal family, he has lost much of his authority.

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa

Conciliatory moves from the king aimed at the majority Shia community have not been followed up by action. Despite ordering state companies to reinstate employees sacked for taking part in protests, many have not yet been able to get their jobs back.

Colonel Sheikh Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Khalifa

As the leading hardliner within the royal family, the army commander has benefited from the support of Saudi Arabia, which sent a military force to help crush protests in March. He has seen his influence grow as the crackdown continues. Richard Hall …source

Ayatollah: Hezbollah will respond to Iran attack
September 27, 2011 02:27 AM – By Kristin Dailey – The Daily Star

TEHRAN: Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah has said Hezbollah will destroy Tel Aviv if Israel attacks Iran, an Iranian ayatollah told The Daily Star.

Ayatollah Jafar Shoujouni, a senior Shiite scholar and prominent member of Iran’s Combatant Clergy Association, said Nasrallah made the remark during a two-and-a-half hour meeting with the Hezbollah leader in Lebanon about three months ago.

During the meeting Nasrallah told him, “I am a cadet of Ayatollah Khamenei’s school,” said Shojouni.

Nasrallah also expressed gratitude toward the late Grand Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Bahjat, crediting the recently deceased Iranian religious leader’s prayers for Hezbollah’s victory in the 2006 war, adding that his resistance group would retaliate against any Israeli attack on Iran.

“If Israelis come near Tehran, we will destroy Tel Aviv,” Shojouni, who was Bahjat’s only student for eight years, quoted Nasrallah as saying.

Western and Israeli analysts have warned that an Israeli attack on Iran could draw Hezbollah retaliation, but officials in the resistance group have never acknowledged or denied this publicly.

Shojouni said Nasrallah is a cause of honor, not just for Lebanon, but also for all Islamic and Arab countries.

“Because Israelis are afraid of him and his people, we must thank him, and Iranians are protecting him for this reason,” he said.

“Israel is afraid of this sayyed, son of Zahra, and it shows because Israel has forgotten what was once its slogan, which is that they will have the lands from the Euphrates to the Nile River. It shows that they are so afraid of Hezbollah that they have forgotten about all of these things,” Shojouni added.

Speaking about the unrest in neighboring Syria, one of Iran’s closest allies, the ayatollah said that the Assad family’s control of the Syrian presidency for four decades was “not correct.”

“These sort of 40-year presidencies will lead to dictatorship, and it is so,” he said, arguing that Syria should instead “follow the path and methods of Iran,” by holding elections for a new president every four to five years.

However, he warned that Israel and Western countries were seeking to exploit the turmoil in Syria to their own advantage.

“On this point I say with certainty, Syria is not Libya. In Libya, oppression led to an awakening of the people, but in Syria, Israelis and Americans have made this problem in the name of the people … I think they wish to open the door of Syria with NATO force. Of course, Iran won’t allow this to happen,” he said.

“In the Iranian overview, Syria is on the front line against Israelis, and even Hezbollah in this case is connected with us [geographically] through Syria,” he said. “We agree with any kind of protests or internal reform aimed at improving the situation of the people. [But] our goal is that Zionists not use these protests as a way to inflict damage on Hezbollah and Syria’s resistance.”

…more

The Emperor’s Speech
Obama Defends Delusions – by Nebojsa Malic, September 24, 2011 – Antiwar.com

The speech Barack Hussein Obama gave before the UN General Assembly aimed to assure the world that the Atlantic Empire was still the world’s hegemon, strong as ever, and committed to persevere in the historical mission of ridding the world of things that weren’t nice. While meant to sound inspirational and even triumphant at times, it came off more as an attempt at self-reassurance, a plea to the world to ignore the observable reality and continue to accept the myth of Imperial omnipotence.

Meaningless Peace

Almost at the start, Obama began making excuses. He inherited the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said, but is about to end them “from a position of strength.” Those who have to say they are strong usually are not. And though he claimed both countries will soon enjoy a “normal relationship” with the U.S. as “sovereign nations,” Obama promised an “equal partnership” with Iraq and “enduring partnership” with the Afghan people – meaning that in practice, they won’t be rid of U.S. garrisons, drones, spies and bribes just yet, and maybe not ever.

So, in Empire-speak, “sovereignty” is entirely meaningless, and “partnership” means taking orders without question. File that for future reference.

The False Spring

The “tide of war is receding,” Obama proclaimed. Al-Qaeda had been “degraded” and Osama bin Laden is dead. Freedom is erupting all over the world, with the “help” of Empire and its allies. In Obama’s narrative, everything is part of the inevitable historical march of “equality”, from the civil wars in Ivory Coast and Libya to the “revolutions” in Tunisia and Egypt.

Never mind that the situation in Ivory Coast was not quite as simple, or that the popular revolts in north Africa all seem to have been at least partly driven by Imperial agents. Never mind that the UN authorized a no-fly zone in Libya, not a six-month bombing campaign and “regime change”. Forget about the Shariah Democrats or whatever the Al-Qaeda in Libya calls itself now, having been installed in power by NATO. When facts come up against the narrative, the facts lose.

Notice also the different standards for different places. The Empire wants governments in Syria and Yemen gone, so they are told to surrender to the protesters – or else. Yet in Bahrain, a major US naval base, the Empire prefers “a meaningful dialogue that brings peaceful change that is responsive to the people” and believes ” the patriotism that binds Bahrainis together must be more powerful than the sectarian forces that would tear them apart.” …more

Torture fears for Bahraini women and girls in detention
September 26, 2011 – Amnesty International

The Bahraini authorities must urgently investigate reports that women were tortured in detention after being arrested in Manama during pro-reform protests, Amnesty International said today.

Security forces arrested scores of people in the capital on Friday as protesters attempted to reach the city’s GCC Roundabout, formerly Pearl Roundabout.

Among those detained are 38 women and seven girls who were arrested at a city centre shopping mall and accused of “illegal public gathering”, rioting, and attacking security forces. They were apprehended without arrest orders, interrogated without lawyers present and some of them reportedly tortured or otherwise ill-treated.

“It appears that Bahrain’s authorities have patently denied these women and girls their rights after rounding them up at a Manama shopping centre,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“All detainees must be given access to lawyers and contact with their families.”

The detainees have not had contact with their families or adequate access to legal counsel since their arrest, and the authorities have reportedly not given them food or allowed them to pray.

Several of those in detention are ill and need medical treatment.

When their lawyers requested to attend the women’s interrogations at the Public Prosecution Office (PPO), they were told the women were not being held there.

After refusing to leave, the lawyers saw some of the women detainees being moved from one floor to another inside the building and managed to speak to some of them.

Nour al-Ghasla, 20, had bruises on her face apparently from ill-treatment in custody, and many others are believed to have been beaten by police.

After their arrest, the women were taken to two police stations in Manama before being transferred to the PPO on Saturday morning.

Following their interrogation, the PPO ordered that the 38 women be detained for 45 days, pending investigation. It is believed they are currently being held at the women’s detention centre in ‘Issa Town outside the capital.

The seven girls also remain in custody despite a juvenile court ordering their release today. …source

Bahrain government cracks down on protests as majority boycott elections
Mon, 09/26/2011 – 13:37 – Free Speech Radio

In Bahrain today a court set up by the monarchy sentenced the head of the teachers’ union to 10 years in prison for participation in anti-regime protests. His deputy received three years. The sentences follow returned protests, which began last week ahead of elections that took place Saturday.

Security forces used stun grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters according to witnesses in the village of Sanabis.

A video posted on Youtube shows security forces in riot gear stomping on an unarmed man as he lies on the ground. A woman tries to intervene, and a policeman sprays her in the face with a canister as a crowd gathers.

According to the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, security forces attacked protesters in the lead up to the voting. Government forces also arrested 45 women and girls in one of Bahrain’s main shopping malls days before the election, according to the AP.

The majority Shiite opposition critical of the monarchy rule boycotted Saturday’s elections, which were scheduled to elect replacements for more than a dozen lawmakers who resigned in protest of how the regime responded to the demonstrations. A second round of voting will take place October 1, as some candidates failed to win 50 percent of the vote. …source

Bahrain ‘fires tear gas’ on protesters
26/09/2011 – 5:53 p | Bahrain Freedom Movement

Reports from Bahrain claim security forces have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who are calling for a mass boycott of parliamentary elections planned for Saturday.

“The protesters have tried to take to the streets in a number of villages around the country and they have been immediately met with brutal police repression,” a source in Bahrain said on Friday.

“Police have been firing tear gas, rubber bullets, shotgun pellets and other types of objects at protesters who are largely unarmed in these villages. Those who are carrying anything are stones and maybe paint to throw at police vehicles.”

Saturday’s election will fill 18 parliamentary seats emptied when the country’s main Shia opposition party stepped down six months ago to protest an earlier violent government crackdown on demonstrations.

Earlier this year, Shia-led groups had earlier called for demonstrations to press the government for more freedoms from the Sunni monarchy which has ruled the strategically important Gulf island for more than 200 years.

‘Under repression’

Protesters on Friday marched to Manama’s Pearl Square, the former epicenter of Bahrain’s uprising that broke out in February.

“There are some posters of politicians hanging around places in Manama, the capital, that I’ve been seeing,” the source said.

“But once you get into the villages, which are predominantly the Shia villages in and around the capital, you don’t see any support for these politicians, who many are calling ‘opportunists’.”

Bahraini authorities have stepped up pressure on anti-government activists ahead of the elections, threatening those who use social media and websites to urge acts of dissent with jail.

“There is a class of society under repression and there are obstacles at every turn, blocking their voice,” said Sheik Isa Qassim during Friday’s sermon.

The cleric told followers in a mosque in Diraz, an opposition stronghold northwest of the capital Manama, that the vote on Saturday is meaningless.

“This is fake democracy,” Sheik Isa said.

Nightly clashes

Shia muslims make up a majority of Bahrain’s population, but they have long been ruled by a Sunni dynasty which they claim has not provided economic opportunities.

According to human rights groups, more than 30 people have died as a result of the protests in Bahrain.

Hundreds of activists have been detained and brought to trial on anti-state charges in a special security court since March, when Bahrain’s rulers imposed martial law and invited a Saudi-led Gulf military force to help put down dissent.

Since Bahrain lifted emergency rule in June, rights groups claim government opponents have clashed with police almost every night.

Manama’s Pearl Square has been heavily guarded since Bahrain’s security forces stormed the protesters’ encampment camp there six months ago.

On Friday, police checkpoints were erected on the streets leading up to the square. Armored police vehicles were seen parked near the former hub of anti-government protests and riot police were lined up behind the vehicles.

The opposition’s boycott of Saturday’s vote will likely tighten the grip of the kingdom’s Sunni rulers, who have so far managed to ride out six months of protests inspired by the Arab Spring. …source

The Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) and International Media Support (I-M-S) have the pleasure of inviting you to a seminar on:

Bahrain – The Human Rights Situation
Thursday, 29 September 2011, 13.00-15.00
Danish Institute for International Studies
Main Auditorium
Strandgade 71, ground floor, 1401 Copenhagen K

Background

For years the opposition in Bahrain has demanded political reforms giving all in the divided society equal rights in the political system, in economic affairs, and in access to housing and job opportunities. With inspiration from the peaceful and successful demonstrations in Egypt, demonstrators from all branches of the opposition (Sunni, Shia, secular, fundamentalist, liberal and socialist) went to the streets and from the now demolished Pearl Roundabout organized big demonstrations demanding reforms. The peaceful demonstrations were brutally cracked down by government forces with the support of military troops from Saudi Arabia and police cadres from United Arab Emirates in March. That came through without much attention from the international press and without serious reactions from the international community. Bahrain is a close “non-Nato ally” to the USA and hosts a base for the US Fifth Navy Fleet. While the international community and the USA are much concerned about human rights violations in Syria, Libya, Palestine, and Yemen, Bahrain does not appear to be on the agenda.

Speakers

Nabeel Rajab is a Bahraini human rights defender and President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), a nonprofit non-governmental organization, promoting human rights in Bahrain. He is also a member of the Advisory Committee of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East Division, Deputy Secretary General for the International Federation for Human Rights and Chairman of CARAM Asia. Earlier this summer, it was announced that he will be receiving the 2011 Ion Ratiu Democracy Award, presented annually by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The argument for awarding it to Rajab was because he “has worked tirelessly and at considerable personal peril to advance the cause of democratic freedoms and the civil rights of Bahraini citizens”. Rajab has played a key role in the pro-democracy uprising in Bahrain during 2011.

Maryam Abdulhadi Alkhawaja is also a Bahraini human rights defender. She is the daughter of the prominent Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja and head of the foreign relations office for BCHR. Alkhawaja grew up in Denmark as she and her family was granted political asylum in the late 1980. They lived in Denmark until 2001. She was present in Bahrain during the initial phase of the uprising and has since then been active in driving western politicians attention to the situation in Bahrain and as well as the case of her father Abdulhadi Alkhawaja who was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2011 for his pro-democracy activities.

see more program details HERE

Handball players from Bahrain jailed for 15 years

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) – Two members of Bahrain’s national handball team were jailed for 15 years Monday after being charged with taking part in anti-government protests

The father of Mohammed and Ali Mirza said his sons were found guilty of being part of a group of anti-government demonstrators that burned down a farm owned by a member of the ruling family.

Mirza Salman Abdulla told The Associated Press his sons did not take part in the demonstrations by Bahrain’s Shiite majority against the Sunni dynasty.

“The sentence was not expected. My sons didn’t do anything,” Abdulla said. “This is all nonsense and not true. Until the crisis happened, they were outside Bahrain and they are not involved in politics.”

“My two sons always loved their country and sports,” he added. “That is what they did all their lives.”

A military court closed to the public also found the brothers guilty of possessing weapons and stealing money.

Ali Jawad, a beach handball player, was given 15 years by the military court for burning down the same farm.

The Mirza brothers, who played at the handball world championship in January, were among 150 Shiite athletes, coaches and referees detained as part of a crackdown on protesters. Many of them took part in marches organized by athletes in support of the demonstrations.

Inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, Bahrain’s Shiite majority took to the streets Feb. 14 to demand that the country’s more than 200-year-old Sunni dynasty loosen its control on top government and security posts. After days of mostly peaceful protests, the regime cracked down on the protesters, resulting in the death of more than 30 people and the detention of thousands. …more

Bahrain jails Shi’ites over protests
26 Sep 2011 18:13 – Reuters Alertnet – By Andrew Hammond

MANAMA, Sept 26 (Reuters) – Bahrain on Monday sentenced 32 men to 15 years in jail over violent anti-government protests and handed the head of a teachers’ union a 10 year prison term for calling for the overthrow of the Gulf Arab monarchy.

A military court ruled that the 32 men, whose names suggested they were all Shi’ite Muslims, set fire to fields and robbed farmers’ homes “with a terrorist intent” and took part in illegal gatherings, the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA) said.

The agency said teachers’ union chairman Mehdi Issa Mohammed Abu Deeb was found guilty of disrupting schooling, broadcasting false news and threatening national security by encouraging protest marches and sit-ins.

His deputy, Jalila Mohammed Reza al-Salman, was jailed for three years.

Bahrain’s Sunni Muslim rulers in March quashed pro-democracy protests led by the Shi’ite majority demanding an end to sectarian discrimination and a greater say in government.

Gulf Arab states Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates sent troops to help crush the demonstrations. In the ensuing crackdown, about 30 people were killed, hundreds wounded and more than 1,000 detained — mostly Shi’ites.

The verdicts were issued days after a by-election to fill seats vacated by the largest opposition bloc Wefaq in protest at the handling of the unrest. The election was boycotted by Bahraini Shi’ites, reducing turnout to 17 percent.

Unrest continues almost nightly in many Shi’ites villages in the banking hub, which hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

A group calling itself the February 14 Youth Coalition — activists involved in the protests that began in February — called on Monday for an escalation in the clashes with police, saying security measures had gone too far to put down attempts to revive protests.

“We announce the beginning of a new stage in the holy defence which will involve more deterrence and pain for the regime,” it said, adding it was time to throw aside “political calculations” on how to respond to the authorities.

“We call on all the people to move forward in confronting the hand that has violated honour,” it said.

It was not clear how much influence the activists have. Wefaq is the strongest group but some analysts say it is losing its hold over many younger Shi’ites, radicalised by events, and that communal violence is likely to worsen in the absence of a political reconciliation. …more

40 women arrested over Bahrain vote protest: opposition
(AFP) – 8 hours ago

DUBAI — More than 40 Bahraini women were arrested and beaten by security forces for protesting against parliamentary by-elections, the main Shiite opposition group Al-Wefaq said in a statement Monday.

“More than 40 Bahraini women were savagely arrested… in a commercial centre where they were beaten,” it said.

“Seven minors aged between 12 and 15 were among them,” the statement said, quoting their lawyers, adding that they were “beaten and humiliated.”

Al-Wefaq called for the immediate release of the women, said they had only been expressing their “right to freedom of expression,” and called their treatment “savage and inhumane.”

The group said clerics from the Shiite-majority kingdom ruled by a Sunni dynasty staged a protest sit-in on Monday in a Shiite suburb of the capital Manama.

The women were arrested on Friday a day before the by-elections boycotted by the opposition to replace 18 Shiite MPs who quit the parliament in protest over the violence used against demonstrators in February.

A second round of voting in the by-elections will be held on Saturday in nine constituencies, the authorities announced on Sunday. …source

Bahrain: Second Round of Elections Set for Oct. 1
POMED – 25 Septemebr, 2011

Bahrain will hold a second round of elections on October 1 to fill the 9 seats in which no candidate received fifty percent of the vote in Saturday’s by-elections. Of the other seats, “four deputies were elected in the absence of any competitors, and five seats were allocated.” While a government statement reported voter turnout of 17.4%, Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa claimed the turnout was 51.4%.

Amid the by-elections, “many Shia areas” continue to witness violent clashes “nightly,” and the crackdown persists. On Monday, the National Safety Court sentenced Mahdi Abu Deeb, head of the Bahrain Teachers’ Society, to ten years in prison, and his Jalila al-Salman received three years. Their charges include “instigating the committing of criminal acts such as inviting for a teachers sit-in, the stopping of the educational process in the Kingdom, the staging of processions and demonstrations at various locations in the Kingdom.” Others also received jail time for harboring a suspect.
…source

[cb editor: in the US if you were to put Klansmen in police uniforms and make it okay to go into Black or other ethically dominate neighborhoods this is what you would have – at least until there was civil war.]

Statement by Barack Obama at the 66th UN General Assembly

excerpt – But today, we stand at a crossroads of history with the chance to move decisively in the direction of peace. To do so, we must return to the wisdom of those who created this institution. The UN’s Founding Charter calls upon us, “to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security.” And Article 1 of this General Assembly’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights reminds us that, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.’ Those bedrock beliefs – in the responsibility of states, and the rights of men and women – must be our guide.

In that effort, we have reason to hope. This year has been a time of transformation. More nations have stepped forward to maintain international peace and security. And more individuals are claiming their universal right to live in freedom and dignity.

In Bahrain, steps have been taken toward reform and accountability, but more are required. America is a close friend of Bahrain, and we will continue to call on the government and the main opposition bloc – the Wifaq – to pursue a meaningful dialogue that brings peaceful change that is responsive to the people. And we believe the patriotism that binds Bahrainis together must be more powerful than the sectarian forces that would tear them apart.

…see full text at Voltairnet.org HERE