Posts from — September 2011

Obama’s UN Address and the Bahrain Exception
By Max Fisher – Sep 21 2011, 2:42 PM ET 1
Why is the U.S. treating this Arab state so differently than the others?

Reuters – President Barack Obama, in his speech today to the United Nations, championed the growing U.S. foreign policy emphasis on supporting pro-democracy movements, name-checking the U.S. support for popular uprisings in Libya, Syria, Côte d’Ivoire, and even Yemen. He offered (somewhat retroactive) support for the successful democratic revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. And he made the usual, if unusually brief, call for Iran to improve its human rights. But Obama’s tone changed when he brought up the tiny, oil-rich Persian Gulf island nation of Bahrain, where the U.S.-aligned monarchy has been cracking down violently on peaceful demonstrators, to little public protest from the U.S.

The Democracy ReportThe change in Obama’s language and tone when his speech moved from Iran, Syria, and Yemen to Bahrain was difficult to miss. He did not mention the thousands of Bahrainis “protesting peacefully, standing silently in the streets, dying for the same values that this institution is supposed to stand for,” as he did with Syria. Nor he call for “a peaceful transition of power … and a movement to free and fair elections as soon as possible” as he did with Yemen. He did not scold the Bahraini regime for “refus[ing] to recognize the rights of its own people” as did with Iran. Obama declined to declare that “the balance of fear shifted from the ruler to those that he ruled” as he did of Tunisia. He absolutely did not demand “a movement to free and fair elections as soon as possible.”

When Obama spoke of Bahrain, his words sounded more like those of so many U.S. presidential foreign policy addresses of before the Arab Spring: we support our ally, call on him to lead reform, but would rather not discuss his autocratic rule or use of violence against protesters.

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.

His more muted choice of adjectives, oblique non-reference to the brutal crackdown and entrenching autocracy, even his use of passive voice all echo the older style of U.S. rhetoric on reform in the Middle East. It seems an awful lot like, for example, U.S. policy toward Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from 2000 through early 2011, when the U.S. pressured its close ally to democratize, to little actual consequence for either the U.S.-Egypt relationship or the Egyptian people. But what’s so jarring about Obama’s adherence to this old way of doing things when it comes to Bahrain is that his administration has, over the past nine months of the Arab spring, legitimately changed course. In April, the U.S. shifted support from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a close and long-held U.S. ally, to the peaceful protesters seeking his ouster. The U.S. doesn’t just support democratic opposition movements challenging American enemies anymore, Obama seemed to be signalling, but those challenging American allies as well.

Bahrain default risk rises to highest since unrest
Tom Arnold – Sep 21, 2011 – The National

Bahrain’s default risk has risen to its highest since the height of political unrest six months ago, against a backdrop of concerns that tensions may reignite ahead of a forthcoming election next week.

The cost of insuring the country’s debt against default rose to 328 yesterday, according to five year credit default swaps from data provider CMA, as cited by Bloomberg News.

The island kingdom was rocked by protests in February and March, during which more than 30 people died and which left the economy reeling. Since then the country’s fiscal position has become increasingly perilous as foreign reserves have dwindled and banking and tourism activity declined.

The cost of insuring the country’s debt had been falling after reaching a peak of 359 on March 15 at the height of the unrest.

Parliamentary elections are due to take place on Sunday. The same day opposition supporters are vowing to hold a mass demonstration in Manama.

Standard Chartered wrote in a report this week it saw “little value” in Bahraini bonds.

“Bahraini issuers, both sovereign and corporate, will find it difficult to tap international markets in the current environment,” Philippe Dauba-Pantanacce and Victor Lohle, wrote in the report. …source

Protesters hold ‘traffic demo’ in Bahrain
Demonstrators block traffic in centre of capital Manama in bid to pressure government ahead of weekend by-elections.
Last Modified: 21 Sep 2011 16:06 – Alazeera

Candidates have been campaigning ahead of by-elections for 18 seats vacated by opposition group al-Wefaq [Reuters]

Protesters have disrupted traffic in the Bahraini capital’s central business district in an attempt to step up pressure on the government ahead of by-elections this weekend, activists and witnesses say.

The demonstration in Manama was called on Wednesday by an internet-based youth group that had acted as one of the main organisers of a popular uprising against the Bahraini government, demanding more rights for its Shia-majority citizens.

Protests began in February, but have been suppressed by the country’s security forces.

Using vehicles to block traffic, witnesses said that activists slowed down the flow of vehicles on main roads leading to central Manama significantly for about three hours on Wednesday morning.

A heavy contingent of police had been deployed to monitor the protest, they said. No violence was reported.

“There is a strong participation in the [opposition’s] peaceful movement,” said Matar Matar, a senior member of al-Wefaq, Bahrain’s largest Shia opposition group.

Matar said that his group had not taken the lead in organising the protest, giving the credit for that instead to youth groups.

The February 14 youth group, which has helped to organise pro-reform protests since earlier this year, had called for the protest on its page on the social networking site Facebook.
Click here for more of Al Jazeera’s special coverage

Roads had later been “reopened” and traffic was flowing as “normal”, the state BNA news agency reported.

It said that police had diverted vehicles to ease “congestion”.

The interior ministry had earlier warned people against taking part in the protest, saying that anyone caught doing so would risk imprisonment and having their driving licence revoked.

Activists say they will continue their movement.

“There will be protests on Friday and Saturday and demonstrators will return to Pearl Square to call for political reforms, a constitutional monarchy and boycotting by-elections,” said Mohammad Mascati, head of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights.

Tensions have been on the rise in the tiny Gulf island kingdom ahead of elections scheduled to take place on Saturday.

The polls were called to replace 18 of the al-Wefaq MPs who walked out of the 40-member parliament in February in protest against a government crackdown on protesters.

Bahraini security forces, aided by a Saudi-led contingent of forces from Gulf countries, drove protesters out of Pearl Square in mid-March.

Authorities say that 24 people were killed during the unrest, while the opposition puts the death toll at 30.

Compensation fund announced

On Tuesday, the Bahraini government announced that it would be creating a fund to compensate victims of the unrest, though it did not specify how much money would be paid out, or how it would be allocated.
IN VIDEO

Al Jazeera speaks to medics who say they were specifically targeted by Bahraini security forces

The National Victims’ Compensation Fund is designed to pay anyone who was “materially, morally or physically harmed” by security forces or public officials during protests this year, state news agency BNA reported.

The kingdom’s Sunni ruling family is keen to rehabilitate its image after drawing criticism from both domestic and international rights groups for the government response to protests.

Families of victims, and people injured while helping victims, will qualify to receive compensation, according to the decree issued by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa.

Rights groups say that medical staff who treated wounded protesters were targeted by security forces.

The compensation fund is to be administered independently and will follow United Nations guidelines on reparations, BNA reported. Claimants will be judged by a “specialised court”.

The fund will receive money from the state budget, donations and from investment returns, BNA reported.

It did not specify the value of pay-outs, saying only that they would be “substantial”.

On Tuesday, Bahrain approved an additional budget outlay of $1.03bn over two years to cover wage increases for government employees and improve living standards.

A high-profile panel of lawyers, constituted by the Bahraini government, is currently investigating the unrest and allegations of widespread torture by security forces during the crackdown on protests.

The Bahraini government has consistently maintained that excessive force was never used against protesters or detainees. …source

Committee on Academic Freedom at MESA protest letter on ongoing abuses against faculty, staff, & students in Bahrain

20 September 2011
Your Excellency Dr. Majid bin Ali Al-Naimi
Minister of Education
President, Board of Trustees of the University of Bahrain

Dear Dr. Naimi,
On behalf of the Committee on Academic Freedom (CAF) of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA), we are disheartened that we must write yet again to protest the ongoing abuses against faculty, staff, and students at Bahraini educational institutions, as well as Bahraini students studying abroad.

MESA was founded in 1966 to promote scholarship and teaching on the Middle East and North Africa – the preeminent organization in the field. The Association publishes the International Journal of Middle East Studies and has nearly 3000 members worldwide. MESA is committed to ensuring academic freedom and freedom of expression, both within the region and in connection with the study of the region in North America and elsewhere.

As a committee of MESA charged with monitoring infringements on academic freedom, on two earlier occasions we have expressed serious concern over the ongoing assaults, arrests, and dismissals of individuals connected to academic institutions in Bahrain. In particular, we have highlighted the arrest and mistreatment of Professor Masoud Jahromi, the suspension of over 600 students, the dismissal of dozens of faculty members, and the revocation of scholarships of a number of Bahraini students living abroad. Most recently, we have learned that 78 individuals from the Ministry of Education and 19 faculty members at the University of Bahrain have been dismissed for reasons unrelated to their professional responsibilities. We have also learned that although King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has authorized the return of 389 suspended students to the University of Bahrain, these students have not been allowed to resume their studies, and are uncertain about the exact date of their official reinstatement. Additionally, over 38 students are still awaiting trial.

Such actions constitute colossal infringements against academic freedom in deed and spirit. Not only do they contravene international human rights laws and standards, including Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, they also betray Article 7 of the Bahraini Constitution which states, “The State guarantees the inviolability of the places of learning.” In your 10th of September, 2011 speech on occasion of the beginning of the new school year, Your Excellency, you reaffirmed, “…education is the master key to fight the battle of life, and has been a trend since the beginning of the modern renaissance in Bahrain in the thought of our wise leadership and citizens, positioning our country among the vanguards of countries who give education much attention.” These continued offenses are an affront to the very principles you profess, and severely undermine Bahrain’s international standing.

We call on the government of Bahrain to reconsider these policies. We ask that you immediately reinstate all faculty, students, and staff who have been dismissed from academic institutions in Bahrain, and that the students be allowed to resume their studies without delay. We also ask that Professor Jahromi’s pending trial be addressed in accordance with international legal standards, and that these continued abuses be halted immediately.

Yours Sincerely,
Suad Joseph
MESA President
Professor of Anthropology and Women’s Studies
University of California Davis

cc:
Dr. Ebrahim Mohammed Janahi, President of the University of Bahrain
Dr. Abdullah Yousif Al-Hawaj, President of Ahlia University
Her Excellency Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States
His Excellency Sheikh Khalifa Bin Ali Al-Khalifah, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United Kingdom
Dr. Yousif Al-Bastaki, Vice President for Administrative Affairs, Finance and Information Technology of the University of Bahrain
Prof. M. Cherif Bassiouni, Distinguished Research Professor of Law, De Paul University School of Law

…source BCHR

Why human rights matter – the silenced struggle in Bahrain
September 21, 2011 – by Debbie is Equality Programme Officer at the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ).

Last week I was refused entry to Bahrain. With a European passport, we almost expect to enter foreign countries with ease, but my refusal was not due to strict immigration controls. The security service ejected me, and a French lawyer colleague, but no airline has any record of our journey. We were ejected due to our work as human rights defenders.

The very concept of human rights has been much debated and maligned of late, but the ongoing situation in Bahrainserves as a stark reminder of their importance. Human rights are international standards which provide an agreed minimum protection for all people, without distinction. When our own rights are generally well respected, the safeguards they offer us can easily be forgotten. When others’ rights are not respected, they often do not have a voice to explain their struggle.

In February 2011, tens of thousands of Bahraini citizens took to the streets in a peaceful demonstration for democracy. The state reacted forcefully, with reports of attacks on civilians, mass arrests, torture, deaths and the repression of any opposition to these acts. Over 1,400 people have been detained and 39 people have died as a result. Most recently, it was reported that 14 year old Ali Jawad Ahmad al-Shaikh died after being hit by a tear gas canister thrown by riot police.

In March 2011, the King of Bahrain declared a state of national emergency. The state authorities, backed up by the Gulf Cooperation Council, used tear gas, rubber bullets, live ammunition and brute force to disperse crowds. The injured were brought to Salmaniya hospital, but the security forces used their injuries to identify the protestors. Reports show they locked down the hospital, prevented ambulances from reaching the injured and frustrated the treatment of patients already admitted. Some patients have since disappeared and others have reported being beaten by the security forces.

Following the crackdown, there have been mass arrests of those involved in the demonstrations or speaking out in their defence. In addition, websites have been closed down and journalists cannot report freely on the situation. Thousands of employees have been sacked. There has been a particular targeting of political opponents, human rights defenders and the medical staff at Salmaniya hospital who treated the injured. An independent commission has been mandated to report on the events, but the brutal crackdown continues despite its ongoing work.

Many of those arrested have been held incommunicado or in solitary confinement. They have had restricted access to lawyers and many have reported torture and other ill-treatment. One detainee, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, is a former director of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. He was arrested on9 April 2011, after being severely beaten by masked policemen in front of a witness. Since his detention, he has reported torture and sexual abuse and required surgery for his injuries.

Trials have taken place before a military court, set up under the state of emergency. Although such a court should not be used to try civilians, 21 human rights defenders and 20 medical staff have been convicted of disparate offences; some have been sentenced to life in prison. The UN described the trials as ‘political persecution’. On the reading of his verdict, Abdulhadi Al Khawaja stated that he would ‘continue on the path of peaceful resistance’. In response, he was severely beaten by court officers, particularly to his face which was still recovering from his previous injuries. …more

Bahrain protesters clog roads in pre-election act
Associated Press, 09.21.11, 02:32 AM EDT

MANAMA, Bahrain — Traffic has been brought to a crawl on many Bahrain highways after calls by pro-reform groups to flood the roads with cars in a show of strength before parliamentary elections later this week.

Shiite-led protesters are seeking to send a message of defiance to Sunni authorities after warnings of harsh responses to any attempts at disrupting Saturday’s voting in the Gulf kingdom.

The traffic jams hit during the morning commute Wednesday. Security forces were on high alert, but there were no reports of violence.

Bahrain’s majority Shiites began protests in February for greater rights from the ruling Sunni dynasty. Shiite groups are urging a boycott of the upcoming election for 18 seats abandoned by Shiite lawmakers to protest the crackdown.

[cb editor: To observers in the West loosing ones drivers license seems a hand slap for protesting, yet the story has traction in the Main Stream Media. It follows a similar misdirection and deception over Women’s rights to drive in Saudi Arabia. It creates an image to Western viewers of a Bahraini King that is antiquated but also one who has great tolerance and that of a nation that will eventually turn the corner as the benevolent King “comes around” – it would seem to the casual viewer the major issues facing Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are protesters losing their drivers license or women demanding the right to drive??? And it’s absolutely presented that way in the Western media. While the Saudi’s were busy helping to crush Bahrain democracy movement, US Secretary of State Clinton was weighing in on “womens right to drive” in Saudi Arabia.

When the consequence here unto now for protesting has been detention, torture, life imprisonment, gassing, murder, rape… …loss of one’s drivers license would be welcome relief from the daily brutality of al Khalifa. The whole notion would seem comical if it weren’t so cynical. Careful about this PR business coming from the US Democrats, it’s poison and these bastards really are wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing….]

Bahrain to protesters: Snarl traffic, lose license
Sep 20, 2011 at 15:26 – AP

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Bahraini authorities are warning anti-government protesters they could lose their driver’s licenses for up to a year if they carry out threats to create massive traffic jams to disrupt this week’s parliamentary elections.

The notice by the Gulf kingdom’s Interior Ministry is among several statements circulating Tuesday promising a hard-line response to any unrest during the voting.

Bahrain plans elections Saturday for 18 seats in the 40-member parliament. The posts were abandoned by Shiite lawmakers protesting harsh crackdowns on pro-reform demonstrations.

Bahrain’s majority Shiites have led a seven-month uprising calling for greater rights from Sunni rulers. Shiite groups have appealed for an election boycott.

cb Editor: Don’t miss the eloquent Prince Turki al Faisal, former Saudi Ambassador to the United States. Looks like he and Charlie Rose are staged here as part of the Joe Trippi PR campaign. They are shaping the Saud and al Khalifa lies into a grand deception and creating entertainment value to augment the evening news. See the interview HERE and be careful not to vomit on your shoes before it’s over. Hey Charlie why don’t you give Nabeel Rajab equal time?

It definitely wins the coveted Crooked Bough “Royal Horse Shit Award”:

Bahrain: Protests on September 23-24, 2011 (parliamentary elections)
Manama, 20 September 2011 – BYSHR

Ladies and gentlemen, members of international NGOs, authorities, and Media.

Best regards from Bahrain.

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) addresses this urgent letter to you about targeting and randomly suppressing a protest rally against the government.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We would like to inform you that a group of activists, patriotic figures and youth are planning to launch a rally against the government in protest on violations of human rights in Bahrain. The protests will start at Manama district on September 23-24, 2011 ( parliamentary elections)

BYSHR believes that Fighting Riot Forces (FRF) will attempt the protest randomly and will target participants by using rubber bullets and tear-gas. FRF use such weapons intensively against children, women, youth, and seniors.

We announce that we expect security attacks on the prospected peaceful protests. FRF has committed similar violations against participants in previous peaceful events calling for democracy, freedom, and justice in Bahrain. FRF is asserting on its role to fractionate the bones of participants and using sound bombs to disperse participants, in addition to random arrests and torture in detention centers.

Ladies and gentlemen,

BYSHR looks forward to your interest in following up the consequences of the protests on Friday and Saturday ,September 23-24, 2011 (parliamentary elections). BYSHR calls upon you to move urgently to stop the expected acts of Bahraini Ministry of Interior, including detention and using FRF to suppress the peaceful protests.

Sincerely,

Mr. Mohammed Al-Maskati – President of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights
E-mail: info@byshr.org
Mobile: (+973)36437088
…source

Obama preaching Democracy and Aiding Dictators like Al Khalifa , Ale Saud, Saleh
jafriaNews.com – 19, Sep. 2011

JNN 19 Sept 2011 : The United Sates gave 90 million dollars in military aid to Bahrain regime, since President Barak Obama’s tenure started, Press TV reported.

“The Obama administration’s support for the al-Khalifa dictatorship (Bahrain’s ruling dynasty) has been continuous. Over 92 million dollars of aid were directed by Obama since his inauguration and another 26.2 million dollars slated for next year,” Press TV quoted Ralph Schoenman author of Hidden History of Zionism.

Formerly, two nations signed 10- year military pact on October 28, 1999, and renewed it again in October 2001 for another 10-year. Washington Post reported the secret extension of the pact for another five years. Former President of the United States Gorge W Bush extended the accord. United States helped Bahrain regime to repress Bahraini’speaceful protests by such military pacts.

“The Pentagon has cut specific deals with Bahrain sending American tanks, armored personnel carriers, helicopter gunships, thousands of 38-caliber pistols, millions of rounds of ammunition, 50-caliber rounds used in sniper rifles and machine guns, bullets for hand guns and specifically, gas,” Schoenman said.

It seems contradictory that on the one hand countries like US claim for supporting freedom and democracy, and on the other hand they endorse such contracts to assist dictator regimes. Many Bahraini people have been arrested by the Saudi-backed regime since revolution started in February.

The clear difference in the US Preaching and Practice they adopt shows their , evil designs of working against the Human Rights Not Only around the world , but also in their Homeland , as the Number of People living under the Poverty line is increasing every day , while the Tax Cuts and Rebates are being paid by the US Government to the already Filthy Rich Cooperate Giants , which are in one way or the other connected to the government , and are the Major Players in changing and Keeping the government intact. …source

Bahrain: Appeals to world leaders to intervene to stop blood bath
Bahrain Freedom Movement – 20/09/2011 – 10:29 am

The two days of reckoning in Bahrain are fast approaching as the Al Khalifa junta threatened a blood bath. On 23rd and 24th September the people of Bahrain will attempt to re-conquer the Pearl Roundabout in order to mourn those who were murdered by the Saudi and Al Khalifa forces in mid March.

Preparations are being made to ensure a successful and peaceful operation as a first step to liberate Bahrain from the brutal Saudi occupation. The 14th February Youth are making last minute steps to ensure a peaceful march, as the Al Khalifa ministry of interior repeated threats to inflict maximum damage on anyone taking part in the proposed march. The Youth have appealed to international bodies to put pressure on the Al Saud and Al Khalifa regimes not to use violence against Bahrainis. The Bahraini opposition abroad have also written to several personalities and bodies urging them to intervene to stop a blood bath by troops, security forces and Death Squads. The plan is to reverse the crime committed by the joint aggressive forces in mid March when, under the international spotlight they waged lethal attacks on Bahrainis encamped at the Roundabout killing and injuring tens of people.

The proposed peaceful action has been planned for three reasons: The first is to tell the world that the destruction by Al Saud and Al Khalifa forces of the Pearl Monument after their criminal attack had failed to destroy the will of the Bahraini revolutionaries and that the civil movement is here to stay until a regime change has been achieved. The second is to commemorate the martyrs who have fallen over the past seven months including the latest two. The third is to draw the attention of the world on the day of proposed bye-elections for the dictator’s shura council, half of whose members are elected through a closely controlled process. There has been massive support to the move from the youth or revolutions in several countries including Yemen and Egypt.

The latest two martyrs have ignited the popular feeling of rage against the Al Saud and Al Khalifa whose machines of death have not ceased their criminal activities against the people of Bahrain. Sayyed Jawad Sayyed Ahmad Marhoon, 35, from Sitra died in agony ten days after he had been attacked by the regime’s forces with poisonous and tear gases on 3rd September. His house was also attacked on 10th September when poisonous chemical gases were thrown inside his house by the Death Squads and security forces. He emerged from the house carrying his baby daughter but had suffered massive internal injuries as a result. The second martyr is Jaffar Hassan Yousuf, 28, married with two children, from Demstan, died as a result of severe torture inflicted by the regime’s torturers during his incarceration. His massive funeral was attacked by the security forces and thugs and more people were reported injured. The attacks on Bahrainis have continued in the past few days as the people staged demonstrations throughout the country calling for a regime change and chanting: “Down with Hamad” in reference to Bahrain’s dictator who has become the most hated tyrant in the region. Among those attacked was a women protest on 16th September at Bilad Al Qadeem. Several women were injured.

Meanwhile, the US administration has been widely criticized for agreeing to receive the dictator whose trip to New York today has triggered widespread revulsion especially among human rights activists. The Obama administration has registered a drastic moral failure by its refusal to take a neutral stand with regards to the Bahraini revolution. On 15th September the New York Times published a damning article titled “Bahrain Boils Under the Lid of Repression” detailing the repression by the Al Khalifa against the people of Bahrain. On 10th September, the Washington Post published an editorial calling on the White House to take action against the Al Khalifa dictatorship and stop its double-standard policy in the Middle East. It had been hoped that Bahrain’s dictator, who has come to symbolize brutality and absolute dictatorship would not be allowed to set foot on the American soil. The American stands have been criticized by both politicians and human rights activists as the world witnesses more political saga unfolding in various parts of the Middle East.

Bahrain Freedom Movement
20th September 2011 …source

Abd al-Rahman Al-Nu’aimi: Forty Years of Bahraini Opposition
Claire Beaugrand, 20 September 2011 – Open Democracy

Reflecting upon Abd al-Rahman al-Nu’aimi’s lifelong activism adds important context to Bahrain’s current crisis and generates feelings of nostalgia for a united political opposition, says Claire Beaugrand

Far removed from the political turmoil that has recently swept through his home-country of Bahrain, Abd al-Rahman al-Nu’aimi passed away on 1 September 2011, after four years in a deep coma. His death, triggering reactions of sympathy from across the political spectrum in Bahrain, comes at a crucial time when both government and opposition search for a modus operandi in order to salvage what is left of Bahraini politics. Reflecting upon his lifelong activism as a window to modern Bahraini politics puts the current crisis into its historical context.

Throughout his life, Abd al-Rahman al-Nu’aimi played an important role in shaping the modern political consciousness of Bahrain. His dedication to political struggle and steady commitment to leftwing values contributed to make the conception of politics in Bahrain gradually evolve from a sheer elite consensus towards a more agonistic understanding, where politics is about expressing conflicting interests, yet in a peaceful way. Embodying the opposition since the early days of his involvement in a student organisation in 1961, al-Nu’aimi tirelessly imposed new terms on the political debate,

Al-Nu’aimi was born in 1944, on al-Muharraq island, to a notable family with close links to the traditional ruling circles. Increasingly politically active in the 1960s, he broke away from that background by joining the Arab Nationalist Movement. In 1966 he graduated from the American University of Beirut with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and found himself amongst the educated elite – of the sort that continues to be represented in Kuwait by Ahmad al-Khatib – that was advocating new forms of political legitimacy, on the basis of nationalist and leftist ideologies.

In the context of a politically charged Gulf with the independence and creation of new states in both Yemen and the Lower Gulf#, al-Nu’aimi’s political activism was defined via his enrolment in the nebulous Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf that aimed to fight British imperialism and overthrow its local ‘stooges’. This organisation oscillated between different levels and areas of action. It originally united regional forces to support the Dhofar rebellion in the Western part of Oman (hence the renaming Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arab Gulf); yet, as the Dhofar rebellion was being crushed, it was disbanded and divided between the Bahraini and Omani branches in 1974. Al-Nu’aimi became the secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Bahrain. By this time, though, he was already in exile.

Exile

Following a crackdown on worker’s movements at the power station where he was an engineer in 1968, Al-Nu’aimi had left Bahrain to live in exile. He was not the only one to leave: between March 1965, the date of a major uprising in Bahrain, and the dissolution of the first Bahraini Parliament in 1975, the great majority of the members of the clandestine leftwing opposition in Bahrain whether it was the Popular Front or its Marxist-tinged counterpart, the National Liberation Front of Bahrain, left the island. They either feared further repression or were refused re-entry into the state following the state authorities’ suspicions of their political leanings and activities. After travelling via Qatar or pre-Saddam Iraq and, for some, after a revolutionary experience in Dhofar or Aden, all eventually settled in Beirut and Damascus. The policy of Ba’thist Syria was to grant residency to any Arab especially nationalists and Gulf dissidents. Al-Nu’aimi, known as ‘sa’id saif’, the luck-bringing sword, was no exception. He remained in Damascus for 33 years.

It was from abroad that he witnessed the rise of Shiite Islamist forces in Bahrain throughout the 1980s and watched during the 1990s the ‘Intifada’ mark the brutal entry into Bahraini politics of the masses from the peripheral Shiite ‘villages’.

Despite of the discredited reputation that affected the Arab nationalist leftists – as much as it did the Marxists – al-Nu’aimi kept alive a secularist form of political opposition. He, at the same time, liaised with a new generation of Shiite activists in exile, including Mansur al-Jamri and Saeed al-Shehabi from the London-based Harakat Ahrar al-Bahrain al-Islamiyya (Islamic Bahrain Freedom Movement). The period of exile allowed oppositional activists to build bridges between their diverse movements: both islamists and leftists worked to raise awareness and gain international support. The Popular Front, led by Abd al-Rahman al-Nu’aimi and Abd al-Nabi al-Akry, both based in Damascus, began to embed its claims in the then universalising language of human rights. This forced it to adopt representative democracy as an ideal and to discard revolutionary goals and violent means to achieve their aims. …more

US weapons were used against protesters in Bahrain – expert
by John Robles – Sep 20, 2011 14:39 Moscow Time

Interview with Nabil Rajab, President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and Deputy Secretary General for the International Federation of Human Rights.

JR: Can you detail some of the human rights violations of the Bahrain government for our listeners?

NR: We have a culture of human rights violation and of crime, committed against humanity in Bahrain, especially in the past 6-7 months, since the Arab uprising – and, as you know, we started our uprising on January 11. Since then, there was a bloody crackdown, where thousands of people were detained and tortures. At least two people for every thousand citizens were in detention, thousands of people sacked from their jobs, expelled from their schools, their universities. There were systematic tortures, hospitals were taken by the military and patients were abused and tortured in the hospitals. Many people fled the country as people died or were tortured to death. We have a bad human rights record, especially the one we have since last March.

JR: There have been a lot of reports about US weapons being used to suppress democracy demonstrations in Bahrain. Can you give us some details on that?

NR: First of all, the American political position on Bahrain was totally different from their foreign policy towards other revolutions and other uprisings that were calling for democracy and human rights. The Americans and some other western countries were very silent on Bahrain. And not only that. Their weapons were used against protesters and human rights defenders in Bahrain, especially tear gas. At least ten people died in the past ten days because of the tear gas that was used by the special forces and riot police. And this tear gas is made in Pennsylvania, in the US. Unfortunately, human rights record is not a standard to the Americans when they sell weapons to Bahrain. Bahrain has a very bad human rights record, and it was very disappointing for the people of Bahrain, for human rights activists and for democracy fighters that the US did not only take their side in the uprising but was supplying the repressive regime with weapons in the region. That has a very poor human rights record. The people of Bahrain look at the US very differently than they did before February 13, especially when they saw our revolution, our uprising, which was calling for democracy and human rights, being banned, punished – and they still gave them aid and they still supplied them with weapons and tear gas that was used against the protesters and democracy activists.

JR: The US base in Bahrain, does that have any relationship for the US supporting government?

NR: I think the US base is the policy-maker in Bahrain, rather than the Embassy and the State Department of the US in Bahrain. The US naval base has more power than the Embassy, and I think that was the main reason why the American government has taken the side of the Bahraini regime – because they see that their benefits and interests lie with the dictators and the repressive regime, not with any future democracy. People thought that the presidents of America and Bahrain would help them struggle for democracy and human rights. That’s what they thought in the past. But now it’s very clear: their president was very negative and helped the regime and the repressive ruler more than the people of the country.

JR: So we see a complete double standard?

NR: We are a victim of the American double-standard foreign policy, we are a victim of the American interests, we are a victim of the American military presence in Bahrain. For that reason, as well as due to the complication of US’s foreign relations with Iran and other countries, we have to pay the price, because the US government’ still sees its interests lie with the dictators in the Gulf Region. That’s why they have reacted very negatively in the Gulf region, totally different to how they had reacted in Syria, Libya, Iran and Egypt. You could see that when the US president in his speech, where Saudi Arabia wasn’t mentioned at all, although Saudi Arabia is known to have the most oppressive regime in the region, spoke about most of the Arab countries but not those countries, because I think the flow of the oil has more importance than human rights of the people here.

JR: How many people have been killed, in your estimation, by the government of Bahrain?

NR: At least 40 people were killed in the past months. Thousands of people detained and systematically tortured. Those numbers are very high percentage wise, if you take into consideration the population of Bahrain, which is around half a million people only. It is more than in Tunisia, it is more than in Egypt. But, unfortunately, we have seen complete silence from the US, because of their interests, because of their military presence, because of the arms sales, because of the oil sales. I think the US is creating people who don’t support it in the region. They have lost the hearts and minds of the people in that part of the region. Since my country gained independence, the army has been used only once – against peaceful protesters that were calling for democracy and human rights. It’s the only time that the Bahraini army has been deployed. Not only that, the Bahraini government did worse than any other country, because they killed their own people with their own army, but they invited other troops, from Saudi Arabia, from UAE, to take part in the bloody crackdown against the people of Bahrain.

JR: You say, people are arrested, tortured and disappear, they lose jobs, they are kicked out of universities. On what basis could this happen?

NR: Unfortunately, the crackdown has targeted people mostly in the sectarian basis, because the majority of protesters were calling for equality – they come from the indigenous Shiite population. The government targets them, targets their businesses, targets them at schools, at universities. Many people lost their sight because they were shot in the eyes.

JR: Would you characterize human rights violations in Bahrain as crimes against humanity?

NR: What happened in Bahrain is a crime against humanity. …source

Saudi Arabia donates $200 mln to Palestinians
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to address the UN General Assembly on Friday with a formal call for
REUTERS – by Chip East – 20/09/2011 – GAZA, September 20 (RIA Novosti)

Saudi Arabia will donate $200 million to the Palestinian Authority (PA), Palestinian news agency Maan reported on Tuesday.

“The Saudi king, Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, issued orders to the finance minister to transfer $200 million to the PA,” Maan quoted Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad as saying after a meeting of PA donors in New York.

The Saudi move comes at a crucial moment as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to address the UN General Assembly on Friday with a formal call for Palestinian statehood.

While most UN members support the bid, approval by the General Assembly would only give the Palestinians non-member state status. For full recognition, the bid would have to be approved by the UN Security Council – and the United States has said it will use its veto to block it.

Washington, which insists on the resolution of the Middle East crisis through direct talks between Israel and Palestinians, could also cut its $500 million annual contribution to the Palestinian cause.

The PA heavily relies on foreign aid, which accounts for about half of its $3.7-billion annual budget. Main PA donors include the European Union, the United States, Japan and Arab countries. …source

Freedom Now files petition to United Nations on behalf of Abdulhadi Alkhawaja
to obtain opinion that his ongoing Detention violates international law

September 19, 2011 – BCHR

On September 19, 2011, Freedom Now filed an urgent action petition with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of Abdulhadi Alkhawaja. Freedom Now hopes to obtain a legal opinion from the Working Group that the Bahraini government’s detention of Mr. Alkhawaja is in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Freedom Now Executive Director Maran Turner stated, “Mr. Alkhawaja’s brutal arrest and conviction, as well as his treatment in detention are appalling. The actions by the Government of Bahrain are a clear violation of international law. It is our hope that a decision by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention will compel the government to abide by its commitments under the law and release Abdulhadi Alkhawaja.”

Mr. Alkhawaja has been a well regarded human rights defender for more than 20 years. Because of his tireless advocacy for peaceful reform in Bahrain, Mr. Alkhawaja has faced a long history of arrests and unlawful detainment. Just before his current detention, Mr. Alkhawaja had publicly criticized the regime’s brutal response to the recent anti-government protests in Bahrain.

The Bahraini government has detained Mr. Alkhawaja since April 9, 2011, in violation of both Bahraini and international law. During his arrest, 15 masked men forced entry into the apartment of Mr. Alkhawaja’s daughter, breaking down the door with a sledgehammer. Without producing identification or an arrest warrant, they beat Mr. Alkhawaja until he lost consciousness and took him into custody along with his two sons-in-law. On May 8, 2011, the government initiated its prosecution of Mr. Alkhawaja and 20 other individuals before the National Safety Court – a military tribunal. Despite a lack of evidence against him, the military court convicted Mr. Alkhawaja of a number of charges, including financing and participating in terrorism to overthrow the government and spying for a foreign country. On June 22, 2011, authorities sentenced Mr. Alkhawaja to life imprisonment. Mr. Alkhawaja has filed an appeal, which has been postponed by the government until September 28, 2011.

Mr. Alkhawaja has been subjected to deplorable treatment during his detention. Because of the beatings he endured from security agents, he suffered four fractures to his face, requiring a four hour surgery to repair his jaw. Security forces are also subjecting Mr. Alkhawaja to other forms of inhumane treatment, such as attempted sexual assault and psychological torture.

Freedom Now represents Mr. Alkhawaja as his pro bono international legal counsel. …source

U.S. to build new massive prison in Bagram
By Glenn Greenwald – Monday, Sep 19, 2011 15:20 ET – salon.com

As the Obama administration announced plans for hundreds of billions of dollars more in domestic budget cuts, it late last week solicited bids for the construction of a massive new prison in Bagram, Afghanistan. Posted on the aptly named FedBizOps.Gov website which it uses to announce new privatized spending projects, the administration unveiled plans for “the construction of Detention Facility in Parwan (DFIP), Bagram, Afghanistan” which includes “detainee housing capability for approximately 2000 detainees.” It will also feature “guard towers, administrative facility and Vehicle/Personnel Access Control Gates, security surveillance and restricted access systems.” The announcement provided: “the estimated cost of the project is between $25,000,000 to $100,000,000.”

In the U.S., prisons are so wildly overcrowded that courts are ordering them to release inmates en masse because conditions are so inhumane as to be unconstitutional (today, the FBI documented that a drug arrest occurs in the U.S. once every 19 seconds, but as everyone knows, only insane extremists and frivolous potheads advocate an end to that war). In the U.S., budgetary constraints are so severe that entire grades are being eliminated, the use of street lights restricted, and the most basic services abolished for the nation’s neediest. But the U.S. proposes to spend up to $100 million on a sprawling new prison in Afghanistan.

Budgetary madness to the side, this is going to be yet another addition to what Human Rights First recently documented is the oppressive, due-process-free prison regime the U.S. continues to maintain around the world:

Ten years after the September 11 attacks, few Americans realize that the United States is still imprisoning more than 2800 men outside the United States without charge or trial. Sprawling U.S. military prisons have become part of the post-9/11 landscape, and the concept of “indefinite detention” — previously foreign to our system of government — has meant that such prisons, and their captives, could remain a legacy of the 9/11 attacks and the “war on terror” for the indefinite future. . . . .

The secrecy surrounding the U.S. prison in Afghanistan makes it impossible for the public to judge whether those imprisoned there deserve to be there. What’s more, because much of the military’s evidence against them is classified, the detainees themselves have no right to see it. So although detainees at Bagram are now entitled to hearings at the prison every six months, they’re often not allowed to confront the evidence against them. As a result, they have no real opportunity to contest it.

In one of the first moves signalling just how closely the Obama administration intended to track its predecessor in these areas, it won the right to hold Bagram prisoners without any habeas corpus rights, successfully arguing that the Supreme Court’s Boumediene decision — which candidate Obama cheered because it guaranteed habeas rights to Guantanamo detainees — was inapplicable to Bagram. Numerous groups doing field work in Afghanistan have documented that the maintenance of these prisons is a leading recruitment tool for the Taliban and a prime source of anti-American hatred. Despite that fact — or, more accurately (as usual), because of it — the U.S. is now going to build a brand new, enormous prison there.

One last point: recall how many people insisted that the killing of Osama bin Laden would lead to a drawdown in the War on Terror generally and the war in Afghanistan specifically. Since then — in just four months since bin Laden’s corpse was dumped into the ocean — the U.S. has done the following: renewed the Patriot Act for four years with no reforms; significantly escalated drone attacks in Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan; tried to assassinate U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki with no due process; indicted a 24-year-old Muslim for “material support for Terrorism” for uploading an anti-American YouTube clip after he talked to the son of a Terrorist leader; pressured Iraq to keep U.S. troops in that country; argued that it has the virtually unlimited right to kill anyone it wants anywhere in the world; and now finalized plans to build a sprawling new prison in Afghanistan. If that’s winding things down, I sure would hate to see what a redoubling of the American commitment to Endless War looks like. …more

Letter from Cairo: the struggle for a free press
The independent press has gained strength from the revolution, writes Maria Golia.
New Internationalist

Now that Egypt is in revolution mode, Cairo is attracting more than its usual large share of artists, journalists, academics, analysts and spooks. People are getting out more, throwing parties. Friends you haven’t seen in ages are back in touch, and new alliances formed over coffee and beers. In this convivial atmosphere, people are sharing their hopes – and fears. Will the fundamentalists take over? The economy fail? Lawlessness prevail? The regime make a come-back? I ran into an old colleague who reminded me of conditions preceding the uprising, and how, in the hearts of many individuals, something ineluctable yet vital had changed.

I met Hisham Kassem in the 1990s, at a time when the state had loosened its monopolistic grip on the press and opened somewhat to independent publishers. This was in keeping with both the regime’s programme of economic liberalization and the US wish that its strategic ally could at least pretend to appear more democratic. Several entrepreneurs entered the fray, some focusing on the Arabic-language news market, others on fashion/society glossies targeting the niche market of high-end consumers. Only Hisham had the idea of doing an English-language news weekly. At that time Egypt’s existing English newspapers belonged to the state-owed Al Ahram franchise; one tried to disguise its bias, the other was frankly sycophantic.

The red lines were still there – the president and his security apparatus brooked no criticism – but the new Cairo Times challenged them with critical coverage of political, environmental and social developments, emphasizing human rights abuses and corruption-related scandals. I was one of several columnists given the freedom to write pretty much what I pleased. The paper soon acquired a small but influential following in Egypt and abroad. It even ran a decent profit thanks to the support of advertisers who identified its readership as their target audience (middle/upper class Egyptian youth and young adults, foreign residents and Egypt watchers). Several now influential journalists, bloggers, commentators and activists (Egyptian and foreign), got their start at the Cairo Times, even though as matters progressed it became more and more difficult to get paid.

In response to his efforts, Hisham, the paper’s editor-in-chief, was hauled in for questioning by state security on more than one occasion, the surest of all signs that journalistically, he was doing something right. Then several issues of the paper were banned by state censors, creating a sense of uncertainty among advertisers. Although the Cairo Times offered low ad prices and reached the right audience, it was having trouble reaching the streets. Advertisers were further dismayed by phone calls from the Ministry of Information suggesting that state-owned papers had a much larger readership and their ads would be most welcome there.

In the ensuing years the regime waged a tug-of-war with the independent press, employing a variety of intimidation tactics. The Cairo Times was one of the publications that lamentably went under. It took a while, but Hisham eventually emerged from bankruptcy and helped start the Masry al-Youm, an independent Arabic daily that today boasts one of Egypt’s largest readerships and English and Arabic websites that attract a half-million hits per day combined. …more

On the Arab demands for democratic rule; “It’s a great opportunity for the United States, but we are constrained by budget and to some extent constrained by political obstacles,” she said. “I’m determined that we’re going to do as much as we can within those constraints to deal with the opportunities that I see from Tunisia to Libya and Egypt and beyond.” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – as the US and Europe launch unprecedented moves to sell weapons to tyranical governments throughout the region.

Tumult of Arab Spring Prompts Worries in Washington
By STEVEN LEE MYERS – Published: September 17, 2011 – NYT

WASHINGTON — While the popular uprisings of the Arab Spring created new opportunities for American diplomacy, the tumult has also presented the United States with challenges — and worst-case scenarios — that would have once been almost unimaginable.

What if the Palestinians’ quest for recognition of a state at the United Nations, despite American pleas otherwise, lands Israel in the International Criminal Court, fuels deeper resentment of the United States, or touches off a new convulsion of violence in the West Bank and Gaza?

Or if Egypt, emerging from decades of autocratic rule under President Hosni Mubarak, responds to anti-Israeli sentiments on the street and abrogates the Camp David peace treaty, a bulwark of Arab-Israeli stability for three decades?

“We’re facing an Arab awakening that nobody could have imagined and few predicted just a few years ago,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a recent interview with reporters and editors of The New York Times. “And it’s sweeping aside a lot of the old preconceptions.”

It may also sweep aside, or at least diminish, American influence in the region. The bold vow on Friday by the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to seek full membership at the United Nations amounted to a public rebuff of weeks of feverish American diplomacy. His vow came on top of a rapid and worrisome deterioration of relations between Egypt and Israel and between Israel and Turkey, the three countries that have been the strongest American allies in the region.

Diplomacy has never been easy in the Middle East, but the recent events have so roiled the region that the United States fears being forced to take sides in diplomatic or, worse, military disputes among its friends. Hypothetical outcomes seem chillingly present. What would happen if Turkey, a NATO ally that the United States is bound by treaty to defend, sent warships to escort ships to Gaza in defiance of Israel’s blockade, as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to do?

Crises like the expulsion of Israel’s ambassador in Turkey, the storming of the Israeli Embassy in Cairo and protests outside the one in Amman, Jordan, have compounded a sense of urgency and forced the Obama administration to reassess some of this country’s fundamental assumptions, and to do so on the fly.

“The region has come unglued,” said Robert Malley, a senior analyst in Washington for the International Crisis Group. “And all the tools the United States has marshaled in the past are no longer as effective.”

The United States, as a global power and permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, still has significant ability to shape events in the region. This was underscored by the flurry of telephone calls that President Obama, Mrs. Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta made to their Egyptian and Israeli counterparts to diffuse tensions after the siege of Israeli Embassy in Cairo this month.

At the same time, the toppling of leaders who preserved a stable, if strained, status quo for decades — Mr. Mubarak, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya and Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia — has unleashed powerful and still unpredictable forces that the United States has only begun to grapple with and is likely to be doing so for years.

In the process, diplomats worry, the actions of the United States could even nudge the Arab Spring toward radicalism by angering newly enfranchised citizens of democratic nations.

In the case of Egypt, the administration has promised millions of dollars in aid to support a democratic transition, only to see the military council ruling the country object to how and where it is spent, according to two administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic matters. The objection echoed similar ones that came from Mr. Mubarak’s government. The government and the political parties vying for support before new elections there have also intensified anti-American talk. The officials privately warned of the emergence of an outwardly hostile government, dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood and remnants of Mr. Mubarak’s party.

The upheaval in Egypt has even raised the prospect that it might break its Camp David peace treaty with Israel, with Egypt’s prime minister, Essam Sharaf, telling a Turkish television channel last week that the deal was “not a sacred thing and is always open to discussion.”

The administration, especially Mrs. Clinton, also spent months trying to mediate between Turkey and Israel over the response to the Israeli military operation last year that killed nine passengers aboard a ship trying to deliver aid to Gaza despite an Israeli embargo — only to see both sides harden their views after a United Nations report on the episode became public.

Unflinching support for Israel has, of course, been a constant of American foreign policy for years, often at the cost of political and diplomatic support elsewhere in the region, but the Obama administration has also sought to improve ties with Turkey after the chill that followed the invasion of Iraq in 2003. …more

Obama preaching Democracy and Aiding Dictators like Al Khalifa , Ale Saud, Saleh

JNN 19 Sept 2011 : The United Sates gave 90 million dollars in military aid to Bahrain regime, since President Barak Obama’s tenure started, Press TV reported.

“The Obama administration’s support for the al-Khalifa dictatorship (Bahrain’s ruling dynasty) has been continuous. Over 92 million dollars of aid were directed by Obama since his inauguration and another 26.2 million dollars slated for next year,” Press TV quoted Ralph Schoenman author of Hidden History of Zionism.

Formerly, two nations signed 10- year military pact on October 28, 1999, and renewed it again in October 2001 for another 10-year. Washington Post reported the secret extension of the pact for another five years. Former President of the United States Gorge W Bush extended the accord. United States helped Bahrain regime to repress Bahraini’s peaceful protests by such military pacts.

“The Pentagon has cut specific deals with Bahrain sending American tanks, armored personnel carriers, helicopter gunships, thousands of 38-caliber pistols, millions of rounds of ammunition, 50-caliber rounds used in sniper rifles and machine guns, bullets for hand guns and specifically, gas,” Schoenman said.

It seems contradictory that on the one hand countries like US claim for supporting freedom and democracy, and on the other hand they endorse such contracts to assist dictator regimes. Many Bahraini people have been arrested by the Saudi-backed regime since revolution started in February.

The clear difference in the US Preaching and Practice they adopt shows their , evil designs of working against the Human Rights Not Only around the world , but also in their Homeland , as the Number of People living under the Poverty line is increasing every day , while the Tax Cuts and Rebates are being paid by the US Government to the already Filthy Rich Cooperate Giants , which are in one way or the other connected to the government , and are the Major Players in changing and Keeping the government intact. …source

Saudis to U.S.: You’re Sleeping on the Couch Tonight
By Paul Mutter, September 16, 2011 – FPIP

Prominent Saudi officials have been wagging their fingers at the U.S. since 9/11, trying to convince Washington that Riyadh is as indispensable to the U.S.’s Middle East status quo as Tel Aviv is. One such prominent Saudi official, Prince Bandar, has gone so far as to compare the arrangement between Saudi Arabia as a “Catholic marriage,” i.e., periods of separation are allowed but divorce is not. He is, by U.S. standards, an exasperating partner because of his proclivity to make statements along the lines of “the U.S. shouldn’t be counted on to restore stability across the Middle East” and to go around the U.S.’s back in conversations with Pakistani, Emirates and Malaysian officials.

Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi ambassador and intelligence chief (one of the main silent partners in the U.S.-led campaign to arm the Afghan mujahideen in the 1980s) is suggesting the stubborn U.S. will soon be seeing some unwelcome papers from his lawyer. He warns the U.S. that its recalcitrance over the Palestinian Authority’s effort at the UN will force the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reconsider its ties with Washington. From the New York Times:

The United States must support the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations this month or risk losing the little credibility it has in the Arab world. If it does not, American influence will decline further, Israeli security will be undermined and Iran will be empowered, increasing the chances of another war in the region.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia would no longer be able to cooperate with America in the same way it historically has. With most of the Arab world in upheaval, the “special relationship” between Saudi Arabia and the United States would increasingly be seen as toxic by the vast majority of Arabs and Muslims, who demand justice for the Palestinian people.

Saudi leaders would be forced by domestic and regional pressures to adopt a far more independent and assertive foreign policy. Like our recent military support for Bahrain’s monarchy, which America opposed, Saudi Arabia would pursue other policies at odds with those of the United States, including opposing the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Iraq and refusing to open an embassy there despite American pressure to do so. The Saudi government might part ways with Washington in Afghanistan and Yemen as well.

Considering that the Saudis have long been our partners in making Afghanistan, Yemen and Bahrain what they are today, their newfound “unhelpfulness” would certainly undermine U.S. interests in those countries — if it actually comes to pass.

Saudi statements about Israel today essentially amount to (hypocritical) bluster. Saudi Arabia is no sudden human rights champion, however much the royal family goes on about Palestinian refugees and self-determination. And in foreign policy, there is far too much at stake for both Riyadh and Washington to have a falling out.

Nor can the Saudis realistically expect to get a better deal in Iraq than the one they currently have in the form of the U.S.-backed al-Maliki, since a different government might be more willing to work with Iran, the Saudis’ archenemy and “populist” theocratic rival (though Tehran today is about as authentically populist as Rick Perry).

In Yemen and Bahrain, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia basically have the same interests: marginalize Iran and suppress popular dissent under the banner of counterterrorism. The Saudis also cannot expect to easily switch out military suppliers and consultants when it comes to their armed forces, as U.S. intel and equipment dominates the Saudi defense apparatus.

Most likely, there will be a flurry of diplomatic snubs (“Emirates, please tell the U.S. to pass the salt.”), but little more than that — you cannot say the Saudis are going to undermine aspects of U.S. policy in retaliation because, well, Saudi officials have done that on a regular basis in both good times and bad, in sickness and in health, for rich or for … rich.

It’s a turbulent marriage, to be sure, but remember, divorce is not permitted! And while you can annul a Catholic marriage, neither the U.S. government nor the Saudi royal family will be annulling theirs, whatever happens in Israel and the Occupied Territories from here on out.

Paul Mutter is a graduate student at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at NYU and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus. …source

Egypt Returns to Bad Old Days of Repression
Posted by: Geoffrey Mock, September 19, 2011 at 12:00 PM

It’s a return to the bad old days of repression for Egypt.

Last week, the military regime took a significant step back – severely threatening free speech, free association and assembly, and the right to strike – by expanding the government’s “emergency powers.”

These “State of Emergency” powers are the same ones the Mubarak regime used in its assault on human rights. The military authorities have essentially taken Egypt’s laws back to the bad old days of repression.

And with the coming parliamentary election, the timing couldn’t be worst. The Egyptian people have waited so long for free elections, but even the most devoted of Egyptian democracy activists knew that a lot of difficult work had to be done in little time to build the foundations of free press, independent judiciary and other pillars needed for free elections.

Fair elections cannot be held in 2011 if the military regime is using “emergency powers” to arrest people without charge. Instead of expanding these powers the military council needs to fulfill the promise they made at the fall of the Mubarak regime in February to end the State of Emergency.

At several critical moments over these past months, the military council has set back that work, through harassment of journalists and bloggers, arrests of political activists, curtailment of public protests, and resuming unfair trials of civilians in military court.

The US government appears to be in a weak position to do anything about this, although officials have raised their usual objections. They will not be heard in Cairo.

No, the challenge to the regime, as it did back in January, will come from inside of Egypt. As this blog is being written, mass protests are again being formed in Tahrir Square. Time and time again this summer, Egyptians have returned to where the uprising began and told the military rulers that they haven’t forgotten the dream of Jan. 25. This time, many are vowing to remain until the three-decade old State of Emergency is lifted.

Amnesty International is urging the Egyptian authorities to respect the rights of demonstrators to protest peacefully tomorrow. We fear that the security forces will interpret these amendments as a sign that they have been ‘let off the leash’. …source

Urgent Appeal: Teacher Mahdi Abu Deeb and President of Bahrain teacher Association Life is at Risk in Bahraini Prison
19 Sep 2011 – BCHR

Arrest and detention: violence and torture

On March 20th, the house of the President of BTA, Mahdi Abu Deeb, was raided by security forces in the middle of the night. They did not find him home but his wife and children were interrogated for two hours.

On April 6th, security forces raided his uncle’s house, he was thrown from the second floor then taken by the security forces, held incommunicado for more than a month with no access to family or lawyer. He was in solitary confinement for the whole period until his first military court hearing on 7 June and he was subjected to severe torture and ill-treatment.

Accusations and dissolving the teachers society

On April 7th, the Ministry of Social Development dissolved the Bahrain Teachers’ Association, falsely accusing the union of “issuing statements and speeches inciting teachers and students” and “calling for a strike at schools, disrupting educational establishments, in addition to manipulation school students”. The statement also blamed BTS President, Mahdi Abu Deeb (49 years), of having “delivered speeches haranguing and instigated protestors and inciting them against the political regime, flouting the real voluntary and lofty goals of the association” for protecting both teachers and students by calling for strike after violence committed by regime’s forces and thugs escalated against schools and students.

Hunger Strike and Military Trial: Deteriorating health

On Sunday, 11 September, Mahdi Abu Deeb started a hunger strike demanding his release and for all false charges to be dropped. Today, his health is deteriorating not only for not eating but also for not taking his medicine which puts him at a great risk, especially that he suffers from health disease, diabetes and blood pressure. Mr. Mahdi is awaiting a trial at military court on Sunday, 25 September.

We appeal to you to demand the immediate release of Mr. Mahdi Abu Deeb’s to save his life and put an end to his unfair arrest. …source