Posts from — November 2011

Maloney Signs Bahrain Arms Deal House Resolution
22 November, 2011 – POMED

An additional cosponsor has been added to H.J. Res. 80, which calls for “limiting the issuance of a letter of offer with respect to a certain proposed sale of defense articles and defense services to the Kingdom of Bahrain,” originally introduced by Rep. James McGovern (D-MA). Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) joined thirteen other cosponsors in signing the resolution.

The resolution limits the proposed arms sale, requiring the Secretary of State to “certify to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives” that the Government of Bahrain “is conducting good faith investigations and prosecutions of alleged perpetrators responsible for the killing, torture, arbitrary detention, and other human rights violations committed since February 2011,” among other measures ensuring the Government of Bahrain’s compliance with international human rights standards. …source

LEAD: Bahrain government under fire in advance of report on abuses
Nov 22, 2011, Deutsche Presse-Argentur

Cairo/Manama – Bahrain’s largest Shiite opposition group on Tuesday accused the government of having planned the use of ‘excessive force’ on protesters calling for greater freedoms and reforms earlier this year.

In a statement posted on its website Al-Wefaq said the government, by admitting to abuses, was trying ‘to escape its responsibility for violations leading to numerous fatalities and hundreds of injuries.’

On Monday, the government admitted to ‘instances of excessive force and mistreatment of detainees,’ during countrywide unrest earlier this year. It said that some 20 officers are being prosecuted as a result.

But according to Al-Wefaq, the ‘abuses were systematic and linked to planned government policies.’

‘Abuses could not have taken place without prior knowledge and consent of influential officials … and the ultimate responsibility falls on top decisionsmakers rather than junior officials and soldiers.’

More than 30 people were reported to have been killed when protesters clashed with security forces between February and March.

The opposition statement came a day before the planned release of a report by an independent commission of inquiry into the crackdown.

Separately Tuesday, three Bahraini human rights groups issued a shadow report criticizing the handling of dissidents, calling for reforms, and urging Western countries to halt military aid to the regime.

The 84-page report was compiled by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), the Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS), and the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR).

It detailed serious human rights violations, including extra-judicial killings, torture in custody and targeting of medics, and educational, media, and sports professionals.

The report claimed that torture was widespread and systematic, and predated the crackdown on pro-reform protesters who hit the streets on February 14th, demanding more political rights as the Arab Spring protests spread through the region.

It called on the Bahraini government to: immediately end ongoing human rights violations; unconditionally release political prisoners; end torture, arbitrary detention, and incommunicado detention; and to reduce the security presence on the streets.

It also called on the authorities to put on trial all those accused of killing, wounding and torturing protesters and detainees, as well as those who ordered and authorized such acts.

It also recommended the introduction of a new independent justice system and the reinstatement of all workers who were dismissed from their workplace for taking part in the protests. …source

[cb editor: It is of great importance to change the narrative that most elected officials follow regarding Bahrain. For many of them it is purely out of ignorance and they simply parrot the webpage rhetoric from the CIA fact-book and State Department country profiles. I urge you to print copies of the report HERE and linked below, add a cover letter to your Senators, Congressional Representatives, University Middle East Studies Groups and local Mosques and mail it to them.

It would be huge if you find the courage and conviction to organize a study group and discuss the document. Iinvite your Congressional Representatives or someone from their office, they will likely attend your meeting and gladly. Show the Bahrain Videos listed in the sidebar on, The Crooked Bough or find other videos that are meaningful to you. It is probably no accident the BICI report is being released so it will be eclipsed by the renewed demonstration in Egypt’s ongoing Revolution. Bahrain’s future hangs in the balance and all you do to Break the Silence regarding Bahrain, helps advance the cause for Human Rights and Democracy. ]

Bahrain: Human Price of Freedom and Justice
Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS)
Manama, London – 22nd November 2011

As Bahrain awaits the outcome of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report, Bahraini human rights groups have released their own report documenting the brutal crushing of the Arab Spring protests in Bahrain.

This report documents the violations in Bahrain since February 14th, although crucial to note that due to lack of funding and manpower it was difficult to document all the cases that have occurred. This 87 page report gives background to the situation, then identifies and document all the types of violations that took place, with the aim of putting out recommendations to the Bahraini government, as well as the EU, US, UN OHCHR and the ICC. These recommendations are crucial to start a process of reconciliation and to stop the ongoing violence, including loss of civilian lives, taking place.

(For the entire report, kindly find PDF document attached HERE)

Findings:
This Joint Report represents a concerted effort on the part of every human rights organization operating in Bahrain, various opposition parties, and those citizens in which this report gives a voice. The collection of personal testimonies, governmental orders and documentation, and video and hardcopy evidence, amongst others, has been an ongoing project since before the February 2011 protests erupted. Nevertheless, while the work of this Joint Report is representative of almost a yearlong research study, much more needs to be done, largely because the conflict continues to rage and violations of international human rights law are reported everyday.

The evidence contained in this report is accurate considering the reliability of the sources used and the length of time spent in collecting and addressing various data. It is therefore the opinion of this joint report that the violations of international human rights law that are addressed herein are credible and sufficient in quality and quantity to illicit immediate action by the international community and the government of Bahrain. Prior to and after the February 2011 protests, the international media has produced several reports pertaining to the events. Moreover, videos and still pictures have been given to members of the Bahrain human rights community by various individuals fearful of coming forward to the Government supported BICI Report. This video and photographic evidence has been surmised in relation to their validity and proven credible.

The current state of affairs must be appraised in regard to the regime’s reign since the 18th century, and specifically, Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa succession in 1999, as noted in Section II. (Background). The 2002 Constitution reinforced the absolute powers of the king, and diminished the powers of the appointed legislature. This Constitutional Crisis also negated the actions of the National Action Charter, enabling the King to increase the number of security agencies, with the creation of the National Security Agency, to control the judiciary, and to enforce a process of naturalization. The NSA is known to be behind numerous human rights violations and largely uses non-Bahraini mercenaries. In 2010, BCHR reported that “the NSA has become a security institute that is completely independent of the Public Security and Defense; however, it benefits from double jurisdictions that combine the domains of the Public Security Forces and the Judicial Authority.”# This is a development which has severely negative effects in the observance of justice and further encourages impunity for torturers. These political maneuvers by the King provided the framework for the February 2011 protests, but more importantly, not only allowed the government to perpetrate human rights abuses but suffer the consequences of them as well under national and international law.
[Read more →]

Egypt’s military rulers agree to speed up handover of power
By Jeffrey Fleishman – Los Angeles Times – November 22, 2011

Egypt’s military rulers agreed Tuesday to speed up the timetable for a transfer of power to a civilian government, but it was not immediately clear whether the gesture would appease tens of thousands of protesters or calm the unrest that has left at least 29 people dead.

In another concession to protesters, according to state media, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces accepted the resignation of the widely unpopular military-backed interim government. The generals said a new “national salvation” government would be put in place until July, when the military would step aside.

“Presidential elections to be held by the end of June and the final preparations for handing over power by July 1,” Emad Abdel Ghafour, leader of the ultraconservative Islamist Nour party, told Reuters news service.

The military had previously indicated it would not relinquish control of the country until after presidential elections in 2013. Its latest moves were announced after emergency talks with political parties.

Demonstrators, who surged into the square as darkness fell, had promised not to leave until ruling generals themselves relinquished power. Egyptian TV reported that Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who was chanted against and vilified by protesters, would address the nation Tuesday night. Dozens were injured in downtown Cairo as police fired tear gas to keep protesters from reaching the nearby Interior Ministry, a long reviled symbol of state repression. Demonstrators were angry not only at the military but also at political parties, including the dominant Muslim Brotherhood, for not strongly supporting a wave of nationwide protests that began Friday. …more

Egypt: Fighting for a “stolen” revolution
22 Nov 2011 – Index on Censorship

Despite the lethal crackdown, Egyptians are converging on Tahrir Square for the fourth day demanding change. Shahira Amin reports

The death toll from three days of unrest in Cairo’s downtown Tahrir Square has risen to 33, with more than 1700 injured. More casualties and fatalities are expected as riot police and security forces continue their crackdown on the tens of thousands of protesters demanding the ousting of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawy who heads the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).

Following the outbreak of unrest, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf’s government resigned. At the same time, the Youth Revolutionary Coalition called on Egyptians to participate in what they hoped would be a million-strong National Rescue protest on Tuesday, calling for the formation of a new government with complete authority to run the country during the transitional period.

“The people feel their revolution has been stolen by the military. So we are back in Tahrir to ask the military rulers to leave. They are all members of Mubarak’s regime. The autocracy has only been replaced by another military dictatorship.”

-22-year-old activist Sahar Mohamed Zaki, who works for an airline company, explaining why protesters had returned to Tahrir

Most of the deaths in Tahrir were the result of gunshot wounds sustained in clashes with security forces as protesters attempted to storm the nearby Interior Ministry, headquarters of the detested police force. Demonstrators — suffering head injuries after being beaten with batons and choking as a result of excessive tear gas inhalation — were being ferried on makeshift stretchers to an area in the square where volunteer medics offered emergency aid. Wailing sirens could be heard as ambulances transported the more serious cases to nearby hospitals for treatment. Bahaa el Razi, a volunteer medic at the scene, told me that most of the casualties suffered from gas inhalation, while a few had been hit by rubber bullets and bird shots. Protesters claimed live ammunition was also being fired in attempts to disperse them.

In one instance, the body of a dead man was thrown by his attackers onto a rubbish heap . The incident enraged eyewitnesses, who insisted that “nothing has changed” and that their lives counted for nothing to those in a position of authority.

“Tantawy, leave!” The chants of the indignant protesters reverberated across the square. The scene was reminiscent of the January uprising that ousted Mubarak. Demonstrations erupted in Tahrir last Friday, with people demanding the ruling military council immediately hand over power to a civilian government. The protesters also called for an end to military trials for civilians and for parliamentary elections to be held on the scheduled date of 28 November. They also called for those responsible for the recent deaths to be punished for their crimes. …more

Three Saudi Shi’ites killed by stray bullets
by Goran Tomasevic – Nov 22, 2011

DUBAI – (REUTERS) Three Shi’ite Muslims have been killed in eastern Saudi Arabia by what was reported as stray bullets fired by police, a Saudi activist said on Tuesday, raising tensions ahead of the Ashura holiday which has prompted clashes in the past.

Tawfiq al-Saif, an activist, told Reuters that the government was sending a team of investigators to the town of al-Qatif to investigate the deaths, which have angered Shi’ites in the oil-producing Eastern Province. An Interior Ministry spokesman was not immediately available to comment on the report.

Saudi Arabia has escaped the popular protests that have swept three Arab heads of state from power this year, after the world’s largest oil exporter offered a major package of incentives to its citizens. But small-scale protests have taken place in the Eastern Province, where most of the kingdom’s Shi’ite Muslims live. Activists said authorities responded by deploying armed riot police who had set up checkpoints.

The Eastern Province is the center of Saudi Arabia’s oil production facilities and is connected by a 16-mile causeway to Bahrain, where Riyadh sent troops earlier this year to help the Sunni government end a Shi’ite uprising. Saudi Shi’ites complain of systematic discrimination, which is denied by the authorities. King Abdullah has appointed members of the sect to advisory government bodies.

Saif said that a 19-year-old technical college student died on Sunday by what police had told his family was a stray bullet fired during a clash between security forces and unknown assailants. On Monday, a girl was shot and killed and another young man, believed to be aged 24, was also shot dead during a march in al-Qatif. The activist said they were hit by stray bullets.

“Opening fire is a big mistake, especially as we approaching Ashura,” Saif said, referring to the holiday when Shi’ite Muslims mark the anniversary of the slaying of Prophet Mohammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein, in 680. This year Ashura falls in early December.

Saif said that unlike provincial police, who had always held back from opening fire even during protest marches, shooting into the air had increased since riot police were deployed earlier this year in the province. He said he hoped that an investigative team being sent by the Saudi government to look into the incidents would calm tensions . “We expect this committee to work in a neutral way, to calm tensions. I hope it will calm spirits,” he added. …more

Adam Shapiro reports from Bahrain on Day 1 of mission “Perhaps even the torture chambers are on hold this week”.
Frontline Defenders – Jim Loughran’s blog

Walking around in Manama, Bahrain, things seem to be normal. I had been here before and I don’t know that I would necessarily be able to tell the difference, except that in general things seemed quiet. There is a breeze from the Gulf and the boats in the marina bob up and down on the waves. But the quiet is deceptive in Bahrain.

Towards evening I head to the outskirts of the city, to Bidaya Road, which is the main road linking villages on the outskirts of the city. Behind are the bright lights and the shopping malls and the boats. Pulling down the narrower streets, which get narrower the further into the village we drive, I start noticing the graffiti on the walls. Having been born and raised in New York City at the rise of the graffiti era, I find I can easily overlook interesting wall art, or become intensely absorbed in understanding images, words and meanings. However, the writing on these walls, caught my attention not for artistic value or for interesting messaging – I was noticing because the writing was covered up. Literally every word, every image, every number spray painted on a wall had white paint laid over it. Sometimes you could still make out a few letters, or even a word and decipher what was underneath, but it was clear: someone had come to cover up the populist scribbles.

We were in Bani Jamra, a poor village that supported the popular protests calling for reform and democracy in Bahrain. Months after the main protest at the Pearl Roundabout was violently broken up, this village (and dozens of others) face continued collective punishment as almost every night riot police patrolling up and down Bidaya Road respond to popular protest (honking horns, shouting from rooftops, chanting, etc.) with firing rounds of tear gas, rubber bullets and sound grenades into the villages, into homes and into people. The riot police then go after the protesters, entering homes full of women and children and beat and detain young men.

Talking to a human rights defender who had previously attended the 2009 Front Line Dublin Platform, I learned how he was filming one such encounter in his village from his rooftop when one of the tear gas canisters started a fire nearby. He ran over to put out the fire and found himself being shot at and hit in the back by a sound grenade and a rubber bullet. He fell two stories and landed in a heap. Perhaps it was only because he had fallen and must have been seriously injured that the riot police didn’t come to arrest him – they would have to explain this to too many superiors. But Naji could not go to the hospital either, for he knew that it was extremely likely that he would be detained at the hospital as so many others were. So like increasing numbers of Bahrainis he chose to forego the necessary medical care for his broken foot and messed up back which was already problematic due to torture he had experienced during a previous stint in jail on charges stemming from his human rights work. Instead one of a network of underground doctors treated him as best he could at home.

As we drove out of the village we passed 6 Ministry of Interior police SUVs with about 15 riot policemen hanging out at the edge of the village, waiting. Inside the village things were quiet, and our local hosts explained that this was the first time in a long time that the police had not taken action. Perhaps, he joked, it was us – international human rights NGO personnel – who were providing security. Perhaps tonight will be quiet in Bahrain for everyone; perhaps even the torture chambers are on hold this week.

First day in Bahrain, tomorrow a chance to speak to the government. …source

CIA agents spying on Hezbollah and Iran nabbed at Pizza Hut
Voltaire Network – 22 November 2011

Several dozen spies working for the CIA in Iran and Lebanon have been caught, ABC News said, citing U.S. officials with connections to the intelligence community.

The CIA has basically lost its spy network in Lebanon and suffered a major setback in its efforts to infiltrate Iran, all because “of a lack of professionalism in the U.S. intelligence community.” When the agency decided to cryptically refer to its secret meet-up spot as “PIZZA,” Hezbollah double-agents logically inferred that the location may have been a pizza restaurant. And it was!

Hezbollah kept an eye on a Beirut Pizza Hut, a tactic that – ABC News said – allowed “Hezbollah’s internal security arm [to identify] at least a dozen informants, and the identities of several CIA case officers.”

Almost at the same time, Iranian counter-intelligence “cracked” a secret internet communication method used by CIA-paid assets in Iran, leading to alleged arrests of at least 30 U.S. and Israeli spies.

The officials, cited by ABC, admitted that the loss of the two U.S. spy rings in the Middle East represents “a setback of significant proportions in efforts to track the activities of the Iranian nuclear program and the intentions of Hezbollah against Israel.”

There have been no official comments by the U.S. authorities on the exposure of CIA spy networks in the Middle East …source

KSA Forces Martyr Teenagers, Qatif is Boiling
Local Editor – moqawama.org

The Eastern province of the Saudi Kingdom, al-Qatif, is boiling from anger while the Saudi police continues attacking civilian protesters in the province.

Agencies reported that Saudi police have fired live bullets at anti-government demonstrators protesting the martyrdom of a teenage boy in the city of Qatif, killing several mourners including a nine-year-old girl.

Activists say regime forces attacked protesters with artillery fire and machine guns in the city on Monday, adding that soldiers are conducting house to house searches.

Thousands of Saudi demonstrators were mourning the 19-year-old Nasser al-Mahishi, who was martyred by regime forces, when they were attacked.

Another Martyr Ali al-Felfel was hit by a bullet in the chest Monday night and died in hospital later.

Witnesses said Saudi security forces opened fire on protesters that had taken to the streets in the town of Chouika after the police killed the 19-year-old Nasser al-Mheishi.

Similar anti-government protest also took place in the nearby town of Awamiyah, where protesters burned tires and blocked main roads. There were no reports of police violence there.

Tension has been high in the province after Riyadh decided to increase its troop presence in the region in a bid to quash anti-government civilian protests there.

Saudi Arabia’s east has been the scene of anti-government protests over the past months with demonstrators demanding human rights reform, freedom of expression and the release of political prisoners.
…source

Tear Gas May Be Non-lethal But It’s Lethal to Democracy
By Russ Wellen, November 22, 2011 – FPIF

At Salon, Avi Asher-Schapiro reports from Tahrir Square that a “protester, who told me his name was Karim, held up a used teargas canister and pointed to the label: ‘Made in USA.’ … The serial number and blue markings on the tear gas canister indicate that it was manufactured by Combined Systems Incorporated (CSI), a weapons manufacturer based in Jamestown, Pennsylvania.” In fact:

This is not the first time CSI ‘s products have been used against Egyptian citizens. During Egypt’s January revolution, CSI tear gas was employed by the Mubarak regime against demonstrators in Tahrir Square. … According to the State Department web site, the United States gave Egypt $1.2 million in 2009 for tear gas, riot control agents, and associated equipment.

Also, in January, Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel reported:

Jawaher Abu Rahmah’s January 1, 2011 death after she was overcome with tear gas at a protest in Bil’in has triggered a mobilization against the companies that provide Israel’s tear gas. … Combined Systems Inc. of Jamestown, Pennsylvania is the primary provider of tear gas to the Israeli army.

Why exactly does possession by the Egyptian military of U.S. made-tear gas offend the protestors, arguably more so than U.S. arms? Perhaps because they are aware that tear gas is not used in combat. Any use by the military is either to quell the populace in a country that it’s invaded and occupied — or, militarizing a police function, using it to suppress its own populace in the service of shoring up military rule.

At Salon, Glenn Greenwald also addressed this on Sunday, November 20.

… U.S. Government — in the name of Terrorism — has aggressively para-militarized the nation’s domestic police forces by lavishing them with countless military-style weapons and other war-like technologies, training them in war-zone military tactics, and generally imposing a war mentality on them. Arming domestic police forces with para-military weaponry will ensure their systematic use even in the absence of a Terrorist attack on U.S. soil; they will simply find other, increasingly permissive uses for those weapons.

In this instance, he was speaking of OWS crackdowns, which are bearing a stronger resemblance to those in Egypt every day. …more

Foreign Policy Leaders Urge Clinton to Push Bahrain Reforms
21 November, 2011 – POMED

In anticipation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry’s (BICI) report on November 23, a bipartisan group of individuals and leading human rights organizations working on U.S. foreign policy and Middle East affairs senta letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to express its concern regarding ongoing developments in Bahrain. The letter reads, “We are hopeful the BICI report will thoroughly document human rights violations committed in Bahrain that have been independently verified by international human rights organizations […] Furthermore, we hope the implementation of reform and accountability mechanisms for human rights violations will lead to a process of substantive political reform that is responsive to the legitimate democratic aspirations of the Bahraini people.”

The group also enumerates suggestions for U.S. action, including urging the Government of Bahrain to “unconditionally release political prisoners and end torture, arbitrary detention, and incommunicado detention; protect Shi’a places of worship and religious buildings, rebuild destroyed mosques, and end systematic discrimination in political representation, government recruitment, employment, and naturalization policies; investigate and hold accountable all individuals who authorized, condoned, or committed human rights abuses, including the use of violence or torture against peaceful protesters and detainees.”

For the full text of the statement, and signatory’s continue reading HERE.

…source

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ADVISORY
17 November 2011 legitimacy

Amnesty International in Bahrain for Commission of Inquiry report launch

Amnesty International’s Bahrain researcher Said Boumedouha and Middle East and North Africa Press Officer James Lynch will be in Bahrain, at the invitation of the Bahraini government, for the 23 November launch of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report (also sometimes called the “Bassiouni commission”).

The team will be available for interview from Manama in English and Arabic about the work of the Commission and its findings, by phone or – subject to arrangement – in person.

Said Boumedouha has been working on Bahrain for Amnesty International for over 15 years. He visited Bahrain in March and April 2011 to carry out research into the human rights crisis in the country.

When: The Amnesty delegates will be in Bahrain from the morning of 22 November.

Contact: James Lynch (+44 7831 640 170, james.lynch@amnesty.org)
Amnesty International Press Office, London (+44 20 7413 5566, press@amnesty.org)

Bahrain’s Commission of Inquiry Report: Whitewashing a Counter-Revolution?
November 22, 2011 – By: Alaa Shehabib – Alakhbar

Tuesday, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) will publish the findings of its three month investigation into violations of human rights. In utter insensitivity to the victims, the panel of government-appointed international law experts will hand over their report to the King of Bahrain at a “launch party” at his palace.

Apparently the head of the king’s Royal Court, one of the notorious hardliners in the ruling family who had a hand in the state’s repression, sees this occasion as some kind of celebration.

Much fanfare is expected, and invitations have been sent directly to the doorsteps of journalists and international NGOs, after locking them out of the country, if not throwing them out over the past eight months.

Meanwhile, local NGOs like the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, that has been the strongest advocate of victims, has been kept off the invitation list.

Critics’ skepticism towards the commission largely stems from the way it was established, through a unilateral decision by the King, reinforcing the key problem of authoritarianism in the country. No consultations of any sort over the decision to establish the commission, its functions, its mandate, the terms of reference or selection of commissioners took place; not with the victims nor with civil society organizations.

To make things worse the commission’s chairperson, Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni persistently made statements to the press that absolved the head of state of responsibility over human rights violations right from the very start.

This seriously affected the perception of partiality of the commission. At one point, thousands of protestors gathered on BICI’s premises to protest the failures of the government, forcing the commission to close.

The statistics are baffling – since February 14 when the uprising began, over 1500 have been arrested, 500 remain in detention, including my husband, 45 people have been killed, hundreds wounded and nearly 3000 sacked from their jobs.

The campaign of persecution was relentless and unceasing. One of its latest victims is 16 year old Ali Alsatrawi. His dismembered body was buried just three days ago, after being driven over by a police security jeep.

Despite the violence, the people of Bahrain continue in their brave ‘intifada’ with daily protests. By the Ministry of Interior’s own account, they have “dealt with” 1300 protests over the past five months. The uprising in Bahrain has not been ‘crushed’ or ‘quelled’ despite the introduction of Saudi troops in March.

People like myself affected by the repressive government crackdown with family members that have been killed, tortured, fired, expelled, or are in exile or in hiding, will be the most capable of judging this report.

My husband, Ghazi Farhan, was arrested on April 12 and later sentenced to 3 years in jail. He is completely apolitical. The anger I have is not because I am separated from my husband or have become a single mother with a newborn baby. It is much deeper. It is because of the repeated cycles of injustices that each generation has had to face over the past century that culminated in the biggest uprising in Bahrain’s history.

This regime has sought to radically alter the make up of the country’s population – through political naturalization of thousands of foreigners – and the physical land mass of the island – through mass land reclamation from the sea. Bahrain’s government has failed to come to terms with the land and the people it governs. That is at the heart of the popular revolt in Bahrain. …more

Bahrain Charges 20 With Abuse Of Protesters
November 21, 2011 – rferl.com

Authorities in Bahrain say 20 members of the security forces have been charged for alleged abuse of protesters during unrest earlier this year.

The government said an investigation had shown that there have been “instances of excessive force and mistreatment of detainees” during the February-March protests and crackdowns.

The statement was issued two days ahead of a report by an inquiry panel that is probing alleged government misconduct during the crackdown on Shi’ite-led protesters calling for greater rights in the island nation.

Authorities say 24 people, including four policemen, were killed in a month of unrest against the kingdom’s Sunni rulers.

The opposition puts the death toll at 30. Hundreds more were injured. …source

..source

Senate’s Disastrous New Detention Bill
by: Tom Parker – November 18, 2011 – Amnesty USA

The new National Defense Authorization Bill (S1867) presented to the Senate by the Armed Services Committee is such a disaster for civil liberties and human rights it is difficult to know where to begin.

Section 1031 of the Bill extends the Congressional Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) passed after the September 11th attacks to encompass any individual who has “substantially supported” Al Qaeda, the Taliban, or “associated forces”.

This is extraordinarily vague. The phrase ‘associated forces’ is so flexible that it can be used to encompass almost any militant Islamic group in existence from Indonesia to Nigeria. It might include political parties who share some of the militants’ aims but not their methods – like the Hizb ut Tahrir movement active in Western Europe and Australia.

The Bill does not set any territorial limits on where this conflict is being fought. The presumption is that US forces can engage terror groups with kinetic weapons systems wherever they find them – London, Copenhagen, Istanbul and Kampala are all fair game and to hell with consequences for any citizens of those countries who get caught in the middle.

Also alarmingly imprecise is the term “substantially supported.” In the past the Department of Defense has described both writing an opinion piece for The Guardian, a globally respected British newspaper, and detainee suicide as terrorist acts. To date, this bar has not been set high.

Some of those accused of terrorist affiliations have languished for almost a decade at Guantanamo and are still no nearer having their day in court. Requiring trials by Military Commission will simply relegate more accused individuals to the Twilight Zone of indefinite detention. …more

Bahrain braces for unveiling of probe into unrest
21/11/2011 – Bahrain Freedom Movement

DUBAI: Bahrain is bracing for the findings of a probe into a government crackdown on protesters as tension escalates in Shiite areas and the opposition vows not to back down from demands for democratic reform.

The report due out on Wednesday, commissioned by King Hamad, will unveil the findings of Bahrain’s Independent Commission of Inquiry into alleged government misconduct during the February-March crackdown on Shiite-led protests.

Authorities say 24 people, including four policemen, were killed in a month of unrest, while the Shiite-led opposition puts the death toll at 30. Hundreds more were injured.

Anti-government protests in mainly Shiite areas on the outskirts of Manama have intensified this month, resulting in clashes with security forces that have left dozens injured and one 16-year-old boy dead.

The mass demonstrations which rocked the Sunni-ruled kingdom earlier this year were violently crushed as government forces used live ammunition and heavy-handed tactics in clashes with protesters.

The final blow to the protests, inspired by the Arab Spring, came in mid-March as Bahraini security forces, boosted by troops from Gulf nations, drove demonstrators out of Manama’s Pearl Square — the focal point of protests.

Speaking at cabinet meeting on Sunday, King Hamad warned Bahrainis to steer clear of “anything that adversely affects” their unity.

Sporadic protests since March have intensified in anticipation of the commission’s findings.

“The real question is what happens after the report,” said human rights activist Mohammed Maskati.

“The situation is already very tense. The number of protests in the last two weeks is steadily increasing, as is the number of arrests,” said Maskati who heads the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights.

He warned that the report should “at the very least reflect the conclusions of other international human rights organisations … Otherwise, the crisis will escalate.”

International organisations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UN human rights agency, have repeatedly accused the government of violating citizens’ rights, citing allegations of torture, unfair trials, excessive use of force and violent repression.

Since the protests broke out, hundreds of Shiites have been arrested, including prominent members of the opposition, medics, teachers and youth activists.

Bahrain’s opposition groups have withheld comment until after the report is released, but at a joint press conference late Sunday they reaffirmed their commitment to democratic change.

“The Bahraini people will not go home-empty handed and we will not accept the status quo,” said prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Ali Salman, who heads Bahrain’s largest opposition group, Al-Wefaq.

“After the report is released, we will meet to plan our next steps,” said Salman.

“Our demands are clear: an elected government, a parliament with full authorities, an independent judiciary, security for all and a just electoral system,” he said.

Salam warned that there was “no way out” of the current political crisis unless the demands were met. …more

Several hurt as Saudi forces fire on protest: report
(AFP) – 1 hour ago

RIYADH — Saudi security forces opened fire on protesters in the Eastern Province Shiite region of Al-Qatif on Monday, wounding several people, witnesses said.

The demonstrators had taken to the streets in the town of Shwika to protest against the death overnight Sunday of a 19-year-old Shiite man, Nasser al-Mheishi, accusing police of killing him, the witnesses said.

Mheishi had been wounded near a police checkpoint in unclear circumstances.

“The police told us that gunmen had opened fire on the police checkpoint… and that my son was caught in the crossfire between the police and the armed men, and was struck by four bullets,” the man’s father, Ali al-Mheishi told AFP.

But a witness later said that one of the policemen at the checkpoint shot Mheishi dead, his father said.

A police spokesman in the Eastern Province declined to comment.

According to militants the death is the second in the past few days after another young man was shot by security forces in the Shiite town of Awamiya.

In October 14 people, including 11 policemen, were wounding during clashes in Awamiya between security forces and demonstrators.

At the time the interior ministry in the Sunni-ruled kingdom blamed “outlaws” for the violence.

The group carried out acts causing “insecurity with incitement from a foreign country that aims to undermine the nation’s security and stability,” a ministry spokesman said in an indirect reference to Shiite Iran.

The overwhelming majority of the estimated two million Saudi Shiites live in Eastern Province, which neighbours Bahrain where authorities, supported by Saudi-led Gulf troops, earlier this year crushed a Shiite-led protest. …more

“We’re the only game in town,” the professor, M. Cherif Bassiouni, said.

Bahrain Nervously Awaits Revolt Report’s Findings
By ANTHONY SHADID – November 21, 2011 – NYT

There is the beleaguered crown prince of a veteran American ally, and a scheming royal family that believes, with seeming sincerity, that it was almost overthrown. An ensuing crackdown made chauvinism against the majority the effective policy of the state. Inscrutable and aggressive, Iran and Saudi Arabia lurk over a body politic, where the opposition waits, restrained, even as it warns that far worse is yet to come.

Bahrain’s protests in February and March stand as the opening credits to a plot that remains unresolved today, in an oil-rich region that sits at the nexus of American hegemony, regional rivalries and looming instability. In all the revolts that have roiled the Arab world this year, Bahrain’s government managed a tactical, perhaps ephemeral victory through force. But in doing so, it may have destroyed a society that once took pride it its cosmopolitanism. The question not only for Bahrain but for other Arab countries in tumult — like Egypt and Syria — is whether reconciliation can stop an unraveling spreading across the region.

The answer here may be in the hands of an Egyptian-American law professor asked by the king this summer to investigate the protests, crackdown and aftermath, in what the king’s supporters called a bid to heal the country. His task: essentially arbitrate a crisis in which neither side even agrees on what to call the landmark traffic circle where the revolt erupted.

“We’re the only game in town,” the professor, M. Cherif Bassiouni, said.

The commission of jurists and scholars led by Mr. Bassiouni is scheduled to issue its report Wednesday, which has become the defining moment for Bahrain, its Sunni Muslim monarchy and its restive Shiite Muslim majority. Its promise is to chart a way forward for reforms to blunt the fires of revolution that have swept Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Its peril is that it comes too late for Bahrain. Critics, and there are many, already contend it will whitewash the crimes that were committed, a conclusion that will almost certainly condemn the country to more years of unrest and volatility. …more

Meanwhile, Bahraini human rights groups will release their own “massive report documenting all violations committed by the Bahrain regime since February 14th” on November 22, as “none of the local independent human rights organizations were invited to the BICI launch ceremony on the 23rd.”

Bahrain: Regime, Human Rights Groups Anticipate BICI Report
November 21, 2011 – POMED

The Bahraini Cabinet circulated a press release in preparation for the November 23 release of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry’s (BICI) report. The statement reads, “All the while BICI has carried out its work, the Government has carried out its own assessments and conducted its own investigations. These investigations have revealed things to praise as well as things to deplore. Regrettably, there have been instances of excessive force and mistreatment of detainees. This was in violation of government policy. 20 prosecutions against the officers involved have been initiated. This is in no way the limit of the steps that will be taken.”

The statement also assured readers that “the Government does not seek to excuse any wrongdoing. The BICI has stated publicly that it has investigated the instances of mistreatment. We can expect that its report will be very critical of these occurrences and the Government’s responsibility for failing to prevent them. The Government expects such criticism. We cannot condone mistreatment and abuses by our officials. There will be no impunity. All those responsible for abuses will be held accountable.” Furthermore, the government listed two steps it has taken to “address and remedy injustice” in Bahrain, including the establishment of a Special Fund for Victims and the National Dialogue.

Meanwhile, Bahraini human rights groups will release their own “massive report documenting all violations committed by the Bahrain regime since February 14th” on November 22, as “none of the local independent human rights organizations were invited to the BICI launch ceremony on the 23rd.” …source

Bahrain admits “excessive force” ahead of rights report
November 21, 2011 – By Andrew Hammond – Reuters

DUBAI: Bahrain admitted on Monday its forces had used excessive force and mistreated detainees during democracy protests, as it awaited the release of an independent report expected to be critical of the Gulf state’s handling of the unrest. “The government has carried out its own assessments and conducted its own investigations. These investigations have revealed things to praise as well as things to deplore,” said a cabinet statement sent to Reuters in English.

“Regrettably, there have been instances of excessive force and mistreatment of detainees. This was in violation of government policy. Twenty prosecutions against the officers involved have been initiated,” it went on.

The death of a Bahraini teenager after he was run over by police during protests last week has raised the stakes ahead of the release of a report into the government’s crushing of the democracy protest movement early this year. Sixteen-year-old Ali Yousef al-Sitrawi was killed during a protest in the Juffair district of Manama. The government said a police vehicle lost control because of oil spilt on the road deliberately by protesters, but opposition activists say police often drove straight at them.
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights – Article 12 ‘ States shall assure the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child…’ Article 13 “The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, …’

Universal Children’s Day

“There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their welfare is protected, that their lives are free from fear and want and that they can grow up in peace.” – Kofi Annan

Universal Children’s Day takes place on November 20 annually. In 1954 the United Nations’ (UN) General Assembly proclaimed November 20th as Universal Children’s Day. Each year the day set to promote international awareness for children’s rights and issues across the globe. The date of 20 November marks the day on which the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was then signed on the same day in 1989, since its adoption the Convention has been signed or ratified by more countries than any other international treaty, and has since been ratified by 191 states.