Arab hip-hop and rap artists get inspired by recent events
by Janne Louise Anderson – Nov 28, 2011 – The National

On January 25, 2011, the day of the first major demonstration in Tahrir Square in Cairo, the 28-year-old Syrian-American rapper Omar Offendum, aka Omar A Chakaki, went to his studio in Los Angeles and wrote a verse calling for the overthrow of the former president Hosni Mubarak.

He called a fellow rapper, the Iraqi-Canadian and Dubai-born Yassin Alsalman – more widely known as The Narcicyst.

“Yo, Yassin,” he said. “Do you have time to write a verse?”

The Narcicyst did and recorded it that same day in Montreal. Quickly the stars aligned: The HBO Def Poet Amir Sulaiman sent in a third verse from Atlanta.

Freeway, an American Muslim MC, sent a verse from Philadelphia. And finally, the Palestinian-Canadian R&B vocalist Ayah did the hook. Everything was produced by Sami Matar, a Palestinian-American composer from California, and within three days #Jan25Egypt hit YouTube:

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

The words are Gandhi’s but the voice is Offendum’s, laid over a backdrop of rows of praying men being dispersed by a water canon. Then, saluting the 26-year-old Tunisian vegetable-seller whose self-immolation prompted the Tunisian revolution, The Narcicyst raps:

“But first God rest the soul of those who choose to be free, from poverty they rose, knee-deep in robbery, souls will plummet and burn like Mohammed Bouazizi. From Cairo to Baghdad.”

On the day of the video upload, tweets from Tahrir Square started ticking in, thanking the artists.

Within a week the track had been viewed more than 100,000 times, mainly in the Middle East. A Libyan, Yemeni and Syrian uprising later, the number has more than doubled. …more

Bahrain medics face new charges of supplying weapons to protesters
Monday 28 November 2011 – by The Guardian

Bahraini medical staff accused of trying to overthrow the government of the Gulf state earlier this year, and who had hoped charges against them might now be dropped, faced new accusations in a court hearing.

Twenty staff from the Salmaniya Medical Complex in Manama had thought their ordeal might be ending on Monday after the release of last week’s report detailing human rights abuses by Bahrain’s security forces during the Pearl revolution in February.

The report by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) found allegations that the medics “assisted the demonstrators by supplying them with weapons” to be unfounded.

But prosecutors produced guns, swords, knives and chains and claimed this was proof against the doctors, nurses, and paramedics. These weapons had not been presented previously – and led to an incredulous response in court. “It was really hilarious,” one of them, Dr Nada Dhaif, told BBC Radio 5. “The government has missed the chance that anyone will take this seriously.”

The 20 were initially convicted in the military-run national safety court in September on a raft of charges, including incitement to overthrow the regime. The government said they were involved with “hardline protesters” and they were sentenced to five to 15 years. …more

That Rocky Road to Damascus
By Pepe Escobar – November 28, 2011 – OP ED News

The trillion-dollar question in the “Arab Winter” is who will blink first in the West’s screenplay of slouching towards Tehran via Damascus.

As they examine the regional chessboard and the formidable array of forces aligned against them, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the military dictatorship of the mullahtariat in Tehran must face, simultaneously, superpower Washington, bomb-happy North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members, nuclear power Israel, all Sunni Arab absolute monarchies, and even Sunni-majority, secular Turkey.

Meanwhile, on their side, the Islamic Republic can only count on Moscow. Not as bad a hand as it may seem.

Syria is Iran’s undisputed key ally in the Arab world — while Russia, alongside China, are the key geopolitical allies. China, for the moment, is making it clear that any solution for Syria must be negotiated.

Russia’s one and only naval base in the Mediterranean is at the Syrian port of Tartus. Not by accident, Russia has installed its S-300 air defense system — one of the best all-altitude surface-to-air missile systems in the world, comparable to the American Patriot — in Tartus. The update to the even more sophisticated S-400 system is imminent.

From Moscow’s — as well as Tehran’s — perspective, regime change in Damascus is a no-no. It will mean virtual expulsion of the Russian and Iranian navies from the Mediterranean.

Yet key lateral moves by the West are already on. Diplomats in Brussels confirmed to Asia Times Online that the former Libyan “rebels” — now trying to come up with a credible government — have already given the go-ahead for NATO to build a sprawling military base in Cyrenaica. …more

Saturday 26th November – International Day of Action to support the medics

Location: Freedom Plaza to the Embassy of Bahrain.

Time: Meet in Freedom Plaza at 11:30 am or the UDC metro station at 12:00 pm for a march to the Embassy of Bahrain

Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—November 26, 2011. Over 1,000 medical workers from 30 different countries have signed a petition calling for an immediate dropping of all charges gainst the 20 Bahraini medics facing up to 15 years in jail.

On Monday, Nov. 28, the 20 will face a civilian court after international outrage forced the prosecution to backtrack on the original sentences. In what is a clear case of political ersecution, the medics face trial for treating injured protesters.

In an attempt to support the medics, physicians around the world will be handing the petition to different Bahrain embassies and consulates on Saturday 26th November.

The action has already been confirmed in London, Washington, Ottawa, Beirut and Cairo with others expected to be confirmed within the next 24 hours.

In United Kingdom, the British Health Trade Union, UNISON, has supported the petition and will representatives will be joining the team handing the petition to the Bahrain Embassy in London. They will meet with Bahraini Doctors who were working in Manama’s Salmaniya Hospital during the unrest in February and March.

There is hope that, given the recent report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry that openly criticized the Bahrain Governments crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, that the charges will be dropped.

However it remains to be seen as to whether the Government will indeed implement the recommendations made in the report.

Dr. Fatima Haji, one of the 20 Doctors being tried said:

“We have had these false charges hanging around our necks for the past few months and the emotional and physical stress we have gone through has caused so many problems. We have been unable to work, due to the charges, and we are living each day not knowing if it will be the last time we see our children and families for up to 15 years. We are pleased that the international pressure has led to our case being heard again, but we hope and pray that justice will be done and all the charges will be dropped. We are medics and all we want to do is help people regardless of their political, religious or any other belief. The international support we have received has been very warming and we hope that it will work to force the Government to drop these hurtful and untrue accusations.”

Karen Reissmann, a mental health nurse and national executive member of UNISON, said:

“This is a disgrace. The medics should all be released immediately with all charges dropped. All health staff has a duty to treat anyone who needs their care. They were simply doing their job.”

Dr. Margaret Flowers adds, “Medical providers who are treating people in times of war or protest have traditionally been exempted from arrest. However, recent trends such as the arrest of the medics in Bahrain and arrest of nurses caring for protesters in the occupations in the US are unethical and very disturbing. We must demand that this be stopped.” …more

Hillary Clinton aide at the helm of Amnesty International USA
Voltaire Network – 23 November 2011

Suzanne Nossel, former assistant to Richard Holbrooke in his capacity as UN Ambassador and currently Hillary Clinton’s Deputy Assistant for International Organization Affairs, has been selected as the new Executive Director of Amnesty International USA. In the discharge of her duties at the State Department, she diligently exploited human rights to benefit imperial ambitions.

Ms. Nossel had previously worked for Human Rights Watch, as well as for Bertelsmann Media Worldwide and the Wall Street Journal as Vice President of Strategy and Operations.

The AI-USA Board of Directors deemed that Suzanne Nossel’s commitment to the Clinton and Obama administrations was sufficient proof of her competence and decided not to hold a grudge against her for the crimes committed in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, etc.

Ms. Nossel has launched several campaigns against Iran, Libya and Syria. In recent months she made a name for herself by misinforming the Human Rights Council in Geneva with a view to getting the resolution authorizing the war on Libya adopted by the Security Council. Ms. Nossel’s allegations have since been debunked. …source

Bahrains Human Rights Report Likely Absolves the GCC
by Samuel Halpert, November 28, 2011 – 1948 A Human Rights Forum

As indicated by my last post, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the report from the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry into that country’s recent crackdown on political protests. The Commission has just released its report, and under current international law the GCC probably can’t be held accountable.

First of all, the Commission has determined that several Bahraini governmental agencies perpetrated “a systemic practice of physical and psychological mistreatment, which in many cases amounted to torture.” (BICI Report, 292) They also concluded that such a systematic pattern could not have developed without the knowledge of the upper-level commands of the Bahraini government. (BICI Report, 275) Which means the Bahraini government had a role in the torture that occurred during the crackdown.

And what of the other governments with troops in Bahrain last spring? Starting in mid-March, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) forces from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and other member states played a role in the crackdown as well. Presupposing that the Bahraini government had engaged in torture, when anticipating the Commission’s findings there were three questions related to the GCC Peninsula Shield Force’s (referred to in the report as the Jazeera Shield Force, or GCC-JSF) involvement I said were necessary to analyze GCC responsibility under international law:

(1) Did the GCC-JSF itself torture Bahrainis?
(2) What degree of control, if any, did the GCC-JSF exercise over Bahraini detainees who were subsequently tortured?
(3) Did GCC-JSF at any point exercise effective control over Bahraini territory where torture—by any party—occurred?

The report does examine the role of the GCC-JSF in the crackdown. The Commission, relying mostly on reports received from the Bahraini government, found no evidence that the GCC-JSF committed human rights violations in Bahrain. GCC-JSF troops were in Bahrain only in anticipation of foreign intervention, protecting vital infrastructure in the south. (Manama, the center of the unrest, is on the north end of the island.) The sole allegation made to the Commission against the GCC-JSF, which the Commission duly investigated, turned out to be the work of the Bahrain Defense Force. The Commission’s conclusion also noted that no GCC-JSF units reported firing any weapons, engaging civilians, or sustaining injuries (BICI Report, 377-378).
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Webcast with Nabeel Rajab, Winner of 2011 Ion Ratiu Democracy Award, and events in Washington DC

NABEEL RAJAB – RECIPIENT of the 2011 ION RATIU DEMOCRACY AWARD

The Ratiu Foundation is pleased to announce the programme of events connected with Nabeel Rajab, a human rights activist and co-founder of The Bahrain Human Rights Society, receiving the 2011 Ion Ratiu Democracy Award.

Thursday 1 December 2011 – NABEEL RAJAB at the 2011 Ion Ratiu Democracy Award Workshop

14:00, 5th Floor, Woodrow Wilson Center, One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20004-3027
RSVP online HERE at

This event is scheduled to be WEBCAST LIVE at HERE at 14:00 (Washington DC time), 19:00 UK time …more

Those who support democracy must welcome the rise of political Islam

From Tunisia to Egypt, Islamists are gaining the popular vote. Far from threatening stability, this makes it a real possibility
guardian.co.uk – Sunday 27 November 2011 – by Wadah Khanfar

Ennahda, the Islamic party in Tunisia, won 41% of the seats of the Tunisian constitutional assembly last month, causing consternation in the west. But Ennahda will not be an exception on the Arab scene. Last Friday the Islamic Justice and Development Party took the biggest share of the vote in Morocco and will lead the new coalition government for the first time in history. And tomorrow Egypt’s elections begin, with the Muslim Brotherhood predicted to become the largest party. There may be more to come. Should free and fair elections be held in Yemen, once the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh falls, the Yemeni Congregation for Reform, also Islamic, will win by a significant majority. This pattern will repeat itself whenever the democratic process takes its course.

In the west, this phenomenon has led to a debate about the “problem” of the rise of political Islam. In the Arab world, too, there has been mounting tension between Islamists and secularists, who feel anxious about Islamic groups. Many voices warn that the Arab spring will lead to an Islamic winter, and that the Islamists, though claiming to support democracy, will soon turn against it. In the west, stereotypical images that took root in the aftermath of 9/11 have come to the fore again. In the Arab world, a secular anti-democracy camp has emerged in both Tunisia and Egypt whose pretext for opposing democratisation is that the Islamists are likely to be the victors.

But the uproar that has accompanied the Islamists’ gains is unhelpful; a calm and well-informed debate about the rise of political Islam is long overdue.

First, we must define our terms. “Islamist” is used in the Muslim world to describe Muslims who participate in the public sphere, using Islam as a basis. It is understood that this participation is not at odds with democracy. In the west, however, the term routinely describes those who use violence as a means and an end – thus Jihadist Salafism, exemplified by al-Qaida, is called “Islamist” in the west, despite the fact that it rejects democratic political participation (Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaida, criticised Hamas when it decided to take part in the elections for the Palestinian legislative council, and has repeatedly criticised the Muslim Brotherhood for opposing the use of violence).

This disconnect in the understanding of the term in the west and in the Muslim world was often exploited by despotic Arab regimes to suppress Islamic movements with democratic political programmes. It is time we were clear. …more

Saudi Arabia: Shia Protests Against the State Intensify
By Bhaskar Prasad: – November 28, 2011 – IB times

Four people were killed and nine wounded in clashes between Shiite Muslims and Saudi Arabian security forces in the oil-rich Eastern Province, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. The latest round of fighting took place last Wednesday, during a funeral for one of the protesters.

“Security checkpoints and vehicles have been the target of gunfire from aggressors hiding among civilians since Monday,” the ministry said, “Security forces have dealt with the situation with as much restraint as possible.”

Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority is concentrated in the kingdom’s eastern oil-producing hub. There were violent clashes in February and March this year as security forces crushed protests by Shiites demanding democracy and representative governments.

The politics of Saudi Arabia takes place in a framework of a particular form of absolute monarchy whereby the King of Saudi Arabia is both head of state and the head of government. Predominantly Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia has accused Shiite-led Iran of interfering in the affairs of Arab countries in the Persian Gulf, home to three-fifths of the world’s oil reserves. Iran denies the allegation and accuses the Sunni rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain of discriminating against Shiites.

Shiites say they face discrimination in education and government jobs and that they are spoken of disparagingly. They also complain of restrictions in setting up places of worship and marking Shiite holidays.

The Saudi government denies these charges of discrimination and asserts that the latest confrontations by protesters were “ordered by their masters abroad”, by which the government invariably means Iran.

As per the latest report from AFP, Saudi security forces have withdrawn from Shiite villages in Qatif in eastern Saudi Arabia. …source

Trial of Bahrain’s 20 medics adjourned: activist
November 28, 2011 – Agence France Presse

DUBAI: A Bahraini court on Monday adjourned to January the hearing in the trial of 20 medics held for their role during anti-regime protests that rocked the kingdom earlier this year, a rights activist said.

“The High Criminal Court adjourned the hearing to January 9,” Mohammed al-Maskati, head of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, said.

“The public prosecution presented to the court a group of guns and swords which it said were found in Salmaniya Medical Complex” where the doctors worked, saying they were “proof” against the detainees, Maskati said.

The medics have been handed down long jail terms for their role during anti-regime protests.

The doctors, nurses, and paramedics were initially tried and convicted in the military-run National Safety Court on September 28 on a raft of charges, including incitement to overthrow the regime.

They were given sentences ranging from five to 15 years each.

But in a dramatic reversal, the prosecutor told the court it was dropping confessions from the defendants, after medics had protested that the statements were extracted under duress, and a new trial began on October 23.

Most of the medics worked at or volunteered at the Salmaniya Medical Complex in Manama that was stormed by security forces in mid-March after they drove protesters out of nearby Pearl Square.

An independent inquiry commission that has investigated a month of unrest in the Sunni-ruled kingdom had put the death toll at 35, including five security personnel and five detainees who were tortured to death while in custody. Its report, released last week, said that 11 other people were killed later, and concluded that a total of 2,929 people were detained during the protest movement and at least 700 remain in prison.

King Hamad vowed reforms following the commission’s findings, but tensions have remained high.
…source

Bahrain creates commission to study report on nation’s turmoil
By Associated Press – November 27 – WP

MANAMA, Bahrain — Bahrain’s state media says the country’s king has ordered the creation of a special commission to study recommendations from an independent investigation into political unrest.

The decision by King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa follows the release last week of a 500-page report that detailed abuses such as torture and excessive force in a crackdown on protests by Bahrain’s majority Shiites for greater rights.

The report urges Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy to take measures that include possible reforms in legal and security codes.

The official Bahrain News Agency said Sunday the new commission will evaluate the report and make its own suggestions before the end of February. …source