Posts from — December 2011

11 Nov 2011 – BCHR – Ashwaq Almagabi, 17 years old girl, one of 7 minors and 38 women arrested in the city centre case following a peaceful protest, suffers from severe degree sickle cell which worsened due to prison condition and ill-treatment; she has been hospitalized more than once to then be admitted to Salmanyia hospital for weeks before the doctor ordered her release. Today she was re-arrested from the hospital by the police to start her 6 months imprisonment sentence. …more

Chloropicrin:

Chloropicrin is also known as vomiting gas. Though not really a gas but a liquid, the inhalation of it’s mist or fumes causes projectile vomiting in humans. It’s production is easy but requires some special equipment. Needed are a chemical hood or glove box, protective clothing and a gas mask or clean air respirator.

Chloropicrin (known in chemwarfare circles as PS) can be mixed with either CN or CS teargas. The makes a very nasty chemweapon. The effects of both substances are magnified. The effects of this mix does not wear off in an hour or so but can continue for a week or more. There are reports of effected people committing suicide because of the pain and discomfort.

PS or Chloropicrin can cause the throat and stomach muscles to rip because of the force of the vomiting. …source

CR gas or dibenzoxazepine, chemically dibenz[b,f][1,4]oxazepine, is an incapacitating agent and a lachrymatory agent. CR was developed by the British Ministry of Defence as a riot control agent.

CR Gas Physical properties
CR is a pale yellow crystalline solid with a pepper-like odor. It is slightly soluble in water and does not degrade in it. CR is usually presented as a microparticulate solid, in the form of suspension in a propylene glycol based liquid. Contrary to its common name, it is not actually a gas but is solid at room temperature.

The dibenz[b,f][1,4]oxazepine moiety is present in the typical antipsychotic drug loxapine, but unlike CR, loxapine is not reactive and is not an irritant. CR was first synthesised in 1962.

These gases are usually fired in canisters (LACR) that heat up, producing an aerosol cloud at a steady rate.

Effects
CR gas is a lachrymatory agent (LA) exerting its effects through activation of the TRPA1 channel. Its effects are approximately 6 to 10 times more powerful than those of CS gas. CR causes intense skin irritation, particularly around moist areas, blepharospasm causing temporary blindness, coughing and gasping for breath, and panic. It is capable of causing immediate incapacitation. It is a suspected carcinogen. It is toxic, but less so than CS gas, by ingestion and exposure. However, it can be lethal in large quantities. In a poorly ventilated space, an individual may inhale a lethal dose within minutes. Death is caused by asphyxiation and pulmonary edema.

The effect of CR is long-term and persistent. CR can persist on surfaces, especially porous ones, for up to 60 days.

Treatment
While CS can be decontaminated with a large amount of water, use of water may exacerbate the effects of CR. Skin contaminated with CR gas may become extremely painful in contact with water for up to 48 hours after contamination.

Medical treatment is mostly palliative. The contaminated clothing has to be removed. The eyes and skin can be washed, the eye pain can be alleviated with medications.

Use
In the late 1980s, CR was used in the townships in South Africa. It caused some fatalities, particularly among children. Republican groups in northern Ireland have alleged that British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary units used CR gas against Republican prisoners.

Egypt
More recently, during the protests against the military government in Egypt, Egyptian security forces have begun using CR gas in addition to the more commonly-used, less debilitating CS gas. One protester described the gas as making them feel “as if your eyes are about to fall out; then you have trouble breathing, and you lose your sight”. Mohammed ElBaradei also confirmed via Twitter that “tear gas with [a] nerve agent” is being used in Tahrir Square. …more

The Arab Awakening: A Bahraini activist struggles to keep protests alive
by Adrian Humphreys – Dec 22, 2011 – National Post

Even before the Feb. 14 protest erupted in Bahrain, a small island state in the Persian Gulf, Nabeel Rajab had tasted the sting of the police baton and felt the anger of an enraged oligarchy.

He had been marked as a troublesome dissident for years.

But as civil unrest grew in the Arab Spring, and as the kingdom’s neighbours in the Middle East and North Africa saw their strong-arm leaders toppled, Mr. Rajab learned the harsh extent of King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa’s displeasure.

“My house is attacked regularly. They punish me for talking. They beat me — they kidnap me from my home to beat me for a few hours. It has become common,” he said dryly in a telephone interview.

“It is part of my life routine, now. I would barely notice it if my staff didn’t tell me.”

And yet, he is one of the lucky ones. About 50 people have died during clashes between protesters and security forces as the government refuses to budge on demands for democratic reforms.

At the start, there was reason to believe Bahrain would be the next to sweep aside its powerful leaders.

Protests saw the highest participation rate. With a population of about one million citizens, its largest demonstration in the capital, Manama, drew about 200,000 people — 25% of all adults.

Inspired by the Arab Spring, a march was called for Feb. 14, the 10th anniversary of the National Action Charter of Bahrain. To dampen enthusiasm for it, King Hamad announced a gift of US$2,667 to each family to commemorate the date.

Despite the bribe, thousands took to the streets, gathering at the Pearl Roundabout, pledging non-violence. Their core demands were moderate in comparison to the cries for immediate regime change that rang out elsewhere: political reform, an end to corruption and increased civil participation.

Although billed as a “Day of Rage,” the marches were orderly. One sign held aloft read, “Our movement is peaceful and our demands are legitimate.”

ADAM JAN/AFP/Getty Images files

U.S. lawyer Mark S. Sullivan and president of Bahrain’s Human Rights Society Nabeel Rajab in 2006. “The [Bahraini] government uses a lot of violence but I am confident in the people’s commitment,” Rajab says.

Encouraged by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain’s powerful neighbour to the west, the government’s response was unforgiving. Security forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd, killing two protesters and injuring more than a dozen.

One key difference between the reaction in Bahrain and that in some other countries was the kingdom’s sectarian split. Bahrainis’ discontent was fuelled in part by discrimination by the ruling elites, which are drawn from the Sunni branch of Islam, against the masses, largely adherents to the Shia branch.

The Bahraini security forces were Sunni and had little sympathy for the Shiites’ cause, unlike in Egypt where many in the military supported the protests. Worse still, there was deep suspicion the protest was fuelled by Iran, a distrusted Shiite state.

A raid on the protesters’ encampment brought more deaths, and the funerals for each protester produced larger and fiercer demonstrations. The modest demands turned into calls for revolution.

The killings also sparked broad and diverse support for dissent, recruiting members of the middle and professional classes. Doctors treating the injured while protesting the regime became symbols of the struggle.

By March, Bahrain’s sympathetic neighbours, led by the Saudis, were supplying manpower, equipment and financial support to crush the protest.

“When the government began to attack the protesters it became more difficult,” Mr. Rajab said.
[Read more →]

US Congress delegation hails Bahrain stance on BICI report
by Mahmood Rafique – www.twentyfoursevennews.com

Bahrain reaffirmed keenness to translate the recommendations cited in the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) Report on the ground. The National Commission charged with the BICI recommendations reiterated the stance during a meeting a senior US Congress officials.

The panel said that the recommendations would be implemented in line with best international practices and standards, the constitution and human rights principles.

It cited particularly the recommendations relating to the reinstatement of the sacked public and private employees who have not been indicted in criminal acts of violence.

It singled out the BICI recommendations relating to the reconstruction of worship facilities.

The Government is following up the issue with National Commission president Ali bin Saleh Al-Saleh to ensure their implementation.

The panel has so far received a positive response. National Commission members Jamal Mohammed Fakhro, Abdulla Al-Dirazi, Abdulaziz Abul, Ahmed Al-Saati, Jameela Salman and secretary general Obaid Al-Obaidli attended, in addition to employees from the Bahrain Embassy in the US.

The Beating

The Result

Pillay: Bahrain Government must take immediate confidence-building measures, release political prisoners
21 December, 2011 – UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights

GENEVA (21 December 2011) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Wednesday called on authorities in Bahrain to take immediate steps to address the “deepening mistrust” between the Government and civil society, including by promptly releasing those detained for taking part in peaceful demonstrations.

“The Bahraini authorities need to urgently take confidence-building measures including unconditionally releasing those who were convicted in military tribunals or are still awaiting trial for merely exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly,” Pillay said.

“Thousands of individuals have lost their jobs for participating in demonstrations, many students have had their education derailed – these serious violations of their economic and social rights must be immediately addressed. Those who have been unfairly dismissed should be reinstated to their original functions.”

Pillay also urged the Government to address the prevailing impunity at all levels, including for security forces responsible for excessive use of force on peaceful protestors and officers who perpetrated torture, sometimes with fatal consequences, in detention centres.

“We continue to receive reports of the repression of small protests in Bahrain and although some security officers have reportedly been arrested, we have yet to see any prosecution of security forces for civilian injuries and deaths,” she said. “Such impunity – at all levels – is a serious impediment to national reconciliation.”

At the invitation of the Bahraini Government, a senior-level delegation from the UN Human Rights office visited the country from 13 to 17 December and met with a number of high-level Government officials, including the Deputy Prime Minister and the Ministers of Justice, the Interior, Human Rights and Social Affairs, Labour, the Public Prosecutor and the President of the Consultative Assembly. The delegation also met a broad range of civil society members, including doctors, lawyers, teachers, students, trade union members, human rights defenders, opposition political parties, as well as victims of violations and their families. The UN Human Rights delegation also visited a number of detainees in the central Jaw prison in Manama.

“My team has come back with the message that there is a profound lack of trust in the Government, and this mistrust has deepened as a result of the violent crackdown on protestors, destruction of mosques, the lack of fair trials and the lack of progress in providing redress for violations,” Pillay said. …more

In July 2011, the international human rights group Amnesty International published a draft version of an anti-terror law proposed by the government of Saudi Arabia. Marked “Secret and Urgent,” the law laid out defined offenses and proposed punishments for activities that Amnesty says would stifle peaceful dissent within the Kingdom and could lead to indefinite detention of those found in violation. The government of Saudi Arabia labeled Amnesty’s concerns as being “baseless, mere supposition and without foundation.” The Kingdom then proceeded to block access to Amnesty’s website.

The law, as written, described vague actions such as “endangering national unity” or “harming the reputation of the state” as being terrorist crimes and allowed for arrest and detention of citizens for an indefinite period when convicted by a special court. That court, the Specialized Criminal Court, whose existence was first made public in 2008 and is known to hold trials in secret without affording defendants the right to legal counsel, would have jurisdiction over all terrorist crimes. Among the crimes that could traditionally be thought of as acts of terrorism is questioning the integrity of the King or Crown Prince, which can be punishable by a minimum sentence of years in jail. The Saudi Interior Ministry would be given broad powers to act to protect state security without the need for judicial authority or supervision. No wonder the organization Human Rights Watch described the law as “a setback for human rights.” …more

Human rights: Washington is unsure but UN shows gumption
by BRIJ KHINDARIA, The Moderate – 21 DEcember, 2011

Bahrain, the close American ally with one of the worst recent records of violence against pro-democracy protestors, received a formal a warning on Wednesday from the UN Human Rights chief.

A team from the High Commissioner for Human Rights visited Bahrain from 13 to 17 December and concluded that the repression was unacceptable. It insisted the government should immediately and unconditionally release protestors convicted by military tribunals or still awaiting trial. Failing action, the Human Rights body may try to drum up support for more diplomatic pressure.

The warning is significant because the king in Bahrain is propped up by Salafi Islamic hardliners in Saudi Arabia who fear its Shiite Muslim majority. The Pentagon supports the royal family with huge amounts of military hardware and a large US Navy base.

The situation in Bahrain symbolizes the ambivalence in Washington about the so-called Arab Spring, despite its rhetorical support of freedom and democracy. Heading into 2012, optimism is waning as tensions grow almost unmanageable in Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen among right wing militarists, Islamic forces and the mostly young pro-democracy liberals who have energized the people’s rebellions since January 2011.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moonz says that the region is at an inflection point in history. All is changing. The old rules are breaking down and the emerging new order is unknown.

Social media-savvy young people seeking dignity and jobs in Tunisia and Egypt were the unexpected pioneers of rebellions. They did not gain much despite unprecedented democratic elections in their countries but they triggered a wider global phenomenon. Articulate middle class people have risen up in non-violent protest movements against unequal societies and corruption from rich countries like Switzerland and the US through Russia, Brazil and China to poorer ones like India and Kenya. …more

Baby’s death, arrest of al-Khawaja threaten government’s commitment to reform
21 December 2011 – IFEX

The arrest of international cause célèbre “Angry Arabiya” and the death of a five-day-old girl as a result of a tear gas attack have become the latest events threatening to overshadow Bahrain’s promises of reform following a highly critical report into the pro-democracy protests earlier this year, say the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Index on Censorship and other IFEX members.

Zaynab al-Khawaja, the daughter of jailed rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and widely known by her Twitter name @angryarabiya, was violently arrested after refusing to leave a roundabout in Budaya Highway, a strategic road connecting the suburbs to the capital, after a 15 December sit-in, report BCHR, Index, ANHRI, Freedom House and the Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International. She was released on bail on 20 December pending trial. She faces up to two years in jail, says BCHR.

Hundreds of anti-government protesters had participated in the sit-in before being dispersed by riot police with tear gas and stun grenades, the members say.

Several people were injured because of excessive force, and one protester was allegedly killed when he was hit by a police car, reports BCHR. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry has denied police were responsible for the death, which has set off a string of protests that have been violently put down by police.

Recent protests, small or large, have been dealt with in much the same way. Security forces continue to fire excessive amounts of tear gas in residential areas, says BCHR (see http://yfrog.com/od8xblij and http://yfrog.com/mgpzaphj ). BCHR head Nabeel Rajab’s house was also tear gassed while his children were inside. He was not even in the country. …more

The Bahraini authorities did everything possible to prevent international coverage of the pro-democracy demonstrations in the capital, Manama, denying entry to some foreign reporters, and threatening or attacking other foreign reporters or their local contacts. Bahraini journalists, especially photographers, were detained for periods ranging from several hours to several weeks. Many were tried before military tribunals until the state of emergency imposed on 15 March was lifted. After months of demonstrations, order was finally restored thanks to systematic repression. A blogger jailed by a military court is still in prison and no civilian court ever reviewed his conviction. Bahrain is an example of news censorship that succeeded with the complicity of the international community, which said nothing. A newspaper executive and a netizen paid for this censorship with their lives.

The 10 most dangerous places for journalists
21 December 2011. – Reporters without Borders

2011 in figures:

66 journalists killed (16% more than in 2010)
1,044 journalists arrested
1,959 journalists physically attacked or threatened
499 media censored
71 journalists kidnapped
73 journalists fled their country
5 netizens killed
199 bloggers and netizens arrested
62 bloggers and netizens physically attacked
68 countries subject to Internet censorship

Reporters Without Borders has this year, for the first time, compiled a list of the world’s 10 most dangerous places for the media – the 10 cities, districts, squares, provinces or regions where journalists and netizens were particularly exposed to violence and where freedom of information was flouted.

Overall, 2011 took a heavy toll on media freedom. The Arab Spring was at the centre of the news. Of the total of 66 journalists killed in 2011, 20 were killed in the Middle East (twice as many as in 2010). A similar number were killed in Latin America, which is very exposed to the threat of criminal violence. For the second year running, Pakistan was the single deadliest country with a total of 10 journalists killed, most of them murdered. China, Iran and Eritrea continue to be the world’s biggest prisons for the media.

The Arab Spring, the protest movements it inspired in nearby countries such as Sudan and Azerbaijan, and the street protests in other countries such as Greece, Belarus, Uganda, Chile and the United States were responsible for the dramatic surge in the number of arrests, from 535 in 2010 to 1,044 in 2011. There were many cases of journalists being physically obstructed in the course of their work (by being detained for short periods or being summoned for interrogation), and for the most part they represented attempts by governments to suppress information they found threatening.

The 43 per cent increase in physical attacks on journalists and the 31 per cent increase in arrests of netizens – who are leading targets when they provide information about street demonstrations during media blackouts – were also significant developments in a year of protest. Five netizens were killed in 2011, three of them in Mexico alone.

From Cairo’s Tahrir Square to Khuzdar in southwestern Pakistan, from Mogadishu to the cities of the Philippines, the risks of working as a journalist at times of political instability were highlighted more than ever in 2011. The street was where danger was to be found in 2011, often during demonstrations that led to violent clashes with the security forces or degenerated into open conflict. The 10 places listed by Reporters Without Borders represent extreme cases of censorship of the media and violence against those who tried to provide freely and independently reported news and information.

(Listed by alphabetical order of country)

Manama, Bahrain
The Bahraini authorities did everything possible to prevent international coverage of the pro-democracy demonstrations in the capital, Manama, denying entry to some foreign reporters, and threatening or attacking other foreign reporters or their local contacts. Bahraini journalists, especially photographers, were detained for periods ranging from several hours to several weeks. Many were tried before military tribunals until the state of emergency imposed on 15 March was lifted. After months of demonstrations, order was finally restored thanks to systematic repression. A blogger jailed by a military court is still in prison and no civilian court ever reviewed his conviction. Bahrain is an example of news censorship that succeeded with the complicity of the international community, which said nothing. A newspaper executive and a netizen paid for this censorship with their lives.

…more

here is a prepared statement issued by the Depart of State regarding Bahrain – a standard diplomatic memo written and released by a staff member and published on Clinton’ behalf.

Press Statement
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
December 16, 2011
Bahrain’s National Day

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to congratulate the people of Bahrain as you celebrate your National Day. Our two countries have shared a long history of partnership built on mutual interest and mutual respect. The United States values this friendship, rooted in the history of our people-to-people ties dating back to the early years of the 20th century. We look forward to working closely with the Government of Bahrain and all Bahrainis on the important endeavor of building a prosperous, secure, and peaceful future for your nation.

here is the BNA delusional translation of the press release

US Secretary of State congratulates Bahrain
20/12/2011 – BNA
Washington, Dec. 20 (BNA)—On behalf of US President Barack Obama and the American people, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton congratulated Bahrain on its National Day and His Majesty the King’s accession to the throne.

In a statement marking the occasion, the US Secretary of State hailed strong bilateral relations and mutual respect.

She also voiced her country’s keenness to cooperate with Bahrain to ensure a prosperous, secure and peaceful future for the kingdom.

Egyptian General: Protesters Deserve to be Thrown into Hitler’s Oven
Local Editor – moqawama.org

A retired Egyptian general says the protesters who came under attack by soldiers were “delinquents who deserve to be thrown into Hitler’s ovens.”

Gen. Abdel Moneim Kato, who serves as an adviser to the military’s public relations department, made the remarks in an interview with the Egyptian newspaper al-Shorouk on Monday.

The invocation of Nazi Germany came just hours before Egypt’s military rulers claimed to have foiled a plot to burn down the country’s parliament building. The comment was strongly criticized by several Egyptian activists and politicians.

Mohamed ElBaradei, a presidential hopeful, tweeted that the retired general had “a deranged and criminal state of mind!”

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information in Cairo also denounced General Kato, calling him an “official who does not hesitate to declare Nazi opinions that incite hatred and justify violence against citizens he disagrees with.”

The Egyptian military’s violence against protesters in the past five days left at least 14 people dead and hundreds more injured, according to the Health Ministry.

The demonstrators call on the junta to immediately transfer power to a civilian government nearly one year after the country’s revolution toppled former dictator Hosni Mubarak. …source

20 – Dec. @angryarabiya: These last few days were tough, but the only thing that broke me down was leaving political prisoner Fathiya behind #bahrain

Fathiya and Jassim Hayat’ Story:

Fathiya and Jassim Hayat were arrested on 30/9/11. Their Crime was allowing two youngs boys into their house to save them from Police Beating and Arresting them.

An Act of Kindness has put Fathiya and her family in Jail, first for 45 days Detention for Investigation and now for a further 45 Days Detention for Investigation.

On the day of arrest, Police broke down her front door, scaring children and arrested the two boys that were hiding, Ahmed & Hussain Al Madani, they also arrested Fathiya, her brother Jassim,father Abduali, and later her Mother and another brother Mohammed.

After a few hours they released Father, Mother and her brother Mohammed, but to today Fathiya and her brother 19yr old Jassim are detained, without Trial or investigation.

Fathiya is a wonderful woman, very kind natured but has no Political Involvment with any movement, she was simply been kind to two young men.

PLEASE PLEASE RT her story to the world and help with the immediately release of Fathiya and her brother Jassim.
thank you.

Bahrain releases female blogger pending trial forceably
(AFP) – 6 hours ago

MANAMA — Bahraini authorities on Tuesday ordered the release on bail of Shiite female blogger Zainab al-Khawaja, whose rough arrest was exposed worldwide through YouTube.

The public prosecutor decided to release Khawaja and Maasuma al-Sayed, pending trial on charges of “taking part in (illegal) assemblies on Budaiya highway and assaulting a female police officer”, BNA state news agency said.

It said a lawsuit was being prepared to bring the two women to the criminal court.

But the two women have so far refused to leave prison, insisting on taking out with them another woman whom they found in custody, according to Mohammed al-Maskati, head of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights.

He said that the woman, Fathia Abdali Hayat, was arrested in September and accused of sheltering protesters, and the two others found her behind bars at Issa Town police station.

One of several video clips showing Khawaja’s arrest generated nearly 173,000 hits since Thursday. It showed the Shiite activist refusing to stand up and leave a roundabout following a sit-in that was dispersed by police.

The footage showed her being handcuffed by a policewoman.

Another female member of the security forces appears to grab Khawaja’s face violently, before both then dragged her to a police vehicle.

One of the policewomen can be seen punching Khawaja in the chest as she lay on her back on the pavement.

The mother of a one-year-old child and whose husband Wafi al-Majed is in prison along with her father, leading opponent Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, Zainab al-Khawaja is known on the social network Twitter as “Angry Arabiya.”

She tweeted from the roundabout before her arrest, saying she was chanting “Down, down (King) Hamad” and that a “few girls” have joined her while “riot police don’t seem to know what to do.”

Shiite youth groups had called for a series of consecutive protests on the highway which links Shiite villages with Manama’s former Pearl Square, the focal point of a month-long pro-democracy uprising that was crushed in March. …source

Prisoners release needed before Bahrain talks: UK
18 December, 2011 – ABNA

The release of all the political prisoners from jail in Bahrain must precede the start of any constructive dialogue for reforms inside the country, according to British Liberal Democrat peer Lord Avebury.

Prisoners release needed before Bahrain talks: UK(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – The release of all the political prisoners from jail in Bahrain must precede the start of any constructive dialogue for reforms inside the country, according to British Liberal Democrat peer Lord Avebury.

“I believe a precondition for any kind of dialogue must be the freedom for those who stood up for human rights and justice,” the 83-year old peer said.

“The British government should be pressing Bahrain authorities to do that first before they sit down and talk about dialogue,” he told after chairing a seminar in parliament entitled “Dead end for a regime guilty of systematic torture” in Bahrain.

In an interview, Avebury criticised Prime Minister David Cameron for inviting the Bahraini king for talks last week before recommendations by Bissiouni inquiry into human rights abuses were implemented.

“I am disappointed that the prime minister received the king and the prince quite recently and seemed to gloss over all that happened,” he said.

Cameron was “talking about a dialogue when the main leaders of the opposition and human rights activists are still in prison under heavy sentences many of them having received life sentences,” the Lib Dem peer said,

This, he said, was “even though the king agreed to implement the recommendations of the Bissiouni Commission, which included the release of all the political prisoners.”

“So far I am not satisfied with the reaction by the British government both to the Bissiouni report and independent report that was produced by many non-governmental organisations in Bahrain,” he added.

At the seminar, Avebury suggested that the commission, ordered by the king back in June, was aimed to remove international pressure to stop torture, arbitrary detention, extra-judicial killing and dismissal of workers in Bahrain.

He told that he was not hopeful that reforms being carried out after observing repeated failures by the Bahraini authority to bring about democratic change for the past 20 years.

“We have a cycle. We go round in circle with unrest leading to some minor apparent concessions and as soon as the fuss has died down they are reversed,” the British peer said.

“We go back to square one, that’s happened several times during my observation of Bahrain since the early 90s, so I believe that unless we get political reform in the direction of human rights and democracy we are never going to get human rights involving Bahrain,” he said.

“I believe the precondition for reforms is political reform,” Avebury emphasised. …source

Saudi Arabia calls for Gulf ‘union’ – Abdullah opens summit with a proposal to set up strong entity to meet challenges

By Jumana Al Tamimi – December 20, 2011 – GulfNews

Dubai: In a surprise move, King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia told fellow Gulf leaders who are meeting in Riyadh to establish a Gulf Union to take on “the challenges that threaten our nations, security and stability.”

“I ask you today to move from a stage of cooperation to a stage of union in a single entity,” Abdullah said at the opening session of a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit yesterday. He warned the bloc’s security was being targeted, without elaborating.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, led the UAE delegation.

The two-day summit will focus on several issues, including the security collaboration among the member states in the face of increasing Iranian threats and the fears of a growing Iranian military presence in Iraq after this week’s US withdrawal from Iraq.

“Iranian threats to the GCC will be tackled,” Abdul Aziz Bin Saqr, President of the Gulf Research Centre told Gulf News.

“There must be a clear GCC response to Iranian threats,” he said.
Related Links

Internal affairs

Arab Gulf countries have repeatedly accused Iran of interferring in their internal affairs, especially in Bahrain, Kuwait and the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, where there is a noticeable Shiite population — a charge Iran has denied.

Tehran, on the other hand, has criticised the way the Gulf governments handled the protests of its Shiite citizens. It also threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz and hinder the maritime movement across the strategic passage.

The GCC summit, which is the first since the wave of revolutions swept the Arab region late last year, is expected to discuss the military and security cooperation, some press reports said.

Bahrain Women Take Pride in Vital Protest Role
By SOUAD MEKHENNET – December 20, 2011 – NYT

MANAMA, BAHRAIN — Women in Bahrain are known to play more of a role in public life than in most neighboring countries. They drive, vote, and some are active in politics.

So it was no surprise to find on arriving here that Bahraini women were also prominent in protests. During a recent demonstration outside the U.N. office in Manama, women, most of them wearing black abayas, stood apart from male peers, carrying pictures of men who they say had been tortured and signs asking for global support.

Noura, 24, was one of the few women not wearing a head scarf. “I am here because Bahrain has to change,” she proclaimed, though boldness in baring her head did not extend to being identified by full name. “For years now, the Khalifas are dividing the power among themselves,” she said, adding that she was Sunni like the ruling family, but that the Bahraini news media very often report that the protesters are all Shiite. “There are Sunni people like me criticizing the fact that most of the minister posts and important positions are in the hands of one family,” she insisted.

Indeed, two days of reporting turned up some women like Noura who were Sunni and critical of the ruling family, while others, like Sawsan Haji Taqawi, a member of Parliament, who criticized the opposition, were Shiite.

Mrs. Haji Taqawi said she had been attacked by some in the opposition for taking part in elections. “I can only say don’t be fooled and believe that for all of them, democracy is meaning the same as for people in the West,” she said, claiming that much of the opposition had a more conservative religious agenda and would not support the empowerment of women. “Mistakes have been made,” she conceded, “and we need to work on it together. But how should this happen, if the opposition is not willing to sit down?” ….more

Bahraini Al Khalifa forces Martyred another Young Shia Protester » Bahraini Martyr Ali Al Qasaab
December 19, 2011 – JafriaNews

JNN 19 Dec 2011 Manama : Ali al-Kassab, 17, was martyred on Thursday after he was run over by a police car in Abu Saiba town near the capital, Manama.

At least 12 others were injured in the Saudi-backed regime crackdown on peaceful demonstrations in several towns and villages.

Security forces also detained nine others, including a prominent human rights activist.

Bahraini protesters blocked many roads, including the main highway in Manama.

Protests have been held in almost every village and town in the small Persian Gulf country since opposition groups called for protests and road blocking.

Bahrain has been experiencing a popular revolution since mid-February against the decades-long rule of Al Khalifa dynasty in the Persian Gulf island nation.

On March 14, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded Bahrain to assist the government in Manama in order to quash peaceful protesters in the country.

On November 23, an independent inquiry commission mandated to probe the clampdown on ant-government protesters said the regime had used “excessive force” to crush the protests.