Is Bahrain on route to reform?
By Bill Law – BBC News

King Hamad of Bahrain seems to be wasting little time in pushing to implement key recommendations of a report into human rights abuses earlier this year. The king has pulled together a committee that met for the first time in the capital city Manama.

The committee is the king’s response to a report by an international panel of human rights experts. But many in opposition, sceptical of the government’s true intentions have declined to attend. The gulf island kingdom, ruled by the Sunni Al Khalifa family has been wracked by protests predominantly from the Shia Muslim community.

Shia leaders say they have been discriminated against for years. And many activists hold little hope that the king’s committee will resolve their grievances and lead to genuine reform.

‘Inside the tent’

One who hasn’t given up hope is Abdullah al-Durazi. He was the Secretary General of the Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) but quit the post earlier this week after his acceptance of the king’ s invitation to join the committee provoked an outcry among some of his society’s members.

“Now is the time to push forward and to do that we need to be inside the tent,” he told the BBC.

The committee was set up following the release of an exhaustive report into allegations of excessive use of force in the quelling of anti-government demonstrations in February and March that saw at least 35 people die.
But Mr Durazi says that there is a chance now to for the opposition to push forward a reform agenda Ibrahim Sharif, the jailed leader of Wa’ad

The commission headed by the distinguished human rights expert Cherif Bassiouni found credible evidence of the torture in custody of activists who were rounded up in their hundreds.

The Bassiouni report called for the establishment of a group that would bring government supporters and the opposition together in order to implement reforms.

Boycotts

However key political societies like Al Wefaq and Wa’ad are boycotting the committee.

Munira Fakro of Wa’ad described the committee as “expensive window dressing.”

“If they were sincere they would try and find out who gave the orders to shoot,” she said before asking, “Will the king and the royal family do that?”

Abdullah Durazi believes the king is serious in wanting to push for reform. But many in the opposition in Bahrain do not agree.

Asked if he sees his involvement as a gamble, he replied: “Life is a gamble – 40% inside is better than 0% outside.”

One gesture of reconciliation was the dropping of charges against 100 athletes who had participated in protests.

Bahrain News Agency said late Wednesday the king officially “forgave” the athletes who insulted him.

Wa’ad leader Ibrahim Sharif remains in jail. He was convicted and given a five year sentence on several charges, including one of attempting to overthrow the government. The charges are widely criticised. His family say he was tortured while in custody. …more

Bahrain refers deaths implicating police to prosecutor
08 Dec 2011 – Reuters

DUBAI, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Bahrain has ordered the public prosecutor to investigate all deaths and torture cases implicating the police as part of efforts at political reconciliation following a crackdown on pro-democracy protests earlier this year.

The state news agency said on Thursday the measures followed the recommendations of an inquiry commission set up by the government that investigated the unrest in the Gulf state. Inspired by revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, thousands of Bahrainis took to the streets in February and March to demand an end to control of the government by the al Khalifa family.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashed bin Abdullah al-Khalifa “issued an order to refer all cases related to deaths, torture and inhumane treatment implicating police to the Public Prosecution,” BNA news agency said. The minister also ordered that cameras be installed to “ensure visual and audio recording for all official interviews of detainees”, BNA reported.

The inquiry panel acknowledged that five people had been tortured to death but said there was no official policy to abuse protesters. …more

Nick Kristof Detained, Tear Gassed In Bahrain Along With Videographer Adam Ellick
09 December, 2011 – Huffington Post

New York Times columnist Nick Kristof was detained by police while covering a protest in Bahrain on Friday. Kristof and his videographer, Adam Ellick, were held in a police car as tear gas was fired on protesters. The two journalists were also tear gassed themselves.

Both Kristof and Ellick somehow managed to hang on to their mobile devices and tweeted about the incident while it was going on. Below, see how the detention unfolded.

Twitter @NickKristof
Nicholas Kristof
Just got tear gassed here in Bahrain. Protesters shouting down with king broken up by riot police in Jidhafs.

…source

U.S. commends Bahrain on reconciliation, sending rights envoy
Fri Dec 9, 2011 – Reuters

WASHINGTON Dec 9 (Reuters) – The United States commended Bahrain on Friday for moving quickly to implement steps toward political reconciliation and said it was sending its chief human rights official to the island nation for further talks.

Washington has said a pending $53 million arms sale to Bahrain will hinge partly on the Gulf monarchy halting abuses inflicted on protesters in February and March and outlined in a report by a government-appointed fact-finding commission of international lawyers.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the United States was pleased by Bahrain’s deal with the International Committee of the Red Cross to develop more responsible police work and its decision to halt the trial proceedings of more than 100 athletes charged in connection with the protests.

“We call on all parties in Bahrain to create and support a climate conducive to reconciliation,” Nuland said, urging Bahrain to act swiftly on other recommendations from the commission.

Nuland said the State Department’s chief human rights official, Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner, would travel to Bahrain next week “to continue our human rights dialogue.”

Inspired by “Arab Spring” revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, thousands of mainly Shi’ite Bahrainis took to the streets in February and March demanding political change to limit the power of the ruling Sunni Muslim Al-Khalifa family. …more

Meet Bahrain’s lobbyists
By Cole Bockenfeld, Director of Advocacy, Project on Middle East Democracy – 12/09/11

Upon the release of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa noted, “serious shortcomings on the part of some organs of our Government” including “instances of excessive force and of the mistreatment of persons placed under arrest.”

These “instances of excessive force” led to the death of at least 26 pro-democracy protesters, while “mistreatment” constituted systematic human rights violations including torture, according to the BICI report. The Government of Bahrain has been using the November 23rd release date of the report to delay a substantive conversation on its human rights record for months.

And while dodging and delaying real reform, the monarchy has undertaken a pricey public relations blitz to rebuild their image. But the Bahraini ruling family doesn’t have an image problem; they have a policy problem.

Three days after protests began, the Government of Bahrain contracted the Potomac Square Group lobbying firm to provide “advice on dealing with reporters and public officials…in an effort to explain various positions held by the government of Bahrain” for a $20,000 monthly fee.

In the months after, the Bahraini government signed contracts with a full bench of lobbyists to “communicate the positive work the government is undertaking,” including Joe Trippi & Associates; Sanitas International; Qorvis Communications; Sorini, Samet, & Associates; Gardant Communications; and TS Navigations.

When asked how much money the Bahraini government is spending on lobbying, the media attaché for Bahrain’s Information Affairs Authority Saqer al-Khalifa told a crowd at American University, “I have no idea.” In reality, his name and title appear on at least two contracts, with Sanitas International and Joe Trippi, pledging to provide “communications services for the purpose of supporting the needs of the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain.”

Meanwhile, Qorvis rakes in $40,000 a month to “provide press and public relations services”, while Sorini, Samet & Associates grabbed $25,000 upon signing and charge $100-550 an hour to assist with the Government of Bahrain’s response to “specific alleged labor rights and related human rights violations.” Matt Lauer, a partner at Qorvis, relayed in an August email to PR Newser that “We help communicate the positive work the government is undertaking.” …more

Bahrain police break up march on capital
by REEM – December 8, 2011 – Associated Press

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) – Police in Bahrain used tear gas Friday to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters marching on the capital, witnesses said. The country’s Sunni rulers also moved to mollify the mostly Shiite-led opposition movement by ordering prosecutors to investigate allegations of abuse by the security forces throughout Bahrain’s 10-month-old uprising.

The investigation ordered by the interior minister, Lt. Gen. Sheik Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, was announced late Thursday by the country’s Information Affairs Authority. It covers “all cases related to deaths, torture and inhumane treatment implicating police.”

The move follows the recommendations made last month by a special commission that probed claims of human rights abuses during the uprising, in which at least 35 people, including security force members, were killed.

The commission was authorized in a bid to ease tensions with the majority Shiites, a rare example of an Arab regime subjecting itself to a harsh public reckoning. It issued a 500-page report documenting torture, the use of excessive force and fast-track trials, as authorities tried to stamp out the largest of this year’s Arab Spring uprisings to hit the Gulf.

Opposition activists at the time said those responsible for the abuses needed to be brought to justice.

The Interior Ministry said Thursday it was following another of the report’s recommendations by installing cameras to record interrogations, and that it signed an agreement with the International Committee of the Red Cross to develop better policing practices.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the U.S. was encouraged by Bahrain’s steps, including the government’s decision this week to drop charges against more than 100 athletes accused of participating in protests. …more

UN to dispatch human rights delegation to Bahrain
9 December 2011

The United Nations human rights office announced today it is dispatching a delegation to Bahrain, where serious rights violations are alleged to have occurred earlier this year, to discuss how to build a more open and democratic society in the Middle East country.

A four-member team will head to Bahrain next week at the request of the Bahraini Government, according to Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

“The delegation looks forward to engaging with the Government, civil society, members of the political opposition and victims of human rights violations in the country,” Ms. Shamdasani said.

The delegation looks forward to engaging with the Government, civil society, members of the political opposition and victims of human rights violations in the country.

The team – which will be headed by Bacre Ndiaye, the Director of the Human Rights Council and Special Procedures Division at OHCHR, and Frej Fenniche, the chief of the office’s Middle East and North Africa section – will then submit recommendations to High Commissioner Navi Pillay on the way forward for Bahrain.

The small island country was beset by violent clashes between security forces and protesters earlier this year, part of the Arab Spring uprising that has engulfed much of the region and led to the toppling of long-term regimes in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen.

Last month an independent inquiry into the alleged rights violations during the clashes found, according to media reports, that Government forces had used excessive force during the crackdown in February and March and had tortured some detainees.

Subsequently Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement through his spokesperson in which he welcomed the report’s release and said he would study it closely, along with Ms. Pillay and other senior UN officials.

“The Secretary-General calls on the Government to ensure the implementation of its recommendations as a meaningful step in addressing serious allegations of human rights violations,” the statement said.

“He hopes the report’s issuance and implementation would help to create the conditions in Bahrain for all-inclusive dialogue, reconciliation and reforms that will meet the legitimate aspirations of the Bahraini people.” …more

BIPD hails human rights strides in Bahrain
09/12/2011 – BNA

Manama, Dec. 9 (BNA)— Marking the Human Rights Day, Bahrain Institute for Political Development (BIPD) extended congratulations to the kingdom’s leadership and people hailing keenness of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to further boost human rights.

“Bahrain has known major strides in the human rights field over the past years, boosting its status at the international level. The kingdom has got a positive human rights record which has been confirmed by the UN specialized agencies,” it said in a statement commending the leadership’s keenness to preserve human rights while handling the repercussions of the recent incidents.
It also hailed rapid steps taken by the government to implement the recommendations cited in Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) Report.

BIPD announcement follows brutal attacks during funeral march for young Zahra Saleh who died from injuries inflicted by Police, shown in video below

The institute stressed the need to overcome the pitfalls of the recent unfortunate incidents and achieve national reconciliation which was initiated by the government through the National Consensus Dialogue and other measures.
It also underscored the institute’s pivotal role in promoting the culture of human rights among the Bahraini people.
“Respecting human rights heavily depends on instilling the political culture backing these principles,” it said. …source

Thousands of Saudi protesters have once again taken to the streets to protest against the policies of the Al Saudi ruling family in the eastern city of Awamiyah. …source

cd editor: Obviously the United States and greedy bastards in the West think King Abdullah is doing a fine job on Human Rights. It doesn’t seem the victim of a public beheading in Saudi Arabia, condemned to death in the streets, will have much to say on the matter. Surely with this kind of event, a casual occurrence, we can all rest easy that King Abdullah won’t be about building nukes and use them to kill witches or terrorists?

Saudi Arabia to spend $100bn on 16 nuclear plants
SIDI 2012 News – December 2011

Saudi Arabia will spend more than $100 billion to establish 16 nuclear energy plants in different parts of the country within the next few years, Commerce and Industry Minister Abdullah Zainal Alireza told a Saudi-US business forum in Atlanta.

He made this comment while talking about the Kingdom’s efforts to develop solar and other renewable energy technologies to reduce dependence on oil and gas.

“We have allocated $3 billion to produce solar energy panels in Jubail and Yanbu,” he added.

Alireza said Saudi imports from the US are expected to cross $95 billion or 23 percent of the total US exports to Arab countries by 2012.

“This amount is expected to double by 2015,” the minister said while highlighting the significance of Saudi Arabia as a big market in the Middle East.

“This goes in line with President Barack Obama’s initiative for increasing US exports and creating 2 million new jobs for the Americans,” he added.

Alireza emphasized the strong, historic relations between Saudi Arabia and the US and hoped the Atlanta forum would contribute to strengthening the Saudi-US partnership. The US received 95 percent of the total Saudi exports to North America valued at SR124.68 billion in 2010, a statistical report issued by the Ministry of Economy and Planning said.

“Saudi Arabia and the US should complement one another and integrate their strong points to build a value-added relationship,” the minister said.

“There are good prospects to expand these relations covering all economic sectors with the support of the two leaderships,” he added.

Education Minister Prince Faisal bin Abdullah led an impressive 250-member Saudi delegation to the forum, including government officials and business leaders.

The forum, which concluded on Wednesday, discussed new investment opportunities worth $385 billion in the Kingdom in the key sectors of education, energy, electricity and water, transport and logistics, petrochemicals and infrastructure.

In his keynote address, Alireza said Saudi-US relations are based on mutual values and respect.

He emphasized the need to develop an institutional cooperation to take bilateral ties to new heights.

He underscored Saudi Arabia’s position as the largest economy in the Middle East and a key member of the G-20.

Massive public investment, rapid private-sector growth and new sector initiatives are driving an expansion projected to offer more than $1 trillion in trade and investment opportunities over the next decade.

He said the economic and judicial reforms introduced by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah were instrumental in boosting the Kingdom’s economy and attracting foreign investment. According to the World Bank’s “Doing Business 2012: Doing Business in a More Transparent World” report released in October 2011, Saudi Arabia ranked as the 12th most business-friendly country out of 183 economies worldwide and led the Middle East region on the list.

Bahraini Forces Resume Brutal Crackdown on Protesters
Al-Manar News – 8 December, 2011

Bahraini security forces attacked peaceful protesters with rubber bullets and tear gas as they were heading to the Pearl Square. Hundreds of protesters marched to the site from the village of Sanabis. When the protesters got close to the site of the former roundabout, security forces reportedly fired tear gas and rubber bullets, President of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, Mohammed al-Maskati, said.

“There are a lot of injuries. People are trying to transfer them to the closest houses to treat them, there are nurses who are volunteers”, Al-Jazeera channel quoted Maskati as saying.

REGIME BRUTALITY HAS NO LIMITS!
The incident comes few hours after the funeral of a woman, who was brutally hit by regime forces at the head, has died of injuries.

The victim, Zahra Saleh Haidar, 27, was martyred of her injuries suffered after regime forces hit her by an iron rod hurled at the head during a peaceful anti-government rally in the village of Daih on November 18.

Scores of protesters were martyred in the brutal crackdown launched by regime forces on protesters.
Hundreds others have been arrested, along with thousands of public sector workers sacked for supporting anti-regime protests.

Bahrainis have been staging anti-government protests demanding an end to the rule of Al Khalifa dynasty since mid-February.

On November 23, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, set up to investigate reports of rights abuse during the crackdown, announced that the regime had used ”excessive force” to crush the uprising. …source

Bahrain drops charges, halts trials of athletes
By: The Associated Press – 12/08/11

Shiite Bahrainis wave banners and flags with prayers and tributes to Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam’s founding Prophet Mohamed during a religious procession Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, in Manama, Bahrain. Shortly afterwards, Bahraini security forces firing tear gas and rubber bullets clashed with hundreds of anti-government protesters in the area near the former epicenter of the Gulf kingdom’s uprising.

Bahrain has halted trial proceedings for over 100 athletes and dropped all charges related to their participation in street protests against the island’s Sunni monarchy.

The athletes were among hundreds detained and put on trial as part of a crackdown on Shiite-led dissent, launched in March. Charges included illegal assembly, inciting hatred against the Sunni monarchy and defaming leaders.

Bahrain News Agency said late Wednesday the king officially “forgave” the athletes who insulted him.

It’s unclear what will happen to athletes already convicted.

A medal-winning bodybuilder, a national football team goalkeeper and a Bahrain basketball player were sentenced Sunday to one year in prison each. In June, a Bahraini star football player was sentenced to two years in prison. …source

ONI Releases New Report on Faith-Based Censorship
By: Rebekah Heacock – 1 August 2011

Internet censorship has become a growing and pervasive global norm. Internet censorship policies implemented by states are premised on a number of motives and rationales including national security, the control of dissent, and appeals to morality.

The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) is pleased to release In the Name of God: Faith Based Internet Censorship in Majority Muslim Countries. This occasional paper analyzes the Internet censorship policies and practices of majority Muslim countries and finds that in many of these countries online information controls are primarily based on the Islamic faith and interpretations of its instructions.

The paper provides a detailed analysis of the religious concepts, legal frameworks, and technical filtering that underlie faith-based censorship policies in majority Muslim countries. Faith-based filtering is becoming a contested issue in many of these countries. There is an ongoing struggle between state and nonstate actors who want to regulate the Internet to protect and even strengthen the Islamicity of their countries, and those who see the Internet as an alternative information tool to bypass the undesirable guardianship of the religious authorities—those who see the Internet as a potential threat to religious identity, and those who strive to bring to censored real space some of the qualities of the Internet: openness, freedom, and neutrality.

This OpenNet Initiative occasional paper was authored by Helmi Noman, who is a Senior Researcher at the Citizen Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto and a Research Affiliate at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University.

The OpenNet Initiative is a collaborative partnership of three institutions: the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto; the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; and the SecDev Group (Ottawa). The ONI’s mission is to investigate, expose and analyze Internet filtering and surveillance practices in a credible and non-partisan fashion. We intend to uncover the potential pitfalls and unintended consequences of these practices, and thus help to inform better public policy and advocacy work in this area. …source

Full Report HERE

How Bahrain works Washington
In the latest twist on lobbying, Mideast autocracies repackage propaganda as “media awareness”
By Ken Silverstein – Salon.com – December 8, 2011

Ever since last February, when security forces in Bahrain brutally cracked down on demonstrators at the Pearl Monument, human rights groups have documented extensive violence by the government against pro-democracy protesters. In late November, an independent commission hired by the country’s king released a report that said 35 people had been killed during the protests, including five detainees who were tortured to death, and that hundreds more had been injured and nearly 3,000 arrested.

But to judge from Tom Squitieri — the self-described “stargazer, Award winning reporter, communications crafter” who has tweeted and blogged about events in Bahrain for Huffington Post and the Foreign Policy Association — demonstrators are largely to blame for the violence. In one item he wrote about a girl named Zahra who “was attacked with an iron bar wielded by protestors” and a demonstrator named Ali who was killed “after being hit by a police car.” While Ali’s family claimed “he was deliberately run down” by the cops, Squitieri suggested it was more likely that “the police car swerved out of control after skidding on oil poured on the road by protestors.”

Squitieri states in his blog posts that he “works with the Bahrain government on media awareness and press freedom,” which is an odd way of describing work that amounts to propaganda. But unless you count his work at NewsMax, the right-wing media organization, Squitieri hasn’t been a journalist since 2005, when he resigned from USA Today for plagiarism. Nor does he mention anywhere that he is an employee of Qorvis Communications, a Washington firm that is registered to lobby for the government of Bahrain. …more

editor cb: The al Khalifa regime has Independently Appointed another commission. This time to review the evil deeds identified by the first Independently Appointed Commission. There seems to be some sort of “bizarro” scheme from leaders in the Middle East these days, the dictators and tyrants that have ruled over nations for decades are finally “reaping the destruction and deceit they have sown” and now they claim no accountability. It’s time for these bastards to go, not only are the accountable for their evil deeds, the hottest fires of hell are reserved for their treacherous asses.

We no enter the new phase of unified deception with Secretary Clinton. The first part of the exercise was to reduce the egregious, flagrant and well documented Human Rights abuses, that continue to this hour, to a simpletons analysis that what happened was a National Policing Problem. In his usual style, King Hamad orchestrated his charade with the US State Department and in an “in your face move” toward the opposition, he hired a thug and telecom criminal that wear badges to come right his police force.

Secretary Clinton will be pleased as she will now be able to close the weapons sale the her boss has been chasing after. After all this is President Obama’s jobs program which depends on sales of drones, humvees, small arms and munitions, riot control gear, PR consultants, tele-com snoop-n-scoop technology, mercenary black-op analysts, advisers and secret prisons and now police brutality training… The US has come a long way since the days of SAVAK, what used to be shameful deeds kept in the dark, are now offered in the sales brochures handed out by the State Department. Phlipn

Bahrain: Government Orders Inquiry Into Charges of Torture by the Police
By REUTERS -December 09, 2011 – NYT

Bahrain has ordered the public prosecutor to investigate death and torture cases implicating the police as part of efforts at political reconciliation after a crackdown on pro-democracy protests this year. Interior Minister Rashed bin Abdullah al-Khalifa ordered that “all cases related to deaths, torture and inhumane treatment implicating police” be referred to the prosecutor, the state news agency said Thursday. The report said the measures followed the recommendations of a commission, set up by the government, that investigated the unrest.

Red Line and Human Rights: an Evaluation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry Report
by Alaa Shehabi – Jadaliyya – 7 December, 2011

On 23 November 2011, in one of the royal palaces in Bahrain, a lavish ceremony commenced with all the pomp of a great occasion. In the era of the so-called Arab Spring, this should have been an occasion to announce the handover of power to the people, akin to the Hong Kong handover ceremony in 1997. This, however, was a ceremony for the handover of a human rights report written by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), a government-appointed commission with the nominal mandate of investigating the government’s crimes—hardly a thing to celebrate. It must have been awkward because most of the perpetrators accussed of carrying out these crimes were sitting right there.

In Jaw Prison on the other side of the island, my husband Ghazi Farhan, imprisoned there for eight months, told me that prisoners scrambled to find the analogue channel of Bahrain TV to listen to the speech of Professor Cherif Bassiouni, the head of BICI, after guards had switched off the satellite system to stop them. The prisoners managed to watch half the speech before the guards discovered them and switched the TV off. “Bassiouni is talking about what happened to us! We have every right to listen to him,” the prisoners argued. The guards, fearing that a revolt was in the making, ordered them back to their cells. My husband called me that evening. “Did Bassiouni ask for us to be freed?” With a heavy heart, I told him “no.” “What kind of justice is this?” he asked. “These commissioners let us down,” I replied.

Not too far away, the body of Abdulnabi Kadhem lay on the doorstep of a house in the village of Aa’li, next to his car which had been rammed in the side by a security jeep. Such jeeps storm into villages on a daily basis. He was officially the forty-eighth person killed since 14 February when the uprising in Bahrain kicked off.

No one expected the king, the commissioners or any of the attendees to offer a minute’s silence or even to pay a tribute to the dead who were mentioned in the report. To the government, they were criminals and traitors. To the commissioners, they were statistics. To the majority of the Bahrainis who are fighting for change, they are martyrs who paid the price of freedom with their sacred blood. …more