Posts from — January 2012

…more coverage and images HERE on Storyful

New Year in Bahrain Different: Systematic Violations Against Human Rights Activists
17 January, 2012 – BYSHR

On January 1, 2012, Mr. Hani Alqmich was injured in the head by teargas canister were fired by the riot police during the assault on a peaceful protest.

Mr.Hani had surgery in the head, but he is still in hospital suffering from injury.

Mr.Hani activist in defending the rights of the unemployed.

On January 1, 2012, Bahraini authorities arrested Mr. Ahmed Abbas (a member of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights-BYSHR) and he has been subjected to ill-treatment.

In October and November 2011, the authorities attempted to arrest Mr. Ahmed Abbas, a member of the BYSHR, in relation to the monitoring and documentation of human rights violations in the village of Nuwaidrat. Mr. Ahmed Abbas has since then been forced to remain in hiding to continue his human rights work.

In the evening of January 6, 2012, Mr. Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights was beaten severely by the security forces in Manama while he was participating in a peaceful demonstration to call for the release of political prisoners and human rights activists. According to testimonies, policemen attacked the demonstrators and a group of police officers gathered suddenly around Mr. Rajab and started beating him. He was kicked, punched and beaten all over his body and especially on the face and back, while lying on the ground.

In the evening of January 12, 2012, Mr. Nader Abdulemam, Human Rights Activist was injured in the face by teargas canister were fired by the riot police during the assault on a peaceful protest.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) demands to punish the perpetrators and the protection of human rights defenders in Bahrain. …more

Bahrain Today: A Tale of Missed Opportunities
By Badr al-Ibrahim – 17 January, 2012 – Al-Akhbar

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) – also known as the Bassiouni Commission in reference to its chair, Cherif Bassiouni, has been heavily criticized and questions have been raised about its independence given that it was established by Bahraini authorities.

Bassiouni is thought to have violated rules of professional conduct by issuing “political edicts” in the media after his report was released. Such comments violated the investigative mission he was assigned to carry out and undermined his professionalism and objectivity.

Despite all that, Bassiouni caused an uproar when he discredited the Bahraini authorities’ claim that there is a connection between the popular protest movement in Bahrain and Iran.

The Bahraini regime had used this claim to vilify the opposition, protesters, and to justify bringing in the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) Peninsula Shield Force. Most importantly, this accusation fostered hostility against the Bahraini revolution in the Gulf region by playing the sectarian card.

Many believed that the Bassiouni Commission report would provide the regime and the opposition with a graceful exit out of the crisis. The commission was established in June to investigate unrest in Bahrain following the popular uprising and government crackdown in February and March. It was thought that the work of the commission – established due to Western and specifically US pressure – would provide a stepping stone for real political dialogue and a compromise that would satisfy everyone.

The US, whose Fifth Fleet is stationed in Bahrain, seemed annoyed with the way the Bahraini regime managed the crisis. They wanted to see a solution that would preserve stability in the small Gulf island. But the Bahraini authorities did not offer anything new.

Preoccupied with its military withdrawal from the region, its Afghanistan dilemma, and its economic crisis, the US did not do much either, apart from continuing to treat different countries that are part of the Arab Spring with double standards (For example, it strongly interferes in Syria and shows concern for the situation in Egypt, while it turns a blind eye to what is happening in Yemen and Bahrain).

After the report of the BICI, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa removed the country’s national security chief Khalifa bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, member of the ruling family, from his position. He was then appointed as Supreme Defense Council secretary-general and as an advisor with the rank of minister.

This step showed that even expectations of using some officials as scapegoats, by holding them responsible for the crimes committed during the uprising, were misplaced.

Instead, the Bahraini regime has raised the ire of its people as it has honored those who violated their rights and killed and tortured them. The continued crackdown and killing of protesters, including children, supports the view that the regime’s hawks have emerged victorious over its doves.

This view stems from the belief that there are differences within the Bahraini regime regarding the best way to handle the protests. …more

Testimony: Military personnel in Bahrain: killed, discharged from service, and awaiting trials
14 January, 2012 – BCHR

Last July, the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights documented more than 248 violations affecting personnel in military services within the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Department of Defence, the two entities that are headed by members of the Bahraini Royal Family. Until this day those violations are ongoing. Bahraini authorities have killed, arrested, and discharged hundreds of military personnel, many of whom while currently released, are awaiting appeals courts that may send them back to imprisonment. This is a testimony from a military officer, who was arrested previously, describing some of the violations that military personnel have endured.

Below is the speech that was read on 28 December 2011 on behalf of military personnel in a solidarity stand at Al Wefaq National Islamic Society. It was written by Abdullah Abu Idrees, a military officer who was detained for months, and read by the brother of Ali Al Ghanmi, another military officer who is currently detained:

May peace be upon you,

I would like to begin by thanking Al Wefaq National Islamic Society for its stance in solidarity with military personnel. This is a true reflection of its stance towards the rest of society be it civilian or military.

I am not here to speak of an incident that affected me personally as my speech will be on behalf of all the honourable military personnel who refused to stain their hands with the blood of innocents. We are a special layer (of society) and differ from our civilian brothers. A doctor will conduct his duties in line with his profession’s requirements of humaneness and so does a teacher and staff in all sectors without expecting to be arrested, tortured, discharged, or even trialled.

I am not here to exaggerate or belittle their contributions, but to bring to light things many have been neglected in the minds of many people. As military personnel, we knew that our position was a dangerous one from the onset. We understood that refusing to obey military instructions would have dire consequences for us and our futures, yet we stood by our brothers in their demands for justice and refused to point our triggers at them. We carried the pain of our nation with them and shared their concerns. …more

Police have been cracking down on Bahraini protesters for the third consecutive day following the death of an elderly woman from tear gas. 81-year-old Salma Mohsin died of suffocation after tear gas was fired into her home in the northern village Barbar on Saturday, prompting three days of mourning and protests. Sunday and Monday’s protest marches turned violent with large quantities of tear gas fired at protesters. On Tuesday afternoon protesters were once again targeted by police as they marched through Barbar, with reports of tear gas and clashes. …see much more coverage HERE

Legislation okayed to criminalise torture in Bahrain
by Suad Hamada – 15 January 2012 – Khaleej Times

The cabinet has approved two key laws to implement its zero-tolerance policy towards torture as part of its commitment to fully implementing the BICI recommendations.

The first amendment to the Penal Code aims to protect persons who claim to be tortured or other forms of inhumane treatment and the second ensures these complaints are swiftly investigated and prosecuted by the attorney-general rather than police.

These amendments come on top of previous legislation, approved by the cabinet in October last year that brings the law into full compliance with international human rights standards. Under these amendments to the Penal Code, the crime of torture is no longer limited to acts of inflicting severe pain used to extract a confession, as was earlier the case, but rather criminalises all acts of torture. Further, the amendments provided that there is no time-limit to investigating and prosecuting persons for torture. Finally, the amendments ensure that the crime of torture attracts severe penalties commensurate with the gravity of the offence. …source

Bahraini Shi’ites urge probe of “torture” death
Reuters – by Firouz Sedarat -14 January, 2012

DUBAI, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Bahrain’s main Shi’ite opposition group on Saturday called for an international investigation into the death of a young protester after a rights group said his body showed signs of torture.

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights quoted an uncle of the 24-year-old victim as saying his body carried “clear marks of torture”, however the Interior Ministry said an autopsy revealed the youth, who went missing on Wednesday, had drowned.

Wefaq, the largest Shi’ite Muslim opposition group, said a neutral non-Bahraini commission should investigate the case and other killings.

There had been “a complete loss of confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and security services of Bahrain”, it said in a statement.

Tensions between Bahrain’s ruling Sunni minority and Shi’ites have continued almost a year after violent demonstrations flared in the island state. The unrest was put
down with military help from Sunni-led Saudi Arabia, but low-level protests continue on an almost daily basis.

The United States, which moors its Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, has made a $53 million arms sale to Bahrain contingent on a positive response to the recommendations of a government inquiry into the unrest. Bahrain has said it is committed to reforming its police forces. …source

There are good reasons not only for the media, but for western governments to begin taking an active interest in the ongoing street conflict in Eastern Province

The quiet war in Saudi Arabia
by Joshua Jacobs – 15 January 2012 – Open Democracy

While western powers have been happy to use Saudi Arabia as an ally to ratchet up the pressure on Assad’s beleaguered regime in Syria, it has not caught a whiff of the silent crackdown occurring within the kingdom. Since late November the protest movement which was largely snuffed out last spring has returned to the streets in force, largely centered on the oil rich and largely Shia Eastern Province.

The Saudi response was both brutal and predictable. Security forces shot and killed three protesters and wounded many more over several days of crackdowns in the eastern city of Qatif. Clashes continued throughout December as demonstrators battled security forces who routinely utilized live ammunition. In a series of retaliatory raids on the homes and districts of protest sympathizers hundreds were arrested and wounded. The killings along with the continued discrimination and mistreatment of the Shia of the Eastern Province has formed the basis of the current protest movement – a protest movement that has suffered heavily like its neighbour in Bahrain, but with little in the way of a headline.

Today, while attention was focused on the Strait of Hormuz, on Syria, and on the rising tensions in Bahrain, Saudi security forces launched an assault on the city of Awamiyah killing at least one and wounding half a dozen more. Eye witnesses have stated that soldiers on trucks opened fire on demonstrators, hitting many as they fled. The attack bears all the hallmarks of a planned operation with electricity being cut to the area prior to the assault. The area at the time of writing is apparently still under military lock-down and reflects a state of siege with clashes continuing to occur and gunfire being heard.

This attack was almost certainly condoned by the royal family and comes on the heels of a series of indictments against demonstrators and high profile invectives against the protest movement. Despite this attack and others like it, the rumblings and tremors of protest and crackdown show no sign of abatement. Indeed in the past few months they have once again reared their head in the south west in Najran and Jazan, compounded with protests over women’s rights in Riyadh and Buraydah.

These protests bear all the hallmarks of a movement which could coalesce and burst anew from the ashes of the disjointed and largely suppressed protests of last spring. They also come at an extremely troubling time for the kingdom. The death of Crown Prince Sultan highlighted the geriatric character of the upper echelons of the ruling family, and the potential uncertainty and disquiet surrounding the issue of succession. Meanwhile, continuing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and rising furor on the streets of Bahrain open up the risk of unrest spreading to the kingdom in a domino effect. Indeed the extremely aggressive Saudi position on Bahrain and the continued quartering of troops in the tiny island monarchy has a direct relationship to their fears of domestic instability. The possibility of Saudi Shia rallying on behalf of their co-religionists in Bahrain, or vice versa is a looming threat that the Saudis are taking great pains to neutralize. …more

Iran warns Saudi Arabia to reconsider ‘unfriendly’ vow to open oil taps
by Agence France-Presse – 17 January, 2012

TEHRAN – Iran has warned Saudi Arabia to reconsider its vow to make up for any shortfall in Iranian oil exports under new sanctions, saying Riyadh’s pledge to step into the market was unfriendly.

The foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, issued the warning in an interview with Iran’s broadcaster Al Alam.

“We invite Saudi officials to further reflect and consider” their offer to compensate for curbed Iranian oil exports, he said.

He attacked recent comments by the Saudi oil minister, Ali Al Naimi, saying Saudi oil output could be boosted to about 2.6 million barrels per day – the same amount that Iran exports – and that the world will not permit Iran to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

“These signals are not friendly signals,” Mr Salehi said.

He said the security of the Arabian Gulf was “a collective security and Iran is a major player in this regard”.

Meanwhile, South Korea said it would continue bilateral discussions with the US to find an acceptable compromise on sanctions against Iran’s crude-oil exports, as the resource-poor country attempts to safeguard its energy security without alienating its key ally and trade partner.

A delegation of US officials met South Korean officials throughout yesterday to solicit Seoul’s cooperation on US-led efforts to curtail Iran’s oil revenues to pressure Iran into giving up its nuclear programme. …more

Nabeel Rajab’s Speech During the Political Societies’ Mass Gathering
15 January 2012 – Mohdashoor blog

The opposition political societies in Bahrain have drawn a red line for themselves, refraining from criticizing the King of Bahrain and its Crown Prince, in a belief that the way forward is for the call for a Constitutional Monarchy. Therefore, in all their weekly gatherings and political protest marches, they have only gone as far as calling for the resignation of the Government, headed by the King’s uncle.

However, in their weekly gathering on Thursday, 12th January, 2012, Nabeel Rajab (President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights) dropped quite a shock to both the regime and the political societies when he took to the podium by making the King of Bahrain his main target. This could well be a new page in the struggle for Freedom in Bahrain. The video of his speech and the English translation are below. Judge for yourself….

Brothers & sisters, after the publication of the Bassiouni [BICI] report, it has become clear that the regime is insisting on its existing policies, its recklessness, its brutality and its tyranny. And it doesn’t seem like there is any glimpse of hope or sign that we cling on to that indicates to us that the regime is going to reform itself. The persistent use of excessive force against protesters, and the new strategy of kidnapping the youth from the villages, dragging them to isolated places like the Youth Hostel, municipality buildings and stable in Budaiya, and torturing them there indicates that the new strategy is not to take them to police stations to do this, so that these institutions are able to distance themselves from these crimes, and for them not to be accused of ill-treatment and/or torture. This shows that this regime does not learn from its past mistakes, and does not learn from what is going on in the world around it.

I think that we are entering a new phase of activism. We are entering a phase in which we have to escalate our activism work as individuals, organizations, activists and human rights defenders. The regime has undoubtedly gotten used to the current rhythm of protests, just like a body that gets used to certain drugs. The regime got used to these gatherings and to the small village protests that it ends and disperses using tear gas. At the same time it tries to mislead the world public opinion in saying that Bahrain does not have any problems except for some small protests inside the villages and these gatherings.

We have to be clear in our speech. Our problem is not with the Prime Minister, nor with the government of the Prime Minister, whom are all merely employees. Our problem is with the King of Bahrain.

Our problem is with the King, whom since his ascendancy to the throne we have been facing tragedies. It’s the same King that was behind the Bandar Report [Bandargate], the same King that was behind the sectarian cleansing in public institutions, the same King that tried to implement sectarian segregation, and the same King that is trying to change the demographic composition of the country. As I said before, we tried to give the King a chance. We have rarely criticized the King in our speeches and writings to allow him a way back from his policies and for him to reform. However, it is now clear that this strategy has not produced any results with the King. So it is now important that we openly confront the King with honesty.

[Speaking to the King] We have given you a great opportunity to reform yourself. If you cannot get rid of the heavy weights of your regime and the crimes that your regime has committed, then it is the appropriate time now for you to leave.

I call on the patriotic lawyers, that have played a crucial role during this crisis and deserve all the thanks and gratitude from us, to start filing court cases against all the criminals and human rights violators that have killed and tortured. Especially that most of the international courts of justice do not accept cases in their courts until after exhausting all the local means of obtaining justice. Therefore, I would request the lawyers, again which have already exerted considerable effort in the legal movement in the courts and have themselves been victims of detention, like Mohammed Al Tajer, and threats, like Jalila Al Sayed, Mohammed Ahmed, Mohammed Al Jishi and others, to start filing these court cases, and to start with members of the ruling family that have been complicit in these crimes, headed by the sons of the King; Nasser & Khalid. Adding to them, the Commander of the BDF, Khalifa bin Ahmed, the Head of the NSA (that has been recently promoted), Khalifa bin Abdulla, the Head of the Riffa Police Station, Khalifa bin Ahmed, and also Sh. Noora. These people, and according to many statements received by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, have been complicit in crimes of torture either directly or indirectly.

On another point, we must get past the protest marches and gatherings that wait for the permission of the authorities. …more

Letter from Birmingham Jail
August 1963 – by Martin Luther King Jr.

Excerpt – This reveals that we did not move irresponsibly into direct action. We, too, wanted to see Mr. Conner defeated, so we went through postponement after postponement to aid in this community need. After this we felt that direct action could be delayed no longer. You may well ask, “Why direct action, why sit-ins, marches, and so forth? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” You are exactly right in your call for negotiation. Indeed, this is the purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has consistently refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. I just referred to the creation of tension as a part of the work of the nonviolent resister. This may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word “tension.” I have earnestly worked and preached against violent tension, but there is a type of constructive nonviolent tension that is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, we must see the need of having nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men to rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood. So, the purpose of direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. We therefore concur with you in your call for negotiation. Too long has our beloved Southland been bogged down in the tragic attempt to live in monologue rather than dialogue.

One of the basic points in your statement is that our acts are untimely. Some have asked, “Why didn’t you give the new administration time to act?” The only answer that I can give to this inquiry is that the new administration must be prodded about as much as the outgoing one before it acts. We will be sadly mistaken if we feel that the election of Mr. Boutwell will bring the millennium to Birmingham. While Mr. Boutwell is much more articulate and gentle than Mr. Conner, they are both segregationists, dedicated to the task of maintaining the status quo. The hope I see in Mr. Boutwell is that he will be reasonable enough to see the futility of massive resistance to desegregation. But he will not see this without pressure from the devotees of civil rights. My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure. History is the long and tragic story of the fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has
reminded us, groups are more immoral than individuals.
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Omar Offendum, The Narcicyst, Freeway, Ayah, Amir Sulaiman – Produced by Sami Matar

Hip-Hop Activism and the Arab Spring on a Special Martin Luther King Day Episode of Left of Black HERE

cb editor: King Hamad is hard at work reducing and redefining democratic reforms in a complete abandonment of 2002 constitutional promises, which seems to be precisely what set off the 14 February Uprising to begin with… J.E Peterson has a good paper titled Bahrain: Reform, Promise and Reality publish by J.E. Peterson, a great read for grounding regarding the history of King Hamad’s bullshit reforms. HERE

Bahrain king promises to expand parliament powers

Bahrain’s king promised Sunday that the strife-wracked Gulf nation will move ahead with political reforms that widen the powers of the elected parliament to oversee governments selected by the ruling monarchy.

15 January, 2012 – By REEM KHALIFA – Associated Press

MANAMA, Bahrain — Bahrain’s king promised Sunday that the strife-wracked Gulf nation will move ahead with political reforms that widen the powers of the elected parliament to oversee governments selected by the ruling monarchy.

The reforms are part of recommendations that emerged last year from talks between various political and civil groups on easing tensions in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, which has faced more than 11 months of protests by the island’s Shiite majority.

More than 35 people have died in the unrest, which began as an Arab Spring-inspired uprising for greater rights but has shifted into a challenge against the authority of the 200-year-old ruling Sunni dynasty. Bahrain’s leaders and Gulf Arab allies claim that Shiite power Iran has encouraged the violence in the strategic nation, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

In a nationally televised address, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa said he would soon issue royal decrees to amend the constitution and grant a greater role to the 40-seat lower house of parliament.

The measures include allowing lawmakers to approve governments proposed by the ruling dynasty and giving greater authority to question and remove Cabinet officials. Parliament would also play a larger role in setting the state budget and proposing laws, he said.

But the changes are unlikely to appease Shiite opposition groups. Bahrain’s main Shiite groups have withdrawn from parliament and boycotted the so-called national dialogue reform talks last summer. …more

Badriya Ali, a story from a Friend
14 January, 2011

Badriya Ali is a 59 year old woman from Sanabis. In April security forces raided Badriya Ali’s home to arrest her son, Ahmed Mushaima, who is 25 years old. They beat him severely in front of her, banging his head against the corner of an air conditioner repeatedly. Badriya screamed at them to stop beating her son, and an officer responded “shut up, we arrest women too”. They then pulled her old sick husband from bed to arrest him, but he was too weak and fell to the ground, where they left him. Badreya fainted after watching her son being severely beaten. Before leaving, the officers wrote “long live khalifa” on the walls of her home.

Some of those officers were: Faisal Bakhsh, Khalid and Taher AlAlawi. They stole 4500 BD, 3 phones, a laptop and Ahmed’s wallet. Since that raid, according to her daughter Zahra, Badriya went into deep depression.For a week Badriya cried continuously, after which she fell completely silent. When Badriya’s son was released she got a bit better, but a couple of weeks ago their village which is constantly under excessive attacks was attacked again, and Badriya witnessed an old woman being chased by security forces in the street. Since that day Badriya was terrified, and her family had to watch her constantly. She was afraid of any small sound, convinced they would come back for her children. A couple of weeks ago Badriya told her children that she couldn’t take it anymore, and to let her go to the riot police so she can be killed.

Zahra says she was busy with her daughter for five minutes, only to find her mother had set herself on fire on the roof. She died of her burns today.

Yesterday the ministry of Interior announced “finding” the body of 24 year old Yousif Ahmed Muwali in Amwaj. Yousif had gone missing five days ago. When his mother went to the police station to file a missing persons report 3 days ago she was told by officer Mohammed Fayez that Yousif was at the CID and that he was fine, and according to the mother he ripped the paper she wanted to file. This was at the Samaheej police station.

The MOI listed the cause of death as drowned. The MOI image above shows the body “dumped” in the rocks.

The father and a lawyer were at the morgue all evening yesterday, which was surrounded by the riot police according to the lawyer, but were not allowed in to see the body. They were told to wait until the officer in charge is finished eating dinner to get a decision on whether they’ll be allowed in. The lawyer has also said that MOI decided to start an autopsy on the body of Yousif without the consent of the family. At the end of the evening they were told that they should come back at 6am to see that body as they had “orders from above” to not allow them into the morgue.

When the family were finally able to see the body this morning, the uncle reports via the lawyer Hanan AlAradi that there are clear marks of torture on the victims head and neck. There are also cigarette burns on his arms and bruises on different parts of the body. The family has refused to sign the papers until they are allowed to see the autopsy report, which until now has not been given to them.
Verified Undisclosed Source

Saudi-backed Al-Khalifa Regime Continues Torturing Inmates
07 January 2012 – Islamic Invitation Turkey

Fresh reports of the torture of an 18-year old student in detention are yet another blow to Bahrain’s promises of reform, Amnesty International said.

Independent observers reported that the Bahraini police have subjected Hassan ‘Oun to torture, including beatings and threats of rape after his arrest in Manama on 3 January.

“As such horrendous cases of human rights abuse keep piling up, the Bahraini authorities’ promises of change ring ever more hollow,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Hassan’s family has told Amnesty International that he was interrogated about his contact with the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.

The student had told the Center about being tortured by police during a previous 2011 arrest, following his involvement in anti-government protests.

“We are concerned that Hassan ‘Oun may have been targeted again for arrest because he dared to report police abuses,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.

According to family members, Hassan told his lawyer that the police had forced him to stand for about 11 hours, and that he had been beaten on his feet with a hose and threatened with rape.

Hassan’s lawyer and other witnesses have reportedly seen signs of torture on his body, and that one of his legs is swollen from injury.

Hassiba Hadj Sahroui called for immediate investigations in to the case, and also called for Hassan’s immediate release.

After being held in a police station for a day, Hassan was questioned at the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO) on 4 January.

The PPO extended his detention for 45 days pending investigation, under illegal public gathering charges. Hassan was then transferred to the Dry Dock Prison in Manama.

His family have not been allowed to see him.

Nearly a year on since the start of the crackdown on anti-government demonstrations at Manama’s Pearl Roundabout in 2011, scores of health workers, opposition and human rights activists, teachers and others are still facing trials or serving prison sentences. …more

Sales and Strategy
07 January, 2012 – Editorial – NYT

In the closing days of last year, the Obama administration announced multibillion-dollar arms sales packages to Iraq and Saudi Arabia, including advanced fighter jets, tanks, helicopters and an array of smaller weapons.

A case can be made for these two packages. The Pentagon needs to strengthen strategic partnerships in the region and fortify allies — and oil producers — vulnerable to Iranian pressure. These sales help create jobs at home and offset the dollar drain from oil imports. Still, we are uneasy about the timing and the terms. In its haste to complete these deals, the White House may have forfeited leverage it needs to nudge both governments toward less destructive policies.

With United States troops now out of Iraq, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is spurning Washington’s repeated pleas for national reconciliation and power sharing, endangering Iraq’s democracy and stability. In his latest move, Mr. Maliki, a Shiite, has grabbed full control of the country’s key security forces — and empowered Shiite militants — angering Iraq’s Sunni Arabs and Kurds and moderate Shiites.

This seems an odd moment to sell him $11 billion of American-made military equipment, including fighter jets, battle tanks, cannons and armored personnel carriers — the same kind of weapons that Saddam Hussein once used against Iraqi Kurds and Shiites. Before closing the deal, Washington should have sought firm guarantees that Mr. Maliki would do a lot more to share power and resources — and drop his threat to walk away from the American-brokered power-sharing arrangement with the more inclusive Iraqiya bloc, winner of the most seats in the 2010 elections.

Washington should also have bargained harder with the Saudis before signing off on $30 billion of advanced F-15 jet fighters as part of a multiyear $60 billion arms deal. The idea is to strengthen Saudi competence and confidence against Iran, which poses a serious threat to all of its neighbors. That threat is more likely to come from terrorism and subversion than from Iran’s sanctions-weakened air force, and the best-known use of Saudi troops abroad recently was to help suppress democracy demonstrations in Bahrain.

There are ways to mitigate these dangers. The fighter jets and some of the other sophisticated weapons are not scheduled for delivery until several years from now. And the pilots flying them will require training in the United States. If it appears that American-made weapons are being misused against domestic political opponents, deliveries can and should be held up and training programs suspended. …more

Naperville, IL — (SBWIRE) — 01/09/2012 — Reportstack, provider of premium market research reports announces the addition of The Saudi Arabian Defense Industry – Market Opportunities and Entry Strategies, Analyses and Forecasts to 2016 market report to its offering

The Saudi Arabian defense industry valued US$48 billion in 2011 and is one of the largest defense markets globally. During the review period, the country’s defense expenditure grew at a CAGR of 7.83%, and is expected to record a CAGR of 5.44 % over the forecast period, to value US$62.4 billion by 2016. The key drivers of such expenditure growth include increases in cross-border insurgency, domestic unease with the ruling regime, the rising number of Al Qaeda training camps in the country, an increasing focus on infrastructure security regarding oil and a regional rivalry with Iran to emerge as the most influential nation in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia’s substantial defense budget, coupled with the limited capabilities of domestic defense firms, is attracting foreign OEMs into the market.

The Police Reform Bahrain Needs
09 January, 2012 – Huffington Post – Joshua Colangelo-Bryan

John Timoney seems like a curious choice to advise security forces in the tiny but strategically important Middle Eastern country of Bahrain. An international commission has just criticized Bahrain’s security forces for excessive use of force and widespread arbitrary arrests in suppressing largely peaceful “Arab spring” demonstrations there.

Timoney, the former Miami and Philadelphia police chief, has won accolades for fighting crime and curbing police shootings of civilians. But his handling of street demonstrations protesting the Free Trade Area of the Americas summit in 2003 brought lawsuits by the American Civil Liberties Union over the same issues of excessive force and unlawful arrests.

Bahrain reportedly recruited Timoney to oversee police training. Without question, Bahraini security forces could benefit from professional training. But it’s not clear how one more Western cop can deliver meaningful reform through training when efforts by British and French police trainers have made no difference, to judge by what the world saw in Bahrain in February and March, and still can see today. Bahrain’s policing problems go much deeper than training, and if Timoney hopes to make a positive difference there, here’s what is really needed:

First, end the exclusion of Bahraini Shia, two-thirds of the population, from the security forces. The Sunni ruling family controls political power and a good chunk of the economy. Security posts are largely staffed by Sunnis with Shia excluded from all but menial jobs and unarmed “community police” positions. And many of the Interior Ministry’s front-line forces are recruited from Sunni communities in countries outside Bahrain. Many, in fact, are from places like the Baluchistan area of Pakistan, and don’t even speak Arabic.

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry called on Bahrain to “establish urgently, and implement vigorously, a programme for the integration into security forces of personnel from all the communities in Bahrain.” Chief Timoney should insist that this start now.
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Death squads are often, but not exclusively, associated with the violent political repression under dictatorships, totalitarian states and similar regimes. They typically have the tacit or express support of the state, as a whole or in part. Death squads may comprise a secret police force, paramilitary group or official government units with members drawn from the military or the police. They may also be organized as vigilante groups. They are a form of State Terrorism.

Several scholars have accused the United States of conducting state terrorism. They have written about the liberal democracies and their use of state terrorism, particularly in relation to the Cold War. According to them, state terrorism was used to protect the interest of capitalist elites, and the U.S. organized a neo-colonial system of client states, co-operating with local elites to rule through terror. However, little of this work has been recognized by other scholars of terrorism or even of state terrorism.

Works include Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman’s The political economy of human rights (1979), Herman’s The real terror network (1985), Alexander L. George’ Western state terrorism (1991), Frederick Gareau’s State terrorism and the United States (2004) and Doug Stokes’ America’s other war (2005).

Beginning in the late 1970s, Chomsky and Herman wrote a series of books on the United States and state terrorism. Their writings coincided with reports by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations of a new global “epidemic” of state torture and murder. Chomsky and Herman observed that terror was concentrated in the U.S. sphere of influence in the Third World, and documented terror carried out by U.S. client states in Latin America. They observed that of ten Latin American countries that had death squads, all were U.S. client states. Worldwide, 74% of countries that used torture on an administrative basis were U.S. client states, receiving military and other support to retain power. They concluded that the global rise in state terror was a result of U.S. foreign policy.

In 1991, a book edited by Alexander L. George also argued that other Western powers sponsored terror in Third World countries. It concluded that the U.S. and its allies were the main supporters of terrorism throughout the world. Gareau states that the number of deaths caused by non-state terrorism (3668 deaths between 1968 and 1980, as estimated by the CIA) is “dwarfed” by those resulting from state terrorism in U.S.-backed regimes such as Guatemala (150,000 killed, 50,000 missing in Guatemala – 93% of whom Gareau classifies as “victims of state terrorism”).

Chomsky concluded that all powers backed state terrorism in client states. At the top were the U.S. and other powers, notably the United Kingdom and France, that provided financial, military and diplomatic support to Third World regimes kept in power through violence. These governments acted together with multinational corporations, particularly in the arms and security industries. In addition, other Third World countries outside the Western sphere of influence carried out state terror supported by rival powers.
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Dr. Nada Dhaif (@NadaDhaif)
Posted Friday 13th January 2012 from Twitbird Pro
Todays collection of the traitors defection

Who is a traitor?

One who imprisons teachers and risks the future of the coming generations just to retain a seat or crush the educated elites, is a traitor!

One who defines patriotism as loyalty not to his country but to certain people, is a traitor!

One who demolishes mosques and destroys the country’s heritage out of enmity towards a certain sect, is a traitor!

One who attacks the medical profession, arrests docs and tortures patients in hospitals for the guilt of demanding their rights, is a traitor!

One who undermines the achievements of athletes,journalists and merchants; which count as the country’s own,targets & tortures them, is a traitor!

One who steps-on humanity and dignity; shuts his mind off to become a wild animal that feeds on people’s honors to please the masters, is a traitor!

One who distorts the country’s identity and brings in lowlifes who are willing to carry their shameful deeds for more money, is a traitor!

A traitor, is not only who By name betrays his own country but one who betrays the human laws that all God’s messengers and reformers brought along!

Finally,
To all traitors, thieves who stole homelands and dreams, criminals of humanity and money worshipers: Pack up your grave and to hell with it!