“Hope you are well. I don’t know if you heard, but my father was beaten until he was unconscious then arrested with two of my brothers in law. We still don’t know where any of them are.” 10-04-11

The Pearl’s Pillars
by Maryam Al-Khawaja

Five arms stretched from the ground
Each palm embraced the pure limp bodies in shrouds

Their reflection was a wide glow in the dark night

Shining down on the peaceful crowds
Five arms stretched from the ground
Each palm held a cry of “Allahu Akbar”
Held a revolutionary song
Held a poem of defiance
Held a scream for freedom

Five arms stretched from the ground
Palms covered with a grave of flowers
Fingertips pointing towards the heavens
A mother’s tears celebrating a wedding’s last hours

Five arms came down with vengeance
But heroes stood their ground
Flowers in hand
Bullets were the only answer they found

She stood there
Flag held high
The red splattered blood on the earth
As the remaining white screamed “I am peaceful!”

Five arms stood no more
Like the fresh buds of spring
Arms emerged from every futile earth
Rising above lands
Diseased with money and power

The red seeped through the earth
With the cries of the martyrs’ children
The ground shook
And the throne broke
King came down on his knees
In the air echoed the crown prince’s pleas

“I promise you words
Words worth your blood
Come now, don’t delay
Come to dialogue I say
Hand in hand
Pull me out from the quicksand
And in this dark hour
Help me stay in power”

The young voice drowned his pleas
Thus into hiding he fleas
“Accountability, accountability,
You have lost your credibility
When your army shot our sons
Using U.S. made guns”

So the tribe caught her
and beat her with knives and swords
Then showered her with stones
As they cried to the world
“Stone her she is sectarian
She eats at Lebanese restaurants
And owns Iranian rugs
Our unarmed tanks she hunts
No we swear those are not our thugs”
And foreign hands played the melody to their cries
As they spread propaganda and lies

Plays of deceit
Created by their playwrights
“You are Shiaa
Every year
We discover and foil your plan
Of overthrowing our clan
In the restaurant you were trained
And the rug in conspiracy we framed
Close down the restaurant
The rugs tear to bits
Quickly quickly
Before they discover our fibs”

Slowly but surely
From beneath the rubble
A fist emerged
“Do what you will
My voice you cannot kill
My land I will never betray
And from the path of righteousness I will not stray
I stand against every foreign intervention
While you invite them to kill and put my people in detention
My determination will not heed
Nor will your plays succeed
For I am not Shiaa
Nor am I Sunni

I am forever only Bahraini!

Battling over the legacy of Bahrain’s Pearl Roundabout
By Toby Matthiesen, 13 February, 2012 – Foreign Policy

On February 14, the uprising in Bahrain will be one year old. The results are depressing. The government’s brutal crackdown persists and protesters continue their efforts to return to the intersection that was colloquially known as Lulu or the Pearl Roundabout.

The regime has tried everything to destroy the memory of “Lulu” not shying away from physically destroying the Pearl monument. The regime dislikes the mere term “Pearl Roundabout” and insists on the use of its official name “Gulf Cooperation Council Roundabout.” Future PhD students will write about the relationship between power, memory, and physical violence in the Bahraini uprising, and it will become clear that by tearing down that monument the regime destroyed much of its legitimacy, and in fact strengthened the memory of the place for the majority of Bahrainis. As one youth activist put it, “the soul of freedom is coming from there and that is why we are going back on 14th of February.” The regime and its Western allies seem determined to prevent that and a violent response from the security forces is expected if the protesters try to march back to Lulu.

Incidentally, I had been one of the only Westerners to witness the events on the first days in the Pearl Roundabout. I was standing on the Pearl Roundabout on February 16, 2011 after a group of young protesters stormed it and set up a tent city modeled on Cairo’s Tahrir Square. The atmosphere was incredible, Bahraini opposition parties were there as were families, food stalls, makeshift medical centers, mobile phone charging stations and a podium for speakers. The protesters demanded democracy, the release of political prisoners, and an end to corruption. Here we were, in the heart of the Gulf, with all its strategic and economic interests, on an island between Saudi Arabia and Iran with a large U.S. military base, and thousands felt the wind of change. Then it occurred to me how close we were to the Eastern Province and what this meant for Saudi Arabia. Decision makers in Riyadh thought the same, and they as well as other Gulf Coordination Council (GCC) countries sent troops to Bahrain on March 14, 2011, effectively underwriting the final crackdown on the protest movement in the days that followed.

I stayed on the Pearl Roundabout until after midnight, talking to people, listening to speeches, and eating free rice with shrimp from the waters around Bahrain. A few hours later, in the wee hours of February 17, the security forces attacked the protesters, killing several and injuring dozens, and razed the tent city to the ground, burning what was left behind. The Gulf Spring was over before it really started, as the Gulf monarchies had proven that they would shoot their own citizens if they were too vocal in demanding reform.

Much has happened since that horrible day, but the basic tenets of the conflict have remained the same. There was a brief interval of hope, when a deal between the crown prince and some opposition parties headed by the Shiite bloc al-Wifaq seemed possible. But that fell through and since then both repression and protests have continued. The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry has described authoritatively what happened since, and its recommendations as well as wide-reaching democratic reforms need to be implemented.

One major conclusion from last year, which the regime should have learned but still refuses to take seriously is that repression does not work in Bahrain. Over the past year, security forces have engaged in excessive use of violence and systematic torture, according to the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry. As long as the regime sees violence, repression, and cosmetic changes as the answers to its problems, it will continue to face persistent popular mobilization — and potentially much worse. …more

To The Martyrs

Anxious hours approach

Some won’t come back today

Faith might compel me home

Violence may lay me to rest

Its not that I don’t want to stay here with you

Who will be called today

Is it mine to leave this place

I pray if I am to go today

You’ll walk free to see me off

Celebrate, shouting God is Great

Like we’ve done since we were children

Just as we shout it from the roof tops

When the sound bombs and shotgun blasts echo and gas fills the air

What kind of King does such things as he celebrates our despair

He has pained and caged and killed too many

Some whom I have known and loved

Is it I that will go today

To line the Martyrs wall

Will the Riot Police crash my funeral

Will you follow close behind

Will the mourners shout “down with him”

Until the day he falls

I go reassured today

My faith will lead me on

If I’m called to go before you

Hold my loved ones warm and dear

Soften the pain of their tears

If your called before me

Go with peace knowing my dear friend

That I will do the same.

Chief of public security Tariq Al Hassan described the protesters as hooligans causing chaos and rioting. “Freedom of expression must be exercised in a civilised manner,” the statement said without giving details of injuries or detainees.

Marches in Manama mark anniversary of uprising
13 February, 2012 – France 24

REUTERS – Hundreds of protesters marched in the Bahraini capital Manama on Monday, trying to retake a landmark roundabout and blocking a highway on the eve of the first anniversary of a pro-democracy uprising in the Gulf Arab kingdom.

Inspired by revolts in Egypt and Tunisia, Bahrainis – mainly from the Shi’ite majority – took to the streets on Feb. 14, 2011 to demand democratic reform. The Sunni Muslim-led government crushed the protests a month later.

On Monday, they tried to reoccupy a symbolic square where demonstrators camped out for a month from Feb. 14, 2011. They advanced about 2 km (1.5 miles) before police stopped them by firing teargas and rubber bullets, a Reuters witness said.

Traffic came to a standstill on the main thoroughfare into the capital, and teargas canisters, rubber pellets and rocks littered the highway.

Some fled into nearby Shi’ite villages and into the Budaiya district where heavy clashes continued for about an hour as youths threw petrol bombs, iron bars and rocks. Police fired teargas and stun grenades. Two helicopters hovered overhead.

The events took police by surprise after hundreds broke off from an organised march led by Wefaq, and ran onto the highway.

“It (took them) by surprise, they were not expecting anyone to do that,” said Sayed, 25, an activist from the town of Aali.

Sheikh Ali Salman, leader of the largest Shi’ite opposition group Wefaq, has called on youths to eschew violence.

Chief of public security Tariq Al Hassan described the protesters as hooligans causing chaos and rioting. “Freedom of expression must be exercised in a civilised manner,” the statement said without giving details of injuries or detainees. …more

What I Learned in the Airport in Bahrain
13 February, 2012 – Robert Naiman – Truthout

Bahrain International Airport – When I came to Bahrain, it certainly wasn’t with the intention of spending my whole time in the country in the airport. I wanted to see what was going on in the country, not to see what was going on in the airport.

But the Bahrain authorities would not let me enter the country. At this writing, it’s 5 PM local time. My flight got in at 2:15 AM. I have been informed that the director of Immigration has decided that I shall not have a visa to enter Bahrain – although in the past it was the practice of the Bahrain authorities to give visas to Americans in the airport pretty much automatically – so the authorities are saying that the only way I am leaving the airport is on a plane out of the country. At this writing, it looks like I could be in the airport for another 36 hours.

Other observers managed to get in, and you can see their reports at Witness Bahrain. (You can’t see that website if you live in Bahrain though – it’s blocked here by the Bahrain authorities.) But if you’re in the US, you can read reports on Witness Bahrain on the protests marking the first anniversary of the uprising for democracy, and the Bahrain government’s response to those protests. I won’t be able to contribute to those reports, since, sitting in the airport, I won’t be able to observe the protests and the government response.

However, I did learn something useful, sitting in the airport, waiting with a bunch of other foreigners for permission to enter the country.

I learned that the government of Bahrain is starting to pay a real price for its efforts to shield its actions toward peaceful protesters from international scrutiny.

In its efforts to keep people like me out – people who want to observe how the Bahrain government is responding to peaceful protests – the Bahrain government has adopted a policy of suspicion toward a much broader group of Westerners. And that’s going to hurt the Bahrain government’s image among a much broader group of people than just people like me. It will hurt the willingness of tourists and business people to come to Bahrain. …more

In Complicating Move, Al-Qaeda Backs Syria Revolt
13 February, 2012 – Associated Press – by Elizabeth A. Kennedy – Military.com

BEIRUT — The Al-Qaida leader’s call for the ouster of Syria’s “pernicious, cancerous regime” is raising fears that Islamic extremists will try to exploit an uprising against President Bashar Assad that began with peaceful calls for democratic change but is morphing into a bloody, armed insurgency.

The regime has long blamed terrorists for the 11-month-old revolt, and al-Qaida’s endorsement creates new difficulties for the U.S., its Western allies and Arab states trying to figure out a way to help force Assad from power. On Sunday, the 22-nation Arab League called for the U.N. Security Council to create a joint peacekeeping force for Syria, but Damascus rejected it immediately.

In an eight-minute video message released late Saturday, al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri called on Muslims to support Syrian rebels.

“Wounded Syria is still bleeding day after day, and the butcher [Bashar Assad] isn’t deterred and doesn’t stop,” said al-Zawahri, who took over al-Qaida after Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. special forces last May. “However, the resistance of our people in Syria is escalating and growing despite all the pains, sacrifices and blood.”

Click here to find out more!

The United Nations estimates more than 5,400 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began in March. But that figure is from January, when the U.N. stopped counting because the chaos in the country has made it all but impossible to check the figures.

While many of the anti-government protests sweeping the country remain peaceful, the uprising as a whole has become more violent in recent months as frustrated demonstrators and army defectors take up arms to protect themselves from the steady military assault. An increasing number of army defectors known as the Free Syrian Army have launched attacks, killing soldiers and security forces.

Syria now has become one of the deadliest conflicts of the Arab Spring, and many fear the country of 22 million at the heart of the Arab world is on the verge of a civil war that could engulf the region.

In a grave escalation of the violence, a string of suicide attacks has killed dozens of people since late December. The latest, twin bombings in the major northern city of Aleppo, killed at least 28 people on Friday, the government said. Some 70 people were killed in earlier attacks in the capital, Damascus, on Dec. 23 and Jan. 6. All the blasts struck security targets.

Nobody has taken responsibility for the attacks, but the regime said they have the hallmarks of al-Qaida and immediately blamed the global terror group.

Saturday’s statement by al-Zawahri appears to bolster Assad’s accusations, but the Syrian opposition and the Free Syrian Army reject the government’s claims entirely. They accuse forces loyal to the regime of setting off the blasts to smear the opposition, terrify people into submission and exploit fears of chaos and sectarian warfare.

For many Syrians, the uncertainty over the future is cause for alarm in a country that has watched neighboring Lebanon and Iraq descend into bloody wars over the years. Syria is a fragile jigsaw puzzle of Middle Eastern backgrounds including Sunnis, Shiites, Alawites, Christians, Kurds, Druse, Circassians, Armenians and more.

U.S.-Backed Bahraini Forces Arrest and Deport Two American Peace Activists Acting as Human Rights Observers
13 February, 2012 – Democracy Now

On Saturday, Bahrain arrested and deported two U.S. human rights lawyers, Huwaida Arraf and Radhika Sainath, for their role in recent protests. They were deported Sunday and returned to New York last night. Both Arraf and Sainath are human rights lawyers and members of the Witness Bahrain initiative, which places international observers in the country in the hopes of preventing violence by security forces. Their arrest comes just ahead of the one-year anniversary of the popular uprising against the U.S.-backed monarchy. In the past year, Bahraini security forces have killed dozens of demonstrators, and hundreds more have been arrested or fired from their jobs. “[We] also were getting reports of journalists and human rights organization representatives being denied entry into the country in the lead-up to the first anniversary of the Bahrain revolution. And this caused great alarm, that the government was planning to escalate its oppression of the people,” says Huwaida Arraf. [transcript]

A Tale of Two Repressions: Bahrain and Syria
13 February, 2012 – Forbes – Mark Abdomanbis

Russia’s continued support of Bashar Al-Assad has provoked a chorus of outrage from across the political spectrum – Democrats, Republicans, progressives, conservatives, almost everyone has been falling over themselves to denounce Russian perfidy in ever more hysterical terms. US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, in particular, has been so openly acrimonious and condescending that I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to wake up tomorrow morning and read that she had labeled her Russian counterpart, Vitaly Churkin, “a real douchebag.”

Of course, the critics of Russia’s Syria policy have a point. Russia’s continued support of Syria’s embattled and bloodstained regime really is appalling and, more than that, seems to be rather pointless: it’s hard to see how Assad is going to be able to hold on to power for more than another few months regardless of what happens in the UN security council.* One can, of course, note that Russia has significant long-term geopolitical interests in Syria, sizable weapons contracts and the presence of a warm-water naval base in Tartus, but these seem rather trifling and empty observations in an environment where innocent civilians are being gunned down en masse.

But what seems quite noteworthy is that many of the people who are now loudly demanding that the United States “do something” in Syria, and who are using Russia’s support for Syria as proof that the Russians are little better than barbarians, were almost entirely silent in the case of a brutal and lethal crackdown on a popular protest movement in another Middle Eastern country: Bahrain.

In symmetry that seems almost too perfect, much as Syria is a significant consumer of Russian weapons and hosts a Russian naval base, Bahrain is a significant consumer of American weapons and hosts an American naval base. While it is true that the crackdown in Bahrain wasn’t nearly as lethal as the ongoing crackdown in Syria, it was nonetheless exceedingly nasty and brutal with dozens of protesters killed by security forces, several tortured to death, and the creation of a general atmosphere of government impunity and terror (particularly vile was the regime’s targeting of hospitals treating the wounded). Although the Bahraini government has made a big show of “reform,” and in classic fashion has commissioned a report, admitted that “mistakes were made,” and punished a few low-level functionaries, the government continues to brutalize protesters and has reluctantly consented to constitutional reforms that are exceedingly modest and amount to little more than a reshuffling of deck chairs.

Before proceeding further it is necessary to note that the United States is far better positioned to influence Bahrain than it is to influence Syria. Bahrain is a close ally and dependent of the United States and has long relied on American weaponry and American support to guard its security. Syria, on the other hand, has had awful relations with the United States for decades and there are no economic or security relationships to speak of. So while the presence of the Fifth Fleet gives the United States an enormous amount of leverage over Bahrain, the “levers” it has at its disposal with Syria are so weak as to be non-existent.

Having read articles from people like Leon Wieseltier, Anne Applebaum, Eliot Abrams, and David Pryce-Jones that either directly call for Western intervention in Syria or loudly bemoan Russian intransigence in supporting Assad (Pryce-Jones were perhaps the most colorful when he said that Sergei Lavrov is “a man as cold and mendacious as any commissar from Soviet times”), I thought I would do a little bit of digging to see how these paragons of morality in foreign policy, people who consider Russian inaction in Syria to be uniquely revolting, dealt with the brutal and violent suppression of the protests in Bahrain.

Applebaum has had almost nothing to say about the brutal crackdown in Bahrain – she mentioned it in passing in an article last February and approvingly noted that the Bahraini crown prince had been disinvited from the royal wedding in an April blog post. As best I can gather from scouring the intertubes, that’s all she’s had to say about it, it just apparently is not a topic that interests her despite her history of deep involvement with and advocacy of democracy promotion. …more

In 1953, CIA operative Kermit Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt’s grandson and Franklin’s cousin, engineered the Agency’s first coup. Democratically elected Mossadeq was ousted. “At the time, The New York Times called him “the most popular politician in the country.” Nonetheless, a military showdown followed against pro-Mossadegh officers with each side staking their careers on the outcome. He was deposed. Reza Shah Pahlavi replaced him. Sanctions were lifted, and America and Britain regained an Iranian client state until February 1979 when the same Anglo-American interests turned on the Shah and removed him. As late as 1977, Jimmy Carter declared Iran an “oasis of stability.” He ignored years of brutal regime repression. In 1978, a White House Iran task force recommended replacing the Shah with Ayatollah Khomeini. He was then living in France.”

Iran’s Historic Anniversary
by Stephen Lendman – 13 February, 2012 – Voltaire Network

February 11 marked the 33rd anniversary of Iran’s 1979 revolution. It ended a generation of repressive rule under Washington’s installed Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.

In late 1947, Iran demanded more revenue from its own oil. Britain’s Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AOIC) refused.

In 1951, one month before Mohammad Mosaddegh became prime minister, parliament nationalized AOIC. Fair compensation was paid. Iran tried but couldn’t resolve its revenue sharing dispute equitably.

Economic sanctions and an oil embargo followed. British banks froze Iranian assets. Major Anglo-American oil interests supported London. Today’s anti-Iranian repression replicates what occurred then.

In 1953, CIA operative Kermit Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt’s grandson and Franklin’s cousin, engineered the Agency’s first coup. Democratically elected Mossadeq was ousted.

At the time, The New York Times called him “the most popular politician in the country.” Nonetheless, a military showdown followed against pro-Mossadegh officers with each side staking their careers on the outcome.

He was deposed. Reza Shah Pahlavi replaced him. Sanctions were lifted, and America and Britain regained an Iranian client state until February 1979 when the same Anglo-American interests turned on the Shah and removed him.

As late as 1977, Jimmy Carter declared Iran an “oasis of stability.” He ignored years of brutal regime repression. In 1978, a White House Iran task force recommended replacing the Shah with Ayatollah Khomeini. He was then living in France.

It was part of a larger scheme to balkanize the region along tribal and religious lines. It also sought to create an “arc of crisis” through Central Asia to Soviet Russia.

Accomplishing it in 1978 became urgent. The Shah was negotiating a 25-year oil deal with British Petroleum (BP), but talks broke down in October. BP demanded exclusive rights to future output but refused to guarantee oil purchases.

The Shah balked and sought new buyers in Europe and elsewhere. He also hoped to create a modern energy infrastructure built around nuclear power. He wanted to transform Iranian and regional power needs.

He envisioned 20 new reactors by 1995 to diversify away from Iran’s dependence on oil. He also wanted Washington’s pressure to recycle petrodollars weakened, as well as increased foreign investments.

Alarmed, Washington tried blocking his plan but failed. As a result, its usual tactics followed. They included cutting Iranian oil purchases, other economic pressures, and fueled instability through oil strikes, religious rivalries, and other disruptive practices to incite anti-Shah sentiment.

Major media scoundrels regurgitated government propaganda. Khomeini got a public stage to speak. The Shah was prevented from responding. In January 1979, things came to a head. He fled the country. Khomeini returned, and proclaimed the Islamic Republic with overwhelming public support.

In May, he cancelled Iran’s nuclear plans. American officials thought they could control him and Iranian oil, but miscalculated. Free from Western dominance, Iran didn’t look back.

As a result, tensions built. Three-three years later they’re boiling. Tehran’s again targeted for regime change. …more

A year of repression: Bahrain continues crackdown on press
By Khalid Ibrahim – Committee to Protect Journalists – 13 February, 2012

In the year since peaceful protests began in Bahrain on February 14, 2011, the government has targeted the press corps with assault, detention, harassment, and torture to obstruct their coverage. My organization, the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, has documented a systematic campaign by authorities to silence coverage of our country’s unrest. Here are just some of the many attacks on the press:

Bahraini newspapers are either guided or owned by the state except for Al-Wasat, whose staff members have come under severe attack because of the paper’s independence. Karim Fakhrawi, a founder of Al-Wasat, paid the ultimate price. He died in police custody in April 2011, just three days after imprisoned blogger Zakariya al-Ashiri also died in custody. Authorities have barred independent investigations into the deaths despite the fact that both journalists were healthy before being imprisoned just days earlier.

On November 8, a court in Manama found four Al-Wasat journalists guilty of publishing false news in March 2011. The journalists–Editor-in-Chief Mansoor al-Jamri, Managing Editor Walid Noueihed, Local News Director Aqeel Mirza, and Senior Editor Ali al-Sherify–were fined 1,000 dinars (US$2,650) each. Al-Jamri’s wife, journalist Reem Khalifa, has been targeted as well. On July 14, pro-government supporters assaulted Khalifa in a Manama hotel. I was there, and I have testified about the attack against her and how she faced her assailants with courage. But the politicized judiciary ignored her complaint and instead heard a complaint brought against her by government supporters who lodged allegations of defamation and assault. Authorities continue to pursue these false charges against Khalifa, who was the victim of the assault.

Police officers, by law, have a duty to protect citizens, but journalist Mazen Mahdi’s rights have repeatedly been violated. Security forces have beaten, humiliated, handcuffed, and blindfolded Mahdi, a contributor to Deutsche Presse Agentur, because of his coverage of demonstrations. These attacks were carried out in police stations and in the presence of other officers. …more

…source