Bahrain and the Arab Spring
1 February, 2012 – Interview: Ahmed Mohammed – Socialist Worker

The small island nation of Bahrain sits in the Persian Gulf, between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. When the Tunisian and Egyptian uprising toppled U.S.-backed dictators last year, all of the region’s dictatorships trembled, including Bahrain. The winds of change inspired Bahrain’s downtrodden, and the country’s monarchy barely managed to maintain its grip on power.

Ahmed Mohammed, a Bahraini activist visiting the U.S., spoke with Zach Zill about Bahrain’s rebellion, and what the future holds.

A protester wounded during a Bahraini military assault against protesters in February 2011A protester wounded during a Bahraini military assault against protesters in February 2011

CAN YOU talk about how the movement in Bahrain unfolded last February? Why did thousands of people come out to Pearl Square in Bahrain’s capital of Manama?

THE PROTESTS had originally aimed to make the government fulfill the promises of the king. These promises were made in a referendum the king put to the people in 2001. The referendum offered us a bargain–turn Bahrain into a kingdom and the emir into a king, and in return, the dreaded state of emergency law would be ended, and a parliament with full legislative powers set up. He basically offered what the opposition had been demanding throughout the uprising of the 1990s. The referendum was widely welcomed and approved.

Then the king reneged on his promise. On February 14, 2002, the king announced a new constitution in which he concentrated power in his own hands. The parliament has virtually no legislative powers.

As the years went by, the regime plotted to permanently disempower the opposition and ensure the regime’s power in the long term. It all fell apart as their conspiracies began to leak to the public, just as WikiLeaks did with U.S. embassy cables.

Probably the most scandalous leak of all is a document that reveals a transaction between a businessman and the king’s uncle, the prime minister. The latter, who is the world’s longest-serving prime minister and a universally hated figure in Bahrain, bought a state-of-the-art financial development project called the Bahrain Financial Harbor for one dinar. That’s $2.65 for skyscrapers in the capital’s busiest district.

As all of this became public knowledge, and as it became increasingly clear that the regime had no intentions to reform the rigged political system, a lot of anger and resentment began building up. People within the opposition had been warning that this situation is not tenable, that it would explode at some point.

The departure of Tunisia’s Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January set Bahraini activists’ imagination on fire. A Facebook group was set up to mark the 10th anniversary of the hated constitution with Bahrain’s own day of rage. There was about a month-long gap between Ben Ali’s departure and February 14. What happened during that period was even more exciting.

EGYPT.

YES, EGYPT. Mubarak fell just days before February 14. The Bahraini regime went into a panic. In a matter of hours after Mubarak’s departure, BTV, Bahrain’s national television channel, announced that the government would give 1,000 dinars to every household. That’s $2,650! Of course, the stated reason for this sudden act of generosity was the upcoming 10th anniversary celebrations of the “reform era.”

WAS THE movement in Pearl Square calling specifically for the end of the monarchy?

NOT IN the beginning. The protesters were calling for a constitutional monarchy, which is what the constitution claims Bahrain is anyway. This entailed giving the parliament full legislative powers and, most importantly, an elected prime minister. As I pointed out earlier, the current prime minister is universally hated in Bahrain and is known for his corruption and ruthlessness. Moreover, he’s been in power for 40 years, ever since the country’s independence from Britain.

The peaceful protests were met with brutal repression, especially on February 17. By then, the protesters had successfully made their way to the Pearl roundabout and camped there for two nights. I was there on February 17, but fortunately, I left just a few hours before the surprise attack. After attacking the roundabout, the government sent the army to stop people from returning to the roundabout. When some protesters attempted to return the next day, they were sprayed with live ammunition.

Against all odds and despite all the brutality, people still managed to re-occupy the roundabout. By then, the change in slogans was clear. Dispatching the army to mow down peaceful protesters was the last straw for many people. The rejectionists had been vindicated. Everyone realized that this regime is beyond reform.

When the roundabout was recaptured, people just started trickling in slowly. The really dedicated activists made it there first. Slowly, the numbers increased to unprecedented levels. At their peak, the numbers were reported to be a few hundred thousand. Proportionally speaking, this is almost certainly the largest protest among all Arab countries. It’s a country of less than a million people, after all.

WAS THERE an economic component to the demands as well?

YES, BUT you can’t see it in the slogans. Economic factors certainly underlie many of the grievances. For example, the rising price of housing. This was in large part a result of the royal family’s sweeping land-grab schemes. While they were doing this, Bahrain was also opening its markets to foreign capital through a free trade agreement with the United States.

The land-grabbing schemes caused scarcity in commercially available land, and the liberalization of the economy increased demand for whatever was left. The effect of this has been predictable: land and property values exploded. Building or purchasing a home has very quickly become out of reach for the working class.

Also, economic factors break down according to sectarian affiliation. I can tell you for sure that the people who protested were predominately Shia. And the Shia are systematically discriminated against. The level of unemployment in the Shia villages is proportionately much higher than in their Sunni counterparts. According to the Economist, unemployment in Bahrain’s villages is as high as 50 percent. And so I think that’s definitely a part of the drive to protest and why people are so angry. …more

Iran refuses to grant Greece 500,000 barrel oil shipment
26 February, 2012 – Al-Akhbar

Iran has refused to give Greece a shipment of 500,000 barrels of crude oil, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Sunday, without giving a source.

“Oil tankers that had come to transfer 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil to a refinery in Greece had to go back empty-handed after Iran refused to give the shipment,” Fars reported.

The European Union in January decided to stop importing crude from Iran from July 1 over its nuclear program.

Iran stopped selling crude to British and French companies last week after Iran’s oil minister said that the Islamic state would cut its oil exports to “some” European countries.

The move is set to undermine the already fragile Greek economy. …source

Friends of Syria?
By As’ad AbuKhalil – 26 February, 2012 – Angry Corner – Al-Akhbar

This was a quintessential American spectacle. You know that this was managed and orchestrated and choreographed by a low-ranking diplomat at the US Department of State. People with longer memories can see parallels with the theatrics that characterized US policies prior to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. International conferences were held and the US sponsored a conference for Ahmad Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress (which reminds one of Syrian National Congress – both are led by highly educated exiled natives whose presence could not conceal the power of religious forces they are dependent on).

But the numbers of the “friends of Syria” who assembled in Tunis is not really known. Assafir newspaper spoke of 50 countries represented. US media spoke of 60 countries. But Saudi and Hariri media can’t accept such lower figures. They insisted that no less than 90 countries attended. Usually, the US brings Micronesia and the Marshal Islands to such fairs to add political weight. Was Micronesia listed also as “friend of Syria?” If the former colonial power of Syria, France, is listed as “friend of Syria,” why not invite Israel as well? Why confine it to 50 or 90? But that would have embarrassed the Syrian National Congress. Chalabi used to promise the US government that once the US topples Saddam, and once he takes over Iraq, he will sign a peace treaty with Israel. Are Ghalioun and his Ikhwan backers making such promises?

But what was achieved at the conference beyond the rhetoric which did not satisfy the “sole representatives of the Syrian people?” To be sure, Saudi Arabia came with a high ceiling of demands. Clearly, Saudi Arabia has decided to push Qatar aside. Saudi Arabia will no longer allow its small neighbor and bitter rival to take over what it sees as a primary Saudi role: leading the GCC and the Arab League – on behalf of the US and the interests of Israel, of course. …more

Israel and Azerbaijan sign weapons deal
26 February, 2012 – Al-Akhbar

Israel has signed a $1.6 billion deal to sell drones, anti-aircraft weapons, and missile defense systems to Azerbaijan, risking further conflict with Iran.

The deal will provide further evidence to Tehran that Baku is becoming a key ally for Israel in the region.

Israel has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran in recent weeks claiming it is seeking nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran has denied.

Israel possesses the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal.

Azerbaijan, which shares a border with the Islamic Republic, has improved its relations with the Jewish state.

A report in The Times of London two weeks ago claimed that Baku was a key base for Israeli Mossad intelligence agents looking to spy on Iran.

It quoted an unnamed Mossad official saying: “our presence here is quiet, but substantial. We have increased our presence in the past year, and it gets us very close to Iran. This is a wonderfully porous country.” Azerbaijan denied the claim.

Israel’s ties with Azerbaijan, a Muslim country that became independent with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, have grown as its once-strong strategic relationship with another Iranian neighbor, Turkey, has deteriorated.

It was not clear whether the arms deal with Azerbaijan was connected to any potential Israeli plans to strike Iran. The Israeli defense officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not at liberty to discuss defense deals. …more

The Security Solution vs The Friends of Syria: Recipe for Deadlock
By: Nicolas Nassif – 26 February, 2012 – Al-Akhbar

There is a complete disconnect between the Friends of Syria conference that was held Friday February 24 in Tunisia and the military solution adopted by the Syrian regime inside Syria.

The dialogue between Syrian President Bashar Assad and his Arab and Western adversaries regarding the bloody crisis in Syria is almost non-existent.

Assad has ignored the pressure and harsh sanctions against his regime and has insisted on pursuing a security solution against the armed opposition in an attempt to create a new balance of power that would guarantee his place at the head of negotiations over the fate of his country under the purview of his regime.

Arab and Western leaders who are against Assad have cut off all direct dialogue with him. Communication is restricted to the media and the strict measures and sanctions taken against his regime.

These leaders rely on two Syrian opposition movements that don’t speak to one another except to highlight their differences, disagreements, and opposing views on foreign military intervention.

Arabs and Western powers distinguish between the first of these groups, the Syrian National Council (SNC) and the rest of the Syrian opposition. They invite the former to the Tunisia conference and the others to dismantle the regime.

As such, the military and political options appear to be moving on parallel tracks that don’t meet anywhere. And there has not been a breakthrough toward a settlement. …more

Committee issues vague recommendations in 11 cases out of nearly 1000, arbitrary arrests and torture continue
26 February, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The committee set by the Supreme Judicial Council revealed that 502 persons were convicted by the Military court up until Oct 2011 in 165 different cases, and another 437 cases which were referred from the Military Prosecution to the Public Prosecution in Oct 2011 are still open. Out of nearly a thousand cases, the committee reviewed only 30 cases and issued recommendation in only 11 cases:

Dropping the charges and excluding them from the daily precedents record for 5 defendants, taking into consideration only the penalty executed in relation to the four defendants, the exclusion of the charge in relation to one defendant, and dropping the charge for of the precedents record for one defendant.

Al-Wefaq issued a statement in which it said the government is trying to to get around the recommendations of Bassiouni regarding the trials.

Mohsen Al Alawi, a lawyer who represents one defendant involved in the 30 cases, said it was not clear how many of the 11 defendants were still in jail or had been freed.

He said the fate of charges in the rest of the 30 cases was not clear.

“It’s very opaque,” he said, adding that in his view all military court verdicts should have been shelved in line with the commission’s recommendations, rather than allowing the cases to continue in civilian courts.

Cases still pending after transfer to civilian courts include controversial trials of medics, teachers and 14 men jailed for leading the protests last year. One of those 14, rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who also has Danish nationality, has been on hunger strike for more than two weeks.
(as reported on chicagotribune.com)

A 24 year old man from Malikeya gets arrested from his house then taken to a nearby checkpoint where he was brutally beaten by security forces using their batons, weapons and wooden sticks, leading to several bones fracture and bruises all over his body. He was then taken back to his area. …more

Campaign: FREE, Human Rights Defenders in Bahrain
23 February, 2012 – Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights

Mr.Abdulhadi Alkhawaja: is the former MENA Coordinator for frontline Defenders, the Previous President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and the sitting President of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights. He is known as one of most prominent human rights defenders in the regions and a trainer of human right activists. Last April, Mr.Alkhawaja was arrested for his role in the pro-democracy protests and sentenced to life in prison. The activist was subjected to severe torture that was documented by the BICI (Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry). Mr.Alkhawaja began the hungerstrike on Wednesday the 8th of February, and demanded “Freedom or death” as a condition for ending his hungerstrike. He has been taken to hospital more than once in the past days.

Mr.Naji Fateel: is a board member of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) and blogger who has been active in reporting human rights violations in Bahrain.He used his account on Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/najialifateel) for dissemination of human rights information. He was previously detained between Dec 2007 and April 2009, and has been reportedly tortured. His house was stormed in search for him several times last year following the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. He was suffering from damage to his spine and was supposed to travel abroad to get medical treatment.

Mr.Hasan Al-Jaber: is a prominent human rights blogger who is regarded as a reliable source for Bahrain news. He used his account on Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/HasanAljaber) for dissemination of human rights information. He used to report from protests, posting first-hand testimonies of human rights violations to the media and also contributed to support non-violence strategies in cooperation with the BYSHR. …more

Bahraini Opposition Leader Views Talks with Al Khalifa Regime as “Futile”
26 February, 2012 – FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- A Bahraini revolutionary leader said that the offer of talks with the opposition is a plot hatched by the Manama regime to buy time, and added that negotiation with the Al-Khalifa regime is “futile”.

“The regime’s invitation to talks has always been on the table since long time ago since it actually wants to buy time and is not after results,” Head of Bahrain’s Freedom-Seeking Union Ali Fayez told FNA on Sunday.

“It (the Bahraini regime) wants talks for the sake of talks,” Fayez stated, adding that the type of negotiations desired by the Manama regime is the one in which the opposition merely listens and obeys whatever is dictated by the regime.

He pointed to the regime’s strong opposition to any talks over an elected government, and noted, “What does negotiation mean when they (ruling regime) restrict it.”

The Bahraini opposition says that people in the tiny Persian Gulf country are resolved to continue protests until they see a materialization of their righteous demands and aspirations.

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty’s over-40-year rule.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13, 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

So far, tens of people have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and more than 1,000 others have been injured. …source

Syrian referendum called a ‘sham,’ activists say 29 more killed in crackdown
26 February, 2012 – Zeina Karam – Associated Press

DAMASCUS, SYRIA—Syria’s authoritarian regime held a referendum on a new constitution Sunday, a gesture by embattled President Bashar Assad to placate those seeking his ouster. But the opposition deemed it an empty gesture and the West immediately dismissed the vote as a “sham.”

Even as some cast ballots for what the government has tried to portray as reform, the military kept up shelling of the opposition stronghold of Homs, which has been under attack for more than three weeks after rebels took control of some neighbourhoods there. Activists and residents report that hundreds have been killed in Homs in the past few weeks, including two Western journalists.

The Red Cross spokesman said the humanitarian group had been unable to enter the besieged Homs neighbourhood of Baba Amr since Friday, describing the humanitarian needs there as “very urgent.”

Activist groups said at least 29 people were killed on Sunday, mostly in Homs. At least 89 were reported killed on Saturday alone, one day before the referendum. Activists estimate close to 7,500 people have been killed in the 11 months since the Assad regime’s brutal crackdown on dissent began.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Sunday’s vote “a cynical ploy.”

“It’s a phoney referendum, and it is going to be used by Assad to justify what he’s doing to other Syrian citizens,” she said in an interview with CBS News in Rabat, Morocco.

Speaking to reporters in Rabat, Clinton called on Syrians in business and the military who still support Assad to turn against him.

“The longer you support the regime’s campaign of violence against your brothers and sisters, the more it will stain your honour,” she said. “If you refuse, however, to prop up the regime or take part in attacks … your countrymen and women will hail you as heroes.”

Other countries also lambasted the vote. …more

Syrians Vote on Constitution; Opposition Boycotts
26 February, 2012 – POMED

The new constitution calls for a multi-party parliamentary election within three months, which the Syrian government has pushed forward as a sign of reform, but that many have rejected as “fraudulent.” The U.S. has dismissed the referendum as “laughable,” while Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu expressed doubt about the timing of the vote: “On one hand you say you are holding a referendum and on the other you are attacking with tank fire on civilian areas.” While Syrian state TV showed polling stations in Damascus to be peaceful, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported new violence around the country that left dozens of civilians and security forces dead. “What should we be voting for, whether to die by bombardment or by bullets? This is the only choice we have,” said Waleed Fares, an activist in the Khalidiyah district of Homs. Prime Minister Adel Safar, when asked about the referendum boycott, said it showed a lack of interest in engaging in dialogue, and added, “If there was a genuine desire for reform, there would have been movement from all groups, especially the opposition, to start dialogue immediately with the government to achieve the reforms and implement them on the ground.”

Meanwhile, the Syrian National Council has reached out to the Alawite community, and in a recent press release announced, “We in the SNC consider members of the Alawite sect to be an essential element of Syria’s cultural and ethnic fabric. It is shameful for us, the people of an undivided nation, to target a community by name instead of calling upon their national citizenship. However, this is the result of the regime’s actions.” Additionally, Jordan has announced that more than 80,000 Syrian refugees have fled the nearly 11 months of violence in their homeland and settled in neighboring Jordan. The unnamed official said the estimate was based on legal entries into Jordan, and that it is a testament to the growing violence in Syria. …source

Palestinian prisoner in isolation on hunger strike: lawyer
26 February, 2012 – Agence France Presse – The Daily Star

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: A Palestinian woman freed in a prisoner swap with Israel but later re-arrested has gone on hunger strike, a Palestinian lawyer said on Sunday.

Hanaa al-Shalabi has been on hunger strike since the day of her arrest on February 16, when she was ordered detained without trial for six months, said lawyer Fawaz al-Shuli who visited her in prison.

“She is determined to carry on her hunger strike even though the Israeli prison authorities decided to isolate her,” he told AFP.

Shalabi “is demanding the end of administrative detention (imprisonment without charge) and that the soldiers who beat her up and undressed her to carry out a body search be put on trial,” he said.

Shalabi was among more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released in October in a trade for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, held by Gaza-based militants for more than five years.

Her refusal to be fed comes as Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan on Tuesday ended a 66-day hunger strike in protest at his imprisonment without charge, under a deal that will see him released in April.

Shalabi, from the West Bank village of Burqin village near Jenin, spent 30 months in detention before her release last year.

The Israeli army said she was “a global jihad-affiliated operative” and was re-arrested on suspicion that she “posed a threat to the area.”

The Palestinian Prisoners Club says she is one of five inmates freed in the October swap who have since been re-arrested.

Adnan’s protest, the longest hunger strike carried out by any Palestinian prisoner, attracted international attention and threw a spotlight on Israel’s use of administrative detention, a military procedure which allows suspects to be held without charge indefinitely.

…more

Statement by the Press Secretary on the Death of Cuban Activist Wilmar Villar

President Obama’s thoughts and prayers are with the wife, family, and friends of Wilmar Villar, a young and courageous defender of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba who launched a hunger strike to protest his incarceration and succumbed to pneumonia.

Villar’s senseless death highlights the ongoing repression of the Cuban people and the plight faced by brave individuals standing up for the universal rights of all Cubans. The United States will not waver in our support for the liberty of the Cuban people. We will remain steadfast in our outreach to the Cuban people through unlimited Cuban American family visits and remittances, purposeful travel, and humanitarian assistance to dissidents and their families in support of their legitimate desire to freely determine Cuba’s future.

Cuban dissident Wilmar Villar dies on hunger strike
20 January, 2012 – Telegraph

Villar, 31, died on Thursday in a prison in Santiago as he was protesting a four-year sentence for “contempt, resistance and assault” on the government.

The father-of-two was one of 60 political prisoners thought to be held by Cuba and is the second to die on a hunger strike in the last two years.

Havana refused to comment but his death drew criticism from governments around the world as well as human rights organisations and Cuban opposition groups.

A White House statement said: “Villar’s senseless death highlights the ongoing repression of the Cuban people and the plight faced by brave individuals standing up for the universal rights of all Cubans.”

Amnesty International said it had been on the verge of designating Mr Villar a prisoner of conscience, a status granted to people believed to be held for no reason other than their political views.

“The Cuban government bears complete moral, political and legal responsibility for the death of Wilmar, because he was in the custody of the authorities,” a spokeswoman for the Cuban Committee for Human Rights and National Reconciliation said. …more

Cuban dissident dies in jail after hunger strike
20 January 2012 – Guardian

A 31-year-old jailed dissident, Wilmar Villar Mendoza, has died in eastern Cuba from the effects of a 56-day hunger strike and what fellow opposition activists believe was mistreatment by the Cuban government, according to a human rights activist.

Villar launched his hunger strike shortly after he was arrested in November, put on trial and sentenced to four years in prison for crimes including disobedience, resistance and crimes against the state, said Elizardo Sanchez of the Cuban Commission of Human Rights.

He said Villar had joined an opposition group called the Cuban Patriotic Union in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba last summer and had been an active dissident since then.

He was placed in solitary confinement, which, combined with his hunger strike, caused serious health problems that led to his death on Thursday, Sanchez told Reuters.

He was taken to a hospital in Santiago de Cuba on 14 January as his condition deteriorated and died there.

“We hold the Cuban government categorically responsible because he died under their care. We consider this another avoidable death,” Sanchez said.

Cuba drew international condemnation when another imprisoned dissident, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, died in February 2010 following an 85-day hunger strike.

The Cuban president, Raúl Castro, said Zapata was a common criminal, but his death is believed to have contributed to Castro’s decision in the summer of 2010 to release 130 political prisoners in a deal brokered by the Roman Catholic church.

Zapata was classified a “prisoner of conscience” by Amnesty International but Villar’s case has drawn little attention.

The Cuban government has not yet commented on Villar’s death, but pro-government blogger Yohandry announced it in his blog, saying “the delinquent Wilmar Villar Mendoza died”.

He predicted the death would bring criticism of Cuba from opponents of the Cuban government in the US.

“The scavengers are beginning to arrive. Another campaign against Cuba starts to take off,” he wrote.

The dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez tweeted the news of Villar’s death and asked “How many more have to die? How many more?” …source