U.S. Urged to Leverage Security Cooperation with Bahrain
By David Elkins – 23 March, 2101 – IPS

WASHINGTON, Mar 23, 2012 (IPS) – As government crackdowns continue, Bahrain is attracting more international visitors than just those coming in preparation for next month’s Forumla One Grand Prix.

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa recently hosted Dr. Jimmy Gurulé, a law professor at Notre Dame University and former U.S. assistant attorney general, to “assess the country’s pretrial detention policies and procedures”.

Dr. Gurulé’s delegation, which was sponsored by the American Bar Association and the U.S. State Department, included a visit to Jawa prison, a major detention facility in Bahrain.

The Bahraini government is “in the process of implementing the necessary legislation, the necessary authority of judicial inspections of prisons”, Dr. Gurulé told IPS.

“They are sincere and intent to implement the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report and intend to implement them fully…the fact that they brought me out suggests that they’re acting in good faith and wanting to implement the recommendations,” he said.

“The most effective way of preventing instances of torture is to ensure that detainees are afforded rights of consul immediately after detention…but there is a dearth of human rights lawyers in the country,” Gurulé said.

Despite reports of increasingly deadly government tactics to suppress protestors and unofficial detention facilities where security forces beat and torture civilians, the Bahraini government has remained, rhetorically, committed to implementing reforms – a claim Western governments, particularly the U.S., seem unwilling to contest publicly.

“(T)he government is taking some actions, but it doesn’t seem to be acting very effectively,” Bill Marczak, a director at Bahrain Watch, a human rights group, told IPS.

“Yes the government issued a police code of conduct on Jan. 30, and set up an Interior Ministry ombudsman, but there are concerns about the independence of the ombudsman, and police still continue the same abuses with impunity.”

A “major non-NATO ally” of the U.S., the Saudi-backed al-Khalifa monarchy has housed the U.S. Navy’s fifth fleet and U.S. Naval Central Command since 1971 – the base for most of the U.S. naval operations in the Persian Gulf as well as the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

Of primary concern for U.S. policy makers are strategic and political rivalries between Saudi Arabia and Iran – however exaggerated or understated these rivalries may be – as well as regional security issues, according to some experts.

“The vast majority of connection and effort and diplomacy has been between through the White House and the Pentagon…that is significant because it means that the security architecture is how it gets it leverage,” Dr. Toby C. Jones, a professor of modern Middle East History at Rutgers University told IPS.

“But it can be argued that that leverage has not been used effectively,” Jones added.

Saudi Arabia, which has largely avoided the popular demands for political change in the region, has a large interest in preventing religious and ethnic tensions in Bahrain from spilling over into its eastern provinces that serve as major hubs for oil production and transportation – tensions that the Saudi monarchy has attributed to Iranian machinations. …more

Typical scene in Village Homes following Bahrain MOI Collective Punishment Raids

Bahraini woman dies from inhaling tear gas fired by regime forces
23 March, 2012 – PressTV

The victim, identified as Abde Ali, aged 59, died on Friday after she inhaled tear gas fired by Saudi-backed Al Khalifa regime forces at protesters in the A’ali village, situated about three kilometers (1.8 miles) southeast of the capital, Manama.

The development comes a day after security forces used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse anti-government protesters in several towns and villages outside Manama.

The protesters were chanting slogans against the regime, demanding the ouster of its rulers.

Meanwhile, Bahraini activists have released new footage showing a handcuffed child who, they said, was beaten and sexually harassed by the Saudi-backed forces.

The boy was left unconscious with his hands tied behind his back and was found lying in a street by residents in the Sanabis village near Manama.

Bahrain has been witnessing a revolution since anti-government protests broke out in February 2011.

Forces loyal to the Al Khalifa ruling family have ever since killed scores of protesters and arrested thousands more. …more

MOI Police continue to shoot CS Gas Canisters at “point blank” with intention to kill.

Police target thousands of protesters with tear gas across Bahrain
23 March, 2012 – BlottR

Police riots fired tear gas to disperse a huge rally in Sitra, an island in the Central Governorate of Bahrain. According to S.Yousif Almuhafda, a human rights defender, thousands of protesters demonstrated to demand the overthrow of the regime.

Besides Sitra, 9 other marches were organised across the kingdom today. People protested in Sanabis, Al-Dair, Aali, Tubli, Bilad, Samaheej, Bilad Alqadim, Karzakan and Nuwaidrat as well as in neighbouring villages. According to Maryam Al-Khawaja, a prominent activist, each of these protests were attacked by security forces and dispersed with large amounts tear gas.

Activists reported a heavy presence of security forces with armoured vehicles and jeeps roaming around many villages. Violent clashes also erupted between protesters and police forces in different areas, young demonstrators retaliated throwing rocks at police officers including in Sitra.

On twitter protesters reported that police attempted to run them over, one tweeted: “Just escaped from SUV almost ran over us”. Others said on their twitter account: “And as I expected: it is raining #teargas outside! #Bahrain10Marches #Bahrain”

As the protests terminated activist Al-Khawaja sent a tweet saying: “Several residential areas facing collective punishment right now bcz of earlier protests #bahrain #feb14 #dailyoccurrence”.

This wave of violence comes as the Bahraini Kind claimed “significant and broad progress” toward reforms in a report following up earlier recommendations to correct widespread abuse committed during the government’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests last year.

Since the beginning of the uprising 13 months ago, activists claim that 70 people have died across Bahrain due to abuses committed by security forces and the use of tear gas. …more