editor: Much of the Western Journalism and even a large number “Human Rights Analysts” are referring to the situation in Bahrain as an event that occurred last year between February and April of 2011. Some do so out of ignorance and the convenience of an easily manipulate internet – they make their stories from that which “comes to the top”. Others do so maliciously to hide the brutal reality of crimes being committed by the regime against its citizens everyday. The BICI report establishes “arbitrary boundaries”, set to limit discussion of King Hamad’s “crackdown” to a narrow band of time. It also seeks to misdirect attention from the reality that the report was designed for political objectives under the pretense of a legitimate investigation. Its principal, Cherif Bassiouni was appointed and “deemed legitimate” by Western governments who find the politics of a regime change in Bahrain inopportune. All this charade has been designed to that protect a regime who to this hour continues to commit brutal crimes against its own democracy seeking people.

The BICI report has become a vehicle for misleading world opinion that events in Bahrain were in the past and that causalities and victims are an event in last year past, rather than a present reality. The skillful manipulation of facts by hired public relations firms and the deliberate misdirection away from the reality on the ground is deplorable. Internet sorts and information stacking has become a target for manipulation so that information that vilifies the opposition, misleads the public to the extent of oppression in Bahrain and promotes a “uprising of reform” rather than the “reality of revolution” facing the broken and corrupt al Khalifa regime and its fearful partners in the West.

The report below, from Bahrain Center for Human Rights helps to establish a reality of events as the relate to that which has occurred since the BICI report and the charade of reform it promotes. Phlipn.

Press Release Bahrain Centre for Human Rights on 26 March 2012

BCHR publishes today its new report Post BICI Report, presenting the main key findings from the ongoing effort to document human rights violations occurring in the state of Bahrain since the publication of the Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) in November 2012. Our investigative report supports the rights of victims, no matter their political or religious background. It is unaffiliated with the Bahraini government or any foreign government and is firmly centered on domestic civil society advocacy of human rights.

This report is the second publication from the BCHR chronicling the events since February 14th 2011. The first, Bahrain: The Human Price of Freedom and Justice, was pivotal in addressing the widespread and systematic violations of human rights and international law.

You can find the report here or here if you are in a country where direct access to our website is not available.

Executive Summary

This is a report by The Bahrain Center for Human Rights presenting the main key findings from the ongoing effort to document human rights violations occurring in the state of Bahrain since the publication of the Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry in November 2012. Our investigative report supports the rights of victims, no matter their political or religious background. It is unaffiliated with the Bahraini government or any foreign government and is firmly centered on domestic civil society advocacy of human rights.

This report is the second publication from the BCHR chronicling the events since February 14th 2011. The first, Bahrain: The Human Price of Freedom and Justice, was pivotal in addressing the widespread and systematic violations of human rights and international law. …more

Bahrain Center for Human Rights Report November 2011 HERE

Dozens join Bahrain hunger strike
26 March, 2012 – Al Akhbar

Dozens of Bahrainis are beginning a hunger strike on Monday in solidarity with human rights leader Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, who has now gone 46 days without food.

The protest will begin with a march in the capital Manama, with activists planning to walk silently through the streets to highlight the lack of international media coverage.

Afterwards activists will publicly pledge to refuse food to highlight Al-Khawaja’s plight.

Al-Khawaja, also a Danish citizen and founder of the Gulf Center for Human Rights, was sentenced to life in prison in June 2011 for organizing peaceful protests calling for democratic reform in the tiny Gulf state.

Said Yousif, deputy head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), said organizers were expecting around 50 people to participate in open-ended hunger strikes.

“It will be a call to the international community and the UN and the Danish government to save him, and ask for his urgent release before he dies,” he said.

The BCHR on Monday produced a report documenting continued human rights abuses committed by Bahraini security forces since a government-commissioned human rights report in November last year.

At least 31 people have been killed since the government-funded Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry highlighted systematic methods of abuse deployed by security forces, the report said.

Twenty of those recently killed, BCHR claimed, were due to suffocation from excessive use of tear gas.

Victims are often placed in isolated detention centers, where they are tortured and beaten without access to medical care, the report said. …more

Bahraini journalist Lamees Dhaif honored with Tully Free Speech Award
22 March, 2012 – By Wendy S. Loughlin – Inside SU

Lamees Dhaif, an independent Bahraini journalist and human rights activist, will come to Syracuse University April 2 as the recipient of the 2012 Tully Award for Free Speech. The award, presented annually by the Tully Center for Free Speech in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, is given to a journalist who has faced a significant free speech threat.

dhaif“We are excited to bring Lamees to Syracuse to hear her stories,” says Tully Center Director Roy Gutterman. “Our students and community can learn a lot from her and reflect on the role of reporters who take great risks to report the news.”

The award ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium in Newhouse 3. Dhaif will also visit SU classes and meet with students during her time on campus.

Dhaif has worked for several newspapers in Bahrain, including Akhbar Al-Khaleej, Sadaa Al Isbou’a, Al-Qabas, Al-Afaaq and Al-Waqt. Following widespread government censorship in response to massive anti-government protests in the capital Manama, Dhaif took to Twitter, Facebook and her blog (http://lameesbahrainperceptions.blogspot.com/), where she continues to cover the Arab Spring in Bahrain.

Dhaif has endured several challenges to free speech, including a 2009 legal complaint for insulting the judiciary after she wrote a series uncovering allegations of bias against women in Bahrain’s family courts. Though the case was dropped, officials made it clear that they could revive the charges at any time. Following large-scale anti-government protests in the spring of 2011, Dhaif was again called into court for criticizing the regime. These charges were also dropped, but the stakes were raised when pro-government forces wielding Molotov cocktails attacked her home.

Despite these threats, she has remained unbowed in her hard-hitting criticism of the government’s attempts to suppress the protest movement. In addition to her large social media audience and reporting published on her blog, she also writes a weekly column for the Saudi newspaper Alyaum and presents a television program on the Kuwaiti television station Al-Rai.

She has received several awards for her reporting, including a 2008 Excellence Award in Journalism from the Regional Conference on Women, and has been honored as the best writer by the Women’s Union at the 2009 International Women’s Day. …more

editor: At the risk of perpetuating the sectarian perspectives out there, Dr. Seznec offers another perspective on the prospects for reconciliation in Bahrain below. The one trend I would draw attention to is the continued reference to the BICI report as the basis of “all truth” regarding Human Rights in Bahrain. There are voluminous reports spanning regarding the regimes abuse and repression. The BICI was a politically expedite tool to deflect the regimes critics and to serve as a firewall between it and the growing pressure on Western governments to solve a problem of dissonance in their foreign policy in the Middle East. Bahrain perhaps more than any other regime in the Middle East personifies the gross hypocrisy of US foreign policy for democracy seeking peoples of the Middle East. Phlipn

Is Reconciliation in Bahrain Possible?
By Jean-François Seznec – Visiting Associate Professor George Town – 20 March, 2012

The total number of Bahraini citizens is reported to be about 570,000 nationals, less than half of a total population of over 1.2 million.[1] Nevertheless, this very small number makes up an amazingly complex society comprised of groups and subgroups with different interests and agendas. A short unpacking of Bahraini society may shed some light on the problems facing the Kingdom in 2012, and perhaps guide us through possible steps toward reconciliation.

Bahrain has often been described as a country with a majority Shi’a population dominated by a Sunni royal family. The Shi’a in Bahrain tend to be mostly Arabs originating from the Arabian Peninsula. The Bahraini Arab Shi’a, the largest group within that community, have extensive family and religious links with the Shi’a of the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia and the Shi’a of Iraq. The Arab Shi’a have traditionally been the farmers, pearl divers, and tradesmen of Bahrain. They tend to be linked to the Northern villages of Bahrain and are, by and large, less well-off than all other Bahrainis. However, there is now a large middle class within this group as well as some wealthy and successful families.

There is also an important group of Shi’a of Persian descent, who tend to be professionals and intellectuals. There are also a few Isma’ili families, mainly merchants originating from the Indian subcontinent.

The Sunnis come from very diverse backgrounds. The largest number are Arabs also originating mainly, but not solely, from the Arabian Peninsula. They are often referred to as the Muharaqqis, a reference to the island of the same name that is now linked to the mainland and is a major economic center in Bahrain today, where they have lived for centuries. There is also a small but very powerful group of Sunni Arabs that originate from Persia. Some of the main merchant families belong to this group. These families have branches throughout the Gulf and strong links in each of the GCC countries. There are a few Sunni families that originated from the Indian subcontinent . There are also a number of Sunnis of Persian origin and ethnicity, often referred to as Ajam. They tend to be successful, highly educated professionals, many of which are involved in the financial sector. …more

Revolution 99 Updates: Bahrain Our Evil Buddy. Media and Us Government, working together so you don’t know
26 March, 2012 – by Worldwide Hippies

There were No, Zero, Nada stories from any Main stream Corporate news outlets about Bahrain this morning. Voice of America, and Global Research were virtually the only one’s reporting about the United States funded Kingdom.

There were a few UBEAT fluffy articles in the Arab press.Worldwide Hippies is using this page today to highlight the trials and censorship going on there.

Your tax dollars are being spent to torture, murder, and violently put down any protests there.

Owners of Corporate Media are also the owners of the weapon factories here in the US doing big business in Bahrain. Interesting!

Bahrain and Belarus Added to an ‘Enemies of the Internet’ List

A media rights group has added to its list of countries with the most restrictions on Internet freedom. At the same time, the group removed Libya and Venezuela from a list of countries considered under surveillance.

Reporters Without Borders released the lists earlier this month in its latest “Enemies of the Internet” report.

The report notes the importance of the Internet and social networks in the Middle East during what has been called the Arab Spring. It says social media like Facebook and Twitter have been firmly established as tools for protests and vehicles for freedom.

The group identifies twelve countries as “Enemies of the Internet.” Among them are Burma, China, Cuba, Iran and North Korea. The list also includes Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Bahrain and Belarus are the newest additions to the list. Reporters Without Borders says Bahrain used repressive measures to block news and information after unrest began in the Arab world last year. The group says the government has used a combination of methods to suppress the opposition. These include keeping international media away from the country, arresting bloggers and harassing human rights activists.

Delphine Halgand heads the Reporters Without Borders office in Washington. She says Bahrain has a very developed system for watching and blocking online communications. She says the country has increasingly used these systems in reaction to the political unrest.

DELPHINE HALGAND: “The authorities in Bahrain were able to arrest bloggers and netizens for what they are publishing online. And actually even one of these people who was arrested for what he was publishing online died when he was in detention.” …more

Saudis arm terrorist gangs in Syria: Report
3 March, 2012 – Shia Post

Saudi Arabia has reportedly provided the rebels in Syria with a great number of weapons and military equipment.

Media reports say that Riyadh is not the only arms supplier to Syrian rebels. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar are also reportedly providing the gangs with weapons.

The three Arab countries transport the military equipment through Turkey, reports say.

The latest reports of transporting weaponry to the Syrian rebels come one day after Syrian government forces arrested a large number of gunmen with different nationalities in the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on February 20 that “some foreign countries” are fueling the turmoil in Syria by supporting and funding “armed terrorist groups fighting against the government.” …source

End of game in the Middle East
by Thierry Meyssan – Voltaire Network – 14 February, 2012

For eleven months, the Western powers and the Gulf States have led a campaign to destabilize Syria. Several thousand mercenaries infiltrated the country. Recruited by agencies in Saudi Arabia and Qatar within the Sunni extremist community, they came to Syria to overthrow the “Alawite usurper” Bashar al-Assad and impose a Wahhabi-inspired dictatorship. They have at their disposal some of the most sophisticated military equipment, including night vision systems, communication centers, and robots for urban warfare. Supported secretly by the NATO powers, they also have access to vital military information, including satellite images of Syrian troop movements, and telephone interceptions.

This has been falsely portrayed to the Western public as a political revolution crushed in blood by a ruthless dictatorship. Of course, this lie has not been universally accepted. Russia, China and the Latin American and Caribbean member states of ALBA repudiate it. They each have a historical background that allows them to readily grasp what is at stake. The Russians have Chechnya in mind, the Chinese think of Xinjiang, and the Latin Americans of Cuba and Nicaragua. In all these cases, beyond ideological or religious appearances, the methods of destabilization by the CIA were the same.

The strangest thing about this situation is to observe the Western media deluding themselves that the Salafists, Wahhabis and Al-Qaeda fighters are motivated by democratic principles, while they continue to demand on Saudi and Qatari satellite airwaves the head of the Alawi “heretics” and Arab League observers. It matters little if Abdel Hakim Belhaj (number 2 of Al-Qaeda and current military governor of Tripoli, Libya) came personally to install his men in northern Syria, and Ayman Al-Zawahiri (current leader of Al-Qaeda since the official death of Osama bin Laden) has called for a jihad against Syria: the Western press pursues its romantic dream of a liberal revolution. …more

Russian Arms Flow Must Stop to Clear Way for Syrian Ceasefire
23 March, 2012 – Human Rights First – Brenda Bowser-Sode

Washington, DC – As the situation in Syria grows increasingly dire by the day, Human Rights First is urging the United States to redouble its efforts as part of The Friends of Syria Group to secure an international arms embargo that would limit the flow of weapons to all sides, a step that would support the ceasefire outlined in Joint UN-Arab League Envoy Kofi Annan’s plan. The group notes that this should include the United States discontinuing its own business with companies arming the Syrian regime, including the Russian-based arms dealer Rosoboronexport.

“In the face of Russia’s previous vetoes in the Security Council for such an arms embargo one thing remains clear, their state run arms company Rosoboronexport is the most significant enabler of Assad’s brutal crackdown. They have supplied him with the firepower and heavy weaponry needed to flatten cities and slaughter civilians,” said Human Rights First’s Sadia Hameed. “The U.S. should discontinue its own dealings with Rosoboronexport. The Treasury Department should also take immediate action to designate sanctions for Rosoboronexport and other companies providing material support for the commission of atrocities in Syria.”

While weapons pour into the regime unabated, today’s news reports from Syria indicate that opposition groups are running low on ammunition and are struggling to sustain themselves against Assad’s offensive attacks that have killed at least 8,000 people. The death toll rises each day. …more

Israelis rally to condemn Tel Aviv’s war plans against Iran
26 March, 2012 – Shia Post

Hundreds of anti-war activists have rallied in Tel Aviv to warn the authorities of the Israeli regime against a potential military attack on Iran over its nuclear energy program.

The campaigners fear that mounting pressure on Iran can escalate into an all-out regional war, the effects of which will reverberate globally.

The protest followed a recent spontaneous Facebook campaign in which a large number of anti-war activists working on the internet united in their opposition to potential war against Iran.

On Saturday, the participants in the march held signs with captions such as “No to War with Iran,” and “Talks, not Bombs,” as well as “No to pre-emptive suicide.”

Jeremy Corbyn, the chair of the ‘Stop the War Coalition,’ told Russia Today that isolating Iran and allowing Israel to continue with its threats will lead to very dangerous developments.

“The way forward has to be de-escalating the tension and denuclearizing the region, otherwise somebody somewhere is going to develop a nuclear weapon,” he said.

He urged people to think about the consequences of a possible attack on Iran, saying it would dramatically affect the world economy and result in an inconceivable human loss should it happen.

“If we let slip the dogs of war, we will all regret it,” he concluded.

A recent poll conducted by the Israeli daily Haaretz in cooperation with Tel Aviv University in early March showed that 58 percent of the respondents were against a military strike by Israel on Iran.

The US and Israel accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran refutes the allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and member of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful use.

The IAEA has never found any evidence indicating that Tehran’s civilian nuclear program has been diverted towards nuclear weapons production. …more

Human Rights Defender Abdulhadi AlKhawaja “freedom or death” Strike Reaches 48 Days

Imprisoned HRD AlKhawaja: My hunger strike is a part of my human rights defence inside jailAs Received from AlKhawaja’s lawyer, Mr Mohamed AlJishi: In a one-hour private visit, I met Abdulhadi Al Khawaja today in Jaw Central Prison. Signs of fatigue were clearly shown on Al Khawaja. He was pale and lost lots of weight. I sent him all the people’s plea to stop the strike as they need him alive to struggle for Bahrain, and for his own risk.

Abdulhadi Al Khawaja told the lawyer: “I thank who ever stand in solidarity with me and people of Bahrain outside and inside the country. The case is not only about me. It’s about all wrongfully detainees in Bahrain. My hungerstrike is a part of my Human rights defence inside jail. It’s very important to focus on all detainees as I’m just a part of them. I will continue with my hunger strike till I reach my demands despite the consequences. I’m aware that freedom is expensive and we must sacrifice to gain it.”…more

Amnesty International said Palestinian hunger striker risks death
By Agence France-Presse – 23 March, 2012 – The RawStory

Amnesty International on Friday urged Israeli authorities to release Palestinian prisoner Hanaa al-Shalabi who has been on hunger strike for more than a month, saying she was “at risk of death.”

The watchdog said Shalabi should be “immediately” released or charged “with a recognisable criminal offence” and “promptly” put on trial.

“The woman could die in detention after 37 days on hunger strike,” Amnesty said in a statement.

Shalabi has been on hunger strike since her arrest in the northern West Bank on February 16, when she was originally ordered detained without trial for six months.

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

According to Amnesty, the 30-year-old “is allegedly affiliated with the Islamic Jihad movement but has never been charged with a criminal offence.”

Earlier this week she was moved to Meir Hospital in Israel.

“Hanaa al-Shalabi was transferred this evening to Israel’s Meir hospital after her state of health deteriorated,” Palestinian prisoner affairs minister Issa Qaraqaa told AFP on Monday.

And Physicians for Human Rights-Israel said an independent doctor had examined Shalabi on behalf of the group “and concluded that her health had deteriorated considerably and her life was at risk.”

A PHR doctor noted “a weakening of musculature, weight loss of 14 kilos (31 pounds), a very feeble pulse and a fall in blood sodium levels,” it said. …more

GDN: Minister ‘lied about deaths’
Gulf Daily News- 21 March, 2012

FORMER health minister Faisal Al Hamer allegedly ordered ambulances to stop going to the former GCC (Pearl) roundabout during the unrest, a court heard yesterday.

He also lied about the deaths of protesters during the initial stages of last year’s troubles, according to video footage shown by defence lawyers in the case of 20 medics convicted of carrying out serious offences during the turmoil.

The 50-minute production stated the minister had taken the decision to stop ambulances from reaching the former roundabout based on orders from the Interior Ministry.

It included an interview broadcast on Bahrain TV showing Dr Al Hamer saying there were no civilian deaths between February 14 and February 17.

However, a narrator in the video said four people died during that period.

The video claimed this included one person who died at the former roundabout after ambulances failed to reach injured civilians in time as a result Dr Al Hamer’s orders.

It also showed medics holding rallies at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) calling for the resignation of the former minister, who was removed from his position during a Cabinet reshuffle at the end of February last year.

“This rally was no different from the other pro-government rally held by medics at the SMC in May last year earlier broadcasted on Bahrain TV,” said the narrator.

The video also featured a recording of a call between paramedics and police, which showed authorities ordering ambulances not to go to the roundabout.

“A civilian called for an ambulance to be sent to the roundabout,” said a paramedic. …more

Saudi Arabia: House of Saud, Falling House of Cards
25 March, 2012- Washingtons_Blog – The Market Oracle

Saudi rulers are struggling to contain a new wave of public protests that has erupted across the Arabian kingdom as security forces open fire on unarmed civilians.

The big question: is the House of Saud finally beginning to collapse like the fragile house of cards that this creaking, ruling monarchy represents?

The irony is rich indeed. For the past year, the Saudi rulers have done their utmost to crush the slightest dissent in their country, while at the same time they have backed Western interference, aggression and regime change in Libya and Syria – under the guise, wait for it, of advocating democratic freedom and human rights.

At least two people have been reported dead from Saudi police violence against an outpouring of crowds who have taken to the streets in the kingdom – a female student and a man, described as a well-known human rights activist, are the latest victims. Many others have been injured or arrested as state security forces mobilise in what appears to be a desperate bid by the rulers to contain spreading protests.

The irony is that Saudi Arabia is one of the most vocal members of the Arab League to denounce Syria for alleged human rights violations against protesters in that country. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has even called on Syria’s President Bashar Al Assad to step down and give way to greater democratic reforms.

The irony comes in at least two parts: Saudi’s King Abdullah presides over an absolute monarchy that is brutally suppressing all and any peaceful dissent in his country calling for democracy; and, two, Saudi Arabia is funding and arming subversive groups in Syria who are accused of committing assassinations, kidnappings and many other terrorisms to bring down the secular Assad government.

For the past year, Saudi Arabia – the world’s biggest oil producer and a key Western ally – has witnessed persistent protests against the ruling House of Saud.

Up to now, the demonstrations calling for democratic freedoms have been mainly located in Saudi’s oil-rich Eastern Province, principally in the city of Qatif.

But, most worryingly for US-backed King Abdullah and his entourage of brothers and half-brothers, there is this week growing public dissent in all quarters of the kingdom.

Major street demonstrations are reported in the capital, Riyadh, in the Central Province. Protests are also taking off in the north, such as the city of Ar’ar, the western port of Jeddah and in the southern university city of Abha.

When other Arab countries saw mass protests last year against their dictatorial rulers, Saudi Arabia was also embroiled in the regional ferment. However, Saudi Arabia appeared peripheral to the momentous changes sweeping the Arab region with few media reports of any substantive popular uprising.

This can be explained partly by the ruthlessness of the Saudi authorities in crushing any incipient sign of protest in the kingdom. At least 10 people have been killed over the past year from Saudi state forces attacking peaceful demonstrations. Another explanation for the apparent low-key public protests in Saudi Arabia is the under-reporting of such events by the Western mainstream media.

The popular dissent in Saudi Arabia against its rulers is to be sure there; it is just not being reported by the Western corporate media. That is because Saudi Arabia is a major strategic ally of Western governments, for example in supplying oil, buying huge amounts of weapons, and advancing geopolitical agenda in support of the garrison state of Israel or facilitating the NATO conquest of Libya, hammering Syria, and trying to destabilise Iran. …more