Syria faces neo-mujahideen struggle
By Victor Kotsev – 26 April, 2012 – Asia Times

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have won a battle earlier this year (as the retreat of the Free Syrian Army from the ruined city of Homs testifies), but he is nowhere near winning the war. The uprising is quickly turning into a full-scale insurgency – a foreign-sponsored insurgency, to be more precise, which some analysts term a “neo-mujahideen strategy”.

After Saturday’s unanimous vote, the lines at the United Nations Security Council have blurred somewhat: Resolution 2043, introduced by Russia, authorized the sending of 300 unarmed military observers to supervise the implementation of the latest peace plan spearheaded by United Nations peace envoy and former secretary general Kofi Annan.

By most accounts, however, this is no more than a token gesture, which will not stop the bloodshed, but may win some time for all sides to regroup and to shore up their strategy. The status quo is clearly unsustainable, but an ominous silence, at least as concerns the next big moves, has set in.

On the ground, state lines have blurred as well – although not officially, at least not yet. The powers with the greatest stakes in the Syrian conflict look at the map and increasingly appear to see networks of ethnic and religious groups scattered across a number of countries, rather than the traditional state borders that nominally define the space.

If a regime is too strong militarily to be defeated from the outside, it can be torn apart from the inside – yet this is a game that requires great skill and caution, as well as the micromanagement of an enormously complicated web of regional relationships and rivalries.

Neighboring countries, whose populations have participated in these networks for many years, typically have an edge in this game over distant superpowers, but they also have a lot more at stake in it. A mistake can cost them dearly and can set the fire of identity conflict to their own proverbial houses.

This logic fits the situation Turkey finds itself in with respect to Syria. The two countries were bitter rivals for decades, though in the past years – until last year’s uprising – Ankara sought to reassert itself on the Middle Eastern political scene, and seemingly perceived Assad’s regime as its prized instrument for channeling influence into the Arab world.

The Arab Spring put paid to that, but Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan adjusted quickly and tried to champion the cause of Syrian freedom, ostensibly in hopes of winning even greater clout among the Arabs in this way than his relationship with Assad could ever have afforded him. …more

Alkhawja’s other daughter, Zainab is currently detained by Bahrain government after being arrested during Stop Grand Grand Prix protest – below

Cyber security is stepped up
By SANDEEP SINGH GREWAL- 25 April, 2012 – Gulf Daily News

BAHRAIN has beefed up Internet security after several government websites were attacked by a global hacking network.

The Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowment Ministry, General Directorate for Traffic and Licensing, Custom Affairs, Foreign Affairs Ministry, Civil Service Bureau and Northern Governorate were among those targeted.

The international hacking group Anonymous, which has previously attacked the Chinese, British and Polish governments, the FBI, US Justice Department and Interpol, claimed responsibility.

Most of the websites in Bahrain were targeted during the F1 weekend and have returned to normal.

However, some continued to be inaccessible yesterday.

It is understood some of the sites were taken offline by a distributed denial-of-service attack that floods a server with so many requests that it cannot respond to legitimate users.

“The Information Technology Directorate and officials have been warned of increasing attacks on government websites and asked to ensure their servers are not affected,” sources told the GDN.

Anonymous claimed responsibility for the Bahrain attacks on the website anoncentral.tumblr.com, describing it as #OpBahrain and warned of further attacks.

Anonymous also targeted the Formula One fan site F1-Racers.net and posted anti-government messages and video clippings on its home page.

The personal details of F1 spectators such as their passport numbers and e-mail addresses were also displayed.

“We will also jam your phone lines, bomb your e-mail inboxes and wreck anything else of yours we can find on the Internet. Good luck generating ad revenues with your servers down!,” stated Anonymous.

Last year, hackers, mainly from Iran, targeted websites belonging to the Interior Ministry, Bahrain News Agency and Housing Ministry as part of a campaign to spread anti-government propaganda.

Following the spate of hacking incidents, Bahrain decided to shift its servers based in the US home with the help of the Central Informatics Organisation.

Gulf Air’s Facebook page was also hacked earlier this month by criminals demanding the release of political activist Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, who is among 21 men serving life sentences for being part of a plot to overthrow the monarchy last year. …source

Khawaja’s wife, Khadija al-Mousawi, said her husband had failed to call on Tuesday from the military hospital. “Something is very wrong,” Mousawi said. “He was talking about accepting death as the path of freedom, he sounded very weak and tired,” she added, referring to her last conversation with Khawaja on Monday.

Fears for Bahrain hunger striker, minister defends police
25 April, 2012 – Reuters – Andrew Hammond

DUBAI, April 25 (Reuters) – The wife of a jailed Bahraini activist said on Wednesday she was worried for the health of her husband after more than two months of hunger strike.

Bahrain’s interior minister, speaking after weeks of protests against a Formula One Grand Prix here, described as a terrorist act an explosion in a village near Manama on Tuesday night that wounded four policemen. It said security forces had the right to protect themselves.

Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, one of 14 men in prison for leading an uprising last year, is serving a life sentence for expressing support last year for Bahrain becoming a republic. He has been fasting for 77 days.

Bahrainis won no major concessions on reducing the powers of the Sunni ruling Al Khalifa family in the protests, but one year later the uprising has not gone away.

In response to queries on Khawaja’s health, the interior ministry said to refer to its Twitter feed. There was no new information on Wednesday.

Khawaja’s wife, Khadija al-Mousawi, said her husband had failed to call on Tuesday from the military hospital where he is being monitored during his hunger strike and she was unable to obtain any information on his health on Wednesday.

“Something is very wrong,” Mousawi said. “He was talking about accepting death as the path of freedom, he sounded very weak and tired,” she added, referring to her last conversation with Khawaja on Monday. …source

Ex-Iran negotiator: “historic” chance for nuke talks
25 April, 2012 – By Fredrik Dahl – Reuters

VIENNA: Iran and major nations have a “historic opportunity” to settle their decade-old nuclear dispute, but requiring the Islamic state to stop higher-grade uranium enrichment would be discriminatory, Tehran’s former chief nuclear negotiator said.

Hossein Mousavian, now a visiting scholar at Princeton University in the United States, voiced optimism before next month’s talks between Iran and the six major powers following a first meeting in Istanbul earlier this month.

They should set out their respective “red lines” regarding Iran’s nuclear program and negotiate on the basis of those when they meet in the Iraqi capital on May 23, he told Reuters.

“The positive trend has started from Istanbul. It is important to keep up the positive trend in Baghdad and to go on,” Mousavian, who was seen as a moderate when in the Iranian government, said by telephone on Tuesday.

He was Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator from 2003 to 2005 before conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took over from his reformist predecessor Mohammad Khatami. According to Western envoys familiar with Mousavian, he appeared at the time to be genuinely interested in reaching a deal with the West.

The six powers – the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia – want to make sure Iran does not develop nuclear bombs. The Islamic Republic wants a lifting of sanctions and recognition of what it says are its rights to peaceful nuclear energy, including enriching uranium.

“The principles should be based on addressing the red lines of each party,” Mousavian said, advocating a step-by-step approach with confidence-building actions by both sides.

If the red line for the powers is nuclear bombs, “then they should discuss the ways and means for Iran to cooperate with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) on transparency measures.”

Both sides said they were content with progress made in the April 14 meeting in Istanbul which did not go into detail but, unlike earlier rounds of negotiations, stayed on the subject of Iran’s nuclear program.
…more

Fears for Bahrain hunger striker, minister defends police
By Andrew Hammond – 25 April, 2012 – Reuters

DUBAI (Reuters) – The wife of a jailed Bahraini activist said on Wednesday she was worried for the health of her husband after more than two months of hunger strike.

Bahrain’s interior minister, speaking after weeks of protests against a Formula One Grand Prix here, described as a terrorist act an explosion in a village near Manama on Tuesday night that wounded four policemen. It said security forces had the right to protect themselves.

Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, one of 14 men in prison for leading an uprising last year, is serving a life sentence for expressing support last year for Bahrain becoming a republic. He has been fasting for 77 days.

Bahrainis won no major concessions on reducing the powers of the Sunni ruling Al Khalifa family in the protests, but one year later the uprising has not gone away.

In response to queries on Khawaja’s health, the interior ministry said to refer to its Twitter feed. There was no new information on Wednesday.

Khawaja’s wife, Khadija al-Mousawi, said her husband had failed to call on Tuesday from the military hospital where he is being monitored during his hunger strike and she was unable to obtain any information on his health on Wednesday.

“Something is very wrong,” Mousawi said. “He was talking about accepting death as the path of freedom, he sounded very weak and tired,” she added, referring to her last conversation with Khawaja on Monday.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday expressed concern about the activist, respected by international rights groups as a rights defender but seen by some Bahrainis as a Shi’ite Islamist activist, and called on Bahrain to respect human rights.

“The Secretary-General once again urges the Bahraini authorities to resolve Mr. Al-Khawaja’s case based on due process and humanitarian considerations without any further delay,” Ban Ki-moon’s office said. …more

Analysis: Bahrain hardliners in driving seat after F1 fiasco
21 April, 2012 – By Andrew Hammond – Reuters

DUBAI (Reuters) – Hardliners in Bahrain’s Saudi-backed Sunni Muslim ruling family may dig in their heels after a Formula One Grand Prix debacle that spotlighted a frustrated pro-democracy uprising instead of projecting an image of stability.

Western leaders joined rights groups and media watchdogs in criticizing Bahrain before Sunday’s race, which was cancelled last year due to the unrest. Officials hailed its reinstatement as proof of a return to calm, but billowing smoke from tires set alight by protesters on race day told a different story.

“I suspect now that those in the ruling family who argued that this is more trouble than it’s worth will be saying ‘I told you so’,” said Justin Gengler, a Qatar-based researcher on Bahrain, singling out the royal court and defense ministers.

Those ministers, full brothers from a family branch often known as the Khawalids, are widely viewed as masterminds of last year’s crackdown, which cut short a dialogue Crown Prince Salman had begun with the opposition on democratic reforms.

Bahrainis took to the streets in February 2011, inspired by successful revolts in Egypt and Tunisia, but won no concessions. The government broke up the Pearl Roundabout protest camp a month later, imposed martial law and brought in Saudi troops.

The Sunni Al Khalifa monarchy branded the protesters as Shi’ite subversives with Iranian backing and Bahrain slipped off the Saudi- and Qatari-dominated pan-Arab news agenda.

Western allies such as Britain and the United States, whose Fifth Fleet is moored in Manama, muted criticism of Bahrain for fear of alienating a trusted friend – or its Saudi big brother.

Yet turmoil still convulses the tiny Gulf island, where riot police clash daily with demonstrators, mostly from the Shi’ite majority, and opposition parties stage mass marches.

Police deploy armored vehicles, teargas, sound bombs and birdshot to lock protesters down and prevent a critical mass from re-forming and winning world attention. As a result, activists say the death toll has risen to 80 from 35, including five security personnel, when martial law was lifted in June.

SECTARIAN FEARS

Bahrain’s government says it remains open to limited reform, but unease at the prospect of any power shift from the Sunni royal family to the Shi’ite majority has stifled progress.

The hardline royal court minister, Khaled bin Ahmed, initiated contacts with the leading Shi’ite party Wefaq in January, but pro-government Sunni radicals objected strongly and the chance of renewed dialogue appears to have evaporated.

Nevertheless, King Hamad responded to the Grand Prix furore on Sunday by stating his “personal commitment to reform and reconciliation”.

Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Mubarak al-Khalifa, adviser to the Information Affairs Authority, said many Bahrainis wanted reforms but did not want them dictated by one party or sect.

“All the political societies want to fight corruption, efficient government, an empowered parliament,” he said. “As long as there are no preconditions, mutual respect and no raising the bar too high, then there is hope.”

Sheikh Abdulaziz declined to comment on any potential rifts within the government over the question of reform. Crown Prince Salman has long been seen as its keenest royal advocate.

He brought Formula One to Manama in 2004 as part of what analysts say was a vision for political and economic change that would reduce reliance on receipts from an oilfield shared with Saudi Arabia – and the influence that the arrangement gives a powerful neighbor with no interest in a democratic Bahrain. …more