Pictures from the crackdown on today’s demonstrations around Bahrain
13 July, 2012 – by Bahrain Coordinating Committee Administrator

Opposition groups called for protests in ten areas around Bahrain to take place today, Friday, July 13th. The protests were set to start at 5pm Bahrain time. The Ministry of Interior announced yesterday that all demonstrations would be considered illegal, and anyone participating in today’s events would be breaking the law.

Today, riot police were on the scene early. Many streets were closed, and some towns were party sealed off, preventing people from getting in. Checkpoints were installed in other areas.

Despite the intense security measures and attempts to prevent protesters from joining the demonstrations, people went out anyway. The crackdown started even before even the demonstrations commenced. Tear gas and flashbang grenades were fired in every town that attempted to protest.

Riot police raided many private homes, in some cases firing at the occupants. In Karzakan, a 16 year old girl was shot with a flashbang grenade, and at the same house a 40 year old woman was forced out of the shower naked. Police also directly targeted protesters. A 13 year old from Al Dair was shot in her ankle with a tear gas canister.

SEE PHOTO GALLERY HERE

Bahrain’s Propaganda Machine is Turned up to Eleven
13 July, 2012 – Marc Owen Jones Blog

Lethal Shrouds, Weaponised Loudspeakers, and Freedom of Expression Events. These are just some of things you ought to be concerned about over the coming weeks. That’s right, the Bahrain government’s propaganda machine has kicked into overdrive, and it is now making even the most banal household objects seem like a potential Weapon of Mass Destruction. I don’t mean to trivialize matters, but after watching the weekly security report issued by the Bahrain News Agency (BNA), I am entitled to be a little sarcastic. For those who haven’t seen it yet, you can watch it here. Read on for highlights.

Firstly, the report begins with this introduction,

‘The security report brings you a summary of what happened during the week from rioting, vandalism and law-breaking which SOME still call it a peaceful protest. And through this week’s report once again we will show you by footage what has been labelled as peaceful as an act of terrorism, so let’s start this week’s report’.

So the BNA propaganda term are still keen to conflate any act of deviance as somehow an act of deceit, perpetrated by people who claim it is peaceful. In short, they wish to blur the lines between those who actually DO believe in peaceful protest, with those who use violence or other methods. In other words, anyone who wants political change, regardless of the methods they espouse, is a security threat. Figure 1 illustrates the general trend of government propaganda (I know it’s another flowchart – I couldn’t help myself).

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Despite the security preparations, hashish growers in the Bekaa are optimistic about the season.

Lebanon: Hashish Growers and the Government Face Off
By: Rameh Hamieh – 13 July, 2012 – Al Akhbar

(Photo: Alia Haju)

It is hard to predict how this year’s planned destruction of the hashish crop in the Bekaa will play out.

The farmers insist on confronting any such attempt, and the security forces are “determined” to destroy the cannabis crop.

While the security forces continue with their preparations – which include communicating with the owners of agricultural tractors as well as coordinating with the leadership of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Internal Security Forces (ISF) – hashish growers are adamant that they will “protect their livelihood.”

Fighting the coming invasion is the farmers’ last resort after the state deserted them by “abandoning any attempt to address agricultural problems, support traditional crops, and compensate losses resulting from natural disasters or any downturn in agricultural production in light of the Syrian crisis,” according to one farmer.

Despite the security preparations, hashish growers in the Bekaa are optimistic that the season “will pan out just like I see you and you see me,” says Abu Ali, as he checks the irrigation of his cannabis field and the stems which have grown over 70cm.

A written statement warned that the farmers “will deal with the hired workers as enemies, because they are conspiring against people from their area for a little bit of money.”
As he rubs the green leaf in his hand and smells its strong scent, this 50-something-year old man says that he bases his conclusion on the overall security situation in the country.

“Lawlessness is everywhere and they don’t dare confront anyone, so why should we be any different? Are we lesser mortals?” he asks, adding: “They should feel for us a little bit.”

Abu Ali does not hide the fact that many farmers “sowed their land – no matter how small – with cannabis seeds, because they are convinced the season will pan out,” pointing out that large areas “for as far as your eyes can see have been planted in Baalbek-Hermel.”

Hanna, a resident of a village in west Baalbek, says the responsibility “falls on the shoulders of the Lebanese state and some of its security agencies.”

He accuses these agencies of intimating to farmers that “no one will touch the hashish. Then they scouted the planted areas, took pictures of them from airplanes, and sent them to international institutions to collect funds in order to destroy them.”

Hanna asks political and party leaders to intervene to prevent the destruction operation this year. He refuses to believe that “the decision to destroy the hashish crop was taken by the security forces alone.”

Tractor owners, who are brought in to uproot the cannabis fields, have not been spared from the threats made by farmers. …more

Iran Sanctions: War by Other Means
By Conn Hallinan – 13 July, 2012 – FPIP

Now that the talks with Iran on its nuclear program appear to be on the ropes, are we on the road to war? The Israelis threaten it almost weekly, and the Obama administration has reportedly drawn up an attack plan. But in a sense, we are already at war with Iran.

Carl von Clausewitz, the great theoretician of modern warfare, defined war as the continuation of politics by other means. In the case of Iran, international politics has become a de-facto state of war.

According to reports, the annual inflation rate in Iran is 22.2 percent, although many economists estimate it at double that. In the last week of June, the price of chicken rose 30 percent, grains were up 55.8 percent, fruits up 66.6 percent, and vegetables up 99.5 percent. Iran’s Central Bank estimates unemployment among the young is 22.5 percent, although the Financial Timessays “the official figures are vastly underestimated.” The production sector is working at half its capacity.

The value of the Iranian rial has fallen 40 percent since last year, and there is a wave of business closings and bankruptcies due to rising energy costs and imports made expensive by the sanctions.

Oil exports, Iran’s major source of income, have fallen 40 percent in 2012, according to the International Energy Agency, costing the country nearly $32 billion over the past year. The 27-member European Union (EU) ban on buying Iranian oil will further depress sales, and an EU withdrawal of shipping insurance will make it difficult for Tehran to ship oil and gas to its diminishing number of customers. Loss of insurance coverage could reduce Iran’s oil exports by 200,000 barrels a day, or $4.5 billion a month. Energy accounts for about 80 percent of Iran’s public revenues.

Whipsawed by energy sanctions, the worst may be yet to come. The United States has already made it difficult for countries to deal with Iran’s Central Bank, and the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that would declare the Iranian energy sector a “zone of proliferation concern,” which would strangle Tehran’s ability to collect payments for its oil exports. Other proposals would essentially make it impossible to do business with Iran’s other banks. Any country that dared to do so would find itself unable to conduct virtually any kind of international banking.

If the blizzard of legislation does pass, “This would be a significant ratcheting-up of the economic war against Iran,” Mark Dubowitz told the Financial Times. Dubowitz is executive director of the neoconservative Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, which has lobbied for a series of economic assaults against the Palestinians, China, and Hezbollah. …more

Bahrain bans opposition rallies, dialogue efforts continue
13 July, 2012 – By Atallah al-Salim – Reuters

DUBAI: Bahrain has said it is banning opposition rallies in order to prevent disruption to traffic and street violence that are sabotaging efforts to end unrest in the Gulf Arab state.

But the opposition described the move as a new attempt to silence them.

The island state ruled by the Sunni Al Khalifa family has seen unrest since an uprising for political reforms, led by majority Shi’ites, was launched in February 2011 after revolts in Egypt and Tunisia.

The uprising was initially crushed during a period of martial law but unrest has continued with regular organised protests by opposition parties and clashes between riot police and youths who say the monarchy marginalises them.

A senior official said the government had no new plans to ban rallies outright, but wanted to make sure they did not turn violent.

The Interior Ministry said this week it had banned a series of rallies on Thursday and Friday organised by the leading opposition party Wefaq, the latest in a series of publicly announced bans over the past month,.

It cited public interest and traffic concerns.

“Holding these marches will damage people’s interests and hold up traffic,” state news agency BNA said latge on Thursday, citing public security chief Tariq al-Hassan.

“The marches cannot be considered as responsible freedom of expression,” it said, adding that march organisers had not been able to control them in the past.

Senior Wefaq member Abduljalil Khalil decried what he said was a new policy to end the use of the street to demand reforms.

“This will lead to more escalation since people now feel no hope. There is no chance to practise their freedom, they have cornered everybody now,” he said.

Amnesty International criticised the bans on Thursday, saying the government was violating fundamental rights. A government statement said the interior ministry was working on identifying “approved locations” for rallies.

Since April the authorities have stepped up efforts to crack down on unrest. Activists cite an increased use of shotgun pellets, whose use authorities have declined to confirm or deny.

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Commons select committee says Arab spring demands a change of policy in dealing with authoritarian regimes

Fears of human rights abuses prompt UK to revoke arms export licenses
Nick Hopkins – The Guardian – 12 July, 2012

The UK must change its arms export policy to prevent weapons and other military equipment being sold to authoritarian regimes because the Arab spring has shown the system is fundamentally flawed, a Commons report warns.

A review of export controls also highlights how the Foreign Office has admitted it is now concerned about allowing the sale of certain specialist equipment to Argentina, which has included counter-submarine hardware, as well as components for military radar and combat aircraft.

The report of the joint committees on arms export controls includes previously unpublished details about what has been sold abroad over the past two years.

It also highlights how an unprecedented number of export licences had to be revoked because of fears that British equipment could be used for human rights abuses in the Middle East and north Africa. In all, 158 arms licences had to be withdrawn.

The committee says this is “demonstrable evidence that the initial judgments to approve the applications were flawed”. Although restrictions have been introduced, MPs question whether exports to certain countries in the region, including Bahrain, can be justified.

Under the government’s own guidelines, licences cannot be issued if there is a clear risk that the equipment might provoke conflict or could be used to facilitate internal repression.

Records for last year show 97 licences were granted for sales to Bahrain for equipment including assault rifles, sniper rifles, body armour, gun silencers, shotguns, pistols, weapons sights and small arms ammunition.

“Bahrain is self-evidently a very sensitive country, given the very serious human rights violations that took place there,” said Sir John Stanley, the select committee chairman.

“There have been very serious human rights violations involving doctors and nurses. We have picked out those [licences] which we think are most questionable on grounds for use for internal repression.”

The committee says there is a compelling case for the Foreign Office to include the 28 countries on its watchlist for human rights abuses as part of a review of arms export policy. These nations include Russia, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe.

“The government should extend its arms export policy review to include authoritarian regimes and countries of human rights concerns,” said Stanley. On Argentina, Stanley said the views of the Foreign Office reflected concern in the government about the UK’s “previous Falklands experience, where British ships were tragically sunk and many people lost their lives”. He added: “The only explanation I can put is that the government is concerned about the policies they have been following hitherto on arms export licences to Argentina.” …more

Bahrain: Ongoing practice of torture of detainees, with the support of public prosecution
13 July, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) has confirmed, in its report back in November, torture cases committed by Ministry of Interior Officials. The BICI list of recommendations had action points to prevent such incidents. However, months after the report’s release, numerous torture cases have been documented by the Bahrain center for Human Rights (BCHR). The absence of accountability, the presence of a culture of impunity and the disregard of torture allegations by public prosecution are sources of grave concern for the BCHR.

In the past month, many severe cases of torture committed by Bahrain’s security forces have been witnessed and documented by rights activists. Torture is practiced in official MOI detention centers, unofficial centers (e.g. municipal buildings) and upon arrest in the houses being raided and these are only some of the cases:

Syed Hashim Salman Juma, 18 years old, is one of many torture victims. Syed was arrested in June after riot police attacked Malkiya village. According to his testimony, he was taken to Karzakan village municipality building where he was beaten with batons. Police poured water on him and electrocuted him 7 times on his back. They even tried to set his hair on fire but fortunately they failed. After they were done, he was taken to a deserted farm and he was told to run.

On 14 June 2012, yet another peaceful protest was repressed by Bahrain’s regime forces in Aali village. A group of protesters took shelter in a house in the area to get away from excessive use of tear gas and shooting. When inside the house, security forces raided it. The protesters were beaten with batons and belts, kicked and punched. A 16 year old boy was in the house at the time. He gave his testimony to the BCHR. He was beaten and insulted for half an hour and then taken by police to a yard in the village where he was further tortured and beaten. He was threatened with rape and murder, if he did not collaborate with the police and worked as a spy for them. Human rights activists and witnesses stated that they’ve heard screams and ambulance sirens. A BCHR representative went to the house and saw blood traces all over it.

UK drops restrictions on Bahrain arms sales: report
13 July, 2012 – Al Akhbar

The United Kingdom has dropped restrictions on arms sales to Bahrain despite the ongoing oppression in the Gulf state, a British magazine reported on Friday.

The British government cancelled several arms deals with the state after Manama began a harsh crackdowns on popular protests in February 2011.

But later in the year British officials issued the country invitations to military exhibitions, after intense lobbying and an official request from Bahrain, documents obtained by Private Eye magazine reveal.

Officials also arranged meetings between British arms contractors and the Bahraini authorities, the magazine said.

On Friday the British parliament’s Committee on Arms Export Controls issued a report expressing concern that current arms deals to Bahrain ignored rules on the country banning exports that might be used for internal repression.

Select committee chairman John Stanley said the government needed to make “significantly more cautious judgments on the export of arms.”

“Bahrain is self-evidently a very sensitive country, given the very serious human rights violations that took place there,” said Stanley. “There have been very serious human rights violations involving doctors and nurses.”

On Monday, the head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) Nabeel Rajab was sentenced to three months in jail for tweets deemed offensive to the country’s autocratic rulers.

Bahraini authorities announced tough new penalties for assaulting security officers on Thursday, ranging from automatic detention to life imprisonment, according to the state-run Gulf Daily News.

Said Yousif, deputy head of the BCHR, told Al-Akhbar protests were continuing in the country, including in the capital Manama despite a ban by the government.

“In the US and the UK, many protest in London and Washington. So why, when it comes to Bahrain, do we have to protest in the villages?” said Yousif.

Condemning the continued UK arms sales, Yousif said the government “will not use it on Iran; they will not use it for any threats from outside Bahrain. They will use it on protesters.”

“The people of Bahrain are disappointed,” he added. …source

Saudi protesters rally in Qatif to demand release of Shia cleric
13 July, 2012 – Shia Post

Tension has been high in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province since last week after security forces detained Sheikh Nemr al-Nemr with almost daily protest rallies in the oil-rich region.

At least three people have been killed and many others injured in Riyadh’s crackdown on demonstrations against the detention of al-Nemr.

There has been no word on al-Nemr’s condition and whereabouts. The cleric was injured when regime forces attacked his car in Awamiyah to arrest him.

Since February 2011, Saudis have held demonstrations on an almost regular basis in the Kingdom’s Eastern Province, mainly in Qatif and Awamiyah, calling for the release of all political prisoners, freedom of expression and assembly, and an end to economic and religious discrimination against the eastern region.

However, the demonstrations have turned into protests against the Al Saud regime, especially since November 2011, when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others in the province. …more