Britain’s global legacy of conflict
4 September, 2012 – Finian Cunningham – PressTV

In each of these seemingly disparate conflicts, the seeds of violence were sown by one system – British colonialism and its malevolent engineering of sectarianism. It is an indictment of British rulers that decades on, and sometimes centuries on, people’s lives are still being blighted by the legacy of Britain’s predatory, criminal history.”

It’s been a busy news week for British colonialism, or more accurately, the violent legacy of British colonialism. A rash of ongoing or renewed conflicts across the globe speaks of the detriment that the once-powerful British bequeathed and for which people of today have to contend with through injustice and in some cases immense human suffering.

In Northern Ireland, Belfast city has seen resurgent riots between pro-British Protestant youths and Irish nationalist Catholics, with extensive injuries, property damage and a painful reminder of sectarian bloodletting in recent years.

Over in the South Atlantic, Argentines and their government are up in arms over the London government’s proposal to hold a referendum on the future status of the Malvinas Islands, the British colony off Argentina otherwise known as the Falklands.

In the Middle East, Israel has committed yet more crimes against the besieged Palestinian people when fighter jets bombed the coastal Gaza strip, adding to the daily abject misery and terror of inhabitants.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, the people of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia continue their street agitations for democratic freedom from despotic monarchial rulers. In Bahrain, the calls for democracy were given added impetus when a court upheld the sentences against 20 political leaders, some of whom have been imprisoned for life.

Further East on the atlas, in the military junta of Myanmar, formerly known as British Burma, the persecution of thousands of Rohingya Muslims continues unabated, with hundreds killed at the hands of Buddhist gangs after being burned out of their shanty homes.

In each of these seemingly disparate conflicts, the seeds of violence were sown by one system – British colonialism and its malevolent engineering of sectarianism. It is an indictment of British rulers that decades on, and sometimes centuries on, people’s lives are still being blighted by the legacy of Britain’s predatory, criminal history.

In Northern Ireland, a peace settlement was reached after nearly 30 years of an anti-imperialist war between the guerrilla Irish Republican Army and the British forces. More than 3,000 people were killed during that conflict, which British government counter-insurgency policy succeeded in distorting into a sectarian bloodbath between pro-British Protestant loyalists and the mainly Catholic Irish nationalist population. The origins of that conflict lay in the gerrymandering of Ireland by the British colonial rulers when they partitioned the island in 1920-21 – against international and democratic norms – into a pro-British northern statelet and a nominally independent southern state. …more

Can someone please explain what the crime is in contact with Iran and Hezbollah. The Bahrain Regime has yet to release of publish verifiable evidence of crimes of sedition regarding the detained in Bahrain. Until they do so the press should be demanding proof not proliferating bull-shit. Phlipn -out.

Bahrain says uprising leaders had contact with Iran, Hezbollah
by Andrew Hammond – 4 September, 2012 – Reuters

(Reuters) – Leaders of a Bahraini uprising last year, whose prison sentences were upheld by a court on Tuesday, were in “intelligence contact” with Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, a public prosecution official said on Tuesday.

“It is established clearly to us from this verdict that some of the accused had relations and strived to have relations and intelligence contacts with a foreign organization, which is Hezbollah, which works in the interests of Iran,” Wael Boualai told a news conference, in comments carried by state media.

Six of the 20 men whose sentences were upheld were found guilty of “intelligence contacts with foreign bodies”. They were also jailed for offences including trying to overturn the system of government and violating the constitution. The 20 deny all charges against them, saying they wanted only democratic reform. …source

It is CNN International that is, by far, the most-watched English-speaking news outlet in the Middle East. By refusing to broadcast “iRevolution”, the network’s executives ensured it was never seen on television by Bahrainis or anyone else in the region.

Glenn Greenwald: “Why didn’t CNN’s international arm air its own documentary on Bahrain’s Arab Spring repression?” – A former CNN correspondent defies threats from her former employer to speak out about self-censorship at the network.

Gulf Center for Human Rights: Bahrain emboldened by international silence, sentences Nabeel Rajab to 3 years imprisonment – The BCHR and GCHR condemn in the strongest terms the sentence passed today against the detained human rights defender Nabeel Rajab by the Bahraini government on charges related to protesting. Rajab was sentenced to a total of three years imprisonment in three cases, to be immediately carried out. He is already serving a 3 months imprisonment sentence on charges of “libeling the citizens of the town of Muharraq over twitter”, another case of an ongoing campaign of judicial harassment against Rajab. He is in prison since 9 July 2012 for this charge. …more

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Upholding the Sentence of 13 Bahraini Activists
Press Statement

Patrick Ventrell
Acting Deputy Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

September 4, 2012

We are deeply troubled by today’s developments in which an appeals court upheld the vast majority of convictions and sentences of 13 Bahraini activists.

We urge the Government of Bahrain to abide by its commitment to respect detainees’ right to due process and to transparent judicial proceedings, including fair trials and access to attorneys. It is important that verdicts are based on credible evidence and that judicial proceedings are conducted in full accordance with Bahraini law and Bahrain’s international legal obligations. We call on the Government of Bahrain to investigate all reports of torture, including those made by the defendants, as it has pledged to do, and to hold accountable those found responsible.

We continue to call on all parties, including the government, to contribute constructively to reconciliation, meaningful dialogue and reform that bring about change that is responsive to the aspirations of all Bahrainis. As we have said, Bahrain needs dialogue and negotiation to build a strong national consensus about its political future, strengthen its economic standing, and make it a more prosperous country and a more stable ally of the United States. …source

Saudi Arabia approves state media restructure
04 September, 2012 – By Al Arabiya

The Saudi government approved Monday the restructuring for state media, the official Saudi Press Agency said.

Under the restructuring, a new government body called the General Authority for Audio and Visual Media will be created to regulate, develop and supervise media content according to the state’s media policy.

SPA said the authority will be an independent body in terms of finance and administration and that it would have an independent annual budget. However, the new authority will be under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Culture and Information.

“The authority will be the responsible agency for the transmission of audio and visual media and its content,” Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja told the state news agency.

The Authority will also be responsible for issuing permits for media activities in the country, as well as supervising service providers and content creation. Other responsibilities of the Authority include receiving complaints and investigating them in media matters.

The board of the new Authority will be chaired by the Minister of Culture and Information and will include its president, the governor of Telecommunication and Information Technology Commission, representatives of government departments and two experts appointed by the Council of Ministers. …source

UN chief blames Syria arms suppliers for spreading misery
5 September, 2012

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has accused Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia of arming the Syrian conflict, spreading misery as the fighting intensifies.

The latest unverified video said to be in Aleppo certainly illustrates the use of heavy weaponry.

Meanwhile the new UN and Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi called for unity in addressing the crisis during his first speech to the General Assembly.

“I am looking forward to my visit to Damascus in a few days time and also, when convenient and possible, to all countries who are in a position to help the Syrian-led political process become a reality leading to a transition that respects the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people.”

On Tuesday the Syrian president promised the Red Cross he would allow the organisation to expand its relief operations.

As reports grow of a worsening humanitarian crisis in several bombarded cities, a video taken off the internet purported to show the discovery of 18 bodies dumped at a hospital in Douma. …source