Posts from — October 2012

Bahrain arrests activist in ongoing crackdown
16 October, 2012 – Al Akhbar

A leading Bahraini rights activist, Mohammed al-Maskati, was arrested on Tuesday for taking part in an unauthorized Manama protest, his lawyer and other activists said.

Al-Maskati, president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, will likely be charged with participating in an “illegal gathering.”

“He went to the police station with his lawyer after being summoned and was immediately arrested,” Said Yousif, a fellow activist, told Al-Akhbar. “Tomorrow, he will be taken to the public prosecution office.”

Police Tuesday also summoned activist Nader Abdulemam. Abdulemam, whose face was left severely bruised earlier this year after police fired a projectile directly at him, will go in to the police station the following day, Yousif said.

The two activists are only the latest to be targeted by authorities for organizing or taking part in demonstrations calling on the kingdom’s autocratic rulers to introduce democratic reforms.

“We are facing a crackdown on human rights activists,” Yousif said. “This is the price for protecting human rights inside a country with a repressive regime. We knew this from the beginning, and we are willing to pay that price.”

Bahrain has witnessed ongoing opposition protests since February, 2011. It began with protesters calling for more civic freedoms, but many are now calling for the overthrow of the monarchy after it responded by launching a bloody crackdown.

Saudi troops were ushered into Bahrain in March, 2011 to help crush the movement, but protests against the regime persist.

At least 80 people have been killed since the uprising began, according to activists.

Medics have also been targeted for treating injured protesters.

Last week, Human Rights Watch and a group of US congressmen separately called on the country’s monarch to release nine medics who treated activists injured during the uprising.

The medics were all charged earlier this year and released on bail, but re-arrested after an October 1 court decision upheld their charges. …more

Lawyer: Bahrain court postpones activist’s appeal
16 October, 2012 – CBSNEWS

MANAMA, Bahrain — A defense lawyer in Bahrain says a court has prolonged the appeal of an imprisoned human rights activist by ordering another hearing next month.

Nabeel Rajab is challenging his three-year prison sentence for allegedly encouraging illegal protests and violence in the strife-wracked Gulf nation, which is home to the U.S. Navy 5th Fleet.

He is among the most high-profile prisoners in Bahrain’s crackdowns. The country has been hit by near-daily unrest since February 2011, when its Shiite majority began an uprising demanding a greater political voice in the Sunni-ruled nation.

Attorney Mohammed al-Jishi says the court on Tuesday set Rajab’s next hearing for Nov. 8.

Also Tuesday, authorities detained another rights campaigner, Mohammed al-Maskati, the president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights. …source

11-Month-old Bahraini ‘Huda Sayyed Nima Sayyed Hassan’ was martyred Tuesday by poisonous tear gas used by Saudi-backed Bahraini forces.

16 October, 2012 – Moqawama

According to agencies, Bahraini troops heavily relied on tear gas and stun grenades to disperse peaceful anti-government protesters.

Several Bahraini civilians, mostly senior citizens and kids, have died from asphyxia after regime troops fired tear gas in residential areas and into homes in violation of international standards, that Bahrain is a signatory to.

Bahraini demonstrators hold King Hamad al-Khalifa responsible for the killings during the popular uprising in the country.
Meanwhile, protesters marched in Manama and several other towns near the capital on Monday.
They also expressed solidarity with imprisoned medics who announced earlier that they had begun a hunger strike.

There were reports of clashes between the protesters and the security forces.
More than 90 people have also been killed and many others have been injured in the Saudi-backed crackdown on peaceful protesters in Bahrain. …more

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei : Iran will not give in to “bullying”
16 October, 2012 – Albawaba business

Iran will not give in to “bullying” at the negotiating table with world powers over its disputed nuclear program, despite new economic sanctions, its supreme leader said on Tuesday.

The West “keeps saying pressure against Iran is aimed at forcing the Islamic Republic to return to the negotiating table” about its nuclear program, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in remarks carried on state television.

“But when did we leave the table that now we need to return?” he asked during his visit to the northeastern province of North Khorasan.

“Their real objective is [forcing] the Iranian nation to surrender to their bullying at the negotiating table…[but] you are too weak to bring Iran to its knees,” Khamenei said.

His remarks came a day after the European Union toughened sanctions against Tehran, targeting its dealings with Iran’s banks, shipping and gas imports and banning trade in metals.

Without directly mentioning the sanctions, Khamenei accused the European leaders of seeking to bully Iran.

“European officials are still stuck in the bullying mindset of the colonial 19th century, but they will face many problems in the face of the resistance of the Iranian nation and officials,” he said.

Khamenei has called the Western sanctions “barbaric” and said they amount to “a war against a nation.” But he has said Iran can overcome problems caused by the sanctions.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast also denounced the sanctions on Tuesday, describing them as “illegal, unwise and inhumane,” while vowing not to retreat on the country’s nuclear program.

The West is involved in talks with Tehran on the nuclear impasse, but those negotiations have stalled for years. Efforts to restart them this year failed, despite three rounds of face-to-face talks between representatives of Iran and the five permanent members of the Security Council, plus Germany. …more

Despite sanctions & restriction to the World US export to Iran increases by US$50 Million
16 October, 2012 – Jafria News

JNN 16 Oct 2012 Tehran ; Despite increased sanctions against Iran this year, US exports to the Islamic Republic have increased by about a third, bringing earnings nearly $50 million higher in the first eight months of this year than in all of 2011.

The US Census Bureau found that from January through August, exports to Iran totaled $199.5 million, an increase of about one third from last year’s $150.8 during the same period. Most of the exports came from the sale of wheat and other grains, which were valued at $89.2 million and comprised 45 percent of all US exports to Iran, Reuters reports.

Dairy products and medical equipment have also continued to enter Iran, with sales of milk products more than doubling since last year. The sale of such goods is permitted with a Treasury Department export license.

But had the US stopped exporting wheat to Iran, exports would have declined overall.

American companies have also complained that it is difficult for them to get paid for their sales, since many of Iran’s largest banks have been blacklisted by the US for involvement in terrorism or the country’s nuclear program. Some Americans, especially religiously affiliated or non-profit groups, have argued that banking sanctions could prevent humanitarian trade.

“The administration’s sanctions against Iran have created a de-facto humanitarian banking blockade,” Kate Gould of the Friends Committee on National Legislation told Reuters.

But the news comes at a time when the European Union has just agreed to increase the already-tight sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, two and a half months after US President Barack Obama threatened increased action. …more

Iran Foreign Ministry dismisses Bahraini interference allegations
16 October, 2012 – Voice of Bahrain

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has dismissed Bahraini claims about Tehran interfering in Manama’s internal affairs.

During his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Mehmanparast said the stance of the Islamic Republic toward Bahrain is clear and Tehran has repeatedly announced that paying attention to people’s demands is the only way to ensure stability in any country.

“Suppressing people only complicates the problems,” the Iranian official said.

Bahrain summoned the Iranian Charge d’affaires Mahdi Islami on Monday over claims that Tehran is interfering in Manama’s internal affairs.

Mehmanparast said providing ground for the participation of the Bahrainis in the political affairs of their country would eliminate the need for accusing others of interference.

“Accusing other countries so that popular demands may be ignored and suppressed would bear no fruit,” Mehmanparast said.

Bahrain’s revolution started in mid-February 2011, when demonstrators, inspired by the revolutions of Tunisia and Egypt, started holding massive anti-regime protests.

Dozens of people have been killed in the regime’s crackdown and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses accused of treating injured protesters.

A report published by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry in November 2011 found that the Al Khalifa regime had used ‘excessive force’ in the campaign of suppression and accused Manama of torturing political activists, politicians, and protesters. …source

Statement by Leah-Lynn Plante for her Grand Jury appearance October 10th, 2012

On the morning of July 25th, 2012, my life was turned upside down in a matter of hours. FBI agents from around Washington and Oregon and Joint Terrorism Task Force agents from Washington busted down the front door of my house with a battering ram, handcuffed my house mates and me at gunpoint, and held us hostage in our backyard while they read us a search warrant and ransacked our home. They said it was in connection to May Day vandalism that occurred in Seattle, Washington earlier this year.

However, we suspected that this was not really about broken windows. As if they had taken pointers from Orwell’s 1984, they took books, artwork and other various literature as “evidence” as well as many other personal belongings even though they seemed to know that nobody there was even in Seattle on May Day. …more

An Appeal for Support for Leah-Lynne Plante and others
by Doug Brown – 13 October, 2012

As you may have heard by now, Leah-Lynne Plante was taken into custody following a contempt of court hearing on the morning of Wednesday, October 10th. She is the third person in the Pacific Northwest to be put in federal prison for refusing to testify before a grand jury. She may stay in prison until the end of the grand jury investigation which is scheduled to last until March 2014.

There are now 3 grand jury resisters sitting in federal prison. They all still need your support to keep up their strength and determination as they wait until they are released. We are asking for folks to support them in several ways:

1) Write Leah, Matt, and Kteeo in prison or sent them books. Visit and Support for Resisters HERE to find out details on their address and guidelines on writing and sending books.

2) Have a solidarity action in your community. This could be a letter writing night, a film showing, a march, or a fundraiser. If you need some ideas or support to make something happen, email us.

3) Donate. Visit our website: and donate HERE or visit the grand jury resisters’ store: HERE and buy something in support of the resisters.

4) Stay updated and spread the word. Visit CAPR’s website: HERE , The grand jury resisters blogs and personal websites: HERE and HERE . Tell your friends, co-workers, and families about what is happening in the Pacific Northwest and encourage them to support the grand jury resisters.
Thank you for your continued support. It means a lot to Leah, Matt, and Kteeo and to those of us waiting for them to come home.

Parliament vows democracy march
By Mohammed Al A’Ali – 15 October, 2012 – Gulf Daily News

BAHRAIN’S legislative authority has to ensure the country’s democratic progress continues as new constitutional amendments come into effect, said a top official.

National Assembly and Parliament chairman Dr Khalifa Al Dhahrani said increased powers for both MPs and Shura Council members meant they had a major task ahead of them, as they attempt to heal rifts and enhance economic growth following last year’s unrest.

It follows 19 constitutional amendments being signed into law by His Majesty King Hamad in May, which gives more powers to the National Assembly and has been seen as a major step in Bahrain’s reform process.

Dr Al Dhahrani was speaking yesterday at the inaugural ceremony of the assembly’s third legislative term in the presence of King Hamad, His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander, government officials and dignitaries at the Isa Cultural Centre, Juffair.

“We have listened to His Majesty King Hamad’s speech and agree that national unity is the only factor that can make a difference in how the country moves forward,” he said.

“No one can deny that His Majesty’s initiatives, measures and reforms, ever since the unfortunate incidents began (last year), has helped protect the country.

“It has also helped develop the Kingdom’s political and human rights practises and legislations, which has brought it international recognition.”

Dr Al Dhahrani also emphasised that dialogue was the only way forward.

“Our national duty has always been our guide in our work and we pledge that people’s power will continue to be the slogan for true reform,” he added.

“This country is no place for those who don’t believe in its importance – it is only a place for those who feel it is where they belong.”

He said membership in the assembly continues to be an honour.

“Whether appointed or elected, we are proud to serve the people.

“It is an honour that as legislators, we have the opportunity to represent a democracy and fight all agendas or attempts to disharmonise the community,” he said. …source

Bahraini forces clash with protestors over political prisoners and jailed medics
15 October, 2012 – ABNA.co

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Heavy clashes have been reported in Bahrain between Saudi-backed forces and protestors who have taken to the streets to show solidarity with political prisoners and jailed medics.

Earlier yesterday, lawyers said in a statement that the five jailed medics have gone on hunger strike to urge “all international organizations to demand their release”.

“They were harshly tortured by authorities while being detained. Torture caused injuries and disabilities whose traces remain on the bodies of the medics,” the statement said.

The medics have been in prison since early October after Bahrain’s Court of Cassation, the country’s highest court upheld their sentences.

They were among twenty doctors and nurses who worked in Manama during the uprising against the Al Khalifa regime.

Reports say that the medics were given jail terms from up to one month to five years.

The Bahraini authorities charged the medical workers with using hospitals for anti-government activities, possession of weapons, and theft of medical equipment — claims they denied. The medical workers say the government is only punishing them for treating people who took part in demonstrations.

Since mid-February 2011, anti-government protesters have been staging regular demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.

On March 14, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to the country to assist the Bahraini government in its crackdown on the peaceful protesters.

According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds arrested in the crackdown in Bahrain.

Physicians for Human Rights say doctors and nurses have been detained, tortured, and even disappeared because they have “evidence of atrocities committed by the authorities, security forces, and riot police” in the crackdown on anti-government protesters.

A report published by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry in November 2011 found that the Al Khalifa regime had used “excessive force” in the campaign of suppression and accused Manama of torturing political activists, politicians, and protesters. …more

Bahrain: The Political Part of Friday Sermon of Ayatollah Shaikh Isa Ahmed Qassim
14 Octoebr, 2012 – Voice of Bharain

“Two Logics”

The unilateral authorities, which base on neglecting their people, have a logic that considers politics as a tool to enslave the people and to incite hatred among the community components, making them ignorant and then engage them into chaos and bloody fights according to its need.

The logic that the authorities rely on to face the popular freedom aspiration of the people is :

· Firing lethal toxic tear gasses
· Firing rubber bullets
· Firing birdshots
· Torture
· Imprisonment
· Killing
· Bribing
· Being crazily generous to the pro-government agents
· All kinds of exclusion, suppression, repression, terror and threats.

This is the logic of the unilateral authority .

On the contrary, the logic of the peoples who are longing for freedom, and longing to get their right to self-determination. That is the logic of reason , conscience and religion and the logic of all international covenants, it’s the kind of logic that is only rejected by an oppressive ideology.

The peoples are neither violent nor vindictive, and it has been so clear that all Arab-Spring revolutions started as peaceful movements. The authorities’ violence and over-killing pulled some revolutions into violence to face their authority’s abortion of freedom through the people’s bloodshed.

The peaceful popular movement of the people of Bahrain presented a good example of adhering to the peaceful approach, this embarrassed the authorities that are trying recklessly to drag the people into violence in order to escape entitlements of the people’s rights.

In Bahrain, there is a peaceful movement for reform.. the people of Bahrain demand a

· constitution that guarantees the will of the people , and

· fair distribution of electoral constituencies,

· a fairly elected house of representative (parliament)

· elected government

· a non-politicized independent judiciary

· Equality without any kind of discrimination in all state departments

Is there a nation that in this region or the whole world that denies such legitimate demands? Or are the Bahraini people excluded from this world and should not have the right to demand their rights? Don’t they have right to democracy.

The people of Bahrain is one of the peoples that have the same rights of other peoples in the world, the authority is practicing unjustifiable violence against the people of Bahrain, and this has embarrassed it in front of the world.

The authority in Bahrain is practicing unjustifiable violence and terror against peaceful people calling for legitimate demands which cannot be denied by anyone. This oppressive situations is embarrassing the regime in front of the international community and human rights organizations, when the issue of Bahrain is internationally discussed, however the authority is in desperate need of justifications for its violence against the legitimate popular demands.

The regime is trying relentlessly to find an excuse for its violence, that is why we find it

· lying publically in the media

· always trying to link the popular movement to a foreign plot

· creating fake speeches and relating them to religious and political figures, claiming that they call for violence despite their repeated pronounce calls for peaceful movement

However, they make fake sound clips by cutting out a part of a footage and using the sentences or words according to their plot that aims to damage the image of the peaceful movement, and any figure or party that stands by it. This mission aims mainly to falsely relate calls for violence a particular person or party, with no shame or conscience.

The state media has cut out “Crush him” from its context which called for legitimate defense (for women), it has been repeatedly said by state officials and deliberately focused on (alone) to mislead the public inside and outside Bahrain, without shame in such a scandalous obvious lie.

This goes on as the a large number of are victimized and killed by the security forces, yet, the authority approves such behavior justifying it as self-defense! So there is an obliged and permissible self-defense which is initial-killing, while a call to defend women is terror? Here, I am asking any minister, official, cleric, journalist.. what will he do if his family was attacked? Will the minister let anyone come close to attacking females of his family? …more

Police: What did not mean by ‘revolution’?

Bahrain questions Shiite leader over statements made in Egypt
14 October, 2012 – Middle East Online

DUBAI – Bahrain police on Sunday questioned cleric Sheikh Ali Salman, who heads the largest Shiite opposition formation Al-Wefaq, over remarks related to “sectarian and security” matters, the authorities said.

Criminal investigation police questioned him in the presence of two lawyers over statements he made during a visit to Egypt earlier this month, according to a statement carried by the BNA state news agency.

Salman admitted referring to a “revolution in Bahrain” but said he “did not mean toppling the regime, while he meant demanding freedom, democracy, equality and respect for human rights,” BNA said.

The influential cleric also said that Wefaq “rejects violence from all sides, whether from the public or from the government,” and denied harming relations between Bahrain and Egypt.

BNA said Salman’s statement will be referred to the public prosecution service which will decide whether to press charges.

Al-Wefaq slammed the summoning of its leader for questioning, calling it a “trial for political practice and opinion, which falls under the regime’s security approach of confiscating rights and freedoms.”

“This measure aims to tighten already limited freedom of expression,” it said in a statement.

Al-Wefaq dominated elections twice in 2006 and 2010 in Shiite areas of the Sunni-ruled kingdom, and formed the largest single bloc in both parliaments.

But its MPs resigned in protest over violence used by security forces against Shiite-dominated protests that broke out in mid-February 2011 and came under a deadly crackdown a month later. …source

Saudis try to threaten UK out of human rights probe
by Avaaz Team – 15 October, 2012

Saudi Arabian officials say they feel “insulted” by a British parliamentary inquiry into the UK’s relationship with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, in the wake of concerns about Saudi and Bahraini human rights abuses since the Arab spring uprisings of last year.

In thickly loaded diplomatic language, the Saudis have said they are “re-evaluating their country’s historic relations with Britain,” and say that “all options will be looked at.”

The inference behind this could not be clearer: keep poking your nose into how we run things, publicly criticise us in any way, and your business interests will suffer.

That message, which comes just after a UK parliament committee announced a review into Britain’s relations with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, should come as little surprise. It reflects the arrangement between western powers and the Gulf kingdom for decades: stay out of our internal politics, ignore our human rights outrages, and together we’ll make lots of money.

Trade between the UK and Saudi Arabia is currently valued at £11bn – and lucrative arms deals account for a large chunk of that (the £7bn BAE Systems contract for Typhoon jets, for example). British companies with a strong presence in Saudi Arabia include Shell, GlaxoSmithKline, BAE Systems, Rolls Royce and Marks & Spencer.

Still, the hypocrisy’s worth pointing out yet again. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain brutally suppress democratic protests in their own countries, and accuse Iran of “interference”. At the same time, Saudi Arabia heavily supports Syrian rebels trying to overthrow Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

British and US criticism of the Gulf monarchy to date has been shamefully muted; UK officials today have been at pains to stress that “Saudi Arabia is a key strategic partner in the region and one of the closest friends and allies”. While it’s a good sign that parliament is re-evaluating this relationship, it comes late in the day and, on current evidence, the outcome is likely to be tame. …more

Bahraini King says ‘door for dialogue open’
15 October, 2012 – Ya Libnana

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa said that the “door for dialogue is open,” when he addressed the new National Assembly on Sunday.

Al-Khalifa said that the visions for a consensus on national dialogue represent a “national desire” to start a new phase to understand what the country is going through, Al Arabiya TV reported him as saying.

He added that these visions “have led to new important constitutional amendments,” that will cement democracy and consolidate transparency, human rights and freedom of expression.

In May, the King has approved amendments to the country’s constitution that give more power to the parliament by allowing it to have more control over government ministers.

While the King hailed the armed forces and the defense ministry in “protecting the country,” he said that the “council of Human Rights accepting a report by Bahrain is a confirmation of trust that the international community has in Bahrain,” he said.

In September, the U.N. Human Rights Council accepted Bahrain’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR). President of the U.N. Human Rights Council, Laura Dupuy Lasserre, hailed the Kingdom for providing voluntarily an interim report to the Council prior to the next UPR.

Bahraini rulers have blamed foreign countries such as Iran for manipulating sectarian differences in the Gulf state. Iranian threats against Bahrain include possible aggravations in the coastal waters of the Gulf state as well as air attacks by Iranian-made missiles.

Opposition groups in Bahrain demand a representative parliament in a country that has Shiites forming majority ruled by a Sunni monarchy. …source

European satellite provider cuts off Iranian TV
15 October, 2012 – Associated Press

PARIS: European satellite provider Eutelsat has taken 19 Iranian television and radio broadcasters off the air as a result of European Union sanctions.

Eutelsat spokeswoman Vanessa O’Connor says the channels operated by Iranian state broadcaster Irib have been blocked for viewers in Europe and elsewhere as of Monday morning.

Eutelsat says a new round of EU sanctions against Iran adopted earlier this year included Irib. The EU toughened its sanctions against Iran as part of broader efforts to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.

Iran’s Press TV says Iran’s broadcasting company could seek legal action against Eutelsat.

Press TV says it’s among the channels cut by the Eutelsat decision. Others include Farsi-language channels for Iranian expatriates and Arabic-language offerings, including the news channel Al-Alam. Most are still visible in Iran.
…source

Mursi’s pardon decree ‘too little, too late’
9 October, 2012 – Al Akhbar

Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi on Monday issued a decree to pardon all prisoners detained during last year’s uprising that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.

The amnesty covers citizens facing trial and those serving jail sentences except for those convicted of murder, a presidential spokesman said.

But human rights lawyers say the wording of the decree is vague and open to interpretation, and that it may take months before any prisoners are released.

The decree asks the prosecutor general and the military prosecutor to prepare a list of names, within a month of the decree’s issuance, of those who may benefit from the pardon.

“It is a great step, but not enough,” said Ahmed Seif, a member of the committee formed by Mursi to review cases of those tried following the uprising. He said he had advised Mursi to specify who would benefit from the pardon.

“Now, there will be differences over how to implement the pardon, and a debate,” Seif said.

Thousands of civilians ended up in army courts in the security vacuum that followed the fall of Mubarak in 2011. The campaign group No to Military Trials had said at least 5,000 political prisoners were still in jail.

Many of those jailed were arrested in the protests that erupted during the 18 months an interim military government was in charge in Egypt under the leadership of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi.

Some prisoners have even been tried since Mursi took office in June.

Mohammed Gadallah, Mursi’s legal advisor, said the decree is “one of the revolution’s most important victories.”

“It shows the revolution is now in power and guides the decision-making,” Gadallah told The Associated Press. “This is a legislation that protects the revolutionaries.”

Gadallah said the decree is likely to cover all major court cases where protesters clashed with military troops and security forces. However, he admitted it is not clear how many would benefit from the pardon.

Protesters currently on trial face charges ranging from resisting authorities, damaging public or private property or disrupting public order.

More than a 12,000 civilians have been brought before military tribunals, many of them on charges such as “thuggery.”

It will be up to the prosecutor general and the military prosecutor to name those who will be pardoned. Suspects who are excluded can challenge the decision, and a judicial panel would be the final arbiter.

Seif said it could take months before pardons actually materialize. …more

Reflections on “Columbus” Day
8 October, 2012 – By Johnny Barber – Truthout

An illustration of Christoper Columbus arriving in America.An illustration of Christoper Columbus arriving in America. (Photo: L. Prang & Co., Boston)I love Columbus Day. Each year, I recall the simple song I learned as a child about the man who “discovered” America. I still recall the innocent boy whose imagination was taken by the story of adventure and discovery.

In fourteen hundred and ninety two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

On Columbus Day, I reflect on the facts of that fateful discovery. Hispaniola at the time of Columbus’ arrival was home to as many as 300,000 people. On seeing the Arawak people Columbus wrote in his journal, “At daybreak great multitudes of men came to the shore, all young and of fine shapes, and very handsome. Their eyes are large and very beautiful.” In the same entry he wrote, “It appears to me, that the people are ingenious, and would be good servants and I am of opinion that they would very readily become Christians, as they appear to have no religion.” Columbus kidnapped up to 25 people, although only seven or eight survived the journey back to Spain. By 1496, it is estimated that one third of the population had been killed or taken as slaves. In 1592, fewer than 200 Indigenous people remained. By 1555, none survived.

I realize every lie and distortion I hold of my country began in that classroom all those years ago.

I love Columbus Day. It reminds me that often, even the most God-fearing individuals are the most self-deluded. In the spring of 1493, Columbus wrote to a sponsor, “They are artless and generous with what they have, to such a degree as no one would believe but him who had seen it. Of anything they have, if it be asked for, they never say no, but do rather invite the person to accept it, and show as much lovingness as though they would give their hearts.” Later in the letter Columbus went on to say, “Their Highnesses may see that I shall give them as much gold as they need … and slaves as many as they shall order to be shipped.” Though he was aware of their generosity and selflessness, rather than emulate them, he decided he would subjugate them. Columbus was the first slave trader in the Americas.

Columbus Day reminds me that my country’s origin was based on violence, subjugation, racism and genocide. As the native population was decimated, it was deemed necessary to bring slaves from Africa to the “New World” for cheap, disposable labor. Throughout the years when America was a slave republic, the wealthiest Americans were those who owned the most human beings. But we should not forget that slave owners spanned all classes. This, from America, the country founded on the idea that all human beings have equal intrinsic worth, value, and rights. The “land of the free, home of the brave,” indeed.

…more

Leonard Peltier Columbus mass murderer of Indigenous Peoples
By Leonard Peltier – 8 October, 2012 – Censored News

Greetings my relatives and friends, supporters!

I know I say this same line all the time but in reality you all are my relatives and I appreciate you. I cannot say that enough. Some of our people, as well as ourselves have decided to call today Indigenous Day instead of Columbus Day and it makes me really think about how many People who still celebrate Columbus, a cruel, mass murderer who on his last trip to the Americas, as I have read, was arrested by his own people for being too cruel. When you consider those kinds of cruelty against our People and his status, it makes you wonder to what level he had taken his cruelty. In all of this historical knowledge that is available people still want to celebrate and hold in high esteem this murderer.

If we were to celebrate Hitler Day, or Mussolini Day, or some other murderer and initiator of violence and genocide, there would be widespread condemnation. It would be like celebrating Bush Day in Iraq. It’s kind of sad to say that even mentioning Columbus in my comments gives him more recognition that he should have.

So I agree wholeheartedly with all of you out there that have chosen to call this Indigenous Day. If I weren’t Native American or as some of have come to say – Indigenous, I would still love our ways and cling to our ways and cherish our ways. I see our ways as the way to the future, for the world. Where as I and others have said over and over, and our People before us, this earth is our Mother. This earth is life. And anything you take from the earth creates a debt that is to be paid back at some time in the future by someone.

In speaking of our ways I can’t help but think of times that our sweat lodge that I feel that we could be anywhere, that we are with the Indigenous People, in that time, those moments in our prayers and in our hearts there is no distance between us. I am no longer in a prison in Florida. I can be on the prairie in South Dakota or in a lodge in British Columbia or in a lodge in South America. Or even with some of my children in a family lodge. We all need to be thankful for what we have but we cannot afford to forget what has been taken from us.

There is no amount of freedom that I could personally receive that would be restitution enough for what they have taken from me. But if in some way my incarceration and sacrifices for our People who came before me and throughout our Indigenous history serves as a pathway to a brighter future, a healthier earth, and for life of all mankind; if it would bring us together to be of one mind in protecting the future of our People, our children, and all the future generations upon the earth, then it will have been well worth it.

Indigenous Day should become a way of life that embraces all that promotes life and not just a few days out of the year. If you’re standing or sitting or whatever with whoever lives around you, give your loved ones a hug for me. Guard your freedom zealously. Rescue Mother Earth where you can. Sweat often and know that this common man, Leonard Peltier, will always be with you in the struggle, one way or another.

May the Great Spirit bless you with the things you need and enough to share.

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, Osceola, Geronimo, Chief Seattle and all those many others who stood for what was right and tried to right what was wrong.

Mitakuye Oyasin.
Leonard Peltier

…source

Dennis Banks: Palestinian Suffering Under U.S.-Backed Occupation Recalls Plight of Native Americans
8 October, 2012 – Democracy Now

Dennis Banks, the legendary Native American activist and co-founder of the American Indian Movement, was in New York City this weekend to serve as a jurist at the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, an international people’s tribunal created in 2009 to bring attention to the responsibility other states bear for Israel’s violations of international law. Banks says, “What is happening to [Palestinians] is what we went through during the last century. Unfortunately, it is the same, same people [backing it]: it is the U.S. government, which funnels money to Israel, and then it goes to hurt the Palestinian people.” [includes rush transcript]

Saad Hariri’s Future Party supplying Saudi arms to Syrian rebels: NYT
8 October, 2012 – Shia Post

Saad Hariri’s Future Party is chief supplier of Saudi weapons to the Syrian rebels, it is reported in the U.S. daily newspaper New York Times.

At the Turkish border town of Antakya late last month, Syrian rebels spoke openly of the Saudi and Qatari intermediaries who dole out weapons on behalf of their governments.

The chief Saudi supplier is said to be a Lebanese figure named Oqab Saqr, who belongs to the political coalition of Saudi Arabia’s chief ally in Lebanon, Saad Hariri.

Maysara, 40, a lean rebel commander from the northern town of Saraqib, who withheld his last name for safety reasons unveiled that “they deliver weapons once every few weeks.” In one recent shipment, he said, a 200-man fighting brigade received six Russian-made AS Val assault rifles, and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Maysara added that “Saqr seemed to struggle with supply issues; he once saw Saqr asking rebels for the name and contacts of a weapons dealer from the former Yugoslavia that he was hoping to meet.”

“The Saudi government appears to be trying to finance more secular rebel groups,” Maysara said, “while the Qataris appear to be closer to the Muslim Brotherhood.”

But these distinctions are slippery, in part because rebel groups adapt their identities to gain money and weapons. One group, in an almost comical bid for support, named itself the Rafik Hariri brigade, after the former Lebanese prime minister and Saudi ally, and whose son Saad is influential in doling out Saudi support to the rebels. …source

NATO Terrorists Mass Slaughter Civilians in Aleppo, Syria
Voltaire Network – 7 October, 2012

NATO-backed terrorism swept the northern Syrian city of Aleppo this week, killing and maiming scores of civilians. Al Qaeda-style car bombings targeted public squares throughout the city in a coordinated attack the Western press has attempted to claim was “targeting government forces.” CNN in their article “Syria: Dozens killed in blasts at Aleppo public square” [1], bases this conclusion on the discredited Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a single man, Rami Abdelrahman, who is admittedly a biased member of the so-called “Syrian opposition,” based not in Syria but in Coventry England disingenuously posing as an entire “human rights organization [2].

But even Abdelrahman’s baseless claims state that “most of the casualties were government forces” meaning that the remaining victims were indeed civilians. Attacking public squares populated with civilians using indiscriminate explosive devices in such attacks is a brazen war crime, one made possible by Western cash, armaments, and political support supplied to sectarian extremist groups starting as far back as 2007 [3].

The city of Aleppo has suffered heavily at the hands of NATO-backed terrorists, entire battalions of which consist of Libyan terrorists [4], not Syrian “freedom fighters” as the Western media attempts to repeatedly state. Libyan militants from the listed terror organization, The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) [5], are stationed, armed, and funded in NATO-member Turkey by Western and the Persian Gulf states of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, before crossing into northern Syria to carry out atrocities against the Syrian people under the guise of the so-called “Free Syrian Army.” …more

West using terror to plunder oil resources of Nigeria
7 October, 2012 – nsnbc.com

Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producing nation, is witnessing a surge in sectarian violence that is destabilizing the central government and threatening to split the country in two.

On the surface, a militant group known as Boko Haram appears to be the protagonist. But some believe that powerful Western interests are using the violence to consolidate foreign control over Nigeria’s vast oil wealth.

With a population of 160 million, Nigeria is the known as the “giant of Africa”. In addition to crude oil, Nigeria has also the biggest reserves of natural gas among Sub-Saharan nations. Western energy companies are gearing up to tap this wealth even further in the coming years. Balkanising the country into North-South entities would undermine the central government in Abuja and bolster exploitation by these corporations.

Recent national security concerns by the US government and its Western allies, Britain and France, have featured West Africa as a new global priority. These powers have warned against the rise of so-called terrorism in the region and are citing this threat as a reason for expanding their military presence in Burkino Faso, Cote D’Ivoire, Mali and Niger. Britain’s former colony Nigeria is emerging as a supposed top Western security concern.

The cold-blooded slaughter last week of 25 students and staff at a college dormitory in northern Nigeria has been linked to the militant group, Boko Haram.

The secretive sect is blamed for nearly 1,400 killings since 2009, involving a campaign of terror that has seen bomb and gun attacks on government buildings, police stations, communication facilities, churches and even mosques.

On the country’s Independence Day last Monday night, a group of unknown armed men entered the Federal Polytechnic premises in the northeastern town of Mubi. The attackers called out students by name, according to local police, and then proceeded to execute the victims by gunshot or by slitting their throats with knives.

The killings have since sparked a desperate exodus of students from the town, and the region has become gripped by heightened fears of further bloodshed.

Boko Haram seems the most likely culprit. The reclusive network is said to want to impose a strict version of religious law and to ban all symbols of Western influence, including the central government of President Goodluck Jonathan. Western commentators have labeled the group “Nigeria’s Taliban”.

However, some Nigerian analysts believe that the organization is being used by powerful external forces as a conduit for destabilizing Nigeria. Political analyst Olufemi Ijebuode says: “The upshot of this latest massacre is to destabilize the state of Nigeria by sowing sectarian divisions among the population. The killers may have been Boko Haram operatives, but Boko Haram is a proxy organization working on behalf of foreign powers.”

“The bottom line is that this murderous attack, as with many, many others in recent years, is saying that the Nigerian government is not in control of its own country,” adds Ijebuode.

A timeline of Boko Haram’s insurgency shows a remarkable increase in violent capability. The group was first formed in 2002 in the city of Maiduguri, the northeast most state of Borno. However, it was not until mid-July 2009 that it adopted violent tactics, apparently following a heavy-handed crackdown by Nigerian security forces that involved extrajudicial killings of leading members.

In these initial violent clashes, supporters of Boko Haram were armed with rudimentary means, such as attacking police stations with motorcycles laden with fuel and even using bows and poison-tipped arrows.

Within two years, the group had acquired assault rifles and was able to mount bomb attacks in the capital Abuju, including one on the police headquarters in June 2011. Two months later, in August 2011, the United Nations headquarters in Abuja was bombed, killing 24 people.

In the following months, the group carried out a wave of coordinated bomb and gun attacks in several cities across the north of the country that resulted in hundreds of deaths. As well as government buildings, churches and mosques have been targeted in a deliberate attempt to provoke sectarian hate. …more

Bahrain: Rajab on Hunger Strike, Forces Use Hot Water against Protesters
8 October, 2012 – ABNA

Bahraini Human Rights activist Nabeel Rajab began hunger strike in prison to protest against preventing him from participating in the all 3-day funeral of his mother who died last Thursday.

Bahrain: Rajab on Hunger Strike, Forces Use Hot Water against Protesters(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Bahraini Human Rights activist Nabeel Rajab began hunger strike in prison to protest against preventing him from participating in the all 3-day funeral of his mother who died last Thursday.

“Nabeel Rajab called me Friday and informed me that he would stop eating food, drinking water and taking his medicine until he’s allowed to attend his mother’s funeral,” his wife Soumaya Rajab appealed via “Twitter”.

She added: “I spoke with the doctors and they told me that Rajab’s health would collapse after 24 hours without water and his body organs will stop from working after just three days.”

Several rallies were held in Bahraini cities in loyalty to the martyrs of the popular uprising who died recently. Some villages also saw demonstrations in solidarity with Nabeel Rajab. Rallies were met with tear gas and hot water, which is a newly used weapon by the Bahraini forces against peaceful protesters.

Rajab was set to be freed for 3 days to attend his mother’s funeral. He was freed but then arrested in the first day because of a speech he delivered which the authorities claimed as “provocative.”

In the same context, a Bahraini medic was freed on Sunday for time served in jail, just five days after he was sentenced with five colleagues in connection with last year’s anti-regime protests in the Gulf state, his lawyers said.

They said Mahmud Asghar, who was sentenced to six months, was released for time served before his conviction.

The six medics were jailed on Tuesday, a day after their convictions were upheld by the kingdom’s highest court.

The medics were among 20 doctors and nurses who worked at the Salmaniya Medical Complex in Manama during the popular uprising against the oppressive rule in the kingdom. …source

4 September, 2012 – BYSHR

1-Abdulwahab Hussain Ali ( life sentence imprisonment)
2-Ibrahim Sharif Abdulraheem Mossa ( 5 Years imprisonment)
3-Hassan Ali Mushaima.( life sentence imprisonment)
4-Abdulhadi Al Khawaja ( life sentence imprisonment)
5-Abduljalil Abdullah Al Singace.( life sentence imprisonment)
6-Mohammed Habib Al Safaf. ( Mohammed Habib Miqdad) ( life sentence imprisonment)
7-Saeed Mirza Ahmed. ( Saeed AlNouri) ( life sentence imprisonment)
8-Abduljalil Mansoor Makk. (Abdul Jalil Miqdad) ( life sentence imprisonment)
9-Abdullah Isa Al Mahroos.( 5 years imprisonment)
10-Salah Hubail Al Khawaj.( 5 years imprisonment)
11-Mohammed Hassan Jawad.( 15 years imprisonment)
12-Mohammed Ali Ismael. ( 15 years imprisonment))
13-Abdul Hadi Abdullah Mahdi Hassan ( Abdulhadi AlMukhodher) ( 15 years imprisonment)

Defendants ( in Absentia) :

14-Akeel Ahmed Al Mafoodh.( 15 years imprisonment)
15-Ali Hassan Abdullah.( Ali Abdulemam) ( 15 years imprisonment)
16-Abdulghani Ali Khanjar.( 15 years imprisonment)
17-Saeed Abdulnabi Shehab.( life sentence imprisonment)
18-Abdulraoof Al Shayeb.( 15 years imprisonment)
19-Abbas Al Omran.( 15 years imprisonment)
20-Ali Hassan Mushaima.( 15 years imprisonment)

…more