Posts from — November 2012

U.S. Warns Protests Could “Break Apart” Bahrain, Topple Regime

The Obama administration is quietly warning that Bahrain’s ongoing internal unrest could lead to the overthrow of the ruling Sunni monarchy. Protests have continued in Bahrain for nearly two years despite a U.S. backed-crackdown that has seen the use of military forces from neighboring Gulf regimes, the jailing and beating of opposition activists, and the recent ban of all public demonstrations. In a briefing to reporters last week, two State Department officials warned that Bahrain could “break apart” if the protests continue, an outcome they say would be beneficial to Iran while detrimental to the “enormous [U.S.] security interests” in Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. The officials gave the briefing on the condition they not be identified by name. The White House says it is calling on Bahrain to heed the calls of an independent commission that urged political reforms one year ago. At the United Nations, a spokesperson for the High Commissioner for Human Rights criticized Bahrain’s recent moves against the opposition, including revoking the citizenship of 31 political figures as well as sentencing medics who treated wounded protesters to three months behind bars.

Rupert Colville: “The High Commissioner urges the government to reconsider this decision, which stands in clear violation of Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that, ‘Everyone has the right to a nationality’ and, ‘No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality.’ The High Commissioner is also concerned by the sentencing of 23 medical professionals on the 21st of November, and reiterates her call on the authorities to release all individuals who have been detained or sentenced simply for exercising their right to demonstrate peacefully.”

The United Nations says it will send a fact-finding mission to assess human rights conditions in Bahrain early next month. …source

Human Rights Activist: Al-Khalifa Seeking to Exonerate Murderers
26 November, 2012 – FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Al-Khalifa regime set up the fact-fining committee led by Mohammed Sharif Basyouni in a bid to exonerate the agents who have killed protesters, a member of Bahrain’s Center for Human Rights said.

“The regime’s refusal to implement the contents of Basyouni committee’s report formed at the order of the (Bahraini) king indicates that the goal pursued by establishing this committee was not settlement of the country’s crisis, but to exonerate the agents involved with the massacre and clampdown on people,” Fallah al-Rabie told FNA on Monday.

He also blamed the Bahraini regime for escalation of crisis in the country, and said the regime still continues “torturing” prisoners, “clamping down” on popular protests and “revoking citizenship” of legal and political activists.

Some international organizations, including the Amnesty International and the UN, have blamed the Al-Khalifa regime for killing and detaining activists and failing to deliver on its promise of reforms.

Security forces have even intensified arrests since the start of the holy month of Muharram.

Muharram, a religious month is commemorated by Muslims across the world annually. The holy month which started on Friday bans people from killing, arresting, committing any wrong doing or crime.

The forces have also insulted the religious slogans chanted by people during the holy month.

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty’s over-40-year rule, end of discrimination, establishment of justice and a democratically-elected government as well as freedom of detained protesters.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13, 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

So far, tens of people have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured. …source

Activist Condemns Bahraini Regime for Revoking People’s Citizenship
26 November, 2012 – FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- Member of Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) Nigel Rodley described revoking citizenships of Bahraini activists as a “slap in the face of the human rights”, and called for the prosecution of the government agents involved in the killing and torturing of protesters.

“The measure (depriving the activists of citizenship) is a slap in the face of human rights and a provocative action which poisons the political climate in Bahrain,” Nigel Rodley told FNA on Monday.

He also urged prosecution of government agents who have tortured activists and violated people’s rights.

The Bahraini government, facing protracted unrest by an overwhelming majority of the people, has revoked the nationality of 31 men on charges of harming national security.

The men include London-based dissidents Saeed al-Shehabi and Ali Mushaima, the son of jailed opposition leader Hassan Mushaima, as well as clerics, human rights lawyers and activists.

Also on the list published by Bahraini News Agency (BNA) were two former parliamentarians from the leading Shiite party Wefaq, Jawad and Jalal Fairooz.

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty’s over-40-year rule, end of discrimination, establishment of justice and a democratically-elected government as well as freedom of detained protesters.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13, 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

So far, tens of people have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured. …source

Street clashes between protesters, riot police erupt near former Bahrain protest hub
By Associated Press – 26 November, 2012

MANAMA, Bahrain — Riot police in Bahrain have fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse thousands of marchers trying to reach a heavily guarded square that was once the hub of their anti-government uprising.

The clash followed ceremonies Monday to mark the end of Shiite religious commemorations known as Ashoura. It was the heaviest clash in months near Pearl Square, where Shiite-led protesters gathered in February 2011 to demand a greater political voice in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom. It has since been closed off.

The street battles spilled into surrounding Shiite neighborhoods.

Bahraini authorities have outlawed protest marches in an attempt to quell growing violence in the more than 21-month-old unrest. Shiite leaders say they plan more marches in defiance of the order.

Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. …source

Egypt prepares for mass rallies
26 November, 2012 – Al Akhbar

Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to rally in Egypt’s Tahrir Square Tuesday against President Mohammed Mursi’s recent decree granting him broad executive powers as the Islamist leader prepares to meet with senior judges Monday to diffuse tensions.

Two people have already died in violent street protests since Mursi issued the decree Thursday that allows him to make “any decision or measure to protect the revolution,” which in effect bypasses judicial oversight and provides the president with absolute powers.

Mursi has insisted that the decree is “temporary” and needed to cleanse Egypt’s political structure of Mubarak loyalists, but his opponents accuse him of seeking dictatorial powers.

“[The decree] is deemed necessary in order to hold accountable those responsible for the corruption as well as the other crimes during the previous regime and during the transitional period,” Mursi said on Sunday.

Former presidential candidates and opposition leaders Mohammed el-Baradei, Hamdeen Sabbahi, Amr Moussa and AbdelMoneim Abul Futuh have established a united front against Mursi, declaring Saturday that there would be no dialog until the decree is rescinded.

Some courts across the country have been closed as judges strike against the decree. The journalists’ union also announced its decision to join the strike.

Hundreds of the president’s opponents camped out in Tahrir Square overnight Sunday in protest of the decree following three consecutive days of protests across different cities where violent clashes took place between the president’s supporters and opponents.

Anti-Mursi demonstrators set fire to at least three offices belonging to the president’s Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party on Friday.

“Tahrir Square is closed,” Amir Elshenawy, an Egyptian activist, told Al-Akhbar on Monday. “Protesters themselves have set up checkpoints in every entrance to the square.”

The Muslim Brotherhood has called on its supporters to take part in a counter demonstration Tuesday in Giza.

In a bold move Saturday that may further aggravate tensions in the country, Mursi quietly ratified a separate law that grants the government authority to appoint members to the Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF).

The unannounced decision allows the MB-affiliated minister of Manpower and Emigration to appoint party members to high level positions in the union once vacancies open.

Activists say the new law represents a further push by Mursi to assert control over labor unions that have been largely monopolized by the government for decades.

Last year’s revolution brought hope to Egypt’s labor movement that years of fighting for independent unions may lead to victory, but the new law has dealt a heavy blow to their efforts.

The Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions, which is separate from ETUF, announced it would take part in the anti-Mursi demonstrations Tuesday and its members plan to strike against the new labor law. …source

Revolutions across the Middle East and North Africa have dramatically shifted the balance of power in the region, writes John Rose

Why the Arab Spring has changed everything in the Middle East
By Socialist Worker_online – OpEdNews – 25 November, 2012

There was mounting panic in Washington, London and other capital cities at the beginning of this week. It was caused by the prospect of an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza.

Combined with the unpredictable consequences of the Arab Spring this would plunge the region into even greater chaos.

On Saturday hundreds of thousands were on the streets of Jordan both in solidarity with Gaza and calling for the fall of the regime. They are ruled by pro-Western despot King Abdullah.

The panic at the top is a recognition of a new kind of Arab politics emerging from below, finally corroding Western domination.

Youngsters in the Israeli-occupied West Bank belonging to the Fatah group also took to the streets to demonstrate this week.
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They did so not only in solidarity with Gaza but also against Mahmoud Abbas, the discredited leader of the Palestinian Authority and Fatah.

There are voices calling for an Arab Spring-inspired struggle for democratic rights. They demand one person one vote throughout Israel and the occupied territories–crucially involving the millions of Palestinian refugees. Such a revolutionary game changer would spell the end of Zionism.

Israel has very different ideas. It wants Egypt to absorb Gaza, carve up the West Bank with Jordan, and retain just a few Palestinian villages making traditional handicraft for tourists.

Competing

The struggle over these competing solutions has just begun. Its outcome will be determined by the Arab Spring.

The decisive player in the new politics is Egypt. Its new, democratically elected Muslim Brotherhood government is already caught in the contradictions of power.

It has a choice–to retain the pro-US, pro-Israeli policies of toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak or to support the overwhelming pro-Palestinian aspirations of the Egyptian people.

This was brilliantly exposed by Egypt’s Revolutionary Socialists when they called on the new government to stand by its pre-election policies.

These include permanently opening the Rafah crossing on the Egypt/Gaza border, to provide proper relief and to abolish the Camp David peace accords with Israel or at the very least organise a referendum.

Socialist Worker has long argued that the key to the liberation of the Palestinian people lies in the power of the Egyptian working class. …more

Human Rights in Bahrain: Assessing Progress on the One-Year Anniversary of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry Report
26 November, 2012 – POMED

Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain held a panel discussion entitled, “Human Rights in Bahrain: Assessing Progress on the One-Year Anniversary of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry Report,” to discuss the current status of implementation of the BICI recommendations. The panel featured Mohammad al-Tajer, co-founder and President of Bahrain Rehabilitation & Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO), Dr. Fatima Haji, co-founder and Director of Training and Development at BRAVO, Brian Dooley, Director of Human Rights First, Richard Sollom, Deputy Director at Physicians for Human Rights, and was moderated by Husain Abdulla, Director of Americans for Human Rights & Democracy in Bahrain.

For full meeting notes continue reading or here for a PDF.

Husain Abdulla introduced the panel and discussed the background of the BICI report. He noted that many of the recommendations in the report have been met with continued violence instead of the reforms many had hoped for.

Mohammad al-Tajer spoke of his experience as a lawyer for detainees, saying lawyers are often unable to speak privately with their clients or to present a proper defense. He also addressed the failure of the BICI report, citing cases of torture, indefinite detention, and the demolition of mosques as examples. Al-Tajer expressed frustration that “there is nobody held responsible for the killings” in Bahrain.

Brian Dooley pointed out that the situation in Bahrain is worsening. He said, “If we look at this time last year … there wasn’t a blanket ban on demonstrations,” and the violence was not as severe. “Things are sliding in a horribly frightening direction,” Dooley stressed. He mentioned the U.S. has sent observers to trials, which do not comply with international standards, and urged the Obama Administration to make a statement on the issue, referencing Obama’s comment last year that “you can’t have a real dialogue with parts of the opposition in jail.”

Richard Sollom discussed his experience documenting the situation for public health officials, stating that of the 95 medics detained, 20 had been convicted on felony charges, 28 on misdemeanor charges, and nine had been acquitted. However, those acquitted were not reinstated to their previous positions, and many who had not gone through the legal system still had their licenses revoked or had been removed from their position. Sollom called this the “biggest violation of medical neutrality” he had ever witnessed.

U.S. Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN) made an appearance to thank the panel for their “courageous defense of human rights,” and encouraged everyone to “continue to tell the story.” He said the “government of Bahrain has not lived up to the (BICI) recommendation,” and that the U.S. hasn’t “been active enough.” “The violations of human rights occurring (in Bahrain) are not small, they are quite serious and demand our attention,” Ellison added. He concluded by saying he would encourage the U.S. government to look into a different location for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet as a possible means of putting pressure on the Bahraini government.

Dr. Fatima Haji discussed her detention for providing medical assistance to injured protesters in Bahrain, mentioning that she has not been reinstated to her position, and has been threatened with having her medical license revoked. She said the main hospital in Bahrain’s capitol, Manama, has been militarized with checkpoints and a security detail. Haji added that many people who arrive at the hospital for care are first questioned about the nature of their injury. If security forces conclude that the patient was injured during a protest, they are immediately detained without medical attention.

During the Q&A, al-Tajer answered a question about the revocation of citizenship for 31 Bahrainis, a group includes panelist Husain Abdulla, saying they no longer have access to schools, the healthcare system, or jobs, He said that their land and homes will be confiscated, because only Bahraini citizens may own land in the country. When asked about moving the Fifth Fleet’s naval base, Haji said the opposition movement would gladly accept a U.S. discussion on the Fleet’s relocation if it would change the current situation. Abdulla recommended the U.S. start using the leverage it appears to have over Bahrain, including the Fifth Fleet, to address the human rights crisis. In closing, Sollom said President Obama and the U.S. Secretary of State should “talk about the reality of what is taking place in Bahrain,” while al-Tajer added that “Bahrain is looking to the outside world to help end this crisis.” Haji urged the “U.S. government to revise their policy,” on Bahrain, while Dooley again emphasized the importance for the U.S. to condemn unsubstantiated trials against opposition figures.

Bahrain: Litmus test for EU human rights
25 November, 2012 – Nicolas Beger

Over the past couple of years, Bahrain’s international image has been transformed from that of a small, quiet Gulf kingdom into a very different kind of country. Today it suffers from deepening human rights abuses. State-sponsored violence oppresses people who express views which conflict with those of the Al-Khalifa family.

But while several other Arab states became international pariahs for their egregious human rights violations, Bahrain appears largely to have dodged international, including European Union, censure. Why is this?

Perhaps it has something to do with the island kingdom’s relatively small size. However, having a modest population in no way negates the damage to human rights caused by the Bahraini authorities’ increasingly brutal approach to popular demands. It’s important that we don’t apply different standards to different countries. Amnesty International regards all human rights abuse equally, wherever it occurs. Are torture or the deaths of unarmed protestors at the hands of Bahraini troops any less abhorrent than the killing of civilians in other, more populous, countries? Early last month, the Bahraini authorities, citing security concerns, revoked the citizenship of 31 people for causing ”damage to state security”. With the recent first anniversary of the report by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), it’s becoming clear that the authorities have no intention of listening seriously to the protesters. Whatever promise the Commission may have represented last November, when it accused the authorities of gross human rights violations, has now faded, despite the King’s personal assurance of accountability.

The Government of Bahrain expressed its intention to honour BICI’s findings at Universal Periodic Review (UPR) sessions in May and September this year, ahead of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. But this now appears to be a shallow promise. Little of substance has since been achieved on either human rights or democracy in Bahrain. It may now seem obvious that undertakings like those made at the UPR were a ploy to reassure an increasingly uncomfortable international community, but one can only wonder why the global audience has allowed itself to be appeased so easily.

It’s hard to ignore the distinctly muted EU response to events in Bahrain. As recently as August, Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron met the King of Bahrain in Downing Street to discuss opportunities for British business in the kingdom. Only in passing did he mention the need to implement the BICI recommendations. Catherine Ashton, head of EU external affairs, has merely urged “all sections of Bahraini society to contribute to dialogue and national reconciliation in a peaceful and constructive manner.” Should we be surprised when such mealy-mouthed representations fail to galvanise the authorities into delivering convincing reforms? Indeed, far from showing any improvement, we see systematic violations of basic human rights in Bahrain, including a ban on all protests and the imprisonment of anyone who tweets messages of opposition to the King. For the most part these have met with resounding silence from the EU.

There’s scant evidence that the EU is taking Bahrain’s human rights crisis seriously. Not only has Brussels so far failed to put any real pressure on the Bahraini Government, it seems determined to turn a blind eye, especially when trade deals are in prospect. But human rights abuses in small desert kingdoms deserve a full-size EU response. The EU’s new human rights strategy adopted in June committed the Union to defending human rights around the world more consistently and proactively. The people of Europe have every right to expect the EU to honour this policy. Bahrain is a litmus test.
…source

Acts of intimidation against human rights lawyers to stop exposing violations of the public prosecution

Bahrain: Lawyer interrogated for talking to the media about torture of her client
24 November, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights express concern over the continued violations to freedom of expression and the acts of harassment and intimidation against human rights lawyers who raise awareness on violations against detained defendants.
On 23 Nov 2012 the public prosecution summoned lawyer Manar Maki and interrogated her on background of a statement she gave to the Satellite channel Alalam on 16 Nov 2012 about the torture of her detained client Adnan Almansi who was reportedly subjected to severe physical torture, including sexual assaults in the form of anal assault (see BCHR report on condition of Adnan bahrainrights.org/en/node/5506).

Instead of launching an investigation into the torture claims of her client, lawyer Manar Maki has been charged with insulting the judicial authority, and defamation of two members of the public prosecution, for stating that “a prosecutor tried to extract a suspect’s confession under duress”. The lawyer explained that she did not mean to offend the Public Prosecution but she was passing the same statement she received from her detained client who told her of the incident. Lawyer Mohsin Alalawi who attended with lawyer Manar has requested to address the Supreme Council to appoint an investigating judge since the prosecutor is the victim in the case, and that the case be dismissed. Maki was then released on guarantees of place of residence pending trial[1].

Mrs Manar Maki is a human rights lawyer who cooperates with the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights to defend pro-democracy detainees and to raise awareness on the human rights violations they are subjected to.

Moreover, in a statement published on 24 Nov 2012, the public prosecution threatened that “it will not hesitate to take more firm actions in the future towards whoever is tempted to falsely claim against the public prosecution, or abuse it or one of its members unlawfully”[2].

BCHR believes this is to be an act of intimidation act targeted at lawyers who expose violations of the public prosecution. It is also a continuation of the authorities’ role in protecting human rights violators and supporting the culture of impunity, a sign of lack of independency. BCHR has issued several reports on the violations of the public prosecution, please see them below[3].

BCHR believes that lawyer Manar Maki has been targeted for exercising her right to freedom of expression as granted by the universal declaration of human rights. Her summon and interrogation confirms an intensive surveillance of the speeches and statements of the human rights lawyers and activists over the media, at a time when human rights abuses and violations are not on the public prosecutions radar.

The interrogation of Lawyer Manar comes as part of a campaign targeting the human rights lawyers, which started with prominent human rights lawyer Mohammed Al-Tajer who was subject to a campaign of public humiliation as private photos and videos of him and his former wife were circulated online on a pro government website a few days after his participation in the UPR process on Bahrain[4]. On 7th Nov 2012 another lawyer Taimoor Karimi was one of 31 Bahrainis who were stripped of their nationality arbitrarily, without notice and without judicial process, contrary to customary international law[5]. He was subsequently banned with an order from the minister of justice from pleading at the court and attending as a lawyer on behalf of clients[6]. Both AlTajer and Karimi have spent several months in jail and were put on trials last year following crackdown on pro-democracy protests. Last December the Ministry of Human Rights and Social development ruled that the current elected board of directors of the Bahrain Lawyers Society will no longer be in charge as the majority of them took on political and human rights cases, and appointed the previous board of directors[7].

Based on the above, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights appeals to the US, the UK, the UN and all other allies and international institutions to put pressure on the Government of Bahrain to:

1- Immediately drop all charges against human rights lawyer Manar Maki who was targeted for merely exercising her right to freedom of expression in accordance with the universal declaration of human rights.

2- Stop all acts of intimidation directed at lawyers and activists who defend human rights and expose violations of the public prosecution or other authorities in Bahrain.

3- Take immediate action to stop torture in detention and bring those responsible for it to justice.

4- Commitment to International covenants and respect for all forms of freedom of expression and publication as provided for in the international covenants and charters, especially Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which states that: ” Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice. ”

…source

Secretary General of Hizbollah Seyyed Hassan Nasrollah on Sunday warned regional countries, that are preventing any solution in Bahrain, and said they are afraid that the call for reforms would spread to the neighboring countries.

Nasrallah: Bahrain crisis escalators afraid of reforms
25 November, 2012 – ABNA

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Nasrallah made the remark in a Shiˈite mourning ceremony commemorating Karbala martyrs on the 10th of Muharram in Al-Raˈye Aldhahehiye Sport Complex South of Beirut.

Hezbollahˈs Secretary General renewed his support to Bahraini people and their peaceful revolution, calling upon the Bahraini authorities to respond to the just demands of the people who managed to keep conscious despite all the injustice and oppression against them.

Concerning the Syrian crisis, Sayyed Nasrallah said that Hezbollah is with every oppressed people in each country, but that we should not suspect distinguishing the oppressed.

The Secretary General added that today all Syrian people are innocent with the Syrian Army and establishment being subject to conspiracies coming from several directions.

He noted that Syriaˈs help and support should be in the form of call for stopping bloodshed; this would help betterment of situation, he added.

He declared: ˈWe favor stability in Lebanon through dialogue.ˈ

The Secretary General of Hezbollah stressed security, stability and civil peace and co-existence of the Lebanese people from various strata.

He stressed, ˈAll accusations, levelled against us, are unfair, false and lack any evidence.ˈ

Nasrallah stressed that Hezbollahˈs sole enemy is ˈIsraelˈ, having no enemy in Lebanon.

ˈWe used to believe and still think that political dialogue and action are the only way to settlement of the Lebanese crisis.ˈ
…source

Electronic tracking system on women in Saudi Arabia
26 November, 2012 NewZ Kiosk

Today in technology-and-human-rights events, an electronic tracking system has been put in place in Saudi Arabia. It tracks women, mostly those making cross-border movements, and it alerts their husbands, etc.

The system isn’t advanced, and unlike some Americans schools, doesn’t involve any electronic tags. Instead, it’s a blend of old-school and new-school humans rights violations. When women travel out of the kingdom, they are required to have a “yellow sheet” signed by their husbands/guardians, granting permission.

When women cross the border (or attempt to), their husbands/guardians receive a text message. Even if said husband/guardian is traveling with the woman in question.

This has, obviously, raised a number of humanitarian concerns throughout Saudi Arabia, mostly seen on Twitter.

One thing I have to note about this story that strikes me as a little weird (aside from the entire crazy premise): that’s quite a few cell phone numbers to have stored away. The U.S. government can’t seem to keep my address straight. …source

Bahrainis have never felt less repressed..!
26 November, 2012 – Gulf Daily News

When Amnesty International describes a “worsening situation” in Bahrain in its latest report, most Bahrainis will wonder what it is talking about.

With celebrations of the Muslim New Year and the Shi’ite holy month of Muharram and Ashoora over the past couple of weeks, Bahrain has enjoyed some of the calmest days since trouble broke out in February 2011.

The streets have been mostly free of protests, Gulf tourists flooded in to enjoy Bahraini hospitality and many hard-pressed small businesses turned a decent profit for the first time in months.

Arguably, it is all a question of perspective. Sitting thousands of miles away in Geneva, ticking boxes on a clipboard, perhaps it’s not all that obvious how most Bahrainis are feeling about developments in their country.

And Amnesty’s concerns about the temporary halt to licensing protests and withdrawal of citizenship of certain people deserve serious consideration.

However, its report dangerously mixes together two separate issues – implementation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report it wrongly asserts has been shelved and measures to restore life to normal and use the judicial process against those who broke the law.

Let’s first look at the government’s record in implementing BICI recommendations, which Amnesty dismisses so cynically:

Abuses: About 17 police officers, including high-ranking ones, faced trial over torture or violence charges. Those found guilty face prison. A further 30 security personnel face charges and the new Special Investigation Unit is probing about 122 cases.

Unfair dismissal: About 98 per cent of protesters dismissed from jobs have been reinstated.

Compensation: About $6 million has been disbursed to 36 families of those who died and in 116 cases of injury.

Torture: The Penal Code has been amended to ensure the definition of torture is clear and rigorous and loopholes don’t allow violators to escape justice.

Retraining and reforming the security sector: Thousands of policemen have received human rights training and a robust new code of conduct has been put in place.

Retraining judges: Extensive training based on global standards has been provided to judges.

Reconciliation: Initiatives include $500,000 for non-governmental organisations for reconciliation programmes and legislation against inciting hatred, racism and religious intolerance.

Places of worship: Around 30 sites damaged are being rebuilt. In the remaining cases, issues related to planning status and title deeds are being resolved.

Freedom of expression: A new legislation protects journalists and stipulates civilians can’t be penalised for expressing their views. The Public Prosecution dropped all charges that overlapped with freedom of opinion in 334 cases.

Constitutional reform: A new legislation empowers MPs to interrogate and sack ministers and strike down government policies.

The government says it has implemented more than 140 of 176 BICI recommendations. Many awaiting full implementation require cultural change and will take time.

What Amnesty calls spiralling repression broadly refers to measures to restore calm and stability.

To the degree which they have succeeded, these measures have been popular amongst the majority of Bahrainis who want to get on with their lives after two years of disturbances, rioting and political and economic paralysis.

Amnesty is wrong in sweepingly paint anyone detained as a human rights defender. It refuses to consider the charges these people face, including inciting violence, organising illegal demonstrations and seeking to forcibly overthrow the government.

Several of the most notorious people publicly put their names to a plan to violently instal an Islamic republic.

Admittedly, Twitter-related charges against Nabeel Rajab were ridiculous, and thankfully, rejected by the courts. Likewise, due judicial process should be allowed to take its course to decide the innocence or guilt of others.

Amnesty cites case studies in its extensive report and makes recommendations, some of which deserve consideration by authorities.

‘Citizens for Bahrain’ agrees with it that the government here, like all governments, needs to continuously scrutinise and improve its human rights record and address shortcomings.

It shares Amnesty’s concerns over measures in recent months, such as the withdrawal of citizenship of 31 people. Any such step should only be considered if it is demonstrably in the public interest and taken against people proved to be a danger to the public.

By failing to produce evidence to justify such measures, the government only weakens its ability to argue that they are appropriate, proportionate and necessary.

Where we disagree with Amnesty is it is discussing BICI recommendations as if they exclusively relate to the handful of issues it is campaigning noisily.

By concentrating on the temporary protest ban and prisoners of conscience and giving an unfairly negative spin to ongoing trials of police officers accused of abuses, Amnesty presents an unfairly skewed picture of the situation.

Key BICI recommendations tackled the issues of unfair dismissals of protesters, destruction of holy sites, compensation and reforming the security and judiciary sectors.

Amnesty was rightly vocal about these issues 12 months ago. However, now they have been resolved.

Reforms are being conveniently ignored because they don’t fit the picture Amnesty wants to portray – of a nasty regime brutally repressing its citizens.

In fact, we citizens are reaping the benefits of these reforms and the much-maligned measures to restore order. We’ve never felt less repressed!

Human rights shortcomings here are infinitely less sensational and scandalous than catastrophic abuses in Syria, Myanmar and Iran.

While Amnesty understandably wants to keep Bahrain in the forefront of public attention, not necessarily a bad thing, it is wrong to grossly miscontextualise the situation to achieve the goal.

Bahraini citizens

…source

Israeli Сrimes Expose US Arab Despots
Finian Cunningham – 23 November, 2012 – Strategic Culture Foundation

American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s hasty diplomatic shuttle from Southeast Asia to the Middle East this week can be seen as reflecting Washington’s priority to shore up stability in the region. It is a deep apprehension to maintain a shaky status quo that motivates Washington’s concern, not negotiating an end to appalling violence and human suffering in Gaza…

Clinton shook hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and publicly declared that the US was «rock solid» in its commitment to «defend Israel». There were token glib words of concern for Palestinians, but Clinton’s studied emphasis was on Israel’s «security against aggression». She did not, of course, pay a visit to the butchered people of Gaza – over 130 dead, thousands injured, multiple times Israeli casualties at the time of her visit. Her itinerary’s omission of Gaza was partly because Washington denotes the elected Hamas government as a terrorist organization. However, more subtly and more importantly, the tacit signal was intended to portray Israel as the victim and having moral right to conduct violence.

Next stop for Clinton was to meet Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo to underpin efforts at brokering a putative ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The US diplomat extended President Obama’s «gratitude» for Egyptian attempts to facilitate a cessation of violence.

But, as with Clinton’s lopsided emphasis in her high-profile meeting with Netanyahu, it can be discerned that Washington’s priority is less about bringing an end to human misery or upholding Palestinian rights and more to do with stabilizing a volatile regional situation. In other words, self-serving political calculus.

It can also be deduced from the official US response to the crisis that Washington had a hand in Israel’s offensive. Recall that the US military and Israeli forces conducted major war games in the preceding weeks under the operational title «Austere Challenge» in which the focus was on testing Israel’s newly supplied American-made anti-missile defence system.

The timing of the Israeli air strikes and naval barrage on Gaza came one week after the re-election of Barack Obama to the White House, which strongly suggests that his administration orchestrated the attacks to occur after the election to avoid any possible domestic political damage in the polls. A major military onslaught such as this requires weeks of planning and, significantly, consultation given the integral role of the Pentagon in Israel’s deployment of the anti-missile system, known as Iron Dome.

Furthermore, the stoic demeanour of Clinton in her meeting with Netanyahu this week – in the face of truly shocking images of barbarity – and her pointed reference to «the success» of the Iron Dome system also indicate a level of preparedness on behalf of Washington for what would unfold in the Palestinian territories.

Nevertheless, the public backlash across the region to Israeli violence must give cause for concern to the Washington patron. Obviously, the Israeli state is feeling the heat of public anger. But there are other links in the chain of American hegemony across the Middle East that are also coming under searing scrutiny from the Arab masses and world public opinion generally. These links are the autocratic monarchies of the Gulf Arab oil sheikhdoms.

News footage showing lifeless bodies of tiny Palestinian children – their eyes fixed in blank stare – being piled up in morgues, or a civilian occupant of a car being incinerated from an Israeli air strike, as firefighters try to douse the vehicle, such images of heartless barbarity on innocents have enraged people around the world and the Middle East region particularly.

Israel’s Holocaust political capital – which has up to now shielded the state from much public criticism owing to emotive charges of «anti-semitic» – is being depleted rapidly to the point where the Zionist entity is losing the moral and historical argument.

The governments in Washington and Tel Aviv may talk about Israel’s «right to self-defence» – but public opinion around the world and especially in the Arab countries see the violence as simply further Israeli aggression and crimes against humanity added to an already towering pile of violations.

Even if it is acknowledged that Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups have been firing hundreds of rockets into Israeli-occupied territories and cities, it is widely understood that this action is in the context of an inhumane, genocidal siege on Gaza by Israeli forces – a siege that has been imposed for five years. To most observers, it is the Palestinian people who have the moral right to self-defence, and yet for exercising that right they are now being slaughtered.

In this context, the American-Israeli narrative is not merely factually and morally wrong. It is an egregious affront to humanitarian values, morality and to international law. Added to this tinderbox of outrage over the immediate suffering in Gaza is the bigger picture of Palestinian oppression: the cynical, bankrupt peace process that offers Palestinians and their refugee diaspora nothing – absolutely nothing – while continually rewarding Israel with relentless illegal settlements that then become «facts on the grounds».

The usurpation of historic Palestinian territory has been going on now for more than six decades and shows no sign of abating. Indeed, the mainly Muslim Arab people of this land are being pushed further and further into diminishing balkanized rumps that are not even self-governing, on the periphery of what was once Palestine. Their fate resembles that of the North American native peoples as they get pushed inexorably towards oblivion.

Perhaps worst of all, the holy Muslim city of East Jerusalem/Al Quds with its Al Aqsa mosque – the third holiest Muslim site on earth after Mecca and Medina – is now under threat of being appropriated and erased by the apartheid Zionist regime. Even for non-believers, that abomination is hard to stomach.

The crimes of American-backed Israel are to some extent expected. But what of the crimes of the American-backed Arab monarchies and puppets?

The silence of the Persian Gulf Arab monarchies in the face of aggression against Arab people and the Muslim sanctities of Palestine makes these rulers complicit in the crimes. The people of the region, and the wider world, see how these autocrats are sending, without the slightest interruption, millions of barrels of oil every day to the US, the patron of Israeli aggression. Evidently, it’s business-as-usual without a word of protest from Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest exporter of oil. Hardly a whimper has emanated from the other monarchs in the Western-backed Gulf bloc of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar or the United Arab Emirates.

Only two weeks ago, Saudi Arabia and the UAE bought billions-of-dollars-worth of fighter jets and other military equipment from Britain and the US. Why aren’t these warplanes being used by Saudi Arabia and the UAE to set up no-fly zones over Gaza to protect the citizens there?

Kuwait and Qatar possess American-made Patriot missile defence systems. Why are they not being sent to Gaza to take out Israeli rockets and warplanes?

Why isn’t a fraction of the weapons that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE are funneling to Sunni extremist mercenaries waging a criminal war on Arab people in Syria being sent for the real moral cause of defending Palestinians from American-Israeli aggression?

Why aren’t millions of dollars of humanitarian material – a mere pittance of Saudi’s annual oil revenues – being shipped and airlifted to Gaza right now?

Of course, the answers point up the true nature of the Arab oil dictators. They are heretics, charlatans and betrayers of the Muslim people. They are corrupt stooges who steal the wealth of their own people, oppressing their populations with squalor, poverty, brutality and ignorance. Their callous indifference to the suffering of the Palestinians and their collusion with the American and Israeli oppressors is emblematic of their entire despotic disposition and dependence on American imperialism. …source

Hamas says “Israel failed in its goals,” thanks Iran
21 November, 2012 – Lebanon Now

Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said on Wednesday that Israel had “failed in all its goals” after a Gaza truce deal came into effect, while thanking Egypt and Iran for their support during the conflict.

“After eight days, God stayed their hand from the people of Gaza, and they were compelled to submit to the conditions of the resistance,” Meshaal said.

“Israel has failed in all its goals,” he told reporters in a Cairo hotel.

Meshaal also thanked ceasefire mediator Egypt, as well as Iran, which he said “had a role in arming” his Islamist movement during the conflict.

“I would like to thank our dear Egypt, aided by the brave elected President Mohamed Morsi… Egypt acted responsibly and understood the demands of the resistance and the Palestinian people,” he said.

Meshaal also praised Iran, despite “disagreements on the situation in Syria.”

And the Hamas leader warned Israel against violating the agreement.

“If you commit, we will commit. If you do not commit, the rifles are in our hands,” he said.

Earlier, Egypt announced the ceasefire agreement would come into effect at 1900 GMT on the eighth day of Gaza-linked violence that has killed at least 155 Palestinians and five Israelis.

…source

Little hands
by Lina Al-Sharif – 21 November, 2012

Little hands
soft and round
cupped crayons,

in the corner of the paper,

drew smiley sun painted yellow

butterflies, swings, and green meadows,
huddled family, a house with small windows,
and a cloudless sky with a rainbow,

Little dreams,
thoughts of the unknown
as adventure bigger than their small world

Where they roam, float, and soar,

Laugh and agelessly grow,

Little hands,

But big tanks,

With calloused hands,

Found the house of small windows,

Tore the crayoned rainbow

Soft and round
became soon pillars of clouds,

Buried into the ground
so small a shroud
so quite a sound,

Little souls

Soared with the dew
roamed with the dunes
Left our world too soon,

Little hands
now will rain young forever,
no longer drawing dreams on paper,
Little hands,
cup your hands together
and pray for their hands to be tied
forever,
forever and ever.

…source

Here, in Gaza
by Rawan Yaghi – 21 November, 2012 – Mondoweiss

In Gaza, I sit behind my screen, devastated. “I don’t want to report on twitter, anymore” I think to myself. Then I take my words back and try to keep myself busy with it.

For the last seven days, I’ve been following the news, translating them and posting them on twitter after they are “confirmed”. One martyr here, another there. A child here, a child there. A woman here and a woman there. One, two three injuries coming into Alshifa hospital. I’ve been eliminating my feelings for seven days. I’ve been watching my language, spelling, punctuation and feelings. Today, I broke down. For a moment, I didn’t care where the last explosion was. If what exploded has exploded, what is my tweet going to do about it, I thought again. My Mom said the name of the place being targeted in surprise. Why are you surprised, I thought again. They’ve been bombing children for the past seven days. Why on earth are you surprised they’re targeting a commercial building.

In Gaza, children, if their lives were spared, wait in hospitals, bandaged and scared, for their dead mothers to rush towards them. Others lie alone, along with their siblings, or beside their father, faces deeply cut, hearts still as rubble, their eyes sleepy as in the night before when they couldn’t sleep, some with twinkling eyes. Still, they breathe no more.

In Gaza, a mother runs to hospital praying and hoping that the unidentified torn child isn’t hers. She knows it’s him. He was playing football a second ago. His jacket is also torn there beside their house. She is definite. She only collapses when she is confronted with the fact.

In Gaza, a man, blouse drained in blood, cracks when a doctor tells him that his son is already dead. He doesn’t know in which corner he should hide his face. A wall interrupts his strides. And, he crumbles there.

A boy, in Gaza, hasn’t spoken to anyone since the news of his friend’s death. He walks in his friend’s funeral with endless looks inspecting the nothingness before him.

In Gaza, four generations live. The youngest is buried.

After seven days, all you can do is blink.

Here, we stand.

…source

Rakhines again set on fire Rohingya village in Maungdaw south
19 November, 2012 – kaladan press

Maungdaw, Arakan state: A group of Rakhines from Kanbay Natala –news shelter villager- together with Burmese border security force (Nasaka) are setting on fire to Horsara under Zaw Matet village tract – a Rohingya village, today, according to a village elder.

“The Horsara village is situated near the Maungdaw- Aley Than Kyaw highway and beside a new shelter village (natala) and Nasaka outpost under Nasaka area number 7. The Nasaka always harass the Rohingya villagers and the travelers on this road. With them, the new shelter also giving trouble to Rohingya community who pass this point.”

“The village has more than 58 houses and the Nasaka personnel have already driven out from the village with open fire, then the Rakhines set on fire the village at 20:00 hour after listening the news at 20:00 hour from Burma broadcasting service.

In the news, there was US President Barak Obama speech which mention about Rohingya that become angry the Rakhine where they set on fire the village and the security force didn’t do any things while set on fire but, fire on Rohingya when they tried to save their village, said a victim from the village.

“For too long, the people of this state, including ethnic Rakhine, have faced crushing poverty and persecution. But there’s no excuse for violence against innocent people,” Obama told a packed audience for a speech at Yangon University. …more

2 killed in airstrikes as ceasefire announced
Maan News Agency – Reuters – 21 November, 2012

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israel launched deadly airstrikes across the Gaza Strip late Wednesday, as Egypt’s foreign minister announced a ceasefire to end eight days of violence.

Missiles fired by an unmanned drone slammed into Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip around 7:30 p.m., killing a teenager and critically injuring another. Medical sources identified the teenager as 14-year-old Nadir Abu Mugheiseeb. Another person was injured in the attack.

Another airstrike killed a Palestinian in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood.

Six people were also wounded in a separate airstrike on Gaza City, a Ma’an reporter said.

The latest deaths and injuries came as the Egypt’s foreign minister announced a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians during a news conference in Cairo with the US secretary of state Hilary Clinton.

Mohamed Kamel Amr said the ceasefire would come into effect at 9 p.m.

“These efforts … have resulted in understandings to cease fire and restore calm and halt the bloodshed that the last period has seen,” Amr said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Barack Obama on Wednesday he was ready to give a ceasefire with Hamas a chance, his office said in a statement.

“(Netanyahu) spoke a short while ago with President Barack Obama and agreed to his recommendation to give the Egyptian ceasefire proposal a chance, and in this way provide an opportunity to stabilize the situation and calm it before any more forceful action would be necessary,” the statement from Netanyahu’s office said.

The ceasefire announcement follows Egyptian mediated efforts to put an end to a week of violence, which started when Israel assassinated Hamas military commander Ahmad al-Jaabari last Wednesday.

Israel’s military has bombarded the Gaza Strip for eight days, killing around 170 people and injuring over 1,000. Extensive damage has been caused to civilian infrastructure in Gaza as Israel hit over 1,500 sites, with media buildings targeted and several journalists killed and wounded.

An Israeli soldier and civilian were reported killed by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, with three other civilians killed by a rocket last Thursday in Israel’s south. …source

The Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR) and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) express their grave concern at the continued systematic crackdown by the authorities in Bahrain on human rights defenders. In the second half of 2012 alone, several cases have been reported that include arrests, detention, ill-treatment, unfair trials, and physical attacks on human rights defenders due to their legitimate and peaceful human rights work

Bahrain – Systematic crackdown on human rights defenders
19 November, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Detention, prosecution and unfair trial

On the 8th of November 2012, the Court of Appeal refused to release leading human rights defender Nabeel Rajab, who is currently serving a 3 year sentence on three charges related to the right to freedom of peaceful assembly guaranteed by the Bahraini constitution.

The hearing was dedicated to the screening of videos, including videos of international human rights observers that show the peaceful nature of Nabeel’s activities. There were signs of undermining the right of defence in the case as at least one international defence witness was denied entry into Bahrain and the defense team has not had access to all the evidence filed in the criminal case in due time. The hearing was adjourned, and a final verdict is expected on the 11th of December 2012.

Nabeel Rajab has been in detention since the 9th of July 2012 after he was sentenced to 3 months for a Tweet in which he criticized the Prime Minister. While in detention, the prominent human rights defender was only allowed to attend the first day of a three day funeral procession for his mother.

On the 7th of November 2012, the Vice President of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association (BTA), Jalila Al-Salman was arrested to serve the remaining portion of her prison sentence, after she was summoned to the Criminal Investigation Department. She was originally sentenced to 3 years by a military court for her role in the Bahrain Teachers Association which called for a strike in March last year following attacks by security forces on peaceful protesters. On the 21st of October 2012 an appeal court reduced the sentence to 6 months. Although Al-Salman’s lawyer has requested in the second appeal to the Court of Cassation that the charges be dropped and her sentence dismissed, the authorities decided to arrest Al-Salman, who had already served 163 days in prison last year, following her first arrest in March 2011. According to her brother, Al Salman has completed her sentence and was due to be released on 18 November 2012. After being taken for health check-up and receiving her belongings, the authorities refused to release her stating that she had not served her entire sentence. The BTA President, Mahdi Abu Deeb, has been in prison since March 2011 and is serving a 10 year sentence.

Human rights defender and Acting Vice-President of the BCHR, Said Yousif Al-Muhafdha, was held in detention between the 2nd and the 14th of November 2012, after he was arrested while documenting the details of an injury allegedly caused by the riot police in Al-Duraz village. Although Al-Muhafdha was accused of “illegal gathering”, he was interrogated about speeches that he has given in connection with the Human Rights Council during the recent Bahrain UPR in September 2012.

Human rights defender and President of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights Mohamed Al-Masktai has been arrested and kept in custody for approximatly 24 hours between October 16th and 17th, 2012, as he was interrogated on charges of “rioting and participating in an illegal gathering” in reference to the Friday protest in Manama which took place on 12 October 2012 and entitled “Self determination”.

Human Rights activist Zainab Al Khawaja has been arrested several times since December 2011, and she was recently detained by the Bahraini authorities for two months from the 2nd of August to October 2011 for ripping off the King’s photo. She has had as many as 13 simultaneous cases against her and was sentenced in several of them to either imprisonment or fines. Six of those cases are still active in the court and awaiting upcoming hearings, which could result in more prison time for exercising freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,

1. Tearing a photo of the King: first appeal hearing on 11 December 2012.
2. Insulting a public official (Bahrain Defence Hospital): Acquitted, however, the office of the Public Prosecution appealed against acquittal and the first hearing will be held on the 4th of December 2012.
3. Disturbing traffic while protesting on the sidewalk (Bahrain Financial Harbour): Pleading session on 28 November 2012.
4. Illegal gathering and rioting (Al Aali Roundabout): she was sentenced to 3 months imprisonment and BD300 bail to suspend the sentence, pleading on 11 December 2012.
5. Participating in an un-notified demonstration and entering restricted zone (Pearl Roundabout): Pleading on 20 November.
6. Insulting a public official before the Lower Criminal Court: Pleading on 4 December 2012.

On 4 September 2012, the High Court of Appeals in Bahrain ruled to uphold the sentence against Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja in addition to 12 detained activists and political leaders, on charges that include breaching the Constitution, conspiring to overthrow the ruling regime, and having intelligence contact with foreign entities. The trial witnessed several violations of the international standard of a fair trial, including the use of confessions extracted under torture.

On 21 Oct 2012 human rights defenders Said Yousif, Zainab Al-Khawaja and Naji Fateel were briefly arrested while walking and holding symbolic amounts of food and medical supply to Al Eker village in order to break a siege imposed by security forces on the area. …more

Bahrain Uprising Threatens US Hegemony
by PressTV – TRANSCEND Media Service – 20 November, 2012

Connecting the dots of recent dramatic events in Bahrain spells one unmistakable message — the US-backed Al Khalifa regime is on the political ropes. It is desperately trying to defeat a determined pro-democracy movement that just won’t lie down or go away.

The regime is fighting for its very survival under unrelenting pressure from the mainly Shia population, who won’t back down in their demand for human dignity and freedom, no matter how much they are brutalized and terrorized.

But it’s not just the survival of the Khalifa regime that is at stake. It’s the entire US-backed order of Arab monarchies which has been in place for over six decades, and which is now showing cracks in the dam. This order has historically guaranteed the West a reliable source of oil; and more recently it is crucial to shoring up the bankrupt petrodollar system that Anglo-American global capitalism depends on.

Moreover, the Persian Gulf Arab dictatorships are a lucrative destination for the American and British weapons industries. The latter vital interest was underscored last week by the visit of British prime minister to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia — whose sole mission was to sell $9 billion-worth of fighter jets to these regimes. The Pentagon is also planning to sell Saudi Arabia $6.7 billion-worth of military transport planes, on top of the $60 billion deal signed off last year. In an age of debt-ridden American and British capitalism, the Arab dictators are vital sources of cash.

This crucial geo-strategic backdrop to Bahrain explains the escalating repression in the tiny island kingdom against civilian protesters, with a blanket ban invoked by the regime on all public demonstrations. Bloggers and organisers caught or suspected of agitating on social media have been dealt with instant imprisonment.

Then last week saw the rulers making the extraordinary Orwellian move of deleting the nationality status of 31 Bahraini pro-democracy leaders — a move that has shocked human rights observers and which contravenes the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Imagine a government making its own citizens “non-nationals.” How sinister is that?

Those draconian moves followed on the heels of suspicious explosions in the capital, Manama, and earlier last month in the village of Eker, which claimed the lives of two Indian workers and a policeman, respectively.

This theatre of dirty tricks and playing to the gallery with lurid accusations of foreign subversion is, to be sure, aimed at justifying the unjustifiable — the use of state terrorism and repression against civilians who are simply demanding basic democratic rights. However, what the latest draconian moves by the Khalifa dictatorship tells us is that the regime and its powerful backers are coming under acute pressure for political survival. …more

Bahrain: Promises of reform broken, repression unleashed
21 November, 2012 – Amnesty International

Bahrain is facing a stark choice between the rule of law, or sliding into a downward spiral of repression and instability, Amnesty International warned in a new briefing today.

The briefing Bahrain: reform shelved, repression unleashed comes days before the first anniversary of a landmark report by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), which was established by the country’s authorities to investigate abuses during the 2011 anti-government protests.

The BICI report found the Bahraini government responsible for gross human rights violations and documented widespread abuses. It made a series of recommendations including calling on the authorities to bring to account those responsible for human rights abuses and to carry out independent investigations into allegations of torture and other violations.

After BICI published its report in November 2011, the government committed itself to implementing the recommendations.

But as this briefing makes clear, instead of fulfilling this undertaking, the authorities swiftly moved to entrench repression, culminating in October 2012 in the banning of all rallies and gatherings in the country in violation of the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and in November with the stripping of Bahraini nationality from 31 opposition figures.

“The scale and nature of the violations unleashed in Bahrain since the BICI made its recommendations are making a mockery of the reform process in the country,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International.

“As Amnesty International has documented in this briefing, the authorities have reneged on their promises to pursue the path of reform. Any claim by the government that it is committed to the rule of law and to improving human rights sounds hollow, in the face of a moribund reform process.

“Indeed, it has become evident that the authorities in Bahrain do not have the will to take the steps necessary to reform. Protestations to the contrary only underscore the gap between their rhetoric and reality.

“As the country is engulfed in entrenched unrest and instability looms, the international community, and especially Bahrain’s allies, have a duty to condemn what is happening in the country and to stop using the BICI report a shield to avoid having to criticize the Bahraini authorities.”

The establishment of BICI, made up of international human rights and legal experts, was considered a groundbreaking initiative, but a year on, it has been effectively shelved.

For victims and their families, justice and reparation remain elusive.

One such victim is Roula Jassim Mohammed al-Saffar who was among health professionals sentenced by a military court to between 5 and 15 years in prison in September 2011. She was subsequently acquitted by a civilian court on appeal. Following her arrest on 4 April 2011 she says she was tortured in detention. When Amnesty International met her in Bahrain while she was on bail she described what happened during questioning at the Criminal Investigation Department:

“A woman officer entered the room and said ‘I will blindfold you and I will deal with you now’. Then three men entered the room and started hitting me… She had an electric device in each hand and hit me with it on both sides of my head at the same time. I felt dizzy and lost consciousness. I don’t remember what happened straight after. Then they took me to another room and one of them called me a whore and insulted my family… On the third day she gave me electric shocks again and she asked if I went to the strike. Another woman started slapping me. She cut my hair with scissors. Then they burned my hair on the sides. They hit me and sexually harassed me by putting their hands all over my body… This continued for four or five days.”

Meanwhile, Amnesty International continues to document widespread violations by security forces, including the use of unnecessary and excessive force against protesters, sometimes fatal.

Hussam al-Haddad, 16, died on 17 August 2012 in al-Muharraq, the day after he was shot by riot police. His family say he had gone to a nearby cafe while demonstrations were going on in the area. A family member who was present alleged that after Hussam al-Haddad was shot and, while he was on the ground, a riot police officer hit him with his rifle and kicked him. Hussam al-Haddad was taken to the military hospital and then to Salmaniya Medical Complex. His family was informed about his death at around 2am that night. On 9 October the Special Investigation Unit determined that the policeman who shot at him was acting in self-defence after being attacked and the case was therefore closed.

Since the beginning of 2012, an increasing number of gatherings have involved participants reportedly throwing Molotov cocktails or blocking roads. According to the government, two policemen have died in recent weeks after having been reportedly attacked in riots. Such violent attacks are not protected forms of expression under international human rights law, and those suspected of carrying them out may be brought to justice in conformity with standards of fairness and due process.

However, the use of violence does not exonerate the authorities from their obligations to respect human rights. Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the Bahraini authorities to refrain from using excessive force against protesters; the organization considers that policing of assemblies should always be guided by human rights considerations.

An increasing number of children aged between 15 and 18 have been held in adult prisons and detention centres in Bahrain in the past few months. The total may number 80, according to lawyers and local human rights groups. Human rights defenders and activists denouncing such abuses are repeatedly harassed and some have been jailed for carrying out their human rights work and peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.

And in an ominous move, the Bahraini authorities on 7 November stripped 31 opposition figures of their Bahraini nationality. A Ministry of Interior statement indicated that the group, including politicians, activists and religious figures, had their nationality revoked because they had caused “damage to state security”.

Bahrain risks sliding into protracted unrest and instability and is at a crossroads. The BICI report provides a roadmap to put Bahrain on the path of the rule of law; only the genuine implementation of the BICI report recommendations would halt the slide. Bahrain’s close allies, including the USA and the UK can no longer shield behind BICI and pretend it’s business as usual. …source