Two homemade bombs defused in Bahrain
11 November, 2012 – Muslim World News – By IANS/WAM,

Manama: The Bahraini security forces have defused two homemade bombs, just like those used in the recent string of terror attacks.
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The bombs were found Thursday during a search of a minibus parked near a shop. The visiting special security squad later defused them.

Meanwhile, in a clampdown on terror acts, the security forces raided a warehouse in Bani Jamra area and seized 178 Molotov cocktails, 11 fire extinguishers, 200 iron rods and two petrol tanks. …source

Security of Bahrain Arrests 4 Bombers
11 November, 2012 – newzglobe.com

Bahrain authorities announced that it had arrested four suspects in the bombings that killed two people in the capital Manama and accused the Lebanese group Hezbollah of being behind this attack. The Public Security Chief Major-General Tareq Al Hassan said the suspects were arrested after prosecutors issued arrest warrants and police were hunting for other killers.

Bahrain government has been struggling since early last year to suppress pro-democracy unrest. Minister Samira Ebrahim Bin Rajab said that the bombings were staged by terrorist groups trained outside Bahrain and that were based in countries including Lebanon. She added that the groups were operating under principles set by Iranian Supreme and that 19 pro-Iran satellite media channels were inciting their supporters in Bahrain to subvert the government.

Bahrain government has repeatedly blamed Iran of fomenting the chaos and Hezbollah denies his involvement in the Bahrain protests, but has criticized the government’s handling of them.

The UN Secretary urges all Bahrainis to come together in a spirit of national unity and to resolve differences peacefully through dialogue and reconciliation. …source

Rashed Al Rashed, the member of “Islamic act” movement underscored the malignant attempts of Bahraini government for quashing demonstration and terminating the process of revolution in this country and also frightening people who are abide by resistance.

Recent explosions, a cover used by Bahraini Government: Rashed Al Rashed
11 November, 2012 – ABNA

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Pointing to the recent explosion in Bahrain, the political activist, Rashed Al Rashed, in an interview underlined that no body and no group took the responsibility of the recent explosions and it seems that the government try to cover its own violent measures by exploiting such event in this country.

A rough transcription of the interview follows.

Qs: As one of the members of “Islamic act” movement, what is your idea about the recent explosions happened in Bahrain?

Up to now, no groups took the responsibility of such explosions. But the government, obviously enough, try to exploit such actions and events to cover its own violent measures against the revolution and Bahraini nation.

As we observed in the event of surrounding Al ‘Akr area, the government claimed to occurring some events (such as killing one of the security forces during the peaceful demonstration), but none of those claims were true and corroborated by no opposition groups.

It would, on the face it, seem that the government hide behind some few people and through such show, surrounded the whole area and terrified the area residents.

At this time it is announced that five explosions happened in the country but no one, except the ministry of the country, knows about the hows of its happening and those who were behind that.

After announcing such news, the government quickly set up checkpoints in different parts of Bahrain to scare Bahraini people.

Undoubtedly all these attempts are for terminating the revolution and frightening people, opposition groups and protesters. But resistance is the want of all Bahraini people and this nation is abided by it, inasmuch as not only their country has been occupied, but also Bahraini government has no legal legitimacy to run the country.

The country of Bahrain is occupied by Saudi forces, US-back forces named “Separe Jazireh”, alongside; the UK also sent their spy forces to this country. Such measures alongside increasing massacre, arresting and committing sacrilegious acts made people more resolute in what they want.

Qs: Would you please explain more about the condition of captive people and children?

By perpetrating such measure, the government proved that it does not think about Bahraini people and let the foreign forces commit such crimes to quash demonstration and protest in this land.

Nowadays, Bahraini protesters do not belong to just a specific party; on the contrary, all these nations are against the violence, massacre, arresting children, political activists, religious scholars and women in this country.

Such violent policy and movement illustrate this fact that the government cannot tolerate hearing any idea running counter to its policy.

Such arresting also carries a message for the international communities and European countries. It actually reveals that Bahraini government reached to this level that even does not let the nation cast their vote or arrest people for expressing their ideas in twitter.

Qs: What role international organizations, especially UNICEF, played for supporting children and those who were arrested in Bahrain?

The most paramount movement made by international organizations was Geneva Meeting in which 58 countries condemned the crimes of Al Khalife. But such meeting did not come up with some decision for castigating the regime of Al Khalife, for breaking the human right rules in this country. For instance, we did not witness sending any letter from the conference to the Security Council.

Movement done by the international organizations just limited to some statements issued by human right organizations and unfortunately the foresaid organizations and foundations did not took future step in this arena and no practical movement made against the massacre and killings in this country.

Qs: What is your view point about the termination of Bahrain revolution?

Nations, definitely, are resolute in what they want and are after. Nations stay and these are the governments which come and go. It seems that despite of all killings, cracking down, sacrilegious acts and arresting children and women, the process of transformation has been initiated in this country and the U.S and U.K forces cannot support such abhorred government any more.

Nations are always the winners and by God’s help the government of Bahrain will be collapsed and people get what they are after. …source

Al-Khalifa Regime’s Forces Storm 50 Houses in Southeastern Manama
FARS – 11 November, 2012

TEHRAN (FNA)- Security forces stormed 50 houses in Sitrah island town Southeast of the capital Manama as part of their widespread brutal crackdown on peaceful protests against the Bahraini regime.

“The security forces of the Bahraini regime have stormed over 50 houses during last 4 days and most of the attacks came at dawns,” Bahrain’s al-Wefaq National Islamic society said in a statement.

The statement called the regime’s move “illegal” which has taken place with no “permission”.

“Bahraini citizens faced sudden attack by masked forces at their houses while they were asleep,” the statement said.

Forces loyal to the Al-Khalifa regime have intensified their clampdown on people in the recent months.

On Friday, the security forces killed a 16-year-old boy who reportedly tried to get to a mosque and was then chased onto a highway where he was struck by a car and killed.

Al-Khalifa forces had kept many people from attending the Friday prayers of Sheik Isa Qassim, who has already denounced Bahrain’s move to revoke the citizenship of 31 activists and lawyers.

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.

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, more than 69 people have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured.

Police clampdown on protesters continues daily. Authorities have tried to stop organized protests by opposition parties over the past month by refusing to license them and using tear gas on those who turn up.

The opposition coalition wants full powers for the elected parliament and a cabinet fully answerable to parliament. …source

Bahraini Dissidents Face Deeper, Systematic Crackdown
Daniel R. DePetris – November 12, 2012 – Atlantic Sentinel

Bahrain may appear a relatively stable Western ally in a critically important region of the world there is a dark cloud hanging over the small island kingdom.

The peaceful protests in Bahrain that were once prevalent during the beginning of the country’s version of the “Arab spring” have succumbed to a dangerous mix of arrests, flimsy prosecutions, indefinite detention, torture and violence. A significant part of this is fueled by the Bahraini monarchy’s refusal to enact political reforms, much to the chagrin of international human rights activists. Recommendations to enhance the power of the legislature and prosecute senior security officials who are suspected of abuse have been largely ignored.

Instead of more freedom to speak and a political order that is more accountable to Bahrain’s people, what the country’s residents have faced is a deeper and more systemic crackdown on their activities.

In October, all protest gatherings were decreed to be illegal. The government has since ramped up arrests and thrown ordinary citizens in prison for “hurting Bahraini unity and solidarity.” Some of the very civil rights activists that were released from prison have been arrested and convicted again.

The United States Government, Bahrain’s biggest patron outside the Middle East, has been mostly quiet despite these abuses. Policy makers have spoken out publicly against the situation in the kingdom on occasion but only when high profile figures were convicted on questionable grounds in Bahraini courts. The Obama Administration also condemned Bahrain when it banned all protests. “The decision to curb these rights is contrary to Bahrain’s professed commitment to reform and it will not help advance the national reconciliation nor build trust among all parties,” said a spokesman for the State Department.

Public remarks cannot be Washington’s only pressure valve. Criminalizing public demonstrations has the effect of silencing all peaceful avenues of dissent. With no way to voice their anger in a legitimate way, Bahrainis may take it upon themselves to exercise more confrontation toward their authorities. Police officers have already been killed from firebombs and homemade explosives. The casualties could get a lot worse if the order to block peaceful assembly remains in place over an indefinite period of time. ….more

The Senior Officer gets in the last hit.

Cyber-cops in United Arab Emirates given more leeway for crackdowns on Web activism
By Associated Press – 13 November, 2012

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates set stricter Internet monitoring and enforcement codes Tuesday that include giving authorities wider leeway to crack down on Web activists for offenses such as mocking the country’s rulers or calling for demonstrations.

The measures are another sign of tougher cyber-policing efforts by Western-backed leaders across the Gulf amid growing concerns over perceived political or security threats since the Arab Spring uprisings.

The Web clampdowns, however, have brought outcry from rights groups and media freedom advocates that claim Gulf authorities are increasingly muzzling free expression in the name of preserving the powers of the ruling clans from Kuwait to Oman.

The new UAE codes — posted on the official news agency WAM — also raise questions about potential new red lines for the country’s huge expatriate work force in which parodies and pointed criticism of the UAE are common fodder on websites. It’s unclear, too, whether the codes could put a chill on media coverage of sensitive issues such as the rising profile of Islamist factions.

The UAE has not faced any street protests during the Arab Spring upheavals, but authorities have stepped up arrests and pressure on groups including an Islamist organization, Al Islah, that official claim seeks to undermine the country’s ruling system. In September, Dubai’s police chief, Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim, warned of an “international plot” to overthrow the Gulf governments by Islamists inspired by the rise to power of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

Many of the codes in UAE’s updated Internet law focus on issues such as online fraud, privacy protection and efforts to combat prostitution.

But a major section spells out sweeping limits and possible prison terms for any posts “to deride or to damage the reputation or the stature of the state or any of its institutions,” including the rulers and high officials across the UAE — a federation of seven semiautonomous emirates.

It also outlaws “information, news, caricatures or any other kind of pictures” that authorities believe could threaten security or “public order.” These include Web posts calling for public protests or “disobeying the laws and regulations of the state.”

The decree, issued by the UAE President Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, came just hours after the UAE was elected to a three-year seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council.

In an apparent response to the worldwide chaos touched off in September over a video clip denigrating the Prophet Muhammad, the new codes said jail terms are possible for any Internet posts that “display contempt” for Islam or any other faith.

Across the Gulf, other authorities have stepped up prosecutions against online activists and others. Earlier this month, a Bahraini man was sentenced to six months in prison on charges of insulting the Gulf nation’s king in Twitter posts. In September, a journalist-blogger in Oman received a one-year prison term for alleged anti-government writings.

…source

Bahrain endorses Gulf Cooperation Council security treaty draft
Global Arab Network – – Shahid Abbas – 13 November, 2012

A security treaty draft that allows the tracking down of lawbreakers and wanted people across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries regardless of their nationalities has been endorsed by Bahrain, Global Arab Network reports according to local media.

“The Cabinet reviewed a memorandum from the Interior Ministry on the GCC security draft and approved it,” Yasser Al Nasser, the Cabinet secretary general, said following the session on Sunday.

The draft aims at reinforcing security cooperation and coordination between the six member countries of the GCC, Al Nasser said.

Under the treaty, each GCC country is bound to take legal action — based on its own legislation — against citizens or residents who interfere in the domestic affairs of another member. The member countries will also exchange information and expertise to combat all forms of crime, the draft stated.

The security treaty could be taken up by the GCC leaders when they convene for their annual summit in December in Bahrain. In May, the leaders endorsed an agreement to promote collective security.

The initial security agreement was announced in Manama in December 1994, but only Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Oman endorsed it at the time. Qatar entered the pact in 2009. The GCC leaders, at their 2010 summit in Kuwait, called for building on the understanding by putting it to a committee of experts and specialists from the GCC countries.

On Saturday, Gazi Al Omar, Kuwait’s interior ministry assistant undersecretary, announced that the final draft was ready and would be reviewed by the interior ministers. “The interior ministry undersecretaries have discussed the final draft and it was forwarded to the interior ministers who will review it when they convene,” he said.

The GCC is going through critical times that require a unification of the policies, plans and implementation strategies of security agencies of member states, the official was quoted as saying by Kuwait News Agency (Kuna). …source