Bahrain says Iran, Hezbollah behind “terror cell”
20 February, 2013 – Al Akhbar

Bahrain has accused Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the Lebanese Hezbollah of setting up a militant cell to assassinate public figures in the Gulf Arab kingdom and attack its airport and government buildings.

Bahraini authorities said on Sunday they had arrested eight Bahrainis in the group, with links to Iran, Iraq and Lebanon.

In a statement published by the official Bahrain News Agency late on Tuesday, Bahrain’s head of public security said the cell was part of a group called the “Imam Army” which included Bahrainis at home and abroad and members of other nationalities.

It claimed an officer from Iran’s Revolutionary guard, codenamed ‘Abu Nasser’ paid the suspects $80,000 to take photos of ‘sensitive locations’, and collect information on public figures in the country.

The kingdom, base for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has been in political turmoil since protests erupted there in 2011, demanding an end to the Sunni monarchy’s political domination and full powers for parliament.

Bahrain has accused Iran of fueling the unrest, an accusation Tehran has consistently denied.

Authorities also implicated Lebanon’s Hezbollah in the alleged “terror cell”, claiming that suspects were trained in “Hezbollah facilities” in the Iraqi cities of Karbala and Baghdad. They also traveled to Lebanon and Iran, they said.

“Members trained in use of weapons, explosives including C4, the writing of surveillance reports and the monitoring of targeted persons,” said the statement.

“Mistaken path”

The cell’s planned targets included the Ministry of Interior and Bahrain International Airport, said General Tareq al-Hassan, who heads the general security agency.

Five of the detainees were arrested in Bahrain and three in Oman, General Hassan said, adding another four Bahrainis were being sought by the authorities.

Hassan said authorities had collected evidence in the form of papers and electronic documents, flashcards, phones, computers, cash and images of bank transactions.

On Monday Ramin Mehmanparast, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, dismissed Sunday’s news of the arrests.

“Unfortunately Bahraini officials are following a mistaken path,” Iran’s ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.

He said Bahraini officials were “making accusations against various countries including Iran, and they imagine that in this way they can solve the problem they are encountering”.

Bahraini authorities have led a sweeping crackdown on dissidents in the wake of a mass popular uprising that erupted in February 2011.

Saudi troops entered Bahrain in March 2011 to help crush the revolt against the Khalifa ruling family, but protests still occur almost daily.

Over 80 people have been killed by riot police, or while in custody, since the uprising began. ..source

Bahrain links passport with Interpol data
19 February, 2013 – Khaleej

Bahrain has linked passports with the Interpol database to combat cyber threats. Interpol Secretary-General Ronald K. Noble confirmed on Tuesday the Project of linking database passports in the Kingdom of Bahrain with Interpol data, which comes in the framework of combating international crimes and reducing cyber threats.

Bahraini News Agency, BNA carried Noble’s remarks which he made on the sidelines of his visit to the Bahraini General Capital Police. He said these steps are aimed at providing information on the passports of the non-Bahrani citizens who cross the country.

…source

Bahraini regime forces attack anti-regime protesters near capital
20 February, 2013 – PressTV

Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have launched another attack on a peaceful demonstration held near the capital to call for justice and democracy.

On Wednesday, Bahraini troops once again attacked to disperse the protesters who were chanting anti-regime slogans in the northern village of Sanabis, located in the suburbs of the capital, Manama.

No casualties have so far been reported due to the assault.

In a similar move on Tuesday, Bahraini regime forces fired tear gas and stun grenades to break up the gathering at a memorial service in the northern village of Daih. The demonstration was staged to pay tribute to a teenage boy, who was killed by security guards during an anti-regime protest.

The 16-year-old boy was shot in the stomach by the riot police during the demonstrations marking the second anniversary of the revolution in the Persian Gulf state on February 14.

Bahrainis have been staging demonstrations since mid-February 2011, demanding political reform and a constitutional monarchy, a demand that later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al Khalifa family following its brutal crackdown on popular protests.

Scores have been killed, many of them under torture while in custody, and thousands more detained since the popular uprising in Bahrain began.

Protesters say they will continue holding anti-regime demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically-elected government and an end to rights violations are met. …source

Bahraini Opposition Figure Describes Al-Khalifa Talks Offer as “Propaganda”
19 February, 2013 – FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Bahraini opposition figure dismissed the Al-Khalifa regime’s offer of talks with the country’s dissidents as a propaganda campaign to fix its unpopular image.

“By holding fruitless talks, the Al-Khalifa regime wants to pretend that it is negotiating with the opposition, while continued crackdowns and killings of the people indicates the unpopular nature of this regime,” Deputy Secretary-General of Bahrain’s National Democratic Action Society Hassan Al-Marzooq told the Arabic-language Al-Alam TV channel on Tuesday.

He further viewed the Bahraini rulers’ offer of talks as nothing more than a trick, implying that the Manama regime wants to fix its image among the public and meantime buy time to continue its crimes and suppressions.

Earlier this month, another senior Bahraini opposition figure also dismissed talks between the al-Khalifa regime and the country’s dissidents as to be meaningless at a time when Bahrain’s political leaders and main opposition figures are in jail.

“All dissidents are in prison, political leaders are either in solitary confinement or under house arrest while the Saudi forces have the country still under their occupation and in such an atmosphere negotiation is meaningless,” Rashed al-Rashed, a leader of Bahrain’s Amal Movement, told FNA.

“There are no national reconciliation talks in Bahrain and what is going on is a propaganda attempt by the regime,” he added.

He noted that the al-Khalifa regime has lost its legitimacy, and hence the talks offer lacks credibility.

Also earlier this month, a spokesman for the February 14 Youth Movement – a main opposition to the Manama regime – said that the al-Khalifa regime is no longer qualified to rule Bahrain due to the scope of crimes that it has committed so far, and added that the country’s revolutionaries are left with no other option but to topple the regime.

“We call on people to continue their protests and not to be deceived by the al-Khalifa plots. The people of Bahrain have a clear and single goal. Al-Khalifa is no longer qualified to rule the country due to the crimes it has committed and after the Saudi forces entered the country,” Abdulrao’uf al-Shaeb told FNA.

“I believe that the Bahraini revolutionaries are quite vigilant about the continuation of the revolution and the necessity for bringing substantial changes and these talks have not influenced their movements and protests, but it has inflamed the revolution’s flames and has made the people more determined to continue their path to the overthrow of the Al-Khalifa regime,” he added.

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

Bahrain must offer more than talk
20 February, 2013 – Boston Globe

TWO YEARS after protests erupted in the tiny kingdom of Bahrain, King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa has finally announced talks with the political opposition. But the people of Bahrain need more than just talk. The largest opposition party, al-Wefaq, faces popular pressure to withdraw from negotiations. Many in Bahrain have lost faith in the royal family’s willingness to implement democratic reform.

If the Sunni king — a strong US ally whose family has ruled since the 19th century — is serious about allowing Bahrain’s Shi’ite majority a greater voice, he needs to show it. He must pardon and release the “Bahrain 13,” a group of opposition leaders arrested in 2011. He must end violence against nonviolent protesters. And he must hold his own government accountable for systematic torture.

In retrospect, the king’s decision to appoint a respected international commission to investigate the aftermath of the initial uprising looks more like a brilliant stalling tactic than a sign of a more just system. So far, few of that commission’s recommendations have been implemented.

Now, activists who once pushed for modest reforms are calling for the monarchy’s ouster. Serious talks could provide a peaceful way out. Bahrain is home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which patrols the Persian Gulf, through which much of the world’s oil passes. If the monarchy is toppled, or if the crackdown takes an even bloodier turn, the Fifth Fleet could be forced to leave. Russia’s disastrous attempts to prop up Bashar Assad in Syria, home of a Russian naval base, provide a cautionary tale about how badly such an alliance can backfire. …source

Clashes disrupt memorial service for slain Bahrain teenager
20 February, 2013 – The Daily Star

MANAMA: Protesters clashed with Bahraini police Tuesday at a memorial service for a teenager killed last week in demonstrations marking the second anniversary of a Shiite-led uprising, witnesses said.

Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse hundreds of people who gathered in the Shiite-populated village of Daih, near Manama, to pay tribute to Hussein al-Jaziri.

The 16-year-old was killed in Daih Thursday as rallies were staged on the anniversary of the start of the uprising on Feb. 14, 2011. A policeman was also killed on the same day at Al-Sahla village, also near the capital.

Protesters called Tuesday for the ouster of Bahrain’s king, shouting “Down Hamad,” witnesses said.

The Interior Ministry, in a message posted on Twitter, said security forces dispersed “saboteurs” who had briefly blocked traffic on a road near Manama after the memorial service.

Clashes broke out Saturday at the funeral of Jaziri with police also using tear gas against mourners, witnesses had said.

Jaziri died after being shot in the stomach by security forces, according to Al-Wefaq, the main Shiite opposition bloc, during Shiite-led protests against the kingdom’s Sunni rulers.

The policeman died after he was hit by a Molotov cocktail during clashes in Al-Sahla, the Interior Ministry said.

Tuesday’s unrest came as two Sunni factions said they were suspending participation in talks with Shiite opposition groups due to a spike in violence.

Al-Saff Al-Islami and Al-Minbar Al-Islami said they were boycotting Wednesday’s session to protest the “silence” of the opposition following the latest violence.

Bahrain has seen two years of political upheaval linked to opposition demands for a real constitutional monarchy.