Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia keep the protest movement alive
By Reese Erlich – GlobalPost – 18 March, 2013

Editor’s Note: When Arab Spring protests broke out in Saudi Arabia in 2011, the government reacted quickly. It pumped $130 billion into the economy, including hiring 300,000 new state workers and raising salaries. It also brutally cracked down on dissent, in some cases breaking up peaceful protests with live ammunition. While the carrot and stick approach worked in some cities, the Shia Muslims in the Eastern Province continued to protest. Shia make up some 10-15 percent of the Saudi population and have long rebelled against discrimination and political exclusion.

Demonstrations continued in the city of Qatif but got little publicity because foreign journalists are banned from reporting there. Correspondent Reese Erlich, on assignment for GlobalPost and NPR, managed to get into Qatif, meet with protest leaders and become the first foreign journalist to witness the current demonstrations.

This is his account: QATIF, Saudi Arabia — Night has fallen as the car rumbles down back roads to avoid the Saudi Army’s special anti-riot units. To be stopped at any of the numerous checkpoints leading into Qatif, would mean police detention for a Western journalist and far worse for the Saudi activists in the car. They would likely spend a lot of time in jail for spreading what Saudi authorities deem “propaganda” to the foreign media.

In Saudi Arabia all demonstrations are illegal, but here in Qatif residents have defied the ban for many months. At least once a week the mostly young demonstrators march down a street renamed “Revolution Road,” calling for the release of political prisoners and for democratic rights.

The anti-riot units deploy armored vehicles at strategic locations downtown. The word on this night is that if demonstrators stay off the main road, the troops may not attack.

Foreign journalists are generally denied permission to report from Qatif. Activists said this night was the first time a foreign journalist has been an eyewitness to one of their demonstrations. Asked if the troops will use tear gas, Abu Mohammad, the pseudonym used by an activist to prevent government retaliation, says, “Oh, no. The army either does nothing or uses live ammunition.”

I really hope it will be option #1.

Suddenly, young Shia Muslim men wearing balaclavas appear, directing traffic away from Revolution Road. All the motorists obey the gesticulations of these self-appointed traffic cops.

Minutes later several hundred men march down the street, most with their faces covered to avoid police identification. Shia women wearing black chadors, which also hide their faces, follow closely behind, chanting even louder than the men.

One of their banners reads, “For 100 years we have lived in fear, injustice, and intimidation.”

Despite two years of repression by the Saudi royal family, Shia protests against the government have continued here in the Eastern Province. Though Shia are a small fraction of Saudi Arabia’s 27 million people, they are the majority here. Most of the country’s 14 oil fields are located in the Eastern Province, making it of strategic importance to the government.

Shia have protested against discrimination and for political rights for decades. But the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011 gave new impetus to the movement. Saudi Arabia is home to two of Islam’s most holy cities, and the government sees itself as a protector of the faith. But its political alliances with the US and conservative, Sunni monarchies have angered many other Muslims, including the arc of Shia stretching from Iran to Lebanon.

Saudi officials claim they are under attack from Shia Iran and have cracked down hard on domestic dissent.

Saudi authorities are responsible for the death of 15 people and 60 injured since February 2011, according to Waleed Sulais of the Adala Center for Human Rights, the leading human rights group in the Eastern Province. He says 179 detainees remain in jail, including 19 children under the age of 18.

The government finds new ways to stifle dissent, according to Sulais. Several months ago the government required all mobile phone users to register their SIM cards, which means text messaging about demonstrations is no longer anonymous.
Abu Zaki, another activist requesting anonymity, says demonstrators now rely on Facebook and Twitter, along with good old word of mouth. Practically everyone at the recent Qatif protest march carried iPhones. Some broadcast the demo in near real time by uploading to YouTube.

Organizers hope their sheer numbers, along with government incompetence, will keep them from being discovered. “The government cannot follow everybody’s Twitter user name,” says Abu Zaki. “The authorities have to be selective and, hopefully, they don’t select my name.”
When protests began, demonstrators called for reforms. But now, younger militants demand elimination of the monarchy and an end to the US policy of supporting the dictatorial king.

Abu Mohammad, Abu Zaki and several other militant activists, gather in an apartment in Awamiyah, a poor, Shia village neighboring Qatif. In this part of the world a village is really a small town, usually abutting a larger city. Awamiyah is one such town, chock full of auto repair shops, one-room storefronts, and potholed streets. It is noticeably poorer than Sunni towns of comparable size.

Strong, black tea is served along with weak, greenish Saudi coffee. The protest movement in Qatif, they observe, resembles the tea more than the coffee.

Abu Mohammad tells me protests have remained strong because residents are fighting for both political rights as Saudis, and against religious/social discrimination as Shia.

Shia face discrimination in jobs, housing and religious practices. Qatif has no Shia cemetery, for example. Only four Shia sit on the country’s 150-member Shura Council, the appointed legislature that advises the king.

“As Shia, we can’t get jobs in the military,” says Abu Mohammad. “And we face the same political repression as all Saudis. We live under an absolute monarchy that gives us no rights and steals the wealth of the country.”

The government denies those claims of discrimination and repression. In Riyadh, Major General Mansour Al Turki, spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, is the point man who often meets with foreign journalists. Al Turki is smooth and affable and practiced at the art of being interviewed by Westerners.

He dismisses Shia charges of discrimination as simply untrue. “These people making demonstrations are very few,” he tells me. “They only represent themselves. The majority [of Shia] are living at a very high level.” …more

Colm O’Gorman: Why we can’t afford to forget about Bahrain
Colm O’Gorman – 14 February, 2013 – thejournal.ie

MAHDI ABU DHEEB has been in prison in Bahrain for almost two years. He is locked up in Jaw Prison, in the country’s capital of Manama, for 18 hours a day. He shares his cell with criminals, but he has committed no crime.

He is a teacher, and until his arrest was the president of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association.

Inspired by what they had seen happen in Egypt and Tunisia, the people of Bahrain took to the streets to demand change, two years ago today.

They wanted democracy, freedom of speech, women’s rights and justice.

They got plastic bullets, tear gas, torture and imprisonment.

The attacks by Bahrain’s security forces on the first peaceful demonstrations in mid-February killed seven people and injured hundreds more.

Mahdi Abu Dheeb and the Bahrain Teachers’ Association felt they could not ignore what was happening in the towns and cities of their country. Five thousand Bahraini teachers went on strike.

“Harassment and intimidation”

They demanded political reforms and an investigation into the deaths of peaceful protests but agreed to end the strike when the government pulled the army off the streets.

But harassment and intimidation of teachers, including violent assaults by pro-government supporters, in their schools, continued. A second strike was called in March 2011, but this time the government would not compromise.

The leadership of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association was arrested. Other teachers were suspended from their jobs or saw their salaries cut. Mahdi went into hiding, but was discovered and arrested on 6 April. He was tried before a military court and is now serving a five-year prison sentence.

His daughter Maryam recently sent this video message calling on people to support her father:

via AmnestyInternational

But Mahdi is just one of dozens of prisoners of conscience in Bahrain.

They include three men serving prison sentences for criticising the King of Bahrain on their Twitter accounts.

They include Dr Ali Al’Ekri, a Bahraini doctor who trained here in Ireland with the Royal College of Surgeons. His crime was to treat protestors who were brought to his hospital after being injured by the security forces.

After the uprising in 2011 the authorities in Bahrain set up an independent commission of inquiry to investigate human rights abuses committed during the crackdown on protests. At least 35 protestors were killed and many more, including Mahdi and Dr Al ‘Ekri were tortured.

Since the commission reported in 2011, the government has introduced some limited reforms. There is now a code of conduct for police officers. CCTV cameras have been installed in police stations to protect detainees.

“Continuing targeting of activists using social media”

But trade unionists, doctors and opposition activists remain behind bars and the authorities still reserve the right to impose total bans on protests at any time.

The continuing targeting of activists using social media to discuss what is happening in Bahrain shows the authorities still refuse to countenance any criticism of their actions and are particularly sensitive about Bahrain’s profile in online media.

In many ways, Bahrain is the forgotten country of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’. The world’s attention has been on the conflict in Syria, the instability in Egypt and the struggle to build a functioning democracy in Libya.

Those men and women who demanded change in Bahrain have been largely forgotten by the international community. This sends a signal, intentionally or not, to Bahrain’s government that their repression of human rights can continue, that they are free to imprison anyone they choose on trumped up charges.

Ireland can help change this. As a member of the UN Human Rights Council, we should be using that position to put pressure on Bahrain to stop human rights abuses and to free prisoners of conscience, uniting Mahdi Abu Dheeb with his daughter after almost two years of imprisonment. …source

Rights and Access Denied: Prisoners Prevented from Seeing Family Members
21 March, 2103 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

In the wake of World War 2, the international community established standards in regards to civil rights and liberties, with the hope that there wouldn`t be any racial, religious or political discrimination. The world has moved forward to protect human rights, but Bahrain has decided to stay behind.

Bahrain is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), where in Article 10 states that all persons imprisoned and deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. However, these rights are routinely denied.

Since February 2011 human rights activists have been thrown in and out of jail at an alarming pace for acts as small as tweeting or simply because they were standing in a group of more than five people.

Photo: Families waiting outside a prison to visit their loved ones. Visitors never know if they will be allowed to visit their family members, or if the visit will be arbitrarily denied.

Imprisoned activist Zainab Al-Khawaja was supposed to meet with her father, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, on Sunday, but the visit was denied. To protest these violations of their rights, they both started a hunger strike on the same day, and their strike continues. Zainab was also denied the right to visit with her three year-old daughter during a scheduled visit. Prison authorities would not explain, but only stated that they were following the orders of senior personnel.

The UN adopted the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, and although they are not legally binding, they are certainly a good guide for how governments should treat their prisoners in a democratic society. This guide clearly states that prisoners shouldn`t be cut off from the world as they are in Bahrain. …source

A Qatari Coup Against Saudi Arabia: A Unilateral Decision on the Syrian National Coalition
Al Monitor – Mohammad Ballout – 21 March, 2013

The first fruit of the above is that 12 NCR members froze their memberships a few hours after provisional prime minister Ghassan Hitto presided over his new Syrian “government” in contravention of the deal that Qatar and Saudi brokered among the various wings in the NCR.

The Qataris came out victorious in their struggle to influence a large part of the Syrian opposition abroad and in determining the next course of action. Over the coming days, Qatar may score another victory by granting the “temporary government” Syria’s seat in the Arab League, which meets in Doha on Tuesday [March 26].

Syrian opposition sources said that what happened in Istanbul [on March 19] was a coup against the Qatari-Saudi agreement reached in recent weeks. Under that agreement, Syria’s former agriculture minister, Asaad Mustafa, was to have headed the “temporary government.”

An NCR source said that after 14 hours of closed-door meetings and phone consultations, which Qatar’s Foreign Ministry directed from its headquarters in Doha, Qatar broke the agreement on Mustafa being elected to head the temporary government. Small and independent blocs that had clout were isolated, as was NCR president Moaz Khatib, who was forced to bow to the majority’s choice. He had previously rejected the “temporary government” option and called for avoiding this reckless step. He was against choosing figures with no unanimous support. He said that obtaining Syria’s seat in the Arab League, something Qatar is pushing for, is not worth the risk of harming the NCR.

An NCR source said that Khalid al-Attiyah, the Qatari Foreign Ministry’s office director, intervened to impose Hitto. The electoral committee members were summoned from their hotel rooms after midnight in order to elect Hitto, a naturalized US citizen and Texas resident, to be prime minister of the temporary government.

Several factors combined to pull off the Qatari coup and impose a “sovereign temporary government” instead of an “administrative executive body.” Many NCR members changed positions. In the end, 33 of 66 NCR members voted for Hitto. Muslim Brotherhood leaders had opposed forming a temporary government but changed their minds after the US and Russia reached an understanding over the Geneva Accord. The Muslim Brotherhood is a powerful force within the NCR. The Brotherhood also controls a large part of the Syrian National Council, with 26 seats, and has an ally in NCR Secretary-General Mustafa al-Sabbagh, whose bloc comprises 15 representatives from the revolutionary movement and the “local councils.”
…more

Bahraini Monarchy Desecrating Mosques : Al Wefaq
23 March, 2013 – Jafria News

JNN 23 Mar 2013 Manama : The Bahraini opposition bloc al-Wefaq has heaped scorn on the government for its desecration of mosques, saying the Al Khalifa regime is in a morally downward spiral.

Al-Wefaq made the criticism on Friday, shortly after Bahraini troops targeted a mosque in the northern village of Daih with tear gas, preventing people from praying in the house of worship.

Al-Wefaq said Bahraini security forces have also attacked schools and hundreds of homes, causing deaths by suffocation due to the use of tear gas.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of pro-democracy protesters have staged numerous demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.

On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded the country to assist the Bahraini government in its crackdown on the peaceful protesters.

According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds arrested.

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

Hezbollah’s Role in Syria
By: Ibrahim al-Amin – 22 March 22, 2013 – Al Akhbar

For quite some time there has been a great deal of talk and speculation in Lebanon, Syria, and the Arab and Western worlds about Hezbollah’s true role in the Syrian crisis. The anti-Hezbollah propaganda machine has, as usual, been particularly active, issuing a daily stream of news and reports about the party’s supposed involvement in the conflict.

This machine – which has Lebanese, Syrian, and other operators – has announced the deaths of hundreds of Hezbollah fighters in Syria, and the capture of dozens by Syrian rebels. An official security agency in Beirut plays a central role on this front by leaking factual information that is then embellished. This deluge, these people believe, is a useful means of helping generate as much public anger as possible against Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, for its part, has offered no further clarification of what Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah has said about the party’s role in aiding its Lebanese supporters who live in villages inside Syria, though he has reiterated that Hezbollah had not so far taken part in the fighting in Syria.

A deliberate strategy of incitement and exaggeration is being employed against Hezbollah by regional and foreign intelligence agencies, including Israel’s. But the focus was, and remains, on trying to understand Hezbollah’s place in the Syrian crisis as it starts its third year. These agencies know many details of what is really happening on the ground in terms of fighting between regime and opposition forces. They are aware of each side’s capabilities, and keep a constant watch on all activities undertaken in support of the regime, including by Hezbollah.

But for others, it may be necessary to clarify the outlook on which Hezbollah’s attitude to the crisis is based. This could help many understand the ideological, political, and operational underpinnings of its stance.

Hezbollah continues to view things from the perspective of its central role in confronting Israel. It may not often elaborate about the ultimate objective of that struggle, but the party behaves as though it is part of a long-term campaign aimed at getting rid of Israel, a battle for which much preparedness is required. While a majority of the Arab and Islamic peoples would not mind being rid of Israel, only a minority are willing to fight such a battle to the end.

A minority of the unwilling think such talk is insane or delusional and can have no bearing on history. This influential group sees no need for a battle of this kind. It therefore views Hezbollah as a bunch of lunatics who are not only endangering their own people and themselves, but also the interests of the peoples of the region. This minority thus finds itself in alliance, with or without any actual agreement, with Hezbollah’s real foes, namely Israel, the US, and certain Arab and Western capitals

Hezbollah’s commitment to resistance against occupation obliges it to do many things, including to avoid making other enemies. Its position on Syria is consistent with its attitude to the protest movements in the Arab world as a whole.

Nobody from the outset could ever have imagined Hezbollah taking a stand against the regime in Syria. While the party does not disregard the domestic causes of the crisis, it does not condone the battles that are taking place.
Nobody from the outset could ever have imagined Hezbollah taking a stand against the regime in Syria. While the party does not disregard the domestic causes of the crisis, it does not condone the battles that are taking place. Its view of the bigger picture prevents it from adopting a neutral posture, as does the fact that it has a clearer and stronger following in Syria than many of the groups involved in the fighting.

Hezbollah warned early on about the foreign connections and agendas of groups leading the protests. It had clear evidence of the ideological persuasions of some of the most influential of these groups. It noticed how, from the start of the protests, demonstrators in Homs and Deraa set fire to pictures of Nasrallah and Hezbollah flags, and how the campaign of sectarian incitement against the party went into full-gear.

This was before the party had made any comment on developments in Syria – indeed, while it was working with various Arab Islamist movements, including Hamas, on trying to broker contacts aimed at avoiding the current catastrophe.

Hezbollah’s view, simply put, is that the war in Syria aims at shifting the country politically and strategically to a position of opposing its existence. That makes it see the current regime led by Bashar al-Assad as a forward line of defense for the resistance movement in Lebanon and Palestine. This alone is grounds for the party to be at the heart of the crisis.

There have been many questions and claims about the role Hezbollah is playing in Syria. Its detractors say it is heavily engaged in the ongoing military operations. The facts of the matter do not need much explanation:

– Hezbollah trains, arms, and provides sufficient logistical support to Lebanese inhabitants of border villages.

– Hezbollah took over the task of protecting the Sayida Zainab shrine south of Damascus after its Iraqi guards left. Party members are deployed there under a plan that restricts their responsibility to the immediate vicinity of the shrine.

– Hezbollah received delegations from a considerable number of Druze, Christian, Shia, and Ismaili groups who felt their minority communities were under serious threat. It did not comply with their training and arming requests, but provided them with the means to prevent their displacement.

– Hezbollah, which has security and military ties to the regime, assists Syrian forces in providing protection to scientific academies and missile factories that were built over the past decade largely with aid from Iran.

– Hezbollah operates a major scheme, perhaps the biggest, to help Syrian refugees in Lebanon and even inside Syria. This is not aimed at repaying the Syrians for taking in refugees from Lebanon in 2006. It is done quietly, out of conviction that refugees and displaced people are entitled to all possible humanitarian aid regardless of political views.

Attitudes to Hezbollah are linked to a whole host of calculations. Yet some are desperate to not just drag the party into the Syrian crisis, but into a similar battle in Lebanon. The party is conscious of this. It appears to be discussing procedures for an operation aimed at putting sectarian strife back into a coma, though its leaders fear much blood will flow before that happens.