Posts from — October 2013

CS GAS IS NOT A LESS-THAN-LETHAL WEAPON, IN AREOSOLIZED FORM OR AS A PROJECTILE

Messages from imprisoned and targeted human rights defenders in Bahrain
كتب : Mohamed Wadie – 17 October, 2013

In this photo taken on 12 August 2012, activist Said Yousif al-Muhafdah speaks to protesters in Bahrain, calling for freedom for jailed rights activists seen on the poster at right, Abdul Hadi al-Khawaja, Nabeel Rajab and Zainab al-Khawaja

Acting Vice President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights Said Yousif AlMuhafdah spoke at the 7th Frontline Defenders Platform for Human Rights Defenders at Risk on 11 October 2013. This is a transcript of his speech:

My name is Said Yousif AlMuhafdah – Acting Vice President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, and a human rights defender from Bahrain. I got arrested several times for doing my work and for cooperating and reporting to the United Nations. Like other defenders in Bahrain, I have been beaten, defamed, threatened and harassed because of my work in human rights. Two days ago, after arriving in Dublin, my family informed me that I have received a summons for interrogation because I spoke about torture.

Human rights defender Naji Fateel, who had previously delivered a speech at Frontline, is now sentenced to 15 years in prison and was subjected to severe torture because of his work in the field of human rights.

Abduljalil AlSingace, another human rights defender, suffers from paralysis, but that did not stop the regime from severely torturing him and sentencing him to life imprisonment.

Today I would like to share with you letters from two imprisoned human rights defenders in Bahrain directed to the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and Assembly, Frontline, other international organizations and all international human rights defenders.

The first letter is from imprisoned rights defender Nabeel Rajab, head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights:

“Dear friends, colleagues and fellow human rights defenders at the 7th Frontline Defenders Platform for Human Rights Defenders,

I am addressing you from a cell in Bahrain, where I have been imprisoned since July 9th, 2012. The Bahraini regime decided to silence my voice from defending freedom of speech and from defending the rights of all Bahrainis for freedom, democracy and social justice. I ask you, my friends and colleagues, to help the long-suffering people of Bahrain to regain their rights from a tyrant regime. There was international condemnation of the widespread human rights violations which included extrajudicial killings, systematic torture, arbitrary arrests and the list is long; but the regime refuses to change.

Several human rights defenders, including myself, were put in prison just for speaking out. I ask you to stand in solidarity with the imprisoned human rights defenders in Bahrain.

Thank you so much for listening to the voice of Bahrainis and I look forward to your kind and heartfelt actions.”

The second letter I will share with you today is from imprisoned human rights defender Zainab Alkhawaja, whose father, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja worked at Frontline before he was imprisoned, tortured and sentenced to life in prison in Bahrain:

“In a nutshell, the idea is that by defending human rights activists you’re also defending their communities. Defend one activist and you’ll be protecting tens or even hundreds of other people. A few years back, my father described to me what Frontline does, and I could see the passion that he has for his work
But it’s more than just work for him, defending others is not what my father does, it’s who my father is.

Never was this more clear to me than when my father told me about his experience in military prison.

He calmly told me about two months in isolation, about not being allowed to speak, about never seeing a human face. He described the torture sessions and the masked torturers.

But the calm disappeared, and I saw pain in my father’s eyes when he told me: “The worst thing was never when I was being tortured. The worst thing was when I could hear the others being tortured and I couldn’t do anything.”

He tried. My father’s first hunger strike during this imprisonment was while he was in solitary confinement and being tortured routinely. His only demand was that they stop torturing the head of the teachers’ union Mahdi abu Dheeb in the cell next to him, and whose screams he could hear.

My father was tortured severely until he ended that strike.

My father and other defenders have dedicated their lives to defending victims, educating people about their rights, and exposing the regime’s crimes.

The regime in Bahrain fears international pressure more than they care about people’s rights. Their solution is to commit their crimes in darkness, far away from the eyes of the international community, the media, and human rights organizations.

The best way to achieve this is by silencing those who shed light on the human rights abuses being committed against the people of Bahrain.

In a nutshell, the Bahraini regime has realized that by arresting and silencing one human rights activist, you can more easily oppress tens and hundreds of other people.

The Bahraini regime is therefore shamelessly targeting human rights activists through arrests and torture, detention and beatings, threats and interrogations, and defamation campaigns. And as more activists are silenced simultaneously we see a rise in the human rights abuses, violations, and crimes towards the general Bahraini population.
…source

Bahrainis determined to get political change: Saeed Shehabi
16 October, 2013 – PressTV

Costs of Arab Spring Outweigh Benefits, Says Bank
18 October, 2013 – Robert Joyce – tunisialive

The economic costs of the Arab uprisings may outweigh their benefits to countries like Tunisia, according a recently-released report from a major bank.

Collectively, the political upheaval in the Arab world that began in 2011 will have cost Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Syria, Libya, Jordan, and Lebanon $800 billion between 2011-14, according to international bank HSBC.

The report, titled “A Bitter Legacy,” calculates the costs of the wave of uprisings which started in Tunisia in 2010.

GDP statistics for Tunisia from HSBC’s report October 2013

Using seven countries that the researchers, Elizabeth Martins and Simon Williams, argue were most affected by the upheaval, the report compares pre-2011 growth forecasts with post-2011 realities and predictions to put a dollar amount on what has been called the Arab Spring.

The report has a negative tone, suggesting that the economic costs of the post-2011 situation outweigh any positive gains in the region.

“Any gains also pale when set against the economic losses much of the region has suffered since the start of what is still called the Arab Spring,” the report, produced for the bank’s clients, states.

Dueling protests and ongoing talks have avoided the sort of violence seen in Egypt, but have made Tunisia appear unstable to investors and prevented post-revolution economic recovery from gaining momentum.

Gross domestic product growth has been unsteady since taking a dramatic hit during the 2011 revolution. Unemployment, a major complaint of Tunisians, has also increased.

Security failures, including the assassination of opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi and the attacks on military forces, exacerbate these concerns.

The report states that there is a low likelihood a coup will take place in Tunisia, but actually views this as weakening investor confidence in the country.

“In contrast to Egypt, the military and security services are less powerful and deep rooted, leaving no ready-made alternative to the post-revolutionary structures,” the report states.
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Appalling Human Rights Abuses in Bahrain
17 October, 2013 – By Stephen Lendman – Media with Conscience

Rights Abuses in BahrainSince February 2011, Bahrainis challenged state terror policies heroically. Brutal crackdowns followed. They continue.

They include mass arrests, imprisonments, torture, kangaroo court trials, and overall ruthlessness.

Bahrain’s ruling Al Khalifa monarchy is a close US ally. Washington provides material support. It’s one of the world’s most despotic regimes. Ruthlessness defines its policies.

According to the State Department’s 2012 human rights report, serious human rights abuses persist.

They include “citizens inability to change their government peacefully; arrest and detention of protesters on vague charges, in some cases leading to their torture in detention; and lack of due process in trials of political and human rights activists, medical personnel, teachers, and students, with some resulting in harsh sentences.”

“Other significant human rights problems included arbitrary deprivation of life; arrest of individuals on charges relating to freedom of expression; reported violations of privacy; and restrictions on civil liberties, including freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, and some religious practices.”

“The government sometimes imposed and enforced travel bans on political activists.”

“Discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, nationality, and sect persisted, especially against the Shia population.”

“There were reports of domestic violence against women and children.”

“Trafficking in persons and restrictions on the rights of foreign workers continued to be significant problems.”

In more detail, the State Department cited:

– “Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life;”

– “Disappearance(s)”

– “Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;”

– Horrific prison and detention center conditions;

– “Arbitrary Arrest(s) (and) Detention(s);”

– Lawless arrest procedures and treatment;

– “Denial of Fair Public Trial(s);”

– Imprisonment for political reasons;

– Lawless civil judicial procedures and remedies;

– “Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence;”

– Speech, press and other civil liberties violations;

– Restricted Internet freedom;

– Restricted academic and cultural events freedom;

– Lack of freedom of assembly and association;

– Denial of free internal movement, foreign travel, emigration, repatriation and religion;

– Sham elections and other political irregularities;

– Corruption and lack of government transparency;

– Discrimination and other societal abuses;

– Violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity; and

– Greatly restricted labor rights.

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) discusses ongoing human rights abuses regularly.

On September 29, it headlined “Bahrain Court Sentences 50 Defendants, Including Human Rights Defenders, Under Terrorism Law, and Reduces Sentence For Two Police Officers Convicted of Torturing Detainee to Death.”

They received a combined 430 years imprisonment. Their crime is wanting equity and justice. They want freedom from political persecution. They want what everyone deserves. They want what Bahrain denies.

At issue was the so-called “February 14 Coalition” case. Fifty Bahrainis were charged under the politically motivated terrorism law.

Trial proceedings excluded internationally recognized judicial standards. Fairness was entirely lacking.

Defendant testimonies revealed torture and other forms of abuse. The court ignored them.

On September 5, defense counsel requested a new judge. Conflict of interest was cited. It was denied.

The defense team withdrew from proceedings. It cited Bahrain’s Criminal Procedure Law, Article 211.

Defendants boycotted the trial. They cited a lack of judicial fairness.

Sham proceedings continued. On September 29, 16 defendants received 15 years imprisonment, four got 10 years, and 20 others got five years each.

BCHR’s Acting President Maryam Al-Khawaja responded as follows:

“There was no due process in the entirety of this case which is why the defendants and their lawyers decided to boycott.”

“From the time that the defendants were abducted, tortured and then sentences, nothing was done according to international standards of a fair trial.”

“If these fifty people were really guilty of a crime, why was the only evidence presented confessions extracted under torture?”

“This was a sham trial with a political verdict. They should be released immediately.”

On October 12, BCHR published messages from imprisoned and targeted human rights defenders. Said Yousif AlMuhafdah is Acting BCGR Vice President. He’s a wanted man.

He was arrested numerous times for doing the right thing. Bahrani justice calls right wrong. Said’s been “beaten, defamed, threatened and harassed” for his work.

He’s traveling abroad. Days earlier, his family said he received a summons for interrogation. It was for speaking openly about torture.

Human rights defender Naji Fateel is imprisoned. He’s serving 15 years for doing his job. He was severely tortured.

Human rights defender Abduljalil AlSingace is paralyzed. He was tortured anyway. He’s imprisoned for life.

Nabeel Rajab co-founded BCHR. He’s been arrested, brutally beaten, prosecuted and imprisoned for three years. It’s for defending human rights. He’s a political prisoner. He wrote supporters saying the following.
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US Concerned Over Unrest in Bahrain
17 October, 2013 – VOA

STATE DEPARTMENT — The United States is increasingly concerned about unrest in Bahrain ahead of the trial of a leading opposition activist later this month. There has been little progress in a national dialogue that was agreed to following violent demonstrations in 2011. Considering Bahrain is home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, it’s a worrisome issue for Washington.

Violence following the funeral of a Bahraini opposition activist is the latest setback to a national dialogue that was to have settled differences between the government and its opponents.

“We are disappointed by recent events that have happened on the ground and eroded the prospects of dialogue in Bahrain,” said U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

The Obama administration is aware of the detention and death of 31-year-old dissident Yousif Ali al-Nashmi, Psaki said. He was arrested in August on charges of taking part in illegal protests, although the Bahrain Center for Human Rights disputes that.

He died several days after his release this month following what human rights groups say was abuse in detention.

Last month, President Obama compared sectarian tensions in Bahrain to the violence in Iraq and Syria.

Bahrain is a majority Shi’ite country but is ruled by a Sunni royal family.

However, the government of King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa claims there is no comparing Bahrain with Syria and Iraq, where sectarian tensions have fueled violence.

A foreign ministry statement said “terrorist extremist groups” are targeting security forces and that Bahrain is responding “within the rule of law.”

The opposition is demanding more jobs, more democracy, and the release of all political prisoners.

Doug Bandow of the Cato Institute feels Washington has missed an opportunity with Bahrain’s Shi’ites, who make up 70 percent of the population but are not proportionately represented in politics.

“The U.S. has done very little on behalf of Shia in Bahrain, where the majority are struggling for some greater say in their government,” said Bandow.

Psaki said the Obama administration is urging Bahrain’s government to uphold freedoms of assembly and expression and for all parties to reaffirm their commitment to nonviolence.

“There’s more that all parties can do to move things forward. So I don’t know if there’s a specific obstacle as much as there’s more that needs to be done,” said Psaki.

Former U.S. Ambassador Adam Ereli claims Washington’s “middle-ground” is not working.

“Nobody knows what the U.S. position is. In Bahrain they say, ‘Look, we support a democratic process. Don’t use violence.’ But we don’t condemn the opposition. We don’t declare support for the regime. Nobody knows what side we’re on,” explained Ereli.

Opposition groups suspended their participation in the national dialogue over last month’s detention of activist Khalil Marzouq, who is charged with using his leadership position in a legal political organization to incite violence. Amnesty International calls him a prisoner of conscience. His trial is set to begin October 24.
…source

Kerry wants chemical arms shipped out of Syria
17 October, 2013 – The Daily Star

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that he hopes the Syrian government’s chemical weapons will be rapidly consolidated into one location, put on a ship and removed from the region.

Kerry said in an interview with National Public Radio that the locations of the weapons have been declared and are being secured.

On Tuesday, Kerry will meet in London with ministers of 10 other nations who back the opposition in Syria and are trying to hold an international conference in Geneva to set up a transition government and end the bloody civil war in Syria, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

He also will be meeting in London with opposition leaders. The main alliance of political opposition groups has said it will only negotiate if it is agreed from the start that Syrian President Bashar Assad will leave power at the end of a transition period.

On Monday, Kerry will be in Paris to meet with representatives of the Arab League and update them on peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians and see Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal.

After London, Kerry will travel to Rome to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

…source

Surveillance critic barred from US
By Milana Knezevic – 18 October, 2013

Ilija_trojanow_by_thomas_dorn_232_KBOn 30 September, Bulgarian-German author Ilija Trojanow was travelling from Brazil to the US for a conference on German literature. That was his plan, anyway. At the airport in Salvador da Bahia, he was told his entry to the US had been denied. No explanation was provided then, and none has been provided since.

Trojanow is one of the main forces behind a 74,000 strong and growing petition against mass surveillance. Initiated and signed by some Germany’s biggest writers, the petition argues the government is bound by the constitution to protect its citizens against foreign spying.

His experience in Brazil exploded in the German media, but Trojanow seems more bemused than anything else.

“It wasn’t bad enough that governments are spying on everybody!” he says with a laugh. “What this shows is that general attacks on everybody and not individual victims, are too abstract. An individual case, even if it’s a minor one, can get more attention.”

While the incident did create more discussion around mass surveillance and caused a spike in the number of signatures, there is no doubt the petition already had widespread support. The issue of mass surveillance seems to have struck a particular chord in Germany. Trojanow believes this is due to their history.

“East Germany more than any other country in the former Soviet block has discussed its secret service files. It has been a dominant issue in the media. The archives are easy to access. Germans know how horrendous it is when the secret service is not under real control.”

He also thinks the famous German efficiency shines through even in this case. Many felt that something needed to be done about the mass surveillance, and when Germans set out to do something, they do it properly.

“It is quite ironic,” he adds: “Germans had democracy beaten into them. They were educated in democracy by the US and the UK. It seems they were good students!”

Trojanov himself has long been interested in the issue of state surveillance, with his 2009 book “Freedom Under Attack”, for instance, becoming a bestseller in Germany. For him, the issue carries a more personal dimension. Growing up in a Bulgaria, parts of his family were engaged in the struggle against the communist authorities.

“I am in the situation now where I am able to read transcripts of what adults in my family were saying, as our apartment was bugged.”

“What you realise is that when you have the attention of the secret service pointed at you, whatever you do is in some way proof of guilt. Even completely innocent things become potentially implicating.”

The petition was formally presented to the German government on 18 September, back when when it had 63,000 signatures. A month and ten thousand additional names later, they have still have yet to receive any sort of official reply. Still open, Trojanow and his compatriots now plan to take it global. As he says, mass surveillance is a worldwide challenge and cannot be tackled simply by and within one nation.

“I don’t understand why we wait until situation is completely unbearable. You start safeguarding your freedoms when they are attacked on the edges.” ….source

The birth of the ‘de-Americanized’ world
By Pepe Escobar – The Roving Eye – Asia Times

This is it. China has had enough. The (diplomatic) gloves are off. It’s time to build a “de-Americanized” world. It’s time for a “new international reserve currency” to replace the US dollar.

It’s all here, in a Xinhua editorial, straight from the dragon’s mouth. And the year is only 2013. Fasten your seat belts – and that applies especially to the Washington elites. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

Long gone are the Deng Xiaoping days of “keeping a low profile”. The Xinhua editorial summarizes the straw that broke the dragon’s back – the current US shutdown. After the Wall Street-provoked financial crisis, after the war on Iraq, a “befuddled world”, and not only China, wants change.

This paragraph couldn’t be more graphic:

Instead of honoring its duties as a responsible leading power, a self-serving Washington has abused its superpower status and introduced even more chaos into the world by shifting financial risks overseas, instigating regional tensions amid territorial disputes, and fighting unwarranted wars under the cover of outright lies.

The solution, for Beijing, is to “de-Americanize” the current geopolitical equation – starting with more say in the International Monetary Fund and World Bank for emerging economies and the developing world, leading to a “new international reserve currency that is to be created to replace the dominant US dollar”.

Note that Beijing is not advocating completely smashing the Bretton Woods system – at least for now, but it is for having more deciding power. Sounds reasonable, considering that China holds slightly more weight inside the IMF than Italy. IMF “reform” – sort of – has been going on since 2010, but Washington, unsurprisingly, has vetoed anything substantial.

As for the move away from the US dollar, it’s also already on, in varying degrees of speed, especially concerning trade amongst the BRICS group of emerging powers (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), which is now overwhelmingly in their respective currencies. The US dollar is slowly but surely being replaced by a basket of currencies.

“De-Americanization” is also already on. Take last week’s Chinese trade charm offensive across Southeast Asia, which is incisively leaning towards even more action with their top commercial partner, China. Chinese President Xi Jinping clinched an array of deals with Indonesia, Malaysia and also Australia, only a few weeks after clinching another array of deals with the Central Asian “stans”.

Chinese commitment to improve the Iron Silk Road reached fever pitch, with shares of Chinese rail companies going through the roof amid the prospect of a high-speed rail link with and through Thailand actually materializing. In Vietnam, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang sealed an understanding that two country’s territorial quarrels in the South China Sea would not interfere with even more business. Take that, “pivoting” to Asia. …more

South Korea is Playing a Deadly Game By Fueling Bahrain’s Violent Crackdown
By John Horne and Ahmed Ali – 16 October, 2013

An unlikely, unexpected, and dangerous trade has formed between South Korea and Bahrain. South Korea has been exporting loads of teargas to Bahrain, turning a blind eye to the deadly harm that it is causing in the government’s efforts to crack down on protesters.

The Bahrain government has engaged in a relentless crackdown since February 2011 against a population calling for democracy, human rights, and socio-economic justice. Western governments, with strategic and commercial interests in the Kingdom, have continually turned a blind eye to ongoing torture, extrajudicial killing, suppression of free expression, and arbitrary persecutions. However, while policing equipment manufactured by U.S. and UK companies was documented in Bahrain in 2011, the scale of the violations has made further exports of purported “crowd-control” weapons unpalatable by those countries.

Accordingly, Bahrain has been turning further afield for assistance. One such country is South Korea, a G20 member and staunch Western ally, whose companies have found a ready market in Bahrain for teargas and other repressive equipment. The two states have formed closer commercial and security ties since the start of the 2011 uprising, despite Bahrain’s appalling human rights record since then.

On New Year’s Eve 2011, a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed. Sayed Hashem was struck in the face with a teargas canister fired by Bahraini security forces during a peaceful anti-government protest. The graphic pictures of his body, like those of another child, Ali Jawad, show clear and visible marks of the canister wound. As Hashem lay in his own blood, a group of bystanders attempted to resuscitate him. They were subsequently shot at with teargas. The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights reports that when the women at the scene accused the security forces of killing the young boy, they were told, “Shut up and don’t you dare speak of this.”

The canister that killed Hashem is visually identical to those manufactured by South Korean firm DaeKwang Industry Company Ltd and sold by Korean company C.N.O. Tech Ltd. DaeKwang has historically denied exporting to Bahrain, although it lists the country in its “global network” map. Another South Korean company, C.N.O. Tech, exports DaeKwang products and has a local reseller in Bahrain.

Over 100 people have been killed as a consequence of the government’s crackdown on protesters. Over 30% of the deaths caused by security forces have been as a result of teargas which is usually fired at protesters in massive quantities over residential areas as a form of collective punishment. At least four of those killed were shot directly with teargas canisters. Most recently, 20-year-old Mahmood Al Jaziri was filmed being shot in the head intentionally by security forces. He died a few days later on Feb. 22. An 8-year-old boy also lost his life in January after exposure to large amounts of teargas fired into his village. His funeral procession, like those of others killed by Bahrain’s police, was also targeted with teargas. This is one of the many, reckless, ways that security forces enact petty repression in the form of systematic reprisals against those deemed in opposition to the government and ruling family. …more

NYT decontextualizes (ethnically-cleansed) Jaffa in hipster fashion piece
Philip Weiss – October 16, 2013 – Mondoweiss

Jaffa was once the pride of Palestinian culture, the bride of the sea. Then it was ethnically cleansed in 1948, by Zionist terrorist militias. A lot of the folks who lived there are in Gaza. You’d never know any of this from watching this new video of hipsters in Jaffa, on the NYT website, “Free Style in Tel Aviv.” …more

Study: Half a million Iraqis died from war-related causes since US invasion
16 October, 2013 – Al Akhbar

Nearly half a million people have died from war-related causes in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003, according to an academic study published in the United States on Tuesday.

That toll is far higher than the nearly 115,000 violent civilian deaths reported by the British-based group Iraq Body Count, which bases its tally on media reports, hospital and morgue records, and official and non-governmental accounts.

The latest estimate by university researchers in the United States, Canada and Baghdad in cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of Health covers not only violent deaths but other avoidable deaths linked to the invasion, insurgencies and subsequent social breakdown.

It also differs from some previous counts by spanning a longer period of time and by using randomized surveys of households across Iraq to project a nationwide death toll from 2003 to mid 2011.

Violence caused most of the deaths, but about a third were indirectly linked to the war, and these deaths have been left out of previous counts, said lead author Amy Hagopian, a public health researcher at the University of Washington.

Those included situations when a pregnant woman encountered difficult labor but could not leave the house due to fighting, or when a person drank contaminated water, or when a patient could not get treated at a hospital because staff was overwhelmed with war casualties.

“These are all indirect deaths, and they are significant,” Hagopian told AFP.

The aim of the study was to provide a truer picture of the suffering caused by war, and hopefully to make governments think twice about the harm that would come from an invasion, she said.

“I think it is important that people understand the consequences of launching wars on public health, on how people live. This country is forever changed.”

The research team from the University of Washington, Johns Hopkins University, Simon Fraser University and Mustansiriya University conducted the work on a volunteer basis using pooled internal resources instead of seeking outside funds.

Their tally was compiled by asking adults living in 2,000 randomly selected households in 100 geographic clusters across Iraq if family members had died, when and why.

Researchers used the survey data, which was completed by 1,960 of those chosen, to calculate the death rate before the war and after. When multiplied by the whole population, they returned a number that represented “excess deaths.”

Researchers estimated there were 405,000 excess Iraqi deaths attributable to the war through mid-2011.

They also attempted to account for deaths missed because families had fled the country, and estimated 55,805 total deaths, bringing the total to nearly 461,000. …more

UK demands Bahrain commitment to human rights
16 October, 2013 – PressTV

British Foreign Office Minister for Middle East Affairs Hugh Robertson has called on the al-Khalifa regime in Bahrain to fulfil their obligations concerning human rights.

Robertson, who took the position on October 7, also said Britain will seriously follow all cases of human rights abuse in Bahrain, including mistreatment of detainees.

The comment came after the death of Bahraini Shia activist Yousef Al-Nashmi who died on Friday due to what the Bahraini non-governmental organization Bahrain Center for Human Rights said was denial of medical treatment and torture.

“The BCHR is gravely concerned that Al-Nashmi, like Mohammed Mushaima, is the victim torture and denial of adequate medical care causing death. Prisoners in Bahrain are systematically denied adequate medical care,” the organization said.

“The continuation of the current violations against all prisoners in Bahrain may lead to future loss of lives,” it added.

Bahrain has recently faced scathing criticism internationally for its treatment of pro-democracy protesters and prisoners.

During the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva back in September, 47 governments issued a joint statement on the matter which accompanied a damning resolution by the European Parliament and a public reproach from the UN Commissioner for Human Rights.

Meanwhile, the British ambassador in Geneva said at the time that the Bahraini government had misrepresented a private meeting he held with the Bahraini minister for human rights by claiming London backs the al-Khalifa’s human rights record. …source

Saudi Arabia, UAE seek $10.8 billion in U.S. weapons
16 October, 2013 – USA Today

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates say they are seeking $10.8 billion in advanced U.S.-made missiles and other weapons as part of bids by Western-allied Gulf states to stay ahead of claimed military strides by rival Iran.

Gulf nations regularly spend billions of dollars on U.S. military equipment and upgrades amid lingering regional tensions with Iran, which often conducts major military exercises and claims to have made advances in drone technology and other areas.

Notifications posted late Tuesday on a Pentagon website say Saudi Arabia is seeking to purchase $6.8 billion in missiles, bombs, launch systems and other ordnance. The UAE is seeking approval for a similar ordered estimated at $4 billion.

…source

Sarah Brown: “A girl with an education is the most terrifying force in the world”
By Milana Knezevic – Xindex – 16 October, 2013

World leaders need to deliver on their pledges to institute universal primary education — especially for girls — if the world wants to empower the next generation, campaigner Sarah Brown said in a speech at the launch of the autumn issue of Index on Censorship magazine on Tuesday.

“The women who lead, read,” Brown said. “A girl with an education is the most terrifying force in the world.”

The campaigner argued passionately for education being a key, vital factor in advancement of women and girls around the world. Brown cited statistics that underlined her point: Educated girls grow into women who are more likely to educate their own children, have them vaccinated and have jobs that support a better financial life for their families.

“Why is the most terrifying thing for the Taliban a girl with a book?” she asked when talking about the role of Malala Yousafzai, the teenager who was targeted for campaigning for girls’ education. Brown is co-founder of A World At School, the campaigning education organisation that helped convene Malala Day at the United Nations this summer.

Speaking at the Lilian Baylis Technology School in London, where she also met with students, Brown followed up the speech with a question and answer session, chaired by Helen Lewis, deputy editor of New Statesman magazine.

“I don’t understand why there is so much anger at women who speak out,” Brown said when Lewis asked about Twitter trolls.

Referencing the vicious Twitter attacks on Caroline Criado-Perez, she remarked: “It’s clear that the public square does not offer a safe space for Britain’s women.”

But she also spoke on the positive sides of online speech, saying Twitter can be a “space to describe yourself as you want to be described.”

Brown conceded there is still a lot of work to be done to reach universal education. With two years left to reach the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education, millions of children around the world still don’t have access to it.

Brown said it was appropriate for her to speak at the launch of the latest issue of Index on Censorship magazine, which includes a special report on ignored, suppressed and censored voices. …source

Indications of a ‘grand bargain’ between Washington and Tehran make it imperative for Gulf states to stand together economically, militarily and politically

Is the US plotting regional mayhem?
By Khalaf Al Habtoor – Gulf News – 14 October, 2013

Something’s cooking in the White House and the smell drifting towards Saudi Arabia, the other Gulf states and Egypt is far from pleasant. America is one of our closest western allies, or so we’re meant to believe. Recent disclosures suggest otherwise. The Obama administration’s policy vis-a-vis the Middle East and the Gulf lacks transparency and is marked by contradiction and confusion — perhaps deliberately so. This column aims at giving you a clearer picture.

One of my biggest fears may be close to realisation. For years, I’ve been warning about a future unholy alliance between the US and the Islamic Republic of Iran to the detriment of Gulf Cooperation Council states in numerous articles. Under the title ‘Are Sunnis victims of a new Great Game’, published in April 2012, I wrote: “There is a credible school of thought that Washington’s long-term agenda revolves around luring Iran into its camp on the premise that Arab Shiites would follow … In theory, Washington would like to appoint a powerful entity like Iran as its proxy regional caretaker just as the Shah was until he suffered delusions of grandeur. But, first of all, it would be obliged to throw predominantly Sunni states under a bus.”

A year ago, when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was still spouting his unhinged rants, some readers may have found the above analysis hard to believe, even though a US rapprochement with Iran has long been promoted by various US think-tanks as well as prominent American writers, analysts and politicians, including John Kerry. You’ll recall that President Barack Obama pledged to reach out to Iranians during his first term, saying the US wanted to end the strained relationship. That approach failed, mostly because a US president can’t engage in photo-ops with a Holocaust denier without locking horns with the pro-Israel lobby.

Then along comes Hassan Rouhani who worked his treacle-coated magic when, hey presto, he makes history as the first Iranian leader to have a phone conversation with a US president since 1979. Obama’s National Security Adviser Susan Rice says normalisation of US-Iranian relations could ensue. King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia is not amused while Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is practically foaming at the mouth calling Rouhani a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Not only is Obama alienating his traditional allies with his bearded new best friend, he has astounded Egyptians by showing support for the Muslim Brotherhood and condemning the interim government for arresting its leaders. There is a belief among Egyptians that the US president funded the Brotherhood’s campaign prior to last year’s elections in connection with some kind of deal. Conspiracy theory! I thought so until I read an article in the World Tribune some days ago quoting former US Joint Chiefs Chairman General Hugh Shelton, who revealed to Fox News that the Obama administration had been working towards destabilising Egypt and Bahrain for the last two years. …more

BAHRAIN : Use of the new Chemical weapons against protesters
10 October, 2013 – SHAFAQNA PAKISTAN (Shia News Agency)

The CS Gas used in Bahrain is “Weaponized” in the truest sense of the word. The use of Military Grade CS GAS an Order of Magnitude more potent than “riot control agents” used in the streets of the United States and the United Kingdom is well documented in Bahrain. The weapon being discussed here is a Combat grade CS Gas.

Use of CS Gas in war is prohibited under the terms of the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, signed by most nations in 1993, with all but five other nations signing between the years of 1994 through 1997. Only five nations have not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention and are therefore unhindered by restrictions on the use of CS gas: Angola, Egypt, North Korea, Somalia, and Syria.

The “weaponization” that the PHR Report discusses concerns the use of CS Gas, typically considered “less-than-lethal”, as a “lethal weapon”. Gas Canisters are being fired as a projectile directly are protesters causing death and CS Gas is being fired directly into homes, transforming them into “gas chambers” where infants and elderly die from asphyxiation. – Phlipn

Bahrain Is Criticized for Its ‘Torrent’ of Tear Gas Use

Despite a pledge to stop abuses by its security forces, the ruling Sunni minority in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom of Bahrain is engaged in systematic and disproportionate use of tear gas on its restive Shiite majority, permitting police officers to routinely fire volleys at point-blank range at crowds and into homes and vehicles in Shiite neighborhoods, a leading rights group said in a report released on Wednesday.

A Bahraini protester hit by a tear gas canister on Sunday was treated by underground doctors and nurses in a house after clashes with the police.

The group, the Physicians for Human Rights, which has been highly critical of the Bahraini monarchy’s behavior since the Shiite protests inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings began there 18 months ago, called the policy on tear gas use unprecedented in the world, even among dictatorships where tear gas is a staple tool for crowd control.

Its report, based on dozens of interviews of victims in Bahrain and forensic evidence gathered there by the group’s investigators in April, said the Shiite populace’s abnormally prolonged exposure to the tear gas’s toxic components had already led to an alarming increase in miscarriages, respiratory ailments and other maladies.

It documented examples of grievous wounds suffered by civilians whose skulls and limbs had been struck by metal tear gas canisters blasted from a few feet away. The report also described instances in which people not engaged in protests were attacked with tear gas fired into their cars and through the windows or doors of their homes, including at least two cases in which residents died from complications from exposure to the gas because they were trapped in enclosed spaces.

“Since February 2011, the Bahraini government has unleashed a torrent of these toxic chemical agents against men, women and children, including the elderly and infirm,” asserted the report, titled “Weaponizing Tear Gas.” …source

OPPOSITION LEADER DENIED MEDICAL TREATMENT
10 October, 2013 – Amnesty International

Dr ‘Abdel-Jalil al-Singace, one of the 13 jailed prominent Bahraini opposition activists, has been denied medical treatment. He is a prisoner of conscience.

An academic and spokesperson of the al-Haq Movement, Dr ‘Abdel-Jalil al-Singace, aged 51, is serving a life sentence in Jaw Prison, which is around 30km south of the capital, Manama. Since March 2013 at least nine appointments with the cardiology, ophthalmology and dermatology departments at the Bahrain Defence Military Hospital and 11 appointments at the prison clinic have been postponed because he refuses to wear the prison uniform.

According to his family, Dr ‘Abdel-Jalil al-Singace suffers, amongst other ailments, from sinus inflammation and a perforated eardrum for which he needs surgery.

Between March and mid-July all 13 activists had been denied family visits for refusing to wear the prison uniform, saying it is only worn by criminals and to wear the uniform would be to admit criminality: Every time family members went to the prison they were told they could not visit because the prisoners were “refusing prison instructions”. In mid-July 11 of the 13 started to wear prison uniform, as a result of family pressure, and therefore have been able to receive visitors. Only Dr ‘Abdel-Jalil al-Singace and Hassan Mshaima’ still refuse to wear it.

The High Criminal Court of Appeal in Manama issued its verdict on 4 September 2012, upholding the 13 defendants’ sentences of between five years and life in prison on charges including “setting up terror groups to topple the royal regime and change the constitution”. The Court of Cassation upheld the sentences on 7 January 2013. See Additional Information for a list of all 13 prisoners’ names. …more

Bahrain prison care questioned after inmate death
12 October, 2013

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — The lawyer of a Bahraini prisoner who died after being transferred to a hospital is claiming authorities waited too long to provide medical treatment and ignored his deteriorating health, claims officials have denied.

The dispute is likely to bring calls for greater scrutiny on prison conditions in the Gulf nation.

Lawyer Zainab Abdulaziz said officials did not properly care for Yousef Ali al-Nashmi, arrested in August as part of crackdowns following a wave of protests. She said al-Nashmi was in a coma when he was finally hospitalized Sept. 23. He died Friday.

Bahrain’s public prosecutor’s office said early Saturday that al-Nashmi died of HIV-linked problems and had been scheduled to be released.

Sunni-ruled Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, has been gripped by nonstop unrest since early 2011.
…source

Bahraini police brutally quashes protest at funeral
13 October, 2013 – Islamic Invitation Turkey

Bahraini forces have resorted to the use of plastic bullets, tear gas and sound grenades in a brutal effort to disband hundreds of anti-regime protesters following the funeral for Yousif Ali al-Nashmi, who was killed while in custody of the Saudi-backed regime.

The demonstrators, who chanted slogans against the Al Khalifa regime, clashed with the forces as they were trying to march to the capital’s iconic Pearl Square following the funeral of the jailed activist on Saturday.

“The people want the downfall of the regime,” the protester shouted in unison.

According to witnesses, several protesters were injured in the clashes.

The funeral for al-Nashmi, who died Friday while under the custody of the despotic regime, was held in the western Manama suburb of Jidd Haf.

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.
…more

Official violence causes severe injuries among mourners in Bahrain
13 October, 2013 – ABNA

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Bahrain security forces used excessive violence yesterday (Saturday 12th Oct) in a brutal crackdown on the mourners of Yousif Al Nashmi who died in custody on 11th Oct. The crackdown resulted in bloody injuries among the mourners.

The injuries indicate the security forces’ use of excessive force and fire arms (shotgun pellets) from close range and the direct targeting of persons in the upper body parts in attempted killings.

A youth sustained severe injuries to the face and jaw with internationally banned weapon shotgun pellets. This, however, leaves no doubt whatsoever that the Government is heading in the direction of further escalation and repression to ban citizens from fundamental rights, such as to freedom of expression and mourning victims of the regime.

The crackdown comes amid a wide campaign in which tens of citizens have been arrested.

The security apparatus is continuing to ban rights and killings and repression in contrary to the official claims of reforming the security apparatus. Citizens inside and outsides prisons are being denied basic rights. This is what led to the death of 31 year old prisoner Al Nashmi. …more

Bahrain: Chaotic scenes as protests continued inside and outside prisons
By davidswanson – 11 October, 2013 – Warisacrime.org

Yousuf Al Nashmi, 31, a young Bahraini citizen, is dying as a result of severe torture inflicted on him in jail. This week the regime ordered his release when it became clear that he was approaching “clinical death”[1]. His family protested his ill-treatment and detention. His lawyer, Zainab Abdul Aziz repeatedly called for his release but the Alkhalifa insisted on keeping him at the torture dungeons despite his severe brain tumour. He was tried while his body was on machines. Only when he approached death did the Alkhalifa ordered his release so that he dies outside jail.

Bahraini detainees at the Dry Dock and the central prison (Jau) have been on hunger strike since 2nd October. They are protesting against ill-treatment, intolerable prison conditions and the new restrictions imposed during family visits. Several detainees collapsed as a result. Those prisons have become notorious for the lack of essential facilities needed for human habitation and intensification of repression, attacks on, and torture of detainees.

A young Bahraini sentenced to life imprisonment went on strike demanding that his solitary confinement be ended[3]. Kumail Al Manami has been kept in his small cell for two years during which he reached the verge of death. He fell into coma several times and his body began fading away as a result of torture, ill-treatment and psychological effects of his incommunicado detention.

On Tuesday 8th October, five youth from Duraz Town were seized by members of Death Squads and taken to unknown destinations[4]. Among them is Sayed Abbas Sayed Mahdi, whose brother, Sayed Mahmood is already in jail on trumpeted charges and false accusations. He is married with two children. At mid-day Wednesday, three youth were snatched from their homes at Bilad Al Qadeem Town. Among them was the brother of Martyr Hani Abdul Aziz. …more