…from beneath the crooked bough, witness 230 years of brutal tyranny by the al Khalifas come to an end

Ex-Iran negotiator: “historic” chance for nuke talks
25 April, 2012 – By Fredrik Dahl – Reuters

VIENNA: Iran and major nations have a “historic opportunity” to settle their decade-old nuclear dispute, but requiring the Islamic state to stop higher-grade uranium enrichment would be discriminatory, Tehran’s former chief nuclear negotiator said.

Hossein Mousavian, now a visiting scholar at Princeton University in the United States, voiced optimism before next month’s talks between Iran and the six major powers following a first meeting in Istanbul earlier this month.

They should set out their respective “red lines” regarding Iran’s nuclear program and negotiate on the basis of those when they meet in the Iraqi capital on May 23, he told Reuters.

“The positive trend has started from Istanbul. It is important to keep up the positive trend in Baghdad and to go on,” Mousavian, who was seen as a moderate when in the Iranian government, said by telephone on Tuesday.

He was Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator from 2003 to 2005 before conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took over from his reformist predecessor Mohammad Khatami. According to Western envoys familiar with Mousavian, he appeared at the time to be genuinely interested in reaching a deal with the West.

The six powers – the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia – want to make sure Iran does not develop nuclear bombs. The Islamic Republic wants a lifting of sanctions and recognition of what it says are its rights to peaceful nuclear energy, including enriching uranium.

“The principles should be based on addressing the red lines of each party,” Mousavian said, advocating a step-by-step approach with confidence-building actions by both sides.

If the red line for the powers is nuclear bombs, “then they should discuss the ways and means for Iran to cooperate with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) on transparency measures.”

Both sides said they were content with progress made in the April 14 meeting in Istanbul which did not go into detail but, unlike earlier rounds of negotiations, stayed on the subject of Iran’s nuclear program.
…more

Fears for Bahrain hunger striker, minister defends police
By Andrew Hammond – 25 April, 2012 – Reuters

DUBAI (Reuters) – The wife of a jailed Bahraini activist said on Wednesday she was worried for the health of her husband after more than two months of hunger strike.

Bahrain’s interior minister, speaking after weeks of protests against a Formula One Grand Prix here, described as a terrorist act an explosion in a village near Manama on Tuesday night that wounded four policemen. It said security forces had the right to protect themselves.

Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, one of 14 men in prison for leading an uprising last year, is serving a life sentence for expressing support last year for Bahrain becoming a republic. He has been fasting for 77 days.

Bahrainis won no major concessions on reducing the powers of the Sunni ruling Al Khalifa family in the protests, but one year later the uprising has not gone away.

In response to queries on Khawaja’s health, the interior ministry said to refer to its Twitter feed. There was no new information on Wednesday.

Khawaja’s wife, Khadija al-Mousawi, said her husband had failed to call on Tuesday from the military hospital where he is being monitored during his hunger strike and she was unable to obtain any information on his health on Wednesday.

“Something is very wrong,” Mousawi said. “He was talking about accepting death as the path of freedom, he sounded very weak and tired,” she added, referring to her last conversation with Khawaja on Monday.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday expressed concern about the activist, respected by international rights groups as a rights defender but seen by some Bahrainis as a Shi’ite Islamist activist, and called on Bahrain to respect human rights.

“The Secretary-General once again urges the Bahraini authorities to resolve Mr. Al-Khawaja’s case based on due process and humanitarian considerations without any further delay,” Ban Ki-moon’s office said. …more

Analysis: Bahrain hardliners in driving seat after F1 fiasco
21 April, 2012 – By Andrew Hammond – Reuters

DUBAI (Reuters) – Hardliners in Bahrain’s Saudi-backed Sunni Muslim ruling family may dig in their heels after a Formula One Grand Prix debacle that spotlighted a frustrated pro-democracy uprising instead of projecting an image of stability.

Western leaders joined rights groups and media watchdogs in criticizing Bahrain before Sunday’s race, which was cancelled last year due to the unrest. Officials hailed its reinstatement as proof of a return to calm, but billowing smoke from tires set alight by protesters on race day told a different story.

“I suspect now that those in the ruling family who argued that this is more trouble than it’s worth will be saying ‘I told you so’,” said Justin Gengler, a Qatar-based researcher on Bahrain, singling out the royal court and defense ministers.

Those ministers, full brothers from a family branch often known as the Khawalids, are widely viewed as masterminds of last year’s crackdown, which cut short a dialogue Crown Prince Salman had begun with the opposition on democratic reforms.

Bahrainis took to the streets in February 2011, inspired by successful revolts in Egypt and Tunisia, but won no concessions. The government broke up the Pearl Roundabout protest camp a month later, imposed martial law and brought in Saudi troops.

The Sunni Al Khalifa monarchy branded the protesters as Shi’ite subversives with Iranian backing and Bahrain slipped off the Saudi- and Qatari-dominated pan-Arab news agenda.

Western allies such as Britain and the United States, whose Fifth Fleet is moored in Manama, muted criticism of Bahrain for fear of alienating a trusted friend – or its Saudi big brother.

Yet turmoil still convulses the tiny Gulf island, where riot police clash daily with demonstrators, mostly from the Shi’ite majority, and opposition parties stage mass marches.

Police deploy armored vehicles, teargas, sound bombs and birdshot to lock protesters down and prevent a critical mass from re-forming and winning world attention. As a result, activists say the death toll has risen to 80 from 35, including five security personnel, when martial law was lifted in June.

SECTARIAN FEARS

Bahrain’s government says it remains open to limited reform, but unease at the prospect of any power shift from the Sunni royal family to the Shi’ite majority has stifled progress.

The hardline royal court minister, Khaled bin Ahmed, initiated contacts with the leading Shi’ite party Wefaq in January, but pro-government Sunni radicals objected strongly and the chance of renewed dialogue appears to have evaporated.

Nevertheless, King Hamad responded to the Grand Prix furore on Sunday by stating his “personal commitment to reform and reconciliation”.

Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Mubarak al-Khalifa, adviser to the Information Affairs Authority, said many Bahrainis wanted reforms but did not want them dictated by one party or sect.

“All the political societies want to fight corruption, efficient government, an empowered parliament,” he said. “As long as there are no preconditions, mutual respect and no raising the bar too high, then there is hope.”

Sheikh Abdulaziz declined to comment on any potential rifts within the government over the question of reform. Crown Prince Salman has long been seen as its keenest royal advocate.

He brought Formula One to Manama in 2004 as part of what analysts say was a vision for political and economic change that would reduce reliance on receipts from an oilfield shared with Saudi Arabia – and the influence that the arrangement gives a powerful neighbor with no interest in a democratic Bahrain. …more

Three policemen wounded in Bahrain explosion
24 April, 2012 – Reuters – by Firouz Sedarat

(Reuters) – Three policemen were wounded by an explosion in a village in western Bahrain on Tuesday that the government said was a “terrorist” act after weeks of protests against a Formula One Grand Prix held in the Gulf Arab state.

The Interior Ministry said in a Twitter message that two of the three policemen were seriously wounded by the blast late on Tuesday. Residents earlier said four officers had been hurt.

“A terrorist … bombing targeted policemen in the Diraz area and led to the injury of three policemen, two of them seriously,” it said.

Diraz is one of the villages outside the capital Manama where there have been frequent pro-democracy protests by majority Shi’ites against the Sunni-Muslim led monarchy.

On April 9, seven policemen were wounded, three of them seriously, when a home-made bomb exploded during a protest near Manama calling for the release of an activist on a two-month hunger strike.

Bahrain, a U.S. ally that hosts Washington’s Fifth Fleet, has been in turmoil since protests inspired by “Arab Spring” uprisings began in February 2011.

Though martial law and Saudi troops were brought in to crush them after one month, the strife has continued with regular mass marches by opposition parties and violent clashes with riot police.

The daughter of the jailed hunger striker was remanded in custody for seven days for protesting during last week’s Formula One race, her lawyer said on Tuesday.

Zainab al-Khawaja was arrested on Saturday after she sat on the highway running past Bahrain’s financial district during days of Shi’ite protests held to embarrass the kingdom’s rulers at a time when the race drew international media attention.
…source

Read more about Sheikh Almahfoodh HERE

The ’spoiled’ son of the King: Nasser.. The torturer
25 April, 2012 – Bahrain Mirror

Bahrain mirror (Exclusive): Nabeel Rajab, President of the Center of Human Rights in Bahrain, Vice President of International Confederation of Human Rights, keeps challenging the authorities in Bahrain to prosecute those involved in the abuses and torture perpetrated on the people of Bahrain for a year.

Rajab has recently revealed an attention-grabbing step that translated into determined and continuous efforts to escalate the issue of the torture practiced, in person, by the “spoiled” son of the King Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa against a group of prisoners. One of these prisoners is the well known religious cleric Shaikh Mohammed Habib Al-Miqdad, who suffered from a nonstop torture, beatings and verbal abuse.

Rajab – on his Twitter account – mentioned that he will soon move to highlight the issues of torture practiced by Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa on the detainees and athletes for the British media and social networking, taking advantage of the presence of the King’s son in England next summer where he will attend the Olympics Games to be hosted by London’s Metropolitan in the period between July 27 to August 12 this year. The King’s son is attending the games as the President of the Bahrain Olympic Committee.

Rajab has never stopped announcing his plan to escalate this subject in the British media. Not only that, Rajab has taken further step beyond that by demanding to legally prosecute the King’s son or at the very least preventing him from entering the UK. Rajab is taking the subject extremely seriously. …more

The U.S. and the Muslim Brotherhood – The Calculus of Egypt’s Presidential Race
by ESAM AL-AMIN – 23 April, 2012 – Counter Punch

“President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from his position as president of the republic.” Uttered by former Vice President Omar Suleiman on the evening of February 11, 2011, these words set in motion jubilations by millions of Egyptians celebrating the ultimate triumph of their will over the obstinate dictator.

Although the previous eighteen tumultuous days had united the overwhelming majority of Egyptians regardless of political orientation, religious persuasion, economic class or social strata, the ultimate victory of the revolution was not inevitable. The massive demonstrations that started on January 25, were originally called for by groups dominated by youth activists such as the April 6 Movement and “We are All Khaled Said,” in reference to the young blogger who was murdered by state security agents. Most established political parties and social movements including the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) did not initially support the calls to protest in anticipation of the security crackdown, though they did not discourage their members from participation.

Within days the demonstrations escalated and it became clear that the security forces were not able to stop the growing protests. By January 28, the protesters called for a Day of Rage, and all genuine opposition parties, led by the MB, took to the streets calling for the ouster of Mubarak. Within two weeks, the regime was ousted and the military, under the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which refused to back Mubarak and violently disperse the demonstrators, assumed political control, promising a peaceful transfer of power to a democratically elected civilian government within six months.

It was the most momentous event in the modern history of Egypt. But unfortunately the revolutionaries went home satisfied with their astonishing achievement as the remnants of the regime – the fulool- were on the run.

But this incredible historical unity of all Egyptians soon dissipated, giving way to deep ideological divisions. Urgent issues such as whether the constitution should be written before democratic elections or vice versa, or long-term questions concerning the identity of the country, the nature of the state, the role of Islam in society, and the status of the military were hotly debated outside an agreed upon framework. Religious and social groups that were highly organized insisted on holding the elections first, utilizing their clear advantage over others especially the new revolutionary groups that lacked structure, manpower, and resources.

But these revolutionary groups realized early in the standoff with SCAF that none of their objectives were going to be accomplished without applying tremendous pressure on the military council. For several months, massive demonstrations returned to Tahrir Square in order to compel SCAF to dissolve parliament and local assemblies, change the government, force trials of the deposed president and his corrupt cronies, repeal emergency laws, and halt military trials, among other revolutionary demands. …more

Occupy Wall Street: what is to be done next?
Slavoj Žižek – guardian.co.uk – 24 April, 2012

How a protest movement without a programme can confront a capitalist system that defies reform

What to do in the aftermath of the Occupy Wall Street movement, when the protests that started far away – in the Middle East, Greece, Spain, UK – reached the centre, and are now reinforced and rolling out all around the world?

In a San Francisco echo of the OWS movement on 16 October 2011, a guy addressed the crowd with an invitation to participate in it as if it were a happening in the hippy style of the 1960s:

“They are asking us what is our program. We have no program. We are here to have a good time.”

Such statements display one of the great dangers the protesters are facing: the danger that they will fall in love with themselves, with the nice time they are having in the “occupied” places. Carnivals come cheap – the true test of their worth is what remains the day after, how our normal daily life will be changed. The protesters should fall in love with hard and patient work – they are the beginning, not the end. Their basic message is: the taboo is broken, we do not live in the best possible world; we are allowed, obliged even, to think about alternatives.

In a kind of Hegelian triad, the western left has come full circle: after abandoning the so-called “class struggle essentialism” for the plurality of anti-racist, feminist etc struggles, “capitalism” is now clearly re-emerging as the name of the problem.

The first two things one should prohibit are therefore the critique of corruption and the critique of financial capitalism. First, let us not blame people and their attitudes: the problem is not corruption or greed, the problem is the system that pushes you to be corrupt. The solution is neither Main Street nor Wall Street, but to change the system where Main Street cannot function without Wall Street. Public figures from the pope downward bombard us with injunctions to fight the culture of excessive greed and consummation – this disgusting spectacle of cheap moralization is an ideological operation, if there ever was one: the compulsion (to expand) inscribed into the system itself is translated into personal sin, into a private psychological propensity, or, as one of the theologians close to the pope put it:

“The present crisis is not crisis of capitalism but the crisis of morality.”

Let us recall the famous joke from Ernst Lubitch’s Ninotchka: the hero visits a cafeteria and orders coffee without cream; the waiter replies:

“Sorry, but we have run out of cream, we only have milk. Can I bring you coffee without milk?”

Was not a similar trick at work in the dissolution of the eastern european Communist regimes in 1990? The people who protested wanted freedom and democracy without corruption and exploitation, and what they got was freedom and democracy without solidarity and justice. Likewise, the Catholic theologian close to pope is carefully emphasizing that the protesters should target moral injustice, greed, consumerism etc, without capitalism. The self-propelling circulation of Capital remains more than ever the ultimate Real of our lives, a beast that by definition cannot be controlled.

One should avoid the temptation of the narcissism of the lost cause, of admiring the sublime beauty of uprisings doomed to fail. What new positive order should replace the old one the day after, when the sublime enthusiasm of the uprising is over? It is at this crucial point that we encounter the fatal weakness of the protests: they express an authentic rage which is not able to transform itself into a minimal positive program of socio-political change. They express a spirit of revolt without revolution. …more

Bahrain News – Peter Clifford Online
TIMELINE – 24th APRIL, 2012 – Peter Clifford

At the weekend, the Al-Khalifa Government returned to his family for burial the body of Salah Habib Abbas.

This video is believed to be one of police abusing and torturing Salah Habib Abbas with a rifle barrel the night before he was found dead HERE: It gets worse.

The pre-burial pictures show irrefutably that he has been shot with birdshot at close range and tortured by burning on his chest and stomach.

An examination by a doctor in the presence of lawyers and members of the Al Wefaq Party also revealed that his neck had been broken and there were bruises on his hand and leg.

The official death certificate listed “internal bleeding and gunshot wounds” as the cause of death.

There is a full examination report, HERE:

According to the official Bahrain News Agency, various members of the Al-Khalifa family and their sycophants have spent the last 2 days sending “cables” self-congratulating each other on the “success” of the Bahrain F1.

In one the antique Prime Minister, Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, sent to King Hamad, he “hailed HM the King’s firm determination and citizens’ efforts to project Bahrain’s civilized image and ensure economic, social and media dividends”.

Salah Abbas Showing Burns and Broken Neck

Well if what the King’s “police force” did to Salah Abbas is “civilised”, then there is no hope for legitimacy, judicial responsibility and accountability in Bahrain.

What they did to Salah Abbas has more in common with President Assad’s behaviour in Syria than anything else, a country whose government the Al-Khalifa’s are keen to remove.

The police officers involved in the death of Salah Abbas should be arrested immediately, charged with kidnapping, abuse and murder and prosected with the full force of the law, receiving the long sentences that the crime demands.

If not then the people of Bahrain have every right to demand the overthrow of King Hamad and his miserable self-serving family. They will never receive justice or democracy otherwise.

So far there has not been one single conviction of a police officer or security official in Bahrain following the reported deaths of as many as 80 people, a number of them while in police custody. …more

Dangerous Improvised Roadside Gag

Statement by the spokesperson of EU High Representative Catherine Ashton on the case of Mr Abdulhadi Al Khawaja

The spokesperson of Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the commission, issued the following statement today:

“The High Representative is very worried by the postponement of the hearing of Mr Abdulhadi Al Khawaja until 30 April. As stated in her Declaration on behalf of the EU on 17 April, she is deeply concerned about the deteriorating health of Mr Al Khawaja, who has been on hunger strike since the beginning of February. She notes that the postponement of Mr Al Khawaja’s judicial case by one week makes these concerns even more serious.

The High Representative once again urges the Bahraini authorities to find a rapid, pragmatic humanitarian solution to Mr. Al Khawaja’s case, as a matter of absolute urgency.” …source

Bahrain deports British journalists after Grand Prix
By Connie Agius, – 23 April, 2012- ABC News

Bahrain was hit by violent protests attempting to stop the F1 Grand Prix. Photo: Bahrain was hit by violent protests attempting to stop the F1 Grand Prix. (AFP)

Bahrain has deported a group of journalists and producers for Britain’s Channel 4 News after the controversial Formula One Grand Prix.

Bahrain’s government spent millions of dollars to host the global sporting event, hoping to show that normal life had returned to the Gulf kingdom after it cracked down on demonstrations last year.

But vivid TV images of masked youths hurling petrol bombs and police firing teargas cast a shadow over the event.

The protesters, mostly from the majority Shiite Muslim community, blame the Sunni ruling elite for shutting them out of opportunities, jobs and housing.

One protester died over the weekend in the Shiite village of Shakhura. Bahrain’s interior ministry called the death suspicious and said was under investigation.

The notion is that Formula One being brought here to Bahrain unites this nation. It’s a nonsense though because they’ve done nothing but the opposite.

The Channel 4 News crew were arrested while covering a series of protests after the completion of the race.

Britain’s foreign secretary William Hague expressed concern over the detention of the Channel 4 crew.

Bahrain’s foreign affairs minister Khalid Al Khalifa took to Twitter to say the crew had admitted to working without accreditation, that it was not acceptable, and the laws of the land should be respected.

Channel 4’s foreign affairs correspondent, Jonathan Miller, was one of those arrested.

He says the crew had been applying for accreditation for months, and had gone in as it did only because permission was repeatedly denied.

Mr Miller spent the day at the Grand Prix and then went out to the suburbs where the protests were.

“We started out thinking ‘where on Earth are the demonstrators?'” he said.

“I was saying to my driver – he’d been at the big demonstrations for the past two days and there have been people calling for democracy, tens of thousands of people on the streets – ‘where are they today of all days? This is meant to be the third of the three days of rage, where are they?'”

“[The driver] said, ‘look, they can’t get out. The police have stopped them.’ And we went to some of these neighbourhoods and we realised that the police were everywhere.

“There were armoured cars, there were police vehicles on every street corner. They were just, you know, the youths couldn’t move, they couldn’t get out of these neighbourhoods.” …more

Bahrain Grand Prix Has a Winner, and It’s Not Arab Monarchies
By Nicholas Noe & Walid Raad – 23 April, 2012 – Bloomberg

Having been relegated to the minor headlines in both the Arab and Western media, the anti-government protests in the tiny Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain finally had their moment this weekend.

With foreign journalists and other outsiders descending on the island country for Sunday’s Grand Prix race, critics of the monarchy stepped up their activities to take advantage of the audience, while government forces responded as they have all along — with a strong arm. One activist was found shot dead on a roof, raising suspicions he may have been targeted by security forces. More than 50 protestors and several policemen have been killed since anti-government protests started in February 2011 in Bahrain, which has a population of 1.2 million.

In an editorial, the London-based, Palestinian-owned Al-Quds al-Arabi wrote: “The Formula 1 race generated results that went completely against the government’s wishes.” The concurrent protests “allowed the whole world to see that Bahrain is not as stable as the government is promoting and that it features a strong opposition demanding legitimate democratic change.”

On the other hand, commentators writing for newspapers supportive of Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, as well as some other papers financed by Gulf governments, didn’t see what the big deal was. They expressed exasperation that other media, including the Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera website and TV network, had devoted so much attention to the unrest.

Writing in the Bahraini daily Akhbar al-Khaleej, columnist Muhammad Mubarak Jomaa wrote that it had become “clear that certain satellite channels had greatly escalated their campaign against Bahrain.” Their goal, he theorized, was to stop the Grand Prix race and thereby damage Bahrain. The scheme, he said, had two parts. “The first featured heated attempts to convince the participating teams and crews that taking part in the Bahrain race would be shameful.” When this failed, he wrote, there was an effort to scare off people with reports of unrest and possible violence directed against the race.

In his column, Jomaa’s editor, Anwar Abdul Rahman, went further, arguing that the “slanderous claims” in the Western and Arab media were nothing less than an “Iranian plan.” Bahrain’s opposition has pushed for greater rights for Shiites, who make up the majority of the country’s population but are ruled over by the minority Sunnis. Iran has historic ties to Bahrain and is dominated, politically and in terms of its population, by Shiites. Abdul Rahman’s piece did not explain how the Iranians would execute a plan through U.S., U.K. and Qatari media. …more

It was until Monday when Bahraini martyr Salah Al-Balladi’s family was allowed to receive the body of its son who was killed by the Bahraini security forces on the eve of Formula One race.

Bahraini Martyr’s Family Prevented from Examining Body, Faced with Bullets
24 April, 2012 – ABNA

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Speaking to the martyr’s cousin, Ali Qattan, Al-Manar website learned that this was the second martyr in the family who was killed during protests, as 16-year-old Ahmad Qattan was also killed a couple of months ago in a protest in Abu Saiba region.

“Martyr Salah was the one who carried martyr Ahmad’s body, and he was the one who washed him, dug his grave, and buried him,” Ali said, pointing out that “Salah was the first witness on the killing of Ahmad, but in Bahrain, no witness dares to present his testimony because he would be the next target… only a few days after the testimony, he will be thrown into jail.”

On Salah’s case, Ali told Al-Manar website that the family was prevented from examining the body of Salah at first. …more

Zainab al-Khawaja is in jail, arrested after peacefully sitting on the road leading to the Formula One circuit last night. Zainab’s father, Abdulhadi AlKhawaja is in the 74th day of his hunger strike in a Bahrain prison. He was sentenced to life for standing up for human rights and democracy in his country. His health has seriously deteriorated and he is not expected to last much longer…. from Huwaida Arraf

Bahrain: a Prominent Cyber Activist Faces Charges of Assault on Police
24 April, 2012 – Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights

The Public Prosecution accused Ms. Zainab Al-Khawaja “Assault on Police”. The decision made by the prosecutor to imprison Ms. Al-Khawaja for 7 days pending investigation.

Ms. Zaynab Alkhawaja – a 27 years old Cyber Activist, better known as Angryarabiya on twitter.She was arrested yesterday (April 21, 2012) after Sit in the middle of the road which leads to the Circuit Bahrain Formula One.

Ms. Alkhawaja, Was protesting against Formula One, human rights violations and demanding the release of her father, who on hunger strike since February 9, 2012.

Ms. AlKhawaja, inspired the recent mass hunger strike in Bahrain after going on hunger strike in support of her detained father and prominent human rights activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja (former MENA Coordinator with Frontline Defenders, former President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and The founder of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights). Ms. Alkhawaja continued her strike for a period of 8 days until she was pressured to end the strike by international human rights organization.Ms.Al-Khawaja was previously arrested and She reported being beaten during her arrest. …source

Formula 1 teams criticise media for ‘politicising’ Bahrain Grand Prix
By Jonathan Noble – 24 April, 2012 – autosport.com

Sakhir paddock Formula 1 team bosses have hit out at the way the sport was turned into a political battleground over the Bahrain Grand Prix, on the back of the media storm that erupted around the event.

With the Sakhir race becoming into headline news, and various politicians stepping in to call for it to be cancelled, several team bosses say they are unhappy about the way the situation was portrayed outside the paddock.

Lotus team principal Eric Boullier told AUTOSPORT: “I should not say it, but the media did not do for me what they should have done.

“There are various issues, which are up to the country to fix. But there are issues in every country, even in England, France and other European countries, and the over-dramatisation was definitely wrong.

“F1 is a sport and should be seen as a sport. We also know that it is very important for Bahrain to have this event, it is their biggest event of the year, and F1 should not be used as a political tool.”

When asked if the negative coverage could be a turn-off for potential sponsors, Boullier said: “It is their choice, but politics is never good to mix with sport.

“We have enough inside our paddock. We don’t need to bring what is going on outside in, and that is what the media did. The media brought the external politics inside the paddock and that is not good.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said his outfit did not spend much time worrying about how the event was being reported. But he feels that F1 should not have been forced into the political arena. …more

Ruling despots shot themselves in the foot.

Grand Prix State Terror
by Stephen Lendman – OpEdNews – 24 April, 2012

Perhaps Bahrain April 22 was a first. Imagine a sporting event featuring state-sponsored terror and blood in the streets.

Imagine one with race drivers and event organizers mindless of raging crimes against humanity nearby.

Hollywood script writers wouldn’t touch it. Producers wouldn’t let them. The atmosphere was surreal. Attendance was sparse. A normally full grandstand was half empty. It’s a wonder anyone came.

Observers said more security forces than spectators showed up. Most teams, drivers, mechanics, engineers, and other personnel preferred to stay home. Nonetheless, they came.

Formula 1’s reputation was tarnished. Instead of pulling out, it went ahead anyway. Although favorite Sebastian Vettel took the checkered flag, no one won the contest. It was more travesty than sporting event.

The Al Khalifa monarchy’s media strategy backfired. Instead of burnishing Bahrain’s image, journalists focused more on rage against injustice, blood in the streets, police state violence, security forces and armored vehicles surrounding the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), and clouds of black smoke rising nearby.

Even though the heavily guarded venue let the race come off without incident, Bahraini protesters won on Sunday. Millions watched worldwide. Social media spread the word.

So did journalists courageous enough to explain. Even The New York Times got some of it right. It quoted activists saying they were protesting for democratic change.

It mentioned human rights leader Abdulhadi Alkhawaja’s “hunger strike for over two months.” It’s now two and a half months and counting, but how much longer can he hold on?

It also reported protest leader Salah Abbas Habib’s death by “gunshot wounds” without mentioning his name. It cited opposition groups blaming police. It explained that “antigovernment protesters have been demonstratin. …more

Bahrain: Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja denied justice again as ruling on re-hearing postponed for second time in a month Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja on hunger strike for 75 days

PRESS RELEASE – Front Line Defenders – 23 April, 2012

On the 75th Day of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja’s hunger strike in Bahrain, the Court of Cassation has postponed ruling on the appeal of Abdulhadi and his 13 co-defendants, for the second time in a month.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On the 75th Day of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja’s hunger strike in Bahrain, the Court of Cassation has postponed ruling the appeal of Abdulhadi and his 13 co-defendants, for the second time in a month. Despite assurances from the Bahraini Government following the issuing of the Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) in November that all trials conducted by the National Safety Court would be reviewed, Abdulhadi’s case reveals the Government’s strategy to keep delaying this high-profile case.

Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja was tried by the National Safety Court of Bahrain, established after the suspension of the Constitution in March 2011. Abdulhadi’s trial was observed by Front Line Defenders and other international legal observers, and was found to be patently unfair and failed to live up to international fair trial standards. This determination was later confirmed by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, which was appointed by the King and which found “[I]t is clear that the National Safety Decree, as implemented by the Military Attorney General, overtook the national system of justice. A pattern of due process violations occurred at the pre-trial and trial levels that denied most defendants elementary fair trial procedures.”

Following the BICI Report, which was accepted in full by the Bahraini Government, the Bahraini Government gave assurances that all recommendations of the BICI report would be implemented, including the review of unfair trials. At the last hearing, the Court of Cassation refused to allow the BICI report to be entered into evidence as part of the appeal by Abdulhadi’s defence lawyer.

Front Line Defenders Director Mary Lawlor, who attended the brief hearing last month, said “Today’s delay exposes the Government’s determination to drag this issue out. Abdulhadi is in dire condition, imprisoned for his legitimate human rights work. We don’t know how much longer he can survive on this hunger strike, and yet the government continues to evade its own commitments.”

“With the Formula One race complete, the Bahraini Government has no more excuses for delaying justice for Abdulhadi. At the very least, his release to Denmark on humanitarian grounds should be expedited, before it is too late” said Ms Lawlor.ENDS …more

Truth Revealed
With continuing reports of atrocities and murders in El Salvador, the U.S. Congress no longer accepted the State Department’s assurance that things were getting better. Speaker of the House Tom Foley created a special task force to monitor El Salvador’s investigation of the murders. Congressman Joe Moakley of Massachusetts was selected to head up the investigation. During his research and visits to El Salvador, Congressman Moakley encountered a massive cover-up, deep problems with the Salvadoran armed forces, conspiracy and lies, which led him to challenge U.S. policy. He discovered that from a very high level, the armed forces of El Salvador had been responsible for the murders of the Jesuits. His investigation also led to the conclusion that certain levels of the U.S. government had known about the situation long before the task force was created.

El Salvador: Civil War

Not long after the 1980 assassination of Archbishop Romero, peaceful rallies turned violent as police opened fire on the crowds. News footage of unarmed demonstrators being gunned down on the steps of the National Cathedral turned the eyes of the world to El Salvador, a tiny country in conflict.

The desire to prevent the kind of leftist takeover seen in Cuba and Nicaragua motivated the United States to get involved. Human rights – a cornerstone of President Carter’s foreign policy – also propelled the U.S. to action. Not only the general level of violence, but also the murders of American citizens affected U.S. relations with El Salvador. In December 1980, four American churchwomen were raped and murdered. The U.S. responded by cutting off aid to El Salvador, but only very briefly, pending an investigation. Then, in 1981, two American land reform advisers were gunned down in the Sheraton Hotel in San Salvador. The U.S. Congress subsequently decided to disburse aid only as improvements in the Salvadoran human rights situation became evident.

Guerillas Unite
Simultaneously, the opposition strategy of the Salvadoran left was coalescing. In 1981, leftist parties organized with guerrilla groups to coordinate their efforts against the government, uniting to form the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (Frente Farabundo Marti de Liberacion or FMLN). Their counter offensive began in January 1981. Though the FMLN offensive failed on several fronts, they retained certain military strongholds and helped to focus international attention on El Salvador. In August 1981, France and Mexico formally recognized the FMLN as a “representative political force” and called for a negotiated settlement between the warring factions.

The 1980 election of Ronald Reagan as President of the United States changed American policy in El Salvador dramatically. The new U.S. administration worried about Communist expansion in Central America and viewed the El Salvador military government as a potential barrier against Communism. The Reagan administration substantially increased both military and economic aid to El Salvador. …more

REFILE-Bahrain race shows flip side of sponsorship
By Keith Weir – 23 April, 2012

LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) – Sponsors ploughing money into Formula One have been left squirming after the motor sport’s rulers ignored human rights concerns and staged a race in Bahrain watched by hundreds of millions around the globe.

Blue chip companies whose names adorn the high-speed cars distanced themselves from the event, saying they did not entertain clients at the Bahrain International Circuit and that the decision to race on Sunday was not theirs.

Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone put a positive spin on a race that drew widespread condemnation from abroad and became a focal point for anti-government protests on the Gulf island.

“You know what they say – there is no such thing as bad publicity,” said Ecclestone, the sport’s 81-year-old ringmaster who has expanded it from its European base to more lucrative but politically-charged venues in faster growing economies.

Not everyone takes such a sanguine view.

A group of British politicians warned sponsors they risked harming their brands by association with the race, held against a backdrop of protests aimed at the ruling Al Khalifa family.

“Based on what we have seen in the past, it is going to do damage to their reputations,” said Chris Avery, board chair of Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.

“It’s hard to put a monetary value on that. Each of them has to decide whether this association with Formula One is worth the damage it is doing,” added Avery, whose organisation encourages companies to respect human rights. …more

editor: This Al Jazeera story demonstrates not only the incredible ignorance of the “journalist” sent to cover Bahrain, but it is a indictment of Al Jazeera betrayal of ethics in journalism. So goes the moral stain of throwing in with New York liberals owned by the DNC(Democratic National Committee). Al Jazeera as of late, since they jumped into the pool of these Western Media liberals, has engaged in what seems to be a convolution of the story of Bahrain. Here the journalist on assignment implies there is some question if the volatile political situation in Bahrain was made for show or if it even existed at all prior to the F1.

Al Jazeera’s lapse of integrity is either editorial cowardice or at best, gross incompetence of it’s editorial staff. It is absolutely dumbfounding that Al Jazeera’s report would even to begin to spin doubt on the intensity of the ceaseless conflict, regime murders, torture and gassing of innocents as they lay sleeping in their villages. Al Jazerra once reported such things and was instrumental in bringing the crisis in Bahrain to the world last February and March. No suddenly it has amnesia? Clearly they have turned away from effective journalism or have lapsed into an editorial disarray that has robbed them of integrity or the are complicit with the Western Media objective of the DNC and Obama administration. Phlipn.