Iran and Qatar working with Rothschilds to destabilize Bahrain via "Smart Mobs"

[Catalina]

Video - Drive by Murder in Sitra - Mar. 16, 2011

They are massacring peaceful protesters.  The SUVs barely slow down.  This is likely the advice of the Saudi royal family.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDKruSCu0xE&feature=player_embedded


Bahrain police shooting at independent cameraman filming and reporting

2:00 min mark http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QjoEMKJCc8&feature=related


USA gives green light for Saudi army to slaughter Bahraini protesters after Robert Gates visit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx5brAqGyL8&feature=related

Addressing lawmakers in the open session of the Majlis on Tuesday, Ali Larijani cited US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' recent visit to Bahrain as Washington's green light to the slaughter of Bahraini protesters, saying the visit further exposed double-standard policies of the US and Europe towards developments in the Persian Gulf state.

Larijani's comments came after Saudi Arabia announced that its military deployment in neighboring Bahrain was aimed at quelling escalating anti-government protests at the request of the Bahraini government.

A Saudi official said Monday that more than 1,000 troops, part of the Persian Gulf countries' Peninsula Shield Force, had entered Bahrain.

The top Majlis official said that the deployment of military forces in volatile countries with the aim of suppressing popular revolutions constitutes a real threat to their "glass palaces".

Bahrain's government is continuing its military crackdown against protesters that demand the downfall of decades-old regime of al-Khalifah family.

"It is crystal clear that this aggressive action was carried out with the support of US and in the wake of Gates' trip to the country, and regional nations reserve the right to hold the US accountable for any violence or massacre committed [ in their countries ] to this moment," IRNA quoted Larijani as saying.

The Iranian Majlis speaker further added that the US concern about revolutions in North Africa and Middle East regions fly in the face of their claims and supports for promotion of democracy.

"With the guidance and support of US, some regional countries (mercenaries) obey [Washington's] orders; therefore, these states should prepare themselves for reactions of nations," he further added.

The veteran Iranian politician compared the current massacre of Libyan protesters by embattled ruler Muammar Gaddafi's loyalists to similar intifada in Iraq during which Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein slaughtered thousands of Iraqis after Washington gave him the green light.

Latest reports from crisis-hit Libya indicate that thousands may have been killed or injured in the North African country as fierce government crackdown on the opposition escalates.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/170041.html


30+ Bahrain protesters collapse on the spot after toxic nerve gas fired at them

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ywfiemiLvE&feature=related


Bahrain police destroying property to make out it was done by protesters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxeXtFv0xGY&feature=related

These are the controversial satellite photos that set off the protests in Bahrain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLw3qz_zuWk&feature=related

[Catalina]

EMERGENCY Bahraini doctor pleads for help too many casualties to count hospitals can't cope

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhnjpSJhInY&feature=related


Bahrain: Royal Family orders Army to shoot unarmed civilians

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mvaNWvFmr4&feature=related&skipcontrinter=1


Protester Shot At Point Blank Range By Bahrain Police

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9W_-0uGN1E&feature=player_embedded

[bigron]

Catalina !    Great stuff..........Thanks......

I am waiting to see if the UN Security Council will also apply a "NO FLY"  in Bahrain
as it did in Libya last night !!!!!









 

[bigron]

Saudi-backed Crackdown in Bahrain Bxposes U.S. Hypocrisy


By Michael Hughes

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27702.htm

March 17, 2011 "Examiner" --  Although U.S. officials condemned Bahrain’s use of deadly force against unarmed protestors on Wednesday, experts say the Obama administration is reticent to support the people because the Bahraini monarchy best serves U.S. regional interests. Critics accuse the U.S. of employing a double-standard – reluctant to oust the monarchy in Bahrain but more than willing to encourage Libyans to topple Moammar Gaddafi.
The U.S. is also hesitant to criticize Sunni ally Saudi Arabia, which invaded Bahrain on Tuesday at the request of Bahrain’s Sunni royal family to quell Shiite protests. Mideast expert Pepe Escobar of the Asia Times can kick a door open in one’s mind with his perspectives on these events, as he did yesterday:

Let's imagine that neo-Napoleonic French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio "Bunga Bunga" Berlusconi decided to send North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops to help not the Libyan rebels but Muammar "King of Kings" Gaddafi to protect his "sensitive installations". After all, as Gaddafi assured the world, these rebels are "terrorists".

That's exactly what happened with the House of Saud sending armored carriers, tanks and 1,000 troops - part of "Peninsula Shield" forces - to Bahrain to repress an unarmed, civilian, domestic opposition (al-Qaeda or Iran "terrorists", take your pick) demanding political reform.

John Kerry said about the Libyan crisis that, "The US and world community must show they will not stand by while this thug Gaddafi uses air power to murder fellow Libyans.” But why are Kerry and the world community willing to stand by as Bahrain’s al-Khalifa family and the Saudis do the same? Escobar provides another mind-bending analogy:

Imagine the outrage in the "international community" - and the calls to start carpet-bombing right away - if this was Iran invading Lebanon.

The U.S. fears it will lose its naval base in Bahrain should the government come under the control of Shiites – who, despite making up 70% of Bahrain’s population, have lived under the thumb of Sunni royals for over 200 years. And such a move would tip the regional balance of power towards the Shiite Iranians.

Many believe Tehran is behind the current agitation and has future plans to install its own puppet government. Not only will the Iranians get rid of the U.S. 5th fleet if this should materailize, but they will then hold a strategic point near the straits of Hormuz where 20% of the U.S oil supply passes.

The defect in the Iranian bogeyman theory was highlighted by Defense Secretary Robert Gates a few days ago when he disclosed that the U.S. and its allies lack sufficient proof to substantiate claims of Iranian subversion. Gates told reporters:

“I expressed the view that we had no evidence that suggested that Iran started any of these popular revolutions or demonstrations across the region.”

Less definitive proof, it would be hard to justify supporting the repressive monarchy based on U.S. suspicion of Iranian covert shenanigans.

For those who refuse to believe the Bahraini movement is a legitimate peaceful struggle for democracy, look at the “tweets” of Bahraini citizens that capture the brutality of the crackdowns and reports from journalists on the ground, which have painted an image of repression not unlike what was seen in Tahrir Square in Cairo.

The West’s hankering for a military incursion into Libya has established a precedent of the worst sort, because it provides justification for the Saudis to do things like invade Bahrain, although they don’t have to explain anything to the U.S.

MORE

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27702.htm

[bigron]

Bahrainis hold Friday rally amid ban

Fri Mar 18, 2011 11:12AM

Several thousand of Bahraini anti-government protesters thronged the streets of the town of Draz after Friday prayers, despite a government ban on demonstrations.


This comes following announced plans the Bahraini protesters to take to the streets after Friday prayers to call for the ouster of Al Khalifa dynasty.

The protesters also plan to voice their outrage over the Saudi invasion of their country and their participation in the brutal suppression of peaceful anti-government rallies.

MORE

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/170548.html

[bigron]

America Blows It on Bahrain

Thanks to its U.S.-friendly dictator, the Bahraini government even threw a big Christmas party for American military personnel, bringing in Santa Claus riding on a camel.


By Stephen Zunes, Foreign Policy in Focus
Posted on March 15, 2011, Printed on March 18, 2011
http://www.alternet.org/story/150241/

Editor's note: On March 15, Bahraini King Hamad, declared a state of emergency and imposed martial law to quell weeks of protests. Meanwhile, over the objections of Washington, forces from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates entered Bahrain to help prop up the beleaguered ruling al-Khalifa family.

The Obama administration’s continued support of the autocratic monarchy in Bahrain, in the face of massive pro-democracy demonstrators, once again puts the United States behind the curve of the new political realities in the Middle East. For more than two weeks, a nonviolent sit-in and encampment by tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters has occupied the Pearl Roundabout. This traffic circle in Bahrain’s capital city of Manama -- like Tahrir Square in Cairo -- has long been the symbolic center of the city and, by extension, the center of the country. Though these demonstrations and scores of others across the country have been overwhelmingly nonviolent, they have been met by severe repression by the U.S.-backed monarchy.

Understanding the pro-democracy struggle unfolding in this tiny island nation requires putting into context the country’s unique history, demographics, and its historically close relations to the United States.

Though Bahrain has a long and rich history, the modern state did not receive full independence from Great Britain until 1971. This is the same year the British withdrew their security commitments from the area and the United States stepped in as the major foreign power. Bahrain is the smallest country in the Middle East, located on an island of only 290 square miles (smaller in area than New York City) in the Persian Gulf between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Its population is only 1.2 million (smaller than San Antonio, Texas). More than half of that total consists of foreign guest workers, primarily from India and other South Asian countries. The small size of the country belies its perceived importance by the U.S. government.

The Ties that Bind

The fortress-like U.S. embassy in Manama is probably the largest embassy relative to the population of the host country of any in the world. The U.S. military in Bahrain, which directs the Fifth Fleet and the U.S. Naval Central Command, controls roughly one-fifth of this small nation, making the southern part of the island essentially off-limits to Bahrainis. For more than 20 years, approximately 1,500 Americans have been stationed at the base (which the U.S. government refers to as a “forward operations center”), supporting operations and serving as homeport for an additional 15,000 sailors. As University of California–Irvine Professor Mark LeVine describes it, “If the United States is Egypt's primary patron, in Bahrain it is among the ruling family's biggest tenants.” Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral William Crowe once told me in an interview that Bahrain was “pound for pound, man for man, the best ally the United States has anywhere in the world.”

Unlike in other Gulf states, where Americans have traditionally kept a low profile, the U.S. presence is quite visible in Bahrain as a major port of call for sailors on leave. Just prior to my last visit, the government threw a big Christmas party for American military personnel, even bringing in Santa Claus riding on a camel. This is made possible thanks to its U.S.-friendly dictator, King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa. The prime minister is Prince Khalifa ibn Salman Al Khalifa, the king’s uncle and reputedly the richest man in the Bahrain, who has governed for nearly 40 years. Both are firmly committed to a close strategic alliance with the United States. And close economic ties as well.

Indeed, economic interests also draw the two nations together. Bahrain was the first Arab country to produce oil back in 1932. Standard Oil of California (now Chevron), later joined by Texaco, succeeded in controlling the country’s oil industry through ownership of the Bahrain Petroleum Company, until the Bahraini government purchased the company in 1980. In 2005, Bahrain became the first Persian Gulf state to sign a free trade agreement with the United States. The government has embarked upon a massive privatization program in recent years--selling banks, financial services, telecommunication, and other public assets to private interests. The Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal Index of Economic Freedom ranks Bahrain as having the “freest” economy in the Middle East and the tenth “freest” in the world.

Repression

Most Bahrainis are not happy with such policies. But Bahrain’s political system doesn’t allow them to do much about it. Even the State Department acknowledges that the Bahraini government "restricts civil liberties, freedoms of press, speech, assembly, association, and some religious practices."

As far back as the 1990s, Bahraini officials with whom I met were beginning to sense that greater attention needed to be paid to human rights and economic justice. At that time, the United States did not appear to push them in that direction. “An overemphasis on profitability for corporations at the expense of other more basic concerns could lead to political instability,” said Mohammed Ali Fakhro, Bahrain’s minister of education, in all-too prescient remarks. “If there is going to be stability, there needs to be greater fairness in the distribution of wealth, both between the North and the South, but also within countries, including the United States.” He, and other Bahraini officials I interviewed at that time, stressed that the United States needed to be more consistent with its professed concerns about human rights, that American policymakers often compromised on these principles when they conflicted with short-term interests. Democratization is sweeping the world, they observed, including in the Middle East. In their view, it would be in the interest of regional stability for the United States to play a role as catalyst of change rather than simply as an armed power.

The 1990s saw periodic and widespread protests throughout Bahrain, including scattered acts of violence, against the authoritarian Sheik Issa. When Issa died in 1999, his son and successor King Hamad announced a series of major reforms. Approval of the National Action Charter of Bahrain, codified in a 2001 referendum, ended more than seven years of protests against the regime. While Bahrainis did enjoy a somewhat more liberal social and political environment under their new ruler, most promised reforms never materialized. For example, the charter allowed for the establishment of an elected lower house of parliament, but it has remained largely powerless. The upper house -- appointed by the king – must approve any legislation passed by the lower house. Furthermore, the king can still veto any legislation with no option of override and can abolish the entire parliament at will. All of the important cabinet posts -- and majority of the cabinet posts overall -- are filled by members of the royal family.

While Bahrain permits greater freedom of speech than in many neighboring countries, criticism of the royal family -- which applies to the government and most of its ministries -- is significantly restricted. Similarly, laws against fomenting “sectarianism” have been broadly applied. This comes as no surprise, given that the royal family is Sunni and most opposition groups are based in the majority Shia community.

Several political forces boycotted the October 2010 parliamentary elections, including the main opposition party Haq Movement for Liberty and Democracy (which includes both Shia and Sunni leadership) as well as the Wafa Party, the Bahrain Freedom Movement, the Khalas Movement, and the Islamic Action Society. Just prior to the vote, the authorities arrested a number of opposition leaders after they raised concerns about human rights abuses.

A Popular Progressive Tradition

The authoritarianism of the Bahraini government contrasts with the island’s relatively progressive and pluralistic tradition. Despite many years under monarchies and empires, Bahrainis have long embraced a tradition of freedom and social justice. During most of the 10th and 11th centuries, an Islamic sect known as the Qarmatians governed the island and created a radically egalitarian society based on reason and the equal distribution of all wealth and property among the adherents. In the 19th century, Bahrain was the largest trading center in the entire Gulf region -- with Arab, Persian, Indian, and other influences -- reinforcing traditions of cosmopolitanism, tolerance, and pluralism.

A visit to Manama today reveals not only Sunni and Shia mosques, but Christian churches, Hindu and Sikh temples, and a Jewish synagogue. Bahrain was the first Arab country in the Gulf to provide formal modern education to women. With an economy traditionally based on fishing, pearl diving, and trade -- and with too little land for much grazing or fresh water for farming -- Bahrain has been a largely urban society for centuries, even prior to the discovery of oil. Thus, it has never been subjected to the kind of parochial tribalism of other Arabian countries. Furthermore, unlike the other oil-rich sheikdoms of the Gulf region, the diverse sources of its wealth have led to the establishment of an indigenous middle class.

Though an island, Bahrain is accessible by road. A 16-mile causeway connects it to Saudi Arabia. Indeed, Bahrain’s relatively liberal social mores have made it a residence of choice for Saudis who wish to live in a less restrictive environment. It’s also become a popular weekend destination for Saudis who want to party.

Although Bahrain’s oil supplies are running out, it still serves as a major refinery center. It still has plenty of natural gas reserves and has become a major financial center. Ship repair, aluminum refining, and light manufacturing have also helped diversify the economy. With an annual per capita income of $26,000 (similar to Greece), low unemployment, a literacy rate over 90 percent, and an average life expectancy and infant mortality rate comparable to some European countries, it is one of the better-off nations in the Middle East. Still, impressive social and economic statistics are no substitute for political freedom, particularly when combined with ongoing discrimination against the Shia majority


MUCH MORE

http://www.alternet.org/story/150241/america_blows_it_on_bahrain?akid=6680.127567.Ttpc01&rd=1&t=27

[shipgeek]

Bigron - you should stop spreading these false news and lies about Bahrain.

You are a champion of Internet cut and paste.

Other than that what you are posting has got nothing to do with the reality of the situation there.

[agentbluescreen]

Bigron - you should stop spreading these false news and lies about Bahrain.

You are a champion of Internet cut and paste.

Other than that what you are posting has got nothing to do with the reality of the situation there.

And what else on earth would you suggest that this so-called "reality" you speak of is?

The noble criminal imperial kleptocrat Big Oil dictatorship there are murdering innocent nonviolent political civilian protestors (and most likely even not) wholesale in the streets.

What's the big secret you know that we don't?

[bigron]

On March 16  I   made following comment for sheepgeek   which is self explanatory :

Quote

shipgeek !   Good Afternoon !

With ALL DUE RESPECT

Your message is loud and clear.........you are "A Loyalist"

You overwhelmly support  both  Bahreini & Saudi Arabian  CIA FUNDED TOTALITARIAN DICTATORSHIPS !!

I have not been in Bahrain as you have so I cannot say I have first hand experience as you do.

My humble experience with CIA FUNDED TOTALITARIAN DICTATOSHIPS is that I have lived over

25 years in countries governed by such REGIMES, namely Argentina and Brazil and extensively visited

Chile and Uruguay during their years of CIA DICTATORSHIPS.......

Unquote

[bigron]

Bahrain Regime Demolishes Key Monument to Spite Protesters

Once Symbol of International Ties, Pearl Monument Became Symbol for Protesters

by Jason Ditz, March 18, 2011

Having cleared the Pearl Roundabout of protesters, the Bahrain regime Friday destroyed the centerpiece, the Pearl Monument, in what appears to be an effort to spite the protesters and deny them a key symbol for their movement.

MORE

http://news.antiwar.com/2011/03/18/bahrain-regime-demolishes-key-monument-to-spite-protesters/

[bigron]

HRW: Bahrain detains doctors, activists

Mon Mar 21, 2011 6:43AM

Saudi and Bahraini troops are seen guarding one of the entrances of Salmaniya Hospital in Manama March 18.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Bahraini regime to end its crackdown on medical staff and human rights activists that speak out against government abuses.


“Bahrain should end its campaign of arrests of doctors and human rights activists,” HRW said in a statement released on Monday.

The human rights group said that “masked” security forces detained several doctors and rights activists on March 19-20.

After a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters on Wednesday, the Bahraini regime widened pressure on political and human rights advocates as well as doctors and social workers under the pretext of an emergency rule declared by Bahrain's rulers.

More than 13 people have been killed and about 1,000 injured since the start of the anti-government protests demanding the ouster of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa from the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom in mid-February.

Human Rights Watch also voiced concern “about the whereabouts of those doctors and rights advocates still in detention.”

MORE

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171003.html

[bigron]

Secret Bahrain-KSA deal exposed

Sun Mar 20, 2011 7:4PM

A demonstrator protests the Saudi invasion of Bahrain in the Iranian capital, Tehran on March 17, 2011.


Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have reportedly struck a secret deal, which would compel each side to protect the other's political interests.


The deal was signed during Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa's visit to Saudi Arabia last month, the Iraqi news website, Nahrain-Net reported.

Based on the accord, the Bahraini monarch should confer with Saudi King Abdullah on political, military and security affairs as well as issues related to Manama's foreign policy.

It also allows Riyadh to set up autonomous and permanent military bases in Bahrain.

The deal enabled Saudi Arabia's recent invasion of Bahrain in support of Manama's suppression of the popular revolution, the website said.

MORE

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/170955.html

[bigron]

Bahrain: Western Complicity in Saudi-Backed War Crimes

Civilian Killings, Disappearances, Torture, Chemical Warfare and Organ Theft...

By Finian Cunningham
 
Global Research, April 6, 2011

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24181

Claims of Civilian Killings, Disappearances, Torture, Chemical Warfare Agents and Organ Theft From Victims of State Violence

When Saudi-led military forces intervened in Bahrain on March 14, it was declared by the Bahraini government and its allies among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates that the unprecedented move was a matter of urgency, needed to “restore order and stability” to the tiny Persian Gulf island kingdom. An arcane GCC defence pact was invoked – the Arabian Peninsula Shield – even though legal experts pointed out that such a provision was only applicable in the event of one of the six Gulf states coming under attack from an external enemy.

Three weeks later, the real nature of the Saudi-led intervention is becoming brutally clear. It can now be seen as an invasion that has led to foreign occupation, lawlessness and several categories of crimes against humanity committed by the very forces purported to bring order. In one sense, the rhetorical justification for invoking the Peninsula Shield force, “to restore order and stability”, is literally correct. The aim was to restore the order and stability of the US-backed Al Khalifa Sunni dictatorship that had sat perilously on top of an oppressed Shia majority for decades. On February 14, the Shia majority (60-70 per cent of the indigenous population) along with disenfranchised Sunni and non-religionists from working class communities rose up in numbers that had never been seen before. Inspired by revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab region, Bahrain’s surging pro-democracy movement rocked the royal rulers.

Bahrain’s indigenous population is estimated at 700,000. Official figures are hard to come by because of the demographic sensitivity of the island’s Sunni ruling elite. So when daily demonstrations of up 200,000-300,000 people were flooding main roads and highways, temporarily disabling government institutions and centres of commerce – and with crowds shouting with increasing boldness “Down, down [King] Hamad” – there was a palpable sense that the regime was facing a serious existential threat. No matter that the protest movement was based on peaceful civil disobedience, the threat to the status quo had reached an unbearable threshold, from the point of view of the regime and its regional and Western backers.

During the four weeks of democracy-euphoria sweeping Bahrain, the Gulf leaders were in constant communication under the aegis of the GCC with its headquarters in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Even when Bahrain’s rulers ordered a massacre of seven civilians during the first week of protests, the foreign ministers of the GCC defied an international outcry and rallied in staunch support of their ally in Manama. Evidently, the shaky foundations of the House of Al Khalifa were undermining the House of Al Saud and the other sheikhdoms of the Gulf, as witnessed by the beginnings of civil unrest in Saudi’s oil-rich Eastern Province and Oman. If Bahrain were to succumb to democracy, as its people were demanding, the domino effect on the rigid, autocratic power structure across the Gulf would have revolutionary repercussions.

Enter the US and Britain

MORE

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24181


 

[shipgeek]

More NWO propaganda. A pack of lies.

The problem here is that people believe it's the truth.

 

[bigron]

   
 

US-backed Bahrain Regime Tortures, Murders Critics

By David Walsh

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27884.htm

April 13, 2011 "WSWS" -- The regime of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Bahrain, which the Obama administration backs to the hilt, is continuing its violent repression of political opposition. The Khalifa regime imposed a state of emergency, after its security forces, backed by troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, violently cleared protesters from Pearl Square in Manama, the kingdom’s capital, on March 16.

More than 400 people have been arrested, including human rights activists, doctors, bloggers and oppositionists. Twenty-seven political opponents and protesters are officially reported dead and dozens are missing. A leading newspaper has been shut down and its editors and reporters threatened with imprisonment.

Two Shiite activists have been murdered in prison, according to human rights organizations and the families of the victims. The Bahraini interior ministry claimed that Ali Issa Saqer, 31, died when guards tried to restrain him for “causing chaos.” According to news reports, however, Saqer’s corpse showed telltale signs of torture and abuse.

The BBC reports that “Photos taken before his burial showed criss-cross purple lash marks all over his [Saqer’s] back. His legs were also badly bruised, and his toes and feet were covered in purple bruises.

“There was a big bruise on the left side of his head and possible burn marks on his ankles and wrists, said Daniel Williams, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch (HRW), who viewed the body as it was being prepared for burial.

“‘This looked much worse than anything I've seen,’ Mr Williams said, referring to other cases in Bahrain of apparent lash marks seen on the backs of people detained at checkpoints.”

Zakaraya Rashed Hassan, 40, was “found dead” in a jail cell, according to Bahrain’s officials. An official postmortem alleged he died of complications from sickle-cell anemia. Hassan’s family dismissed the claim. The victim was detained April 2 on charges of “inciting hatred, publishing false news, promoting sectarianism and calling for the overthrow of the regime” on social networking sites.

Williams of Human Rights Watch told the BBC, “It is extremely scary that in all three cases of the deaths last week, the families only heard about their loved ones when they were [already] dead.”

Nabeel Rajab of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights told the media, “We believe they [the authorities] killed them in prison.” In retaliation, Bahrain’s government turned around and accused Rajab of fabricating images and publishing them on the Internet; he was called in for questioning, in an effort to intimidate anyone considering further exposure of the government’s crimes.

Rajab told the Guardian, “They want to do their crimes in secret. … I am one of the few human rights activists who has not yet been arrested and the government wants to silence me and prevent me from doing my work.”

Bahrain’s public prosecutor is also questioning three senior journalists, fired from the kingdom’s only opposition newspaper, Al-Wasat (“The Center”), over accusations they falsified news about the regime’s mistreatment of detainees. The newspaper was suspended April 2, but allowed to resume publishing the next day, after the journalists “resigned.” The three allege they were set up by the government as part of a disinformation campaign.

Zainab Alkhawaja, the daughter of another prominent human rights activist, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, launched a hunger strike April 11 to protest the beating and arrest of her father, along with the detention of her husband, brother-in-law and uncle.

Alkhawaja alleges that masked men burst into her family’s home and beat her father unconscious before the eyes of his family. She posted an angry open letter to President Barack Obama on her blog Monday.

Describing the arrest, she writes that her father never “raised a hand to resist” his assailants, “and the only words he said were ‘I can't breathe’. Even after he was unconscious the masked men kept kicking and beating him while cursing and saying that they were going to kill him. This is a very real threat considering that in the past two weeks alone three political prisoners have died in custody. The special forces also beat up and arrested my husband and brother-in-law.”

With considerable bitterness, Zainab Alkhawaja directly addresses Obama: “When you were sworn in as president of the United States, I had high hopes. I thought: here is a person who would have never become a president if it were not for the African-American fight for civil liberties; he will understand our fight for freedom. Unfortunately, so far my hopes have been shattered. I might have misunderstood. What was it you meant Mr. President? YES WE CAN… support dictators? YES WE CAN… help oppress pro-democracy protesters? YES WE CAN… turn a blind eye to a people’s suffering? …

“I am writing this letter to let you know, that if anything happens to my father, my husband, my uncle, my brother-in-law, or to me, I hold you just as responsible as the AlKhalifa regime. Your support for this monarchy makes your government a partner in crime. I still have hope that you will realize that freedom and human rights mean as much to a Bahraini person as it does to an American, Syrian or a Libyan and that regional and political considerations should not be prioritized over liberty and human rights.”

The US remains steadfast in its support for the murderous Khalifa regime, even as Washington blathers on about “democracy” and “human rights” in Libya.

The Bahrain News Agency reported that Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander, received Gen. James N. Mattis, chief of the US Central Command, at Riffa Palace on April 6.

The Crown Prince, according to the government news agency, “hailed the US support for Bahrain’s security and stability which epitomizes strong ties bonding the two friendly countries. He also stressed the kingdom’s keenness to further promote bilateral relations and cooperation mainly in the military and defence field. … Both sides also reviewed regional developments and the need to safeguard regional security and stability.” US Deputy Chief of Mission Stephanie Williams also attended the meeting.

A Washington Post editorial chastised the Obama administration Monday for its silence on the Bahrain crackdown. The Post notes that while the US is intervening in Libya and has been vocal about government violence in Syria, “the president and his administration remain mostly silent about another ugly campaign of repression underway in the Arab world, in the Persian Gulf emirate of Bahrain. The reason is easy to understand: Bahrain hosts an important U.S. naval base, and the wave of arrests, extrajudicial killings and media censorship has been strongly supported—if not ordered—by neighboring Saudi Arabia.”

The blatant double standard, the newspaper asserts, is “counterproductive” and likely to come back to haunt the US. The Post advises the White House to pressure officials in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and—perhaps most importantly from the point of view of public relations—let “the rest of the region know where it stands.”
 
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27884.htm

[bigron]

U.S.-Backed Bloodshed Stains Bahrain’s Arab Spring

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/us-backed_bloodshed_stains_bahrains_arab_spring_201104121/


Posted on Apr 12, 2011
By Amy Goodman

Three days after Hosni Mubarak resigned as the long-standing dictator in Egypt, people in the small Gulf state of Bahrain took to the streets, marching to their version of Tahrir, Pearl Square, in the capital city of Manama. Bahrain has been ruled by the same family, the House of Khalifa, since the 1780s—more than 220 years. Bahrainis were not demanding an end to the monarchy, but for more representation in their government.

One month into the uprising, Saudi Arabia sent military and police forces over the 16-mile causeway that connects the Saudi mainland to Bahrain, an island. Since then, the protesters, the press and human-rights organizations have suffered increasingly violent repression.

One courageous young Bahraini pro-democracy activist, Zainab al-Khawaja, has seen the brutality up close. To her horror, she watched her father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, a prominent human-rights activist, be beaten and arrested. She described it to me from Manama:

“Security forces attacked my home. They came in without prior warning. They broke down the building door, and they broke down our apartment door, and instantly attacked my father, without giving him a chance to speak and without giving any reason for his arrest. They dragged my father down the stairs and started beating him in front of me. They beat him until he was unconscious. The last thing I heard my father say was that he couldn’t breathe. When I tried to intervene, when I tried to tell them, ‘Please to stop beating him. He will go with you voluntarily. You don’t need to beat him this way,’ they told me to shut up, basically, and they grabbed me ... and dragged me up the stairs back into the apartment. By the time I had gotten out of the room again, the only trace of my father was his blood on the stairs.”

Human Rights Watch has called for the immediate release of al-Khawaja. Zainab’s husband and brother-in-law also have been arrested. Tweeting as “angryarabiya,” she has commenced a water-only fast in protest. She also has written a letter to President Barack Obama: “If anything happens to my father, my husband, my uncle, my brother-in-law, or to me, I hold you just as responsible as the AlKhalifa regime. Your support for this monarchy makes your government a partner in crime. I still have hope that you will realize that freedom and human rights mean as much to a Bahraini person as it does to an American.”

Obama condemned the Gadhafi government in his speech justifying the recent military attacks in Libya, saying: “Innocent people were targeted for killing. Hospitals and ambulances were attacked. Journalists were arrested.” Now that the same things are happening in Bahrain, Obama has little to say.

As with the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, the sentiment is nationalist, not religious. The country is 70 percent Shia, ruled by the Sunni minority. Nevertheless, a central rallying cry of the protests has been “Not Shia, Not Sunni: Bahraini.” This debunks the argument used by the Bahraini government that the current regime is the best bulwark against increased influence of Iran, a Shia country, in the oil-rich Gulf. Add to that Bahrain’s strategic role: It is where the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet is based, tasked with protecting “U.S. interests” like the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal, and supporting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Surely, U.S. interests include supporting democracy over despots.

Nabeel Rajab is the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights—the organization formerly run by the recently abducted Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. Rajab is facing a possible military trial for publishing the photograph of a protester who died in custody. Rajab told me: “Hundreds of people are in jail for practicing their freedom of expression. People are tortured for expressing their freedom of expression. Thousands of people sacked from their jobs. ... And all that, because one day, a month ago, almost half of the Bahraini population came out in the street demanding democracy and respect for human rights.”

Rajab noted that democracy in Bahrain would lead to democracy in neighboring Gulf dictatorships, especially Saudi Arabia, so most regional governments have a stake in crushing the protests. Saudi Arabia is well-positioned for the task, as the recent beneficiary of the largest arms deal in U.S. history. Despite the threats, Rajab was resolute: “As far as I’m breathing, as far as I’m alive, I am going to continue. I believe in change. I believe in democracy. I believe in human rights. I’m willing to give my life. I’m willing to give anything to achieve this goal.”
 
Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column.
 
Amy Goodman is the host of “Democracy Now!,” a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 900 stations in North America. She is the author of “Breaking the Sound Barrier,” recently released in paperback and now a New York Times best-seller.
  © 2011 Amy Goodman

Distributed by King Features Syndicate

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/us-backed_bloodshed_stains_bahrains_arab_spring_201104121/

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Is Al Jazeera turning a blind eye to Bahrain?

By Reuters
April 14, 2011 @ 8:34 am
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/04/14/is-aljazeera-turning-a-blind-eye-to-bahrain/

DUBAI (Reuters) - Pan-Arab broadcasters who played a key role reporting Arab uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt are helping dynastic rulers police the gates of the Gulf to stop the revolts from spreading on their patch, analysts say.

Qatar-based Al Jazeera, the leading Arabic language network, was pivotal in keeping up momentum during protests that toppled Zine al-Abdine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak, both entrenched rulers who were no friends of Qatar's ruling Al Thani dynasty.

When Al Jazeera's cameras turned to Yemen, it was as though its guns were trained on the next target in an uprising longtime Arab leaders were convinced was of the channel's making.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose impoverished country of 23 million is not a member of the affluent Gulf Arab club, accused Al Jazeera of running an "operations room to burn the Arab nation." His government has revoked the Al Jazeera correspondents' licenses over its coverage in Yemen.

For viewers watching protests spread across the region, the excitement stopped abruptly in Bahrain. Scant coverage was given to protests in the Gulf Cooperation Council member and to the ensuing crackdown by its Sunni rulers, who called in Saudi and Emirati troops in March under a regional defense pact.

Protests in Oman and Saudi Arabia have also received scant attention in recent months.

"Bahrain does not exist as far as Al Jazeera is concerned, and they have avoided inviting Bahraini or Omani or Saudi critics of those regimes," said As'ad AbuKhalil, politics professor at California State University.

"Most glaringly, Al Jazeera does not allow one view that is critical of Bahraini repression to appear on the air. The GCC has closed ranks and Qatar may be rewarded with the coveted post of secretary-general of the Arab League."

Despite a wealth of material, there were no stirring montages featuring comments by protesters or scenes of violence against activists in Bahrain. Al Jazeera has produced such segments to accompany Egyptian and Tunisian coverage.

The threat posed by Bahrain's protests was closer to home. Their success would have set a precedent for broader public participation in a region ruled by Sunni dynasties. More alarming for those dynasties, it would have given more power to Bahrain's majority Shi'ites, distrusted by Sunni rulers who fear the influence of regional Shi'ite power Iran.

From an early stage, Al Jazeera framed the movements in Tunisia, Egypt and then Yemen as "revolutions" and subverted government bans on its coverage by inviting viewers to send in images captured on mobile phones to a special address.

"Despite being banned in Egypt, Al Jazeera went to great lengths to provide non-stop live coverage of events. It did not do that in Bahrain," said political analyst Ghanem Nuseibeh.

"Unless it can address concerns about its coverage of Bahrain, Al Jazeera will suffer reputation damage."

Al Jazeera acknowledged "challenging terrain" in Bahrain.

"There has been a particularly heavy news agenda in recent months, with uprisings taking place simultaneously in multiple countries across the Arab region," a spokesman said.

"Editorial priorities are weighed on a number of factors at any given moment. All news organizations have faced these pressures, but despite this and the challenging terrain in Bahrain, we have covered events in the country extensively

MORE

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/04/14/is-aljazeera-turning-a-blind-eye-to-bahrain/

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Bahrain: Suspicious Deaths in Custody

Human Rights Watch

April 13, 2011

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/13/bahrain-suspicious-deaths-custody

(Manama) - Bahrain's public prosecutor should investigate three deaths in custody reported since April 3, 2011, and hold accountable anyone found responsible for torture, ill-treatment, or denial of medical care, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch observed the body of one of the three men, Ali Isa Ibrahim Saqer, which bore signs of horrific abuse.


Human Rights Watch also called on the government to disclose the whereabouts of detainees, permit them to contact their families and lawyers, and open detention centers to independent inspection. As of April 6, the opposition Wifaq National Islamic Society had collected names of 430 people who relatives say have been arrested since demonstrations began on February 14.
"It's outrageous and cruel that people are taken off to detention and the families hear nothing until the body shows up with signs of abuse," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The authorities need to explain why this is happening, put a stop to it, and hold anyone responsible to account."

Ali Isa Ibrahim Saqer, 31, turned himself in to police in Hamad Town on April 3, his family told Human Rights Watch. Police had been looking for him in connection with an incident during anti-government demonstrations in which the authorities alleged that he tried to run over a policeman with his car but hit a protester. Police had visited relatives at least three times, saying that if Saqer did not turn himself in, they would detain the relatives instead, family members said.

After Saqer surrendered, his family heard nothing more about him until April 9, when the interior Ministry announced that he had died in custody. The Interior Ministry issued a statement published in Bahrain newspapers that he had "created chaos" in a detention center, "which led security forces to bring the situation under control," resulting in his death.

Human Rights Watch viewed Saqer's remains during the ritual body washing before he was buried in his home village of Sehla on April 10. His body showed signs of severe physical abuse. The left side of his face showed a large patch of bluish skin with a reddish-purple area near his left temple and a two-inch cut to the left of his eye. Lash marks crisscrossed his back, some reaching to his front right side. Blue bruises covered much of the back of his calves, thighs, and buttocks, as well as his right elbow and hip. The tops of his feet were blackened, and lacerations marked his ankles and wrists.

Family members showed Human Rights Watch a document entitled "Medical Notification of Cause of Death," issued by the Bahrain Defense Force (BDF) Hospital on April 9. It listed the cause of death as "hypovolemic shock," a condition usually brought on by extreme loss of blood. The cause, the document stated, was "multiple trauma." The interval between the onset of the condition and death was simply given as "some time." The notification stated that Saqer arrived at BDF hospital "collapsed."

Relatives who retrieved the body at Salmaniya hospital on April 9 said that they did not ask for an autopsy, saying that they wanted to bury Saqer as soon as possible.

On April 10, the Interior Ministry announced that it had opened an investigation against Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, for allegedly circulating on his Twitter account "a fabricated image of Ali Isa Saqer."

"We viewed Ali Saqer's body just prior to his burial, and its condition was exactly as shown in the photo that Nabeel Rajab circulated," Stork said. "It's a sign of how bad things have gotten in Bahrain that the authorities are investigating human rights activists for exposing what happened to Saqer instead of investigating those responsible for his violent death."

In the second case, masked uniformed police arrested Zakaria Rashid Hassan al-Asherri, 40, at about 2 a.m. on April 2, at his home in the village of Dair, his brother, Ali al-Asherri, told Human Rights Watch. Ali al-Asherri is a former parliament member from the opposition Wifaq National Islamic Society. Zakaria al-Asherri administered a blog, www.aldair.net/forum, which carried critical commentary about government policies and which has been blocked in Bahrain. The next day, relatives searched for al-Asherri at the Muharraq police station, but officers there provided no information about him. On April 9, the Interior Ministry announced that al-Asherri had died in detention, attributing his death to complications from sickle cell anemia.

On April 11, at Zakaria al-Asherri's funeral, Ali al-Asherri told Human Rights Watch that his brother was a carrier of the disease, but had never suffered ill-effects from it. Authorities provided the family with a death certificate saying Zakaria died of shock, Ali said. A photograph that Ali said he took by mobile phone during the April 11 pre-burial body cleansing showed a wound on Zakaria's right shoulder, a gash on his nose and some blood that had issued from his ears and lips. Human Rights Watch did not see Zakaria's body.

Al-Asherri's family asked officials at Salmaniya Hospital, where they retrieved his body, to perform an autopsy, which was carried out. Officials told the family that authorities at the Interior Ministry would make the results available to them later, Ali said. Stitches down Zakaria's chest from the autopsy were visible on Ali's photograph of his body.

In the third case, the government announced on April 3 that Hassan Jassim Mohammed Maki, a 39-year-old laborer, had died in police custody. The statement also attributed his death to complications from sickle cell anemia. Police had arrested Maki in a predawn raid at his home in Karzakan March 28.

Human Rights Watch viewed photos the family said they took during the pre-burial cleansing of Maki's body. The photos showed bruises on the back and front of his upper body as well as his ankles, and a pair of small, round wounds the size of small coins on the back of his head. His family did not ask for an autopsy.

"We now have, in the space of just a week, three highly suspicious deaths in detention, and Bahrain has an obligation to conduct transparent and thorough investigations into each one and make the results public," Stork said. "Bahraini authorities have detained hundreds of people and refused to divulge any information about their whereabouts or well-being - precisely the circumstances in which detainees are at grave risk of torture."

On April 12, the opposition group Wifaq National Islamic Society announced that one of its members, a businessman named Kareem Fakhrawi, had died in custody. He reportedly was last seen at the Exhibition Centre Police Station on April 3. Human Rights Watch has not been able to investigate the report directly.

Since Bahraini military and security forces violently dispersed pro-democracy protests on March 15 and 16, at least three other civilians have died in custody under suspicious circumstances. In all of these cases the people were apparently taken into custody alive but later died at the BDF hospital, in the village of A'ali south of Manama. Some had serious injuries before they were detained. One of them, Isa al-Radhi, 45, had been missing since March 15, when security forces attacked the village of Sitra. On March 19, officials from the BDF hospital called his family and told them to collect his body. Pictures taken of al-Radhi's body prior to burial showed severe bruising. A forensic expert who reviewed the pictures told Human Rights Watch that "assaultive injuries cannot be ruled out."

The Convention against Torture, which Bahrain ratified in 1998, prohibits torture and ill-treatment under all circumstances. In a February 2010 report, Human Rights Watch concluded that security officials repeatedly used torture for the apparent purpose of securing confessions from security suspects. Bahrain officials claimed in response that torture was neither routine nor systematic, and that anyone found to be responsible would be punished. To Human Rights Watch's knowledge, there have been no independent investigations or prosecutions concerning cases documented in its report.

Bahrain is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 9 states that "anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him," and "shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power."

The United Nations Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment specifies that "medical care and treatment shall be provided whenever necessary."

Since March 15, Bahrain has operated under martial law, officially labeled a "State of National Safety," which gave authorities wide powers of arrest, censorship, and prohibitions on freedom of movement and association.

"Emergency laws should not be used as a cover for brutality," Stork said.

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/13/bahrain-suspicious-deaths-custody

 

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Bahrain asks court to disband Shiite groups: BNA

AFP

April 14, 2011


DUBAI — Bahrain has filed lawsuits to disband two Shiite opposition groups including the powerful Al-Wefaq party, state media said Thursday, a month after Sunni rulers crushed Shiite-led protests.

"Bahrain's ministry of justice and Islamic affairs has filed a lawsuit to dissolve the Islamic Action Association and Al-Wefaq (the Islamic National Accord Association)," state news agency BNA reported.

The decision comes "due to the breaches of the kingdom's laws and constitution committed by both associations and for their activities that have negatively affected the civil peace and national unity," said the statement.

Both Shiite groups had also "incited disrespect for constitutional institutions," it added.

"The participation of political associations should remain within the national duty of focusing on and supporting efforts to strengthen national unity and protect the security, stability and sovereignty of the kingdom," said the ministry.

Khalil al-Marzouk, one of 18 Al-Wefaq MPs who submitted their resignations to protest violence against demonstrators, said the government move would stifle political life in Bahrain and hamper the reform process.

"We think that this measure will restrain what remains of political action in Bahrain, and will not search reform process," Marzouk told AFP by telephone.

"Since its inception, Al-Wefaq always acted within the constitutional and legal framework, and worked on reform from within the system," he said.

"Bahrain needs a political solution, and the pillar of this solution is Al-Wefaq, with its popular weight. If it is dissolved, how would this solution be possible, unless the authorities have taken a decision and do not want a political solution," Marzouk added.

An opposition movement that erupted February 14 calling for democratic reforms in Bahrain was curbed in a bloody government crackdown on demonstrators mid-March.

Saudi-led forces entered Bahrain last month, sparking a war of words between various Gulf Arab states and Iran, and freeing up Bahraini security forces to crush the protests.

Al-Wefaq was the main opposition group in parliament, controlling almost half of the 40 seats before its MPs resigned.

The group has called for political reforms and for transforming Bahrain to a constitutional monarchy.

But its leaders, have never publicly called for the departure of the pro-Western Al-Khalifa dynasty, which has ruled Shiite-majority Bahrain since 1783, as radical Shiite groups and protesters have done.

MORE

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j1OgLuZD-qUgLSVGRkBnJdAMOZeA?docId=CNG.86c6ebd8b975f969296cd75714b7c941.e01



 

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Bahrain and Libya: US-NATO Colludes with Islamic Extremism

By Finian Cunningham


Global Research, April 14, 2011
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24311

When thousands of Saudi armed forces and other contingencies from the Persian Gulf states poured into Bahrain on March 14 in tanks and armoured personnel carriers, the troops were invariably shown on state television news channels making V (victory) gestures.


Recent disturbing events during Bahrain’s brutal crackdown against pro-democracy civilians, in particular the Shia Muslim population, are beginning to reveal a macabre meaning to the “victory” sought by Saudi-led forces: an all-out war of persecution against Shia, involving assassination, kidnapping of doctors, academics, bloggers and human rights activists, torture of detainees, mass worker sackings and destruction of Shia mosques.

No matter that the Shia in Bahrain (70 per cent of the indigenous population) are unarmed civilians.


To appreciate the ruthlessness of the ongoing crackdown against the mainly Shia-led pro-democracy movement, we have to understand that the Bahrain security forces (army and police) are predominantly made up of often extremist Sunni expatriates from other Arab countries, such as Jordan, Syria and Yemen, and also Pakistan and Balochistan. These forces are now combining with troops from Gulf states, mainly Saudi Arabia, in military operations to quell the Bahraini pro-democracy uprising that began February 14. What gives this campaign of repression an altogether more sinister import is the intense sectarian hatred of extreme Sunni towards Shia. This sectarian antipathy is seen elsewhere in the Arab world. It has been a recurring engine of violence during the ongoing US-led occupation of Iraq where many Shia mosques have been bombed, with countless loss of lives, by Sunni extremists associated with Al Qaeda – and most likely manipulated by Saudi Arabian, American and British intelligence.


It is no secret that Wahhabism – an ultra-conservative offshoot of Sunni Islam and the official state religion of Saudi Arabia – has almost a fanatical loathing of Shia Muslims, seeing the latter as “idolaters” and worse than “infidels”. This Wahhabist virulent strain of Islam is central to the extremists of the Al Qaeda terror group that is strongly rooted in the Arabian Peninsula and indeed linked historically to the Saudi rulers. While Western governments are ostensibly in a “war on terror” with Al Qaeda, it is well documented that the governments of Saudi Arabia, the US and Britain, have at various times covertly supported and colluded with this network as a proxy for geopolitical goals, for example the destabilization of Iraq, and at other times as an enemy of convenience that has justified illegal wars of aggression against sovereign states in pursuit of natural resources. More recently, such shadowy liaison with Al Qaeda elements within the so-called Libyan rebel forces has been pointed out with regard to the ongoing US-NATO intervention in North Africa.


Michel Chossudovsky writes: “The US-NATO coalition is arming the Jihadists. Weapons are being channeled to the LIFG [Libyan Islamic Fighting Group] from Saudi Arabia, which historically since the outset of the Soviet-Afghan war has covertly supported Al Qaeda. The Saudis are now providing the [Libyan] rebels, in liaison with Washington and Brussels, with anti-tank rockets and ground-to-air missiles.” [1]


Bahrain appears to be the other side of the coin of this US/Western-Saudi/Al Qaeda pact. While Saudi Arabia (and other Gulf states, notably Qatar) are lending crucial diplomatic and material help to the Western imperialist intervention in Libya; on the other side of the coin, Saudi Arabia is being given a freehand to crush a civilian pro-democracy movement that emerged as a threat in its own backyard. And it is crushing the Shia population with a venom that stems not only from the urgent need to thwart the spread of democracy but also from a deep antipathy, one might even say pathological hatred, that the Wahhabists harbour towards Shia.


Going back to the gung-ho images of the Saudi invasion forces speeding across the causeway to Bahrain, one could have been forgiven for thinking that these troops from the Gulf Peninsula Shield task force were on a heroic mission to vanquish a formidable armed enemy that was killing civilians and plundering state institutions of the Bahraini state.


Declaring a state of emergency on March 14, the US-backed Bahraini Sunni ruler, King Hamad Al Khalifa, who is closely allied with the House of Saud, said the country was compelled “to take necessary measures to protect national security and people’s safety… amid a serious security escalation”.


Meanwhile, Abdul bin Hamad Al Attiya, the general secretary of the Gulf Cooperation Council, based in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, announced “all the nations of the GCC share the same destiny and it is therefore the region’s collective responsibility to safeguard the security and stability of any one country”.


Days later, on March 21, the two pro-government English-language newspapers in Bahrain, The Tribune and The Gulf Daily News, ran the following front page headlines: VICTORY, proclaimed the former; TERROR PLOT FOILED, asserted the latter. Both reported King Hamad saying: “An external plot has been fomented for 20 to 30 years… I hereby announce the failure of the fomented subversive plot,” while receiving the commanders of the Peninsula Shield in Manama.


The bombastic rhetoric was of course partly designed to create a retrospective justification for the unprecedented military action against a peaceful, civilian movement; it also partly revealed the paranoid fear among Gulf rulers towards Iran, which being mainly Shia incurs the same sectarian loathing from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Sunni rulers. With centuries of common ancestral and religious heritage, the ordinary Shia of Bahrain and other Gulf countries have undoubtedly an affinity towards Iran. But to extrapolate this to present them as being willing agents of Iran is groundless and is more reflective of a Wahhabist loathing towards Shia in general, conflating these religionists into one homogenous enemy, figure-headed by the Ayatollahs in Iran.


Furthermore, such rampant rhetoric of treachery, serves to set the scene for a merciless crackdown on the Bahraini Shia – who are painted as a verminous entity that needs to be extirpated. This antagonism towards the Shia by the Bahraini rulers is of course nothing new. Ever since the Al Khalifa family, who originated from central Arabia, was installed in Bahrain under the British Empire some 220 years ago, the Shia have long-held grievances of poverty, discrimination and disenfranchisement. The determination to crush the latest uprising by the Sunni elite bears the hallmark of vengefulness against a despised and downtrodden population that dared to mount a resistance. The country’s prime minister, Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa (the uncle of the king) reputedly used to say: “The Bahraini Shia are like a Persian rug; the more they are walked on, the better they become.” In the aftermath of the uprising, the prime minister has vowed ominously that “those who tried to subvert national unity will be held to account”. With widespread repression now unfolding against Shia, it is unmistakable that the entire Shia population is being held to account.


While Iran was not explicitly mentioned in initial sensationalist accounts of subversive plots, several subsequent statements by the Bahraini and Gulf governments have openly accused Tehran of “interfering in the internal affairs of Gulf states”. The claim of Iranian interference in Bahrain’s pro-democracy uprising was also asserted by US secretary of state Hillary Clinton on March 19 while attending a conference in Paris to garner support from Gulf states for the impending NATO bombing of Libya. While praising the role of the Gulf Arab states in backing NATO’s plans for intervention in Libya, Clinton said: “We share the view that Iran’s activities in the Gulf, including its efforts to advance its agenda in the neigbouring countries, undermines peace and stability.”


In all these lurid assertions, not one shred of evidence of alleged Iranian interference – material or political involvement – has been produced to support such claims. But what these claims have served to do is provide a pretext for invoking the supposedly protective forces of the Gulf Peninsula Shield to “save the national security and stability” of Bahrain and, by extension, the other Gulf states. The spurious, bellicose claims of an external malevolent mastermind colluding with “an enemy within” also serves to give a political cover for the egregious repression of the Bahraini Shia and what amounts to clear crimes against humanity.


So what have been the results of the measures to “secure stability and order” in Bahrain that the arrival of the Saudi-led forces nearly four weeks ago was supposed to achieve?


Needless to say there have been no gun battles with armed combatants, no Saudi helicopter gunships shot down with Iranian-supplied weaponry, no amphibious Iranian seacraft being blown out of the water by the brave V-gesturing soldiers of the Saudi army.


On the contrary, the “results” speak volumes: over 20 unarmed civilians have been killed, some such as Ahmed Farhan (31), from Sitra, shot in the head at point-blank range by Saudi soldiers. [2] Over 600 civilians have been detained without charge in unknown conditions, including doctors, lawyers, human rights workers, academics and youth bloggers. Four civilians have died in custody showing signs of torture, the latest being named as Abdul Kareem Fakhrawi, the owner of an Islamic bookshop in Manama. Over 1,000 Shia workers have been sacked without any unemployment insurance from major industries, including state-owned petroleum company, BAPCO, the aluminium producer, ALBA, APM Terminals, Gulf Air, and state-owned telecoms firm Batelco. Teachers and students have been expelled from schools and universities. Invariably, the victims of this persecution are Shia – all labelled “disloyal” by the regime.


In addition, and significantly, dozens of Shia mosques and cemeteries have been attacked by the array of pro-state forces. The destruction has escalated since the Gulf Peninsula Shield entered Bahrain. Saudi troops have been prominently involved in bulldozing these Shia mosques, some of them dating back hundreds of years. One such is the Al Saboor mosque in Zinj, which is believed to be over 800 years old, now reduced to rubble. It is a bitter irony that when Saudi forces first entered Bahrain, their main duty was said by the Saudi government to function in a defensive role to “guard and secure vital installations”. The destruction of Shia mosques in Bahrain clearly shows that the real agenda for Saudi forces is more akin to “ethnic cleansing” that stems from a Wahhabist hatred towards Shia – the same mentality of sectarian destruction that was also most likely used for geopolitical motives by Saudi Arabia, the US and Britain in Iraq. [3]


While the US-NATO continues its $1 billion-a-month bombing campaign in Libya out of “humanitarian concern”, these same powers have shown themselves inactive and inarticulate about crimes against humanity in Bahrain – crimes committed against an unarmed, civilian population. The US in particular has declined to even pretend to urge restraint against Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states in their blood-filled sectarian repression against Bahraini Shia civilians.


As with Libya, Bahrain provides an example of Western moral bankruptcy and how the US and Western governments can easily accommodate themselves with Islamic extremists, including their supposed arch-enemy, Al Qaeda, whenever and wherever needs must.


Finian Cunningham is a journalist and musician.



NOTES


[1] http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24096 


[2]  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24252


[3 ]  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=967


THIS ARTICLE:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24311
 

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.Published on Thursday, April 14, 2011 by Inter Press Service

US Keeps Quiet over Repression

by Jim Lobe


http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/14-5


WASHINGTON - If President Barack Obama wanted to place Washington "on the right side of history" during the ongoing "Arab Spring", his reaction to recent events in Bahrain will likely make that far more difficult, according to a growing number of analysts and commentators here.

 
Funeral prayers are said over the coffin of Ali Isa Saqer, who died while in police custody. Photograph: Mazen Mahdi/EPA

While his administration has become ever more outspoken against repression in Syria and Yemen - not to mention Libya, where Obama has called for regime change - it has remained remarkably restrained about the escalating crackdown by the Sunni monarchy against the majority Shia population and prominent pro-democracy figures.

The strongest criticism in weeks came from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday night at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum here when she appealed for a "political process that advances the rights and aspirations of all the citizens of Bahrain" and asserted that "security alone cannot resolve the challenges" facing the government.

More than two dozen people have been killed by security forces since the government declared martial law Mar. 15, while more than 400 others have been arrested or are otherwise unaccounted for, according to international rights groups. Three detainees have died in custody, at least one apparently from "horrific abuse", Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Tuesday.

Last weekend, HRW accused the regime of creating a "climate of fear", particularly in Shia neighbourhoods and villages where night-time raids appear designed mainly to instil terror among the mostly poor residents.

Professionals, including doctors, lawyers, and human rights activists, have not been immune from the repression. Media critical of the government have been effectively muzzled, bloggers arrested, local journalists hauled into court, and foreign journalists expelled. Even star football players have been booted off the national team and arrested for taking part in peaceful protests.

"Things are getting worse, both quantitatively and qualitatively," according to Toby Jones, an expert on the Gulf states at Rutgers University. "It seems that across the board – from allegations of torture to reports of sweeping arrests – the regime has not just continued its crackdown, but intensified it."

"And while it has justified it as restoring law and order, what it seems to be doing is pursuing a vendetta; that's the only way to explain the severity of the situation," he added.

At the White House, however, silence has prevailed, suggesting to many observers that Obama is effectively acquiescing in, if not condoning, what is taking place.

That impression got a big boost when Defence Secretary Robert Gates visited Saudi Arabia last week in an apparent effort to mend ties that were badly frayed by Washington's support for the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February and by its initial opposition to the deployment Mar. 14 – that is, on the eve of the martial-law declaration - of some 1,500 Saudi and Emirati troops to Bahrain with the apparent intention to strengthen the resolve of King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa to crack down hard against the pro- democracy movement.

Emerging from a meeting with King Abdullah, Gates claimed for the first time to have "evidence that the Iranians are trying to exploit the situation in Bahrain."

That remark stood in sharp contrast to his dismissal during his last trip to the Gulf three days before the martial law declaration of Saudi and Bahraini charges that Tehran was behind the unrest.

Moreover, when asked whether the presence of Saudi troops to Bahrain had been discussed with the king, Gates replied with a curt "No." The Pentagon chief also indicated Washington was not giving any thought to moving its naval base - home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet - in Bahrain anywhere else.

Indeed, Washington's relative silence about the repression in Bahrain appears to be motivated chiefly by two major geo- strategic considerations: maintaining its base and other military facilities in the tiny kingdom; and keeping in the good graces of its giant next-door neighbour, Saudi Arabia, which clearly sees the pro-democracy movement in Bahrain as part of a zero-sum struggle against its regional rival, Iran.

"Bahrain is like Cuba for you," said one member of a delegation from the Majlis al-Shura, Abdullah's advisory council, which met with U.S. officials and think tanks here last week to explain the Saudi position on regional developments.

"Iran is using the Shia as a tool of Persian policy," said another. "The most important oil and petrochemical facilities in Saudi Arabia are within 60 miles of Bahrain. We have no choice," he added.

But that perception, and Washington's apparent acquiescence in it, risks backfiring on a number of different levels, according to analysts here who expressed hope that this week's trip to Saudi Arabia and the UAE by Obama's national security adviser, Tom Donilon, will convey a very different message than that delivered by Gates's comments last week.

As repression intensifies and with no prospect for meaningful political reform that would given them a share of power, Bahrain's Shia population, which makes up between 60 and 70 percent of the country's citizenry, is being radicalised, according to Jones.

"I don't think we're past the point of no return yet where the radicalisation of the Shia is permanent, but we're not far from there," he told IPS. "Donilon's trip might be the moment when the White House becomes a bit more insistent, but the message needs to be delivered more urgently than it has been."

Beyond Bahrain, however, the crackdown and the Saudi and UAE intervention in support of it could also undermine other U.S. interests in the Gulf, notably in Iraq where key elements of the ruling coalition government and even the clerical establishment in Najaf have mobilised in support of Bahrain's Shia community.

The intervention "gives Iraq, newly dominated by Shiites with close ties to Iran, an excuse to make common cause with Iran in supporting Shiite insurrection in Bahrain," retired U.S. Amb. Chas Freeman warned in a recent talk to the Asia Business Council in Riyadh.

"Outright alliance between Baghdad and Tehran to this end would have far-reaching adverse implications for Gulf security. The strategic stakes Bahrain are higher than many outside the region appreciate," he added.

Finally, Washington's failure to strongly denounce the repression and its apparent efforts to appease the Saudis undermine its pose as a champion of human rights and democracy in region, exposing it instead as a cynical player of realpolitik, according to Chris Toensing, director of the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP).

"There is a strong and rising current of disgust in the region at the Saudi role in the season of Arab revolts where, at every turn, they have encouraged the harshest repression possible," he said. "And, if you look at the timing of Gates's past two trips (to the region), people assume that the U.S. is being solicitous of its strategic partner and acquiescing in Saudi efforts to mount counter- revolutions."

"There's a strong suspicion that at least tacit consent was given to the Bahrainis and Saudis to do their worst in exchange for Arab League support for the no-fly zone in Libya," he added.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/14-5

[bigron]

As Bahrain stifles protest movement, U.S.’s muted objections draw criticism

By Joby Warrickand Michael Birnbaum, Friday, April 15, 4:35 AM

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/as-bahrain-stifles-protest-movement-uss-muted-objections-draw-criticism/2011/04/14/AFziTofD_print.html


Two months after the eruption of mass protests in Bahrain, the kingdom has largely silenced the opposition, jailing hundreds of activists in a crackdown that has left the Obama administration vulnerable to charges that it is upholding democratic values in the Middle East selectively.

Bahrain’s monarchy, since calling in Saudi troops last month to help crush the protest movement, has been quietly dismantling the country’s Shiite-led opposition. On Friday, the Sunni government announced an investigation into the activities of Bahrain’s largest political party, the Shiite-dominated al-Wefaq, which could lead to its ban.

The Obama administration has repeatedly appealed to the Bahraini government for restraint, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton this week called for a political process that “advances the rights and aspirations of all the citizens of Bahrain.” But the administration has neither recalled its ambassador to Manama nor threatened the kinds of sanctions it imposed on Libya — a striking disparity that is fueling ­anti-U.S. sentiment among Bahraini opposition groups.

“Even though the American administration’s words are all about freedom and democracy and change, in Bahrain, the reality is that they’re basically a protection for the dictatorship,” said Zainab al-Khawaja, a prominent human-rights activist who began a hunger strike after her father, husband and brother-in-law were arrested at her apartment over the weekend.

U.S. officials privately acknowledge that the administration has been understated in its criticism of Bahrain, in part to avoid further strain in relations with Saudi Arabia, a vital U.S. ally and neighbor to the tiny island kingdom. The Saudis, fearing the rise of a pro-Iranian Shiite state on its eastern frontier, urged Bahrain to deal firmly with the throng of protesters that occupied a central square and blocked access to Manama’s main business district.

A month later, however, with Bahrain’s iron first tightening further, the White House is facing awkward questions from political allies as well as foes. A perceived U.S. double standard on Middle East democracy — a problem since the Arab spring movement began three months ago — could become more acute if Washington is seen to ignore widespread abuses, according to current and former diplomats and regional experts.

“We need to worry about the human-rights situation deteriorating there,” said Joel Rubin, a former Middle East specialist for the State Department and deputy director of the National Security Network, a Democratic-leaning foreign policy think tank. “It has a real impact on perceptions of American policy in the region.”

U.S. officials defend the administration’s ad hoc approach to Middle East democracy movements as prudent, saying each country requires a unique balancing of democratic ideals and compelling security interests.

“We don’t make decisions about questions like intervention based on consistency or precedent,” Denis R. McDonough, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said recently in explaining why U.S. policy on Libya differs from that on Bahrain. “We make them based on how we can best advance our interests in the region.”

In the case of Bahrain, the United States has key military interests. The kingdom is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet; it is also seen as a strategically important bulwark against Iranian power in the region. But even more vital is the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, a critical ally in the Middle East for half a century.

Saudi Arabia and the United States have fundamentally different views of what is happening in Bahrain, why it is happening and who is responsible for it. Saudi officials deny that Bahrain has cracked down on legitimate demonstrators, insisting that action has been taken only against radicals seeking to provoke the government. A senior U.S. official held the opposite view, saying: “The crackdown is a fact.”

MORE

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/as-bahrain-stifles-protest-movement-uss-muted-objections-draw-criticism/2011/04/14/AFziTofD_print.html

[bigron]

Weekend Edition
April 15 - 17, 2011
http://counterpunch.com/lamb04152011.html


Selective Application

The Obama Doctrine: AWOL in Bahrain



By FRANKLIN LAMB

Beirut

Columbia University Professor Rashid Khalidi passed through Beirut a couple of weeks ago and gave a terrific lecture at AUB entitled “Preliminary  Historical Observations on the Arab Revolutions of 2011.”

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CB8QFjAC&url=http%3A//www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/970/preliminary-historical-observations-on-the-arab-re&ei=H6ynTbnVCIqZOu6mpcEJ&usg=AFQjCNF9wnucJCmQWyXO78jTLhZKi-RKOQ&sig2=dIArQayFoNxze3Lrlvr03g

In response to a student’s question, Khalidi disputed that there was any “Obama Doctrine” worthy of that label and he predicted the White House would be much more tolerant of human rights abuses in Bahrain than say, in Libya and some other countries whose despotism indexes are no worse than the 200-year ossified Al Khalifa dynasty’s war against its majority Shia population.

After his talk I reminded Rashid in our brief encounter that we had not crossed paths since that fateful summer of 1982 in West Beirut where we and our mutual friend, American journalist Janet Stevens, who had introduced us, all shared a similar experience of trying to do research amidst the Israeli bombing and intermittent electricity and water cuts and for that period when Israeli forces, on orders of Ariel Sharon, cut all the power and water to the trapped civilians in West Beirut. In those, now sometimes romanticized “summer of ‘82 days” Khalidi was an intense, hard-working young man and his 1982 research was published in his 1983 volume, Under Siege: P.L.O. Decisionmaking During the 1982 War.

It was during this period that Janet  (Rashid was in no way involved!)  and I committed at least four felonies (I was just following orders!) and broke into the abandoned AUB cafeteria &  AUB storage rooms and liberated maybe 500 cases of AUB bottled water and  perhaps 50 large cartons filled with that nasty orange powdered drink stuff called Tang.

Janet put me in charge of about 100 Fatah fighters who, wisely assuming the Israelis would think twice before bombing AUB had set up a base under the Banyan trees on campus and we all used to share the AUB beach and swim together.  The PLO fighters were under orders from their Commander Abu al-Walid, who was one of those in charge of the defense of West Beirut, not to damage the AUB campus or enter AUB buildings.  So the fighters demurred to the breaking and entering part of our operation and waited outside.

Janet and I were under no such orders.

 Our guys quickly distributed the liberated humanitarian supplies and for days afterwards there were plenty of tykes running around West Beirut with orange mouths and cheeks carrying plastic bottles of fresh spring water.

 It was only after the 20 year Statute of Limitations ran and I was living in Kerr Hall on campus that my conscience got the better of me and I finally blurted out my crimes to the AUB President. He laughed with delight and on behalf of AUB excused our egregious war time sociopathy. That being said, I heard not long ago that the US Embassy is looking into trying to open a case against me since USAID paid for the AUB water and the nasty Tang and the Embassy is still insisting on accountability.

On the issue of Ariel Sharon’s cutting off of water and electricity during the hot summer to West Beirut in order to punish the trapped civilian population for their presumed support for the PLO in defending an Arab capitol, the US government was furious. President Reagan and his secretary of State George Shultz, and Middle East envoy Morris Draper claimed they yelled at and threatened Israeli PM Menachem Begin to immediately restore water and power to West Beirut.  Begin kept promising Reagan that the utilities would be quickly restored and Draper told Begin that Beirut was becoming like the Warsaw Ghetto. Begin replied that Draper’s comparison was a “blood libel against every Jew everywhere.” Begin used that turn of phrase more than once during 1982, once to Reagan’s face.  Philip Habib later reported that he called Begin every day and Begin always claimed there were ‘technical problems’ but that Sharon promised his that the utilities would be restored by the next day at the latest.

It did not happen.

Not until Janet Stevens, working with Palestinian colleagues discovered the truth behind what Begin told Reagan were “technical problems” and she informed journalists in the bar of the Commodore Hotel, where many journalists spent their time (thinking the Israelis would not bomb the western journalists “shelter”—they actually did shell in twice during the summer) waiting for others to bring in the news of the day so they could get on the PLO-maintained telexes to their editors and “report from the Front.” We noticed that some of them actually started dressing like Robert Fisk, a real war correspondent.

What Janet explained to the rapt reporters was that Israeli commanders and their  right wing Phalangist collaborators, with Sharon’s, if not Begin’s approval, were making plenty of fast cash selling truckloads of water to trapped West Beirutis and the business soon expanded to Bekaa hashish. By late July some of the Israeli checkpoints along the green line between East and West Beirut were manned by stoned Israelis such that the PLO was able to bring in truckloads of needed relief supplies including ammunition and weapons even after the power and water were eventually restored. The late Lebanese Patriot, George Hawri, head of the Lebanese Communist Party, worked to maintain this lifeline with the help of friends from the Bekaa and years later relished each retelling of the story. The Israeli troop’s blurry condition may have contributed to several routs they experienced by PLO forces and the loss of more than 25 tanks and APC’s near the Beirut racecourse just east of the green line. 1982 was not the last time Israeli troops eagerly traded weapons and intelligence for drugs in Lebanon.

What Khalidi remains critical of, like many observers, is what he sees as the Obama administration’s claimed “American values imperative” being made a mockery of whenever American “interests” are brought up to justify cherry picking which brutal despots get the ‘moderate’ or ‘reformer’ label while others are no-fly zoned and targeted for elimination for being “genocidal.”

The Obama administration’s hypocrisy toward the unarmed civilians being killed in Bahrain is flagrant. Speaking on 4/13/11 at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum, a gathering sponsored by Qatar and the Brookings Institution, Secretary of State Clinton assured the World that “America's core interests and values have not changed, including our commitment to promote human rights equally in every country.”

 Clinton’s remarks prompted some groans from the audience and one Georgetown University student impolitely blurted out “Tell that to the people of Bahrain and prove it, lady!”

What the exasperated student, and others in the audience apparently found outrageous was Clinton’s comment that, “We know that a one-size-fits-all approach to American values doesn’t make sense in such a diverse region at such a fluid time” as she hailed Bahrain for what she called a “decades-long friendship which we expect to continue long into the future.”  Referring to the government crackdown, she added that “violence is not and cannot be the answer.”

Clinton explained that the Obama administration will neither recall its ambassador to Manama nor threaten sanctions — a striking disparity that is fueling ­anti-U.S. sentiment among Bahraini opposition groups. The Obama Doctrine words are all about freedom and democracy and change, but in Bahrain, the reality is that the Obama Doctrine amounts to a protection for the dictatorship.

By contrast, Obama has repeatedly justified military attacks in Libya, saying: "Innocent people were targeted for killing. Hospitals and ambulances were attacked. Journalists were arrested. These acts are against core American values."

But while the same human rights abuses noted by Obama are happening in Bahrain, but the Obama Doctrine is not on the Presidents teleprompter.  It appears that core American values aren’t so important when the regime being reformed houses the Fifth Fleet and has Saudi neighbors, themselves afraid of potential protests, according to the Wall Street Journal.

What the rude Georgetown student at Clinton’s speech this week understood, is that as Joe Stork, Deputy Middle East Director at Human Rights Watch noted a couple of days ago concerning yet another brutal Khalifa government killing of unarmed civilians, “Four detainee deaths in nine days is a crime, not a coincidence. The government tells families of detainees nothing about their whereabouts or well-being while they are alive or about the circumstances of their deaths. "Emergency laws should not be used as a cover for brutality," Stork reminded the Obama administration that torture and killing of the peaceful protesters in Bahrain at the hands of both the Bahrani armed forces and the additional forces provided by Saudi Arabia are not supported by the American public.

Obama administration officials, like most of the US media, have been playing a game of criminal silence about the situation in Bahrain. Political institutions have been trying to stoke the fire of Shi’a-Sunni sectarianism instead of trying to resolve the real issues – the barbaric actions and unfair political and economic policies of the ruling family in Bahrain, a state of forceful repression.

More than 70 per cent of native Bahrainis are Shi’ites, while the ruling family and most elites are Sunnis. This state of affairs has led to an apartheid mentality among the ruling family. Shi’ites are not allowed to work in the army, the intelligence service, or the police force, nor are they fairly represented in top-level governmental positions.  In addition to jailing activists and banning Shiite-led opposition parties, Bahraini authorities fired civil servants and even professional athletes who participated in demonstrations.  The country’s only independent newspaper was taken over last week and its editor forced to resign. On 4/14/11 the Sunni government moved to ban Bahrain’s largest political party, the Shiite-dominated al-Wefaq, along with a smaller Shiite party.

When they apply for jobs the Shia in Bahrain experience in some ways what the Palestinian refugees suffer in Lebanon.  They may be offered a job but it is quickly withdrawn when the prospective employer learns that the applicant is Shia.  As Nicholas Kristof wrote of the Khalifa’s attitude toward Shi’ites in his New York Times Blog: “the language of the ruling party sounds a lot to me like the language of white South Africans — or even like the language of white southerners in Jim Crow America, or the language of militant Israeli settlers in the West Bank. There’s a fear of the rabble, a distrust of full democracy, a sense of entitlement.”

The “American humanitarian values”-based “Obama Doctrine” offers no protection for the majority Shia population of Bahrain.  They’re vulnerable.  They are expendable.  The Fifth fleet is not.  Nor are Saudi interests for they represent for Washington’s neocons a strategically important bulwark against Iranian power in the region.

The “Obama Doctrine” offers no police, security or judicial system to protect them.  In the past few days the Khalifa regime has intensified their attacks on this community – harassment on the streets, housing and job discrimination, and systematic attacks in the media.

The Obama administration appears to be trying to use the Iran issue in a way similar to how the Arab regimes use Israel in order to deny justice to their people and prevent them   from participating in the government.

At the same time the “Obama Doctrine” ignores recent polls showing that nearly 60 per cent of Americans support the uprising in Bahrain and the region even if the uprisings lead to regimes more likely to oppose US policies in the region including US support for Israel.

These polls of American public opinion reflect true American values.

The “Obama Doctrine” as selectively applied, does not.

Franklin Lamb is doing research in Lebanon and is reachable c/o fplamb@gmail.com

 
http://counterpunch.com/lamb04152011.html

[shipgeek]

When will you stop posting these false news about Bahrain?

All they are saying in the media abour Bahrain is just a pack of lies.

 

[Suriel]

Iran says it "cannot stay indifferent" on Bahrain
Iran calls on the United Nations to protect Bahraini activists
Reuters , Friday 15 Apr 2011

Iran has called on the UN Security Council to protect opposition activists in Bahrain, where, it said, unrest and suppression could destabilise the entire region, the official IRNA news agency said on Friday.

Tehran has been outspoken in its criticism of the Bahraini ruling family's violent suppression of pro-reform protests. Bahrain's Gulf Arab allies, some of which intervened militarily and sent troops to the island state to bolster government forces, have accused the Islamic Republic of interference.

In a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi called for "a serious and immediate action by the Security Council over suppressing people's demands in Bahrain using military force".

CONTINUED HERE

[bigron]

shipgeek !!!!!

Friend !   With all Due Respect !

You say everything about Bahrain is a Pack of Lies.........and you continously repeat this !

Would be very nice if once and for all        YOU PROVE IT  !!!!



« Reply #44 on: March 18, 2011, 02:35:16 PM » Quote 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote from: bigron on March 16, 2011, 12:28:56 PM
shipgeek !   Good Afternoon !

With ALL DUE RESPECT

Your message is loud and clear.........you are "A Loyalist"

You overwhelmly support  both  Bahreini & Saudi Arabian  CIA FUNDED TOTALITARIAN DICTATORSHIPS !!

I have not been in Bahrain as you have so I cannot say I have first hand experience as you do.

My humble experience with CIA FUNDED TOTALITARIAN DICTATOSHIPS is that I have lived over

25 years in countries governed by such REGIMES, namely Argentina and Brazil and extensively visited

Chile and Uruguay during their years of CIA DICTATORSHIPS.......


 
 
 
 

[shipgeek]

Yes I can prove it because I travel there. I know and I see what's real.

I was there before the unrest, I was there during the unrest and I was there after the unrest.

Bahrain is Monaco on steroids. A wonderful place with wonderful people. I have friends there.

I will go there again many more times in the future. Long Live King Hamad. Long Live Bahrain (as it is now).

All you know about Bahrain is what you hear from Press agencies on the internet.

You take articles, you cut and paste and post them here.

[bigron]

Bahrain Backs Off on Opposition Party Ban

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/201141573222422175.html

As Cries for Revolution Fade, Bahrainis Wonder What Went Wrong

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/middleeast/la-fg-bahrain-divide-20110415,0,225301.story

[bigron]

Yes I can prove it because I travel there. I know and I see what's real.

I was there before the unrest, I was there during the unrest and I was there after the unrest.

Bahrain is Monaco on steroids. A wonderful place with wonderful people. I have friends there.

I will go there again many more times in the future. Long Live King Hamad. Long Live Bahrain (as it is now).

All you know about Bahrain is what you hear from Press agencies on the internet.

You take articles, you cut and paste and post them here.

Please ask your CIA and Loyalist Friends to provide you with writen proof of what you state so you can post same here.

Such proof should be interesting reading.

And by the way...I will continue to cut and paste at will....thats what this Forum is all about as well...

[agentbluescreen]

When will you stop posting these false news about Bahrain?

All they are saying in the media abour Bahrain is just a pack of lies.

 

Mass murderers convene to survey their bloody pillage and booty:

    
        ^{"don't look so worried boss, they're only cheap, plated hand-outs."}

[bigron]

Bahrain braced for new wave of repression

Arrests and troop movements signal another government
crackdown on protests in the tiny Gulf state

 
 Foreign staff
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 16 April 2011 21.05 BST


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/16/bahrain-arrests-repression

[bigron]

.
Bahrain: Is a U.S. Ally Using Torture to Put Down Dissent?


By KAREN LEIGH Karen Leigh
Sat Apr 16, 1:20 am ET
 
.On March 17, Ibrahim Shareef, the head of the anti-government activist movement Waad, was snatched from his home at gunpoint by what his family describes as Bahraini security forces. Thrown into a waiting sport utility vehicle, he was driven off into the night. Today he's still missing, whereabouts unknown.

As the island kingdom's Sunni regime continues to crack down on anti-government activists and prominent Shi'ites, Shareef and more than 460 others are believed to be in government custody. New arrests happen daily in the country, which is home base of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. Bahrain was designated an official Non-NATO ally in October 2001, after the 9/11 attacks on America. (See TIME's exclusive photos of the crackdown in Bahrain.)

While there have been wild rumors of the whereabouts of the arrested dissidents, the likely truth is dire enough. Nearly all may be held in prisons around Bahrain, with an unknown number undergoing questioning and torture. On Wednesday, opposition party al-Wefaq claimed that at least four detainees had been killed since April 2, from injuries sustained from police-inflicted torture. Human Rights Watch says another three died in March, including one man who arrived in custody with knees blown out by ammunition fired at close



MORE

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20110416/wl_time/08599206519800

[bigron]

U.S. defends Bahrain policy

Published: April 15, 2011 at 11:03 AM


WASHINGTON, April 15 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the United States supports a political process that advances the rights of the citizens of Bahrain.

She also deflected criticism the Obama administration is being selective in upholding democratic values in the Middle East, the Washington Post reported Friday.

She said the Obama administration has appealed to the Bahraini government to show restraint in dealing with pro-democracy demonstrators and she called for a political process that "advances the rights and aspirations of all the citizens of Bahrain."

Others say the United States is ignoring human rights abuses in Bahrain


Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/04/15/US-defends-Bahrain-policy/UPI-27661302879836/print/#ixzz1JnAP3z8G

[bigron]

- Bahrain Arrests Prominent Lawyer and Doctors: Opposition
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20110416/tts-uk-bahrain-arrests-ca02f96.html

- A Chilling Account of the Brutal Clampdown Sweeping Bahrain
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/16/bahrain-eyewitness-riot-police

- Bahrain's 'Tranquil, Liberal' Image Falls Away
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/9458855.stm

- Bahraini Activist's Daughter on Hunger Strike for His Release
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/04/16/bahrain.hunger.strike/index.html

- Crown Prince's Son Graduates From Sandhurst
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=303989

- Iran Urges UN to Help Stop 'Killing' of Bahrainis
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110415/wl_mideast_afp/bahrainpoliticsunrestuniran

[bigron]

Bahrain's iron fist   


Why has the government cracked down so forcefully on protesters and what role are regional powers playing?


Inside Story Last Modified: 17 Apr 2011 08:49


ARTICLE & VIDEO HERE

http://aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2011/04/201141783346102823.html

[shipgeek]

I will continue to cut and paste at will....

from sources disseminating lies and disinformation

al jazeera
yahoo
the guardian
cnn
latimes

all vile servants of the NWO

if this is who you rely to find the truth...

 

better you rather than me


 

[bigron]

Middle East
Apr 19, 2011 
http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MD19Ak02.html 
 
Saudi money wins Obama's mind


By M K Bhadrakumar


Twice during the past week senior United States officials have let it be known that the Barack Obama administration has chosen to adopt a highly selective approach to the ferment in the Middle East.

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton couched the message in appropriate diplomatic idiom in Washington last Tuesday in a speech at a gala dinner celebrating the US-Islamic World Forum before an audience of dignitaries from the Middle East including

 
the foreign ministers of Qatar and Jordan and the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Conference.

Clinton acknowledged that the ''long Arab winter has begun to thaw'' and after many decades, a ''real opportunity for lasting change'' has appeared before the Arab people. It, in turn, raises ''significant questions'' but it is not for the US to provide all the answers. ''In fact, here in Washington we're struggling to thrash out answers to our own difficult political and economic questions,'' she said.

Following a long-winded appreciation of the "Arab revolt", Clinton hit the nail on its head: ''We understand that a one-sized-fits-all approach doesn't make sense in such a diverse region at such a fluid time. As I have said before, the United States has specific relationships with countries in the region. We have a decades-long friendship with Bahrain that we expect to continue long into the future … Going forward, the United States will be guided by careful consideration of all circumstances on the ground and by our consistent values and interests.''

Two days later, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates picked up where Clinton left off. At the ground-breaking ceremony of the national library honoring George Washington in Virginia last Thursday, Gates dipped into the oldest annals of America's young history to underline that US has always pursued a selective approach to democratic aspirations and values of other peoples.

When George Washington was confronted with the consequences of the French revolution, he didn't allow himself to be swayed by the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity but instead weighed in the terribly dangerous prospect of the possible ''spread of violent French radicalism to our shores'', the negative consequences of estrangement from the British in terms of disruptions in the ''lives of ordinary Americans by impeding trade'' and the ''fragility of America's position at that time''. Therefore, he adopted a neutrality policy toward France and chose to make a peace treaty with Britain although he was accused of doublespeak, sellout, et al.

Gates acknowledged that the US always ''struggled'' with ideals while doing business with terrible autocrats. So, what matters today is that ''many of the [Arab] regimes affected have been longstanding, close allies of the United States, ones we continue to work with as critical partners in the face of common security challenges like al-Qaeda and Iran.''

Is the democracy project so terribly important? Gates had an answer: ''An underlying theme of American history going back to Washington is that we are compelled to defend our security and our interests in ways that in the long run lead to the democratic values and institutions … When we discuss openly our desire for democratic values to take hold across the globe, we are describing a world that may be many years or decades off.''

Significantly, Gates was speaking after a tour of the Persian Gulf region against a complex backdrop of Saudi Arabia's intervention in Bahrain to crush the lively democracy movement, frictions in the relations between the US and Saudi Arabia, a jump in oil prices into triple digits and signs that Riyadh might consider expanding its mammoth US$60 billion deal to buy arms from the US.

At any rate, coming out of a 90-minute meeting with the Saudi King Abdullah, Gates said he saw ''evidence'' of Iranian meddling in Bahrain. Gates's visit was followed up within a week by a trip to Riyadh by the US National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon, who handed a letter from Obama to Abdullah. All indications are that a deal has been stuck whereby the Obama administration will not queer the pitch for the autocratic Persian Gulf rulers by dabbling in the democracy project in the region.
 
MORE

http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MD19Ak02.html



 

[shipgeek]

Bahrain was forced to act

Letter to the Editor

In this period of change in the Middle East, I am confident that Bahrain will emerge stronger than before. Regrettably, the April 12 editorial “Dangerous crackdown” failed to acknowledge Bahrain’s unique context. Troops from Saudi Arabia did not “invade.” Service members from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, arrived in Bahrain at the request of our government after once-peaceful demonstrations turned violent. The GCC forces had no role in policing violent demonstrators; they assisted in protecting vital infrastructure. To term this a Saudi invasion was irresponsible.

The editorial also represented the point of view of only opposition forces. What is a government to do after it opens channels for dialogue and the opportunity is not accepted without preconditions, and after protesters disrupt normal life by attacking hospitals and universities and shutting down the business district? When protests against globalization in Seattle, New York and Washington turned violent in recent years, U.S. authorities deployed proportional and necessary steps to maintain order.

In Bahrain, the door for dialogue remains open. But the opposition has refused invitations to negotiate without preconditions. We are dismayed that The Post did not criticize opposition forces for their unwillingness to engage in discussions.


Houda Nonoo, Washington

The writer is Bahrain’s ambassador to the United States.

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Bahraini forces demolish two mosques


Mon Apr 18, 2011 11:59AM



Demolishing Imam Jawad mosque in Nuwaidrat

Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have reportedly destroyed two more mosques in line with the country's policy of demolishing Muslim religious sites.

MORE

http://presstv.com/detail/175441.html

[bigron]

- Bahrain Escapes Censure by West as Crackdown on Protesters Intensifies
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/bahrain-escapes-censure-by-west-as-crackdown-on-protesters-intensifies-2269638.html


- Bahrain: Security Forces Continue Wide, Deep Crackdown on Dissent
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/04/bahrain-human-rights-crackdown-protests-lawyer-shiite-sunni.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BabylonBeyond+%28Babylon+%26+Beyond+Blog%29

 
- Bahrain Opposition Activists Charged With Murder
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/04/18/world-bahrain-activists-charged-murder.html

 
- 7 Bahrain Protesters Face Trial in Military Court
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/04/17/international/i024932D99.DTL


- Bahrain FM: GCC Troops to Remain Indefinitely
http://news.antiwar.com/2011/04/18/bahrain-fm-gcc-troops-to-remain-indefinitely/