Dark clouds over Bahrain

Πηγή: Foreign Policy
By Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The killing of a 14-year-old boy by police on the island of Sitra on Aug. 31 has reignited simmering tensions in Bahrain. Ali Jawad Ahmad died while attending an Eid al-Fitr demonstration, one of numerous flashpoints in the daily confrontations between anti-government protesters and the security services. His death triggered widespread protests that rapidly spread to most Shiite villages on the Bahraini archipelago. Some 10,000 people attended his funeral and repeated calls for the overthrow of the ruling Al-Khalifa family. Groups of demonstrators also returned to central Manama where they attempted to reclaim the site of Pearl Roundabout -- now a traffic junction after it was bulldozed by the regime in March. Riot police beat them back with tear gas, but the symbolism of the attempted return to the heart of the pro-democracy movement that threatened to topple the Al-Khalifa in March was clear.

Ali's death and the reactions to it underline once more how Bahraini society remains polarised as never before. Following the lifting of martial law on June 1, King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa convened a National Dialogue and created an ostensibly independent investigation into the springtime unrest. Through these initiatives, the government hoped to begin a process of reconciliation and reach a consensual settlement with the opposition. However, their flawed implementation widened the chasm between the Al-Khalifa and their opponents by casting serious doubt on the credibility of the commitment to political reform. The impasse undercuts goodwill and moderate opinion on both sides while entrenching hard-line attitudes and mutual distrust.

Bahrain's National Dialogue convened on July 2 and ran until July 30. It began under a cloud following the June 22 decision of the National Safety Court to sentence 13 prominent opposition figures to varying terms of imprisonment. They included the head and the founder of the Islamist Haq Movement (Abdeljalil Singace and Hassan Mushaima, who both received life sentences), the president of the liberal Wa'ad Society (Ibrahim Sharif, sentenced to five years), as well as prominent Shiite clerics and human rights activists. The majority were committed to non-violent protest and many had participated in the political opening that followed the ending of the previous bout of internal unrest in 1999. Their imprisonment, following a military trial, illustrated the gloved-fist nature of the regime's approach, jailing some of its opponents while simultaneously reaching out to others.

The National Dialogue suffered a credibility gap from the beginning. Despite winning up to 45 percent of the vote in the Oct. 2010 national election, the Shiite opposition group Al-Wefaq was only granted five out of 300 delegates (1.67 percent). This was consistent with the overall composition of the dialogue, in which delegates representing all Bahraini opposition societies only constituted 11.67 percent of the total. The remaining participants were drawn from all walks of life and overwhelmingly favored keeping the regime in its current shape. Core opposition demands for redrawing electoral boundaries for greater proportional representation and creating an elected government were simply not on the agenda; nor was any discussion permitted of the nature or extent of the ruling family's power. This led prominent Al-Wefaq MP Dr Jassim Hussain Ali to comment that the process resembled "more of a social event than a political dialogue."

Al-Wefaq withdrew from the National Dialogue halfway through, on July 18, with critics calling into question its own judgement to participate. The dialogue continued, and concluded with a series of recommendations, including one that the Prime Minister (rather than the King) would appoint the government. As the long-serving Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa (in office since 1971) represents one of the key obstacles to reform, this recommendation hardly constituted a political concession. Nor did the dialogue come to an agreement over the electoral boundaries, another major opposition grievance. Far from drawing a line under the unrest, the flawed process reinforced existing divisions and demonstrated very clearly that critical issues of political contention are simply not up for debate.

The National Dialogue partially overlapped with the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI). King Hamad established the BICI on June 29 to "enquire into the incidents" in February and March and their consequences. Its chair was Egyptian Professor Cherif Bassiouni, who earlier led the U.N. Security Council commission that investigated war crimes in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The BICI also included a UN Human Rights Committee member (Sir Nigel Rodley) and a former International Criminal Court judge (Philippe Kirsch) among their number. Observers hoped that this strong line-up would allay suspicions as to the commission's impartiality, as it had been appointed by the Royal Court, rather than a truly impartial entity such as the United Nations.

Similar to the National Dialogue, the BICI quickly ran into difficulty. This stemmed from a series of interviews given by Chairman Bassiouni that appeared to prejudge its outcome and exonerate officials of any responsibility for human rights violations. After stating to Bahraini newspaper Al-Ayam that he had found no proof of systematic abuses or torture, Bassiouni went further by telling Reuters that he doubted there was ever a policy of excessive use of force. Rather, he attributedincidents of abuse to "people at the lower level acting, and there not being an effective chain of communication". These comments drew a furious reaction from Bahraini human rights groups and opposition figures, who pointed to statements made by senior members of the Al-Khalifa praising and (in some cases) egging on the security forces.

As tempers flared and skepticism mounted, hundreds of people attempted to force their way into the BICI office in Manama on Aug. 15. Staff working at the commission were allegedly threatened and abused, and the office was closed to "walk-in" visits. The BICI now appears isolated and few observers expect much from its report, which is to be submitted on Oct. 30. The events of Aug. 15 further polarized an already volatile situation as pro-government supporters argued that they demonstrated the true face of a violent opposition unwilling to accept outcomes it did not agree with. It seems increasingly likely that whatever recommendations the BICI makes, they will merely become another tool in the war of words between regime supporters and opponents.

All the while the prospects for any meaningful process of reflection -- or even reconciliation -- dim with each new incident. Moreover, political power at the heart of the regime appears to be coalescing around a group of hard-liners associated with the Prime Minister. These include the Interior Minister (Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah) and the influential Bin Ahmed brothers Khalid (Minister of the Royal Court) and Khalifa (head of the Bahrain Defense Force, itself much strengthened following an emergency recruiting drive in Pakistan). The sidelining of reformers around the King and his son, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad, quickened in late-August as the Prime Minister announced an anti-corruption drive and called for a strategy to increase foreign business investment in Bahrain. Both issues encroach directly onto the Economic Development Board, chaired by the Crown Prince, which since 2006 had led the way in attracting foreign direct investment and rooting out corruption.

The continuing tensions and low-level violence (albeit much reduced in visibility) are now prompting foreign companies to reassess their engagement in Bahrain. In August alone, Volvo announced it was canceling its 2012 Golf Champions Tournament, Credit Agricole disclosed it was relocating to Dubai, and the International Institute of Strategic Studies confirmed it would suspend its flagship Manama Security Dialogue, held every December since 2004. These decisions are significant, as the majority of regional and international businesses did not abandon Bahrain in March. Most adopted a "wait and see" approach that now seems to be wearing thin. Thus, the continuing absence of a comprehensive political settlement may end up inflicting greater damage than the initial shock of the uprising itself. They signal to foreign partners that governmental claims of a return to normality are shallow and based on a fragile and transient veneer of calm.

Every day brings new evidence of Bahrain's self-inflicted wounds, notwithstanding efforts by the government and its PR agents to shape an alternative narrative. Ali Jawad Ahmad's death was one reminder of the unresolved but still lethal confrontation between an enraged opposition and an implacable regime. Another is the announcement on Sept. 2 that Bahraini doctors facing trial in a military court for their involvement in the pro-democracy demonstrations have gone on hunger strike. But Bahrainis are running out of options should the processes of national dialogue and reconciliation fail to deliver tangible results acceptable both to regime and opposition. Were this to occur, the danger is that the squeezing of the middle ground validates and strengthens extremist voices, and that the battle-lines will be drawn for a new clash between diametrically opposed camps.

Bahrain: “The Puzzling Silence of Humanitarianism”

On 23 March, four days after Operation Unified Protector started in Libya the EU foreign policy adviser and Catherine Ashton's right-hand man Robert Cooper commenting on the Bahrain protests' brutal crackdown said: “I'm not sure if the police have had to deal with these public order questions before. It's not easy dealing with large demonstrations in which there may be violence. It's a difficult task for policemen. It's not something that we always get right in the best western countries and accidents happen”. This claim was similar to what Gaddafi had to say excusing his own crackdown on the Benghazi’s protesters.

Catherine Ashton in an official statement earlier on 17 March had called the Government “to initiate a political process with concrete steps that answers the legitimate demands and aspirations of the Bahrainis”. But then she was convinced by the regime's offer of talks: “"The crown prince of Bahrain has appeared to put forward an interesting proposal for a dialogue to start without preconditions, that would bring in the spectrum of opinion in Bahrain and begin discussions that over time would move forward to some sort of, I don't know, possibly constitutional monarchy. But certainly he has a plan".

In the case of Bahraini uprising the government didn’t use mercenaries as it was unfoundedly ascribed to Libya’s regime but imported Army from the neighbor Saudi Arabia. Robert Cooper in his obvious attempt to downplay the incident and maybe to evade the logical questioning “why intervening in Libya and not Bahrain the home to the US fifth fleet?” stated that it is "a rather pleasant, peaceful place” while “"one should understand the authorities were right to restore calm and order and that's what they've done".

Bahrain where some 40 per cent of the world’s oil passes through, is divided between a Shia majority (61,3%) receiving poor treatment in employment, housing, and infrastructure in favor of the Sunnis minority often imported from Pakistan and Syria. The protests started on 14 February when thousands gathered at the Pearl Square resulting to an open shooting by the police forces which left behind two dead and 55 wounded. In the ongoing every oppressing mean was used by the regime like tear gas, torture, tracing activists through social media and subsequent detentions, while around 600 people, including human rights defenders, political leaders, trade unionists, doctors, paramedics and clerics have been arrested since February 2011. On 14 March about 1,200 Saudi and other Gulf countries soldiers have reportedly entered Bahrain at the invitation of the Bahraini royal authorities in order to quell protests that have been raging there for a month. Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s crown prince, formally requested the Saudi intervention. It is worth noting that this Saudi Arabia's national guard deployed in public order enforcement measures and the use of sniper rifles is trained by Britain’s "humanitarian" government.

Last year, Britain approved 163 export licences for military equipment to Saudi Arabia, worth £110m. Exports included armoured personnel carriers, sniper rifles, small arms ammunition and weapon sights. In 2009, the UK supplied Saudi Arabia with CS hand grenades, teargas and riot control agents. On 8 July a video released showing one of the formidable armored vehicles (62-ton Leopard tank) being used to suppress rioting civilians in Bahrain, fuelled criticism of Berlin’s decision to sell 200 Leopards to Saudi.

President Barack Obama called King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain to express his deep concern over the violence in Bahrain. Saudi Arabia, a large supplier of U.S. oil, which is Sunni, has made it clear it will not accept a Shiite government next door in Bahrain. Iran, with which Obama administration is already battling over its nuclear program, having a Shiite government that backs the Shiite majority in Bahrain, called the Saudi move "unacceptable, threatening to escalate a local political conflict into a regional showdown with Iran." According to Adrian Blomfield of the London Telegraph: “Saudi officials say they gave their backing to Western air strikes on Libya in exchange for the United States muting its criticism of the authorities in Bahrain, a close ally of the desert kingdom”.

Poet jailed in protests claims she was beaten by Bahraini royal

MAZEN MAHDI/EPA

Πηγή: The Independent

Monday, 18 July 2011

Ayat al-Gormezi says she was tortured while in jail for reciting a poem at a pro-democracy protest. Patrick Cockburn reports

Ayat al-Gormezi arriving at her home last week after her sudden release from prison. She was sentenced to a year in prison last month by a military court after reciting a poem critical of Bahrain's rulers.

A female member of the al-Khalifa royal family in Bahrain has been accused of repeatedly beating the 20-year-old student poet Ayat al-Gormezi when she was in prison accused of reciting a poem at a pro-democracy protest rally criticising the monarchy.

In an interview with The Independent, Ms Gormezi, who became a symbol of resistance to oppression in Bahrain, said that although her interrogators had tried to blindfold her, "I was able to see a woman of about 40 in civilian clothes who was beating me on the head with a baton". Ms Gormezi later described her interrogator to prison guards, who, she said, promptly named the woman as being one of the al-Khalifas with a senior position in the Bahraini security service.

"I was taken many times to her office for fresh beatings," Ms Gormezi said. "She would say, 'You should be proud of the al-Khalifas. They are not going to leave this country. It is their country.' "

The guards explained that it wasnot her regular job, but she had volunteered to take part in questioning political detainees.

Ms Gormezi was detained on 30 March at her parents' house after spending two weeks in hiding when the government, backed by a Saudi-led force, started a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in mid-March. She had been targeted by the authorities after she read out a poem at a rally in February which contained the lines: "We are the people who will kill humiliation and assassinate misery. We are the people who will destroy injustice."

Addressing King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa directly, she said of the Bahraini people: "Don't you hear their cries? Don't you hear their screams?" As she finished speaking the crowd roared: "Down with Hamad!"

Subjected to nine days of torture after her detention, Ms Gormezi described how she was beaten across the face with electric cables, kept in a tiny, freezing cell and forced to clean lavatories with her bare hands. All the while, she was beaten on the head and the body until she lost consciousness. "Many of the guards were Yemenis and Jordanians," she said. The recruitment of members of the Bahraini security forces from foreign Sunni states is one of the grievances of Bahrain's Shia majority, which says it is excluded from such jobs.

In a phone interview after her release, Ms Gormezi said she does not regret reading her poem in Pearl Square, the centre of Bahrain's democratic protests in February and March. "What I said was not a personal attack on the King or the Prime Minister but I was just expressing what the people want. I have written poetry since I was a child, but not about politics. I did not think it was dangerous at the time. I was just expressing my opinion."

After the crackdown on protesters in Bahrain started in mid-March, the tall monument in Pearl Square was demolished and even the Bahraini coin showing it was withdrawn. Anybody supporting the protests was in danger of detention and torture. Ms Gormezi's family sent her to stay with relatives, which she "did not want to do. But after two weeks the security forces threatened my family and I had to give myself up. As I was taken away in a car, my family were told to pick me up at a police station the following day, so they thought it was not serious".

Her mistreatment started immediately. She said: "There were four men and one woman in the car, all wearing balaclavas. They beat me and shouted 'you are going to be sexually assaulted! This is the last day of your life!'" They also made anti-Shia remarks. "I was terrified of being sexually assaulted or raped, but not of being beaten."

The vehicle she was in, escorted by the army and police, did not immediately go to the interrogation centre but drove around Bahrain. Another woman, whom Ms Gormezi said was a member of the teachers' organisation, was arrested and put in the boot of the car. Eventually, it reached the interrogation centre, which evidently doubled as a prison. Ms Gormezi said the beatings never stopped: "Once they told me to open my mouth and spat in it." The first night she was put in a tiny cell. "It smelled awful and I could not sleep because of the screams of a man being tortured in the next cell."

The second night she was placed in another cell with the two vents for air conditioning producing freezing air. She was taken out for regular beatings. "I was very frightened," she said. "But I did not think they would kill me because every time I lost consciousness from the beatings, they called a doctor."

Surprisingly, for the first four or five days, the interrogators did not ask Ms Gormezi about reading out her poem in Pearl Square. They abused the Shia in general, saying they were "bastards" and not properly married (the accusation stems from the Shia institution of temporary marriage and is often used as an insult by Sunnis).

"When they did ask me about the poem, they kept saying: 'Who asked you to write it? Who paid you to write it?'" Ms Gormezi said. They insisted she must have been ordered to do so by Shia leaders in Bahrain or was a member of a political group, which she denies.

The interrogators also kept saying she must owe allegiance to Iran. An obsessive belief that Shia demands for equal rights in Bahrain must be orchestrated by Tehran has long been a central feature of Sunni conspiracy theorists. "They kept asking me: 'Why are you loyal to Iran? Why are you not loyal to your own country?'" Ms Gormezi said. "I said it was nothing to do with Iran. I am a Bahraini and I was only trying to express what the people want."

After nine days in the interrogation centre, Ms Gormezi was taken to a second prison in Isa town in Bahrain. For a week she was in solitary confinement and was given medication so the signs of her beatings were less visible. She was then taken to a more general prison where physical mistreatment stopped and there were four other women. "After 16 days they let me talk to my family," she said. "It was meant to be for three minutes but they let me talk for 10. Once they took me back to the first interrogation centre to record a video apologising to the King."

International protests and ensuing bad publicity for the Bahraini monarchy led to her treatment improving, according to her family. Ms Gormezi was brought before a court on 12 June and sentenced to one year in prison, a shorter sentence than her family had feared. Last week she was called to an office in the prison and told she was to be released on the condition that she should not take part in other protests.

Activist accuses police in protester's death

* A Bahraini rights activist says a woman has died during clashes between riot police and anti-government protesters in the Gulf kingdom.

Nabeel Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, said that 47-year-old Zainab Hasan Ahmed al-Jumaa suffocated after inhaling tear gas fired by riot police during a demonstration on Friday near her home in Sitra, the hub of Bahrain's oil industry. Her death brings to 33 the number of those who have died since February when Bahrain's Shia majority started protests for greater freedoms in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.

Bahrain's Interior Ministry denied that Ms Jumaa's death was linked to a police operation and said in a statement posted on the ministry's website late on Friday that the woman died of natural causes. The claims came after tens of thousands of Bahrainis shouting "one man, one vote" attended a rally for political reform held by a leading opposition party, days before the group decides whether to pull out of national reform talks.

Bahrain's Sunni rulers have launched a national dialogue to discuss reforms and heal deep rifts in the kingdom after ending a four-month crackdown on weeks of protests led by the Shia majority early this year. Waving Bahraini flags and raising their hands, the demonstrators gathered to hear a speech by Sheikh Ali Salman, head of the largest Shia opposition group, Wefaq.

"The real victory is reaching a national consensus on serious democratic reforms that meet popular demands for justice and produce security, stability and growth," he said to the cheers of crowds who filled alleyways and rooftops.