Peaceful protesters killed in Bahrain today

[High_Gravity]

5 Bahrain policemen accused of torture to face trial

DUBAI: The Bahraini authorities announced on Thursday that five police officers accused over the death by torture of two detainees, linked to anti-regime protests earlier this year, would face trial next month.

Nawaf Abdullah Hamza the Public Prosecution was quoted by the official Bahrain News Agency as saying that after examining allegations by the interior ministry of cases of torture and ill treatment, his office had decided to refer one case to the criminal court.

Five police officers have been implicated in the case, he said, adding that "two are accused of having beaten to death two of the detainees, and the three others are accused of failing to report the case."

He said the trial would start on January 11.

The Shiite-led mass demonstrations which rocked the Sunni-ruled kingdom of Bahrain earlier this year were violently crushed by government forces using live ammunition and heavy-handed tactics.

A special commission appointed to probe the crackdown on the month-long anti-government protests that erupted in March published a report last month denouncing the "excessive and unjustified use of force" by the authorities.

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry said 35 people were killed in the unrest, including five security personnel, and five detainees who were tortured to death while in custody. Hundreds were also injured.

Earlier on Wednesday, the government announced a policy of "zero tolerance" towards any abuse of political detainees, in line with the recommendations of the probe.

Read more: THE DAILY STAR :: News :: Middle East :: 5 Bahrain policemen accused of torture to face trial
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: THE DAILY STAR :: Breaking News, Lebanon News, Middle East News & World News)

 

[JStone]

I've had a good opinion of Bahrain for a while now, always seemed like a really progressive example of a middle-eastern country, this is heartbreaking.

A progressive dictatorship?

 

[High_Gravity]

Bahrain riot police clear protesters with tear gas after march demanding the government resign

MANAMA, Bahrain — Riot police in Bahrain fired tear gas Friday to disperse several hundred protesters among thousands who took to the streets Friday to demand the government’s resignation after a fact-finding report uncovered torture and other abuses against detainees.

The protesters carried the red and white Bahraini flag as they marched for nearly four miles (six kilometers) along a highway running through Shiite neighborhoods in a northern district of the island kingdom. After the march, several hundred protesters gathered at a traffic circle, prompting police to seal off the road and clear the crowds with clouds of tear gas.

Bahrain’s Shiites, about 70 percent of the nation’s 525,000 citizens, complain of widespread discrimination under the kingdom’s Sunni rulers, including being blocked from top government or military posts. The monarchy has offered some concessions but refused to bow to demands for greater political freedoms and rights.

Activists accuse the government of failing to implement the recommendations of a fact-finding mission it authorized. The mission’s 500-page report, released in late November, found a number of detainees were tortured as “a deliberate practice by some” during the height of the protests in February and March.

“No change has happened,” said Fatima Ahmad, a 24-year-old protester. “All the officers and people who were involved in the violation of human rights were awarded different posts and positions. The government is fooling its own nation and that is why it must resign.”

The report on the crackdown was also highly critical of a special security court created under martial law that issued harsh penalties, including death sentences, and “denied most defendants elementary fair trial guarantees.”

Bahrain later lifted martial law and dissolved the security court.

The report urged Bahrain to review all the security court verdicts and drop charges against those accused of nonviolent acts such as joining or supporting the protests.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap...AYoNfw?docId=c96bfb0cf2fd4099b8af6b5ae6b8b0af

 

[High_Gravity]

Bahraini forces kill woman protester

A Bahraini woman has been killed in a tear gas attack by the Saudi-backed regime forces on an anti-government demonstration in an area near the capital, Manama.


On Tuesday, 55-year-old Fakhria Jassim died after inhaling poisonous tear gas fired by regime forces to disperse the protesters in the area.


Bahrainis have held a funeral ceremony for Jassim who came from Isa Town in the north of the country.


Jassim was the third victim of the regime's violent crackdown on demonstrations since late November 2011.


According to the main Bahraini opposition group al-Wefaq, 15-year-old Sayyed Hashem Saeed was “hit in the head” and killed by regime forces in the northeastern town of Sitra in late December 2011.


On November 19, Ali al-Badah, 16, also died after being run over by a police vehicle during an anti-regime protest in Juffair village, near Manama.


Dozens of people have been killed and thousands more have been arrested and put in jail or fired from their jobs in Bahrain since the beginning of the popular uprising in February 2011.


In addition, many health workers, teachers, opposition figures and human rights activists in Bahrain are still facing trial or serving prison terms over participation in anti-government demonstrations.


On Monday, the deputy head of the supreme judicial council of Bahrain, Sheikh Khalifa bin Rashid Al Khalifa, said a judicial panel established in accordance with the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry would review verdicts that were initially not subject to appeal after being issued by a semi-military court over involvement in anti-government protests in mid-March 2011.

Bahraini forces kill woman protester - Tehran Times

 

[High_Gravity]

Bahrain riot police fire tear gas, stun grenades as protesters march into capital

MANAMA, Bahrain — Security forces in Bahrain have fired tear gas and stun grenade after opposition groups staged a rare march into the center of the capital Manama.

Police set up checkpoints and many shops were closed after the Wednesday unrest. Clashes occur almost daily in the island kingdom, but mostly in areas outside the Manama’s business districts.

Bahrain’s majority Shiites began protests nearly a year ago to seek greater rights from the ruling Sunni monarchy.

A government statement also said at least 41 policemen were injured in clashes with demonstrators that took place elsewhere on Tuesday. One policeman has severe burns from a petrol bomb.

Bahrain riot police fire tear gas, stun grenades as protesters march into capital - The Washington Post

 

[Katzndogz]

Wooo HOOOO

Another Shia - Sunni war.

This is just an ordinary day.

 

[Intense]

I've had a good opinion of Bahrain for a while now, always seemed like a really progressive example of a middle-eastern country, this is heartbreaking.

A progressive dictatorship?

Progressive Statism is Totalitarian. WTFU.

 

[High_Gravity]

In Bahrain, Worries Grow of Violent Shiite-Sunni Confrontation

MANAMA, BAHRAIN — Mohammed Ibrahim, 19, a Shiite student at the University of Bahrain, says he has gotten used to the tear gas the police use to disperse protests, which he and his friends attend every Friday.

Suspended for several months after the violent suppression of last year’s pro-democracy movement, he recently was allowed back on campus.

“They had suspended me because I participated in demonstrations on the campus and there had been fights with some Sunni students,” Mr. Ibrahim said in an interview last week.

Now he is back in school, but the situation between Shiite students like him and Sunni students is very “tense,” he said.

“I don’t think any longer that peaceful demonstrations are enough,” he said. “I think we should fight the police back, when they attack us.”

Mr. Ibrahim belongs to the 14th of February movement, a group that started with peaceful protests but that in recent weeks has seen some members calling on the Internet for violent protests to overthrow the government — and especially the ruling family.

He said he and other student activists were ready to fight with stones and Molotov cocktails.

“We have to become strong, like some groups in Iraq who are defending the rights of Shiites,” said his friend Salah, 22, who would only give his first name.

People like Mr. Ibrahim and his friends are a worry to Western and Arab security officials who say that the passions unleashed by last year’s democracy campaign are evolving into another violent Shiite-Sunni confrontation, like the one that plagues Iraq.

Ever since gaining independence from Britain in 1971, the island’s Sunni rulers have had uneasy relations with some of the Shiite population, leading to periodic civil unrest. But now, according to a British security official speaking on condition of anonymity, “We see an increase of attacks against policemen and a change in the language on the Internet from Shia and Sunni young people.”

Bahrain has become the turf for a bigger regional conflict as well.

“The situation in Bahrain started as a nonsectarian movement for freedom and turned into the hottest battlefield in the Iranian-Saudi regional war,” said Omid Nouripour, a member of the German Parliament and an expert on Iran and security issues. “As the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is supporting the state-repression inside Bahrain, Iran acts as the protector of the Shia.”

Each Friday, before heading to protests, Mr. Ibrahim, like many other young Shiites, drives to Diraz, a village on the northwest coast, to listen to the kingdom’s most influential Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Issa Qassim.

On a Friday this month, the mosque was packed to overflowing with worshipers. Nearby hung a large banner portraying Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Until recently, Ayatollah Qassim preached peaceful protest, but last Friday his language changed. Criticizing police violence against female protesters, he said the police who attacked women could be attacked in return.

“This is a really dangerous message to the government,” said Habib al-Marzouk, who was present in the congregation. “He said, ‘It is enough, we cannot sit silent and see how they are attacking our women.”’

Mr. Marzouk said some Shiite youth would take that as broad approval for violence against security forces. A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that since the speech some police officers had been heavily beaten.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/world/middleeast/26iht-m26-bahrain-conflict.html?ref=middleeast

 

[georgephillip]

"As the Arab Spring unfolded last year, protesters in the streets saw something startling about the tools of repression being used on them. The Humvees, tanks, helicopters were from the US government; the canisters of chemical agents used to attack them said, 'Made in the USA.'

The Obama Administration wants to sell 44 of these M1152A1B2 Armored High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) and other weapons to the dictators of Bahrain. Bahrain, home to the US Fifth Fleet and close ally of Saudi Arabia, brutally suppressed the uprising among their citizens.

"More than 40 pro-democracy protesters were killed and thousands more were arrested and tortured. While speaking out loudly on Libya's brutality, the Obama administration remained largely silent on Bahrain..."

Last fall Obama's plan to sell Bahrain $53 million worth of weapons encountered congressional opposition that forced the administration to delay the weapons transfer.

Now, sources have leaked the news that Obama is quietly moving forward with the arms sales to another Middle Eastern dictator, despite their on-going human rights abuses.

Obama Administration Quietly Selling Arms to Bahrain Despite Continuing Human Rights Abuses | Common Dreams

 

[High_Gravity]

Congressmen Confront Bahrain Over Recent NGO Visa Restrictions

WASHINGTON -- With the first anniversary of the popular uprising, and subsequent suppression, in Bahrain fast approaching, a number of human rights organizations are asking a dreaded question: What happens if there's another crackdown, and not enough international organizations are there to witness it?

This unlikely circumstance has started to seem like a serious possibility in recent weeks, as the government of Bahrain -- amid its own internal investigation and repeated promises of reforms and accountability -- has stepped up its denial of visas to human rights oriented non-governmental organizations.

On Thursday, the brewing controversy received a boost in attention as a bipartisan collection of congressmen signed on to a letter to Sheikh Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the ruler of Bahrain, asking him to "reconsider the recent travel bans" on the NGOs:

As we approach the one-year anniversary of mass protests in Bahrain on February 14th, reversing these bans would support your pledge to engage international organizations and individuals "in order to ensure that there is no return to unacceptable practices once the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry has left Bahrain."

The letter, an advance copy of which was obtained by The Huffington Post, is set to be delivered to Sheikh Hamad later Thursday.

The letter is being circulated by the office of Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), and is also signed by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Donald Payne (D-N.J.), Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), Mike Honda (D-Calif.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), John Conyers (D-Mich.) Jim Moran (D-Va.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) and John Carter (R-Texas).

The increased congressional attention to the matter comes as Egypt faces growing condemnation from the international community over its treatment of American and European pro-democracy NGOs. In late December, heavily armed security officials stormed the Cairo offices of several NGOs under the pretense of investigating whether the groups were properly registered.

The obstacles to NGO workers in Bahrain have been far less aggressive, but equally disruptive, aid workers say. The trouble began in early January, when Richard Sollom, the deputy director of Physicians for Human Rights, was turned away from the border at the Bahrain airport.

Congressmen Confront Bahrain Over Recent NGO Visa Restrictions

 

[High_Gravity]

Bahrain anti-government protesters seek new ‘Freedom Square’ for uprising anniversary

MANANA, Bahrain — Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters in Bahrain are streaming toward a site they seek to occupy for the one-year anniversary of their uprising in the Gulf kingdom.

Riot police did not immediately intervene as crowds headed to an empty lot dubbed ‘Freedom Square’ in the village of Miqsha outside the capital Manama. Miqsha has been a site of ongoing clashes between Shiite-led protesters and police.

Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy permitted limited sit-ins ahead of the Feb. 14 anniversary.

But Friday’s march appears aimed at creating a new round-the-clock hub of the protest movement similar to Manana’s Pearl Square, which was stormed by security forces last year.

Bahrain anti-government protesters seek new ‘Freedom Square’ for uprising anniversary - The Washington Post

 

[High_Gravity]

Bahrain should stop prosecuting protesters, U.S. envoy says

Bahrain should stop prosecuting "all persons accused of offenses involving political expression," the United States’ chief human rights envoy said Thursday.

The Persian Gulf island nation has been roiled by protests seeking greater democracy and more voice for Shiite Muslims in the Sunni Muslim monarchy. Human rights groups say hundreds of demonstrators were given excessive and unfair sentences in special military courts last year.

Bahrain is a sensitive spot for the United States: It has long been an ally against Iran, but police crackdowns there have spurred charges that the U.S. has a double standard on human rights.

Assistant Secretary of State Michael H. Posner praised Bahraini King Hamed ibn Isa Khalifa for sparking an independent investigation of alleged human rights violations, which culminated in a November report that found government forces tortured protesters. It recommended dropping charges against demonstrators.

Posner said Bahrain still needed to drop those charges. He also expressed concerns about police using excessive force, including "widespread and sometimes indiscriminate use of tear gas."

Bahrain should stop prosecuting protesters, U.S. envoy says - latimes.com

 

[High_Gravity]

Bahrain Protests: Police Fire Tear Gas, Stun Grenades As Protesters Try To Occupy Landmark Square

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Security forces in Bahrain fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters trying to occupy a landmark square in the nation's capital on Monday ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Gulf kingdom's Shiite-led uprising.

Thousands of opposition supporters marched through Manama's streets in the largest attempt in months to retake Pearl Square, the central roundabout that served as the epicenter of weeks of protests last year by Bahrain's Shiite majority against the ruling Sunni dynasty.

Thousands of riot police and other security forces have staked out positions around the square and across the Gulf island nation to prevent the opposition from staging a mass rally in or near the plaza to mark Tuesday's one-year anniversary of the revolt.

Opposition supporters were undeterred by the authorities' warnings of zero tolerance for anti-government activities around the strategic island that is the home of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

"We will not back down," said Nader Abdulimam, who had taken refuge in a house just outside of Manama with other protesters overcome by tear gas. "This has gone on for one year and it will go for another year or more."

Some protesters hurled firebombs and rocks after the security forces fired tear gas. In an area about six miles (10 kilometers) west of central Manama, some demonstrators stood atop Bahrain's ancient burial mounds — some more than 5,000 years old — waving flags featuring the image of Pearl Square's six-pronged monument.

More than 50 police vehicles filled a site that protesters have dubbed "Freedom Square," which hosted several government-sanctioned opposition gatherings last week.

After the government imposed martial law last March in response to the demonstrations, security forces stormed the protesters' encampment at the landmark square in a bid to crush the uprising. The authorities then razed the towering white monument that stood in the center of the plaza.

The now heavily guarded square holds great symbolic value for Bahrain's opposition movement, and protesters have repeatedly tried to reoccupy it. But authorities have effectively locked off the capital to demonstrations since March.

Emergency rule was lifted in June, but street battles between security forces and protesters still flare up almost every day in the predominantly Shiite villages around the capital.

At least 40 people have been killed during months of unprecedented political unrest in Bahrain, the Gulf country hardest hit by upheaval during last year's Arab Spring protests. Neighboring Saudi Arabia and other Sunni-ruled Gulf states dispatched troops to Bahrain in March to help crush the protests.

Shiites account for about 70 percent of Bahrain's population of some 525,000 people, but say they have faced decades of discrimination and are blocked from top political and security posts.

Bahrain's Sunni rulers have promised reforms, although they refused to make the far-reaching changes the protesters and the main Shiite group, Al Wefaq, have demanded. These include ending the monarchy's ability to select the government and set key state policies.

Bahrain Protests: Police Fire Tear Gas, Stun Grenades As Protesters Try To Occupy Landmark Square

 

[High_Gravity]

Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead as planned, says Bernie Ecclestone

The Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone promised on Thursday "there will be no problem with the Bahrain Grand Prix" even though petrol bombs, tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades were used in last week's clash between police and demonstrators in the Gulf kingdom.

Contractually, the teams will have to go if asked to do so by Ecclestone and the FIA. But even though some individuals and sponsors have private misgivings, Ecclestone said: "Nobody is saying we're not going or we don't want to go or anything. Everybody is quite positive. I've told all the teams there's no problem at all. I'm absolutely 100% sure we'll go there and there will be no problem."

But Ecclestone did say officials in Bahrain would take extra precautions to ensure the safety of everyone involved with the Formula One circus, which arrives in two months. "I am sure the people there will make sure, just in case there's a problem. I am sure there won't be a problem," he said.

The Bahrain issue will dominate the agenda at the start of the season, which will open in Melbourne on 18 March. But there is a mounting confidence, however fragile, that the race will now take place unless there are further flashpoints between now and then.

Last year the race, which was scheduled to open the season, was called off on safety grounds. Tickets for this year's race, which is scheduled to take place on 22 April, went on sale last week.

The violence last week marked the anniversary of the "Day of Rage" pro-democracy demonstrations. Since then, however, the pro-race lobby has received important support from the war crimes expert Cherif Bassiouni, who chaired the independent commission that has examined the protests that have taken place in the country.

In a letter to Zayed Alzayani, the chairman of the Bahrain International Circuit, Bassiouni said the revival of the race is "an important point of departure for the people of Bahrain to forge ahead in their national efforts towards reconciliation".

Ecclestone has announced a new technology supplier to the sport. Tata Communications has signed a multi-year technology service and marketing agreement with Formula One Management. It means the Mumbai-based company will now become the official web hosting and content delivery network provider to F1, which for many years has resisted the advance of the digital age.

Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead as planned, says Bernie Ecclestone | Sport | The Guardian

 

[High_Gravity]

Bahraini infant killed by tear gas fired by regime forces

Another Bahraini infant has died from asphyxia after inhaling poisonous tear gas fired by Saudi-backed regime forces in the capital, Manama.

Bahraini activists say the 45-day old infant died on Monday after regime forces fired tear gas at anti-government protesters in a residential area, Al-Alam news channel reported.

Bahraini troops heavily rely on tear gas and stun grenades to disperse peaceful anti-government protesters. Several Bahraini civilians, mostly senior citizens and kids, have also died from asphyxia after regime troops fired tear gas in residential areas and into homes in violation of international standards that Bahrain is a signatory to.

Amnesty International has warned about the Bahraini government's misuse of tear gas against anti-regime protesters and has called for an investigation into the tear gas-related deaths.

Bahraini infant killed by tear gas fired by regime forces - Tehran Times

 

[High_Gravity]

Tens of thousands demand democracy in huge Bahrain protest

Tens of thousands of Bahrainis demonstrated on Friday to demand democratic reforms, stepping up pressure on the U.S.-allied government with the biggest protest yet in a year of unrest.

They began marching along a highway near Manama in response to a call from leading Shiite cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim, who urged people to renew their calls for greater democracy.

A live blog showed images of the protesters carrying banners denouncing "dictatorship" and demanding the release of detainees.

"We are here for the sake of our just demands that we cannot make concessions over and we stick with them because we have sacrificed for them," Sheikh Isa Qassim said before the march in his weekly sermon in the Shi'ite village of Diraz.

Qassim and other Shiite clerics led the march.

"It is the biggest demonstration in the past year. I would say it could be over 100,000," said a Reuters photographer after protesters filled up the main Budaiya highway in the area of Diraz and Saar, west of Manama.

Security forces fired tear gas at a small group of protesters, but the rally was mostly peaceful, the BBC reported.

Activists had called for the biggest rally since the Bahraini authorities quelled a popular protest with help from Saudi troops more than a year ago.

Later, hundreds of protesters broke away from the march to walk down the main highway into Manama in an attempt to return to a traffic intersection that protesters occupied for a month during last year's uprising.

Activists said riot police blocking the road fired tear gas and the interior ministry said protesters threw stones.

The government, pressed by its Western allies to allow peaceful expression of dissent, has allowed more opposition protests in recent months.

The BBC reported some protesters chanted "Down, down Hamad," referring to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

A statement from the royal court praised a small Friday rally of several hundred government loyalists under the name "Fateh Gathering", and the Qassim march, as signs of democratic maturity.

"The events at the Fateh Gathering as well as the gathering in the Northern Governorate are a source of pride for Bahrainis as a model of correct democratic behavior," state news agency BNA reported.

World News - Tens of thousands demand democracy in huge Bahrain protest

 

[Peach]

The government, pressed by its Western allies to allow peaceful expression of dissent, has allowed more opposition protests in recent months.

The BBC reported some protesters chanted "Down, down Hamad," referring to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

A statement from the royal court praised a small Friday rally of several hundred government loyalists under the name "Fateh Gathering", and the Qassim march, as signs of democratic maturity.

"The events at the Fateh Gathering as well as the gathering in the Northern Governorate are a source of pride for Bahrainis as a model of correct democratic behavior," state news agency BNA reported.
**********************************************************
More of the ARAB SPRING that Bush got credit for?

 

[High_Gravity]

Bahrain, Belarus Added to 'Enemies of the Internet' List

Reporters Without Borders has added Bahrain and Belarus to its "Enemies of the Internet" list for their restrictive approach to the Web.

Bahrain and Belarus join the ranks of other countries that RWB considers to be most restricting Internet freedom, including Burma, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

"Bahrain offers an example of an effective news blackout based on a remarkable array of repressive measures: keeping the international media away, harassing human rights activists, arresting bloggers and netizens (one of whom died in detention), smearing and prosecuting free speech activists, and disrupting communications, especially during the major demonstrations," RWB said.

Belarus President Lukashenko, meanwhile, has increasingly cracked down on the Web as citizens have used it to mobilize against his regime.

"The list of blocked websites has grown longer and the Internet was partially blocked during the 'silent protests,'" RWB said. "Some Belarusian Internet users and bloggers have been arrested while others have been invited to 'preventive conversations' with the police in a bid to get them to stop demonstrating or covering demonstrations."

The Belarus government has used Twitter to intimidate protestors, RWB continued, while the country's main ISP has diverted those trying to access social network Vkontakte to sites with malware.

A new law that took effect on Jan. 6, meanwhile, "reinforced Internet surveillance and control measures," RWB said.

Last year, Bahrain and Belarus were on RWB's "under surveillance" list, but their actions bumped them up to the official "enemies" list.

The "under surveillance" category includes countries like Egypt, where "the new regime has resumed old practices and has directly targeted the most outspoken blogger," RWB said.

But it also includes Australia, thanks to its content filtering plans, as well as France, due to its anti-piracy laws.

RWB also called out Eritrea ("a police state that keeps its citizens away from the Internet"), Malaysia ("which continues to harass bloggers"), Russia (used cyber attacks to stop political debate), South Korea (censoring North Korean propaganda), Thailand (sending bloggers to prison), Turkey (thousands of inaccessible websites), Sri Lanka (online media blocked), and the United Arab Emirates (surveillance has been reinforced preventively in response to the Arab Spring).

RWB noted, however, that Thailand "could soon join the club of the world's most repressive countries as regards the Internet," thanks to continued content filtering and jailing of bloggers.

Bahrain, Belarus Added to 'Enemies of the Internet' List | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

 

[High_Gravity]

Bahrain says "significant" progress made on reforms

(Reuters) - Bahrain's king on Tuesday said his island state had rolled out a raft of reforms in the wake of international criticism of its crackdown on protesters last year but now needed to prove it could put them into practice.

At least 1,000 people were detained when The Sunni Muslim kingdom crushed protests led by its Shi'ite majority demanding curbs to the power of the ruling family and an end to sectarian discrimination.

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa said the country had made significant progress in reforming its security sector, judiciary, social policy and media since the unrest in February-March 2011.

"The doors of dialogue have and continue to be open," the king said in a speech. "We want our people to feel and see the differences these changes have on their lives. The challenge of the coming months will be to translate these into tangible, cultural changes."

Bahrain's opposition were not immediately available for comment but last week said the promised reforms were not enough and had made no change on the ground.

Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, called in troops from fellow Sunni monarchies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to help crack down on protesters. The kingdom has acknowledged that a number of people died under torture and protest leaders were given jail terms by a military tribunal.

Bahrain says significant progress made on reforms | Reuters

 

[High_Gravity]

Bahrain Activist’s Hunger Strike Belies Image of Calm Ahead of Formula One Race

Two weeks before Bahrain is scheduled to hold a prestigious international motor race, the kingdom’s attempts to project an image of calm were shattered on Friday when the police fired tear gas at thousands of protesters in the capital, Manama. As The Associated Press reports, the security forces dispersed marchers demanding the release of a leading rights activist, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who has been on hunger strike for 58 days.

The Bahrain Grand Prix Formula One race, which was canceled last year amid concerns about a crackdown on dissent, is supposed to begin on April 20, under the banner, “Unified: One Nation in Celebration.”

Mr. Khawaja, the jailed founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, was one of eight opposition leaders sentenced to life in prison by a special security court for “plotting to topple the government” of the kingdom through pro-democracy demonstrations.

The activist’s lawyer told Reuters that his client was moved to a military hospital and fed intravenously on Friday after his health deteriorated sharply.

Late Thursday, Mr. Khawaja’s daughter, Zainab, was arrested outside the interior ministry clinic where he was being held. Several brief video clips shot surreptitiously by activists driving past the ministry building captured what they said was Ms. Khawaja’s voice, as she shouted “baba” — Arabic for “papa” — to her father inside.

Bahrain Activist's Hunger Strike Belies Image of Calm Ahead of Formula One Race - NYTimes.com