Tag: Maryam Al-Khawaja

The Persian Gulf Country Bahrain is simmering because  of Social, economic and religious tension.

“Bahrain human rights activist Maryam Al-Khawaja says the government there is escalating its crackdown on protests in advance of a major opposition rally, and says that the regime continues to torture detainees. Al-Khawaja, President of The Bahrain Center For Human Rights, appeared on HuffPost Live Wednesday to discuss the Bahraini government‘s ban on protests as well as the cases of a photojournalist and blogger who were arrested and abused by police with host Ahmed Shihab-Eldin.

King Hamad’s royal decree last week banned protests in the country’s capital, Manama, and heightened “punishments” for those citizens who do not abide by the decree. The decree comes just two weeks before a major opposition rally planned for August 14, the celebration of Bahrain’s independence from the United Kingdom. While the Bahraini government has framed the decree as an amendment to the 2006 Law on the Protection of Society from Acts of Terrorism, the United Nations has expressed concern over what exactly this entails. In addition to the revocation of citizenship for anyone found guilty of terrorism and an increased detention period, it also bans sit-ins, rallies, and gatherings in the capital.

Al-Khawaja told HuffPost Live that the decree merely legalizes practices that have been in place for years, and the government has begun increasing its crackdown on protestors in recent weeks.”

The development is not new.

As usual, this is the legacy of the British.

Just as they messed up Palestine and  jinxed the Palestinian issue, by  complicating the local affairs for their perceived benefits and leaving the Sate as things became too hot,they installed a family to rule in Bahrain and the result is for every one to see to-day.

For their own commercial interests in Oil, US and the West are keeping a studied silence waiting for a suitable opportunity to install another Puppet.

In the meanwhile, people suffer.

One wold have noticed that the world media is also very coy about reporting the Bahrain riots.

Story:

Bahrain News — The Protests Chronology

1. AUG. 2, 2013

   Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa issues new decrees giving authorities more powers to quell antigovernment protests; measures are part of crackdown unveiled in response to uprising by members of Bahrain’s Shiite majority, who are demanding greater political voice.MORE »

2. MAY. 16, 2013

   Bahraini court jails six people for a year for insulting King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa in messages on Twitter.MORE »

3. APR. 25, 2013

   United Nations expert Juan E Mendez says Bahraini government has effectively cancelled his scheduled visit to country, during which he was to investigate reports that authorities abused and tortured protesters in detention.MORE »

4. MAR. 29, 2013

   Court in Bahrain clears 21 medics of charges linked to antigovernment protests in 2011; arrests of dozens of medical workers were part of crackdown by Bahrain’s Sunni rulers after uprising began in 2011 by majority Shiites seeking greater political voice.MORE »

5. MAR. 15, 2013

   Dozens of people are injured in Bahrain as protesters clash with riot police on second anniversary of Saudi-led military intervention in country.MORE »

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Background_of_the_Bahraini_uprising_(2011%E2%80%93present)

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/bahrain/index.html

Bahrain Uprising background  :

The Al Khalifas have ruled Bahrain since 1783 after expelling the Persians. In 1868, Bahrain was captured and dominated by the British. The country was a protectorate “guided” by the British, despite having the Al Khalifas as rulers. In 1923, the British replaced Sheikh Issa bin Ali with his son. Three years later the British placed the country under the de facto rule of Charles Belgravewho operated as an adviser to the ruler until 1957. Having no legal code, the country’s judiciary was run by Belgrave giving him the ability to control any opposition movement.^[3]

In the 1950s sectarian clashes occurred when a group of Sunnis including members of the royal family, among them the ruler’s brother, attacked a Shia religious ritual and a neighborhood. Although many thought it was a “deliberate provocation to create sectarian divisions”, the violence lasted for two years. In 1954, the National Union Committee (NUC) was set up by middle-class Sunnis and Shias. They said Belgrave was “helping foment religious hatred and imprisoning innocent people” and demanded his removal as well as installing a democratic system and a code of law.^[3] The NUC is regarded by Bahraini scholar Abdulhadi Khalaf as the “earliest serious and still enduring challenge to ethnic politics in Bahrain”.^[4] The committee lasted for two years until the British crushed the uprising, imprisoning and deporting its leaders.^[3]

In 1965 a month-long uprising broke after hundreds of workers at Bahrain Petroleum Company were laid off. Several general strikes were staged, however the movement was crushed again by the British. In 1966, the British persuaded Bahrain to appoint another “adviser”, this time a Colonel calledIan Henderson. The purpose, according to secret British documents was “to give Henderson a free hand to reorganise it [the “Special Branch”] into an efficient, modern covert surveillance ‘anti terrorist’ organisation”. Henderson was then known for his alleged role in ordering torture and assassinations during Kenya‘s Mau Mau Uprising. Henderson freed all those imprisoned in the 1965 uprising and allowed protest-related militants to return. This move was analyzed later as “building up an intricate system of infiltrators and double agents inside the protest movement”.^[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Background_of_the_Bahraini_uprising_(2011%E2%80%93present)

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