…from beneath the crooked bough, witness 230 years of brutal tyranny by the al Khalifas come to an end
Random header image... Refresh for more!

King Hamad digging pit of Human Rights abuse from which he cannot return – his international creditibility now down the tubes – without intervention to stop Hamad from the West, revolution seems inevitable and growing more imminent

Bahrain riot police fire tear gas at protesters
BARBARA SURK, Associated Press
Updated 12:32 p.m., Thursday, June 30, 2011

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Riot police in Bahrain fired tear gas and stun grenades Thursday to disperse thousands of opposition supporters gathered near the square that was the epicenter of the nation’s Shiite-led demonstrations earlier this year, an activist said.

The violence is a setback to efforts by the tiny island’s Sunni rulers trying to open reconciliation talks with the Shiite opposition in the Gulf kingdom.

Activist Nabeel Rajab said the protesters at Manama’s Pearl Square chanted: “Down, down Hamad” — a reference to the Bahraini monarch. They also demanded that all demonstrators, opposition leaders and activists, detained during the deadly crackdown on the Shiite-led campaign for political freedom and greater rights, be released.

No injuries were immediately reported during Thursday’s demonstration.

The violence came a day after Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa announced the creation of an independent commission that will investigate allegations that protesters’ rights were violated during the anti-government demonstrations that erupted in February.

The announcement was an apparent effort by the Sunni monarch to draw opposition groups into the government-sponsored talks, set to begin on Saturday.

Washington has encouraged dialogue in the island nation, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, and had urged the monarchy to meet some of the opposition’s demands. …more