…from beneath the crooked bough, witness 230 years of brutal tyranny by the al Khalifas come to an end

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing on The Human Rights Situation in Bahrain
April 29, 2010
It is important to mention that this is the first time the United States Congress hold an official on the record hearing on Bahrain. On the record means that it will be published in the Congressional record and everyone will have access it to it. These are the people who attended the hearing as witnesses:

1. Joe Stork, Human Rights Watch
2. Stephen McInerney, Project on Middle East Democracy
3. Mohammed Alansari, Bahrain Society for Public Freedom (from the government)
4. Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle eastern Affairs – Library of Congress
5. Katie Zoglin, Freedom House

The Hearing was chaired by Congressman James McGovern, who is the co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) and Congresswoman Donna Edwards who is a member of the TLHRC. It is vital to mention that Congressman McGovern he is being the co-chair of the Commission and for him to attend; does elevate the issue and topic to high circles among the leadership in the Congress. In other words, for him to come is a sign that there is a serious concern about Human Rights Violations in Bahrain. The hearing started at 12 noon and ended at 1:45pm. There was a very high attendant to an extent some time during the Hearing some people stood because they were not enough chairs. Also, many members of Congress staffers were in the attendee and they were constantly taking notes. …more

Bahrain’s Embassy in the U.S. Responds to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing on the Situation in Bahrain

PR Newswire

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Kingdom of Bahrain’s Embassy in the U.S. recognizes the concerns of the Tom Lantos Human Rights commission but disagrees with the grievances aired in the commission’s hearing on April 25.

Bahrain is a progressive Arab nation and a longtime ally of the United States. Historically, Bahrain has been at the forefront of ensuring civil liberties and democratic reforms in the Middle East. Bahrain respects and protects all religions and ethnic groups.

The political unrest exhibited in Bahrain was characterized by violent sectarianism. Bahrain’s situation is unique from our neighbors in the greater region like Syria, Libya, and Egypt and it is wrong for the commission to treat the situation in Bahrain as indistinguishable. Actions in response to the protests went to stabilize the duress in our country and preserve our multicultural, multi-ethnic society.

The protesters did not use peaceful tactics and during the height of unrest, protesters overran our main thoroughfare and threatened our infrastructure. Bahrain was under siege and any sense of normal life was brought to a halt. Schools, businesses and ministries could not operate. The financial harbor was temporarily shut down due to road blocks and the main hospital was transformed into an opposition political command center. …more

Britain’s Royal Wedding – “Dirty little Secret” in Bahrain
by Finian Cunningham

The British royal wedding is turning swiftly into a public relations disaster, with news that Bahrain’s Crown Prince is respectfully turning down his invitation to the event because of the “situation reigning” in the Persian Gulf kingdom.

However, the real story behind the headlines is that the diplomatic shuffle reveals that the British establishment is well aware of the vicious repression being conducted by the Bahraini rulers along with the armed forces of neigbouring Gulf states, including Western allies Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa reportedly said that that he did not want his presence to “tarnish” the royal wedding due to take place at Westminster Abbey in London this Friday. …more

Counter-revolution: 250 missing in Bahrain
22 April 2011

In a span of one month, King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain unleashed a merciless repression campaign against his subjects.

More than 80 % of the adult population participated in this spring’s peaceful protest movement, demanding the democratization of the monarchy.

• Washington is concerned that the nationalist awakening will call into question the concession contract for Juffair, a port which is home to the fifth US fleet and the naval command of CentCom.
• Paris is afraid that a revolution would jeopardize the recent defense agreements signed with the kingdom.
• London considers that any loss of power suffered by the monarch would spell a loss of its influence over this former colony which has had a semblance of independence only since 1971.
• Riyad fears that any advancement toward democracy or social progress in neighboring Bahrain might ignite a similar movement in Saudi Arabia.

That is why, on March 13th, the King received US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and, under his oversight, called for the intervention of Saudi troops.

Since they entered the territory, 25 mosques were completely destroyed (including the historic mosque of Amir Mohammad), and 253 others were damaged. …more

Washington censors Libyan TV plus Arab TVs covering violent clampdown in Bahrain

On 23 April 2011, Libyan state television antennas were hit by NATO airstrikes. Transmissions were cut off for more than 30 minutes before they could resume.

According to NATO’s mouthpiece, the target were not the antennas – since NATO respects and promotes freedom of the press – but the adjoining compound of Muammar Gaddafi.

Meanwhile, going by Saudi media reports, the U.S. Department of State asked Arabsat, the satellite management company, to suspend broadcasting by Libyan channels.

Moreover, a jamming station – located in rebel-controlled Libyan territory and coordinated with another station operating from Saudi territory – is used by Washington to obstruct any program on Arab television channels, regardless of where they are, covering the brutal repression in Bahrain. …source

BAHRAIN
McCarthyism in Manama?
By Kanya D’Almeida

WASHINGTON, Apr 27, 2011 (IPS) – As the savage crackdown on the majority Shiite opposition movement drags on in Bahrain, King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa’s military regime – backed by the hefty armed forces of Sunni- dominated Saudi Arabia – has moved from launching outright assaults on peaceful protestors on the streets of Manama in broad daylight into the murky waters of what experts are calling state terror, featuring all the old tactics of petrifying a population into submission.

On top of facing over 1,500 troops from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)’s most formidable army, the Bahraini people appear to be increasingly encountering the far more sinister face of a monarchy desperate to retain power in the oil-rich Gulf state as regimes topple around it. Midnight knocks on doors, unmarked vehicles whisking activists away in the dead of night and relentless suppression of the media are fast pushing Bahrain into an abyss of impunity, critics here say.

“What we are seeing in [Bahrain] today is like what the United States saw in the 1950s under McCarthyism,” Dr. Muneera Fakhro, a leader of the left-leaning Wa’ad party, told a gathering of activists, reporters and policy heads at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington Tuesday. …more

MANAMA, Bahrain, April 28 (UPI) — A court in Bahrain sentenced four people to death Thursday for their roles in the killing of two police officers in March in the capital of Manama.

Besides ruling that the four men would be executed, the National Safety Lower Court also sentenced three people to life in prison for the same incident, Gulf News reported.

The defendants can appeal the verdicts before the National Safety Court of Appeals.

Prosecutors argued the seven men were involved in a plotting and carrying out a crime for terrorist purposes, offering confessions of killing the two police officers as support, Gulf News said. …source

Gitmo Doctors Hid Evidence of Torture
By Spencer Ackerman – April 26, 2011

They explained away the bone fractures, didn’t ask what caused the lacerations, and called the hallucinations routine. Rather than blowing the whistle, medical professionals entrusted with the care of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay turned a blind eye when there were clear indications of abuse.

That’s according to a newly published report from two physicians with unprecedented access to the medical records of nine Gitmo detainees.

Writing in the online journal PLoS Medicine, Physicians for Human Rights senior medical adviser Vincent Iacopino and retired Brig. Gen. Stephen Xenakis, a psychiatrist now in private practice, found that medical personnel at Guantanamo concealed mental and physical ailments that signaled abusive treatment.

The report — which represents the first independent review of any Guantanamo detainee’s medical record — is the clearest evidence yet that members of the base’s medical staff were complicit in the torture regime there.

“Medics have an independent, professional responsibility to identify and report incidences of cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment and torture,” Xenakis tells Danger Room. “They had a responsibility to speak up.” …more

Bahrain releases 312 detainees
By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief Gulf News
Published: 00:00 April 28, 2011
Sick people among 312 detainees released in Bahrain, says official.

Manama: Bahrain has released 312 people it had detained since the launch of a security operation following weeks of protests and political turmoil.

“I wish to announce that 312 detainees, including sick people, have been released either for health consideration or after they spent time in detention,” said Shaikh Fawaz Bin Mohammad Al Khalifa, president of the information affairs authority.

“Several people were detained after the declaration of the state of national safety on March 15 for their implication in security related violations,” he told reporters at a press conference.

Shaikh Fawaz, who was given the media portfolio in July, said that Bahrain was well ahead in recovering its full security and stability.

“The public order forces did a good job, and we were pained when two of them were targeted. One cameraman working for Bahrain TV was lucky to escape the attempt on his life, but the others were not. We also deplore the death of two motorists who refused to comply with security measures, raised alert levels by not lowering their speed as they approached the checkpoints and were killed,” he said.

The military court is scheduled to announce on Thursday its verdict in the case of seven defendants who were tried on charges of killing the policemen.

The military prosecutor earlier this week sought the death penalty for the seven defendants while their lawyers pushed for their acquittal. …source

Let’s stand up for the Bahraini Shiites
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
TÜLİN DALOĞLU

[excerpt]
“When asked about the Bahraini government’s approach to the protesters, which moved from a “severe crackdown” to “vindictive,” İhsanoğlu blamed the U.S. invasion and American policies in Iraq for creating sectarian conflict. “Prior to that, Saddam Hussein treated everyone badly,” he said. “Yet Shiites and Kurds and all others worked in his government. They were all equally mistreated.” When I reminded him that the Iraqis came to Washington separated as Iraqi Kurds and Iraqi Shiites to lobby for a regime change, İhsanoğlu said, “Up until the (2003) intervention, Iraqis thought of themselves first as Iraqis and then as Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds or Turkmens. But it was never their primary identity. Their sectarian and ethnic differences came as their second and even third identity. Yet the ones who lobbied here used those differences, and when the U.S. put a new system in place they built it on those differences. What the French did in Lebanon 90 years ago, the U.S. did in Iraq eight years ago.
[Read more →]

By: Siun Sunday April 24, 2011 6:00 pm

One of the tradeoffs made by the US administrations to gain support for entering into Free Trade Agreements is that these agreements impose certain standards on the parties – to protect the environment, human rights and union rights.

So what will the Obama administration do when the terms of one of those agreements are blatantly violated?

The AFL-CIO filed a legal petition on Thursday with the United States Office of Trade and Legal Affairs :
[Read more →]

[This letter has been authenticated as being from Secretary General S. Ali Almahfoodh Amal Society – Bahrain – on 26, April 2011. This letter is posted here for all to see and so no one can deny it’s existence. ]

From Secretary General Sh. Ali Almahfoodh
Amal Society – Bahrain

To Secretary Hillary Clinton,
U.S. Department of State,

U.S. Embassy in Bahrain

Regarding the U.S. Department of State press release, announced by Mr Mark Toner on Apr 14, 2011. Regarding the Ministry of Justice of the Kingdom of Bahrain filing a lawsuit to disband two leading, actively involved political societies, widely known on the local and regional level for their diplomatic and cultural political activism over the past ten years.

We value the position of the US when it urged the Kingdom of Bahrain to revise this decision, and protect civil society institutions in Bahraini society.

The statement of the spokesman was quick, critical in correcting the political path in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Although the government initiated the State of National Safety, it does not permit the government to abandon their commitment to Human Rights and freedoms, were they political, cultural or religious.

We notice that the government of Bahrain, through the Ministry of Interior and the State of National Safety targets one of these leading societies, the Islamic Action Society, through attacking their offices repeatedly and targeting their Secretary General, his deputy, board members and staff. Until the time this letter has been written, the headquarters and offices of the society were attacked twice, the computers were confiscated, in addition to 4 raids on the home of Secretary General and his deputy and the imprisonment of the board member Mr Fahmi Abdulsaheb two days ago. The Secretary General, his deputy and many members are still hiding because they are targeted by security forces, which denies their political rights.

All of these violations and persecutions took place after the statement of spokesperson Mr Mark Toner. Of course, the justifications of the Bahraini government and their security forces are unclear, especially after your efforts to prevent harassing political societies and your confirmations that these principles are a prerequisite for stability considering the popularity and activism of these societies, and that the government’s actions reflects negatively on the political process and worsens the situation in the country and stands in the way of achieving peaceful and practical solutions.

It should be noted that the Secretary General of the Democratic Action Society (Wa’ad) Ebrahim Sharif has been arrested for over a month, while Wa’ad is considered one of the pillars of the political process in Bahrain alongside its colleagues AlWefaq and Amal (Islamic Action Society) and other civil society institutions.

We believe that civil society institutions cannot be replaced, for they represent the people and they constitute a more democratic representation of society than the regime itself.

What’s taking place of violations, raids, persecutions and arrests in the ranks of the board members of the Islamic Action Society, restricting it and isolating its staff, does not differ from disbanding it in the manner the United States stood against in their direct statement and does not differ from deleting it and officially removing it from the scene, for the result is the same.

Based on this, we call on the authorities of the United States to pressure the government of Bahrain to respect civil society institutions and the freedom of their members and staff to peacefully express their opinions, especially that those
institutions express their opinions clearly, publicaly and officially through their known offices and headquarters. As well as the immediate release of all the staff of the Society and all the other opinion/ conscious prisoners in Bahraini prisons, and stopping their persecutions.

– Attached: Detailed report of the violations that occurred to board members of the Society and a list of the names of all the arrested from its members with their dates and details.

[Editor’s Note: the attachment was not avialbe at the time of publishing the letter here. It will be published as it is made available. ]

This letter has been authenticated as being from Secretary General S. Ali Almahfoodh Amal Society – Bahrain – on 26, April 2011. This letter is posted here for all to see and so no one can deny it’s existence.

From Secretary General Sh. Ali Almahfoodh
Amal Society – Bahrain

To Secretary William Hague,
Foreign & Commonwealth Office,
UK. Embassy in Bahrain

Regarding the U.S. Department of State press release, announced by Mr Mark Toner, the press release, announced by the UK Secretary of State Mr William Hague on Apr 14, 2011, as well as the European supportive stand to them.

Regarding the Ministry of Justice of the Kingdom of Bahrain filing a lawsuit to disband two leading, actively involved political societies, widely known on the local and regional level for their diplomatic and cultural political activism over the past ten years.

We value the position of the US, and UK when they urged the Kingdom of Bahrain to revise this decision, and protect civil society institutions in Bahraini society.

The statement of the Secretary of state of UK and the spokesman of US were quick, critical in correcting the political path in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Although the government initiated the State of National Safety, it does not permit the government to abandon their commitment to Human Rights and freedoms were they political, cultural or religious.

We notice that the government of Bahrain, through the Ministry of Interior and the State of National Safety targets one of these leading societies, the Islamic Action Society, through attacking their offices repeatedly and targeting their Secretary General, his deputy, board members and staff. Until the time this letter has been written, the headquarters and offices of the society were attacked twice, the computers were confiscated, in addition to 4 raids on the home of Secretary General and his deputy and the imprisonment of the board member Mr Fahmi Abdulsaheb two days ago. The Secretary General, his deputy and many members are still hiding because they are targeted by security forces, which denies their political rights.

All of these violations and persecutions took place after the statements of UK Secretary of State Mr William Hogue, and US spokesperson Mr Mark Toner.

Of course, the justifications of the Bahraini government and their security forces are unclear, especially after your efforts to prevent harassing political societies and your confirmations that these principles are a prerequisite for stability considering the popularity and activism of these societies, and that the government’s actions reflects negatively on the political process and worsens the situation in the country and stands in the way of achieving peaceful and practical solutions.

It should be noted that the Secretary General of the Democratic Action Society (Wa’ad) Ebrahim Sharif has been arrested for over a month, while Wa’ad is considered one of the pillars of the political process in Bahrain alongside its colleagues AlWefaq and Amal (Islamic Action Society) and other civil society institutions.

We believe that civil society institutions cannot be replaced, for they represent the people and they constitute a more democratic representation of society than the regime itself.

What’s taking place of violations, raids, persecutions and arrests in the ranks of the board members of the Islamic Action Society, restricting it and isolating its staff, does not differ from disbanding it in the manner the United States, and United Kingdom stood against in their direct statements and does not differ from deleting it and officially removing it from the scene, for the result is the same.

Based on this, we call on the authorities of the United States, and United Kingdom to pressure the government of Bahrain to respect civil society institutions and the freedom of their members and staff to peacefully express their opinions, especially that those institutions express their opinions clearly, publically and officially through their known offices and headquarters. As well as the immediate release of all the staff of the Society and all the other opinion/conscious prisoners in Bahraini prisons, and stopping their persecutions.

– Attached: Detailed report of the violations that occurred to board members of the Society and a list of the names of all the arrested from its members with their dates and details.

[Editor’s Note: the attachment was not avialbe at the time of publishing the letter here. It will be published as it is made available. ]

By Carolyn Kellogg Los Angeles Times

April 26, 2011
“I’ve always been kind of a shill,” says Ted Danson. “The guy out in front of the tent saying, ‘Thank you so much for watching “Cheers,” come on in and let me introduce you to the marine biologists who have something really important to tell you.'”

The former Sam Malone might seem an unlikely environmental activist, but Ted Danson has quietly been advocating on behalf of our oceans for 25 years. Now he has taken his commitment to a new place: bookshelves.

His recently released first book, “Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do To Save Them” (co-written with Michael D’Orso, Rodale, $32.50), is a reflection of his experiences and what he’s learned. It begins, as Danson did, with the perils of offshore drilling and moves on to pollution, ocean acidification and overfishing reaching crisis levels at both the top and the bottom of the food chain.

“It’s a huge environmental disaster in the making that doesn’t have to happen,” Danson said by phone from New York. “We can change this. That’s part of what the book talks about.” …more

SUM announces Arne Næss Chair in 2012-2013

Buell is professor of American Literature at Harvard University and a pioneer of Ecocriticism.
Published Apr 12, 2011

He is the author of influential books in ecocriticism like; ‘The Environmental Imagination: Thoreau, Nature Writing, and the Formation of American Culture’, Harvard University Press (1995). ‘Writing for an Endangered World: Literature, Culture, and Environment in the United States and Beyond’, Harvard University Press (2001), ‘Emerson’, Harvard University Press (2003), ‘The Future of Environmental Criticism: Environmental Crisis and Literary Imagination’ (2005).The American Transcendentalists (2006) Editor. …source

24 Jan 2011: Opinion
Living in the Anthropocene:
Toward a New Global Ethos
A decade ago, Nobel Prize-winning scientist Paul Crutzen first suggested we were living in the “Anthropocene,” a new geological epoch in which humans had altered the planet. Now, in an article for Yale Environment 360, Crutzen and a coauthor explain why adopting this term could help transform the perception of our role as stewards of the Earth.
by paul j. crutzen and christian schwägerl

It’s a pity we’re still officially living in an age called the Holocene. The Anthropocene — human dominance of biological, chemical and geological processes on Earth — is already an undeniable reality. Evidence is mounting that the name change suggested by one of us more than ten years ago is overdue. It may still take some time for the scientific body in charge of naming big stretches of time in Earth’s history, the International Commission on Stratigraphy, to make up its mind about this name change. But that shouldn’t stop us from seeing and learning what it means to live in this new Anthropocene epoch, on a planet that is being anthroposized at high speed.

For millennia, humans have behaved as rebels against a superpower we call “Nature.” In the 20th century, however, new technologies, fossil fuels, and a fast-growing population resulted in a “Great Acceleration” of our own powers. Albeit clumsily, we are taking control of Nature’s realm, from climate to DNA. We humans are becoming the dominant force for change on Earth. A long-held religious and philosophical idea — humans as the masters of planet Earth — has turned into a stark reality. What we do now already affects the planet of the year 3000 or even 50,000.

Changing the climate for millennia to come is just one aspect. By cutting down rainforests, moving mountains to access coal deposits and acidifying coral reefs, we fundamentally change the biology and the geology of the planet. While driving uncountable numbers of species to extinction, we create new life forms through gene technology, and, soon, through synthetic biology. …more

Please consider the following when browsing this site. All information on the internet is viewed as a commodity or security interest. Because of this it is mined for commercial, scientific and State Security uses.

This site has a “Plea and Petition” page and asks for signatures and email addresses. Some people are naturally paranoid when giving up this information, thinking it might be some sort of trap. This is a silly notion, especially if you use facebook, twitter, sign petitions at petitionsite.com or make purchases or routinely use the internet, even if you use fictitious identities or pseudonyms.
[Read more →]

Proposed Changes To Wiretapping Law Would Harm Civil Liberties, Group Says

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (202) 675-2312 or media@dcaclu.org

WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union submitted testimony for a hearing today of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security that will examine a troubling proposal by the Obama administration to expand its ability to conduct invasive surveillance online.
The administration has argued that it is simply hoping to update the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), which mandated that telephone companies rework their networks to be wiretap-ready. What is being proposed, however, is not just emulating CALEA. Telephones operate through central networks, making wiretapping relatively easy. Conversely, Internet communications are split up and travel in small pieces over thousands of computers, so the Internet would have to be “rewired” in order for the administration’s proposal to be implemented, making the entire system vulnerable.

“Though the administration claims this is just a technical fix, its request will actually change the structure of the Internet, providing the government with a master key to our online communications,” said Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “The proposed changes will not only make it easier and cheaper for the government to invade our privacy, but also make the Internet more vulnerable to penetration from other sources.” …more

Bahrain military prosecutor demands death penalty for 7 Shiite protesters on trial

By: The Associated Press
MANAMA, Bahrain – Bahrain’s state news agency says a military prosecutor has demanded death penalty for seven anti-government protesters on trial in the Gulf kingdom for the killing of two policemen during protests.

The Bahrain News Agency says the prosecutor presented evidence during a hearing Sunday that showed the opposition supporters attacked the policemen “on purpose and called for inflicting the capital punishment.”

The seven were charged in a military court with premeditated murder of government employees.

The defendants’ lawyers denied the charges, the report said.

The next hearing is set for Thursday. Hundreds of protesters calling for greater rights and freedoms have been detained since Bahrain declared martial law last month. …source

[[petition-1]]

The folowing letters have been authenticated to be from The Chairman of The Amal Society, Sheikh Mohammed Ali AlMahfoodh written to President of the United States of America, Barack Obama. Received here, April 20, 2011. They were written nearly a month ago. Sheikh Mohammed Ali AlMahfoodh has not been seen since. He is thought to be in hiding from the Murderous Regime of Bahrain’s King, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

LETTERS TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing to you a letter representing the conscience and heart of Bahrain. I am writing to you from the country of paradise that has turned into a big city drowned in the blood and wounds of the innocent people.

To begin with, I would like to tell you that your presence as the first African-American in the country that established racism was the source of our inspiration in this movement. What we did, is we embraced and adopted the slogan of “change”, just the same as you did to run your campaign. The difference lies in the fact that you adopted this slogan and motto of “change” in the strongest country in the world; the strongest system that has been going through continuous and constant change and development to cope with the advance of time for more than 200 years; and you succeeded Mr. President in your campaign, and with your success you created hope in all the hearts of every American that he/she can become the President of the United States one day regardless to age, sex, race, profession, ethnicity, and so on. When compared to our call for change, we did this facing a regime that has been in throne for also more than 200 years, but as you can see there is no sense of any comparison between the system and development of the US and Bahrain.

For 200 years this regime has been chasing Bahraini people by violence, genocide, torture and all the means to practice discrimination against us.

Dear Mr. President,

I would like to raise rhetoric in this context; are you with or against change and development? Do you support democracy or dictatorship? I am raising these questions because all Bahraini people supported you and prayed that you succeed to become the President of the United States. I, personally, always mentioned you as a model of the new United States spirit; I always highlighted the fact that your success to become the President serve as a torch that should lead all the world for more democracy, freedom, and equality, and the human rights movements in general. However, I would like to express on the behalf of Bahrain that we were all shocked and we feel betrayed by the current shy reluctant decisions and support of democracy in Bahrain. We feel that you threw us as a helpless prey in the hands of brutality, violence, hatred and sectarian genocide.

What is happening right now in Bahrain is an organized sectarian cleansing against the majority of Bahrain. It reminds us of the crimes of Sarajevo and Rwanda, and the US is giving them legitimacy. Hundreds are sacked from their careers, and I should point out in this context that the sacked people are professional doctors, educators, PhD holders, and among many others of the elite professionals and businessmen. Even athletes and lawyers are among these victims. Even children are thrown out of school because they took part in a protest. Definitely, the US is responsible for these crimes since you consider these as part of “restoring law and order” as Secretary Clinton said. Of course, this is both negative and positive. It is positive because the US considers Bahrain a strategic ally and we all know the fifth fleet is located in this island; and hence you can do some positive work to forward democracy. The proof is when it came to the “dissolve of the two parties: Wefaq and Amal” – of which I serve as Chairman – within hours Bahrain retreated from their initial decree and statements.

However, this role is negative since the US is directly responsible ofwhat is happening; as a matter of fact, the US is a partner in all theviolence and torture with militia and troops, and even torture in thejails and prisons. Your silence means that you are supporting thesesectarian-based attacks, violence, and massacres.

Dear Mr. President,

The troops have gone far beyond all this. They are destroying mosques and places of worships. This is done intentionally, and there are threats to even destroy houses. At the same time, hundreds of detainees are tortured in the dark cells, and their families do not have any information about them. The whole state is under a violent siege, horror and torture.

I would like to assure you the regime’s retreat from dissolving the Shiite parties is a big lie. I am the Chairman of Amal Islamic Society, and the society is registered under the official law. However, I have been forced to be away because I am threatened and chased for more than a month. The regime’s security has attacked my house more than two times to arrest me. They also attacked my daughter’s house and they arrested her husband who has nothing to do with politics. They scared his two children who cannot sleep at night because they are always scared of a new attack of these people. They also attacked my niece’s
house and my sister’s house and detained their husbands. They arrested the manager of my office. My family is scattered and we do not know about each other since more than a month. My daughter and her husband were sacked from their jobs among many others, and my and many children are scared of going to school because they might be detained as well. Many members of Amal society are under custody now. We are all targeted and chased by security. All this shows you that the retreat is a big bubble.

Dear Mr. Obama,

I am full of confidence that you do support peace and democracy. I am full of confidence that you do not want to be a witness or a partner in a new Sarajevo in the Gulf region. I would like to call for your immediate action and measures in order to stop the terror and sectarian genocide and sectarian violence that is happening on all levels. I would highly urge you and encourage your brave conscience to take action now before it is too late if you have such an intention as soon as possible, because every day we have a new case of death either under custody or through the daily violence and nightly house attacks.

Finally, I would like to thank you for your time and I am full of hope that the New Spirirt of the United States will do something to support peace and democracy and stop bloodshed and violence in Bahrain.

Sincerely,

Chairman of Amal Society

*Sheikh Mohammed Ali AlMahfoodh*

Bahrain’s Secret Terror: ‘Genocide’ as Doctors Who Have Treated Injured Protesters are Rounded Up
by Jeremy Laurance

The intimidation and detention of doctors treating dying and injured pro-democracy protesters in Bahrain is revealed today in a series of chilling emails obtained by The Independent.

Medical staff of the Salmaniya Medical Complex rush a victim of the clashes between security forces and opposition protesters to the hospital in Manama, Bahrain. At least 32 doctors, including surgeons, physicians, pediatricians and obstetricians, have been arrested and detained by Bahrain’s police in the last month in a campaign of intimidation that runs directly counter to the Geneva Convention guaranteeing medical care to people wounded in conflict. Doctors around the world have expressed their shock and outrage.

One doctor, an intensive care specialist, was held after she was photographed weeping over a dead protester. Another was arrested in the theater room while operating on a patient.

Many of the doctors, aged from 33 to 65, have been “disappeared” – held incommunicado or at undisclosed locations. Their families do not know where they are. Nurses, paramedics and ambulance staff have also been detained. …more

Bahrain security forces ‘tortured patients’
By Patrick Cockburn
Friday, 22 April 2011

Bahrain’s security forces stole ambulances and posed as medics to round up injured protesters during a ferocious crackdown on unarmed demonstrators calling for reform of the monarchy, an investigation by a rights group reveals today.

The first major report on repression of the medical profession during the country’s crisis details how a doctor was abducted during an operation and injured patients lying in hospital were tortured and threatened with rape.

The investigation by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) followed a report by The Independent yesterday detailing threats faced by medical staff who treated victims of the repression. More than 30 medics have been taken away by security forces and have had little or no contact with their families.

The report said it found that security forces targeted Shia doctors in particular. The crackdown has created such a climate of fear that wounded people were too frightened to go to hospital to seek treatment.

The Bahraini monarchy responded to calls for reform by massed demonstrations starting on 14 February by calling in 2,000 troops from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. Over the next two days, Bahraini security forces, backed by the Saudis, drove protesters from the streets, made arbitrary arrests of at least 500 people, systematically tortured detainees and sacked anybody who had shown sympathy for protests. …more

Richard Sollom: The shocking thing is that Bahrain abuse is systematic
Thursday, 21 April 2011

In two decades of conducting human rights investigations in more than 20 countries, I have never seen such widespread and systematic violations of medical neutrality as I did in Bahrain.

Bahrain’s ambulances, hospitals and medical clinics as well as its physicians, nurses, and medical staff are all being targeted. It’s pervasive and ongoing. These attacks violate the principle of medical neutrality and are grave breaches of international law.

Doctors have a special role in society and have an ethical obligation to treat all people equally. In Bahrain, as they treat protesters and wounded civilians, they have borne witness to incredible human suffering. Treating these patients has provided physicians with unparalleled evidence of the atrocities committed by the authorities, the security forces and riot police. Their knowledge of these atrocities has also made them targets. At least 32 healthcare professionals have been abducted over the past two months and are being held incommunicado by security forces. …more