13th February 2014

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain: The silent revolution
Bahraini human rights activist!Zainab alKhawaja!was due to be out of prison on February 20. She has been serving concurrent sentences since February 2013. However,!she was recently sentenced to a further four months on a new charge of "destroying private property".! As Bahrainis mark the third anniversary of the proreform protest movement which came to be known asthe 14 February Coalition, human rights violations continue unabated in the country. Some 122!Bahrainis have since died from torture, lung infections caused by tear gas, and from live ammunition used by the Bahraini security forces. Thus far, 1,300 Bahrainis have been arrested in connection with their role in the protests and those still in detention have been tortured and!denied access to medical care. Read More celebration than an ongoing struggle to resist the oppressive regime of King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, whose family has ruled the small Persian Gulf Island of one million people for more than 200 years. Protests began on February 14, 2011, with Bahrainis calling for economic and political reforms, but they were repeatedly attacked by police. Over the next six weeks, the monarchy continued its violent crackdown on dissidents, declaring martial law in March 2011. Read More

Bahrain protesters mark anniversary, clash with police

Pro-democracy demonstrators clashed with police in Bahrain on Thursday as they marked the third anniversary of an Arab Spring-inspired protest movement that was quelled with the help of GCC troops, witnesses said. It was the rst of three days of protests called by the

Shiite-led opposition to mark Fridays anniversary as they seek to give new momentum to their campaign for a constitutional monarchy in the Gulf state. Clouds of tear gas billowed from the streets of several villages outside the capital Manama as security forces attempted to dismantle roadblocks of burning tyres, the witnesses said. The opposition has been demanding an elected government. Read More The majority Shiite-led opposition has called for three days of protests to mark the anniversary and as a part of a new campaign calling for political reform in the Sunniminority led country.

Bahrainis Take to the Streets on 3rd Anniversary of Uprising, as John Timoney and U.S. Government Continue Their Role in Violent Crackdown
Bahrainis are taking to the streets this week for protests that coincide with the three-year anniversary of a popular revolution sparked by the so-called Arab Spring of 2011. Unfortunately, it is less a

Police, protestors clash in Bahrain in first day of anniversary demonstrations

Bahrain's pro-democracy demonstrators clashed with security police in Bahrain on the third anniversary of the country's Arab Spring uprisings that was largely crushed by Bahraini authorities with the assistance of Saudi-led troops, according to Agence France Presse Thursday.

Witnesses reported that "clouds of tear gas" covered the streets of several Shiite-majority villages around the capital Manama as authorities attempted to contain the demonstrations.! Read More ruling Al-Khalifa family, police red tear gas in several villages outside the capital Manama as security forces attempted to dismantle roadblocks of burning tyres. Protesters chanted "Down with Hamad", referring to the king and "Only to Allah we kneel". Read More

Bahrain: Protesters Clash with Police on Third Anniversary of Uprising

Pro-democracy demonstrators have clashed with police in Bahrain on the third anniversary of the uprising. In the rst of three days of planned protest against the

Spark could set Bahrain alight 3 years after uprising

Bahrain remains a powderkeg on the verge of exploding three years after the Pearl Square uprising during the 'Arab Springs'. As the third anniversary of the uprising in the small Gulf monarchy led by the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty approaches, the situation seems calm overall. The Shiite majority, who will be

taking to the streets on Friday in villages around the capital, continue to call for a constitutional monarchy and a resumption of the uprising, under the slogan ''only to Allah we kneel''. The interior ministry has warned against any violence and asked that the law against the protestors be used - as was the case three years ago. About 90 people have been killed in the three years since the beginning of the uprising, according to the International Federation for Human Rights. Read More the main opposition group,has called for the launching of an international campaign to address US President Barack Obama and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon via social networks. According to Al-Wefaq's website, the opposition says they will continue holding demonstrations until their demands for the establishment of a democratically elected government and an end to rights violations are met. Read More commemorating the anniversary of the start of their uprising!with protests that will ll the streets of Bahrain. These protests were called for two weeks ago by opposition political organizations. The conference began its activities yesterday [Feb. 12] at the Coral Beach Hotel in Beirut, in the presence of political and human rights dignitaries, with a short lm that recounted the story of the Bahraini revolution from Feb. 14, 2011, until today. Read More

(No) Dialogue in Bahrain

In the run-up to the third anniversary of the Bahraini uprising on February 14, 2011, mass protests with tens of thousands of participants again engulfed the small kingdom. At the same time, a number of contacts between the opposition and the royal family sparked hopes of renewed high-level negotiations leading to the resolution of the longstanding conict.

A January 15 meeting between Crown Prince Salman and opposition leaders, including Ali Salman, secretary-general of al-Wifaq, the main Shii Islamist party, was seen as particularly groundbreaking. The meeting came just a week after a year-long but fruitless national dialogue was ofcially suspended and less than a month after Ali Salman had been briey detained and banned from travel for a speech he gave during Friday prayers. It was an abrupt, and thus symbolic, break with what had seemed to be the hard line of the ruling Al Khalifa. Read More took to the streets in the small Gulf kingdom on February 14 that year, today are left wondering if President Obama had Bahrain in mind when he proclaimed [H]istory! is on the move in the Middle East wherever people long to be free, they will nd a friend in the United States, or when he stated, we cannot hesitate to stand squarely on the side of those reaching for their rights, knowing that their success will bring about a world that is more peaceful, more stable and more just. Read More The Coalition of the National Political Associations, headed by the National Unity Assembly (NUA), has demanded a timeframe for the talks to fast-track the process, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication. Read More

Bahrainis call for massive demos to mark third anniversary of uprising

Bahrain's opposition groups, supported by Iran, called for one-week strikes and nationwide protests starting on Thursday to mark the third anniversary of the popular uprising against the monarchy in Bahrain. The secretary-general of AlWefaq Islamic Association,

INSIGHT: Bahrain Uprising Three Years In, Still No Way Out

Three years after Bahrain joined the Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East, human rights defenders are left wondering when the Obama Administration will put action behind its amboyant 2011 rhetoric about rights, freedom and the rule of law. Those who

Bahraini opposition holds conference in Beirut

Ongoing violations and constant impunity:!such was the cry adopted as a slogan this year by the Third International Conference on Human Rights in Bahrain. This was a cry addressed to the international community, following three years of unending suffering for the people of Bahrain. Tomorrow [Feb. 14], Bahrainis are

Ultimatum to end Bahrain's dialogue impasse

National Dialogue participants should end Bahrain's three-year political stalemate in the next six months, according to a group of political societies.

take to the streets to mark the third anniversary of the 2011 uprising. The authorities relentless repression of dissent continues unabated with security forces repeatedly using excessive force to quash anti-government protests, said Said Boumedouha, Amnesty Internationals Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa. Read More

the population of Bahrain and the international community.

Bahrain: Fears of violent crackdown ahead of third anniversary protests

There are fears that the Bahraini authorities may use violence to quash planned demonstrations on 14 February, said Amnesty International, when thousands are expected to

Failed Promises in Bahrain: Human Rights Violations Linger On

On the occasion of the third anniversary of the popular uprising that started on February 14, 2011, FIDH urges the Bahraini authorities to take immediate measures to restore the rule of law, to put an end to ongoing human rights violations and to comply with their reiterated pledges before

Three years have passed since the protests started and yet the Bahraini authorities continue to fail in their promises of implementing the BICI recommendations, including the release all prisoners of conscience, ending torture and arbitrary detention, and bringing ofcials responsible for human rights violations to justice, declared Karim Lahidji, FIDH president. Read More