“I Am Willing To Give My Life”: Bahraini Human Rights Activists Risk Lives To Protest U.S./Saudi-Backed Repression
The Gulf nation of Bahrain is intensifying its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. On Saturday, masked police offers broke into the home of Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, a prominent Bahraini human rights activist. He was beaten and detained. We speak to his daughter, Zainab Alkhawaja, who witnessed the attack and is now on a hunger strike. Her husband and brother-in-law were also beaten and arrested in the pre-dawn raid. We also speak to Nabeel Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. He is facing a possible military trial for publishing the photograph of Ali Sager, a protester who died while in Bahraini custody.
Tragic photos: Bahraini Forces Brutally Beat to Death, Martyr Zakariya Rashid al Ashiri
“Martyr Zakariya Rashid have killed brutally in police custody after physical abuse by Bahraini security forces. The body of Rashid Zakaria Hassan, 40, was found in a detention center, he was beaten to death by Bahraini forces. Hassan was detained on April 2.”
Bahrain releases 86 protesters: ministry (AFP)
AFP – Bahrain has released 86 protesters arrested during anti-regime protests that rocked the tiny Gulf state for nearly a month, the interior ministry said on Monday.
Video: Who Cares about Torture in Bahrain?
And more news from the Arab uprisings:
Libya
Amnesty says Gaddafi forces “executed prisoners”
LONDON, April 12 (Reuters) – Captured rebel Libyan fighters have been found shot in the head with their hands tied behind their backs, Amnesty International said on Tuesday, adding it had strong evidence of other human rights abuses. Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had also deliberately killed unarmed protesters and attacked civilians fleeing fighting, Amnesty said, citing evidence gathered by its delegates in eastern Libya over the past six weeks.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/amnesty-says-gaddafi-forces-executed-prisoners
Gaddafi’s forces bombard east Libya town outskirts
AJDABIYAH, Libya, April 12 (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi bombarded the western entrance to the rebel-held town of Ajdabiyah in eastern Libya on Tuesday, a Reuters witness reported. The witness reported about eight blasts, apparently from artillery, around the western entrance. Ajdabiyah, which sits on a junction of routes that lead into the rebel-held east, has been a focus of fierce battles in the past two months.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/gaddafis-forces-bombard-east-libya-town-outskirts
“No deal” in Benghazi for AU plan
Libya’s Transitional National Council has rejected the African Union’s proposal to negotiate a way out from the deepening crisis. The Benghazi-based committee has made Gaddafi’s removal from power a prerequisite for any talks with Tripoli. Al Jazeera’s Laurence Lee, reporting from Benghazi, says the military strategy of the council is that “they’d rather ‘die on their feet than live on their knees’.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVqJBWBc7u4&feature=youtube_gdata
Libyan rebels reject cease-fire plan
The opposition council in Benghazi says any diplomatic solution must require Kadafi and his family to relinquish power. Libyan rebels delivered an emphatic “no” to an African Union proposal for an end to fighting in their country, insisting that Moammar Kadafi must step down from power as part of any diplomatic solution.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/viKwThWTNkY/la-fg-libya-fighting-20110412,0,3623991.story
France and Britain Urge Stronger NATO Action in Libya
The remarks by French and British officials seemed to signal a rift within the alliance only eight days after it assumed command of the Libya campaign.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=3fb63f0d8447fa0bf67ce4e71a8b214e
Libya update: AU leaders ‘mobbed’ in Benghazi
Representatives from the African Union have been greeted by protesters as they arrived in the northern Libyan city of Benghazi. They are in the opposition stronghold to present their “Road Map to Peace” to the Transitional National Council. The plan has already received the approval of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli. Al Jazeera’s Laurence Lee, reports from the rebel stronghold, where AU leaders found themselves “mobbed by the crowds”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNG44bf-ITQ&feature=youtube_gdata
Stop Libya ‘becoming new Somalia’
Libya’s former foreign minister warns against civil war taking hold in Libya, in his first public comments since his defection.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-13044846
Libyan defector travelling to Doha meetings
LUXEMBOURG, April 12 (Reuters) – Moussa Koussa, a former Libyan foreign minister and long-time top aide to Muammar Gaddafi, is going to Doha for meetings with the Qatari government and Libyan representatives, Britain said on Tuesday.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libyan-defector-travelling-to-doha-meetings
Talk of Gaddafi leaving “ridiculous” – son says
PARIS, April 11 (Reuters) – Muammar Gaddafi’s most prominent son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, said in an interview broadcast on Monday that it was “ridiculous” to imagine the Libyan leader leaving and that allied air strikes were counter-productive.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/talk-of-gaddafi-leaving-ridiculous-son-says
Jittery Libyan rebels can be own worst enemy
AJDABIYAH, Libya, April 12 (Reuters) – Sometimes the ragtag rebels fighting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s forces can be their own worst enemy. As rebels ranging from engineers to vegetable vendors and university students stood guard at the entrance to the strategic town of Ajdabiyah on Tuesday, the sound of gunfire rang out.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/jittery-libyan-rebels-can-be-own-worst-enemy
Qaddafi’s Great Arms Bazaar
During his 42 years in power, Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi’s unpredictable behavior has become the stuff of legend. But on one issue Qaddafi was remarkably consistent: He was unrelentingly obsessed with purchasing a massive arsenal of weapons from whoever was offering them.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/08/qaddafis-great-arms-bazaar
Memo From Tripoli: Qaddafi’s Handling of Media Shows Regime’s Flaws
For journalists cloistered in Tripoli at the invitation of the government, its management, or rather staging, of public relations provided a singular view.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/11/world/africa/11tripoli.html
Benghazi Boy Scouts Fill Vacuum of Libyan Social Services
The chaos that has engulfed Libya in the last few weeks has sent ripple effects throughout the society. When the Gadhafi regime lost control of eastern Libya, a vacuum formed in social and other basic services.
http://feb17.info/media/benghazi-boy-scouts-fill-vacuum-of-libyan-social-services/
Hundreds of Libyan Berbers flee Western Mountains and head to Tunisia
GENEVA, April 12 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency reported Tuesday that more than 500 Libyans, mostly ethnic Berbers, have fled their homes in Libya’s Western Mountains and sought shelter in the Dehiba area of south-east Tunisia over the past week.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/hundreds-of-libyan-berbers-flee-western-mountains-and-head-to-tunisia
In Libya, Bedouins Give Up Own Homes to Neighbors Fleeing Violence
For countless generations the Bedouin, desert nomads in Libya, have lived as one large family, collective with their harsh environment. Now as the conflict in Libya rages, with government and rebel forces attacking one another with their machines of war, these people are forced to flee their homes. Their city of Ajdabiya is under siege and they seek safety in the desert, finding protection among their larger Bedouin family. The desert, or “sahara” as they call it, is expansive and brutal with its sandstorms and frigid nights – but fear of Qaddafi brings them here.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/in-libya-bedouins-give-up-own-homes-to-neighbors-fleeing-violence
Red Cross opens office in Tripoli, eyes Misrata
TRIPOLI, April 11 (Reuters) – The Red Cross said on Monday it was opening an office in Tripoli at the invitation of the Libyan government and would soon send a team to the besieged city of Misrata to help civilians trapped by the fighting. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is already deployed in Libya’s rebel-held eastern territory, where it has supplied hospitals, distributed food and visited government soldiers captured during the conflict.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/red-cross-opens-office-in-tripoli-eyes-misrata
Libya Costs For U.S. Now $608 Million
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said Monday the military intervention in Libya cost the U.S. an estimated $608 million in the first few of weeks of the operation. Spending is down significantly, though not as much as expected.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/11/libya-us-costs_n_847536.html
Libyan revolution and more infantile leftism
The asinine commentary issuing from some leftist quarters, the wild-conspiratorial ramblings, the incapacity to handle dilemmas — all of this would be amusing if it weren’t for the slanders and falsehoods which have so quickly ossified into conventional wisdom.
http://pulsemedia.org/2011/04/11/libyan-revolution-and-infantile-leftism/
Bahrain
Bahrain urged to stop targeting protesters as two more die in custody
Reports of torture and death in custody raise alarm over Bahrain’s treatment of more than 400 anti-government protesters. Bahraini authorities must urgently reveal the whereabouts and legal status of more than 400 mostly Shi’a opposition activists detained in recent weeks, Amnesty International said today amid concerns about their safety after reports that at least three have died in custody.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/bahrain-urged-stop-targeting-protesters-two-die-custody-2011-04-11
Back Human Rights in Bahrain
The United States has struggled to balance human rights principles and strategic concerns in responding to protests across the Middle East, from Tunisia to Iran. Too often, it has been behind the curve.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/11/back-human-rights-bahrain
Bahrain: Drop Charges Against Editor of Independent Daily
(Manama) – Bahraini authorities should immediately drop politically-motivated charges against Mansoor al-Jamri, allow him to return as chief editor of Al Wasat, and cease their campaign to silence independent journalism, Human Rights Watch said today. Al-Jamri’s resignation under duress and his subsequent indictment on charges of knowingly publishing news has left Bahrain without a single independent mass media outlet to report about the fierce repression that has killed more than two dozen people, wounded hundreds, and created a state of fear, Human Rights Watch said.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/11/bahrain-drop-charges-against-editor-independent-daily
Bahraini woman on hunger strike over arrests
Daughter of prominent rights activist says she will refuse food until jailed family members are released.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/04/2011412114134969739.html
Bahrain questions 3 reporters, may charge activist (Reuters)
Reuters – Bahrain’s public prosecutor on Monday questioned three senior journalists sacked from the Gulf kingdom’s only opposition newspaper over accusations of falsifying news about the government’s crackdown on protesters.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110411/wl_nm/us_bahrain
Yemen
Yemen awaiting Saleh’s next move
Yemen’s president Ali Abdullah Saleh says he welcomes a peaceful transfer of power – as outlined in an initiative proposed by the Gulf Cooperation Council. But anti-government protesters are not convinced their president will stand down in a timely manner. Al Jazeera’s Joanna Blundell explains.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufHi3oh3SGo&feature=youtube_gdata
Syria
Syrian opposition says 200 killed in protests
AMMAN, April 12 (Reuters) – Syria’s main human rights movement has said the death toll from less than a month of protests has reached 200 and called on the Arab league to impose sanctions on the ruling hierarchy. “Syria’s uprising is screaming with 200 martyrs, hundreds of injured and a similar number of arrests,” the Damascus Declaration group said in a letter sent on Monday to the secretary general of the Arab League.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/syrian-opposition-says-200-killed-in-protests
Syria bars medical access for protesters – HRW
BEIRUT, April 12 (Reuters) – Syrian security forces prevented wounded protesters reaching hospitals and stopped medical teams from treating them in two towns during last Friday’s demonstrations, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday. Pro-democracy protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s 11-year rule have been shaking the country, known for its heavy-handed security apparatus, for more than three weeks.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/syria-bars-medical-access-for-protesters-hrw
Egypt
Egypt PM says regrets protest crackdown, sets probe
CAIRO, April 11 (Reuters) – Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf expressed regret on Monday for a violent crackdown on demonstrators in Cairo at the weekend and said he had asked the minister of justice to investigate. “All of us, the people, the army and the government, feel regret for the events of last Saturday,” Sharaf said in a speech broadcast on Egyptian television.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/egypt-pm-says-regrets-protest-crackdown-sets-probe
The Army vs. The People: A Democracy Now! Special Report From Egypt
Two months after the fall of the Mubarak regime, tension between the Egyptian military and the pro-democracy protesters is rapidly increasing. On Friday, Egyptian forces stormed Tahrir Square in Cairo killing two protesters. On Monday, an Egyptian military court sentenced a pacifist blogger to three years in prison. Hundreds, and possibly thousands, of civilians remain in detention today after being sentenced by military tribunals over the past two months. Democracy Now! correspondent Anjali Kamat reports from Cairo.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/4/12/the_army_vs_the_people_a
Orientalising the Egyptian Uprising
Since the beginning of the Egyptian uprising in January 25th a new grand-narrative about this so-called “revolution” and more broadly the Arab world is being constructed by the media (international and local), academics, politicians, and the local elite.[1] This narrative appears to be replacing the long held “Arab Exceptionalism” narrative, which held sway for decades and argued that Arabs because of sociological and cultural reasons are ‘immune’ to democracy and democratization. While many have criticized this earlier discourse as Orientalist and lacking in analytical rigor, its seamless replacement dubbed the “Arab Awakening,” is being constructed on the very same bases of representation. The fundamental pillars of these Orientalist understandings of Arab societies and individuals are based on: 1) “othering”- ‘they’ (Arabs or Muslims) are different from ‘us’ (Western, specifically European) who are the normative standard; and, 2) romanticization and exotization - this oriental “other” is mystical and mythical. As Edward Said explained years ago, Orientalism is not only confined to “Western” depictions of the Middle East –and particularly Arabs and Muslims- but it is also internalized and propagated by “local” elites. As such in the new grand narrative of “Arab Awakening” both academics and the media (international and local) are appropriating, interpreting, and representing the recent events along the same pillars of othering and, romanticization, while casting universalist-Eurocentic judgments.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/1214/orientalising-the-egyptian-uprising
