avenir d'une offensive

Dossier Bahreïn 2

 

11-03-02 – Bahreïn

11-03-02 - Le Monde -- Des milliers de personnes dans les rues au Bahreïn

Des milliers de personnes dans les rues au Bahreïn

LEMONDE.FR avec AFP | 01.03.11 | 16h57

Depuis le 14 février, des manifestations exigent un changement politique au Bahreïn.AFP/JOSEPH EID

Des milliers de manifestants ont de nouveau marché mardi 1er février dans les rues de Manama, affirmant l'unité nationale du petit royaume de Bahreïn, où les communautés sunnite et chiite se côtoient. Depuis le 14 février, des manifestations exigent un changement politique dans cet archipel à majorité chiite gouverné par une dynastie sunnite.

L'opposition, dominée par les formations chiites, a jusqu'ici refusé d'engager un dialogue national proposé par le roi Hamad Ben Issa Al-Khalifa, en demandant en préalable la démission de tout le gouvernement. Des manifestants qui campent depuis des jours sur la place de la Perle, dans le centre de Manama, ont des exigences plus radicales et veulent la chute de la dynastie des Al-Khalifa. Cette lignée sunnite règne depuis plus de deux cents ans sur le royaume, qui compte aujourd'hui 1,2 million d'habitants dont la moitié sont étrangers. La population autochtone est majoritairement chiite.

"Nous sommes tous frères, sunnites et chiites", ont scandé les manifestants, en majorité chiites, qui ont défilé du quartier de Salmaniah vers le centre de Manama. Les femmes en voile noir marchaient d'un côté de la route, et les hommes de l'autre, selon une journaliste de l'AFP. "Nous défilons pour affirmer l'unité entre les chiites et les sunnites au Bahreïn", a déclaré le cheikh Mohammed Habib Al-Muqdad, un des 25 militants accusés de terrorisme et graciés récemment par le roi.

POUR CERTAINS OPPOSANTS, LES GESTES DU ROI ARRIVENT TROP TARD

Son procès et celui de 24 autres accusés, dont deux jugés par contumace, s'était ouvert en octobre, et Amnesty International avait demandé que les autorités diligentent une enquête sur les tortures rapportées par les accusés. L'un d'entre eux, Abdeljalil Al-Singace, figure de l'aile dure de l'opposition chiite, a prévenu mardi que "le sang [pouvait] couler de nouveau si le régime ignor[ait] les exigences du peuple".

Membre du Haq, une formation interdite de l'opposition chiite, souffrant d'une paralysie des jambes due à la poliomyélite, Abdeljalil Al-Singace a été emprisonné au mois d'août après une visite à Londres, et accusé de terrorisme. Il a dénoncé les mauvais traitements qu'il a subis pendant sa détention. "J'ai été placé à l'isolement dans une cellule pendant quarante-cinq jours. J'ai été privé de mes lunettes et de mes béquilles, sauf pour aller aux toilettes", a-t-il raconté à l'AFP, évoquant aussi une privation forcée de sommeil. "D'autres ont été victimes de traitements bien pires : ils ont subi des insultes ayant trait à leur religion et des humiliations sexuelles, et on a menacé de violer leur femme et leurs soeurs", a-t-il affirmé.

Le 26 février, le secrétaire général du Haq, Hassan Machaimaa, a appelé à son retour à Manama à une coordination entre l'opposition et les manifestants. Pour M. Al-Singace, les initiatives annoncées récemment par la monarchie arrivent "trop tard, et sont insuffisantes" pour calmer les revendications des manifestants qui exigent un changement de régime. "Je n'appelle pas cela un dialogue", a-t-il estimé. "On nous a menti trop longtemps", a-t-il ajouté. "Il y a eu une accumulation d'années pendant lesquelles on nous a privé de nos droits. Maintenant la partie est finie".

11-03-03 - Libération -- Bahreïn Manama divisé

Bahreïn Manama divisé

Environ 300 000 personnes étaient réunies, hier soir à Manama, capitale de Bahreïn, pour exprimer leur soutien à la famille royale des Al-Khalifa, selon la télévision officielle. Dans le même temps, des milliers d’opposants chiites se sont rassemblés devant le siège du ministère de l’Intérieur au 17e jour de la contestation d’un régime dominé par les sunnites pourtant minoritaires. «A bas les Al-Khalifa» et «Pas de dialogue avec les tueurs», scandaient notamment les opposants. Sept manifestants ont été tués par la police en février. photo Hamad i mohammed. Reuters

11-03-04 - Al Jazeera -- Bahrain youth march on state TV

Bahrain youth march on state TV

Protesters accuse state television of exploiting sectarian tensions and call for ousting of King Hamad.

Gregg Carlstrom in Madinat Isa Last Modified: 04 Mar 2011 20:48 GMT

Several thousand anti-government demonstrators have rallied outside Bahrain's state television building, demanding democratic reforms and the ousting of the ruling family.

It was one of two anti-government rallies held in Bahrain on Friday. One group of protesters - estimated by witnesses to be in the tens of thousands - marched from the prime minister's office to Pearl Roundabout, the intersection in Manama which has become the symbolic heart of the protest movement.

That rally was organised by the country's six formal opposition parties, which had submitted a list of demands to the crown prince one day earlier.

The other rally, organised by Bahraini youth, marched on the state television building in Madinat Isa, a small village 15km south of the capital.

The competing rallies ostensibly had similar goals: Demonstrators at both called for political reforms, such as empowering the parliament and electing a new prime minister.

But they also highlighted what seems to be a deepening split within Bahrain's protest movement, between a formal opposition committed to dialogue with the ruling al-Khalifa family, and a youth movement increasingly committed to toppling the monarchy.

'Channel of strife'

The protesters in Madinat Isa started their march in two locations: The ministry of labour, and the central statistics office.

Both have symbolic value, the former because it has failed to provide jobs for many unemployed Bahrainis, the latter because it counts how many Bahrainis are Sunni and how many are Shia - a division the government has sought to exploit in recent weeks, portraying the protests as sectarian affairs.

"We are Sunni and Shia, and this country is not for sale," the protesters chanted, a reference to the government's practice of offering citizenship to foreigners - many from Pakistan, Syria and Jordan - who serve in the army or the interior ministry.

The protesters accused Bahrain's state-run media of trying to reinforce sectarian divides, calling it qanat al-fitna, the "channel of strife".

"The way this channel covers the rallies at the pro-government mosques, it's almost like we're in Iraq," said Alaa Mohamed, a chemical engineer. "It's like they're trying to encourage the pro-government Sunnis to attack."

At one point, a Bahrain TV cameraman - wearing a balaclava to cover his face - climbed to the roof of the building to film the protests. "Show this live!" the protesters yelled.

The protesters were entirely peaceful, as they have been since the rallies started on February 14.

A group of Bahraini police stood just inside the fenced-in information ministry compound, equipped with riot gear and water cannons (several protest veterans said this was the first time they had seen water cannons in Bahrain).

But they remained inside the ministry's gates.

Atop a nearby police station, a group of men - dressed in street clothes, not uniforms - appeared to take photographs of the protesters using cameras with high-powered lenses.

Activists said this was the first time they had marched on state television - and that Bahrain's organised political parties were afraid to take part.

"The political societies don't want to be involved with any protest where there might be a crackdown," said Yousef al-Muhafdah, a human rights activist.

"That's why they are at the Manama rally right now. But what's the point of that rally? What is their message? They're marching to Lulu [Pearl Roundabout], where everybody is their friend or colleague. Why?"

Mistrust

Mistrust was a common theme among many of the protesters outside the information ministry.

The royal family has offered "dialogue" before, but those talks have led to few meaningful reforms.

Several protesters mentioned the Bahraini national assembly, which was created after years of protests and demands by opposition groups.

"We asked for a parliament in the 1990s. They gave it in 2002, and it has no power; the king can do what he wants, the prime minister can do what he wants," said Ahmed, a human resources consultant who would not give his last name.

"We don't trust this government anymore."

Nor have activists forgotten the government's brutal crackdown on protesters in Pearl Roundabout last month, which left seven dead and hundreds injured.

Driving back to Manama from Madinat Isa, Saeed Ahmed recounted his own brutal beating last month at the hands of Bahraini soldiers.

"They chanted allahu akbar [God is great] while they beat me with batons," Ahmed said, showing a photo of his bloodied face on his mobile phone.

"You can't have a dialogue with the person who killed your friends the day before," Ahmed said. "The things I saw in Lulu… I cannot forget those things."

Human rights organisations are planning to file a criminal case against the king over those seven deaths.

They expect the case will be dismissed by Bahraini courts - "the king is treated like God here," Youssef said - so they plan to appeal it at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Saeed criticised the formal opposition parties for moving too cautiously against the government.

They presented a list of demands to the crown prince on Thursday, but Saeed said they did not threaten any consequences if the government ignores those demands.

"You know, they raised demands for dialogue, but they didn't include effective pressure," he said.

"They didn't say, we will raise the ceiling… that if you don't give in to our demands in three weeks, we will join the people and call for the end of the monarchy."

Indeed, many of Bahrain's young protesters seem to be losing their patience with the Khalifa family.

Protesters chanted yasqat Hamad - "down with Hamad," referring to King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa - outside the information ministry. A few protesters also held signs that read, "no to constitutional monarchy".

Ahmed, the HR consultant, said he would accept a monarchy modelled after the United Kingdom, but said not all of the protesters shared his view. "Some don't want the royal diwan to exist anymore," he said.

Protesters initially confined themselves to Pearl Roundabout, but in recent days they have spread out, taking their demonstrations to key government buildings.

They rallied outside the interior ministry on Wednesday, and several demonstrators have now suggested taking a future rally to Hamad's palace.

"The next step, maybe, is to march on the king's palace. We'll see if he can handle the pressure," Saeed said. "That would be a logical next step."

"I don't know if it's a question of pressure," Youssef replied. "But can we handle the bullets?"

"We did once before," Saeed said.

11-03-04 - Deccan -- Sectarian clashes in Bahrain

Sectarian clashes in Bahrain

Mar 04 2011

Hamad Town, Bahrain: Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims clashed in a town in Bahrain on Thursday, the first direct confrontation between the two sides since large scale protests erupted in the kingdom's main city two weeks ago.

Residents said a group of Shi'ites fought with a group of Sunnis and what they said were Bahrainis of Syrian extraction.

"There were about a hundred people involved," one resident said.

Police helicopters circled overhead and two ambulances rushed from the scene. Youth with sticks and batons were also leaving the area.

The protesters camped out in the capital want political reform and better access to government jobs for the country's Shi'ite majority, which has long complained of second class status and discrimination. The government denies this.

The clash came on the same day that Bahraini opposition groups said they were now ready to enter into talks with the government without pre-conditions, but have sent a letter to the crown prince saying they want a new government and constitution.

A Sunni royal family rules the country of 1.2 million, half of whom are native Bahrainis, and a majority of those Shi'ite.

The protests in the capital Manama have been largely free of violence after police withdrew following an initial crackdown that killed seven.

The crowds, which also include some Sunnis, have been careful to avoid sectarian tones and instead stuck to calls for national freedom and unity.

Residents in Hamad said fighting died down when police forces arrived. Later there was a standoff between riot police and groups of Shi'ites who rushed to the area from other parts of Bahrain.

"One man fell down and a large group came and beat him. There's still groups with sticks everywhere but fighting has largely stopped," one witness said.

11-03-04 - Libération -- Bahreïn conditions du dialogue

Bahreïn conditions du dialogue

A Manama (photo), l’opposition, dont les partisans restent mobilisés, a précisé hier ses revendications pour ouvrir le dialogue avec le pouvoir. Elle demande «l’abolition de la Constitution de 2002 et l’élection d’une assemblée constituante chargée d’élaborer une nouvelle loi fondamentale». Il faut aussi, a expliqué hier un porte-parole, que le gouvernement reconnaisse «le droit du peuple à élire un Parlement à plein pouvoirs législatifs» et son droit «d’avoir un gouvernement élu». L’opposition demande également des garanties d’application des solutions qui émergeront du dialogue. photo Hasan jamali. ap

11-03-07 - France 24 -- Shiite protesters besiege meeting at Bahrain’s government palace

Shiite protesters besiege meeting at Bahrain’s government palace

Thousands of Shiite-led opposition demonstrators in Bahrain blocked the palace where a cabinet meeting was taking place, but failed to shake the government in the tiny Gulf nation’s third week of protests.

Issued on: 07/03/2011 - 08:13Modified: 07/03/2011 - 12:58

AFP - Thousands of demonstrators massed on Sunday at Manama's Al-Qudaibiya Palace, where Bahrain's cabinet meets, chanting slogans against the tiny but strategic Gulf state's government.

White-helmeted police with riot shields stood behind one gate, looking on as the flag-waving demonstrators chanted "Down Hamad! Down Hamad!", in reference to Bahrain's King Hamad.

"The people want to topple the regime!" the protesters roared, shaking their fists towards the light pink palace with its onion-shaped, pearl-coloured dome.

The kingdom's cabinet meets at the palace on Sundays, and the state news agency BNA said that the gathering went ahead as usual, despite the protests outside.

"The government supports freedom of expression, in a peaceful way, which is guaranteed by the constitution," Kamal Ahmed, the minister for cabinet affairs, said according to BNA.

But the cabinet warned against "harming the public, commercial and economic interests," he said, adding that "jeopardising the interests of the people... goes against the calls for calm and dialogue."

Crown Prince Salman, tasked by his father the king with opening talks with the opposition, said later on Sunday that dialogue is the only way forward.

"We have to give ourself a chance for dialogue in a civilised way," he told Bahrain TV. "There is no way out of this crisis except dialogue."

The Gulf archipelago of Bahrain, a strategic US ally and home of the US Fifth Fleet, has been shaken by demonstrations calling for political reform since February 14.

"Hey Khalifa, get out! Get out!" demonstrators chanted Sunday, referring to the country's prime minister of four decades, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, who has an office at the palace and has been a target of demonstrations.

"We want the prime minister to go," said Alaa al-Nasr, a 24-year-old demonstrator.

Another protester, 42-year-old Osama al-Nuwain, agreed.

"It’s mainly against Sheikh Khalifa -- they want this government to go," he said.

Protesters also chanted for the 2002 constitution, which established an appointed upper house that has veto powers over the decisions of the elected chamber, to be scrapped.

"The 2002 constitution falls for the sake of Bahrain," they chorused in a refrain that rhymes in Arabic.

Bahrain is ruled by the Sunni Muslim al-Khalifa family but has a Shiite Muslim majority which has been at the forefront of the protests.

"Our problem is a political one," Sheikh Ali Salman, the head of the Shiite opposition Islamic National Accord Association, or Al-Wefaq, told the crowd of protesters.

"We need political reforms -- lead the people to elect their government, and not a government that remains on our chests for 40 years, with all its failure," he said, referring to the premier’s four-decade tenure.

As in a speech on Friday, Salman also emphasised Sunni-Shiite harmony.

"We want a home which has security for Sunnis and security for Shiites, and dignity for Sunnis and dignity for Shiites," he said.

"We want to get rid of Al-Khalifa dictatorship, but we don't want to be under a Shiite dictatorship, or a dictatorship of a party," Salman said.

Residents of Hamad Town, south of Manama, said police had intervened to break up Sunni-Shiite clashes late on Thursday, the first outbreak of sectarian violence since the protests began.

The government warned on Sunday against sectarianism, saying "acts that perpetuate sectarianism and sedition are rejected by the people and the religion," BNA reported.

Opposition groups have stopped short of demanding outright regime change, instead calling for major reforms including an elected parliament "with full legislative powers."

"We came here because we don’t want this government," said Nawal Hassan, a 29-year-old protester at the palace, who wore the traditional black abaya robe and veil, with a Bahraini flag around her neck like a cape.

"We don’t want them! Let all the world know," she said.

Demonstrators continue to keep vigil in hundreds of tents at Manama's Pearl Square, which has become the epicentre of the anti-government protests.

Thousands of people on Friday made a human chain between the square and the al-Fateh Sunni mosque six kilometres (3.7 miles) away, calling for the removal of the government and sectarian harmony.

11-03-07 - Al Jazeera -- Demanding equal rights in Bahrain Features

Demanding equal rights in Bahrain

Many Shia citizens of Gulf island demand ouster of PM, and less power for the ruling Khalifa family.

Manama, Bahrain – Abdul Amir Al-Basri looks sullen and defeated, with a deep black bruise below his right eye, a large bump on the top of his head, and further evidence of police mistreatment on his right hip and ankle.

A driver for the Almoayyed Group, one of Bahrain’s biggest conglomerates, Al-Basri missed at least one week of work, as he was detained in Hod Al-Jaf prison on the island of Muharraq near the airport. He says he spent four days there, along with two other detainees who were also picked up on the morning of February 17, when Manama police raided peaceful protesters camped out at Pearl Roundabout.

Authorities accused Al-Basri, 37, of monitoring the security services on behalf of the protesters. He admits to being an informal organiser for the anti-government demonstrators who occupy the symbolic heart of the city. But he denies that he was spying on the police. His case is illustrative of tensions that were significantly inflamed by last week’s clashes.

Al-Basri has suffered worse brutality than most Bahrainis who side with the opposition. But his case is representative of the gripes that predominantly Shia anti-government protesters harbor against Bahrain’s ruling clique.

For him, political issues top the list, but economic problems are not far behind. And socioeconomic disparities between the Sunni elite and Shia protesters are accentuated by sectarian differences. Many believe the government is keen to play up the religious rift as part of a divide-and-conquer strategy.

Shia are a majority of Bahraini nationals, though citizens are only half of the country’s approximately 1.2 million population – the other half being migrant workers, mostly from South Asia.

Defusing the political crisis

Bahrain’s king has sought negotiations to end the long-running political standoff that escalated February 14 with the first in a string of anti-government protesters shot dead.

The main Shia Islamist bloc, Wefaq, had rejected the advance as long as the military was in the street. Although the army pulled back a week ago, Wefaq seems poised to take advantage of political cachet gained after security forces killed seven protesters in a public relations catastrophe for the regime.

Bahrain’s anti-government camp is calling for a genuine constitutional democracy in which “the royal family is no longer a ruling family, but just a royal family”, says Ibrahim Sharif, leader of the secular-liberal Wa’ad party and the most prominent Sunni member of the opposition.

The protesters are requesting a new prime minister who is popularly elected and a bicameral parliament – with newly enhanced powers – that is fully elected. Currently, the upper house of parliament is selected by the king and dominates the lower house, elected by the people as per the 2002 constitution.

“We don’t yet know whether [the government] is serious and whether the principle of the dialogue is to end up with a constitution where the people elect 100 per cent of the parliament,” Sharif tells Al Jazeera. “If not, then there’s no point sitting at the table.”

Core structural changes – if enacted – could pacify the protesters, who complain that about half of cabinet posts are filled by members of the Khalifa family.

During the past few days, the government has already moved to sack five ministers and has announced the release of 300 prisoners, including 23 alleged terror suspects. The selection of two Shia to become housing and health ministers likely aims to reverse discrimination in public services.

At Bahrain’s protests, “Down, down, Khalifa” (in English) is a common slogan. While hard-line protesters want to boot the whole family, every demonstrator is passionate about the ouster of Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, who assumed office in 1971.

In his address to the nation on February 18, accomodating Crown Prince Salman, whose job is more secure than the prime minister’s, said, “Youths are going out on the street believing that they have no future in the country … But this country is for you all, for the Shia and Sunnis”.

Despite this claim, protesters say the situation on the ground is different. The Bahraini security forces are mostly made up of Sunnis from countries like Jordan, Yemen and Pakistan – allegedly including those who opened fire on Bahrainis in their own capital.

Economic malaise

Continued political upheaval in the island kingdom threatens to derail a vibrant economy, but protesters say they have waited long enough, that a Formula One Grand Prix event cancellation by the crown prince is a small price to pay.

The Index of Economic Freedom, published by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, lists Bahrain as the freest economy in the Middle East/North Africa. It is tenth overall in the world, just behind the US.

Unlike many other Gulf states, Bahrain is not entirely driven by petroleum. The government has fashioned Bahrain as a business and commercial hub to attract investment. Decent employment and a piece of national prosperity are the main economic demands of anti-government protesters.

In the 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, Bahrain was ranked 48th in the world, reflective of a gradual decline since 2003, when it was ranked 27th. This is a shift grasped by protesters, who reject the domineering Khalifa family – which makes up less than half of one per cent of Bahrain’s population.

Many young Shia suggest that pervasive bias prevents them from advancing professionally. And they also accuse the government of bringing in foreign Sunnis instead of hiring Bahraini Shia.

A young woman who gave her name as Mona says she could not get a permanent contract to work in a public sector department because she is Shia.

“At my previous government job, I was referred by a Sunni friend, but they didn’t know I was Shia,” says Mona. “Then they asked her why she had helped advance a Shia’s career. In certain sensitive projects, they just don’t want us involved.”

Mona extrapolated the current Bahraini situation onto the pyramid representing psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. “Al Khalifa wants to keep people wanting to fulfill just basic necessities,” she says. “Once we move up, then we’ll demand more and more political goodies.”

But Mona also says that the psychology of the protest movement is rooted in the particularly Shia concept of suffering and Imam Hussein’s struggle.

Mona also alludes to a doctrinal difference that compels Bahrain’s Shia – who largely belong to the sect led by Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, based in Najaf, Iraq – to overthrow their political leadership if it is taking the country in the wrong direction.

Mona believes that the struggle for political change in Bahrain is religiously infused, but she acknowledges that their demands are socioeconomic at heart.

“I grew up in a mixed area of Manama, and most of my friends are Sunni. Half my family is Sunni. Three of my cousins are married to Sunnis. My mother’s brother is married to a Sunni,” Mona says. “And two of my husband’s siblings are married to Sunnis.”

She continues, “They used to celebrate Ashura with us. If a Sunni woman couldn’t get pregnant, she would come eat our rice to increase her fertility”.

Deep sectarian split

One young Bahrain University student at Pearl Roundabout named Jasmine says she has Shia friends with grade point averages of 97 out of 100 who are unable to get good jobs.

But Jasmine also says that she was happy with the sense of camaraderie generated by the protest movement, mentioning a banner that reads: “Thank you, Khalifa. You brought us together”.

Another college student, Maryam, studies at the New York Institute of Technology in Manama. She remembers the first day that she and her two sisters came to Pearl Roundabout.

“We had no dates for Valentine’s Day, so we came here on February 14 [Bahrain’s ‘Day of Rage’] to have a date with our country.”

Maryam says that after the February 17 police raid on Pearl Roundabout, many of her Sunni classmates who normally say “hi” in the hallway simply do not acknowledge her.

“And at least 12 people un-followed me on Twitter,” Maryam says, explaining how many of her Sunni friends did not approve of her tweets in support of the opposition.

Jasmine, the Bahrain University student, adds that she de-friended 10 of her 222 Facebook friends to avoid the awkwardness of pro-government classmates reading her anti-government status updates.

One student from Sacred Heart high school, Mohamed Al-Arian, identifies as an anti-government protester. He comes from a mixed marriage, with a Shia father and a Sunni mother. He summarises the conflict bluntly, “They [Sunnis] just don’t want to be ruled by Shias”.

Protest leaders say that few Sunni anti-government people can be found at Pearl Roundabout, but Mesh’al Mohamed, 22, an electric guitarist, has returned many times.

“Most Sunnis are afraid to come here. Their biggest fear is physical safety,” he says, adding that he considers himself apolitical. “But no one would agree to see their brothers and sisters killed without doing anything about it.”

Pearl Roundabout casualties

“We like Hezbollah, yes. Iran, yes,” says Said Jalal, a 45-year-old accountant from Manama. “Everybody likes Hassan Nasrallah. And we all watch Al Manar and Al Alam [television networks run by Hezbollah and the Iranian government, respectively] … But this current political crisis is an internal matter to be resolved by the Bahraini people”.

His acquaintance, Nabeel Murad, 38, follows that line of reasoning. “Bahraini people don’t have any problem with people of any nationality. We are friendly people. There aren’t any terrorists [in Pearl Roundabout].”

Jasim Husa Ali, a university professor and former member of the lower house of parliament from the Wefaq party, says that the February 17 assault on peaceful protesters at Pearl Roundabout “only prolongs the crisis”. At a press conference the following day, he says, “The crime of the day only makes things worse. We call for a probe into the military crackdown.”

In the aftermath of the attack, Bahrain’s state TV showed pictures of pistols and knives that had allegedly been kept by protesters at Pearl Roundabout. State media also said that security forces gave fair warning before evicting demonstrators from the symbolic heart of Manama.

But opposition members say that if people had guns, they would have been used to protect women and children. They also say that people would not have brought families to the roundabout if they expected violence.

Eyewitnesses said that demonstrators yelled “peaceful, peaceful” at the police but were only given a one-minute warning – from a tiny megaphone not audible from most of the square – before the police began firing tear gas, rubber bullets, and shotgun pellets at close range.

Abdul Rahman, a Sunni Bahraini who has a family-owned optical business at upscale Seef Mall, believes that the protesters were largely at fault. He argues that no one was actually sleeping at the square and that proper warning was given. Rahman also says the current parliamentary system works perfectly well.

“A lot of Shia don’t even agree with what’s happening,” he says. “But tomorrow, if the government makes certain changes against my interests, then I’ll be sitting in that roundabout too.”

Khalil Marzouk was vice president of the parliament before his Wefaq party withdrew to protest the speed of reforms. Marzouk says that the regime had no excuse to use the army. “You cannot go up to someone sleeping and say go home and then start shooting him,” he says. “But, the bottom line is nobody cares who rules as long as they get human rights.”

Though hard-liners on both sides may have had the upper hand last week, the region anxiously waits to see whether cooler heads in the government and the opposition manage to prevent a “slow burn”, as anti-government protesters have warned.

“The dialogue should start at Pearl Roundabout” remains the stance of disaffected Bahrainis who fear that yet more citizens will have to die before the government meets their demands.

11-03-10 - Reuters -- Analysis - Sectarian tensions build amid Bahrain protests Reuters

Analysis - Sectarian tensions build amid Bahrain protests

Reuters

March 10, 20115:21 PM GMT+1Updated 13 years ago

By Lin Noueihed

MANAMA (Reuters) - A schoolyard scuffle gets out of hand. A fight over a parking space turns into a neighbourhood brawl. A car accident near a protest camp brings out vigilantes.

Each incident was small in itself, a handful injured each time, but together they signal rising tensions between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims as protests show no sign of abating in Bahrain.

In a country where speaking about sectarian divisions was once taboo, bloggers and politicians are openly warning that political differences are in danger of escalating into civil strife.

"As the Great War began with a single bullet, Bahrain is also exposed to a slide into real chaos because of one stupid and meaningless incident, since the ground has never been as ready for a slide into hell as it is today," Bahraini blogger Mahmood al-Youssif wrote.

No stranger to sporadic protests and rioting, Bahrain has been gripped by the worst unrest since the 1990s after a youth movement took to the streets last month, emboldened by revolts that toppled the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt.

Unlike those overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim countries, however, Bahrain is home to a majority Shi'ite population ruled by the U.S. backed al-Khalifa family, who are Sunnis.

The protesters, mostly Shi'ites who have long complained of discrimination in jobs and services, are urging democratic reforms. Despite the best efforts of protesters, who insist in their chants and placards on unity between Sunnis and Shi'ites, the unrest has been tainted by sectarian overtones.

In Egypt, 13 people have been killed in clashes between the Sunni majority and Coptic Christians who make up some 10 percent of the population. Fears are growing that a protracted political standoff in Bahrain could turn out less like Tunisia and more like Lebanon or Iraq, countries where politics has descended into an unstable cycle of religious bloodletting.

"I am very afraid, afraid of these divisions even inside our own sect and afraid that we end up like Iraq or like Lebanon," said Khadija Hassan, a Shi'ite in a black chador, who joined a protest against the naturalisation of foreigners this week.

"The government wants to cause friction between Sunnis and Shi'ites when we have no problem. We marry each other."

FRIDAY FEARS

At the protest camp on Pearl roundabout, Sheikh Ali Salman, head of the largest Shi'ite opposition party Wefaq, said on Wednesday that a planned march on the royal palace on Friday could push Bahrain into sectarian chaos.

Wefaq is calling for a new government and a constitutional monarchy that vests the judicial, executive and legislative authority with the people. It is organising a less provocative march calling for constitutional reform.

The coalition of much smaller Shi'ite parties who have organised the march on the royal court demand the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic.

These ideas terrify Sunnis who fear they would play into the hands of the oil-producing Gulf's main Shi'ite power and only republic, non-Arab Iran.

The march on the royal court will pass Sunni areas and the youth movement who started the protests said they would not take part. They called on Wefaq to convince hardline parties to cancel the march for fear that it would "cause strife and the fall of innocent victims in the people's ranks."

"Democracy in Bahrain is shaped by the sectarian divide. In a real democracy, Bahrain would be ruled by Shi'ites as democracy is fundamentally majoritarian," said Shadi Hamid, analyst at the Brookings Centre in Doha.

"How do you get round that sectarian issue and how do you persuade Sunnis to accept a Shi'ite prime minister? ... We are looking at a protracted stalemate that will mean greater sectarian splits in Bahrain."

The unrest in Bahrain is being closely watched in U.S. ally Saudi Arabia, where Shi'ites make up about 15 percent of the population and which has been the scene of small protests.

Saudi protests have mostly taken place in the Eastern Province, where the oil industry is based and which is home to most of the Shi'ites in the puritanical Sunni kingdom.

As Saudi Arabia prepares for its own Day of Rage on Friday, the risks of contagion are lost on no one.

"The U.S. government is not putting serious pressure on the government to reform. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council are telling al-Khalifa to hold on because this is a slippery slope," said Hamid.

"Bahrain is unlike Tunisia or Egypt; it is strategically vital and involves Iran. The U.S. is concerned about growing Iranian influence after losing a close ally like Egypt."

BUBBLING TO THE SURFACE

With direct talks between the royals and the opposition yet to begin, daily outbreaks of violence are alarming Bahrainis.

On Thursday, a fight between Shi'ite and naturalised Sunni schoolgirls in Sar turned into a sectarian standoff that drew in parents and turned into a scuffle involving knives and sticks.

The incident follows sectarian clashes last week in Hamad Town, an area where both Sunnis and Shi'ites live. Residents said it was not clear what sparked that row, but it appeared to involve naturalised Syrians, who were Sunnis, and Shi'ites.

The clashes go to the heart of Shi'ite complaints that the government has been naturalising Sunnis from other Arab countries, Pakistan and India to swing the sectarian balance. They say Shi'ites are locked out of jobs in the security forces, which are given instead to Sunnis and to naturalised Sunnis.

Over half of Bahrain's 1.2 million population are foreigners. Bahrainis disagree on the exact figures but analysts say over 60 percent of citizens are Shi'ite.

The government denies there is discrimination against Shi'ites in Bahrain and says there is no plan to change the country's sectarian balance. It says all naturalisation is done with full transparency and according to immigration policies.

Abdel Wahhab Hussein, leader of Wafa party that co-founded a coalition aimed at toppling the monarchy, said it was the state that was to blame for sectarian friction.

"The regime has a long history of inciting this sectarian division and practises sectarian discrimination," he said at a recent news conference.

"This confidence crisis is between the people and the government, not between the government and the Shi'ites and that is why the government depends on naturalisation and mercenaries."

Bahrain newsroom; editing by Robert Woodward

11-03-11 - Le Monde -- Au Bahreïn, l'opposition s'apprête à marcher sur le palais

Au Bahreïn, l'opposition s'apprête à marcher sur le palais royal

LEMONDE.FR avec AFP | 11.03.11 | 11h42  •  Mis à jour le 11.03.11 | 12h34

Des sit-in ont lieu depuis plus de trois semaines dans le pays. REUTERS/HAMAD I MOHAMMED

L'opposition radicale et des mouvements de jeunesse comptent marcher sur le palais royal de Bahreïn vendredi, faisant craindre des violences dans le royaume sunnite du Golfe à population majoritairement chiite. Bahreïn, qui abrite la Ve Flotte américaine, est secoué depuis le mois dernier par un mouvement de contestation sans précédent depuis les années 1990, inspiré des révolutions tunisienne et égyptienne.

Sept personnes ont été tuées dans des heurts entre manifestants et forces de sécurité et des milliers de militants du Mouvement de jeunesse du 14-Février campent toujours sur la place de la Perle à Manama, épicentre de la contestation, mais l'opposition est de plus en plus divisée. Les modérés ont exhorté les opposants plus radicaux à renoncer à leur marche sur le palais royal à Riffa, qui doit débuter à 15 h 30 locales (13 h 30 à Paris). Ils redoutent des affrontements entre manifestants et partisans du gouvernement.

CRAINTE DE "VICTIMES INNOCENTES"

Une partie du mouvement des jeunes du 14-Février a refusé de prendre part à la manifestation, craignant "des victimes innocentes". Mais un autre groupe s'est déclaré déterminé à défiler. "Il est devenu clair que le régime des Khalifa et ses cohortes n'attachent pas la même valeur au sang des natifs de cette terre qu'à sa monopolisation du pouvoir, tout en volant la richesse du peuple et en réprimant et en privant les citoyens de leurs droits élémentaires", a-t-il dit dans un communiqué.

Cette manifestation coïncide avec un appel à une journée de protestation en Arabie saoudite, où les rassemblements sont interdits. Jeudi soir, la police saoudienne a dispersé une manifestation dans la province orientale de l'Arabie, qui abrite également une importante population chiite et partage sa frontière avec Bahreïn. Les deux royaumes sunnites surveillent cette vague de protestation avec inquiétude. Jeudi, le Conseil de coopération du Golfe a annoncé une aide de 20 milliards de dollars pour Bahreïn et le sultanat d'Oman, qui est également confronté à la contestation.

11-03-11 - CTV News -- Police, protesters clash near Bahrain palace

Police, protesters clash near Bahrain palace

The Associated Press Published Friday, March 11, 2011 12:40PM EST

MANAMA, Bahrain - Security forces reinforced by pro-government mobs fired rubber bullets and tear gas Friday to scatter protesters near Bahrain's royal palace, as a conflict deepened between Sunni Muslims backing the ruling system and Shiites demanding it give up its monopoly on power.

The clashes broke out after an hours-long standoff between tens of thousands of demonstrators facing down lines of riot police and Sunni vigilantes carrying swords, clubs, metals pipes and stones. One protester, Habib Ibreeq, said people used private cars to ferry the injured to hospitals.

The latest clash reinforces the sense that nearly a month of protests led by the Shiite majority to demand sweeping political reforms was veering toward sectarian street battles between the divided communities. Shiites, who complain of discrimination, are also increasingly calling for the ouster of the Western-allied Sunni monarchy ruling the small but strategic island nation that is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

The full number of injured was not immediately clear, but witnesses said it included dozens of people overcome by tear gas and others hit by stones or cut by blades.

Some main opposition parties had called for the march to be canceled, fearing Bahrain was moving dangerously close to full-scale sectarian battles after weeks of protests modeled on the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. On Thursday, students clashed at a school and Sunni groups burned a Shiite-owned supermarket and threatened other businesses.

But Shiite youth groups ignored the appeals to call off the protest near the offices and compounds of Bahrain's king and other members of the ruling dynasty that has held power for more than two centuries.

The brief -- but intense -- melee began as protesters began to withdraw from a razor wire barrier separating the two sides. Witnesses said some stones were thrown from the pro-government mobs and they began to pour through an opening in the blockade. Within moments, police had fired tear gas and rubber bullets to drive back the demonstrators, who included children.

A statement earlier by Bahrain's Interior Ministry warned against holding the march amid a "level of sectarian tension that threatens Bahrain's social fabric."

Hours before the clash, pro-government bands attacked several cars trying to reach the area near the royal compounds.

Johnny Miller, a British cameraman on assignment for Iran's state-run Press TV, said dozens of assailants broke the windows of their car and insulted his Bahraini Shiite assistant.

Many Shiites in Bahrain claim the pro-government mobs include Sunnis from other Arab states and South Asia who are given citizenship and jobs under a government program to try to offset the Shiites' demographic advantage.

"This is a systematic operation to unleash these thugs to threaten Shiites and act as enforcers for the ruling system," said a prominent human rights lawyer, Mohamed al-Tajer.

Major Sunni-Shiite clashes occurred during the 1990s and forced Bahrain's Sunni rulers to introduce political reforms that included an elected parliament. But the island's Shiites -- about 70 per cent of the population -- still see themselves stuck in a permanent underclass status.

They are effectively blackballed from top government or security posts and complain that voting districts are gerrymandered to prevent a Shiite majority in the 40-seat parliament, where the main Shiite bloc took 18 seats in elections last year.

A main grievance is the Sunni naturalization policies, which seek to offset the lopsided Shiite population advantage and bulk up the ranks of loyalists. Opposition groups estimate tens of thousands of Sunnis from across the Arab world and South Asia have been brought to Bahrain in recent years.

On Wednesday, thousands of Shiites marched outside the immigration office in the capital, Manama, to decry the "political naturalizations" and demand a mass expulsion.

Bahrain's leaders, meanwhile, are under strong regional pressure to stand firm.

The other Sunni Arab dynasties in the Gulf -- particularly Saudi Arabia -- fear any crack in Bahrain could encourage more uprisings across the oil-rich region to demand an end to their authoritarian grip. Protests have flared already in Oman and Kuwait. Saudi security forces were out Friday in a major show of power amid rumblings of wider demonstrations.

The Gulf Sunni leaders also see Bahrain as a potential beachhead for Shiite powerhouse Iran. Although there is no evidence of political ties between Tehran and Bahrain's main Shiite groups, some hard-liners in Iran have called Bahrain the "14th province" of the Islamic Republic.

On Thursday, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council backed a $20 billion aid plan for Bahrain and Oman, the least well-off in the super-wealthy bloc.

In Geneva, UN human rights officials said three prominent human rights activists in Bahrain are being targeted by death threats conveyed through Facebook and other social media sites. Rupert Colville of the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said the messages on Facebook and other social media websites denounce the three men as "traitors" and aim to incite people to kill them.

The three being targeted are Mohammed Al Masqati, president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights; Naji Fateel, another member of the society; and Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, a former director at Frontline Defenders, Colville said.

11-03-11 - TR -- Bahrain A Shiite Coalition for a Republic, what’s next

Three Bahraini Shiite opposition groups: Haq, Wafa and Bahrain Freedom Movement (BFM) agreed this week to form a tripartite Coalition for a Republic (CFR) in a bid to join forces to overthrow the monarchy in Bahrain. The following 360-word report sheds light on the subject and tells what the CFR command intends to do next. It also tells what about the reaction of Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

11-03-11 - Arabian News -- Thousands march on Bahrain royal court

Thousands march on Bahrain royal court

Protests continue in Gulf state where further clashes between Shi’ites and Sunnis are expected

Thousands of opposition

activists marched on Friday towards Bahrain’s royal court, a

protest that looked set to spark fighting on a Gulf island where

the majority is Shi’ite Muslim but the ruling family is Sunni.

Carrying Bahraini flags and flowers, several thousand mainly

Shi’ite protesters began walking from the Aly area to Riffa, a

district where Sunnis and members of the Sunni royal family

live. Near a clocktower in Riffa, about a thousand residents

armed with clubs gathered to block the protesters’ advance.

“The royal family has lots of palaces and houses here. We’re

peaceful. We want to go to their house and ask for our rights,”

said Ahmed Jaafar, as he set off from Aly. “Power should not be

with one family, it should be with the people.”

Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has been

gripped by the worst unrest since the 1990s when protesters took

to the streets last month, inspired by uprisings that unseated

entrenched autocratic rulers in Egypt and Tunisia.

Seven people have been killed in clashes with security

forces and thousands of the February 14 youth movement still occupy

Pearl roundabout, a busy traffic intersection in Manama’s

financial district, but the opposition is increasingly split.

Moderate opposition leaders urged hardliners to cancel the

march, warning it could spark clashes between Shi’ites

protesting against the government and Sunnis who support it.

Bahrain’s top Shi’ite Muslim cleric warned protesters not to

slip into a sectarian conflict with Sunni Muslims that would

undermine the opposition’s campaign for political reform.

“I say to all our people, Sunnis and Shi’ite, that it is

forbidden to shed the blood of anyone under any pretext. We must

all hold those who are inciting sectarian conflict accountable

for what they are doing,” Sheikh Issa said in his Friday sermon.

Unlike mostly Sunni Tunisia and Egypt, Bahrain is divided

between Shi’ites, who have long complained of discrimination in

access to jobs and services, and a Sunni minority.

Over half of Bahrain’s 1.2 million population are

foreigners. Bahrainis disagree on the exact figures but analysts

say over 60 percent of Bahraini nationals are Shi’ite.

Moderates led by the largest Shi’ite party, Wefaq, are

calling for constitutional reforms and have called a less

provocative rally on Friday that is expected to draw tens of

thousands.

The coalition of much smaller Shi’ite parties behind the

march on the royal court are calling for the overthrow of the

monarchy and the establishment of a republic — demands that

have scared Sunnis who fear this would play into the hands of

the oil-producing Gulf’s main Shi’ite power, non-Arab Iran.

“We want to bring down the government, and the al-Khalifas

are the government,” said protester Said Ibrahim.

“They’re (Sunnis are) gathering over there. They live here

but others are coming from other areas.”

The march comes on a day of rallies in neighbouring Saudi

Arabia, the world’s No. 1 oil exporter, where protests are

banned. On Thursday, police dispersed a gathering in its Eastern

Province, home to Shi’ites and joined to Bahrain by a causeway.

Both sides are watching closely, as any weakening of the

government in either of the neighbours could cause contagion.

Bahrain’s interior ministry warned that the march threatened

internal security and its forces would prevent clashes.

“The attempt to organise a … march towards Riffa is an

action which threatens security and community safety, due to the

anticipated reaction from residents to such actions,” it said.

“The interior ministry confirms that forces to defend public

order will be present to prevent any clash that may occur.”

On Thursday, the political and economic bloc of Gulf Arab

oil producers announced a $20 billion aid package for Bahrain

and Oman, both of which are facing anti-government protests.

11-03-12 - Yahoo! -- Bahrain protesters march on palace as Gates visits

Bahrain protesters march on palace as Gates visits

Sat Mar 12, 11:51 am ET

MANAMA, Bahrain – Tens of thousands of Bahraini protesters encircled one of the royal family's palaces Saturday, shouting calls for political freedom and the king's ouster a day after a similar march triggered a violent response from security forces.

There was no repeat of the violent scenes from a day earlier when police backed by pro-government mobs drove crowds back from a different palace by firing rubber bullets and tear gas in a melee that injured dozens, according to witness accounts.

In contrast, Saturday's demonstration — which coincided with a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates — was allowed to ring the palace with police deployed only inside its premises.

Gates said that Bahrain and other Arab governments facing popular uprisings need to move quickly toward democratic reforms or risk giving regional rival Iran a chance to exploit the instability. Iran, a Shiite power in the region, is seen by Sunni-led countries such as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia as a serious threat.

Still, there is no evidence that Iran has made any inroads with the Shiite activists who have led a month of protests in Bahrain modeled on the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia but fueled by local grievances against the island kingdom's Sunni monarchy. Bahrain's majority Shiite population accuses the rulers of discriminating against them and persecuting those who speak out.

Gates was in Bahrain to encourage dialogue between the Shiite-led protest movement and the Sunni ruling family.

Bahrain holds particular importance to Washington as the host of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, the main American military counterweight to Iran's efforts to expand its armed forces and reach into the Gulf.

Gates is the first member of President Barack Obama's Cabinet to visit Bahrain since street protests began in mid-February. In Saturday's meetings, Gates had been expected to urge a more open dialogue with political opposition groups, while offering reassurances of U.S. support for the rulers.

The protesters have been staging daily demonstrations and marching on state and financial institutions that they say symbolize political oppression and economic inequality.

Tensions were high after Friday's march on the royal palace in Riffa, 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of Manama turned violent. The royal compound includes the Ruler's Court, the country's highest legal authority. Many members of ruling Al Khalifa family also live in the island capital's suburb.

Security forces, reinforced by pro-government Sunni vigilantes, responded by fired rubber bullets and tear gas to scatter protesters near the palace in Manama, the capital.

Several witnesses reported the use of rubber bullets by the government side on Friday, including two protesters and human rights activist Sayed Yousef al-Mahafdha. Dr. Ali al-Iqri, who was part of an ambulance crew treating the wounded, also said he witnessed the firing.

Bahrain's Interior Ministry denied its forces had fired rubber bullets though it acknowledged using tear gas.

Saturday's march on another royal compound in Saferiya, 15 miles (25 kilometers) west of Manama was bigger and peaceful. With police monitoring the demonstration from the palace's sprawling courtyard, the protesters encircled the king's summer residence — chanting anti-government slogans and calling on the monarch to step down.

Some protesters were dressed in white — the color of funeral shrouds — to symbolize a willingness to die for their cause. They carried signs that said in English and Arabic, "I am the next martyr" and "Willing to die for freedom."

The island's Shiites — about 70 percent of the population — have long demanded rights equal to those of the nation's Sunnis and the naturalized Sunnis from Arab states. The current political unrest is unprecedented, though tensions have simmered for years.

Seven protesters were killed in the government crackdown last month.

11-03-12 - VOA News -- Bahraini Police Clash with Protesters Blocking Manama Highway

Bahraini Police Clash with Protesters Blocking Manama Highway

Bahraini police have fired tear gas at anti-government protesters blocking a highway into the capital's financial district, in one of the Gulf state's most violent confrontations since a deadly government crackdown on the opposition last month.

Hundreds of protesters occupied the highway leading to Manama's Financial Harbor and set up barricades, blocking workers from reaching their offices Sunday.

Police fired tear gas and water cannon at the demonstrators in what the government called an operation to re-open the King Faisal Highway. The government urged the protesters to remain at their encampment in Manama's Pearl Square, which police surrounded before pulling back. Journalists say protesters showed them rubber bullets apparently also fired by security forces.

The White House on Sunday condemned the Bahrani government for the violence, urging it to "use restraint and to respect the universal rights" of the protesters.

Thousands of mostly Shi'ite protesters have been occupying Pearl Square for weeks and staging rallies outside government buildings and royal palaces to demand a greater political voice for the island nation's Shi'ite majority.

Some of the demonstrators want Bahrain's minority Sunni rulers to give up their monopoly on power, while others want the ruling al Khalifa family to be ousted completely. Bahraini security forces killed seven protesters in street battles in the days after the demonstrations began in mid-February.

Bahrain's Sunni rulers have offered a dialogue with the opposition on political reforms. But many Shi'ites say they will continue protesting in the streets until the government accepts their demands.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

11-03-13 - Al Jazeera -- Footage shows crackdown in Bahrain

Footage shows crackdown in Bahrain

YouTube clip appears to show man shot in chest with tear gas canister as police also use rubber bullets on protesters.

Riot police in Bahrain have used tear gas and rubber bullets in an attempt to force a group of hundreds of anti-government protesters from blocking the capital’s financial district.

A large number of officers reportedly fired “dozens” of tear gas canisters in an attempt to clear the area in front of the Bahrain Financial Harbour on Sunday, but protesters refused to fall back.

Footage of the scene on the video-sharing website Youtube showed one protester apparently being shot with a teargas canister at close range.

A number of people injured in the crackdown were taken away in ambulances.

Demonstrators have been camped out in front of the Financial Harbour site for more than a week, and on Sunday had threatened to form a human chain to block access to the facility.

Riot police also encircled demonstrators at Pearl Roundabout,  the focal point of protests in Bahrain for nearly a month, firing tear gas canisters, according to witnesses.

“They are using tear gas in Lulu [Pearl Roundabout], and the riot police have circled the roundabout,” a witness told Al Jazeera. “There were [also] many injured because of the rubber bullets that they used in BFH [Bahrain Financial Harbour].”

Mohammed Al Maskati, the president of the Bahraini Youth Society for Human Rights who was participating in the protests, told Al Jazeera that police used batons, tear gas and rubber bullets despite being told it was a peaceful protest.

He said that the police continued to fire tear gas on people who came to help the protesters following the initial crackdown.

Also on Sunday, a protest at the main university in Bahrain descended into violence with security forces and government supporters clashing with students, according to an Associated Press report.

Call for dialogue

The United States condemned the violence in Bahrain.

“We urge the government of Bahrain to pursue a peaceful and meaningful dialogue with the opposition rather than resorting to the use of force,” Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, said.

Amid the protests, Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s crown prince, renewed his call for national dialogue on Sunday, promising talks would address key demands such as bolstering the power of parliament and that any deal could be put to a referendum.

In a statement read on Bahrain TV, he said talks would also cover electoral and governmental reforms, as well as looking into claims of corruption and sectarianism.

“We have worked actively to establish contacts to learn the views of various sides … which shows our commitment to a
comprehensive and inclusive national dialogue,” the statement said.

Manama has been paralysed by protests for weeks, with thousands of people, frustrated by unemployment and economic inequality, camped in the main roundabout since mid-February.

Police injured

The protesters have also staged a number of marches on symbolic targets – the prime minister’s office, the foreign ministry, and the state television building, among others.

But the decision to occupy Bahrain Financial Harbour was controversial within Bahrain’s increasingly fractious opposition.

The sit-in outside the harbour was organised by a loose coalition of “youth protesters”. The country’s six formal opposition parties did not endorse the move.

Bahrain’s interior ministry said eight police were injured during Sunday’s operation to disperse protesters, including removing tents.

There were “eight injuries among policemen … all were transferred to hospital,” the ministry said on its Twitter page after announcing that police had fired tear gas to disperse some 350 protesters.

The ministry urged protesters to “remain in the [Pearl] roundabout for their safety”, insisting the operation was aimed at reopening King Faisal Highway next to the financial centre.

Security forces had avoided the area after six protesters were shot dead in a pre-dawn assaulton February 17. A seventh died later of his wounds.

11-03-13 - Le Monde -- Le roi appelle à un dialogue rapide à Bahreïn

Le roi appelle à un dialogue rapide à Bahreïn

LEMONDE.FR Avec AFP | 13.03.11 | 17h06  •  Mis à jour le 14.03.11 | 08h20

Les manifestants se sont opposés aux forces de police sur la place de la Perle à Manama, dimanche 13 mars.REUTERS/HAMAD I MOHAMMED

Le roi Hamad Ben Issa Al-Khalifa a appelé, dimanche 13 mars, à un démarrage rapide du dialogue entre gouvernement et opposition alors que les incidents opposant des manifestants chiites aux forces de l'ordre se multiplient dans ce petit royaume du Golfe. Le roi a souhaité voir "toutes les parties s'asseoir rapidement autour de la table du dialogue national, avec des intensions sincères, pour arriver à un consensus" sur les moyens de sortir le royaume de sa crise, a rapporté l'agence officielle bahreïnie, Bna. La situation est en effet très tendue et les heurts violents aux alentours de la place de la Perle, lieu central de la contestation. L'appel du roi intervient après des incidents qui ont vu la police disperser des manifestants chiites qui voulaient bloquer l'autoroute et le district financier dans le quartier des affaires à Manama.

"L'initiative du dialogue national a pour objectif de préserver les acquis politiques, économiques et sociaux du peuple de Bahreïn et d'ouvrir la voie à plus de réformes politiques et plus de développement", a ajouté le roi lors d'une audience accordée au ministre jordanien des affaires étrangères, Nasser Auda. Le roi a chargé le prince héritier, Salman Ben Hamad Al-Khalifa, d'entamer le dialogue avec l'opposition, dominée par le Wefaq chiite. Mais l'opposition a établi des conditions préalables, au premier rang desquelles la démission du gouvernement.

La contestation a démarré le 14 février à Bahreïn, gouverné par une dynastie sunnite mais dont la majorité de la population autochtone est chiite.

11-03-13 - Libération -- La tension monte à Bahreïn et au Yémen

La tension monte à Bahreïn et au Yémen

dans le monde arabe

Yémen, Bahreïn

Les Etats-Unis «condamnent fermement les violences» qui se sont produites dimanche au Yémen et à Bahreïn. La Maison Blanche «appelle les gouvernements de ces pays à la retenue» et «à respecter les droits universels de leurs peuples».

Les Etats-Unis «exhortent le gouvernement de Bahreïn à mener un dialogue pacifique et constructif avec l'opposition plutôt qu'à recourir à la force».

A Bahreïn, des dizaines de personnes ont été hospitalisées après des tirs de gaz lacrymogènes de la police dimanche sur des manifestants à Manama. C'est la première fois depuis le 19 février que la police attaque les manifestants qui campent sur la place de la Perle pour réclamer des réformes dans ce petit royaume du Golfe dont la population locale est majorité chiite et qui est gouverné par une dynastie sunnite.

Le roi de Bahreïn, Hamad Ben Issa Al-Khalifa, a souhaité dimanche un démarrage rapide du dialogue avec l'opposition. Mais le puissant mouvement chiite Wefaq a posé des conditions préalables à ce dialogue, dont la démission du gouvernement.

Au Yémen, un manifestant a été abattu dimanche par la police à Aden (sud), et les manifestants à Sanaa ont subi une attaque en règle de partisans du régime, au lendemain de la journée la plus sanglante au dans le pays depuis le début de la contestation contre le président Ali Abdallah Saleh, avec sept morts.

Au Liban

Des dizaines de milliers de Libanais manifestaient à Beyrouth contre l'arsenal du Hezbollah, à l'occasion du 6e anniversaire de la «Révolution du Cèdre», déclenchée après le meurtre de Rafic Hariri, dans lequel le puissant parti chiite s'attend à être mis en cause.

Dès le petit matin, une marée humaine convergeait vers la place des Martyrs dans le centre-ville, à l'appel du Premier ministre en exercice Saad Hariri, fils du dirigeant assassiné, dont le Hezbollah a fait tomber le gouvernement le 12 janvier.

Le puissant parti chiite est accusé d'avoir fait tomber le gouvernement de Saad Hariri «sous la pression des armes», après avoir tenté en vain d'obtenir de lui de cesser toute coopération avec le tribunal de l'ONU chargé de l'enquête sur le meurtre.

Le Hezbollah, qui prône la lutte armée contre Israël, estime que son arsenal est nécessaire pour défendre le pays, tandis que le camp pro-occidental estime que c'est l'Etat libanais qui doit détenir le monopole des armes.

En Libye

Les pro-Kadhafi regagnent du terrain vers l'Est. Ils progressent vers Benghazi, fief de l'opposition.

Au Maroc

 

Violente dispersion de manifestations à Casablanca, quelques jours après le discours du roi Mohammed VI, où il a annoncé d'importantes réformes démocratiques.

En Oman

Le sultan Qabous d'Oman a décidé dimanche de donner des pouvoirs législatifs à l'assemblée consultative, après des semaines de manifestations pour des réformes politiques sur fond de grogne sociale.

Le mécontentement populaire dans ce pays de trois millions d'habitants, dont 20% d'étrangers, ne concerne pas la personne du sultan qui concentre entre ses mains l'essentiel du pouvoir. Le pays occupe une situation stratégique à l'embouchure du Golfe, d'où proviennent 20% de l'ensemble du brut qui circule dans le monde.

En Tunisie

Un couvre-feu a été décrété samedi soir dans la localité tunisienne de Metlaoui (sud) après des affrontements qui ont fait deux morts et plus de 20 blessés entre des habitants sur des questions d'emplois.

En Algérie

Les députés algériens ont adopté dimanche l'ordonnance portant levée de l'état d'urgence instauré en 1992 dans le cadre de la lutte anti-islamiste, selon des sources officielles.

11-03-13 - BBC -- Troubles à Bahreïn Manama éclate en violence

Troubles à Bahreïn : Manama éclate en violence

• Publié

13 mars 2011

La police bahreïnienne et les manifestants se sont affrontés dans plusieurs quartiers de la capitale, Manama, au cours des pires troubles depuis des semaines.

Les forces de sécurité ont utilisé des gaz lacrymogènes et des balles en caoutchouc pour combattre les manifestants qui avaient réussi à bloquer les principales routes menant au quartier financier.

Des affrontements ont également été signalés sur la place principale et à l'université de la ville.

Les manifestants chiites, inspirés par les soulèvements en Égypte et en Tunisie, souhaitent une réforme de la monarchie sunnite.

Ils ont menacé de marcher sur le palais royal si leurs revendications ne sont pas satisfaites.

Obstacles routiers

La police a tué sept manifestants le mois dernier, au plus fort des troubles, mais depuis lors, les affrontements avec les forces de sécurité sont rares.

Mais dimanche – qui est un jour ouvrable normal dans de nombreux pays de la région – des affrontements ont éclaté dans trois quartiers de Manama.

Premièrement, les manifestants ont bloqué les routes menant au quartier financier et ont été arrêtés par la police qui a utilisé des gaz lacrymogènes.

"Personne n'a pu aller travailler aujourd'hui. Des voyous et des manifestants bloquaient l'autoroute", a déclaré Sawsan Mohammed, un ouvrier, à l'agence de presse AP.

Les forces de sécurité ont ensuite tenté d'évacuer les manifestants de Pearl Square, qui est en grande partie occupée par les manifestants depuis un mois.

Ils ont tiré des gaz lacrymogènes et des balles en caoutchouc, mais des témoins ont déclaré que des milliers de manifestants avaient envahi la place et ont finalement forcé la police à battre en retraite.

Des affrontements ont également eu lieu entre manifestants pro et antigouvernementaux à l'université de Bahreïn.

La famille royale de Bahreïn a renouvelé ses offres de dialogue, mais quelques instants plus tard, un orateur à Pearl Square a déclaré "pas de dialogue, pas de dialogue" sous les acclamations de la foule.

Bahreïn, qui abrite la Cinquième flotte de la marine américaine, est le premier pays du Golfe à être plongé dans la tourmente par la vague de troubles qui déferle sur le monde arabe.

Les États-Unis ont appelé le gouvernement à engager « un dialogue pacifique et significatif avec l'opposition plutôt que de recourir à la force ».

Le gouvernement britannique, qui avertit ses citoyens de rester à l'écart de Bahreïn, a déclaré que de nouvelles informations faisaient état de soldats saoudiens sur le point d'entrer dans le pays.

Les chiites représentent environ 70 % des 525 000 habitants du pays, mais le pays est gouverné par une monarchie sunnite depuis des centaines d'années.

11-03-13 - CNN.com -- Witnesses King's supporters confront Bahrain students

Witnesses: King's supporters confront Bahrain students

By the CNN Wire Staff

March 13, 2011 -- Updated 2202 GMT (0602 HKT)

(CNN) -- Supporters of the rulers of Bahrain threatened about 5,000 university students protesting against the government at Bahrain University Sunday, eyewitnesses said. The government denied that unjustified force was used.

Elsewhere in the strategically important kingdom, riot police fired tear gas at protesters to break up the blockade of a highway, the government said.

A video posted by an opposition party showed police appearing to fire two tear gas canisters at a man standing only a few feet from them. He doubles over after the first shot, and drops to the ground after the second, which appears to hit him in the face.

The man is not obviously threatening the police in the video, which was posted Sunday by Wefaq. The opposition party told CNN it was filmed Sunday near Pearl Roundabout, the center of month-old protests in the kingdom.

About 150 supporters of the royal family tried to get onto Bahrain University campus during the protest there, but only some managed to get in. An unknown number of people were injured, but it's not clear how many or how badly.

Security forces tried to prevent the regime supporters from entering the campus, and allowed people to leave the grounds but not to enter.

According to the state-run Bahrain News Agency, security forces intervened for the safety of students after clashes broke out.

"Some of the university's facilities have been vandalized by the demonstrators in breach of the allegedly claimed peaceful nature of the protests," the news agency reported.

The tense standoff was one of at least three protests Sunday against the rulers of the small Gulf kingdom triggered by popular demonstrations that brought down the long-time presidents of Tunisia and Egypt earlier this year.

The latest protests came a day after America's defense secretary said he's "convinced" that Bahrain's royal leaders are "serious about real reform and moving forward," but emphasized that they must move quickly.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates was visiting the restive island kingdom, where he huddled with King Hamad and Crown Prince Salman and talked about the importance of engaging with opposition forces.

"I think that the concern now is that it's important that they have somebody to talk to and that the opposition be willing to sit down with the government and carry this process forward," he said.

Sunday, the United States again called the government to pursue talks with the opposition and to refrain from using force.

"In particular, we urge our GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) partners to show restraint and respect the rights of the people of Bahrain, and to act in a way that supports dialogue instead of undermining it," said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

The crown prince similarly renewed his call for dialogue Sunday, calling on the opposition to negotiate. He said talks could include discussion of parliament and corruption and that any decision reached could be put to a vote in a special referendum.

The crown prince also stressed, however, the significance of Bahrain's security.

"Bahrain's security and the safety of its people have never been, and will never be, negotiable," he said in a statement.

Also Sunday, some 250 young people organized a protest in front of Bahrain Financial Harbor in the capital Manama, witnesses said.

Text messages exchanged between them and others in the area warned of regime supporters approaching from Muharak, another island, but it's not clear whether the warnings were accurate.

Police and anti-riot squads stationed near the harbor fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters, leaving 20 injured, according to Salmanya Hospital. Al Wasat cameraman Mohammed Al-Mukharaq was among the seriously injured, his editor said.

The government says protest camp tents were "removed," but did not say how.

Many protesters mobilized to block off King Faisal highway to prevent the pro-regime groups from entering Bahrain's main island.

The government and eyewitnesses disagree about how the blockade ended.

Eyewitnesses and journalists say security officers asked them to disband and open the highway, and they complied.

The government said attempts by uniformed police officers to persuade the protesters to re-open the road reached an impasse and that a group of protesters attacked unarmed police officers, resulting in one police officer being stabbed and another sustaining a serious head injury.

Police then sought to disperse approximately 350 protesters by using tear gas in order to clear the road, the government statement said.

"The Ministry of Interior is currently undergoing operations to reopen the King Faisal Highway and advised all protesters to return to the Pearl Roundabout for their own safety," the government statement said.

The roundabout has been the center of protests in the kingdom for a month.

Bahrain, which sits in the Persian Gulf and is the base of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, has been wracked by anti-government protests since mid-February.

Sunni Muslims -- a minority in the kingdom -- dominate the government of Bahrain.

The Shiite Muslim majority has staged protests in recent years to complain about discrimination, unemployment and corruption, issues they say the country's Sunni rulers have done little to address.

Many of them are in the anti-government coalition that has been demanding reform as part of the eruption of discontent sweeping across the Arab world for the past several months. They have staged dramatic protests and camped out in the capital's Pearl Roundabout

Initially, protesters took to the streets of Manama to demand reform and the introduction of a constitutional monarchy. But some are now calling for the removal of the royal family that has led the Persian Gulf state since the 18th century.

Bahrain is in the shadow of Iran, a predominantly Shiite country and antagonist of Bahrain's close ally, the United States.

But Gates told reporters Saturday he "expressed the view that we had no evidence that suggested that Iran started any of these popular revolutions or demonstrations across the region."

However, he said, there's evidence that Iranians "are looking for ways to exploit" the protracted processes unfolding in the region, "particularly in Bahrain."

Three hard-line groups in the Gulf kingdom -- the Haq, Wafa and Bahrain Freedom Movement -- have united and called for the ruling family to step aside.

The new coalition is calling for a democratic republic with no ruling family -- a step further than other opposition groups, which are calling for a constitutional monarchy.

It appeared the hard-line groups represented a minority of the protesters at the roundabout.

In response to the protests, the government has promised to build 50,000 new housing units and hire an additional 20,000

police officers, roughly doubling the size of the force. Members of Bahrain's majority Shiite Muslim community are not allowed to join the force.

Bahrain's king reshuffled his Cabinet last month as protesters continued to call for reforms. He has also touted a "national dialogue" and urged Bahrainis "to engage in this new process" and "move away from polarization."

Journalist Mansoor Al-Jamri and CNN's Christine Theodorou, Dominique van Heerden, Mohammed Jamjoom and Jenifer Fenton contributed to this report.

11-03-14 - The Guardian -- Saudi Arabian troops enter Bahrain as regime asks for help to quell uprising Bahrain

Saudi Arabian troops enter Bahrain as regime asks for help to quell uprising

Move which sees soldiers called in to protect strategic sites likely to inflame tensions between rulers and Shia majority

Saudi Arabian troops have crossed into Bahrain after the tiny Gulf kingdom's ruling family asked for help from neighbouring Sunni Arab states to quell a two-month uprising which threatens their 200-year-old dynasty.

11-03-14 - Libération -- un millier de soldats saoudiens en renfort

Bahreïn: un millier de soldats saoudiens en renfort

La famille royale des Al-Khalifa souhaite ainsi assurer le «maintien de l'ordre» du pays.

Plus d'un millier de soldats saoudiens faisant partie de la force commune du Conseil de coopération du Golfe (CCG) sont arrivés à Bahreïn, en proie à des troubles, a indiqué lundi un responsable saoudien à l'AFP.

«La force est arrivée à Bahreïn dimanche soir», a affirmé ce responsable qui a requis l'anonymat.

Le quotidien bahreïni Alyam, proche de la famille royale des Al-Khalifa, avait affirmé lundi que «des forces du Conseil de coopération du Golfe doivent arriver à Bahreïn pour participer au maintien de l'ordre».

L'Arabie saoudite est le chef de file du CCG, groupement des monarchies arabes du Golfe dont fait partie Bahreïn. Le CCG a exprimé plus d'une fois sa solidarité avec les autorités bahreïnies qui font face à une contestation grandissante, animée essentiellement par des activistes chiites.

«Bouclier de la péninsule»

Les soldats saoudiens font partie d'une force commune du CCG, appelée «Bouclier de la péninsule», mise en place en 1984.

Outre l'Arabie saoudite et Bahreïn, le CCG est composé des Emirats arabes unis, du Qatar, d'Oman et du Koweït. Bahreïn est relié au territoire saoudien par un pont digue.

A Bahreïn, les activistes demandent des réformes politiques et une véritable monarchie constitutionnelle. Certains réclament aussi le départ de la dynastie sunnite des Al-Khalifa qui gouverne ce pays dont la population locale est en majorité de confession chiite.

Dimanche soir, le prince héritier Salman ben Hamad Al-Khalifa a accepté que le dialogue avec l'opposition porte «sur un Parlement aux pleins pouvoirs» et sur «un gouvernement qui représente la volonté du peuple».

(Source AFP)

 

11-03-15 - Guardian -- Iran denounces Saudi troop deployment to Bahrain

Iran denounces Saudi troop deployment to Bahrain

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman has denounced the deployment of a Saudi-led military force to Bahrain to prop up the monarchy in the tiny island nation against widening demonstrations by the Shiite-led opposition.

Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday that the "presence of foreign forces in Bahrain is unacceptable" and would only complicate the crisis in the Sunni-led kingdom.

The statement is the strongest reaction from Shiite powerhouse Iran on Monday's deployment of about 1,000 troops from Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Bahrain is a key U.S. ally and host of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Its government is increasingly at odds on how to quell escalating opposition demonstrations, inspired by the wave of protests gripping the Arab world since December.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — A Saudi-led military force crossed into Bahrain on Monday to prop up the monarchy against widening demonstrations, launching the first cross-border military operation to quell unrest since the Arab world's rebellions began in December.

Opposition groups immediately denounced the intervention as an occupation that pushed the tiny island kingdom dangerously close to a state of "undeclared war."

Bahrain's majority Shiite Muslims see an opportunity to rid themselves of two centuries of rule by a Sunni monarchy. But Gulf Sunni leaders worry that any cracks in Bahrain's ruling system could threaten their own foundations. Protests are already flaring in Oman, Kuwait and even tightly ruled Saudi Arabia.

Gulf leaders are also concerned that political gains by Bahrain's Shiites might give Shiite Iran a stepping stone to its arch-rival Saudi Arabia, connected to Bahrain by a wide causeway.

Instead, the Saudis and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council sent forces the other way, deploying about 1,000 troops by land and air and cementing the entire six-nation alliance to the fate of Bahrain's rulers, who are key U.S. allies as hosts of the American Navy's 5th Fleet.

Shortly after word of the foreign military reinforcements began spreading through Bahrain, protesters blocked roads in the capital Manama. Thousands of others swarmed into Pearl Square, the symbolic center of the monthlong revolt.

"No to occupation!" demonstrators cried in the square.

The worries about Iran have persisted, even though there are no apparent links between Tehran and Bahrain's opposition.

"The Gulf leaders have tried to legitimize this. They portray it not as intervention in an internal Bahrain dispute, but rather as an action against an external threat," said Sami Alfaraj, director of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies.

In Tehran, authorities had no comment on the Gulf force moving into Bahrain. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi called on Bahrain to avoid using "violence and force," according to the semiofficial Fars News Agency.

In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney pointedly did not call on the Saudi-led force to withdraw.

"We are calling on the countries in the region to show restraint and pointing to the fact that the dialogue that can bring about political reform is essential for the stability of the countries in the region and their continued economic prosperity," Carney said.

It's not clear when Bahrain sought outside help. The rulers have faced a month of nonstop unrest that has left seven people dead and the country drifting toward open sectarian conflict.

There have been scenes of defiance and disobedience so unsettling that pro-government parliament members appealed to Bahrain's king to impose martial law. On Sunday, protesters paralyzed Bahrain's finance district with roadblocks and then stood their ground — and in some cases pressed forward — against riot police firing tear gas in Pearl Square.

A statement on the state-run Bahrain News Agency said troops from the GCC's Peninsula Shield Force have been deployed "in line with the principle of common destiny bonding." The bloc is made up of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The reason for the mission was "the common responsibility of the GCC countries in maintaining security and stability," the statement said.

The Peninsula Shield Force was created in the 1980s. Military units under a GCC command have been sent to Kuwait, including during the 1991 U.S.-led campaign to oust Saddam Hussein's force and in 2003 before the invasion of Iraq. The current action marks a significant shift to help a government quell internal unrest.

Jane Kinninmont, a senior research fellow and Bahrain expert at the London-based think tank Chatham House, said Monday's operation "changes the role of the GCC," which has always had collective defense pacts.

"The idea of gathering together to protect a government against its own people seems to be quite another thing," Kinninmont said.

The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have announced their forces were sent to Bahrain, but it was unclear about the contributions from the other states.

By midday Monday, dozens of Saudi military vehicles were crossing over the causeway connecting the countries. The Gulf Daily News, which is close to Bahrain's rulers, said the Gulf forces would protect sites such as electricity stations and oil facilities.

Opposition leaders were outraged and — in an ominous sign for Bahrain's rulers — talked about resistance rather than possible dialogue.

"We consider that any military force or military equipment crossing the boundaries of Bahrain — from air, sea or land — an occupation and a conspiracy against the people of Bahrain ... and threatens them with an undeclared war by armed troops," said a statement from a coalition of seven main opposition groups.

Bahrain's leaders have expressed increasing frustration that opposition factions have not accepted offers to open talks.

In a series of Twitter messages, Bahrain's prime minister, Sheik Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, lashed out at the protesters.

"What we are witnessing in Manama is no peaceful protest," he wrote. "It's wanton, gangster-style takeover of people's lives."

Shiites account for 70 percent of the population, and the main opposition groups have called for the Sunni rulers to give up most of their powers to the elected parliament. But as violence has deepened, many protesters now say they want to topple the entire royal family.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Bahrain on Saturday and urged leaders to quickly move on reforms. On the same day, Bahrain's Interior Ministry said the sectarian strife was threatening the "social fabric" of the nation.

Last week, the GCC promised $10 billion in aid to both Bahrain and Oman, which also had faced protests calling for more jobs and a greater public voice in political affairs.

11-03-15 - Le Monde -- Le roi de Bahreïn proclame l'état d'urgence pour trois mois

Le roi de Bahreïn proclame l'état d'urgence pour trois mois

LEMONDE.FR | 15.03.11 | 14h58  •  Mis à jour le 15.03.11 | 15h30

Le roi de Bahreïn, Hamad Ben Issa Al-Khalifa, a proclamé mardi 15 mars l'état d'urgence pour trois mois, au lendemain de l'arrivée de troupes du Golfe venues l'aider à contenir la contestation chiite.

Selon un communiqué retransmis par la télévision officielle, le roi a chargé le commandant des forces armées de rétablir l'ordre en faisant appel à l'armée, aux forces de police, aux unités de la garde nationale et "toute autre force, si cela s'avère nécessaire". Cette dernière mention semble faire référence aux unités envoyées à Bahreïn par ses partenaires de l'Arabie saoudite et des Emirats arabes unis qui ont décidé l'envoi de 500 policiers, pour aider la dynastie sunnite à faire face à la contestation populaire

Des milliers de manifestants se dirigeaient mardi après-midi vers l'ambassade saoudienne à Manama pour dénoncer l'arrivée de troupes de la force commune du Conseil de coopération du Golfe (CCG), appelée "Bouclier de la péninsule". Certains, revêtus de linceuls blancs, brandissaient le drapeau bahreïni, rouge et blanc, et répétaient des slogans hostiles à la monarchie. "Sunnites et chiites, nous sommes unis", scandaient également les manifestants partis de la place de la Perle, épicentre de la contestation populaire.

D'après le ministère de l'intérieur, un membre des forces de sécurité a été tué après avoir été renversé intentionnellement par un automobiliste faisant partie des "fauteurs de trouble".

L'ONU ET L'UE PRÉOCCUPÉS

Le secrétaire général de l'ONU, Ban Ki-moon, s'est dit "préoccupé" par la violence à Bahreïn et "appelle toutes les parties concernées à faire preuve de la plus grande retenue et à faire tout leur possible pour éviter l'usage de la force et de nouvelles violences. Il souligne aussi la responsabilité de toutes les parties pour qu'elles agissent en accord strict avec la loi humanitaire et les droits de l'homme", a indiqué un porte-parole.

L'Union européenne a de son côté exhorté les troupes du Golfe déployées à Bahreïn pour aider la dynastie chiite au pouvoir à respecter les "libertés fondamentales" de la population, notamment le droit de manifester pacifiquement.

Les critiques les plus virulentes contre le palais sont venues d'Iran. "L'entrée des troupes saoudiennes à Bahreïn ne fera que compliquer davantage la situation et transforme la crise intérieure bahreïnie en une crise régionale", a dénoncé Hossein Amir Abdolahian, directeur pour le Golfe persique et le Proche-Orient du ministère des affaires étrangères, à l'ambassadeur saoudien. Téhéran a également dénoncé "le soutien des Etats-Unis à l'intervention militaire" à Bahreïn, jugée "contraire aux règles et lois internationales". Le royaume arabe a répliqué en annonçant mardi avoir rappelé son ambassadeur à Téhéran.

11-03-16 - Le Figaro -- un policier meurt

Bahreïn/manifestation: un policier meurt

AFP
16/03/2011 | Mise à jour : 10:20 Réactions (3)

Un policier bahreïni a succombé aujourd'hui à ses blessures après avoir été renversé intentionnellement hier par un véhicule conduit par un manifestant, a annoncé le ministère de l'Intérieur.

Trois manifestants ont également été tués lors de l'assaut lancé par les forces anti-émeutes ce matin sur la place de la Perle à Manama, selon un nouveau bilan de l'opposition chiite bahreïnie.

11-03-16 - Libération -- A Bahrein, la police déloge violemment les manifestants

A Bahrein, la police déloge violemment les manifestants

Elle a pris possession de la place de la Perle, à Manama, occupée par les opposants au pouvoir depuis un mois.

Les forces de sécurité bahreïnies ont commencé à prendre position mercredi matin dans le district financier de Manama et à rouvrir les issues bloquées par les manifestants, selon des témoins.

Des coups de feu étaient entendus alors qu’une poignée de protestataires qui se trouvaient dans le secteur offraient une faible résistance.

Des hélicoptères survolaient la zone tandis que les troupes escortaient un bulldozer qui dégageaient les accès – fermés par les manifestants à l’aide de gros blocs – menant au district financier où sont basées des banques internationales et des multinationales.

Quelques groupes de protestataires criaient «Allah Akbar» (Dieu est le plus grand) et mettaient le feu à des poubelles dans les rues, mais le secteur était en majorité déserté.

Les forces bahreïnies avaient auparavant violemment délogé les manifestants qui campaient depuis près d’un mois sur la place de La Perle à Manama pour réclamer des réformes. Des centaines de policiers de la force anti-émeutes, arrivés à bord de chars, de véhicules de transport de troupes et de bus, ont pris le contrôle de la place après avoir lancé des dizaines de grenades lacrymogènes sur les manifestants, en majorité chiites.

Les policiers ont également tiré au fusil de chasse sur les manifestants. Il n’a pas été possible dans l’immédiat de savoir si l’assaut avait fait des victimes.

L’assaut est intervenu après l’arrivée dans le royaume de forces des pays voisins du Golfe, venues aider la dynastie sunnite des Al Khalifa à contenir la contestation.

Les autorités bahreïnies ont aussi annoncé la fermeture de la Bourse, des écoles et des universités dans le pays où le roi a proclamé l'état d'urgence pour contenir la contestation populaire.

Le chef de l’opposition chiite, cheikh Ali Salmane, a affirmé que le régime se conduisait comme le dirigeant libyen Mouammar Kadhafi, en faisant montre d’une «extrême brutalité» à l’égard de son peuple. «Nous appelons nos fils à ne pas affronter les forces de sécurité et à sauver les vies de tout le monde», a-t-il déclaré dans une interview à la chaîne Al-Jazira. «Nous réaffirmons le caractère pacifique du soulèvement malgré les voyous déployés par le régime», a-t-il ajouté.

Cheikh Ali Salmane a également appelé les Nations unies à «intervenir pour protéger les civils des forces qui agissent avec eux comme avec des ennemis».

(Source AFP)

11-03-16 - CNBC -- Bahrain Fighting Moves from Roundabout to Villages

Bahrain Fighting Moves from Roundabout to Villages

Published Wed, Mar 16 201110:38 AM EDTUpdated Fri, Sep 13 20134:33 PM EDT

Laura Gamble and Jackie DeAngelis

Manama’s central financial district and the iconic Pearl Roundabout were quiet Wednesday night, despite earlier calls from opposition groups who said they planned to regain their presence there.

Bahrain’s defence forces have held the areas since mid-morning and a government-imposed curfew has now gone into effect, while earlier fighting between security forces and protestors moved to villages.

As police and military forces cleared the central square where protestors were concentrated, five people were reported dead and hundreds injured.

Earlier Wednesday, black smoke rose above the Pearl Roundabout, which is locked down by Bahrain security forces with tanks, bulldozers and armored vehicle on the sidelines. Saudi-led Gulf Coalition Council forces are on site at the roundabout, but not part of the action, witnesses told CNBC.

Bahrainis were being attacked and shooting broke out in the villages of Al Gedam and Ras Ruman. Military helicopters are still patrolling the skies.

In Hidd, Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF) are poised to quell any unrest, sources told CNBC. Troops wearing BDF uniforms stacked sandbags at the entrances to the the area and placed 50-caliber guns on top, aimed toward the town.

In the Busaiteen area, masked young men set up checkpoints along the roadways, stopping all traffic in and out of the area. Neighbors told CNBC that while it is impossible to really tell where these kids are coming from, it’s an obvious effort to stop militia forces with weapons from coming into the area.

At least five protesters were killed, the head of the Shi’ite Muslim opposition bloc in parliament told Reuters. “This is a war of annihilation. This does not happen even in wars and this is not acceptable,” Abdel Jalil Khalil, a senior politician in Bahrain’s largest Shi’ite party Wefaq, said.

But the government said in a statement ony two police officers were killed, with no other injuries reported, and that security forces only used tear gas to disperse protestors after coming under attack from “saboteurs” with Molotov cocktails and guns.

The “convoy came under gunfire near Bahrain Mall. On the immediate approach to the ... roundabout, security forces came under attack from a group of around 250 saboteurs positioned on the fly-over directly adjacent to the roundabout, who hurled Molotov cocktails at the approaching security forces,” the government said in a statement.

Upon “orders from the Minister of interior, police dispersed the saboteurs on the flyover using tear gas before withdrawing.”

“Shortly after, police entered the roundabout area itself where retreating protestors set fire to a number of tents and waste bins before the arrival of police forces, resulting in the explosion of at least two heating gas-canister without injury,” the government said.

“At no point in the operation were live rounds used,” it added.

More Protests?

Opposition groups had vowed to defend their presence at the Pearl Roundabout and said they plan to stage nationwide rallies.

The protests will denounce the recent deployment of a Saudi Arabia-led Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) military force. On Thursday, a demonstration is planned at around 19.30 local time (12:30 New York time) outside the Television and Radio Authority building in Isa Town (Central governorate).

On Friday, protesters are due to assemble at around 15:00 local time at the Buri Roundabout in Manama before marching to the Bahraini Defense Forces camp in the Hamalah area. 

Locals have set up medical centers in the Ras Raman, Sannabis and Karbabad because they have not been allowed to take their wounded to hospital, CNBC has learned. People are asking for blood donations and many have reportedly opened their homes to take care of the wounded.

Bahrain TV also announced a curfew from 4 pm to 4 am local time until further notice, in effect for a large area of central Manama, including the financial district and the Pearl Roundabout. Protest and demonstrations are banned.

Operations at Bahrain International Airport (BAH) have so far remained unaffected but reports indicate that the main highway to the facility has been closed by the security forces.

Earlier the BDF announced other possible measures, including plans to possibly evacuate certain areas and to inspect and detain suspects.

“The BDF urges full cooperation of citizens and residents to abide by these measures,” the announcement said.

Protestors in the roundabout are “all gone,” sources told CNBC.  Saudi tanks had control of all bridges, which were either closed or “secured.”

Earlier, shots were heard on the ground and a huge plume of black smoke rose near the area.

Tear gas was also used and both military and police were at the site. The military positioned itself to the north of the square with tanks, armored vehicles and bulldozers. Security forces in riot gear were seen securing the roundabout.

Bahrain’s King Hamad al-Khalifa called for a three-month period of “national safety” Tuesday, as protestors continued to clash with security forcesthroughout mostly Shiite areas of the country.

This just one day after Saudi-led forces entered Bahrain as part of a broader Gulf Cooperation Council coalitioninvited by the al-Khalifa’s to restore order and security to the country.

The decree amounts to martial law, with businesses closing and moving employees either back to their country of origin or to Dubai. The U.S. embassy in Bahrain has advised all U.S. citizens to limit their movements and to leave home only for essential purposes.

Bahrain has been gripped by its worst unrest since the 1990s after protesters took to the streets last month, inspired by uprisings that toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia.

Unlike those countries, where the mainly Sunni populations united against the regime, Bahrain is split along sectarian lines, raising the risk of a slide into civil conflict.

Over 60 percent of Bahrainis are Shi’ites who complain of discrimination at the hands of the Sunni royal family. Calls for the overthrow of the monarchy have alarmed the Sunni minority, which fears that unrest could serve non-Arab Shi’ite power Iran.

Iran, which sits across the Gulf from Bahrain, sharply criticized the decision to send in Saudi troops.

The United States, a close ally of both Bahrain and Saudi, said it was concerned about reports of growing sectarianism in the country, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, and called for political dialogue to resolve the crisis.

“One thing is clear, there is no military solution to the problems in Bahrain,” said White House spokesman Tommy Vietor.

Bahrain asked the Gulf Cooperation Council to lend its support for policing purposes earlier this week; the government says the GCC force is only in the country to protect vital infrastructure such as oil, electricity and water buildings.

Guns are banned in Bahrain, leading many residents to speculate that the militias were in fact plain clothes security forces. Sources at the Royal Court rebutted such speculation, however, saying that anti-government protestors are armed and that the fighting has been between civilians only.

A banker who asked not to be identified said he feels the royal family and the government have clearly lost control, citing the Gulf Cooperation Council forces that were called in on Monday. He also said Bahrain’s crown prince squandered the government’s opportunity for a dialogue, failing to bring opposition parties to the table to start talks quickly.

Bahrain is expected to see its gross domestic product contract this year, partly as a result of the disruptions caused by protests.

11-03-16 - Libération -- la police contrôle Manama, après un assaut sanglant

Bahreïn: la police contrôle Manama, après un assaut sanglant

Les autorités ont décrété un couvre-feu de 16 heures à 4 heures dans la capitale et ont interdit les rassemblements.

Les forces de l'ordre bahreïnies contrôlaient mercredi le centre de la capitale Manama à l'issue d'un assaut sanglant contre des manifestants chiites qui s'est soldé par la mort de trois manifestants et deux policiers.

De crainte de nouveaux troubles, les autorités ont décrété un couvre-feu de 16 heures à 4 heures locales (13 heures à une heure GMT) dans ce secteur et annoncé une interdiction des marches et rassemblements à travers le petit archipel peuplé en majorité de chiites et gouverné par une dynastie sunnite.

Mais de jeunes activistes ont appelé à une marche dans une banlieue ouest de Manama au moment où, selon des habitants, des protestations se tiennent dans des localités et des villages chiites.

Etat d'urgence

Selon des images de la télévision officielle, la police quadrillait la place de la Perle, épicentre de la contestation contre la famille royale des Al-Khalifa, et des bulldozers ont dégagé le quartier financier, dont les accès avaient été barrés par des blocs de béton placés par les manifestants.

La place portait encore la trace de la violence de l'intervention: tentes déchirées, restes de foyers d'incendie et débris éparpillés.

L'assaut est intervenu après la proclamation de l'état d'urgence par le roi Hamad Ben Issa Al-Khalifa, fort de l'appui des monarchies voisines du Golfe qui ont envoyé des forces pour l'aider à contenir la contestation.

Des centaines de policiers, arrivés à bord de chars, de transports de troupes et de bus, ont pris le contrôle de la place de La Perle après avoir dispersé les manifestants avec des gaz lacrymogènes.

"Nous avons maintenant trois morts et un grand nombre de blessés", a déclaré un député de l'opposition. "La situation est catastrophique. Les forces ont tiré à balles réelles", a ajouté Khalil Marzouk, du mouvement chiite Wefaq.

Le ministère de l'Intérieur a indiqué de son côté que deux policiers avaient été tués lors de l'assaut, renversés par des véhicules de manifestants, ce qui porte à quatre le nombre de policiers tués de cette manière en deux jours.

Depuis le début de la contestation, il y a un mois, quinze personnes sont mortes, quatre policiers et onze manifestants, selon un bilan de l'AFP.

Le ministère de l'Intérieur a affirmé que les manifestants avaient mis le feu pendant l'assaut à des tentes et fait exploser des bouteilles de gaz pour retarder la progression des policiers. Il a ajouté avoir repris le contrôle du complexe hospitalier de Soulaymania, le plus grand de la capitale, où étaient retranchés des protestataires.

"Il n'y avait aucun moyen de résister", a déclaré l'un des manifestants de la place de La Perle.

Le chef du Wefaq, cheikh Ali Salmane, a dénoncé sur la télévision Al-Jazira, l'assaut et affirmé que "la solution ne viendra pas des canons".

Les protestataires ont occupé la place depuis le 19 février pour exiger des réformes politiques, voire, pour certains, le départ de la dynastie sunnite gouvernant le pays.

La France a "déploré" les violences. Le dialogue "constitue la meilleure voie possible pour restaurer la confiance et répondre aux attentes qui se sont exprimées", a déclaré le porte-parole du ministère des Affaires étrangères, Bertrand Valero.

Le pouvoir a proposé à l'opposition dominée par les chiites un dialogue sur des réformes politiques, une offre restée sans suite en raison d'une exigence des opposants d'une démission du gouvernement.

Soutien des chiites du Moyen-Orient

Le président iranien Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a pour sa part affirmé que l'intervention lundi de forces des pays du Golfe pour mettre un terme à la révolte populaire était "un acte hideux voué à l'échec".

De l'Iran au Koweït, les chiites du Moyen-Orient ont condamné mercredi la violente répression menée par la dynastie sunnite au pouvoir contre les manifestants chiites de Bahreïn.

En Irak, les rues de Bagdad ont même été le théâtre de manifestations de soutien aux protestataires. A Najaf, centre spirituel du chiisme à 110 km au sud de Bagdad, un des plus hauts dignitaires chiites basés en Irak, l'ayatollah Bachir al-Najafi, a demandé "l'arrêt immédiat de cette injustice".

(Source AFP)

11-03-17 – Le Monde Diplomatique -- Du Bahreïn à la Libye, la contre-révolution

Du Bahreïn à la Libye, la contre-révolution ?

229 commentaires

jeudi 17 mars 2011, par Alain Gresh

L’entrée de troupes saoudiennes et émiraties au Bahreïn, sous l’égide du Conseil de coopération du Golfe et à l’appel du roi, la proclamation de l’état d’urgence, l’arrestation de nombre d’opposants, marquent une étape dans la crise qui secoue la petite île depuis plusieurs semaines. D’autre part, l’offensive des troupes fidèles au colonel Mouammar Kadhafi se poursuit. Même si la propagande du régime ne peut être prise au pied de la lettre (plusieurs villes dont Kadhafi a annoncé la chute restent aux mains des rebelles), il est évident que le pouvoir a reconquis certaines villes. Cette double offensive marque-t-elle un tournant dans les révoltes arabes nées depuis la chute de la dictature tunisienne ?

Il faut rappeler les ingrédients de cette révolte arabe, similaires dans chaque pays : des pouvoirs autoritaires pour lesquels les citoyens ne sont rien que des pions ; de pseudo-réformes économiques libérales qui ont aggravé la pauvreté et les inégalités, permis la constitution d’immenses fortunes et le pillage du pays ; l’arrivée des classes d’âge les plus nombreuses à l’âge adulte, ces jeunes étant souvent mieux formés que leurs aînés mais ne trouvant pas de travail à la hauteur de leurs espérances.

A partir du moment où le peuple tunisien a fait la démonstration que l’on pouvait renverser un dictateur, le mouvement s’est étendu et a touché tous les pays, sans exception. Les mesures habituelles prises pour calmer la population (concessions économiques, promesses de réforme ou répression) n’en sont pas venues à bout – au contraire. D’autant que la chaîne de télévision Al-Jazira a créé une scène médiatique arabe unifiée et qu’Internet a renforcé la solidarité entre les différents groupes, notamment ceux des jeunes, qui se sont mobilisés.

Ce qui a disparu dans le monde arabe, c’est la peur. Et, quels que soient les aléas du mouvement – et il est évident qu’il y aura des avancées et des reculs –, ce qui s’est passé est maintenant irréversible.

Néanmoins, la situation de chaque pays est différente, son histoire et son système politique aussi. Il existe parfois une dimension confessionnelle (et éventuellement nationale), avec les divisions, plus ou moins instrumentalisées, entre chiites et sunnites, entre Arabes et Kurdes, etc., qui peuvent peser sur l’avenir.

C’est le cas notamment à Bahreïn, dont la majorité de la population est chiite, mais où la dynastie régnante sunnite s’appuie sur une fraction non négligeable de la population (30%). Le roi a réussi à faire descendre dans la rue des dizaines de milliers de ses partisans, ce que n’ont pu faire les pouvoirs tunisien et égyptien.

Une autre dimension tient à la relation entre Bahreïn et l’Iran. A plusieurs reprises, Téhéran a pu revendiquer ce territoire et il existe la peur dans les monarchies arabes du Golfe qu’un changement au Bahreïn se fasse au bénéfice de la République islamique. Cela explique la décision avant tout saoudienne d’envoyer des troupes dans l’émirat, ce qui n’est pas sans rappeler des exemples historiques, comme le note Olivier Da Lage sur son blog le 14 mars, sous le titre « Sous les réformes annoncées, la répression est à l’œuvre et c’est l’Arabie saoudite qui est à la manœuvre » : « Telles les armées du Pacte de Varsovie envahissant en août 1968 la Tchécoslovaquie pour mettre fin au Printemps de Prague au nom de la fraternelle solidarité du camp socialiste face aux menées contre-révolutionnaires encouragées par les impérialistes, on voit aujourd’hui les forces d’Arabie Saoudite, des Emirats arabes unis – à l’heure où j’écris ces lignes, il n’est pas question du Koweït ni du Qatar – traverser les 25 kilomètres de bras de mer séparant Bahreïn de la terre ferme pour mettre en œuvre la “doctrine Abdallah de souveraineté limitée” au sein des monarchies du Golfe. »

Cette décision a été prise par une famille royale dont les membres influents ont plus de 75 ans et qui s’inquiète aussi de l’évolution au Yémen. Elle n’arrive pas à comprendre les changements qui se produisent dans le monde arabe, y compris en Arabie. Cette invasion a de nombreuses dimensions inquiétantes.

D’abord, l’arrivée de soldats saoudiens, pour l’essentiel sunnites, et qui professent un profond mépris pour les chiites, va aviver les divisions chiites/sunnites (une partie des sunnites bahreïnis s’étaient ralliés au mouvement demandant des réformes démocratiques), et pas seulement au Bahreïn. La province est de l’Arabie, principale zone de production pétrolière, reliée au Bahreïn par un pont, risque de connaître des troubles, d’autant que la population y est soumise à nombre de discriminations.

Plus largement, les clivages entre sunnites et chiites, déjà profonds au Liban et en Irak, risquent de s’approfondir et de détourner les révoltes arabes de leur but : instaurer des régimes démocratiques et représentatifs.

L’ampleur de la répression et l’usage de la force contre des manifestants pacifiques à Bahreïn apparaissent dans un rapport que publie Amnesty International le 17 mars, « Evidence of Bahraini Security Forces’ Brutality Revealed ». Un texte en français, plus court, a été publié le 15 mars : « Condamnation de la violente répression à Bahreïn ».

Cette répression s’est évidemment renforcée durant les dernières heures, notamment avec l’arrestation de plusieurs membres de l’opposition. La prise de contrôle d’hôpitaux par les forces de l’ordre a suscité une protestation de Navi Pillay, haut-commissaire des Nations unies pour les droits humains (« U.N. rights boss urges Bahrain to rein in forces », Reuters, 17 mars).

D’autre part, un certain nombre de responsables chiites (ministres, juges, etc.) ont démissionné.

Face à ces événements, il faut noter la « prudence » des médias occidentaux (mais aussi d’Al-Jazira) et de tous ceux qui appellent par ailleurs à une intervention militaire en Libye. Si l’Iran a fermement condamné et rappelé son ambassadeur à Manama, la secrétaire d’Etat Hillary Clinton a déclaré (« Remarks to the Traveling Press », Le Caire, 16 mars) : « Ce qui se passe à Bahreïn est inquiétant et détourne malheureusement l’attention et les efforts des problèmes politiques et économiques, dont la résolution est la seule manière d’avancer pour résoudre les différences des Bahreïnis. Nous avons expliqué cela de manière claire et à plusieurs reprises. Nous avons déploré l’usage de la force. Nous avons dit non seulement aux Bahreïnis, mais aussi à nos partenaires du Golfe que la sécurité n’était pas la réponse à ce qui se passait. » Malgré ces réserves, Washington n’est pas disposé à trop se fâcher avec ses alliés (Craig Whitlock, « White House appears reluctant to take hard line with Arab monarchies », The Washington Post, 17 mars 2011.)

En Libye, la situation n’arrête pas de se détériorer alors que, depuis la résolution prise par le Conseil de sécurité imposant un certain nombre de sanctions contre le colonel Kadhafi, le 26 février, les divisions au sein des Nations unies, de la Ligue arabe et de l’Union africaine persistent.

Pour comprendre la prudence de l’Afrique, il faut lire l’article publié par le New York Times du 15 mars, « Libyan Oil Buys Allies for Qaddafi ». Il démontre que le colonel, par son aide à de nombreux projets, par sa vision d’une union africaine, jouit d’un certain prestige, y compris dans les populations et que certains sont prêts à s’engager pour lui, non pas pour de l’argent, mais par conviction ! On peut certes le regretter, mais c’est ainsi...

En revanche, les gouvernements arabes ont suspendu la Libye de la Ligue arabe : une première. Ils ont même appelé – à l’exception de l’Algérie et de la Syrie – à l’instauration d’une zone d’exclusion aérienne. Le Conseil de sécurité discute ce 17 mars de ce projet, la France et le Royaume-Uni y étant les plus favorables.

Faut-il intervenir en Libye ? Si l’on met à part les pitreries de Bernard-Henri Lévy toujours prompt à prôner des expéditions militaires (surtout quand il se retrouve sur la tourelle d’un char israélien pour regarder l’écrasement de Gaza), la question est légitime. Les exemples récents dans l’histoire peuvent éclairer les difficultés.

Ainsi, en 1979, le Vietnam est intervenu au Cambodge pour renverser le régime des Khmers rouges. Cette action militaire n’a pas obtenu l’aval de l’ONU (qui a conservé pendant des années le siège du Cambodge aux Khmers rouges !). Elle a pourtant mis un terme au génocide perpétré par le pouvoir et on ne peut que s’en réjouir.

En 2003, les Etats-Unis sont intervenus en Irak contre l’un des plus brutaux dictateurs du Proche-Orient. Les raisons évoquées (armes de destruction massive) étaient fausses, mais le régime était tombé, ce qui ne pouvait que satisfaire la majorité de la population. Pourtant, huit ans plus tard, qui peut soutenir qu’une telle invasion, qui n’avait pas été acceptée par les Nations unies, a été bénéfique au peuple irakien ?

Il ne fait aucun doute que le régime libyen est profondément impopulaire et ne dispose d’aucune base de masse. Bien sûr, c’est une appréciation en partie subjective, mais elle résulte d’une lecture attentive de ce qui s’écrit, y compris à partir de Tripoli, et d’un suivi des transmissions par les télévisions des images du terrain.

Si une intervention occidentale est hors de propos et serait contre-productive, ne faudrait-il pas que la Ligue arabe, et en premier lieu l’Egypte, ouvre ses frontières à des armements qui permettraient aux rebelles de combattre ? D’autant plus que leur résistance avec des armes légères se poursuit, malgré les déclarations triomphantes du régime libyen.

Il est parallèlement nécessaire de condamner avec force l’intervention des pays du Golfe, et en premier lieu de l’Arabie saoudite, au Bahreïn : l’arrestation d’opposants, la violente répression, le déploiement de troupes étrangères, ne peuvent que compromettre toute solution politique. Et ces recours à la violence sont un encouragement aux autres dirigeants du monde arabe (Yémen notamment) à suivre ce chemin.

Comme exemple de double langage de la France, il faut citer les déclarations du porte-parole du Quai d’Orsay, le 17 mars (PDF) sur la Syrie et sur le Bahreïn :

Sur le premier pays, il déclare :

« La France condamne les violences contre les manifestants et les arrestations qui ont suivi cette manifestation. La France appelle les autorités syriennes à libérer toutes les personnes détenues pour avoir participé à des manifestations, ou en raison de leurs opinions ou de leurs actions en faveur de la défense des droits de l’Homme. La France appelle la Syrie à mettre en œuvre les engagements internationaux auxquels elle a souscrit en matière de droits de l’Homme notamment s’agissant de la liberté d’opinion et d’expression. La liberté d’expression et d’opinion et le droit à la liberté de réunion pacifique sont notamment consacrés par la Déclaration Universelle des droits de l’Homme. »

Sur le Bahreïn :

« Nous rappelons l’importance de respecter la liberté de manifester pacifiquement et la nécessité de ne pas recourir à un usage excessif de la force. Plus que jamais, le dialogue nous parait nécessaire pour restaurer durablement la confiance et répondre aux attentes qui se sont exprimées. Nous souhaitons que ce dialogue puisse rapidement s’engager et que toutes les parties y contribuent de manière responsable et constructive. »

Aucune évocation des arrestations de responsables politiques, des morts, ni, bien sûr, de l’intervention saoudienne.

Université populaire

Je suis en train de mettre sur pied une université populaire autour des thèmes abordés sur ce blog. Un certain nombre d’entre vous qui ont contribué au forum de discussion ont déjà été sollicités. Si vous êtes intéressés, vous pouvez écrire à cette adresse : iremmo.up@gmail.com pour obtenir les renseignements nécessaires. Les formations de cette université populaire débuteront en septembre prochain, à Paris. Mais nous consacrerons dès les 13 et 14 mai quatre séances aux « révoltes arabes ».

11-03-17 - Le Figaro -- la revolte chiite etouffee dans la violence

Bahrein: la revolte chiite etouffee dans la violence

Par Georges Malbrunot le 17 mars 2011 7h59 | 6 Commentaires

L’autorité de l’Etat a été restaurée mercredi sur Manama, la capitale du minuscule royaume de Bahreïn, mais au prix fort.

Peu après l’aube, guidées par des hélicoptères de reconnaissance, des centaines de policiers anti émeute ont avancé vers la place de la Perle en tirant des grenades lacrymogènes, puis parfois à coup de fusil de chasse, sur les centaines de protestataires chiites, qui tenaient le square depuis plus d’un mois. Ces derniers ont riposté en lançant des cocktails Molotov.

L’assaut n’a duré qu’une heure. Vers 7 heures, des panaches de fumée noire s’élevaient dans le ciel, après que les tentes des frondeurs aient été incendiées. Autour, les rues étaient désertes. La presse était fermement invitée à se tenir à l’écart, alors que les autorités avaient déconnecté les portables des activistes, complètement isolés de leurs soutiens à l’arrière.

Au moins trois manifestants ont été tués, et plusieurs dizaines d’autres blessés. Côté policiers, deux d’entre eux sont morts, après avoir été fauchés intentionnellement par des activistes en fuite. Les forces saoudiennes et émiraties, déployées depuis lundi à Bahreïn, n’ont pas participé à la répression. « Elles sont toujours dans leurs casernes », assurait hier soir un diplomate occidental.

Une fois la place « nettoyée », les forces anti émeutes ont ratissé le secteur voisin et stratégique, qui abrite le centre financier de Manama. Pendant plusieurs heures, dans une ville fantôme battue par le vent, des hélicoptères ont continué de guider les policiers dans leur traque aux opposants chiites, qui faisaient exploser des bombonnes de gaz.

« C’est une guerre d’anéantissement qui nous est imposée », s’insurge Abdel Jalil Khalil, un des leaders du Wifaq, le principal parti chiite d’opposition, qui réclame des réformes.

A quelques encablures de là, un autre affrontement faisait rage, mais toujours loin des caméras. Les ambulances transportant les blessés ne pouvaient accéder à l’hôpital Salmaniyah. « Les tanks bloquent les entrées », nous envoyait par SMS un médecin sur place. Sur Twitter, on pouvait voir un policier anti émeute, casque sur la tête et gourdin à la main, pénétrer dans la salle des urgences. Les autorités accusent les ambulances de convoyer des armes pour les manifestants… Une accusation jugée crédible par plusieurs sources indépendantes.

Pendant ce temps, la colère grondait dans les mosquées chiites, où les imams appelaient au djihad. Tandis que sur les écrans des télévisions sympathisantes a la cause, des bandes annonces exhortaient les descendants d’Ali à manifester au Liban en Irak ou au Yémen. Sur fond de propagande, la division inter musulmane est à l’œuvre.

Fort du soutien militaire reçu lundi par les pays du Golfe, la monarchie bahreïnie a voulu frapper vite et fort. Après l’instauration de l’état d’urgence mardi après-midi, la reprise en main paraissait inévitable. Loin du « massacre » prédit par l’opposition, l’offensive militaire a surtout été minutieusement planifiée. D’abord par une opération sur l’île de Sitra, la base arrière de la révolte, où les amitiés iraniennes de la majorité chiite seraient les plus fortes. « Le royaume ne veut pas d’une banlieue sud qui lui échappe », note un observateur étranger, en référence au bastion chiite du Hezbollah à Beyrouth.

Durant la nuit de mardi à mercredi, les accès à l’hôpital Salmanyah ont ensuite été fermés, puis l’assaut a été donné contre la place de la Perle, avant de voir se poursuivre dans l’après-midi le « nettoyage » d’autres villages, près de Qarbabab au nord de Manama. Hier après-midi toujours, un couvre-feu a été instauré sur le centre de Manama entre 16H et 4 H du matin.

Après avoir repris possession du centre de la capitale, ou la vie peinait jeudi a reprendre son cours, le régime pense pouvoir entamer des négociations en position de force. « Pas question, après une telle violence », affirme au Figaro Mattar Ibrahim, un député démissionnaire du Wifak, qui accuse les durs au sein de la famille royale d’avoir pris le contrôle de la situation, en particulier le ministre de la cour royale. « Pourquoi notre interlocuteur, le prince héritier Salman, reste-t-il silencieux ? », se demande l’ex député chiite.

Mercredi, les Etats-Unis ont dépêché Jeffrey Feltman, le sous secrétaire d’Etat chargé du Moyen-Orient, pour convaincre leur allié bahreïni de trouver une issue politique à la crise. « Nous voulons que les Américains affichent une position claire vis-à-vis de nos demandes en faveur de plus de justice », déclare Mattar Ibrahim, « sinon, les jeunes continueront leurs protestations, mais sous d’autres formes ». Traduction d’un expert militaire : « on va voir si des scènes de guérilla urbaine vont apparaître au cours des prochains jours ».

11-03-18 - Contrepoints -- La crise au Bahreïn, plus dangereuse qu’en Libye

La crise au Bahreïn, plus dangereuse qu’en Libye

Publié le 18/03/2011

Par Andrew Rettman

Les spécialistes de la sécurité de l’UE s’inquiètent du fait que les émeutes chiites et sunnites au Bahreïn ont le potentiel de provoquer un affrontement entre ces deux courants religieux dans toute la péninsule arabique.

« Ce qui se passe au Bahreïn est une opposition entre sunnites et chiites, entre l’Arabie Saoudite et l’Iran. Il s’agit de grandes puissances se faisant face sur un petit territoire. C’est une situation explosive. Nous partageons les mêmes inquiétudes que les État-Unis et la Russie », déclare à EUobserver une source anonyme au sein de l’Union européenne ce mercredi 16 mars 2011.

« En terme de politique étrangère, il s’agit d’un enjeu énorme. Nous ne savons pas jusqu’où cela va aller », note une autre source de l’UE, à propos de la décision des États sunnites d’Oman, du Qatar, de l’Arabie saoudite, et des Émirats Arabes Unis d’envoyer des forces de sécurité pour réprimer les émeutes à Bahreïn. « Si l’Arabie saoudite et l’Iran s’impliquent ouvertement dans cette crise, elle pourrait être bien plus dangereuse celle qui se déroule en Libye. »

Le ministre suédois des Affaires Étrangères exprime lui aussi les mêmes inquiétudes sur son blog ce mercredi : « Alors qu’il n’y avait probablement à l’origine aucune ingérence iranienne, les opportunités pour l’Iran de tirer avantage de la situation augmentent indubitablement ».

Plusieurs pays de l’Union européenne, comme le Royaume-Uni et Malte, ont conseillé à leurs ressortissants de ne pas se rendre au Bahreïn, ou de quitter cette île le plus rapidement possible.

D’après l’agence de presse UK Press Association, le Royaume-Uni a affrété des vols commerciaux pour organiser des rapatriements de la capitale Manama ce mercredi. On ne sait pas combien de citoyens britanniques – la communauté d’européens la plus importante à Bahreïn – résident dans le pays. Mais au total, les 20 États membres de l’UE ont indiqué au bureau européen chargé de la coordination consulaire que 2.000 citoyens de l’Union sont encore sur place.

D’après un fonctionnaire de l’UE, « le problème c’est qu’il n’existe pas de vols directs vers l’Europe. Et tous les autres vols sont complets. D’après nos informations, il est difficile de se rendre à l’aéroport car quitter sa maison ou circuler sur les routes représente un très grand risque ».

L’atmosphère de tension vient après que des troupes bahreïniennes masquées aient tiré à balles réelles contre des manifestants, à la place de la Perle dans la capitale. Six personnes, dont trois policiers, seraient mortes dans ces affrontements, et des centaines d’autres seraient blessées. Durant la nuit, les forces de sécurité ont investi les domiciles d’activistes, capturant trois leaders de l’opposition.

L’Iran, le voisin à majorité chiites, a rappelé sont ambassadeur au Bahreïn, et le président iranien Ahmadinedjad a condamné les États-Unis, qui comptent une grande base navale dans le pays, pour avoir fomenté la répression avec l’Arabie saoudite.

« Les États-Unis cherchent à sauver le régime sioniste [Israël] et à réprimer les soulèvements populaires. Ainsi, il apporte son soutien à certains gouvernements », a-t-il déclaré, cité par des agences de presse nationales.

Un important responsable chiite en Irak, Moqtada al-Sadr, et le mouvement chiite Hezbollah au liban, ont également appelé à un soutien dans la rue aux manifestant du Bahreïn.

Les musulmans chiites représentent 70% des 1,2 millions d’habitants, mais le clan royal sunnite détient le monopole du pouvoir.

Sarkozy : Sauvez les « martyrs » de Libye

Sur le front libyen, le Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU réuni à New-York ce mercredi n’est pas parvenu à un accord sur la résolution proposée par les britanniques, la France, et le Liban, d’autoriser des frappes militaires contre le colonel Kadhafi. De nouvelles discussions et un vote sont attendus jeudi 17 mars.

La France estime que la proposition de résolution – qui « autorise les États membres à prendre toutes les mesures nécessaires pour faire respecter la zone d’exclusion aérienne » – pourrait offrir le cadre légal pour lancer des frappes immédiates sur les cibles du camp de Khaddafi.

« Ensemble, nous pouvons sauver les Libyens de leur martyr. Le temps se compte en jours, peut-être en heure », a écrit dans une lettre que s’est procuré EUobserver le président Nicolas Sarkozy aux puissances de l’ONU.

L’ambassadrice des États-Unis à l’ONU, Susan Rice, a indiqué que le président Barack Obama est prêt à envoyer des troupes au sol. « Nous devons actuellement nous préparer à envisager des mesures qui incluent, mais qui vont peut-être au-delà, d’une zone d’exclusion aérienne » a-t-elle déclaré à la presse à New-York.

Un expert français de la sécurité qui conseille les diplomates de l’UE et les services de renseignement a mis en garde contre des actions militaires en Libye qui pourraient avoir des conséquences imprévisibles.

« Si nous frappons Kadhafi, nous prenons le risque de créer un Afghanistan ou un Irak si vous préférez, à 500 km de nos côtes. Nous déstabiliserions un pays dont la structure ethnique est extrêmement complexe, et qui possède un stock d’armes très important. Nous créerions alors une zone de non droit », a déclaré cette source.

Traduction d’un article original de Andrew Rettman, publié sur le jeudi 17 mars 2011.

11-03-18 - Libération -- des milliers de manifestants près de Manama

Bahreïn: des milliers de manifestants près de Manama

Ils ont répondu à l'appel de l'opposition, qui incite à poursuivre la contestation, en se rassemblant dans les lieux de culte, plutôt que dans les rues.

Des milliers de manifestants chiites scandant des slogans anti-gouvernementaux se sont mobilisés près de Manama après la prière du vendredi en dépit d'une interdiction de se rassembler décrétée par les autorités.

Cette manifestation, dans le village chiite de Diraz, aux portes de la capitale bahreïnie, intervient au lendemain d'un appel de l'opposition à poursuivre la contestation, en se rassemblant dans les lieux de culte, plutôt que dans les rues.

Aucune force de l'ordre n'était visible dans ce village, alors que la répression violente de la contestation de la dynastie des Al Khalifa a fait cette semaine au moins huit tués, quatre manifestants et quatre policiers.

"En paix! en paix!", criaient les manifestants, "nous sommes prêts à sacrifier notre sang et notre âme pour Bahreïn".

Les autorités bahreïnies ont décrété cette semaine l'état d'urgence, qui interdit notamment les rassemblements, après des semaines de contestation dans ce petit royaume, soutenu par les Etats-Unis qui y maintiennent le commandement de leur Vème flotte.

Un important religieux chiite à Bahreïn, cheikh Qassem, a appelé dans son sermon de vendredi à respecter les principes de la non-violence. "L'approche pacifique a été notre choix depuis le début", a-t-il affirmé. "Ne vous laissez pas entraîner par la violence que les autorités déchaînent sur vous."

L'opposition à Bahreïn, dominée par les chiites, réclame des réformes politiques pour obtenir une plus grande participation dans cette monarchie dominée depuis plus de 200 ans par une dynastie sunnite.

11-03-18 - Libération -- La révolte chiite de Bahreïn vire à la crise régionale

La révolte chiite de Bahreïn vire à la crise régionale

Analyse

L’Iran a vivement réagi à l’entrée des troupes saoudiennes dans le royaume.

Par JEAN-PIERRE PERRIN

C’est le plus petit Etat du Golfe, le plus pauvre aussi, celui qui n’a plus de pétrole. Pourtant, le soulèvement d’une partie de sa population a transformé un conflit local en grave crise régionale, avec des implications dans tout le monde arabe. L’intervention à Bahreïn, lundi, des forces saoudiennes, secondées par des policiers des Emirats arabes unis, a provoqué l’entrée en scène de Téhéran, donnant une tout autre ampleur aux revendications démocratiques de la majorité chiite contre l’impitoyable dynastie sunnite des Al-Khalifa.

Les forces de la garde nationale saoudienne - les estimations vont de 1 000 à 3 500 hommes - ne sont certes pas intervenues dans la répression sanglante des manifestations, mais leur présence est une franche indication que le régime bahreïni ne cédera pas à l’opposition et qu’il a le soutien des autres pétromonarchies du Golfe, qui ne veulent pas de contagion démocratique. Hier, au lendemain de l’assaut sanglant - trois manifestants et deux policiers tués - contre la place de la Perle, à Manama, six leaders de l’aile dure de l’opposition (cinq figures chiites et un sunnite de gauche) ont été arrêtés. Ces derniers événements marquent la fin de tout dialogue entre le pouvoir et l’opposition. L’intervention étrangère va évidemment fédérer cette dernière, jusque-là divisée entre les formations radicales - les partis chiites Haq et Wafa -, qui demandent l’instauration d’une république démocratique, et les modérées, comme le Wefaq, qui n’a jamais appelé au renversement de la monarchie.

Du côté du pouvoir, on voit la même polarisation. Des prêcheurs sunnites ont appelé à la confrontation avec les chiites. Et, dans un pays qui proscrit les armes à feu - même les pistolets en plastique sont prohibés - et blanches sont apparus des séides munis de revolvers et de sabres, à l’évidence fournis par le régime.

Mais le tournant essentiel dans cette confrontation, c’est son internationalisation. Téhéran a tout de suite dénoncé l’intervention saoudienne. Il a rappelé son ambassadeur à Manama et averti les dirigeants saoudiens et des Emirats qu’ils pourraient connaître le même sort que Saddam Hussein. «Ce qui se passe à Bahreïn est une crise majeure. Si on imagine une échelle de Richter pour les révolutions arabes, la magnitude 5 serait pour la Libye et la magnitude 8 pour Bahreïn», souligne François Heisbourg, conseiller spécial de la Fondation pour la recherche stratégique.

Selon ce chercheur, en intervenant à Bahreïn, les Saoudiens visent deux cibles : les réformes démocratiques qui priveraient la monarchie bahreïnie de son pouvoir absolu, avec de possibles répercussions dans les pays voisins, et les Américains, contre lesquels ils sont furieux. Les raisons ? Le lâchage de Moubarak, allié de longue date de Washington, et l’avertissement, lancé la semaine dernière à Manama, du secrétaire à la Défense, Robert Gates, au régime bahreïni, lui demandant de négocier avant qu’il ne soit trop tard.

Témoin d’une vraie fracture entre Riyad et Washington, le régime saoudien n’a même pas pris la peine d’avertir Washington de l’envoi de la garde nationale dans le minuscule royaume. Les Etats-Unis sont de leur côté mécontents à cause de l’irruption de l’Iran, qui ne s’était pas encore manifesté en faveur des chiites de Bahreïn, dont il se veut le protecteur naturel. Avec l’entrée en lice des Saoudiens, Téhéran a tous les atouts en main pour jouer la carte de la subversion dans le royaume, mais aussi dans les autres pays arabes qui ont des populations chiites, du Yémen au Liban. «Les Saoudiens prétendent intervenir pour contrer les Iraniens, mais ceux-ci, de l’avis des services de renseignements occidentaux, n’étaient pas jusque-là dans le jeu», souligne Heisbourg.

Désormais, la partie qui se joue à Bahreïn risque d’être très dure. Dimanche, le prince héritier Salman, figure modérée au sein du pouvoir, a joué son va-tout en présentant des propositions susceptibles de rallier une partie de l’opposition. Celle-ci n’a pas eu le temps de répondre. Le lendemain, les forces saoudiennes franchissaient le pont entre les deux pays.

11-03-20 - Deseret News -- Bahrain hospital on frontline in protest crackdown

Bahrain hospital on frontline in protest crackdown

Published: March 20, 2011, 9:50 a.m. MDT

AL KHARJIYA, Bahrain — It was just after midnight when armed men in military uniforms came to the hospital bed of Ali Mansour Abdel-Karim Nasser, who was injured by pellets fired during a clash with riot police. He said what came next was worse: he was bound, beaten and mocked in the hallway of Bahrain's main state-run hospital.

"I did not talk. I did not argue with them. I just cried," he told The Associated Press in his mostly Shiite village, Al Kharjiya, about 20 miles (15 kilometers) from the capital, Manama.

The Salmaniya medical complex — now under military rule — appears to be one of the last main targets of Bahrain's Sunni rulers trying to crush a pro-democracy uprising by the country's Shiite majority. The hospital treated hundreds of injured demonstrators and its morgue held some of the dead since the revolt began last month in the strategically important Gulf country, the home of U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

For many Shiites, the sprawling complex — sitting between fancy shopping malls and Western-style cafes in central Manama — is as much a symbol of the rebellion as the city's Pearl Square, which protesters occupied for a month. Authorities regained control of the square last week and destroyed its landmark 300-foot (90-meter) pearl monument to wipe out what Bahrain's foreign minister called "bad memories."

The medical complex is now surrounded by military checkpoints, its outside walls patrolled by commando-style troops in army green coveralls and black ski masks. Soldiers and policemen are driving ambulances and interrogating and detaining doctors and patients, according to Bahrain's doctors' union and local media reports.

"They came with guns and they said, 'What's wrong with you, why are you here?' I told them I was shot and I showed them my legs," said Nasser, whose legs and abdomen were peppered with wounds from pellets shot during a protest in a village on Sitra island on Tuesday.

"They cursed at me, ripped out the IV, pushed me off the bed and started kicking me," Nasser told the AP on Saturday in Al Kharjiya, one of six Shiite villages on Sitra, the center of Bahrain's oil industry southwest of Manama.

Nasser said the six soldiers — whose faces were covered with black ski masks — pulled him to the hallway and tied his hands behind the back. He said at least 12 other patients were abused in a similar way.

When the beatings stopped, Nasser said the soldiers untied his hands and said: "Shiite dogs, go to your rooms. And let Iran help you now" — a reference to Shiite powerhouse Iran, which has denounced the crackdown by Bahraini forces aided by more than 1,500 troops from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations.

The Gulf leaders have rallied behind Bahrain's Sunni dynasty to try to snuff out further revolts in the region, saying gains by Bahrain's Shiites could give Iran a pathway for greater influence in the Gulf.

Nasser said he was beaten several more times and begged to be released on Friday.

"I was not safe there," Nasser said. "The hospital is a dangerous place because the doctors are not in charge, the military is. The doctors are scared, apologizing to us, saying sorry, but there is not much we can do for you now."

Neither Nasser's story nor the conditions inside the hospital could be independently confirmed. Authorities have blocked journalists from entering the medical complex.

Bahrain's foreign minister, Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, told reporters Friday he was not aware of the hospital siege. He said Salmaniya hospital became a "source of misinformation" and was now "liberated."

Authorities previously denied abuse of patients and medical staff at Salmaniya after the military takeover of the hospital complex on Wednesday.

State-run media reported on Friday that "services at Salmaniya Medical Center were back in operation," but new measures were in place. They include ambulances driven by security personnel and under police escort, a report in the state-run English-language Daily Tribune said Saturday.

All patients admitted to the hospital "during the recent clashes have been moved to other wards" and ambulance drivers and paramedics "deemed to be neutral were put back on duty," the report said.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner called on Bahraini authorities on Friday to "cease violence, especially on medical personnel and facilities."

The Salmaniya hospital complex has been a political hotspot since the first clashes. The mostly Shiite personnel are seen by the Sunni authorities as protest sympathizers, although the staff claim they must treat all who need care.

There have been moments of open anger among the doctors and nurses — most of whom have never seen war-style injuries before. As overwhelmed teams treated the injured from clashes, many broke out in calls to topple the monarchy during the most violent days of the revolt.

Officials in the hospital said they took more than 400 injured in clashes across the kingdom last week after martial law-style rule was announced Tuesday.

Many protesters injured in the recent clashes have avoided Salmaniya hospital — the only facility with extensive trauma care — out of fears they could be arrested on the spot.

"There is no way I will go to Salmaniya," said Abdul Samad Youssef, 32, a protester who has pellet wounds over his back and his head. Some are seriously inflamed.

"If I enter that hospital as a wounded man, there is no guarantee I will get out," Youssef said. "It's better to live with these wounds than to come out of the hospital from the morgue's door."

With his eye badly injured from pellets fired Tuesday by security forces, Eid Ali Abbas, 35, also is too afraid to seek treatment at the only place in Bahrain with the necessary medical expertise.

"I feel I should go because my eye hurts and I can not see well, but I am really scared," said Abbas, his left eye red and swollen.

"Salmaniya is a military base now. They will shoot me or beat me if I go there, so I will gamble on my eye," Abbas said.

Bahrain's Doctors' Society said at least two physicians have been detained by security forces at Salmaniya, including Dr. Ali al-Iqri, who was been talking to journalists about the uprising. He was taken from an operating theater on Wednesday, according to nurses and his relatives.

"They arrested my brother because he passed the truth about the injured protesters to the international media," his sister Fatima told the AP, adding that the family has had no contact with al-Iqri since he was taken by the security forces.

The second doctor in custody was Mahmood Asghar, a pediatric surgeon in Salmaniya. His brother, Jassim Asghar, told the AP he was arrested on Thursday and the family has not heard from him since. "We don't know why they took him since he was not involved in any political activity," Jassim Asghar said.

A report in the Sunday's Daily Tribune said Mahmoud Asghar is being questioned by the police over his role in the unrest and has been held by the police for "giving impromptu speeches while patients were being rushed to the Accident and Emergency Department during the clashes."

Ibrahim Youssef, a veterinarian who helped nurses with injured at the Sitra Health Center, said authorities see the doctors who helped people as working against the government.

"They think of the hospital the same way as they did of Pearl Square," said Youssef. "They won't bring down the hospital, but they will take all doctors away, replace them with others and pretend all this has never happened."

11-03-21 - Yahoo News -- Print Story Pakistan workers seek escape after Bahrain attacks

by Ali Khalil Ali Khalil Mon Mar 21, 10:31 pm ET

MANAMA (AFP) – Javid Eqbal toiled in Bahrain to earn his family's living, only to be attacked with swords by alleged Shiite protesters who loathed Pakistanis for being the foot soldiers of the security forces.

Living in fear of being targeted again, and sheltering at the Pakistani Club in Manama, all he wants now is to get his passport back from his local sponsor and to go home, after at least one Pakistani was killed last week.

Like most Asian workers in the Gulf, he had a low-paid job as a painter. And on March 13, he and his flatmates became victims of the intensified clashes between the predominantly Shiite protesters and police.

That night, Eqbal and his flatmates awoke to find youths breaking into their place, brandishing swords, hammers and steel rods.

"They started beating us after they found out we were Pakistanis," said Eqbal, despite telling them that they were labourers, not police.

"They said: 'You people are here to kill us'," he said, quoting a youth who left him with injuries to the head, chest and feet, before they torched the place.

Eqbal is hiding at the club along with around 300 Pakistani labourers who for the past week have not dared to stay in their homes or go to work.

Dressed in traditional Pakistani garb, he sat in a community room with some 20 others. Next to him lay flatmate Mohammed Waqar with a bandaged arm that revealed a hand covered in oily burns ointment.

He was too worn out to speak. Eqbal said Waqar, who also had head injuries, was burned when their flat was set ablaze.

"These are simple people earning bread and butter for their families," said Malik Fiaz, a member of the community who helped to interpret as most workers could not speak English.

"The problem is that Pakistani policemen are put on the front lines" of riot police in clashes with Shiite demonstrators.

"This is not their own choice. This is their job. They have to obey orders," he said, acknowledging that many Pakistanis serve in the Bahraini police.

Many Pakistanis, as well as Sunni Arabs, have been naturalised in Bahrain, infuriating the Shiite majority which believes that many are given citizenship to tip the demographic balance in the kingdom ruled by the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty.

There are reportedly more than 50,000 Pakistanis in Bahrain, many in the police and security services.

"The Pakistani community has suffered more than any other foreign community," said Fiaz, allegedly at the hands of Shiites who spearheaded a month-long pro-democracy protest that was quashed on Wednesday by security forces.

Mohammed Babar, 27, was also a victim of the attacks targeting his community. His arm in plaster, he said he was hit with a steel rod as some 20 youths attacked a labourers' residence near the central business district on March 13.

"They want us to leave Bahrain. Pakistani people have jobs in government that they (Bahrainis) think should be theirs," he said.

Most of those terrified workers want to return home.

"Everybody wants to go back to Pakistan... We are scared here," said Hassan Cheema, a 22-year-old telecommunications worker.

Injured workers alleged that they were also denied treatment at Salmaniya central hospital, and that they were beaten by some medical staff who sympathised with protesters.

"They kicked us out because we are Pakistanis. Some hospital staff beat us," Eqbal charged.

Salmaniya Medical Complex is the country's largest public sector hospital and has been the focus of conflicting reports of abuse, as authorities claimed that Shiite staff turned the complex into a protest ground, while the international community denounced the storming of the facility by police.

Salmaniya continues to be controlled by the army with masked men vetting all traffic in and out.

Former opposition MP Matar Matar, a Shiite, condemned such attacks on workers, saying he was unable to confirm or deny reports that some Shiite youths had assaulted foreign workers.

"Although we are in the midst of a conflict, that does not mean we abandon our values. We respect foreign communities," said Matar, one of 18 MPs of the Al-Wefaq association to resign last month in protest at the violent repression of protests.

He also said that although many Pakistanis and other foreigners are believed to have obtained Bahraini nationality ahead of time by joining the military, "many have been naturalised for spending the legally required period in Bahrain... and many have made valuable services to Bahrain."

11-03-22 - Kansas City -- Mourners bury Bahraini woman killed in unrest

Mourners bury Bahraini woman killed in unrest

By BARBARA SURK

Associated Press

Dozens of mourners gathered in Bahrain's capital Tuesday to bury a Shiite woman who witnesses say died at the hands of the country's military shortly after emergency rule was imposed last week.

The funeral was a reminder that emotions remain raw and tensions are still high between the Shiite majority, which make up the bulk of the opposition, and the kingdom's Sunni rulers and their allies.

Bahrain descended into turmoil last month as Shiite-led opposition groups took to the streets of the capital Manama to call for greater political reforms. The tiny island nation plays host to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, and its rulers maintain close ties to Saudi Arabia and other Western-backed Arab nations.

Bahia al-Aradi, 51, was driving on a main road in Manama looking for gasoline when she was shot in the head last Wednesday as she approached a military checkpoint, according to witnesses who came to her aid from nearby houses. They said they were also shot at by the military vehicles parked on a highway overpass.

The woman's brother, Habib al-Aradi, 36, said Bahia was on the phone with her younger sister when she was shot. He said the family was told they could pick up al-Aradi's body from the main civilian hospital, Salmaniya, only this week. However, a death certificate seen by an Associated Press reporter was issued by a military hospital. It listed the cause of death as severe brain injury.

"This is not the real reason why she died," Habib al-Aradi said. He said he wants the military to explain what happened to his sister. "We cannot trust this army anymore."

The military hasn't commented on al-Aradi's death.

Mourners at al-Aradi's funeral demanded revenge and chanted "Death to Al Khalifa" - a reference to the country's ruling dynasty - as they carried her body to Manama cemetery.

Human rights groups say at least 20 people have been killed, including two members of Bahrain's security forces, since protests began Feb. 14.

Separately, an organizer of a Kuwaiti medical convoy blocked from entering Bahrain said the team is ready to try again if it gets official clearance. Dr. Adnan Fadeq said the convoy returned to Kuwait on Monday after being told it could not cross from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.

Fadeq said no reason was given for the denial of permission to the convoy, which included 53 medical personnel and 21 ambulances. Bahraini authorities have not commented.

A Saudi-led Gulf military force is in Bahrain aiding the monarchy in quelling the opposition protests.

The unrest has weighed on Bahrain's banking sector, one of the kingdom's main industries.

Credit agency Standard & Poor's on Monday cut its ratings on the Bahrain-based Ahli United Bank and Arab Banking Corp., and the Bahrain branch of Arab Bank. Although Bahrain-based, ABC is majority owned by the Libyan government. S&P said its ratings face pressure from unrest in both countries.

Separately, Bahraini regulators revoked operating licenses for a telecommunications company in which Sunni liberal leader Ibrahim Sharif is a large shareholder. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said all services of the company, 2Connect, will be permanently disconnected starting Sunday.

Sharif, who is listed in government records as a director of 2Connect, heads the opposition Waad Society, an umbrella group of protest factions. He was arrested last week during a roundup of political activists.

The CEO of 2Connect, Fahed al-Shirawi, said Sharif was an early investor who holds more than 10 percent of the company but is no longer a director.

Al-Shirawi said unspecified security concerns were given as reason for the planned shutdown. He said he doesn't understand it, but that company is willing to cooperate with authorities to resolve any concerns.

"If there's a security concern, we're the first people to want to know what it is and how to stop it," he said.

TRA officials couldn't be reached for comment.

AP Business Writer Adam Schreck contributed to this report from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Posted on Tue, Mar. 22, 2011 09:43 AM

11-03-22 - Le Monde -- le bilan des violences atteint vingt morts

Bahreïn : le bilan des violences atteint vingt morts

Une Bahreïnie ayant disparu mercredi dernier, jour de la violente répression d'une manifestation à Manama, est morte des suites de ses blessures, annonce mardi 22 mars le Wefaq, principal parti de l'opposition chiite. Le Wefaq ajoute que les circonstances exactes de ses blessures ne sont pas connues mais qu'elle était semble-t-il au volant de sa voiture dans la capitale lorsqu'elle a reçu des balles dans la tête. Les autorités n'étaient pas disponibles dans l'immédiat pour commenter l'information.

La mort de Bahiya al-Aradi, qui sera enterrée dans la journée, porte à sept le nombre de civils Bahreïnis tués depuis mercredi. Depuis le début des manifestations contre le régime, il y a plus d'un mois, vingt personnes sont mortes, dont plusieurs policiers et ouvriers étrangers.

Le Wefaq affirme qu'une centaine de personnes sont toujours portées disparues. Le parti chiite pense qu'elles ont soit été arrêtées, hospitalisées ou tuées, soit qu'elles se cachent des forces de sécurité. Les autorités n'ont donné aucun bilan officiel. Bahreïn a fait appel lundi dernier aux forces du Conseil de coopération du Golfe et la violente répression qui a suivi a surpris la majorité chiite du pays.

11-03-25 - La Provence -- Manifestations de l'opposition réprimées à Bahreïn

COR- Manifestations de l'opposition réprimées à Bahreïn

Par (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011

Créé le 25/03/2011 21:55

Prière de noter que la personne décédée est un homme et non une femme §4

par Lin Noueihed et Frederik Richter

MANAMA (Reuters) - Quelques centaines de manifestants ont bravé l'interdiction des rassemblements et défilé vendredi à Bahreïn avant de battre en retraite face à l'arrivée des forces de l'ordre.

Une partie de l'opposition bahreïnie avait lancé un appel à manifester via internet contre le régime.

Proche allié des Etats-Unis, qui ont fait de Manama le port d'attache de leur Cinquième flotte, Bahreïn est secoué depuis plus d'un mois par une contestation sans précédent de la monarchie sunnite au pouvoir.

Dans le village de Maameer, un homme de 71 ans, Isa Abdullah, est décédé à son domicile après avoir été intoxiqué par des gaz lacrymogènes, a annoncé le groupe d'opposition chiite Wefaq. Il a ajouté que les forces de sécurité bloquaient les issues de Maameer, ce qui avait empêché cet homme de recevoir des soins. Reuters n'était pas en mesure de vérifier la cause du décès.

Dans la capitale Manama, des hélicoptères patrouillaient dans le ciel, des points de contrôle étaient visibles sur les grandes artères et de nombreux soldats indiquaient que le régime comptait faire respecter l'interdiction de manifester.

Dans le village chiite de Diraz, quelques centaines de manifestants se sont brièvement réunis, criant "à bas le régime", tandis que des femmes de noir vêtues déployaient des drapeaux de Bahreïn et brandissaient des exemplaires du coran.

Mais à l'approche d'une centaine de forces de l'ordre, qui ont lancé des gaz lacrymogènes, les protestataires ont rapidement battu en retraite.

COMPLOT ÉTRANGER

Dans le village d'Al Dair, la police a fait usage de gaz lacrymogènes pour disperser une centaine de manifestants qui se dirigeaient vers l'aéroport international de Bahreïn. Selon le témoignage de résidents, la police a fait usage de tirs de plomb sur les protestataires.

"Après tous ces morts, tous ces sacrifices, nous continuerons à protester. Nous voulons juste une nouvelle Constitution mais ils (les autorités) ne sont pas prêts pour la démocratie", a confié un habitant, qui a préféré rester anonyme.

Depuis le début des manifestations contre le régime, 20 personnes sont mortes dont plusieurs policiers et ouvriers étrangers. Le Wefaq affirme qu'une centaine de personnes sont portées disparues. Les autorités n'ont donné aucun bilan officiel.

Lundi, le roi de Bahreïn, Hamad ibn Issa al Khalifa, a déclaré qu'un complot étranger contre son pays avait été déjoué. Il a remercié ses voisins sunnites de l'avoir aidé à mater une révolte venue principalement de la majorité chiite.

Les musulmans chiites de Bahreïn, qui représentent 70% de la population, s'estiment discriminés en matière d'emploi, de services sociaux, des services publics et de logement.

11-03-29 - Le Monde -- Le Bahreïn dresse le bilan des affrontements dans l'émirat de la mi-février à la mi-mars

Le Bahreïn dresse le bilan des affrontements dans l'émirat de la mi-février à la mi-mars

Les récentes protestations au Bahreïn ont fait 24 morts affirme, mardi 29 mars, le ministre de l'intérieur. "Quatre policiers ont été tués, ainsi que sept civils innocents parmi les citoyens et les résidents ainsi que 13 parmi ceux qui ont participé aux troubles et aux actes de violence", a déclaré cheikh Rached ben Abdallah Al-Khalifa devant le Parlement. Selon lui, 391 agents des forces de l'ordre ont été blessés ainsi que 56 civils dont des résidents étrangers, a-t-il ajouté, affirmant que "quatre policiers avaient été enlevés [par des manifestants] et torturés".

Cheikh Rached a estimé que la manière dont le sit-in de la place de la Perle était organisé présentait des similitudes avec les méthodes du Hezbollah, le parti chiite libanais soutenu par la Syrie et l'Iran. "La façon dont les barricades avaient été dressées, l'occupation d'hôpitaux, le siège des bureaux de la télévision et de bâtiments publics et la création de cellules s'occupant de l'organisation des manifestants sur le terrain, de l'approvisionnement, de l'information révèlent des tactiques de style Hezbollah", a-t-il déclaré. "Une enquête est en cours et elle va révéler la nature des contacts (entre manifestants et Hezbollah) et d'autres choses", a dit cheikh Rached.Le gouvernement du Bahreïn a déjà dénoncé le soutien apporté par le Hezbollah et les autorités iraniennes au mouvement de protestation.

Le Bahreïn, petit royaume arabe du Golfe gouverné par une dynastie sunnite, a connu de la mi-février à la mi-mars des manifestations sans précédent pour des réformes politiques qui ont été essentiellement animées par les chiites, majoritaires parmi la population autochtone. Les forces de l'ordre ont fin à ces protestations après l'envoi au Bahreïn d'unités d'une force commune du Conseil de coopération du Golfe, appelée "Bouclier de la péninsule". Le CCG comprend, outre le Bahreïn, l'Arabie saoudite, les Emirats arabes unis, le Qatar, Oman et le Koweït.

Autres documents consultés :

La Place de la Perle à Manama ou la territorialisation confessionnelle de l'affrontement politique au Bahreïn (Jean-Paul Burdy, François Burdy-Dubesset)

BAHRAIN’S UPRISING (Alaʾa Shehabi, Marc Owen Jones)

SECTARIAN GULF (TOBY MATTHIESEN)

Le soulèvement au Bahreïn (Laurence Louër)

POPULAR PROTEST IN NORTH AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST (VIII): BAHRAIN’S ROCKY ROAD TO REFORM (International Crisis Group)

11-11-23 - REPORT OF THE BAHRAIN INDEPENDENTCOMMISSION OF INQUIRY

http://www.bici.org.bh/BICIreportEN.pdf