Revolutie in Bahrein #2 Golflanden sturen troepen, Iran niet blij

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The PR Octopus & Its Incredibly Long Tentacles

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3 weeks ago, a British PR and Strategic Communication firm called Dragon Associates forced the Guardian to take down an article from their Comment is Free section. Today the Guardian have put it back up. The article in question stated that the head of security at the BIC (Bahrain International Circuit) had been involved in torturing employees on the racetrack premises. Dragon Associates claimed that the article contained ‘considerable inaccuracies’. Despite this, the article has gone back up exactly the same as before, albeit with a footnote tacked on at the end. This footnote reads

. In its letter of complaint, the BIC makes the following points: while the BIC accepts that in April 2012 the police took some of its employees to the police station for interrogation, it denies the allegation that its security staff were involved in any repressive activities, or that its staff tortured, beat or mistreated BIC employees on BIC premises. The BIC says that if any of its employees were beaten or otherwise badly treated by BIC security staff – which it denies – it would have been without BIC’s knowledge, instructions or orders.

It is interesting to note that the Guardian were so quick to take down a piece that ended going back up unchanged. John Lubbock, the article’s co-author, also informed me that the piece was taken down prior to the Guardian actually receiving a formal complaint. Despite all these interesting oddities, Dragon Associates were obviously successful in stalling the incendiary article until Bahrain had more or less secured the hosting of the Grand Prix (tickets go on sale today). Furthermore, they also managed to get a footnote added to the article, which seems a bit unusual on ‘Comment is Free’. The footnote is also odd because it basically says that while the BIC deny that its security were involved in the mistreatment, it accepts that it could have happened without their knowledge. Essentially, this added paragraph does nothing to disprove the veracity of the preceding article, it merely serves to add an element of doubt to the story. Not quite sure how Dragon Associates managed to pull this off, maybe they used ‘Right of Reply’. All I know is, when these guys breathe fire, people get scared.

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Bahrain police battle biggest protests in weeks

Tens of thousands take to streets after opposition calls for major rallies in support of prominent rights activist Nabeel Rajab

Riot police in Bahrain fired teargas and stun grenades on Friday as tens of thousands of protesters staged the biggest anti-government demonstrations in weeks in the divided Gulf nation.

Opposition groups called for major rallies after a prominent rights activist, Nabeel Rajab, was placed back in detention earlier this week on fresh charges linked to his posts on social media such as Twitter.

Bahrain has experienced near daily protests for 16 months caused by an uprising by the kingdom's Shia majority seeking greater political rights from the western-backed Sunni monarchy. At least 50 people have died in the unrest since February 2011.

There were no immediate reports of injuries from Friday's street battles, which left piles of burning rubbish and clouds of stinging tear gas in the western outskirts of the capital, Manama.

Bahrain's rulers have crucial support from neighbouring Saudi Arabia, but are under pressure from their US allies to reopen dialogue with Shia opposition factions. A new government initiative for talks is expected to be announced next week. But main Shia groups have already signalled that negotiations are futile unless the ruling dynasty agrees to give up its near total control of government affairs in the strategic island, which is home to the US navy's 5th Fleet.

Earlier on Friday, a defence lawyer said a court hearing is planned next week for an 11-year-old boy detained for allegedly taking part in the anti-government protests.

The lawyer, Mohsen al-Alawi, said the sixth-grade student is scheduled to appear in court on Monday on charges of joining an illegal gathering and other claims related to the ongoing unrest.

Al-Alawi said the boy was arrested last month and took his school exams behind bars. He is among the youngest suspects detained in Bahrain.

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John Timoney: A tough cop with a tougher job

Special adviser to Bahrain police talks about life in the troubled island kingdom

Manama: Few go voluntarily behind the high white walls and new razor wire of the Ministry of Interior compound that occupies many city blocks here.

The compound is so large that a minibus picks visitors up at a fortified gatehouse and drives them past car parks filled with rows of large white 4x4s, each vehicle with protective wire grills over windows and front and back lights. Those brought involuntarily here are usually handcuffed and in the rear of one of those 4x4s.

Past the rows of white offices, practise rooms for the police band rooms and beyond a telecommunications centre, the blades of a police helicopter are slowly drooping and whirring to a stop where the aircraft has landed on one of the parade and marching grounds.

In an inner fort behind more walls in the heart of the compound, greying armed guards in green combat fatigues salute crisply as dark German cars with official number plates and stern drivers deliver sterner senior officers.

Those armed guards don’t ask for identification. If you have no business in being here, you won’t be here.

Through two sets of frosted and quietly sliding double doors, non-commissioned officers in white and blue uniforms sit at desks, answer telephones, fetch refreshments for the senior officers.

Upstairs, at the end of a end of a carpeted corridor, two double office doors are permanently open. There, working on a computer screen, beside two small, framed family photographs, sits John Timoney, special advisor on policing to the Bahrain Ministry of Interior.

For 45 years, Timoney has helped police New York, Philadelphia and Miami — though it’s difficult to know whether his career has taken him to such a military-like environment, parade grounds and sets of frosted doors.

His business in being here is to change the culture of policing, turn it from a police force into a police service, move it from a fortress mentality to take back the streets of this troubled island kingdom. He’s been here seven months.

“This,” Timoney says, sitting back in a soft leather armchair, “is more of a legacy of the Brits.”

“The colonial order of the Brits was to keep them under control and do what you have to do to keep them under control,” he says, slapping the armchair’s arm to hammer the point. “Don’t get too involved in the day-to-day lives of people. Not just here, but in Hong Kong, Burma — that’s how the British controlled their empire. Law and order policing ... The experiences here are a colonial one. And a lot of the police forces in the region are like this.”

There was little time for the British in getting to know and understand the community, develop a police service . It was all about being a force to police and to use force to do it.

For 17 months, the kingdom has been torn apart by political and sectarian divides. After six weeks of protests and violence at the site of the Pearl Roundabout — Bahrain’s equivalent of Cairo’s Tahrir Square — and in Shiite villages, 34 people died.

The violence and protests and resulted in the Gulf Cooperation Council members activating the Peninsula Shield security agreement. Troops and police reinforcements were moved in the kingdom to protect vital Bahraini installations, domestic security forces quelled the violence and Pearl Roundabout was demolished.

But all of this happened at a cost — not just to human life but also to the reputation of the kingdom’s police.

During the height of the violence, four police officers and one member of the Bahrain Defence Force died.

“I can understand police officers dying in what I would call the heat of battle,” Timoney says. “But what I cannot accept are the deaths of four civilians at some stage along the arrest continuum — either on the streets, being arrested in their homes, or in detention. The allegations of beatings, torture and alleged rape while people were in detention is most troubling.”

After the worst of the violence, the Bahrain government instigated an independent commission of inquiry, led by Egyptian jurist Mahmoud Sharif Bassiouni, to investigate the events of February and March 2011. His investigation into the violence that polarised Bahrain society was far reaching and brutally honest. But Bassiouni’s report was stingingly critical of Bahrain’s police, security and judicial processes — and the kingdom is determined to change for the better.

And that determination to change is why Timoney and former Scotland Yard counter-terrorism chief John Yates are advising Bahrain on police reform. But Timoney’s reputation is that of being a straight shooter used to difficult policing challenges and for cleaning up messes.

“When any police force comes under the type of scrutiny this one is under, they will generally begin to behave themselves,” he says. “Their actions won’t be as flagrant.”

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Timoney believes that the western media and human-rights activists are doing a terrible disservice to Bahrain in failing to distinguish between peaceful, lawful protests and the violence that occurs nightly.

Thats riotous behaviour, illegal and violent conduct and violence which Ive seen in the press described as reaction to police. He says by simply looking at the videos posted nightly by rioters, its possible to see a huge escalation of violence with Molotov cocktails, stone throwing and rioting by protesters. These are unprovoked attacks on police officers, he says. Police officers who are simply going about their daily duties and face Molotov cocktails and now, in the past month, bombings. To include these people as protesters is disingenuous and misleading and the overall coverage by the western press is nothing short of bias in a certain direction.

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Bahrain puts boy aged 11 on trial for alleged role in roadblock protest

Ali Hasan says he was just playing in the street when he was arrested. He was 'forced' to confess and was detained in jail

At a time when most 11-year-old boys are looking forward to the school holidays, Ali Hasan is preparing for his trial.

On Wednesday morning the primary school pupil from suburban Manama will stand in a Bahrain court and listen as the case against him is spelt out. The prosecution case: that Ali helped protesters block a street with rubbish containers and wood during demonstrations last month. Ali's defence: that he's a child who was just playing with friends in the street.

"On the day before I was arrested there was some fighting in the streets near my house between the demonstrators and the police," Ali told the Guardian by phone from his home in the Bilad al-Qadeem suburb. "The demonstrators had blocked the street by setting fire to tyres and using containers in which people dispose of their rubbish.

"The day after this I went to the street with two of my friends to play. It was around 3pm. While we were playing there, some police forces came towards us which made us panic. My friends managed to run away … but I was so scared by the guns they were carrying that I couldn't move … and I was arrested."

Bahrain's rulers have proved ruthless in the cases they have pursued against those accused of involvement in 15 months of protests against the Khalifa dynasty, with prosecutions against doctors, nurses and rights activists. Ali Hasan's case marks a new precedent in the legal crackdown against civil society. He is believed to be the youngest Bahraini to stand trial in connection with the uprising.

Ali has already spent weeks in jail before he was bailed last week, and even sat his exams in prison. After his arrest he was taken to various police stations where he said he was forced to confess to taking part in anti-government demonstrations. "I was crying all the time. I told them I'd confess to anything to go back home," he said.

Ali's father, Jasem Hasan, a car parts dealer, said his son was taken back to the detention centre the day after his arrest.

"I was abroad at the time and when I called Ali's mother was only crying. She was crying for all the time Ali was in prison," he said.

In jail Ali spent a month in a room with three other children and was made to clean the centre. "We would wake up early in the morning for breakfast, usually around 6.30, and then I had to do some job," he said. "The first day in jail was horrible. I cried all the time but I became friends with the other boys there and we could play for four hours every day – but had to spend all our other time in a locked room." Describing the centre, he said: "It's like putting a bear in a box, I felt just like that. I never want to go back to that place again."

Bahrain's chief prosecutor for those under 18, Noura Al-Khalifa, has said that Ali was detained while blocking the street and Bahraini information officials have alleged that Ali was participating in an "illegal gathering" along with other protesters. Ali's father said the allegations were lies. "They claimed that my son had accepted money in exchange for setting fire to tyres and blocking the road," he said. "I don't say I'm a rich person but I make enough money and my son doesn't need to go in streets looking for money. I always give enough money to him."

Ali's lawyer, Mohsen al-Alawi, said the boy was nothing to do with the demonstrations. "Ali was not a political activist or a demonstrator. He was only playing games like all other children of his age."

Human Rights Watch has expressed concerns about Ali's case. "He was not accompanied by a lawyer during his questioning," said HRW's Mariwan Hama-Saeed. "It seems the only evidence used against him is his own confession and the testimony of a police officer."

The UK and US governments have been criticised for maintaining close relations with the Bahraini leadership, and failing to address human rights abuses in an uprising that has left scores dead. The Foreign Office minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, who visited Bahrain last week, encouraged further reform in the country, saying that it was "clear there is much more to do".

Burt said: "While the Bahraini government has made some good progress on the recommendations of the Bahrain independent commission of inquiry (BICI), we are clear there is much more to do. Bringing about sustained, comprehensive reform will take time, but the government should build on the steps they have taken and ensure that BICI recommendations are implemented quickly and in full, including where they relate to human rights.

"We stand ready to assist Bahrain as it tackles the challenges ahead, including help with reform of the judicial system, promoting human rights training in the police and other government services, and reducing sectarian tension through reconciliation."

The Foreign Office did not respond to the Guardian's request for comments on Ali Hasan's case at the time of publication.

Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa programme at Amnesty International, said: "Arresting an 11-year-old boy, interrogating him for hours without a lawyer before trying him on spurious charges shows a jaw-dropping lack of respect for his rights."

She added that such treatment was completely out of step with international standards, or even Bahrain's own penal code. "This case shows the excessive means the Bahraini authorities have resorted to in order to crush protest. I hope they will see sense and drop all the charges against Ali Hassan."

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New Bahrain crackdown: Opposition leaders wounded (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Riot police in Bahrain dispersed protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets as disorder in the country’s capital Manana continued. The opposition claims its leaders have been wounded in the clashes.

The Opposition Al Wefaq organization claims its secretary-general Sheik Ali Salman was shot in the shoulder and back with rubber bullets during demonstrations in Manama. Another opposition leader, Hassan al-Marzooq, was shot and wounded in the chest.

The Bahraini Interior Ministry has yet to comment on the incident, but promised to prevent the Al Wefaq from organizing a protest in the Sehla suburb district of the capital Manana.

The ministry claims the rallies are obstructing traffic. The ministry further says Al Wefaq has already been licensed to conduct a number of protests this year.

“Security forces have been careful in dealing professionally with political leaders but this time was different. It seems a gradual crackdown is going on," senior Al Wefaq party member Matar Matar told Reuters. "They are closing the small margin for freedom of expression.”

There have been reports of a heavy police presence in the suburb. Protesters were reportedly throwing Molotov cocktails at police, who responded with teargas grenades and rubber bullets.

The uprising in the Kingdom of Bahrain, which hosts America’s Fifth Fleet, has been ongoing for 16 months. The country’s Shia majority is rallying against the Western-backed Sunni monarchy to get broader political rights and participate more actively in the governing of their country.

The ruling Sunni Muslim Al Khalifa family has made some concessions to the Shia protesters. The parliament's powers of scrutiny over ministers and budgets have been extended, although the key demands for full legislative powers and elected governments was turned down.

The government accuses Al Wefaq supporters of following a sectarian Shiite agenda. The opposition party insists the Bahraini leadership is making excuses to avoid giving up its privileges.

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• The Bahraini government is lobbying for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council's advisory committee. Raza Kazim of the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission urged other countries to block the bid because of Bahrain's "appalling human rights record". (see 9.25am).

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Op dinsdag 19 juni 2012 20:20 schreef Chooselife het volgende:
Gek. Hoor er nooit wat over in onze media.

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Op woensdag 4 juli 2012 21:55 schreef zuiderbuur het volgende:

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Op Russia Today (inderdaad, die Engelstalige Russische zender) wordt op de dubbelzinnigheid van het westen tegenover regimes als dat in Bahrein vaak de nadruk gelegd.

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Op woensdag 4 juli 2012 21:55 schreef zuiderbuur het volgende:

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Op Russia Today (inderdaad, die Engelstalige Russische zender) wordt op de dubbelzinnigheid van het westen tegenover regimes als dat in Bahrein vaak de nadruk gelegd.

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Opnieuw rellen in Bahrein – duizenden betogers de straat op

Duizenden anti-regeringsdemonstranten zijn tijdens betogingen in Bahrein slaags geraakt met de oproerpolitie. De straatgevechten vonden op diverse plekken plaats, zeggen journalisten van persbureau AP. De politie zette traangas in.

De betogers voerden actie tegen plannen van de regering om geen vergunningen meer uit te geven voor straatdemonstraties. Demonstraties zouden daarmee illegaal worden. Protesten verstoren het verkeer en het alledaagse leven te veel, aldus de Bahreinse overheid.

Het kleine koninkrijk in het Midden-Oosten is al zeventien maanden in de greep van de strijd tussen de regerende sunnitische minderheid en de shi’itische meerderheid die meer rechten eist en zegt te worden gediscrimineerd. Al sinds de jaren negentig eist de shi’itische meerderheid (ruwweg zeventig procent van de bevolking) meer rechten.

Regering Bahrein schildert opstand af als Iraans opzetje

Sinds het begin van de opstand zijn er zeker vijftig doden gevallen. Een aantal van de slachtoffers zou door marteling om het leven zij gekomen. NRC-redacteur Carolien Roelants schreef een maand geleden over de aanhoudende opstand in Bahrein:

. De shi’itische meerderheid in het Arabische Golfstaatje Bahrein liftte vorig jaar mee op de opstanden in Tunesië en Egypte. Het shi’itische protest was in Bahrein immers al tientallen jaren aan de gang. Maar de sunnitische elite omschreef de shi’itische demonstraties als een Iraanse poging om de Bahreinse monarchie omver te werpen. Zij vaardigden Saoedische troepen af om koning Hamad te helpen overeind te blijven. Het Westen worstelt met de protesten in het land: enerzijds worden in Bahrein aantoonbaar de mensenrechten geschonden, anderzijds de koning is een nauwe bondgenoot, en Iran de boze vijand.

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Why didn't CNN's international arm air its own documentary on Bahrain's Arab Spring repression?

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CNN's total cost for the documentary, ultimately titled "iRevolution: Online Warriors of the Arab Spring", was in excess of $100,000, an unusually high amount for a one-hour program of this type. The portion Lyon and her team produced on Bahrain ended up as a 13-minute segment in the documentary. That segment, which as of now is available on YouTube, is a hard-hitting and unflinching piece of reporting that depicts the regime in a very negative light.

In the segment, Lyon interviewed activists as they explicitly described their torture at the hands of government forces, while family members recounted their relatives' abrupt disappearances. She spoke with government officials justifying the imprisonment of activists. And the segment featured harrowing video footage of regime forces shooting unarmed demonstrators, along with the mass arrests of peaceful protesters. In sum, the early 2011 CNN segment on Bahrain presented one of the starkest reports to date of the brutal repression embraced by the US-backed regime.

On 19 June 2011 at 8pm, CNN's domestic outlet in the US aired "iRevolution" for the first and only time. The program received prestigious journalism awards, including a 2012 Gold Medal from New York Festival's Best TV and Films. Lyon, along with her segment producer Taryn Fixel, were named as finalists for the 2011 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists. A Facebook page created by Bahraini activists, entitled "Thank you Amber Lyon, CNN reporter | From people of Bahrain", received more than 8,000 "likes".

Despite these accolades, and despite the dangers their own journalists and their sources endured to produce it, CNN International (CNNi) never broadcast the documentary. Even in the face of numerous inquiries and complaints from their own employees inside CNN, it continued to refuse to broadcast the program or even provide any explanation for the decision. To date, this documentary has never aired on CNNi.

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"It became a standard joke around the office: the Bahrainis called to complain about you again," recounted Lyon. Lyon was also told by CNN employees stationed in the region that "the Bahrainis also sent delegations to our Abu Dhabi bureau to discuss the coverage."

Internal CNN emails reflect continuous pressure on Lyon and others to include claims from the Bahraini regime about the violence in their country even when, says Lyon, she knew first-hand that the claims were false. One April 2011 email to Lyon from a CNN producer demands that she include in her documentary a line stating that "Bahrain's foreign minister says security forces are not firing on unarmed civilians," and another line describing regime claims accusing "activists like Nabeel Rajab of doctoring photos fabricating injuries".

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In March 2012, Lyon was laid off from CNN as part of an unrelated move by the network to outsource its investigative documentaries. Now at work on a book, Lyon began in August to make reference to "iRevolution" on her Twitter account, followed by more than 20,000 people.

On 16 August, Lyon wrote three tweets about this episode. CNNi's refusal to broadcast "iRevolution", she wrote, "baffled producers". Linking to the YouTube clip of the Bahrain segment, she added that the "censorship was devastating to my crew and activists who risked lives to tell [the] story." She posted a picture of herself with Rajab and wrote:

. "A proponent of peace, @nabeelrajab risked his safety to show me how the regime oppresses the [people] of #Bahrain."

The following day, a representative of CNN's business affairs office called Lyon's acting agent, George Arquilla of Octagon Entertainment, and threatened that her severance payments and insurance benefits would be immediately terminated if she ever again spoke publicly about this matter, or spoke negatively about CNN.

Bahrain portion of iRevolution on CNN June 19 2011

#Bahrain Tens of Thousands Back on the streets

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Op donderdag 5 juli 2012 16:59 schreef waht het volgende:

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Hilarisch vaak inderdaad. Mooie zender.

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Politie verdrijft demonstranten in Bahrein met traangas

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Tot de demonstraties was opgeroepen door de Jeugd van 14 februari, een beweging die geen banden heeft met de sji’itische oppositie maar oproept tot de mobilisatie van ras. Sommige demonstranten schreeuwden anti-regeringsleuzen voordat ze door de politie uiteen werden gedreven. Er zouden verschillende arrestaties zijn verricht. De minister van Binnenlandse Zaken zei dat “saboteurs” Molotovcocktails naar de politie hebben gegooid en dat de politie slechts ingreep om de orde te herstellen.

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Het kleine Golfstaatje Bahrein is een bondgenoot van het Westen, met name als haven van de Amerikaanse Vijfde Vloot. Het is niet al te vergezocht om de geringe belangstelling voor de opstand tegen de monarchie daarmee in verband te brengen. En aan de inspanning van het bewind om de protesten aan Iraanse opruierij toe te schrijven. De betogers zijn toch sji’ieten? Hoe dan ook gaan de demonstraties voor democratische hervormingen er nog altijd door.

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Two foreign workers have been killed in Bahrain's capital Manama after a series of blasts went off, authorities say.

The interior ministry said at least five homemade explosive devices exploded on Monday and described the blasts as "terrorist acts" - its term for violence by opposition activists.

The apparently co-ordinated explosions point to escalating levels of violence in the nearly 21-month uprising against the Gulf kingdom's rulers and come less than a week after Bahrain banned all protest gatherings in the country.

The official Bahrain News Agency said the explosions took place between 4.30am and 9.30am (01:30 and 06:30 GMT) in the Qudaibiya and Adliya districts of Manama.

"As always, we condemn violence but, given the Bahraini authorities' background in spreading disinformation, we call for an independent investigation"

- Maryam al-Khawaja,
opposition activist

One of the attacks occurred outside a cinema, where a street cleaner died when he kicked a package that blew up. The other man died from injuries in a separate blast, officials said, identifying the dead as a 29-year-old Indian and a 33-year-old Bangladeshi. Another Indian man was injured.

Rights group Amnesty International called for an independent investigation into Monday's attacks. "...those responsible [must be] brought to justice in proceedings that comply with internationally recognised standards for fair trial and with no possibility of the death penalty," a statement said.

Police have been targeted by explosions several times this year, as the government has stepped up efforts to quell an uprising that has simmered since protests broke out in early 2011.

But bombs targeting civilians are rare in the kingdom, where the Sunni Muslim Al Khalifa family rules over a majority Shia population.

'Strange incident'

Opposition politician Matar Matar of the Shia party al-Wefaq said he doubted that opposition activists were behind Monday's attacks.

He suggested the police or military might have been responsible, or a rogue unit.

"This incident is strange - why would anyone target workers?" he said. "I'm worried that police and military are losing control of their units or it is [preparation] before declaring martial law."

Maryam al-Khawaja, acting head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, said: "As always, we condemn violence but, given the Bahraini authorities' background in spreading disinformation, we call for an independent investigation into the deaths of the two migrant workers."

Khawaja, who is based in Denmark, said the attacks were "not grounds to start a campaign of collective punishment, arbitrary arrests, and torture, as we've see happen before".
The army was called in to quell mass rallies in Manama last year[GALLO/GETTY]

Foreign ministers from the Gulf Co-operation Council - made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - plan to meet in Manama on Wednesday to discuss regional issues.

The meeting will discuss Bahrain's tensions and growing clashes in Kuwait between security forces and the opposition.

Thirty-five people were killed in Bahrain as the Shia-led opposition staged protests in February and March 2011 and the two months of martial law that followed. While mass protests in central Manama have been stamped out, clashes between protesters and riot police are still common in Shia districts.

Activists and rights groups say 50 civilians have been killed in the turmoil since the end of martial law, while the authorities say two policemen have died.

Shias make up about 70 per cent of Bahrain's 525,000 citizens. They complain of discrimination in the electoral system, jobs, housing and education, and say they are mistreated by government departments, the police and the army.

Bahrain's Western allies have urged renewed efforts at dialogue to ease the crisis, but opposition groups insist that talks cannot move forward unless the monarchy is willing to make greater concessions to loosen its hold on the country's affairs.

Bahrain's leaders have so far made reforms that include transferring more oversight powers to the elected parliament.

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ITV News crew forced to leave Bahrain ahead of grand prix

Rageh Omaar's team detained by police and asked to leave country as tensions mount ahead of weekend's F1 race

Rageh Omaar's ITV News team has been forced to leave Bahrain ahead of this weekend's controversial Formula One race following a dispute with the authorities.

Omaar, the former BBC foreign correspondent who joined ITV in February, and an ITV News cameraman and producer left the country on Friday morning after being detained by the police.

The Somalia-born reporter, who became a household name during the 2003 invasion of Iraq while reporting from Baghdad, and his team were in the Gulf state on official visas to cover news including potential political protest surrounding the race.

"Our news team were on assignment with visas approved by the Bahraini authorities," said a spokeswoman for ITV News. "Having filed a report last night [Thursday], they were stopped while filming this morning and taken to a local police station for discussions with officers. They have since been asked to leave the country, which they are in the process of doing."

It is understood that the team, which included two locals driving and translating who have not been asked to leave the country, was held by local police but not arrested. The police asked that the ITV News team leave Bahrain.

The spokeswoman said ITV will continue to cover the events around Bahrain's grand prix.

Last year, authorities denied entry to a number of journalists from a number of news organisations including Sky, which holds the UK TV rights to air the grand prix, in an attempt to stifle coverage of potential political unrest.

In 2012, Bahrain's authorities granted permission for journalists who regularly cover Formula One to enter the country, but denied visas to other reporters from news organisations including Sky News, CNN, Reuters and the Financial Times.

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Bahrain Raises Alarm Over Rising Violence

Bahrain's king urged lawmakers Sunday to move ahead with proposed harsher measures against escalating attacks by Shiite-led opposition factions, including banning protest gatherings in the capital, after top government officials joined an emergency parliament session to discuss the Gulf nation's nearly 30 months of unrest.

It was unclear what new steps could emerge more than two years after Bahrain lifted temporary martial law-style rule. But the endorsement for speedy action by the king virtually clears the way for tougher codes that also could include freezing bank accounts and stripping citizenship over links to violence.

The gathering also underscored the growing alarm in Bahrain that the Arab Spring-inspired uprising by the kingdom's majority Shiites could be drifting into an even more violent stage. A spate of recent bomb attacks, including a blast Saturday, has wounded several policemen and suggests that militant groups are operating with greater autonomy.

Bahrain's main Shiite political blocs have denounced the attacks, but also complain about widespread injuries among protesters from security forces using bird-shot fire and tear gas.

More than 60 people have died in Bahrain's upheaval as Shiites press for a greater political voice in the strategic Sunni-ruled kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Activists and Shiite leaders place the death toll above 100.

The parliament session also appeared prompted by opposition calls for major protests Aug. 14 inspired by the crowds that helped topple Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi. Authorities have already warned of a tough response to attempts at organizing large-scale marches that day.

Abdul Jalil Khalil, a top official with the main Shiite political group Al Wefaq, criticized Sunday's emergency session and royal endorsement of tougher measures, saying "what came today is a green light to tighten laws that are incompatible with freedom of expression and human rights."

On the other side of the political divide, Justice Minister Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa told lawmakers that authorities must first quell "terrorism" before it can discuss reconciliation, but he stopped short of outlining any specific measures.

Samira Rajab, the information minister and government spokesman, said Bahrain should adopt a "zero-tolerance policy" against "violent acts that have affected the social fabric of its society."

Parliament members, however, pressed government officials to impose tougher punishments and steps to control violence, including banning all protest gatherings in the capital, Manama, whose Pearl Square was the center of the uprising in its early days. Shortly after clearing the square of demonstrators in early 2011, wrecking crews brought down the six-pronged monument that towered above the area and was one of the city's main landmarks. It is now ringed by razor wire and guarded round the clock.

"The dangerous escalation, which tries to pull the country into a whirlpool of insecurity and political tensions, should be faced," said the parliament's chairman, Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Dhahrani.

Nearly all the 80 members in both chambers of parliament back the Sunni monarchy. Shiite lawmakers walked out amid the crackdowns against protesters in early 2011.

One lawmaker, Latifa al-Qaood, urged authorities to wield "an iron fist against all traitors," according to the official Bahrain News Agency.

Another, Sawsan Taqawi, called for banning any gatherings or rallies "that endanger national security" and take more decisions to strip citizenship from people convicted of "terrorism." In November, Bahrain revoked citizenship for 31 Shiites for roles in the uprising — a move that brought widespread denunciations from international human rights groups.

Bahrain courts also have jailed prominent opposition figures and others, including some with alleged links to Iranian-backed groups such as Lebanon's Hezbollah. Bahrain and other Gulf states claim Shiite power Iran has a hand in the protests, but there has been no clear evidence presented. Iran denies any direct role in Bahrain's unrest.

Other lawmakers proposed freezing assets for suspects linked to attacks and ordering blanket curfews in areas of frequent clashes.

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Children injured 'planting bomb' in Bahrain

Interior ministry says children hurt in same village where policemen were killed by a bomb earlier this week.

Bahrain's interior ministry has said two children were injured after they were instructed to plant a bomb in the same village where a bomb killed two local policemen and a police officer from the United Arab Emirates earlier this week.

The two children, aged 10 and 11, had been instructed by "terrorists" to plant a bomb in Daih, west of the capital Manama, but it exploded as they were handling it causing serious injury to one of them, the statement by the ministry on Thursday said.

Monday's attack in Daih had raised fears of more violence in the Sunni Muslim-ruled kingdom, where opposition groups led by majority Shia have staged protests for the past three years demanding political reform and an end to perceived discrimination.

Bahrain blacklisted three anti-government groups as terrorist organisations after the blast took place, outlawing the February 14 movement, Saraya al-Ashtar (Ashtar Brigade) and Saraya al-Muqawama (Resistance Brigade), according to Reuters news agency.

The little known Saraya al-Ashtar claimed responsibility for Monday's attack in a message on social media that could not be immediately authenticated.

Bombing arrests

The interior ministry said late on Wednesday it had arrested four more people in connection with Monday's bombing.

Authorities said earlier this week that 25 suspects had been rounded up in relation to the Daih bombing.

"The statements of the (four) detained indicate that their roles varied from bomb making, to monitoring and photography, and it was learned that other key actors were responsible for luring the police to the scene," the statement said.

Bahrain's Shia have long complained of discrimination against their majority community in areas such as jobs and public services, charges that the Sunni-led government denies.

The Gulf island is a US ally which hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet. The Sunni al Khalifa family, which has ruled for two centuries, has resisted demands for an elected government, not one chosen by the king

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Op donderdag 6 maart 2014 23:58 schreef Frikandelbroodje het volgende:
Ik moet dat boek nog steeds lezen Maar Sharp stelt dus dat mensen altijd vreedzaam moeten blijven, zelfs als het regime jarenlang geweld kan inzetten zonder consequenties te ondervinden?

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Op vrijdag 7 maart 2014 00:00 schreef IPA35 het volgende:

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De regel is dat 'revoluties' altijd uitmonden in massamoord en repressie.

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Op vrijdag 7 maart 2014 00:00 schreef IPA35 het volgende:

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De regel is dat 'revoluties' altijd uitmonden in massamoord en repressie.

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Op vrijdag 7 maart 2014 00:06 schreef Frikandelbroodje het volgende:

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Tsja regimes zijn hardnekkig, vooral als ze ten onder dreigen te gaan.

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Meestal zijn het de 'revolutionairen' die politieke tegenstanders uit de weg ruimen, mensen die hun 'revolutionaire ideeën' niet wenselijk achten op laten hangen en minderheden aanpakken.

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Neem de Franse en de Russische revoluties als voorbeeld. Die hebben alleen maar narigheid voortgebracht.

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Er is echter wel een ander type revolutie die wel goed kan uitpakken, zoals de Amerikaanse Revolutie of bijvoorbeeld in mindere mate de opstand tegen de Habsburgers in de Nederland.

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Op vrijdag 7 maart 2014 17:25 schreef Frikandelbroodje het volgende:
Die 80-jarige oorlog is aanvankelijk ook niet goed uitgepakt voor de minderheden in ons land, vooral niet voor 'de religie van de vijand'. Ik heb laatst nog eens in een essay gelezen wat de Geuzen zoal hebben uitgevreten met de Katholieken in Leiden. Daarna werden ze ook behandeld als tweederangsburgers, zoek maar eens op wat een schuilkerk is. Iets wat op echte godsdienstvrijheid leek kregen we pas na het rampjaar, toen Katholieken niet massaal overliepen naar de Fransen.

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Op de lange termijn hebben beide revoluties natuurlijk vooral goede dingen gebracht, dat zeker. Daarom kun je pas over een revolutie pas echt oordelen als je het bekijkt op de lange termijn.

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Daarom zei ik ook in mindere mate.

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Het zou mooi zijn geweest als Willem van Oranje zijn zin kreeg, maar bepaalde Katholieken liepen over met de Unie van Atrecht

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en radicalen in het Noorden bande het Katholicisme uit het publieke leven. De Unie van Utrecht is een spijtig gevolg geweest van het falen van een "heel-nederlandse" oplossing op basis van de Pacificatie van Gent, door godsdienstfanaten.

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Punt is wel de de opstand in feite geen 'revolutionair gedachtengoed' had zoals de Franse en Russische wel. Het was juist een 'conservatieve revolutie' omdat het een strijd was tegen radicale verandering.

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Allemaal leuk en aardig maar die duizenden mannen, vrouwen en zelfs kinderen die bij Nantes verzopen werden, of de Bretoense kinderen die onder dwang de Franse taal werden opgedrongen. Of de Krim-Tataren die gedeporteerd werden door gekke rooien, als we iets actueels willen noemen.
"Oh ja, maar het heeft wel verbeteringen voortgebracht." gaat er bij mij niet in.

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Als de Revolutionairen minder ver waren gegaan was Frankrijk gewoon een constitutionele monarchie geweest.