Thousands of Bahraini demonstrate, Sept. 29, 2006, in suburban Manama, Bahrain, a government strategy to grant citizenship to Sunni Muslims from other countries to alter the country's demographics.

Bahrain's Shiites demanding changes

HAMZA HENDAWI
Associated Press

SITRA, Bahrain - Like most Shiite Muslim villages in this wealthy Gulf kingdom, Sitra is hidden away from the glitzy shopping malls, the steel-and-glass skyscrapers, the six-lane highways and luxury seaside hotels.

Less than three miles outside Manama, the booming capital, Sitra is dusty and poor. Many of its homes are shoddily built. The streets are dimly lit at night and some are unpaved.

Young men in cheap tracksuits idly gather on street corners. Hardly a wall in the village is without anti-government graffiti or images of Shiites killed in years of anti-government protests.

Bahrain denies Thai investigators are in Manama to probe prostitution ring
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10092965.html

12/29/2006 11:47 PM | By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Manama: Bahraini officials yesterday denied recent media reports that a police unit from Thailand was conducting investigations in Manama into an alleged prostitution ring involving Thai women.

The report, first published in a Thai newspaper, said that the newly-formed police Transnational Sex Trafficking Unit was coordinating with Bahraini police in preparation for a crackdown on a highly-organised prostitution ring supplying Thai women.

'Enforce ban on firms transporting workers in open vehicles'
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10092966.html

12/29/2006 11:51 PM | By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Manama: A Bahraini rights activist has called for a massive campaign to enforce a ban on companies transporting workers in open trucks.

The government, companies, local media and the public should be actively involved in the drive to put an end to a shameful practice that exploits migrant workers, Nabeel Rajab, the vice-president of the now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights on Thursday said in a statement to Gulf News.

Rights push for workers' safety
By TARIQ KHONJI
Published: 29 December 2006

MEMBERS of the public are being urged to boycott companies that cut costs by ferrying foreign labourers to and from work in conditions "worse than those used to transport animals".

The campaign is being spearheaded by the now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) and follows traffic accidents in which workers travelling in open-top trucks have been injured or killed.

Vice-president Nabeel Rajab said they could have been avoided if companies were not so greedy and paid a little attention to safety.

Governor accused of dividing Bahrain along sectarian lines
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10092752.html

12/29/2006 12:01 AM | By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Manama: The Governor of Muharraq was yesterday accused of trying to foam sectarianism following his controversial decision that only original families from the governorate could purchase property in Bahrain's second largest city.

The controversy developed out of a statement on Monday by Governor Salman Bin Hindi that all property transactions in Muharraq needed his personal endorsement and that he would ensure that Muharraq would remain inhabited only by its original families.

Support plea to set up a union
Published: 28 December 2006

THE Bahrain Bar Association called for the support of the government and National Assembly in the establishment of a lawyers' union.

President Dr Abbas Hilal urged lawyers to continue to push for the establishment of such a body, which he said had been shelved indefinitely.

He told the rally that a draft law to set up the union was forwarded to His Majesty King Hamad and then given to the Justice Ministry to be issued, but it never did.

"Later, the draft law came up before parliament, but was never passed."

"We are surprised with the issuance of amendments to the advocacy law of 1980, which allows foreign firms to operate in Bahrain," he said.

Bahrain Center for Human Rights
28 December 2006
Ref: 06122801

In a country that is establishing its place on the international financial market through massive construction and development projects, the human cost of such ventures are shamefully ignored. The practice of transporting migrant labourers to and from worksites in the back of open trailers and trucks is a deplorable way in which companies cut costs at a high human expense.

Maid missing in Britain 'is alive'
By Rebecca Torr
Published: 28 December 2006

A BAHRAIN-RESIDENT who went missing during a trip to the UK earlier this month might have made her way back to Bahrain or her native Goa, British police said yesterday.

They are now urging Indian maid Maria Pereira, aged 46, to get in touch with them so they can call off the search.

She vanished during a trip with her employer Dr Julianne Al Zeerah, wife of International Hospital of Bahrain (IHB) president and chief executive officer Dr Faysal Al Zeerah, to England in mid-November.

The mother-of-three had worked for the couple for several years in Bahrain and had travelled with them to their home in the village of Nettlebed, UK, on various occasions.

Lawyers protest
By TARIQ KHONJI and MOHAMMED ASLAM
Published: 28 December 2006

MORE than 200 lawyers joined a three-hour demonstration at the Justice Ministry in the Diplomatic Area, calling for better organised courts, a lawyers' union and the scrapping of laws allowing foreign firms to operate in the country.

Lawyer Hassan Ali Radhi of Hassan Radhi and Associates said very few foreign firms currently exist in Bahrain on a significant scale and they are generally not interested in competing with local firms.

He, however, said some of the lawyers within the firms have done so illegally and have even issued bad advice.

Bahrain : Transfer of Publications Detainees- Mohamed & Husain- to Court for Trial

Around noon time today, the Bahraini Authorities ordered the transfer of activists; Dr. Mohamed Saeed Al-Sahlawi (dentist-35 yrs), Hussain Abdulaziz Al Hebshi (employee-32 yrs) to the Lower Court on January 7th, 2007 including their custody until then.

The Bahraini Public Prosecution accused them of "favouritism and promotion of the changing systems of the State through illegal means and without a legitimate reason" and "spreading false news and exciting rumors, which would cause disruption of public security, and damage public interest"m because of acquisition of internet-downloaded publications calling for boycotting last election. These charges come under a special chapter in the Penal Code- no 15 of 1976- dedicated to State Security crimes, which means the possibility of facing from two to five years imprisonment or fine or both.

Demonstrators held after jobs protest
By TARIQ KHONJI
Published: 27th December 2006

THREE demonstrators, including two convicted of involvement in a violent protest at the airport last year, were briefly detained by police following a demonstration outside the Interior Ministry's headquarters yesterday.

The three men, all former civilian employees of the ministry, were demanding their jobs back.

They say that they had been there for less than five minutes when police warned them to leave.

When they refused, they were taken into custody and held for over five hours at Al Nuaim Police Station.

Spotlight on labour issues
By EUNICE del ROSARIO
Published: 26th December 2006

ISSUES facing Filipinos in Bahrain will be highlighted at a major conference in the Philippines tomorrow.

Philippine Embassy labour attaché Alejandro Santos will raise them at an event designed to strengthen the Philippines' overseas employment.

The five-day conference kicks off in Tagaytay City and will also discuss ways to improve the delivery of welfare services to overseas Filipino workers and their families.

It will continue at the same venue on Thursday and then resume in Manila from January 3 to 5.

Bahrain rejects proposal to revise wages of maids
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10092193.html

12/26/2006 12:28 AM | By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Manama: Bahrain's Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi rejected the Philippines proposal to increase the minimum wage of Filipino domestic workers to $400 (about Dh1,469).

"There are criteria and conditions set by the Gulf Cooperation Council governments for those who wish to work in the Gulf, and Bahrain, like the other states in the region, does not have a minimum wage policy for expatriates," Al Alawi was quoted as saying by Al Wasat newspaper yesterday.

Police launch Bahrain sex probe
WASSAYOS NGAMKHAM

A highly-organised prostitution ring supplying Thai women to the booming market of Bahrain is the first target of the new police Transnational Sex Trafficking Unit. A Thai prostitute in Bahrain said: ''Bahrain is a lucrative destination for us. Many women are said to have made a million in less than a year.''

Though most Thai prostitutes in Bahrain are working there of their own volition, this is still regarded as transnational human trafficking, said Pol Maj-Gen Kamronwit Toopkrachang, chief of the Crimes Against Children, Juveniles and Women Suppression Division, which oversees the unit.

Dr. Hashim al-Alawi, a pediatrician by career, was arrested by Bahrain authorities in September 1986 accused of distributing anti- government leaflets. Five weeks later Dr. Alawi's family was told that he had "committed suicide" in detention. No investigation took place

Mohammed Gholoom was one of the first fatal victims of the State Security Law. Gholoom died in the custody of the Bahrain security police on December 2 1976, followed by the similar death of Saeed Al-Uwainati ten days later.

Human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, on his knees, was detained by Bahraini police during a protest . A colleague was among many beaten by police.

Al Dossary spends recreation time with mentally disturbed Yemeni, says lawyer
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10091693.html

12/23/2006 09:02 PM | By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Manama: A Bahraini detainee who has attempted suicide 13 times at Guantanamo Bay is allowed to communicate only with a mentally disturbed Yemeni, his lawyer has said.

"Juma Al Dossary continues to be held in very harsh psychological conditions and continues to suffer from severe isolation at Guantanamo. He has been held in the mental health unit of the detainee hospital for a year now and has been told that he will not leave that unit. His cell has no windows," Joshua Bryan-Colangelo has said in a statement.

Al Dossary is in mental hospital
Sandeep Singh Grewal
Staff Reporter

The family members of Juma Al Dossary are demanding the closure of Camp Delta. The call comes as the international day to demand the shutting down of Guantanamo Bay will be held on January 11. It would be the fifth anniversary of the first prisoners to be brought to the Camp.
“I want the camp to be shut down and the detainees to be released and united with their families,” said Juma’s brother Khalid Al Dossary from Saudi Arabia. “I am in touch with our lawyer Joshua who keeps updating me about my brother.”

Irene Fernandez is a Malaysian campaigner who works to uphold the rights of the poorest: migrant workers, farm labourers and domestic workers amongst them.

The recipient of a 2005 Right Livelihood Award, Irene was chosen because of ‘her outstanding and courageous work to stop violence against women and abuses of migrant and poor workers’, one of four winners from over 70 nominees.

Originally a high school teacher, in 1970 Irene gave up her career to become a full time organiser for youth workers. She became the national president for the Malaysian YCW (Young Christian Workers), in 1972 and a member of the international committee from 1973-75. During this time she was able to organise the first textile worker’s union and began trying to create trade unions in the free trade zones. She also focused on developing the involvement of women leaders in labour movements.

Abolish sexual health tests, says rights group
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10091542.html

12/22/2006 11:00 PM | By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Manama: A Bahraini human rights watchdog has called for the removal of compulsory sexual and reproductive health tests for immigrants, saying that they violated the basic rights to freedom, privacy and dignity, and contributed to discrimination and stigma against them.

"A dangerous result of enforcing such procedures is that migrant workers are driven underground. This means they are cut off from social and medical service providers that provide important information on how the HIV infection is transmitted, and how infection can be prevented," said a joint statement from the now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) and Caram Asia as they marked the International Day of Solidarity with Migrant Workers.

Bahrain: 18th December 2006
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights

After manipulating the election of the Representative Council in order to weaken the Shiite and other opposition groups and empower the Sunni Brotherhood and Salafist Islamists:

• The King re-appoints his uncle as a prime minister despite his overt responsibility of corruption and human rights violations during more than 30 years,

The leading Shiite cleric and spiritual mentor of Bahrain's opposition, Sheik Abdul-Ameer al-Jamri, died Monday of heart and kidney failure. He was 67.
Bahraini across the tiny island state went into deep mourning, hanging black flags and banners outside their houses and pasting pictures of al-Jamri on walls and car windows
Al-Jamri served in Bahrain's first parliament in 1973-75, which was dissolved by the emir.
Twenty years later he became the religious leader of the campaign for the restoration of democracy and equal rights.
Al-Jamri was detained for 3 1/2 years on charges of espionage and incitement charges. In July 1999, he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. But he was pardoned the next day by the new emir, the current King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who was beginning a program of political reform that led to new parliamentary elections in 2002.

Bahrain's leading Shiite cleric dies Mon Dec 18, 10:56 AM ET

Sheik Abdul-Ameer al-Jamri, a spiritual leader of Bahrain's Shiite opposition who was jailed after riots against the country's Sunni leadership, died Monday of heart and kidney failure. He was 67.

Doors Open for Additional Transplants
According to "Bahrain Tribune", the kidney transplant of the two Bahrainis is expected to open doors for more such transplants with more people willing to donate their organs or that of deceased relatives. The WHO estimates that approximately 50,000 kidney transplants take place annually around the world. Out of these, a minimum of 15,000 transplants are from live donors. Sources at the SMC told the Tribune that there are about 160 patients who have to undergo dialysis everyday. In addition two new patients are added every week. The Bahrain Center for Human Rights and the Coalition for Organ-Failure Solutions (COFS) have partnered toaddress the situation of transplants in Bahrain and the Gulf region.A spokesperson of the society said: "Organ trafficking is not so much a problem within Bahrain but rather, because of the situation of lack of access to ethical solutions for organ supplies in Bahrain, patients travel abroad as transplant tourists mostly for kidneys. There are too many exploitative practices around the ways that these organs are retrieved for transplant. This is a major human rights concern."

Call to ratify international agreements
Published: 22nd December 2006

GOVERNMENT, trade union and business sector representatives resolved to improve dialogue between them to ensure better understanding of each other's needs.

A three-day meeting, held with the participation of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), decided that the negotiations should be held regularly and in accordance with international standards.

They also called on the Bahrain government to ratify pending international agreements related to union rights.

A high committee consisting of representatives of the three stakeholders must also formed to act as a consultative body to be used to resolve various issues, said participants.

December 21, 2006
Abdul-Amir al-Jamri, 67, Bahrain Shiite Cleric, Dies
By HASSAN M. FATTAH
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 20 — Sheik Abdul-Amir al-Jamri, Bahrain’s most prominent Shiite Muslim cleric and an opposition leader during civil unrest in the 1990s, died Monday at his home in Manama, his son Mansour al-Jamri said. He was 67.

The cause was multiple organ failures and a heart attack, Mr. Jamri said.

Sheik Jamri served as a member of Bahrain’s first Parliament, until it was dissolved by the emir, Sheik Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, in 1975. But Sheik Jamri rose to prominence in the 1990s, when he led opposition protests demanding the restoration of the legislature, which had included Shiite representation. That battle was part of a larger struggle between the country’s majority Shiites and its Sunnis, who have long dominated the government and are allied with the ruling family.

By TARIQ KHONJI
Published: 21 December 2006

BAHRAIN and other Arab countries were yesterday urged to ratify the International Criminal Court (ICC) treaty to show the world they are serious about respecting human rights.

Civil societies from across the Gulf met in Bahrain yesterday to form a strategy to urge their governments to ratify the treaty, which obliges signatories to accept the court's jurisdiction and co-operate with it.

The only countries in the Arab world that have ratified the agreement so far are Jordan, Djibouti and the Comoros Islands.

Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) regional co-ordinator Amal Basha said most efforts are being exerted on countries where it is likely that the treaty will be signed, rather than places where it is a long shot.

Union law 'out of global step'
By Tariq Khonji
Published: 21 December 2006

SOME of Bahrain's union laws are out of line with international standards and will need to change, a senior International Labour Organisation (ILO) official said yesterday.

ILO international labour standards department deputy director Karen Curtis said that the current rules governing where strikes can be held in Bahrain were too restrictive.

The ban covers organisations related to security, civil defence, airports, seaports, hospitals, health centres and pharmacies.

It also applies to all means of transport involving people or merchandise, telecommunications, electricity, water, bakeries, educational establishments and oil and gas facilities.

Detainee punished for sharing meal
By GEOFFRE BEW
Published: 21 December 2006

A BAHRAINI detainee in Guantanamo Bay was stripped of some privileges and made to wear an orange suit as punishment for sharing his food with a prisoner, his lawyers have told the GDN.

Representatives of Isa Al Murbati said guards forced him to wear the outfit after he gave up part of a meal to another detainee who was hungry, a violation of the rules.

Legal team head Joshua Colangelo-Bryan only discovered the incident during his last visit to the prison camp.

"Isa said that if the guards believe a detainee has violated camp rules, the detainee is sent to isolation immediately," he said.

Solidarity call to help workers
By GEOFFREY BEW
Published: 19th December 2006

A CALL to acknowledge the contribution of foreign workers across the GCC went out yesterday as the world marked International Day of Solidarity with Migrant Workers.

Human rights activists said only then could the working conditions of expatriates in the Gulf be improved.

According to the now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), more should be done to improve the health of migrant communities in the region.

This includes giving them access to services whatever their financial status and stopping expatriate workers from undergoing compulsory health tests related to sexual and reproductive health.

'Father' of Shiite democracy protests in Bahrain dies Mon Dec 18, 9:13 AM ET

Sheikh Abdul Amir al-Jamri, a Shiite cleric who led pro-democracy protests in Bahrain in the 1990s, has died after a long illness.

"(Jamri) died this morning aged 69 after a long period of battling illness," Mansur al-Jamri, a former opposition spokesman and now newspaper editor, told AFP on Monday.

The cleric, who had been bedridden since suffering a stroke in April 2002, was mourned by the opposition Islamic National Accord Association (INAA), the main political formation of Bahrain's Shiite majority, as "the father of the uprising of dignity in the 1990s."

Seminar on Bahrain today
The theme of today’s seminar is Bahrain: Elections without democracy or human rights, and we have to say first that democracy isn’t simply a matter of graciously allowing people to cast votes for a national parliament every few years. Hitler came to power through a vote in the Reichstag in 1933; Mugabe is the elected head of state in Zimbabwe and is backed by a Zanu-PF majority in his Parliament, and even the North Koreans have a Supreme People's Assembly elected by popular vote. I was interested to see that the President of that Assembly sent a message to King Hamad on Bahrain’s National Day expressing his belief that the relations between North Korea and Bahrain would grow stronger in their mutual interests.

Bahrain's leading Shiite cleric dies Mon Dec 18, 10:56 AM ET

Sheik Abdul-Ameer al-Jamri, a spiritual leader of Bahrain's Shiite opposition who was jailed after riots against the country's Sunni leadership, died Monday of heart and kidney failure. He was 67.

Shiites across the tiny island state went into deep mourning, hanging black flags and banners outside their houses and pasting pictures of al-Jamri on walls and car windows.

Though he was freed from prison in 1999, the government still regarded the cleric as a divisive figure and Bahraini state radio and television ignored his death on their news bulletins. Word of his death quickly got around, however, with many Bahrainis receiving the news in cell phone text messages.

Sheik Abdul-Ameer al-Jamri, Bahrain's leading Shiite cleric, dies

The Associated Press
Monday, December 18, 2006
MANAMA, Bahrain
The leading Shiite cleric and spiritual mentor of Bahrain's opposition, Sheik Abdul-Ameer al-Jamri, died Monday of heart and kidney failure. He was 67.

Shiites across the tiny island state went into deep mourning, hanging black flags and banners outside their houses and pasting pictures of al-Jamri on walls and car windows.

"He was a father figure for Shiite Bahrainis," said his son, Mansour al-Jamri, a leading columnist and editor. "His legacy will start today. He had great influence during his life."

Intervention by: Ghada Jamsheer:
President of “Women Petition Committee” in Bahrain
House of Lords, UK, 18 December 2006

It is my pleasure to address this meeting. I consider myself a liberal Muslim, but I am obliged to clarify that I belong to a Sunni family, in order to refute the allegation that only Shia stand for freedoms and rights in Bahrain.

I am going to talk briefly about aspects of women’s rights in Bahrain. This is an issue which has become increasingly complicated.

For, on the one hand, there is a lot of talk about progress and achievements in regard to women rights, especially concerning human development or participation in the elections and acquiring high governmental positions.

Statement by Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and CARAM Asia

For International Day of Solidarity with Migrant Workers

18-12-2006

Recognizing the contribution of migrant workers should foster a better understanding between migrant and worker communities.

This in turn can improve conditions for the hardworking expatriate community, and improve the Gulf's position as a host region.

Countries such as the gulf region receive millions of migrant workers seeking employment as a result of poverty, unemployment, conflict or even natural disasters.

The shattered dreams
Domestic servants are often subjected to various kinds of abuses
Ayla Marisse G Ginete
Contributor

The Middle East, which is in the midst of a construction boom, has been the destination of choice for several men and women from all over the world looking for jobs. Many though end up being cheated by travel agents and manpower agencies.

Thousands from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines come to Bahrain to work as labourers or domestic servants, but are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude when faced with exorbitant recruitment and transportation fees, withholding of their passports, restrictions on their movement, non-payment of wages, and physical or sexual abuse.

Juma 'dreams of talking to his dad'
By GEOFFREY BEW
Published: 18th December 2006

BAHRAINI Guantanamo Bay detainee Juma Al Dossary dreams about talking with his dead father every night, it has emerged.The 32-year-old, who is being held in isolation at the prison camp's mental health unit, is still struggling to accept the fact that he will never see his father again, say his lawyers.

Mr Al Dossary is reportedly suffering from a variety of health problems and according to the US military has tried to kill himself 13 times.

"Juma said that he still cannot imagine that his father is dead," legal team head Joshua Colangelo-Bryan told the GDN.

MPs' election sparks rights bill concern
By GEOFFREY BEW
Published: 18th December 2006

HUMAN rights activists are hoping the new parliament will undo what they say was legislation against personal freedom.

But they are disappointed that 14 out of 19 MPs named on a blacklist for allegedly contributing to human rights violations, have been re-elected.

They include independents and members of Al Asala Islamic Society and Al Menbar Islamic Society.

Ten were initially re-elected in the first round of the national elections on November 25 and another four in the second round last Saturday.

Excessive Use of Rubber Bullets and Tear Gas

Annual Demonstration Prohibited by Security Forces

Bahrain Centre for Human Rights

Ref: 06121700

Clashes in Bahrain after police block protests Sun Dec 17, 3:54 PM ET

Protesters pelted police with stones in Bahrain after they were prevented from demonstrating to demand compensation for victims of torture from the 1990s, an AFP correspondent and witnesses said.

No injuries or arrests were immediately reported in the clashes which erupted in the Ras al-Rumman district in eastern Manama and outside the capital.

Riot police blocked roads leading to Ras al-Rumman and fired tear gas to disperse protesters who hurled stones at the policemen, damaging one of their vehicles. No arrests were reported.

Juma’s kin see a ray of hope
Sandeep Singh Grewal
Staff Reporter

The release of the 16 Saudi detainees from the Guantanamo Bay is being seen as a positive development by the family of Bahraini detainee Juma Al Dossary.
Khalid Dossary, the elder brother of Juma told the Tribune yesterday, “We were informed that 16 detainees had returned from Guantanamo Bay. On hearing this news, my mother started to cry and was praying that when will her son be released from the death camp where he has spent almost five years.”
He further said, “ We were happy when Salah Al Blooshi was released in October and were expecting that there would be more releases but that did not happen. We are appealing to the authorities to act and bring our men back along with others whose families are waiting for years now,” said Khalid from Saudi Arabia.

Al Wefaq boycott sparks ultimatum
By MOHAMMED AL A'ALI
Published: 16 December 2006

AL WEFAQ was given a three-day ultimatum last night to take its place in parliament in time to vote for key positions.

The 17-MP bloc boycotted yesterday's opening of the new National Assembly by His Majesty King Hamad.

They also stayed away from what should have been parliament's first session immediately after the ceremony, at which the posts of chairman and vice-chairmen should have been decided.

Some MPs wanted to go ahead with the session and elections since the majority of 23 MPs were present.

Bahrain's main Shiite party boycotts parliament inauguration

The Associated Press
Friday, December 15, 2006
MANAMA, Bahrain
Bahrain's main Shiite opposition party boycotted the king's inauguration of parliament Friday, protesting what it called the "marginalization" of the country's Shiite majority.

The leader of Al-Wefaq, which won 43 percent of the assembly's 40 seats in the November elections, said the party might boycott working sessions of the parliament unless the government addresses its demands.

Sheik Ali Salman said the party's members had decided on Friday's boycott, "and it might go on depending on developments." He warned the parliament might "lose its legitimacy" if it held sessions indefinitely without the participation of al-Wefaq legislators.

Bahrain’s Shia opposition boycotts parliament opening
(AFP)

15 December 2006

MANAMA - Bahrain’s Shia opposition movement, buoyed by a strong showing in elections, said it would boycott on Friday’s opening of the newly elected parliament in protest over the makeup of the new cabinet.

The Islamic National Accord Association announced at a meeting before the parliament session it was also protesting what it claims is royal interference in the distribution of posts within the parliament.

King Hamad was due to open parliament at 1400 GMT.

The INAA, which posted stunning gains in two-stage elections in November and December, is seeking a greater say in the Sunni-ruled island state’s affairs.

Begging a growing problem: Ministry

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA) does not make it lucid whether or not soliciting for money in public places is indeed illegal in the country.
A MOLSA representative (who wished not to be named) told the Tribune, “Begging is a growing social problem in the country but no one seems to be concerned on how to decrease the number of beggars in the streets. We have an unwritten rule in our books to arrest those beggars who may be causing trouble for other people or for the establishments they are using as a means to beg. The first step to trying to eliminate begging is for someone to complain. Just as long as they are tolerated, they are not going to disappear just like that. People must also realise that by giving money to beggars, they too are tolerating the growing social problem on the island,” he said.

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Executions will deter criminals says lawmaker
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10089419.html

12/14/2006 09:58 PM | By Habib Toumi, Bahrain Bureau Chief

Manama: A Bahraini lawmaker yesterday blasted rights watchdogs for condemning execution of three convicted killers in Bahrain on Monday.

"I am shocked by activists' claims that it was shameful for Bahrain to carry out executions. The real shame is on those who allow convicted murderers to live in dignity in prison while the relatives of the victims are suffering and aching," said Shaikh Mohammad Khalid, one of the most vociferous Islamists in the Council of Representatives.

Al Wefaq to press for human rights committee
MP to hold ‘Council of People’
Sandeep Singh Grewal
Staff Reporter

Al Wefaq bloc would be emphasising for the setting up of a human rights committee in Parliament.
This initiative would be led by bloc member and political activist Jalal Fairooz. “There was a human rights committee when the Royal decree No. 24 in 1999 was issued. This was during the period when there was only one House and that was the Shura (Consultative) Council. It was headed by Sameer Rajab but in 2002 when the new Parliament was elected the committee was scrapped. We want the committee to be reinstated this time in the House as it is a step forward for democracy in the Kingdom,” he told the Bahrain Tribune.

Back to the shelter
Filipina, Rosario Pineda, a former tailor who has been in out of the OWWA shelter since 2003, has been reportedly returned to the shelter two months after she signed a waiver to work outside.
Rosario (right) has lived at the Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) shelter waiting for developments on her labour case. She has already left the shelter on two occasions, disappearing for months on end and believed to have gone away with her lover only to come back crying and seeking help again.
Today, she is back and very much upset with the recent developments of her case including the stories that have been circulating around the shelter of her whereabouts. She claims to have done nothing wrong only to fend for herself when she needed money.

New runaway claims rape
Maid manages to escape after failed attempt
By Ayla Marisse G. Ginete
Staff Reporter

A new runaway maid at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) claimed to have been sexually harassed by her sponsor on two occasions.
Reyna Cardines arrived on October 10, 2006 with the help of a referral from her older sister who also worked as a maid in Bahrain. She later found out that she had been assigned to a brother of her sister’s sponsor.
By mid-November, she claimed her sponsor has been making illicit advances towards her, but no matter how hard she tried to drive him away he pursued her still. She confessed that it was the second time she tried to run away. She said the first time she tried it she got caught.

How they died...
By SARA SAMI
Published: 13th December 2006

A BANGLADESHI woman executed for the murder of a Bahraini housewife bled to death for 10 minutes after she was shot in the chest by a firing squad on Monday.

Jasmine Anwar Hussain, 23, was among three murderers executed at Jaw prison at 6am.

Ms Hussain, her accomplice Bangladeshi Mohammed Hilaluddin, 33, and Pakistani Mohammed Hanif Atta Mohammed, who murdered a Bahraini man, were executed with their heads covered, said a Public Prosecution spokesman.

He said that only Jasmine suffered for 10 minutes after being shot in the chest.

Innocence plea on tape
By MANDEEP SINGH
Published: 13th December 2006

AN executed murderer pleads his innocence, in two chilling tapes recorded in his cell hours before he was shot at Jaw jail on Monday. Mohammed Hanif Atta Mohammed begs forgiveness from family and friends, saying that he had committed many wrongs, but insisting he was not a killer.

The tapes were handed over to his brother Mohammed Punnoo, who lives and works in Bahrain, after the execution.

Mohammed, 37, and his lover Suraya Ghuloom Hussain, 42, were convicted of murdering her 72-year-old husband Ibrahim Al Asmawi in August 2003.

Bahrain: Elections and Managing Sectarianism

Fred Wehrey

Shiite and Sunni Islamist candidates dominated Bahrain’s late November parliamentary elections—winning a combined total of 29 out of 40 seats—leading some observers to warn of a polarized parliament where civility and legislative action fall victim to sectarian mudslinging. Others predict a tenuous détente, where the two sides avoid divisive issues such as anti-Shiite discrimination and constitutional amendments and collaborate instead on social conservatism.

In either case the ultimate victor seems to be the monarchy, which continues to portray itself as an indispensable mediator over a fractious body politic. “Without the monarchy,” a ministry official asserted, “Bahrain would go the way of Iraq and Lebanon.” Echoing this assertion, a member of the king’s appointed consultative council, which has effective veto authority over the parliament, described his institution as a “buffer” to prevent the country from being “hijacked by religious extremists.” For the government, therefore, the elections appeared to be part of a broader strategy of managing the problem of sectarian inequity rather than a step toward resolving it.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Public Statement

AI Index: MDE 11/007/2006 (Public)
News Service No: 321
12 December 2006

Bahrain: Amnesty International deplores first executions for 10 years
Amnesty International deplores the executions yesterday, 11 December 2006, of two men and a woman, the first executions to be carried out in Bahrain since 1996.

Those executed were Mohammad Hanif Atta Mohammad, a national of Pakistan, and Jasmine Anwar Hussain and Mohammad Hilaluddin, both nationals of Bangladesh. All three had been convicted separately of murder. They were executed by firing squad.

Published: 13/12/2006 12:00 AM (UAE)

Abolish death penalty, urges Bahrain rights activist
By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Manama: A human rights activist has urged the Bahrain government to take concrete and immediate steps towards the abolishment of death penalty as part of the reform process.

"The death penalty violates the fundamental human right to life, and we condemn its use," vice president of the dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BHRC) Nabeel Rajab said.

"At a time when our country is supposed to be developing into a strong democracy, where human rights and human dignity are upheld and protected, the death penalty is leaving a black mark on its record," Rajab said in a press statement.

Executions condemned
By MANDEEP SINGH
Published: 12 December 2006

HUMAN rights activists have condemned yesterday's execution of three convicted killers in Bahrain.

They were the first death sentences to be carried out in Bahrain in more than 10 years.

The last person to be executed was Bahraini Issa Ahmad Qambar, who went before a firing squad in March 1996 for murdering a plainclothes policeman.

At the time it was the first death penalty to be carried out in Bahrain in more than 20 years.

Yesterday's executions of a Bangladeshi couple and a Pakistani man took place inside Jaw prison at 6am.

Bahrain names first Shia deputy premier
(Reuters)

11 December 2006

MANAMA - Bahrain formed a new cabinet on Monday, appointing a Shia Muslim as a deputy prime minister for the first time in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom.

Jawad bin Salem Al Oraied, a former cabinet minister, was named as one of three deputies to Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa. The other two deputies are members of the ruling family.

The new line-up also gave a junior foreign portfolio to another member of the country’s Shia majority, Nizar bin Sadek Al Baharneh.

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa kept key portfolios unchanged in the new team as reported by the official Bahrain News Agency.

BAHRAIN STRENGTHENS, EXTENDS BAN ON STRIKES, DEMONSTRATIONS

Date: December 8, 2006

Bahrain’s government issued an edict last month that explicitly bans strikes and demonstrations in several sectors of its economy, including areas considered vital to security such as civil defense and ports as well as in the oil and gas sector, educational firms and bakeries. Labor groups sources said the edict appears to violate provisions in the U.S.-Bahrain FTA that prohibit weakening labor laws to spur increased trade or investment, but said this would be difficult to prove.

The edict, made public in a Nov. 20 announcement posted on the state-run Bahrain News Agency website, bans strikes and demonstrations in “vital establishments” where national security and the “daily work process” could be disrupted.

I'm innocent!
By mandeep singh and sara sami
Published: 11th December 2006

A PAKISTANI man facing execution today for murder pleaded his innocence in a heart-rending "final statement" to his brother yesterday.

Mohammed Hanif Atta Mohammed, 37, is one of three people facing the firing squad today for two separate murders.

He and his lover Suraya Ghuloom Hussain, 42, were convicted of murdering her 72-year-old Bahraini husband in August 2003.

Two Bangladeshis are also due to be executed today, for the murder of Bahraini mother-of-two Latifa Abdulla Abdulaziz in November 2004.

Housemaid Jasmine Anwar Hussain, 23 and her accomplice, Mohammed Hilaluddin, 33, smashed Ms Abdulaziz's head with a pickaxe at her home in Buhair, in the mistaken belief that there was gold in her safe.

Bahrain cabinet resigns after election
(Reuters)

10 December 2006

MANAMA - Bahrain’s king accepted the resignation of the cabinet on Sunday to allow the formation of a new government after parliamentary polls in which opposition Shia Muslims won the largest bloc.

The move was expected after last month’s elections and no significant change is anticipated to the foreign and oil policies of the small Gulf Arab state.

The official BNA news agency said King Hamad bin Isa aAl Khalifa re-appointed Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa as prime minister and asked him to form a new cabinet.

Jobs key to fighting terror
By TARIQ KHONJI
Published: 10th December 2006

UNEMPLOYMENT and soaring population rates are sowing the seeds of extremism and terrorism throughout the Middle East, Bahrain warned yesterday.

"The challenges posed by the region's rapidly growing populations are well recognised and must be met if long-term internal security is to be maintained," said Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa.

"Failure to provide employment opportunities, infrastructure and social services to keep pace with growing population will fuel discontent and division and create an environment in which extremism and terrorism can take hold."

Priorities on Bahrain's legislative agenda
http://archive.gulfnews.com/business/Comment_and_Analysis/10088246.html

12/10/2006 01:01 AM | By Jasim Ali, Special to Gulf News

Bahrain's newly-elected members of the Parliament ought to focus their energy on the major economic challenges facing the country.

The 40-strong body, which includes only one woman, was elected for a four-year term in the general elections, which were held in late November and early December. The parliamentary elections are an integral part of Bahrain's socio-political reforms launched in early 2001.

Constituents expect their representatives to address some key economic issues such as jobs and reforms. One concern is the declining representation of Bahraini workforce in private sector jobs.

By GEOFFREY BEW
Published: 10th December 2006

A Guantanamo Bay detainee has appealed to his lawyers for pictures of his family after guards there confiscated the ones he had.

Lawyers of 32-year-old Juma Al Dossary, who is being held in isolation at the prison camp's mental health unit, said that he had not received any letters from home since his father died in June.

He is trying to remain calm despite becoming increasingly concerned about his incarceration, say the lawyers.

Legal team head Joshua Colangelo-Bryan and his colleagues visited Mr Al Dossary and the other remaining Bahraini detainee Isa Al Murbati last month.

Doomsday Clock ticks for Mideast
Published: 10th December 2006

MANAMA: The Doomsday Clock is ticking in the Middle East, Deputy King Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa warned last night.The situation in Palestine could blow up in the world's face and the new nuclear arms race looms right here, he told Manama Dialogue security conference delegates.

"Our region's Doomsday Clock is moving towards midnight," he said.

"Midnight will strike when, and if, the Israeli settlements in Palestine become so numerous and so deep-rooted as to destroy the possibility of an independent Palestinian nation-state.

Burns horror worker loses fight for life
By MANDEEP SINGH
Published: 9th December 2006

Indian garage worker Gurdeep Singh, burnt in a horrific incident at his Sehla work place on November 20, died yesterday.

The 35-year old bachelor, from Gurdaspur, Punjab, suffered a massive heart attack at around 4pm and died soon after, said doctors at the Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC).

"His blood pressure dropped suddenly," they said.

Mr Singh had suffered 55 per cent burns on his face, chest and legs in the incident and had not been responding to treatment since he was admitted.

Mr Singh, who arrived in Bahrain on August 2003, was working in a car repair pit at the garage when dripping petrol from a mini bus ignited and set him on fire. He emerged from the pit in a ball of fire and was assisted by a colleague, Jinder Pal, who helped douse the flames and called the sponsor. He was taken to the SMC in a critical condition.

Political activist Hussain Abdulaziz from Jeblat Habshi, detained since November 17, 2002 for distributing pamphlets. See:

• Detention Extended 15 Days Pending Further Investigations
• Two Detained Activists in Bahrain; Fear of unfair trial and prolonged sentence if case transferred to court

BAHRAIN: Expressing themselves, Activists Face State Security Charges

Mr. Ambeyi LIGABO

The Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and the Protection of
the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
CH-1211, Geneva 10 - Switzerland

Dear Mr. Ligabo

We would like to express our deep concerns of detention and crimination of two Bahraini activists, Dr Mohamed Saeed Alsahlawi and Mr Husain Abdulaziz Alhebshi, who have been detained by the local Authorities because they have possesses leaflets and publication calling for the boycott of next election - See their case in the Appendix 1. The charges set forth by the Public Prosecution neglect their right for freedom of expression and could end up facing State security charges, leading to harsh penalties including prolonged imprisonment- See Appendix 2, below.

Bahrain Center for Human Rights
December 6, 2006
Ref: 06120601

Detained activist: Hussain Abdulaziz Al-Habashi

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) is gravely concerned that Dr. Mohamed Saeed Al-Sahlawi (dentist-35 years) and Hussein Abdul Aziz Al Habashi (employee-32 years old) could face an unfair trial and prolonged imprisonment sentence, if their case is transferred to court in the coming two weeks.

Guantanamo detainees 'feel strain of separation'
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10087171.html

12/04/2006 07:54 PM | By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Manama: The two Bahrainis still held at the Guantanamo Bay prison are increasingly feeling the strain of separation from their families, their lawyer has said.

Reporting on his visit last month to the US-run detention centre, Joshua Bryan-Colangelo said that Juma Al Dossary and Eisa Al Murbati told him about their pain and anguish at spending more than five years away from their families.

"Juma said that he simply wants to go home and that he does not care about anything else. He said that he wants to live far away from everyone except his family," the New-York based lawyer said in a statement relayed to Gulf News by human rights activist Nabeel Rajab.

SPIEGEL ONLINE - December 4, 2006, 10:01 AM
URL: http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,449914,00.html

MAJOR FORCES ON A MINOR ISLAND
Bahrain Experiments with Democracy
Does Bahrain represent the democratic future of the Middle East? Even before the Iraq war, the Gulf state had experimented with free elections. The Islamist parties - no friends of the island's U.S. naval base - won hands down.

In 1879, the USS Ticonderoga sailed up the Strait of Hormuz. With its 14 cannons, the elegant three-masted warship was the first American vessel to visit the Persian Gulf. Its arrival marked the beginning of a rocky relationship.

Overhead view stirs up Bahrain
Despite a government attempt to block them, Google Earth images of estates belonging to the ruling family become the talk of the island nation.
By William Wallis, Financial Times
December 4, 2006

MANAMA, BAHRAIN — Since Bahrain's government blocked the Google Earth website this year over its intrusion into private homes and royal palaces, Googling their island kingdom has become a pastime for many Bahrainis.

The site allows Internet users to view satellite images of the world in varying degrees of detail. When Google updated its images of Bahrain to higher definition, cyber-activists seized on the view it gave of estates and private islands belonging to the ruling Khalifa family to highlight the inequity of land distribution in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom.

Poll monitors hint at rigging
Published: 4th December 2006

ELECTION monitors in Bahrain claimed there was circumstantial evidence to support a claim there may have been irregularities that helped Sunni Islamists win seats in parliament.

The incoming parliament is dominated by religious groups who are split between Islam's Sunni and Shi'ite sects.

Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) vice-secretary general, Dr Abdulla Aldeerazi, said it appeared at least three liberal opposition candidates were defeated in suspicious circumstances in Saturday's runoff election.

Information Minister Dr Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar has downplayed previous reports of irregularities, saying the vote was largely fair and problems were minor.

Briefly: Monitor casts doubt on Bahrain election

The Associated Press
An election monitor cast doubt Sunday on the legitimacy of Bahrain's parliamentary election, which gave pro-government Sunni Muslim candidates a majority of seats.

The monitor, Abdulla al-Derazi of Bahrain Human Rights, said there was "circumstantial evidence" that at least three opposition candidates in the U.S.-allied kingdom were defeated by fraudulent means in the runoff election Saturday.

Two government spokesmen could not be reached Sunday for comment.

The opposition, led by the country's majority Shiites, won just 2 of 11 races, leaving them 3 seats short of a majority in Parliament's elected lower house, Bahrain state-run television reported, citing official election results.

Jitters in Bahrain after Islamist poll triumph by Mohammad Fadhel
1 hour, 49 minutes ago

The domination of Bahrain's parliament by Sunni and Shiite Islamists risks fueling sectarian tensions between the two and restricting freedoms in the relatively liberal Gulf state, analysts said.

But a senior Bahraini official said that stunning electoral gains made by the Islamic National Accord Association (INAA), standard-bearer of the majority Shiite community in the Sunni-ruled country, could help resolve contentious issues within parliament.

"The makeup of the new parliament might trigger sectarian crises that would spill over onto the streets. I fear we will be torn between Fallujah and Najaf," columnist Sawsan al-Shaer told AFP on Sunday.