PALESTINA/IZRAEL:
Urgent Appeal: Khader Adnan's Life at Risk as He Enters Day 59 of Hunger Strike
Nakon 59 dana štrajka glađu ugrožen život palestinskog zarobljenika (14. veljača 2012.)
Palestinac Khader Adnan već 59 dana štrajka glađu u izraelskom administrativnom pritvoru. Njegovo je zdravlje kritično i svaki bi trenutak mogao kolabirati. Adnan se žalio na odluku izraelskog vojnog suda da bude stavljen na 4 mjeseca u administrativni pritvor i odlučio je štrajkati glađu dok ga ne oslobode, prosvjedujući na taj način protiv nečovječnog i ponižavajućeg postupanja kojem je izložen od trenutka svog uhićenja 17. prosinca 2011. i protiv izraelske politike pritvaranja Palestinaca bez da su za išta optuženi ili osuđeni.
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Palestinian youth to France: “Stop financing the killing of our people” (photos, video)
Prosvjed protiv trgovine oružjem između Francuske i Izraela (slike, video) (2. veljača 2012.)
Desetci Palestinaca 2. su veljače ove godine prosvjedovali protiv francuske kupovine izraelskih bespilotnih letjelica u vrijednosti od 500 milijuna američkih dolara. Oko 30 ljudi prosvjedovalo je u Jeruzalemu ispred francuskog konzulata, te oko 50 njih u Ramalli ispred Francuskog kulturnog centra. Prosvjednici, koji smatraju da ovim potezom Francuska postaje suučesnica u ratnim zločinima izraelske vojske, pozvali su francusku vladu da Izraelu nametne embargo na oružje i uvede bojkot te zemlje. Jedan od aktivista je izjavio: „Okupili smo se ovdje kako bismo francuskoj vladi poručili da kupnjom bespilotnih letjelica pokazuje potpuno nepoštivanje međunarodnog prava i da treba smjesta prestati kupovati izraelsko oružje koje ubija palestinske građane. Kupnjom proizvoda izraelske vojne industrije francuska vlada podržava ubijanje Palestinaca: potrebno je odmah nametnuti potpuni i sveobuhvatni vojni embargo Izraelu!“ Francusko je ministarstvo obrane 20. srpnja 2011. odlučio od Izraela kupiti ratno oružje u vrijednosti većoj od 318 milijuna eura, a tu je odluku navodno sada potvrdio i francuski parlament. Aktivisti i organizacije solidarnosti s palestinskim narodom u Francuskoj pokrenuli su opsežnu kampanju protiv ove trgovine, a najavljeni su i daljnji prosvjedi ispred francuskih institucija u arapskim zemljama.
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BAHREIN:
The US-Bahraini Exchange: Tear gas from us, kindness in return
For those who haven't followed the struggle in Bahrain, the Pearl Roundabout was like Egypt's Tahrir Square, where Bahraini protesters had camped out for about a month before they were brutally evicted by the police. In an attempt to totally squash the protests, the government had bulldozed the entire square, including the iconic monument in the middle made up of six sails projecting up to the sky and coming together to hold a giant, shining pearl. The men, trying to protect the women from any police repression, set up a blockade to push the women onward toward the permitted march. Meanwhile, thousand of young men started sprinting towards the Pearl Roundabout. Although the protest was totally peaceful, the police (most of whom are not Bahraini and many of whom don't even speak Arabic), responded with an overwhelming barrage of teargas, as well as birdshot and rubber bullets.
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Six US citizens arrested in Bahrain, to be deported
Six US Citizens were arrested by Bahraini security forces in Manama on Tuesday during a peaceful protest on the way to the Pearl Roundabout. Protesters had marched into the city center to reestablish a presence of nonviolent, peaceful protest on the one year anniversary of the Arab Spring uprising in Bahrain. ... The six US citizens were part of a peaceful protest marching towards the Pearl Roundabout – site of last year's peaceful round-the-clock protest in Bahrain, modeled after Egypt's Tahrir Square – when they were attacked. Bahraini authorities appear to have targeted the Witness Bahrain observers, as one volunteer was told that she was detained for reporting on the February 11th Manama protest. The six observers remain in Bahraini custory in the Naem Police Station in Manama. This group of internationals is the second to be deported by the Bahraini government. Attorneys Huwaida Arraf and Radhika Sainath were deported on Saturday, February 11th. The two were handcuffed for the duration of their flight from Bahrain to London. Several international observers remain on the ground.
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Radhika Sainath describes arrest and deportation from Bahrain (video)
Day and Night in a Bahraini Jail – Part One
Then the police left the boy, and surrounded me. They were all Pakistani, mercenaries brought by the regime to put down protesters. “You can't photo,” one said. “I'm not. I couldn't get it to work,” I said putting the iPad away. They closed in and my back was against the wall. The women of the alley watched from balconies and corners. “You are lucky you are Indian,” said one of the policeman. “If you were from Bahrain we would arrest you.” My mind raced, how would Pakistani Sunni in a Bahraini police force feel towards an Indian Hindu at a mostly-Shia'a democracy march? There did seem to be a common South Asian bond, but I decided to air on the side of caution. “Oh I'm American,” I said. “But my parents are from India.” They started questioning me about my attendance at the protest how I go there and why I was present. Did I know they were saying bad things about the Bahraini regime, that they were chanting down with Hamad.” “Do they allow people to say bad things about the government in America?” asked one. The others nodded at his logic, certain that I would now understand the outrageousness of the protesters' actions. “Of course. People said bad things about George Bush all the time. They hated Bush. And now lots of people protest against Obama.” They were quiet, and I pressed on, telling them that I was in their country, Pakistan, a few years ago supporting the lawyer's democracy movement. “The people hated Musharraf, and they went to the street.” I hoped I played my cards right—what if these guys liked Musharraf? But nobody liked Musharraf. I watched their eyes blink in understanding. They hated their dictatorship, but were supporting another non-democratic regime.
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Occupied Bahrain one year after the uprising
In the afternoon we attempted to make our way to Pearl Roundabout. There was a huge traffic jam because the police had put up roadblocks, and so many people were trying to get downtown. Today there was no permitted march like yesterday. People were simply planning to get as close to the Roundabout as they could. On the highway leading to the center of town, the streets were reverberating with the sounds of Down, Down, Hamad, Down Down, Hamad. Hamad is the King, and it's illegal to speak against the King, the Prime Minister or the royal family. Some of the cars were just honking their horns to the beat of Down, Down, Hamad. It was a traffic insurrection, an uprising on the highway. The police didn't know what to do. One young man in the lane next to us stuck his head out the roof of his car, yelling Down, down, Hamad. The police started running after his car, firing tear gas, as if he were some hardened criminal. In the car in front of us was the amazing human rights activist/organizer Nabeel Rajab. We saw him and some of his colleague get out of their car and start walking. We were still far away from the roundabout, but we jumped out of our cars to join the group. I put on my sign saying “Observer” and grabbed my gas mask. We, the observers, were declared illegal by the government, who wanted to keep all observers and most journalists out of the country so they wouldn't see the demonstrations. We hadn't walked for more than a few minutes when the police ran towards us. BOOM, BOOM. They started shooting tear gas canisters—not in the air to disperse us, but RIGHT AT US, like bullets. Most of us started running. I ran with Tighe and Billy (two of the other US observers) and others right into the highway, sprinting as fast as we could and hiding behind the cars. BOOM, BOOM. Two of the canisters feel right next to me. People in the cars, perfect strangers, starting opening their car doors and pulling all of us inside. “Get in, get in,” they shouted.
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What I Learned in the Airport in Bahrain
In its efforts to keep people like me out – people who want to observe how the Bahrain government is responding to peaceful protests – the Bahrain government has adopted a policy of suspicion towards a much broader group of Westerners. And that's going to hurt the Bahrain government's image among a much broader group of people than just people like me. It will hurt the willingness of tourists and business people to come to Bahrain. I saw a bunch of very irate British people this morning who said they had been invited by Bahrain's oil company to give a marketing presentation. They said they were late to their meeting, because the Bahrain authorities would not let them out of the airport. One of them started saying, very loudly, “I don't even want to be here.” A saw an English woman say: I've been here before, it's never been like this. I saw a bunch of Spaniards who said they came for a conference, one of whom said he was supposed to make a presentation. They could not get out of the airport. They were also very irate. I also saw an AP journalist who could not get out of the airport.
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SIRIJA:
Bombardment of Syrian city continues
Syrian troops have shelled the central city of Homs for a 10th day, opposition activists say, amid suggestions by the UN's human rights chief that the UN Security Council's failure to pass a resolution condemning Syria has encouraged the government to intensify its attacks on civilians. At least seven people were killed and more than 20 injured on Tuesday in the city's Bab Amr neighbourhood, which endured relentless barrage of heavy machinegun fire, tank shells, mortars and rocket-propelled granades, according to the activists. ... Tanks of government troops are also stationed in Inshaat. Many residents displaced from the neighbourhood report that their homes have been looted and sometimes occupied by government forces. Elsewhere in Syria, activists said on Tuesday that security forces stormed Taybeh in the southern province of Deraa after heavy shelling on the town. Amid the violence, Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told the General Assembly on Monday that President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on dissidents indicated crimes against humanity had taken place since March 2011 and were continuing. ... Pillay also said that "credible reports indicate that Syrian security forces killed well above 5,400 people last year, including civilians as well as military personnel who refused to shoot civilians".
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