Bahrain Feature: Challenging the Regime's Claims of "Reforms" (Bahrain Watch)

King Hamad bin Isa Al KhalifaWhile al-Saleh and Hamad touted police training, and the establishment of a Code of Conduct for police officers on 30 January 2012, Bahrain Watch has documented numerous ongoing abuses, with the help of activists on the ground in Bahrain. Abuses include brutal arrests and torture, improper targeting of individuals in the head with tear gas canisters, and the mass nighttime tear-gassing of residential areas, even when there are no protests. These abuses have been documented on an ongoing basis in areas all around Bahrain, suggesting that these abuses are not individual actions.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Conditions for Dialogue

2020 GMT: At this late hour, there are new reports of battles between the Free Syrian Army and regime troops in Harasta, in eastern Damascus. The CFDPC also reports battles in Irbeen.

It's going to be another long night in Syria's capital.

1922 GMT: An interesting video, reportedly from Douma, posted by the CFDPC. It appears that the FSA soldiers are trying to scope out regime positions while remaining hidden. In other words, the FSA soldiers want to be able to shoot at the Syrian soldiers if needed, but they are trying to hide so that the regime does not have an excuse to fire.

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Bahrain Opinion: Letting Torturers Go Free? (Owen Jones)

Ali Mushaimaa, killed 14 Feb 2011Some hoped that after the release of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry’s report,  state officials who were complicit in torture against civilians would be brought to justice. This has failed to happen. Furthermore, the highest rank of those even put before the courts appears to be a lieutenant, and that case doesn’t even relate to "torture". Naturally this has done nothing to appease those in Bahrain who want justice, as many believe that government officials are either directly responsible for issuing the torture order, or at least complicit through negligence.

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Bahrain Opinion: No Reform, So Why is the Grand Prix Going Ahead? (Lubbock/Rajab)

> The Bahrain International Circuit, a palm-lined, glitzy race track in the middle of the desert, is due to host Formula One in April. Behind the facade, however, lie tales of misery, blood and torture.

Last year, the head of security at the BIC raided its offices alongside plainclothed police with a list. The list contained the names of every Shia employee. One by one they were dragged from their desks and beaten in front of colleagues [see footnote]. In total, 27 were arrested, and many were left in jail for months. The BIC is responsible for purging its own people. It is hardly a place that deserves to host this race again.

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Bahrain Feature: What Has Changed in the Past Year? (Gengler)

Casual reporting of Bahrain's uprising tends to give the impression that the events of February 14 and the year-long aftermath sprang out of nowhere; that Bahrain's Shi'a had finally "had enough" and used the window afforded by the Arab Spring to make their displeasure known, to spectacular effect.

There is no need to devote much time to debunking this storyline, deliberate or not, as any serious study of Bahraini politics would point to a long history of political conflict, whether between Shi'a and state, Sunna and state, or Sunna and Shi'a.

What was surprising about the scenes of February and March, then, was not that such an opposition would mobilize, but that it was able to mobilize on such an unprecedented scale.

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Bahrain Special: Who Exactly is Ill-Informed? And How Did That Happen?

Morgan RoachWho exactly is ill-informed on Bahrain? 

Morgan Roach, writing for the Heritage Foundation, says, "The Obama Administration".

Really? A mirror, rather than a stare at the White House, might be in order here. This is an article almost beyond serious consideration, so willfully does it embrace the prevailing myths of propaganda that (1) the opposition are violent, Molotov cocktail-wielding thugs and (2) disorder is wholly orchestrated by the leading opposition society Al Wefaq and radical Shia elements from outside Bahrain. 

Roach is unwilling to concede anything to the opposition. She even repeats the old chestnut --- disproved by the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry --- that Iran is pulling the strings of dissent.

OK, it is one matter to note a very bad "analysis". For significance, what is needed is an examination of how this very bad "analysis" made it into print.

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Bahrain Analysis: Navigating a Rising Tide of Violence

Protesters chase security forces --- who had earlier dispersed a funeral, arresting youth and pushing away women --- out of AlEker village on Sunday

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Continued violations by the security apparatus suggest that the State’s talk of reform is disingenous. The Government are fully aware that continued repression will only antagonise the opposition, and contribute to the radicalisation of youth, whose adoption of violent tactics will create a subsequent desire for law and order to be restored. A similar situation was seen last year immediately after 15 March, where despite the presence of the Peninsula Shield, the Bahrain Defence Forces, and public security vigilantism took hold of Bahrain and generated considerable panic.

So not only does activist violence plays into the hands of the regime, but it also undermines attempts to garner broad-based popular support for a social movement, especially in a society where loyalties remain divided. This somewhat paradoxical situation underpins a conundrum faced by social movements around the world who are dealing with intransigent regimes. These regimes know that by using violence to radicalise opposition that might otherwise be peaceful, they are creating more violence, which simultaneously bolsters support for the regime amongst existing loyalists or moderates.

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Bahrain Analysis: Between Reform and Stagnation (Fakhro/Ulrichsen)

An opposition rally in Zinj in Bahrain on Thursday night

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The regime – and the country at large - are at a crossroads as the first anniversary of the February 14 uprising approaches.. The report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry BICI has neither provided the closure the ruling family hoped for, nor satisfied the expectations of the political and popular opposition. The continuing violence has hardened positions on all sides and reinforced the absence of trust and goodwill necessary to any political settlement. The emergence of radicalised splinter groups means it is no longer possible to speak of a ‘regime-opposition’ dichotomy. Elements of the opposition are growing more violent, while extremist groups calling on the regime to crush the opposition once and for all have intensified in recent weeks. Competing narratives have diverged sharply since BICI, illustrating the chasm that has opened up where the moderate middle used to be.

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Bahrain Special: Nabeel Rajab's Speech "Our Problem is with the King"

Nabeel Rajab speaks to crowd at the mass gathering of Bahraini political societies, 12 January

See also Bahrain Special: The Steel Rods of the Police
Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Meaningless Amnesty, Cosmetic Speech?

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I think that we are entering a new phase of activism. We are entering a phase in which we have to escalate our activism work as individuals, organizations, activists and human rights defenders. The regime has undoubtedly gotten used to the current rhythm of protests, just like a body that gets used to certain drugs. The regime got used to these gatherings and to the small village protests that it ends and disperses using tear gas. At the same time it tries to mislead the world public opinion in saying that Bahrain does not have any problems except for some small protests inside the villages and these gatherings.

We have to be clear in our speech. Our problem is not with the Prime Minister, nor with the government of the Prime Minister, whom are all merely employees. Our problem is with the King of Bahrain.

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Bahrain Special: The Steel Rods of the Police

Police in Bahrain caught on camera throwing metal rods

See also Bahrain Special: Nabeel Rajab's Speech "Our Problem is with the King"
Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Meaningless Amnesty, Cosmetic Speech?

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It is not an understatement to say that an undisciplined police force who fail to adhere to a strict code of conduct are no more than a group of thugs themselves. After all, without such strict codes of behaviour, only a uniform separates the police from the plain clothed baltajiyya.

The regime is facing a crisis of legitimacy, and as Government legitimacy declines, the question "who are the security forces actually protecting?" becomes more pertinent.

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