Violence and government repression of reform-minded protesters in Bahrain has escalated ahead of the February anniversary of the uprisings, as the Obama administration moves ahead with arms shipments to the despotic dictatorship.
Defiant Bahraini protesters have continuously taken to the streets to face off with government security forces. After firing live rounds on unarmed protesters last year, killing dozens, the Bahraini government allowed Saudi troops to invade and crush the uprising. Martial law was imposed before international condemnation pressured the regime to let up, if only slightly.
Since then security forces have relied more heavily on tear gas and batons. But researchers and activists on the ground say the killing has continued and the regime’s security tactics have stiffened.
The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights claim to have documented 60 additional deaths over the past year. Rather than take protesters to police stations, security forces have been beating them on the spot or holding them for in informal detention centers where they are severely beaten before release. Testimonies of victims have been collected and numerous people are reported to have died while in custody.
An independent commission in Bahrain recently found that torture has been systemic since protests broke out last year. The commission urged reform, but the United Nations has recently said that Bahrain was failing to prosecute human rights abuses and was continuing its use of excessive force against civilians.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration has quietly moved forward with a new package of arms sales to the regime in Bahrain, after international pressure forced them to delay its planned $53 million arms sale. Using legal loopholes that only require congressional authorization for sales of $1 million or more, the administration split the arms package and moved forward with the new sales without notifying the public.
Human Rights Watch has condemned Obama’s support for this repression, saying in a press release that the “decision to move forward on a $1 million arms sale to Bahrain sends the wrong signal to a country that is engaged in serious human rights abuses.”
“Bahrain has made many promises to cease abuses and hold officials accountable, but it hasn’t delivered,” said Maria McFarland, deputy Washington director at Human Rights Watch. “Protesters remain jailed on criminal charges for peacefully speaking out and there has been little accountability for torture and killings – crimes in which the Bahrain Defense Force is implicated.”
U.S. support for Bahrain has remained assertive throughout its violent repression of Arab Spring protesters, allocating another $26 million in aid for 2012. Bahrain is the host of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which directs operations in the Persian Gulf and patrols the Straits of Hormuz, through which 40 percent of the world’s seaborne oil passes.
The world untill now has failed to understand that the protests, so called peaceful demand for democracy is absolutely incorrect. In no way is the throwing of cocktail of Molotov to security personnel peaceful, nor killing poor expatriate and bombing of schools, todate around 28 schools!!!. In no way is peaceful, intimidating MPs for their views. These thugs should be dealt with according to the rule of law. What do you say, if a protester throws a Molotov cocktail at security people in Occupy NewYork???
The USA, is economically broke, it can sell to anybody, let alone Bahrain, a decent democratic ally oriented country, it is selling to the Sectarian governmnet of Iraq. But when the US see the Russians coming to Bahrain, they immediately decoded to sell, otherwise they will lose the mareket.
What kind of unreality medication are you on, where are you reporting from, which photos are your facts of lies, whom is your source of info. And above all are you with the tyrants family or just working for them. But I agree with you USA is broke so they need to work with Tyrants in the gulf to get some money out of them, lots of it and if they could they be privileged to steal their oil too, like they are doing in Libya. No one els would make such stupid deal with them but tyrants.
Duri Mohammed, are you stoned? I know you a big liar, but calling your country democratic is just more than a lie. It's murdering words and giving them new meanings. Is your father the ambassador of Bahrain someplace?
I believe Mohammed is probably Sunni and because the protesters are mostly shia then it is justified that the sunni dictator of Bahrain can kill them at will. But, based on Mohammed's logic, I guess he is ok with Assad (shia) going to town on the violent uprising by sunni (protesters) who are not just throwing molotov cocktails but actually shooting guns and RPGs. Obama is a hypocrit as with his political party and establishment republicans.
"Saudi Puppet Obama" wants to give Bahrain to the bloody, genocidal Saudi Dictators.
Obama has given Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, and soon Syria and Iran over to the Hitler like Saudi Dictators.
Obama leaves "Saudi written Sharia Law" in the constitutions of each of these countries when he kills millions of people to overthrow these countries. "Saudi written Sharia Law" converts every one of these countries from a democracy into a bloody, genocidal, Saudi Dictatorship similar to Hitler's.
ISN'T OVER A MILLION LIVES SACRIFICED TO CREATE THE NEXT SAUDI-HITLER ENOUGH?
ISN'T SACRIFICING THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN LIVES TO CREATE THE NEXT SAUDI-HITLER ENOUGH?
ISN'T MISUSING $TRILLIONS OF AMERICAN DOLLARS TO CREATE THE NEXT SAUDI-HITLER ENOUGH?
Come to think of it, this new Fawning Corporate Media called Anti-war rarely publishes anything about the killing of demonstrators there, and what's more they're not even armed like the thugs in Syria.
I wonder if Hillary why Shillary is not outraged and making one of her typical speeches about democracy, the life of human beings and blah blah blah, puke, puke, puke, bomb, bomb, bomb.