organization:bahrain government

Signs grow of Iranian involvement in Bahrain unrest - FT.com
▻http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f4c1b5a4-a2e9-11e3-9685-00144feab7de.html?ftcamp=crm/email/201434/nbe/WorldNews/product&siteedition=intl#axzz2uyhc9qWp

But three years later, as frequent clashes erupt in Shia villages, officials are concerned that radical elements and Iran may be exploiting the lack of progress in negotiations between the government and opposition.

Il est clair aussi que le pourrissement de la situation est propice à ce genre de changement de tactique

In its February BICI update, released on Sunday evening, the Bahrain government said 600 real and fake IEDs have been discovered since 2011, but in 2013 the number of real devices outnumbered the number of dummies.
The report said the country had “turned the corner” on the events of 2011, introducing measures such as police and judicial reform, including the creation of an independent ombudsman, and victim compensation.
The release of the report came just days after the US state department annual human rights report criticised Bahrain for ongoing abuses.

Preemptive Crackdown in Bahrain Against Planned Tamarrod Protests
▻http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/13390/preemptive-crackdown-in-bahrain-against-planned-ta

The Bahrain government is currently engaged in a new crackdown on activists and wider civil liberties. In the past few days alone, dangerous new legislation has been introduced, there have been many arrests including prominent activists, and the government has “sanctioned a witch hunt” through the creation of a “hotline” for citizens to report websites and social media accounts deemed to be against "public interests and targeting national unity and civic peace.” Security has been ratcheted up with reports of increased police presence in many different areas. Three deaths have occurred over the past week in “suspicious” circumstances, according to the opposition. All involved traffic accidents. Hussain Kadhem was in police custody at the time of his death. Two youths were fugitives when they were killed. Their family believe they were being chased by police. Meanwhile, another protester is in intensive care, after being run down.

The government’s crackdown comes in advance of 14 August, when opposition groups are preparing a day of mass protest under the banner “Bahrain Tamarrod” (Rebellion). The date is also symbolic. It marks the day when Bahrain gained independence from Britain in 1971 and has long been an occasion for opposition protest, as the Bahrain government refuses to celebrate it. Bahrain Tamarrod was first announced on 4 July. The idea quickly gained support from the full spectrum of opposition groups and societies. On 15 July, government spokesperson Sameera Rajab warned against “involvement” with the movement. Despite this, popular support for Bahrain Tamarrod grew, whilst pro-government supporters and politicians began to escalate their calls for a crackdown.

« Bernie Ecclestone strikes again with ’stupid’ remark in Bahrain »

F1 supremo criticises Bahrain government over staging of race. Crown Prince laughs it off: ’It’s just Bernie being Bernie’

►http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013/apr/20/bernie-ecclestone-bahrain-f1

Bernie Ecclestone has a habit for maladroitness that has become more noticeable as each of his 82 years has passed. But he sounded alarm bells here when he seemingly called the Bahrain government “stupid” for staging a grand prix because of the opportunities it presented to pro-democracy protesters.

It was another race and another gaffe for Formula One’s supremo, who once said Adolf Hitler got things done and who on Friday had suggested everything was OK in Bahrain but that, no, he wouldn’t be staging a race in Syria. (...)

What he actually said to BBC Sport’s Dan Roan, who had asked him if the race had been politicised, was: “We believe the government were in a way really stupid to put this race on [because] it’s a platform for people to use for protesting.”

Ecclestone added: “It [the race] is good. I don’t think it’s for us to decide the politics, good or bad. It’s a good circuit, a good race, and we think everybody’s happy so we’re here.”

When his comments were later repeated in the paddock the country’s crown prince laughed them off: “It’s Bernie being Bernie,” said Prince Salman bin Hamad Isa al-Khalifa on his visit to the track. “I love Bernie and his quotes. I think it’s funny. I have a sense of humour. People will know he’s being sarcastic. I think it’s funny, and I can’t be thankful enough for his support.”

#F1 #Bahreïn #contestation

le journal londonien -financé par l’Arabie Saoudite, al Sharq al Awsat critique avec férocité les déclarations du Wifaq revenant sur la légitimité de la Constitution de 2002 et les assimile à une volonté de coup d’état.

"The Al-Wifaq Society, a Bahraini opposition group, yesterday stepped up its attacks on the legal institutions in Bahrain. It said that the Bahrain Constitution lacked consensus and was rejected by the majority of the Bahrain people. It also said it does not recognize the legislature or the institutions created under the Constitution. Sources in the Bahrain Government considered these statements by Al-Wifaq about rejecting the Constitution as a blueprint for a coup Al-Wifaq wants to carry out. In 2001, the people of Bahrain endorsed with a 98 per cent vote at a referendum the National Charter which served as the foundation for all the amendments introduced to the 1973 Constitution. This served as the basis for the 2002 Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Bahrain Government sources told Al-Sharq al-Awsat that the calls by Al-Wifaq were tantamount to an invitation for a coup against the State through bringing down its Constitution, legitimate establishments, and legislative authority.

Al Sharq al Awsat