The Bahraini government & Monarchy are peddling the notion that the uprising in Bahrain is not justified because it is really a sectarian uprising of Shiite majority against the Sunni minority who are in power.
The idea that this is just a sectarian uprising backed by the Evil Iranians is the party line which the US government and its allies and much of the Western Media has decided to accept at face value
But most observers knowledgeable about Bahrain say it is about social and economic justice and is about reform not just for Shiites but also a large portion of Sunnis who are treated just as badly as Shiites.
Protest taking place in Saudi Arabia against the Saudi government and against the Saudi and Bahraini actions against the Shiites in Bahrain.
And it should be noted that these protests in Saudi Arabia are taking place even though all demonstrations or gatherings have been banned and leading clerics have chimed in to support this ban.
So for Saudi Arabia such demonstrations prove that there is still growing opposition among the citizenry of Saudi Arabia to the Royal Family's authoritarian anti-shiite Sunni backed regime.
It appears that Qaddafi has agreed to a ceasefire and to reforms and to an election monitored by the UN etc. Unfortunately the Obama administration is ignoring Qaddafi's conciliatory move because they are determined to remove Qaddafi from power . So the USA and the West having demonized Qaddafi are now unwilling to make a ceasefire agreement with him or even engage in talks with him or members of his regime.
Qaddafi is being erroneously portrayed in the Western Media as a major threat to the region and to America's interests.
Having demonized Qaddafi it is therefore illogical for anyone to take his conciliatory offer seriously because Qaddafi is now the embodiment of Evil. And it is Evil that America supposedly is fighting even Obama seems caught up in his own rhetoric and that of his advisers .
It should be noted that part of the problem in America's dealing with nations such as Libya is that the Americans believe that democracy is only possible if a nation also accepts capitalism as the only economic system which can support a democracy.
It is naive to assume that the Americans and their Western allies are revving up their war on Qaddafi in order to simply spread democracy to Libya.
The US and its allies want to remove Qaddafi to put in his place a more willing ally of the USA and the West. They further want to replace Qaddafi's regime with one that is further to the right and will put these foreign interests before the needs of the Libyan people.
The ultimate goal of the neocons and neoliberals is to further expand the American Empire and its dominance and hegemony in the region to spread rapacious unfettered capitalism to the region.
The message to other countries undergoing these popular uprisings now referred to as the Arab Spring is that only regimes which are American friendly and which embrace rapacious capitalism will be supported. This explains why the Obama administration is taking no action whether military or even diplomatically to stop the brutal crackdown in Bahrain and other US friendly states.
By not taking action against Bahrain and the Saudi invasion force in Bahrain the tacit message is that they are permitted to do as they please that is with impunity to crush the opposition in Bahrain.
So an oppressive authoritarian government which is anti-democratic and which violates its citizens human rights whether it is a dictatorship or a monarchy or military Junta is fine as long as it is an ally of the USA and helps to advance American corporate interests.
Just remember the USA kept Mubarak of Egypt , Musharaff of Pakistan and other dictators in the region in power because they did nothing to interfere with America's interests whether economic or strategic.
" Libya Offers “Verifiable” Ceasefire, Elections " By Hasan Suroor April 20, 2011 "The Hindu" via Information Clearing House
- LONDON: Libya's Foreign Minister Abdul Ati al-Obeidi on Wednesday offered a “properly verifiable” ceasefire supervised by foreign observers to pave the way for talks which could cover “any issue” including, he implied, the future of Colonel Muammar Qadhafi.
He proposed a six-month transition period to be followed by elections under U.N. supervision as proposed by the African Union.
The British government dismissed the offer saying. “We need actions, not words from Qadhafi's regime.”
Mr. Obeidi's remarks in a BBC interview came as France and Italy, taking a cue from Britain, announced they, too, would send teams of military officers to Libya to help rebels fighting government forces — a move Mr. Obeidi said would “encourage” anti-Qadhafi groups to “become more defiant” and hinder any peace initiative.
Critics warned that by sending military personnel to Libya, the Western alliance could be in breach of the U.N. mandate which specifically prohibited “boots on the ground”.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague claimed the military teams would not be involved in any combat operations and provide only logistics and intelligence training to rebel forces.
Mr. Obeidi called foreign military presence a “step backwards” and said ultimately it would have to be a “Libyan solution”.
The British Foreign Office said there had been “several offers of ceasefires before from this regime — at the same time as his forces continue flagrantly to shell cities like Misrata and attack the Libyan people”.
Sterling: Ignoring plight of Bahrain's Shiites shames the West By Harry Sterling, For the Calgary Herald April 23, 2011
The unwillingness of many western countries to forcefully criticize the killing of anti-government protesters in Bahrain illustrates the hypocrisy of some western governments who selectively support pro-democracy uprisings only when it serves their own vested interest.
Their silence over atrocities and torture inflicted on Shiite protesters by Bahrain's military and security forces -including systematic destruction of Shiite mosques and holy places -is shocking, especially given the West's support for protesters fighting against other Middle East authoritarian regimes in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen.
In an ominous turn of events, Britain's Independent newspaper reported April 21 that Bahrain security authorities have intimidated and arrested doctors and other medical staff in hospitals, denouncing them for treating individuals wounded during pro-democracy demonstrations. Some doctors have reportedly been held incommunicado or have been "disappeared". All of this is in total violation of the Geneva Convention on treating people injured during conflicts.
Such reticence to condemn the systematic killing of civilians demonstrating against the ruling al-Khalifa family since the protest movement began peacefully Feb. 14 is, however, not unexpected.
While western countries, particularly the United States, were initially reluctant to come out too openly in favour of the pro-democracy movements in places like Tunisia H S and Egypt -some American officials even indicating then president Hosni Mubarak or Egypt could stay in power to maintain stability during a transition to democracy -criticism of Bahrain's Sunni authorities was almost non-existent, limited to predictable exhortations for everyone to exercise restraint during such large-scale demonstrations calling for change.
There was a very compelling reason for the U.S.'s low-key response: Bahrain is the headquarters of the American Fifth Fleet. Given the crucial importance of that naval base, being openly critical of the al-Khalifa elite was to be avoided.
According to reports by the Independent newspaper, Saudi military personnel joined Bahraini forces in the deliberate demolition of Shiite mosques and shrines, Shiites regarded by Saudi Arabia's conservative Wahhabis as heretics.
The New York-based group Human Rights Watch says countless people detained by Bahrain's security forces were tortured including a reform-minded Shiite militant, Ali Isa Ibrahim Saqer, who died while in custody, his body showing signs of being beaten.
Although the al-Khalifa elite seemingly has opted to end the protest movement by force, they may rue the day they went so far as to actually demolish Shiite holy places. Such a move has the potential to inflame the entire Shiite world community with totally unpredictable consequences, not just for the al-Khalifa family but also for Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, as well as the always-volatile Middle East region -not to mention the strategic interests of the U.S. and other countries, including the European Union.
The implications for Washington have already become apparent. Because of its desire not to alienate Saudi Arabia and the other non-democratic Gulf states -and to ensure the continued use of Bahrain's naval base -the Obama administration now stands accused of total hypocrisy when it comes to supporting democracy and respect for human rights in the Middle East.
In the mind of cynics, what counts for the United States is not democracy for oppressed societies, but rather pure unadulterated self-interest. Washington initially tried to mute criticism of Egypt's Mubarak because of his anti-Islamist policies and peace treaty with Israel, only reversing position when he clearly had become a liability. Similarly, Washington was reluctant to call for Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign because of his co-operation in fighting al-Qaeda
And Shiites in other nations including Iraq and Saudi Arabia etc. are protesting on behalf of the Shiite in Bahrain who are being attacked by Bahraini and Saudi forces.
"Iraqi Shiites stage demonstration to support Bahrain anti-govenment Shiite protesters" By Bushra Juhi, The Associated Press , April 23, 2011
BAGHDAD — Hundreds followers of an Iraqi Shiite party gathered Saturday in Baghdad in a show of solidarity for anti-government protesters in the island kingdom of Bahrain.Meanwhile Bahraini forces attacking the homes of civilians
At least 30 people have died and hundreds have been detained since protests by the Bahrain's Shiite majority demanding greater rights and freedoms started Feb. 14. They were put down only with a military aid from neighbouring Sunni-led Gulf states.
The demonstration in central Khilani Square, organized by the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council or SIIC, one of the main Iraqi Shiite parties, demanded that the Bahraini government stop the crackdown against protesters and that the foreign troops, largely Saudi, leave.
"We strongly denounce the double standard in the stance of world and the regional countries on the presence of invading forces in Bahrain," Hadi al-Amiri, a top official of the SIIC, told the demonstrators referring to forces of Gulf states in Bahrain.
Gulf countries have sided with the Sunni rulers in Bahrain while Iraq, which is majority Shiite, has been adamant in its support of the protesters, souring already tense relations.
On Wednesday the Arab League's summit scheduled for next month in Baghdad was postponed, the act many Iraqis view as retaliation over Iraq's support for Shiites in Bahrain.
Bahrain forces raid civilian houses, pressTV, April 23, 2011
Saudi-backed Bahraini security forces have launched violent attacks on the houses of protesters and activists, who have been taking part in anti-government rallies.
On Saturday, the riot police raided the houses in the eastern island of Sitra, a Press TV correspondent reported.
In a popular revolution, thousands of anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations since mid-February, calling for constitutional monarchy.
On March 13, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates deployed police and military forces to the Persian Gulf Island at Manama's request to quell the countrywide protests.
According to local sources, dozens of people have been killed and hundreds arrested so far during the government-sanctioned clampdown.
Saudi-backed security forces have also launched a campaign of destroying mosques and holy sites across the country. Dozens of mosques have been destroyed by the forces since the launch of the revolution.
Earlier, hundreds of people held a candlelight vigil in condemnation of government raids and destruction of religious sites.
Rights groups say government forces have even raided hospitals, torturing doctors and patients in an effort to suppress the protests. They say more than 30 medical workers have gone missing.
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Also see:
Europe's silence on Bahrain means supporting crimes, says Iran Service: Foreign Policy 04-23-2011 ISNA - Tehran
TEHRAN (ISNA)-Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Europe supports crimes in Bahrain as it remains silent on events in the country.
He then turned to European countries and said, "doesn't your silence on crimes in Bahrain suggest your support for the circumstance and adaptation of a dual-track policy on human rights?"
Medical workers missing in Bahrain Globe Wire Services / Boston.com, April 23, 2011
The group, Physicians for Human Rights, cited reports from Bahrain that “doctors are disappearing as part of a systematic attack on medical staff’’ and that “many physicians are missing following interrogations by unknown security forces at Salmaniya Medical Complex’’ in the capital, Manama.
And women have been incarcerated in Bahrain including pregnant women are kept in dungeons:
Bahraini Regime Tortures Pregnant Women in Dark Dungeons farsnews.com, April 23, 2011
TEHRAN (FNA)- The Muslim Women Movement in a recent statement protested at the brutal and cruel behavior of the Bahraini regime towards women in the country, and revealed that the Al-Khalifa regime has imprisoned innocent pregnant women in horrible dungeons.
"They keep pregnant women in terrifying prisons, martyr their husbands under torture and attack people's homes at night and create panic and horror," the statement said on Saturday, addressing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.
The statement condemned the silence shown by the international organizations on the massacre of the Bahraini and Yemeni people by their tyrannical rulers, and said "Hundreds of the Yemeni and Bahraini women are in prison for the ambitions of their bullying rulers."
The Muslim Women Movement in its statement warned the UN chief about the dire consequences of his continued silence on the developments in Bahrain, and underlined that the tremors of these big regional revolutions and uprisings will one day destroy the fragile palaces of the western governments.
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