2/3/4 November 2015

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain government
cracks down on
opposition with raids,
arrests

Meanwhile, people took

to the streets in Diya to
denounce the regimes
apprehension of peaceful
protesters.

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The UK plans to forcibly

deport a young Bahraini
man who says he will be
imprisoned and tortured
because of his antigovernment activism
A seriously ill Bahraini
man fears he will be killed
when he is deported to the
Gulf state next week, after
his UK asylum application
was turned down by British
authorities.
Ali Isa Hasan, 26, fled to
the UK in November 2011
out of fear he was going to
be imprisoned and tortured
in Bahrain for taking part

Bahraini security forces

have stormed the homes of
anti-government protesters
in different parts of the
capital, Manama, arresting
dozens of people.
The raids happened in
different
districts
and
villages, including Sitra,
Diya and Malkiya, in
Manama on Tuesday night.
According to Bahrain's alMerat website, 45 Bahrainis
have so far been arrested by
Al Khalifa security forces
over the past 24 hours.

Campaigners call
on Fifa to throw out
Sheikh Salmans bid for
presidency
Human-rights campaigners
have submitted an official
complaint to Fifa calling
for the Asian Football
Confederation
president
Sheikh
Salman
bin
Ebrahim al-Khalifa to be
barred from the race to
succeed Sepp Blatter over
his alleged involvement
in a clampdown on prodemocracy protestors in
2011.
The AFC president, one of
seven candidates for the Fifa
presidency and considered
among the frontrunners in
the wake of Michel Platinis
suspension, has always
denied
the
allegations
and last week branded the

UK to deport seriously
ill Bahrain activist
who claims he will be
tortured

claims false, nasty lies. His

spokesman has also said the
allegations are entirely false
and are categorically denied
by Sheikh Salman.
But the Bahrain Institute
for Rights and Democracy
(BIRD) and a US group,
Americans for Democracy
and Human Rights in
Bahrain (ADHRB), have
written
to
Domenico
Scala, chair of the electoral
committee, asking for him
to be struck out of the race.
The 22-page complaint
points to documents on
the website of the staterun Bahrain News Agency
(BNA) from April 2011
that said the Bahrain FA,
of which Sheikh Salman
was then head, would be
investigating all footballers,
staff and clubs associated
with
pro-democracy
protests.

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Questions raised over

legality of new UK base
in Bahrain
Construction begins on
naval base with British
dignitaries
praising
'progress' since 2011 unrest,
but critics say base is
unconstitutional
The governments of Bahrain
and the UK have celebrated
the start of construction
on a new British naval base
in the tiny Gulf kingdom,
amid allegations that the site
is being built in violation of
Bahrains constitution.
UK Foreign Secretary Philip
Hammond led a British
delegation over the weekend
to take part in a groundbreaking ceremony at the
site on the eastern coast of

in pro-democracy protests
against the ruling al-Khalifa
royal family.
News of Hasans imminent
deportation, set for 10
November, comes after
British Foreign Secretary
Phillip Hammond attended
a ceremony to announce the
opening of a new UK naval
base in Bahrain.
Conservative MP Alan
Duncan said on Monday
that Bahrain is an example
of openness and tolerance
and claimed that the
Khalifas do not deserve
their reputation of treating
Shia Muslim Bahrainis as
second class citizens.

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the island kingdom, just

next to an existing US naval
base.
Hammond heralded the
start of construction at the
site as a watershed moment
in the UKs commitment to
the region, according to
a statement issued by the
Foreign Office on Saturday.

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Blood for oil: U.S. State

Dept. calls Bahrains
tyrannical monarchy a
close, valued partner,
thanks it for oil
A State Dept. speech
in Bahrain exposes the
unbelievable
depth
of
hypocrisy of U.S. policy in
the Middle East
It is very good to be in
Bahraina close, valued,
and longstanding partner of
the United States, remarked
Deputy Secretary of State
Antony Blinken in Bahraini
capital Manama on Oct. 31.
Although
a
close
U.S. ally, Bahrain is a
tyrannical monarchy. It
brutally represses prodemocracy activists and
imprisons peaceful political
opponents.
Amnesty

Bahrain: U.K returns to

Gulf with permanent
military base
The United Kingdom is
building its first military
base in the Gulf 44 years
after it left the area.
The
launch
of
the
construction of a permanent
military base in Bahrain was
attended by UK Foreign
Secretary Philip Hammond
and
Bahrains
Foreign
Minister Sheikh Khalid bin
Ahmed Al Khalifa.
Hammond said the base
guarantees the presence of
the Navy into the future and
reinforces stability in the
Gulf and beyond with the
help of the allies.
Sheikh Khalid welcomed
the construction of the
base as a quite important
step considering the fact

International reports the

Bahraini government has
for years continued to
stifle and punish dissent
and to curtail freedoms of
expression, association, and
assembly. The human rights
organization furthermore
notes
that
Bahraini
authorities maintain a
large degree of impunity
amid continuing reports of
torture of detainees and the
use of excessive force against
protesters.
Human Rights Watch has
documented
the
same
widespread violations of
human rights, and warned
that American silence
on the subject makes
political
change
less
likely, to the detriment of
Bahraini citizens, global
norms against torture, and
American credibility as an
advocate of human rights.

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that more challenges are
happening in the region.
He said the cooperation has
been going on for decades
and their partnership is
geared towards defending
navigation
in
regional
waters against aggression
of all sorts because its
our responsibility to keep it
open for the whole world.
Hammond tweeted that the
base is a symbol of UKs
enduring commitment to
Gulf security. He also said
during the launch ceremony
that the great challenge
of our time is combatting
terrorism.

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British navy begins

construction on new
base in Bahrain
The British Royal Navy
broke ground for a new
base at Mina Salman Port
in Bahrain Saturday in a
ceremony attended by the
U.K.s foreign secretary and
senior Royal Navy officials.
The Mina Salman Port will
be the Royal Navys first
permanent base in Bahrain
since the U.K. withdrew
British forces from Manama
in 1971. The U.S. Navy took
over that base and has built
it up into the home of the
U.S. Fifth Fleet.
The U.K.s new base will
operate in much the same
way as the U.S.'s base does: as
a forward-staging platform

15M Naval Base

Under Construction In
Bahrain
This facility will give
the United Kingdom an
enhanced and permanent
presence in the region,
allowing
longer-term
deployments in the Gulf. It
is created to assert influence
over the Gulf and to fight
extremist elements in the
region.
The
British
Foreign
Secretary, accompanied by
navy personnel, attended
the grand ceremony at
Bahrains Mina Salman Port,
marking the beginning of
construction works at the
new Royal Navy base.
Hammond tweeted on
Saturday that work starts
today on new base at Mina
Salman, and said the new

to project military force in

the Middle Eastern region.
The Mina Salman Port
base is to become a central
cog in the Royal Navys
operations in the region.
The permanent facility will
allow longer deployments
for British forces and give
them the ability to perform
more complicated tasks.
British Foreign Secretary
Philip Hammond said
establishing the new base is a
landmark move in securing
the U.K.s commitment to
the region.

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base is a symbol of UKs

enduring commitment to
Gulf security.
The presence of the
Royal Navy in Bahrain is
guaranteed into the future,
ensuring Britains sustained
presence east of Suez. It
marks the first permanent
British military base in the
region since 1971, when
Britain formally withdrew
from the Middle East
and Bahrain gained its
independence.

Read more