22nd February 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain opposition: Protester dies week after head injury during clashes
An opposition ofcial in Bahrain says a 20-year-old protester died from injuries suffered during clashes with security forces. The death is the second this month blamed on riot police in the tense Gulf kingdom and could put further pressure on political talks aimed at ending two years of unrest. Bahrain's majority Shiites have led an uprising for a greater political voice in the Sunni-ruled nation, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Hadi al-Musawi, a spokesman for the Shiite group Al Wefaq, said the protester died early Friday from a head injury sustained Feb. 14 when he was hit with a tear gas canister red by security forces. Bahraini ofcials had no immediate comment. Read More

Bahraini protester dies of wounds: opposition

A Shiite protester died of wounds after he was shot during clashes with Bahraini police on the second anniversary of the February 14, 2011 uprising, the opposition said on Friday. Mahmud al-Jaziri, 20, succumbed on Thursday to

wounds suffered when he was "hit with a direct shot to the head by regime forces during peaceful protests" marking the uprising, the main Shiite opposition AlWefaq group said. The shooting occurred on Nabi Saleh island, south of Manama, on a day that two other people died during demonstrations commemorating the uprising, which Saudibacked Bahraini forces crushed in mid-March 2011. Read More violence - despite thugs attacking police with Molotov cocktails and other weapons, planting improvised explosive devices , cutting down street lights, attacking mobile phone masts and blocking roads with debris. A coalition of mostly Sunni Islamist groups taking part in talks had submitted an anti-violence declaration for all parties to approve, but opposition groups would not put their names to it. Read More

anti-government protests in Bahrain in the past week.

Bahraini dies after being struck by tear gas canister

A protester who was struck in the head by a tear gas canister red by police in Bahrain last week has died, opposition ofcials say. Mahmood Aljazeeri, 20, died in hospital on Friday, seven days after being injured, according to a statement released by the Al Wefaq society. Mr Aljazeeri is the third person to be killed during

Violence ared during demonstrations marking two years of protests. Another member of Mr Aljazeeri's family was shot and killed by police, and a police ofcer died after being attacked, during unrest on 14 February, the anniversary of the occupation of Pearl Roundabout in the capital Manama by pro-democracy activists. Read More

Bahraini dies from injuries after protest clash - opposition

Five societies taking part in the National Consensus Dialogue refused to endorse a document condemning ongoing street violence in Bahrain, our sister newspaper, the Gulf Daily News reported. The opposition groups would not approve a statement denouncing the

Young Bahraini protester dies after clash with police

A young protester died of wounds after he was shot during clashes with Bahraini police on the second anniversary of the February 14, 2011 uprising, the opposition said on Friday.

Mahmoud al-Jaziri, 20, succumbed on Thursday to wounds suffered when he was "hit with a direct shot to the head by regime forces during peaceful protests" marking the uprising, the main opposition al-Wefaq group said. He is the third person to be killed during anti-government protests in the past week. Read More

Bahrain last week in Paris to discuss human rights concerns in the country.

Rights group disputes Bahrain news reports

The International Federation for Human Rights said statements from the ofcial Bahrain News Agency on human rights reforms were erroneous. The rights consortium said it met with lawmakers from

Riot police this month responded to demonstrations in Manama. Dozens of demonstrators died during 2011 protests against the Sunni-led monarchy. Since then, the government has detained or revoked the citizenship from opposition leaders. Read More Its Brutal Crackdown and even King of Bahrain Beats Up Arab Pop Star on a Yacht? That sure is some bad optics, as they say in the business, and you probably cant repair your reputation solely through articles titled Bahrain a Land of tolerance... in government-run media outlets, especially when that ellipsis might be an indication that even the journalists on your payroll can barely believe the shit theyre writing. Read More genesis of Bahrains problems lies in the difference in the religious afliations of the population and the ruling dynasty. The emirs of the al-Khalifa dynasty, who follow Sunni Islam, have ruled their mostly Shia population ever since their conquest of the island in 1783. At present, the al Khalifas wield absolute power. The absolute monarch King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa is free to control the appointment and removal of the Prime Minister, the judiciary, and even the parliament. Read More

Bahrain Opposition Rejects Discovery of 'Terrorist Cell'

This is not the rst time that the Bahraini Interior Ministry has announced the discovery of a terrorist cell aiming to destabilize the country, hurt the economy and assassinate public gures. Throughout the past few decades, security agencies have constantly talked about cells that they characterized as terrorist, usually composed of opposition members accused of working for

foreign entities. Such news, with time, gets relegated to obscurity, very rarely resurfacing into the open. In their ongoing attempts to divert attention away from important internal Bahraini issues be they political or parliamentary the security agencies have, since the beginning of the Bahraini crisis in February 2011, announced the discovery of ve terrorist cells accused of possessing weapons, perpetrating attacks against police ofcers and destabilizing security. Read More "placing opinion pieces...in media outlets, brieng western journalists, creating websites and feeding social media accounts", Bahrain's coverage remained decidedly unfavourable. How could this be? Abdulrahman offered two explanations, and a solution. First, when the messenger is handsomely paid to give you a certain message, it is hard to take that message at face value. Second, if the propaganda offensive itself becomes the story, it has effectively failed. Read More

BAHRAINS PR CAMPAIGN IS DOOMED TO FAIL

Hey, do you happen to be the proprietor of a familyrun dictatorship in the Middle East? Tired of seeing stories about your country that are all Bahrain Princess Accused of Torture and Teenager Killed in Bahrain Anniversary Protests and The US Sold a Bunch of Weapons to Bahrain During

The Regime in Bahrain Needs to Drop the PR, and do its Homework
Last month, in Bahrain's Gulf Daily News, the proregime journalist Anwar Abdulrahman launched astinging attack on the western PR rms hired by the Gulf autocracy to improve its image overseas after the uprising of February-March 2011. The likes of Qorvis Communications and Bell Pottinger had provided no value for their "millions of dollars in fees". Despite

Satellite Emir
If you look closely at a map of the Middle East, you may notice a small speck of land aoat in the Persian Gulf, right across from regional behemoth Saudi Arabia. The tiny island is Bahrain, the smallest country in the Middle East, and it has recently been in the news for being both at an ethnic and political crossroads. With a booming economy, Bahrain faces problems that stem less from living conditions than they do in other Arab nations. The

Royal Navy visits Bahrain days after Mons Hall anger

A Royal Navy warship has visited Bahrain just days after it emerged a Sandhurst hall, previously dedicated to British soldiers killed in the First World War, would be renamed after the King of Bahrain. Concerns had been raised about the

country's human rights record and the memory of British troops. The Ministry of Defence conrmed on 20 February that HMS Northumberland had visited Bahrain halfway through an eight-month deployment in the Middle East. Read More