By Carolyn Abdenour
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MANAMA, Bahrain – On Monday, 8 November, security forces shot rubber bullets and fired tear gas at hundreds of anti-government protesters at Pearl Square in Manama, the nation’s capital.  The protesters advocated for equal rights for the Sunni and Shiite populations.  Although a majority of the population is Shia, the government is Sunni-led.  No protesters sustained injuries during the police action.  On Tuesday, Bahraini pilgrims demonstrated in Mecca to demand the fall of the Al Khalifa regime in support of Monday’s protests.

Also on Monday, Sheikh Eissa Qasim, Bahrain’s top religious leader, asked Bahrainis to maintain their peaceful revolution after he identified the ruling monarchy’s treatment of anti-government demonstrations as a brutal crackdown.  He criticized the government for their alleged torture of detained female protesters.

The Arab Spring inspired the anti-government protests in Bahrain.  Since the protests began in mid-February, thousands of people protested.  Over thirty people have died and several more have sustained injuries.  The government detained and tried hundreds of protesters for anti-state crimes.

On Sunday, people gathered after a massive funeral procession for Ali al-Daihee, the father of the vice president of al-Wefaq – Bahrain’s leading opposition group.  Opposition groups assert al-Daihee died after the police beat the 70-year-old man during a protest in the village of Daih on Wednesday.  However, the authorities state he died of natural causes.  Activists claim al-Daihee is the 45th person the authorities have killed during an uprising against the monarchy.  During the funeral procession in Diah, Saudi-backed Bahraini regime forces attacked the mourners.

The government also released Zulfiqur Naji, a teenage Iraqi soccer player, after seven months of detention on Sunday.  The government detained him under the suspicion of participating in anti-government protests.  Countries such as Iraq and Canada called for Naji’s release.  Naji was one of over 300 prisoners freed after King Hamad bin Isa Al Kahalifa granted a prisoner pardon in honor of Eid al-Adha.

Qasim previously warned the people’s determination to fight for the rights will strengthen after the government harshly cracked down on anti-government protesters.  He added that the government’s refusal to implement demanded changes failed to quiet Bahrainis.

In June, Qasim stated, “We have offered so many sacrifices and cannot back down and end up empty handed. The reactions of the security forces result in damaging the country, but the people are patient and peaceful.”

For more information, please see:

The Australian – Forces Fire on Bahraini Shia Marches – 8 November 2011

Bikya Masr – Bahrain Top Sheikh Condemns Government Violence – 8 November 2011

Press TV – Bahraini Pilgrims Hold Anti-Regime Demo – 8 November 2011

The Voice of Russia – Bahrain’s Police Breaks Up Anti-Governmental Rally – 6 November 2011

 

By Adom M. Cooper
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel–On Friday 04 November 2011, Israeli authorities detained pro-Palestinian activists, journalists, and crewmembers on board two self-deemed “Freedom Waves to Gaza” vessels. These ships were intending to break the four-year Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory, attempting to bring medical supplies to Gaza.

The Canadian vessel, the Tahrir (Arabic for “liberation”), and Irish vessel, the MV Saoirse (Gaelic for “freedom”) both were forced to sail into the Israeli port of Ashdod, where all 27 passengers were handed over to Israeli authorities and taken to an Israeli detention facility near Tel Aviv. The activists were from as many as eight countries, including the United States, and set sail from Turkey on Wednesday 02 November 2011. Both ships were approximately 50 nautical miles from the Gaza shoreline when they were contacted by the Israeli navy and told to turn around, reported the AFP news agency.

The Israeli navy said it “advised the vessels that they may turn back at any point, thereby not breaking the maritime security blockade” or could sail to Ashdod or an Egyptian port. According to the AFP news agency, the activists refused to cooperate and then Israeli naval ships approached the boats and boarded them before towing them towards Ashdod.

The group of activists claimed that the Israeli navy undertook “violent and dangerous” seizures methods to obtain the vessels. Fintan Lane, the group’s coordinator, stated that the Israelis pointed guns at the passengers and turned high-pressure hoses on the Irish and Canadian boats, blasting out windows and causing a collision that left the Saoirse badly damaged.

“The method used in the takeover was dangerous to human life. The Israeli forces initially wanted to leave the boats at sea, but the abductees demanded that they not be left to float at sea, for they would have been lost and possibly sunk.”

The Israeli Navy released the following statement.

“The Israeli Navy soldiers operated as planned, and took every precaution necessary to ensure the safety of the activists onboard the vessels as well as themselves.”

Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld reported that the activists would be questioned by police and immigrations officials and then returned to their respective home countries.

“The Gaza area and coastal region are closed to maritime traffic as part of a blockade imposed for security purposes. Your attempt to enter the Gaza Strip by sea is a violation of international law. We remind you that humanitarian supplies can be delivered to Gaza Strip by land, and you are welcome to enter Ashdod port and deliver supplies through land crossings.”

The organizers of the flotilla claimed that six people, including the captains of both vessels and two journalists, had been released by the evening of Sunday 06 November 2011. The remainder refused to sign waivers allowing their deportation, according to a statement on the Irish activist group’s website.

“They are refusing to sign not because they are legally challenging deportation or are demanding to see a judge, but rather because the waiver says that they came to Israel voluntarily and that they entered the country illegal. Of course, this is a lie and they won’t agree to it.”

Last year, Israeli troops killed nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists when they resisted an Israeli operation to halt a similar flotilla. Each side pointed a finger at the other for the responsibility of the violence. Israel claimed that that its troops had fired live ammunition only after activists, armed with clubs, knives, and metals bars attacked them and felt that their lives were threatened. The activists claimed that they were attacked first.

After the incident, Israel was forced to ease its land blockade on Gaza, which was imposed in 2006 and tightened, with the Egyptian cooperation, after Hamas seized control of the territory the following year.

Al-Jazeera correspondent Nicole Johnston reported, from the port of Ashdod, shared these sentiments on the continued attempts to bring supplies via water freely into Gaza.

“Another failed attempt for the season of flotillas to Gaza. This attempt was a lot quieter. It left on Wednesday from Turkey. There was no great fanfare with it, but again it didn’t succeed in getting past the Israeli navy, and achieving its aim which was to symbolically break this four-year siege on Gaza.”

The residents of Gaza have endured absolutely deplorable living conditions for some time. They depend every day on international aid and support. According to a 2008 UN Envoy to Gaza, more than 80 percent of the population is dependent upon food aid. Rates of anemia and diarrhea among children have rise to 40 percent in the last several years.

Israel claims that it is concerned about the smuggling of arms to Gaza militants intent on attacking the Jewish state. Gaza is controlled by Hamas, an openly anti-Israel militant group, and is classified as a terrorist group by the United States and Israel.

After prayers on Friday 04 November 2011 at a Gaza City mosque, Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister shared these sentiments concerning the activists on the boats.

“Your message has been delivered whether you make it or not. The siege is unjust and must end.”

 

For more information, please see: 

CNN – Israel Deports Activists From Gaza-Bound Aid Ships – 06 November 2011

Al-Jazeera – Activists On Gaza-Bound Vessels Detained – 05 November 2011

Ahram – Egyptian Journalist Among Those On Captured Gaza Aid Boats – 05 November 2011

BBC – Israel Boards Protest Boats Taking Medical Aid to Gaza – 04 November 2011

NYT – Israel Intercepts Two Boats Bound For Gaza – 04 November 2011

The Guardian – Israeli Navy Boards Gaza-Bound Boats – 04 November 2011

Reuters – Israeli Navy Intercepts Gaza-Bound Boats – 04 November 2011

 

 

By Tyler Yates
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TUNIS, Tunisia — Planned changes to the Tunisian Constitution show that the Islamist-led government will focus on democracy, human rights, and a free-market economy.  Religion will effectively be left out of the document when it is finalized.

The government has decided not to introduce Shar’ia law or any other Islamic concepts into the constitution, and alter its already secular nature.

“We are against trying to impose a particular way of life,” said Ennahda leader Rachid Ghannouchi, a lifelong Islamist activist jailed and exiled under previous regimes.

Critics, both foreign and Tunisian, have expressed fear that Ennahda, a moderate Islamist party that won 41.7 percent of the vote in Tunisia’s first free election on 23 October, would try to impose its religious principles on the relatively secular Muslim country.

Ennahda and the minority parties that came in below them in the election formed an assembly to begin the long process of amending the constitution.

The politicians have made it clear that the new assembly was created to reassure Tunisian voters, foreign tourists, and the investors vital to its economy.

There was a consensus amongst the parties who amended the constitution to keep the first article, which lists Tunisia’s language as Arabic and its religion as Islam.

“This is just a description of reality,” said Ghannouchi.  “It doesn’t have any legal implications.  There will be no other references to religion in the constitution.  We want to provide freedom for the whole country.”

A number of Ghannouchi’s reformist Islamist writings in the 1980s and 1990s influenced Turkey’s current mixture of Islam and democracy.  Tunisia, like Turkey, had decades of secularist dictatorships before evolving into a democracy where moderate Islamists have emerged as a viable political force.

“Law by itself doesn’t change reality,” Ghannouchi said.  “There shouldn’t be any law to try and make people more religious.”

The Ennahda leader views Shar’ia law as a set of moral values for individuals and societies rather than a code to be imposed by a country’s legal system. “Egypt says Shar’ia is the main source of its law, but that didn’t prevent (deposed President) Mubarek from being a dictator.”

The amended constitution will also reflect changes towards furthering women’s rights, however the parties would not agree to include the country’s liberal Personal Status Code in the constitution.  These writes will be protected instead by legislation.

The biggest disagreement between the parties amending the constitution was over whether Tunisia should opt for a British parliamentary system, or a French-styled mix of a directly elected President and a parliament.

The realities of the coalition parties and the need for a two-thirds majority to approve the new constitution will likely force all parties to seek a broad consensus.

There is a hope that Tunisia will be able to build a democracy compatible with Islam that could be used by other Arab countries.

The new constitution is due in approximately a year.

For more information, please see:

Al Arabiya — Tunisia’s Islamist-led government rejects laws to enforce religion — 05 Nov. 2011

Daily Times — Tunisian constitution will make no place for faith — 05 Nov. 2011

Reuters — Tunisia’s Islamist-led govt sees little place for religion in revised constitution — 04 Nov. 2011

Voice of America — Islam in Tunisia – Will Ennahda Win Usher in Religious Reform? — 03 Nov. 2011

Los Angeles Times — Tunisia vote could shape religion in public life — 22 Oct. 2011