16th/17th December 2014

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Seven Helpful Things
the New Ambassador
to Bahrain Can Do
Washington's new
ambassador to Bahrain, Bill
Roebuck, is set to take up
his post in the coming
weeks and will be hoping
for a smoother ride than his
predecessor Tom Krajeski,
who was attacked by both
the Bahrain government for
meddling in internal affairs
and by his own State
Department for his "belief
that reactive 'seat of the
pants' leadership works
best in Bahrain's

Peacekeeping:
Bahrain Is Sort Of
Burning
In the Persian Gulf Bahrain
recently experienced a
sharp increase in the use of
lethal violence by Shia
demonstrators trying to
replace the Sunni
dominated government with
a Shia dominated one. On
December 8th a Jordanian
policeman was killed by a
roadside bomb while the

challenging environment
[which] has left staff
members who do not have
access to him on a regular
basis confused."
Roebuck doesn't decide
U.S. policy on Bahrain, but
he will be in charge of
explaining it to Bahrain's
government and people,
setting the tone for how the
U.S. embassy there is
seen.
It's a difficult time for
Bahrain, which has yet to
come to terms with the
large-scale prodemocracy
protests which broke out in
the country in early 2011.
Read More
next day a civilian died (and
another was wounded) from
another explosion in a Shia
village. The government
blamed the Lebanese Shia
terrorist group Hezbollah for
the increase in fatal
violence from bombs built
using techniques favored by
Hezbollah. Back in March
three police officers were
killed by a bomb believed
built with the help of
Hezbollah.
In 2013 the security forces
found themselves arresting
more Bahraini Shia with
Hezbollah connections.
Read More

bases implications should

not be overstated.

Back in Bahrain?
Britain Never Left
Persian Gulf
It was announced earlier
this month that Britain
would establish its first
permanent military base in
the Middle East since the
1970s. Located at the port
of Mina Salman in Bahrain,
the naval installation will be
a boon to the Royal Navys
efforts to police the
strategically (and
commercially) important
sea lanes of the Persian
Gulf. While a meaningful
development, however, the

On its face, news of a

British return to the Middle
East could raise some
eyebrows. In 1968, the
Labour government of
Harold Wilson announced
its intention to withdraw
East of Aden (in fact,
British troops had
ignominiously been forced
to pull out of Aden itself in
1967 following a local
uprising), an overdue
response to Britains waning
global influence and the
countrys dire financial
footing.
Read More

Protests demanding
Democracy continue
in Bahrain

various villages and towns,

demanding democracy and
the release of political
prisoners, as the
anniversary of the Eid
Martyrs approaches.

Bahrain is witnessing
continued protests in

Read More

Bahrain: Increasing
resort to judicial
repression against
dissenting voices
Clearly, the Bahraini
judiciary is increasingly
instrumentalised as a tool to
silence and repress any
sort of criticism in the
country said FIDH
President, Karim Lahidji.
On December 9, Zainab Al
Khawaja was sentenced to
16 months in prison on
charges of destroying
government property after
she ripped up a picture of
the King of Bahrain whilst in

detention in 2012. Only a

few days before, on
December 4, she had
already been sentenced to
a three year prison term for
insulting the King, as well
as being subject to a fine of
3,000 Dinars (approx.
$8,000 USD) for a very
similar case. In late
October, Zainab tore up a
photo of the King of Bahrain
before the Court.[1] Since
2011, she has faced dozens
of prosecutions, mostly
founded on charges relating
to her exercise of
fundamental rights,
including the rights to
freedom of expression and
assembly.[2]
Read More