Saudis rally in Rabiyia to honor victims of crackdown

Saudi protesters rally in the town of Awamiyah, Eastern Province (File photo).

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/230817.html

Saudis have held a protest rally in the eastern town of Rabiyia to commemorate anti-government protesters killed in government crackdown since last year.

Chanting anti-Al Saud slogans, the demonstrators criticized the Riyadh government for brutally suppressing protests.

They also condemned the country’s involvement in the Bahraini crackdown on peaceful protesters, calling for the withdrawal of KSA troops from the neighboring country.

Meanwhile, Saudi crown prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz has arrived in the US for medical tests. The 79-year-old would take over the rule of the oil-rich kingdom upon the death of King Abdullah, 87, who underwent three operations within a year.

Saudi Arabia is facing growing unrest and people have been demanding justice and the release of political prisoners since last year. Anti-government protest rallies are mostly held in the Kingdom's Eastern Province but despite a violent crackdown on demonstrations, it appears that the protests are now spreading across the country.

Saudis have held peaceful demonstrations in Eastern Province, mostly in Awamiyah and Qatif, since February last year on an almost regular basis, demanding reform, freedom of expression and the release of political prisoners.

Protesters also want an end to economic and religious discrimination against the oil-rich region. Several demonstrators have been killed and dozens of activists have been arrested since the beginning of protests in the region.

On February 23, protest rallies were held across the province to demand the prosecution of those who opened fire on demonstrators one week earlier. Saudi security forces broke up the rallies using force and arrested several demonstrators.

Riyadh has intensified its crackdown on protesters since the beginning of 2012.

Bahrainis hold mass anti-government rally in capital

Bahraini protesters march in an anti-government demonstration in the capital, Manama (File Photo).

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/230778.html

Bahrainis have held a mass anti-government demonstration outside the capital, Manama, to demand an end to the rule of Al Khalifa dynasty.

Tens of thousands of Bahrainis took the streets west of Manama on Friday in response to a call from the country’s top Shia cleric Sheikh Issa Qasim. Images coming from Bahrain show protesters filled up the main Budaiya highway in Diraz and Saar.

"We are here for the sake of our just demands that we cannot make concessions over and we stick with them because we have sacrificed for them," Sheikh Qasim said before the march in his weekly sermon in the village of Diraz.

Demonstrators also called for the immediate release of political prisoners and denounced the Bahraini dictatorship in.

"No to dictatorship and no to sectarianism. We want an elected government that represents all Bahraini citizens without any discrimination," main opposition bloc al-Wefaq said in its statement.

"Time has come for real implementation of the principle of ' people are sources of all powers' as stipulated in the National Action Charter, the constitution, and international conventions on civil and political rights," al-Wefaq stated.

Similar protest rallies were also held across the country. Activists say over 50 percent of the Bahraini population took part in the protests.

Crude hits 10-month high after Saudi pipelines blast

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/229508.html

Oil prices have soared to their highest level in the past ten months following reports of an explosion of pipelines in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province.

Brent North Sea crude is trading at nearly $ 127 per barrel while West Texas Intermediate is trading above $ 109 a barrel.

Meanwhile, light, sweet crude for April delivery soared to as high as $110.55 a barrel after it settled for Thursday at $108.84 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up $1.77 from Wednesday's closing level. Brent crude on the ICE Futures Europe exchange also rose to $128.40 a barrel.

On Thursday evening, an explosion in Saudi Arabian city of Awamiyah in the east of the kingdom destroyed the pipelines feeding one of the most important oil hubs in the world.

The major pipeline starts in Abqaiq and ends at Ras Tanrua oil terminal carrying nearly six million barrels of oil every day.

Last week, oil prices rose to a nine-month high due to Iran's cutting of crude exports to certain European Union states in response to the EU oil sanctions imposed against Iran.

Saudi Arabia and the Rise of the Wahhabi Threat

The Al-Saud Kings
Source: Middle East Forum
http://www.meforum.org/535/saudi-arabia-and-the-rise-of-the-wahhabi-threat

A briefing by Stephen Schwartz

February 27, 2003

Stephen Schwartz is a senior policy analyst with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies based in Washington, DC. As a journalist, he covered the Balkans in the 1990s for the San Francisco Chronicle. His latest book is The Two Faces of Islam: The House of Sa'ud from Tradition to Terror (Doubleday, 2002). He spoke to the Middle East Forum in New York on February 27, 2003.


Al-Qaeda represents Wahhabism in its purest form – a violent fundamentalist doctrine that rejects all non-Wahhabi Islam, especially the spiritual forms of Islam. Wahhabism is an expansionist sect intolerant of Shi‘ite Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and Hinduism; in fact, Wahhabists seek to challenge and destroy these faiths. The Saudi-Wahhabi threat must not be underestimated; it requires our grave attention.

A History of Violence

Contrary to prevalent Western beliefs, Wahhabism is not an old Islamic tradition and the House of Saud does not enjoy a credible historic claim to rule over Arabia. Indeed, Wahhabism emerged only 250 years ago under the guidance of an obscure fanatic known as Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab who later formed an alliance with a group of desert bandits, the Sauds. From the time they established their covenant to the creation of the modern Saudi state, the Saudi-Wahhabi movement spread across the peninsula brutally defeating and enslaving non-Wahhabi elements.

A substantial body of nineteenth century scholarship does exist to confirm the bloody rise of the Saudi-Wahhabi state. Thomas Hope, a British author, wrote extensively about the Wahhabi spread from his travels throughout the Middle East. In his novel Anastasius, he described Wahhabi agents in words that will be strikingly familiar to modern readers: as extremist puritans bent on dominating the Muslim world by adopting tactics reminiscent of Al-Qaeda's calculated savagery.

The theological and political pact between the Saud clan and the Wahhabists resulted in the fall of Mecca for the second and last time in 1924, solidifying their grip on power. After the conquest of Mecca, the vast oil wealth of the kingdom would be used to export a radical Wahhabist ideology across the globe.

Nerve Center of Islamic Extremism

Even after September 11, the Wahhabi bureaucracy in Saudi Arabia continues to foster religious extremism. When bombs go off in Israel, Kenya, Indonesia, and elsewhere, Saudi Arabia is still the main source of the terrorist money. The kingdom is an unwavering nerve center of ideological indoctrination, incitement, and terrorist financing.

From time to time, the Saudi elite attempts to confuse Western opinion by claiming that it too is the target of Islamic terror, a rather hollow gesture to hide its complicity in terrorism. Saudi Arabia, being a police state, the monarchy long ago could have ridded itself of extremist elements. But the sobering reality is that international terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda are directly impelled by Saudi clerics. To recover their credibility in the eyes of more reactionary factions after years of excess, the Saudi family has embarked on an ambitious global campaign to support incubators of violence and extremism from Algeria to the Philippines. In sum, Al-Qaeda would not exist absent Saudi money and membership.

False Arguments

Washington needs to end its delusion that the Saudi royal family is a moderating force within Saudi politics when the realty is that it has produced a well-funded launch pad for a fascist ideology. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of Saudi apologists. The so-called specialists and academics continue to argue that Islamic terror is the consequence of Islam enduring Western humiliation. But in fact, Saudi Arabia has never been subjugated by the West, instead it has only been cuddled and bribed to ridiculous extremes. And in turn the West has received a torrent of violence and hateful venom.

Equally as erroneous is the contention that an accommodation of non-Wahhabi religions is somehow a break with traditional Islam. This absurd notion is blatantly untrue. Qatar, another Wahhabi state, has actually authorized the establishment of churches. Also, neighboring Bahrain contains thriving Christian, Jewish, and Hindu communities. One can even find a Hindu temple in Oman.

The Future

After decades of theocratic oppression, the vast majority of the Saudi people are restive for the following reasons: 1.) The Shiite minority in the southern and eastern provinces are tired of the violent persecution they have suffered at the hands of the Wahhabist clergy. 2.) The young people of Saudi Arabia want to live in a modern society where they can utilize their enterprising talents and energies to build a prosperous future. 3.) Lastly, non-Wahhabi scholars are already calling on the royal family to reject the officially sanctioned intolerant state religion and replace it with pluralistic Ottoman-Islamic traditions. Remarkably, thousands of young people are turning to Sufism as an expression of protest against the entrenched religious establishment.

The transition to a reasonably open Malaysian parliamentary model from its current medieval state need not be catastrophic. The Saudi monarchy could remain as a symbolic body with power concentrated in a representative legislature. Indeed, the position that a more strict Islamic system might emerge if the House of Saud is brushed aside is ludicrous. Proponents of this view often cite the emergence of an Iranian-style regime as a possible consequence. However, this is a specious historical analogy since the Iranian people never experienced the harsh strictures of Islamic law prior to the ascension of the Islamic Republic. The people of Saudi Arabia know this repression all too well and they are dead tired of it.

Conclusion

Saudi Arabia and its militant Islamic doctrines constitute a clear and present danger to the United States and the international community. The U.S. should demand a full accounting of Saudi complicity in the September 11th terrorist attacks. We should no longer accept the status quo and forcefully pressure the kingdom to cut its ties to terrorism.

* This summary account was written by Zachary Constantino, a research assistant at the Middle East Forum.

Saudi king slams Russia, China for vetoing Syria resolution

Saudi King Abdullah

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/226025.html

Saudi Arabia's ruler King Abdullah has criticized China and Russia for blocking a UN Security Council resolution against Syria.

King Abdullah on Friday described Moscow and Beijing's decision to veto the anti-Syria resolution as an “unfavorable move” that undermined world confidence at the United Nations.

“What took place (at the UN Security Council) does not augur well... World confidence in the United Nations has undoubtedly been shaken," King Abdullah said in a short televised speech.

"No matter how powerful, countries cannot rule the whole world. The world is ruled by brains, by justice, by morals and by fairness," the Saudi ruler said referring to China and Russia. He however, did not single out the two countries by name.

King Abdullah's criticism against Russia and China and accusing them of blocking attempts to end violence in Syria comes as Saudi troops are brutally suppressing anti-government protesters east of the kingdom and helping Bahrain in its deadly crackdown on peaceful demonstrators.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar are accused of fueling unrest in Syria by arming and funding terrorist groups to battle the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Earlier this week the members of six-nation [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia, expelled Syrian ambassadors from their capitals and recalled their own envoys from Damascus to protest what they called Syrian government violence against its civilians.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March and many people have lost their lives in the violence.

The West and the Syrian opposition accuse the government of killing protesters. But Damascus blames ''outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups'' for the unrest, insisting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

US gave green light to toxic terror in Bahrain

Bahraini anti-government protesters run for cover from tear gas fired by riot police in Abu Saiba, west of Manama. (File photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/224875.html

Washington has given the green light to unleash “toxic terror” in Bahrain after closing a million-dollar arms sales deal with the Al Khalifa regime, a political analyst says.

“Just as Bahrainis are being poisoned in their homes from indiscriminate firing of massive teargas by regime forces, Washington is showing its approval by going ahead with an arms sales deal to the Persian Gulf kingdom,” Global Research's Middle East and East Africa correspondent, Finian Cunningham said.

Since the beginning of the popular uprising in Bahrain last February, dozens of people have been killed and many more have been injured in the Al Khalifa regime's brutal crackdown on demonstrations.

Last year, under pressure from human rights groups, Washington decided to put on hold the sale of USD 53 million worth of weapons to Bahrain, demanding the Sunni monarchy to endorse democratic reforms.

However, it was revealed last week that the administration of Barack Obama is now moving forward with the deal without any formal notification to the public.

Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have stepped up their repression and massively increased the use of tear gas on protesters, which can be deadly among the very young and elderly. Nine people have died over the past two weeks alone.

“Manama is patently a policy of “toxic terrorism” and “collective punishment” against the 70 percent of the population demanding that the Western-backed regime gives way to democratic government,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham says that Bahrain is a classic case study of how Western geopolitical interests are closely aligned with repression and violation of human rights, and how Washington's effort to persuade any regime to enact democratic reforms is a crass delusion.

“The truth is that Washington's oil interests are entwined with repressive regimes in the Persian Gulf and are fundamentally opposed to the cause of democracy in these sheikdoms, “Cunningham added.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will use all options against Iran'

Turki al-Faisal addressing the conference on national and regional security in Manama, Bahrain, on Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/221771.html

Saudi Arabia's former intelligence chief says Riyadh will use “all available options” to defend itself against Iranian “threats” that might trigger “unwanted military confrontation.”

Addressing a conference on national and regional security in Manama, Bahrain, Turki al-Faisal said, “Any threat to our interests or security will force us to use all available options to defend our interests, and national and regional security.”

His remarks came after Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi urged Riyadh on Tuesday to reconsider plans to compensate for any shortfall in the market caused by West-backed sanctions against Iranian oil exports.

Iran's OPEC Governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi also warned the country's Persian Gulf neighbors last Sunday that they will be responsible for any consequences, should they agree to compensate for the Islamic Republic's oil exports in the event of Western sanctions against Tehran.

“The mounting escalation and persistent tensions might end up in an adventure with unpredictable consequences or in an unwanted military confrontation,” AFP quoted Faisal as saying.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington over the Strait of Hormuz have been escalating since the US and the European Union proposed sanctions against Iran's oil sector to deprive the country of its oil exports.

Iranian officials have warned that if Tehran is prevented from exporting crude oil through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, it may take measures, including closing the strategic Strait.

“Iran must not fuel this conflict and must not threaten us when we commit to international decisions,” Faisal added.

The former Saudi intelligence minister stated that Iran “must neutralize the security of the Strait of Hormuz and that of the world energy supply.”

“[Iran] has chosen a different policy that constantly undermines regional security and provokes foreign interventions, which it claims it is trying to get rid of,” the Saudi official accused.

'Iran war could end life on earth'

Paul Craig Roberts says Washington's possible war on Iran could end life on earth

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/221754.html

A former American official has warned that the United States wants to blame Israel for Washington's possible war on Iran that could end life on earth.

US warnings to Israel for not attacking Iran is to avoid responsibility for the war Washington has prepared, former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Paul Craig Roberts wrote in an article on Global Research.

"If the war gets out of hand, and if Russia and China intervene or nukes start flying, Washington wants the blame to rest on Israel, and Israel seems willing to accept the blame," Craig Roberts said.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal said the US has privately sought assurances from Israeli leaders that they will not take military action against Iran. But the Israeli response has been noncommittal.

The US analyst also used a few examples to show that the White House has prepared for an all-out war against Iran.

"If Washington did not want war with Iran it would not have provided the necessary weapons to Israel. It would not have deployed thousands of US troops to Israel," he argued.

"Washington would not have built a missile defense system for Israel and would not be conducting joint exercises with the Israeli military to make sure it works," Craig Roberts added.

He said, "Washington won't prevent the war that it so fervently desires. Neither will Washington's NATO puppets."

"'Great' Britain does as it is told, subservient and occupied Germany, bankrupt France, Italy occupied with US air bases with a government infiltrated by the CIA, bankrupt Spain and Greece will all, in hopes of an outpouring of US dollars and devoid of any dignity or honor, support the new war that could end life on earth," Craig Roberts added.

'Qatari Emir survives assassination'

Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/197587.html

The Qatari Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has reportedly survived an assassination attempt in Qatar's capital, Doha.

According to Egypt's al-Fajr newspaper, unknown gunmen attacked the Qatari Emir's motorcade near his palace on Monday.

The Egyptian newspaper said Sheikh Hamad has reportedly been injured in the attack and was taken to hospital, adding that eight of the Emir's bodyguards were killed in the incident.

Al-Fajr says a media blackout has been imposed on the incident with Qatari officials refusing to comment on the incident.

Meanwhile, Iranian Ambassador to Qatar Abdollah Sohrabi has denied Sheikh Hamad's assassination report, saying that the Emir is currently in the French capital, Paris.

Sheikh Hamad has ruled the Persian Gulf state since 1995. He came to power after deposing his father in a palace coup and was crowned on June 2000.

South Koreans clash with police over base

Protesters clash with police in South Korea during a rally against the construction of a new naval base on Jeju Island, September 2, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/197318.html

Protesters in South Korea have clashed with the country's riot police over the construction of a new naval base on the South Korean island of Jeju which will be open to US forces.

The protesters, who have occupied the site since June in order to prevent the construction, were joined by 300 activists and opposition party members who flew to the island, AFP reported.

Protesters allege that South Korea has bowed to pressure from the United States, which they say is eager to establish a military presence near China. Washington currently has nearly 28,500 troops in South Korea.

Damage to the environment is a concern of the protesters over the construction of the naval base as is the possibility of disputes with China over the American presence.

Police dispersed about 130 people on Friday and arrested 38 others. Protesters scuffled with the police, but no serious violence was reported.

After the police dispersed the crowd, engineers finished building a perimeter fence surrounding the construction site.

Local military officials say the USD 970-million project is vital for South Korea's national security.

Once completed in 2014, the base will host some 20 warships, including submarines.

Seoul started construction of the naval base in January near a village on the resort island's southern coast facing the South China Sea.

To date, about 14 percent of the construction has been completed.

Britain and the death trade it denies

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/196875.html

The British government pledged to stop selling arms to repressive regimes including Bahrain back in February but the promises were nothing more than a bunch of lies.

Britain sold millions of pounds of arms used for internal repression to dictatorships in the Middle East and North Africa including Libya, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia just a few months ago.

London issued arms export licenses worth £30.5 million for shotguns, small arms ammunition and sub-machine guns to the regional countries where ruling regimes were brutally suppressing peaceful demonstrations between February and June this year.

This comes as the Foreign Office claimed back in February that the government has revoked all munitions export licenses to Bahrain over what Minister for the Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt said in a statement was the “changing situation in Bahrain”, a euphemism for killing of protesters by riot prevention equipment partly supplied by Britain.

The government also claimed at the time that arms export licenses to Libya were ended due to what the Foreign Office acknowledged was “the use of lethal force against demonstrators” and the fears that British arms could be used against protesters.

However, the reality behind the claims was “business as usual” with British warmongers using the uprisings in the North African and Middle Eastern countries to increase their arms exports by 30 percent between February and June compared with last year breaching even their own export regulations not to mention human rights principles.

This is while; the British arms exports rules say the government will "not issue an export license if there is a clear risk that the proposed export might be used for internal repression."

According to the spokesperson for the Campaign Against Arms Trade Kay Stearman, the revelation is not “surprising” as it shows the government is continuing its past policy of apparently arming tyrants.

"This is very, very shocking, but sadly not surprising. It just goes to show that all the government's fine words about defending democracy and not selling arms to tyrants were just that - words. It is business as usual," she said.

Her remarks were echoed in those of chief executive of War on Want John Hillary.

"It is outrageous that Britain should still be exporting arms to a region in such crisis. We've seen the murderous consequences of these arms exports in country after country. It is unacceptable for the government to be supporting arms export licenses to the Middle East,” he said.

Pakistan to send more troops to Bahrain

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari (L) met King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain on Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/194995.html

Pakistan has agreed to dispatch more mercenaries to Bahrain to help Al Khalifa regime's crackdown on anti-government protesters in the Persian Gulf state.

The agreement was reached when Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari met King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa during his one-day visit to Bahrain on Wednesday, IRNA reported Saturday.

Manama has been recruiting former soldiers and policemen from Pakistan at a steady rate to strengthen the government's forces.

In many demonstrations Bahraini protesters shouted slogans against Pakistani security forces in Urdu.

Pakistani and Saudi forces have played a major rule in suppressing anti-government protests in Bahrain since the beginning of unrest in the Persian Gulf country.

President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) Nabeel Rajab said Friday that the Pakistani recruits have behaved with a heavy hand toward demonstrators.

"They're told they are going to go to a holy war in Bahrain to kill some non-Muslims or kafir [infidel] or Shias. They are paid well, maybe," Rajab noted.

Tens of thousands of Bahraini protesters have been holding peaceful anti-government rallies throughout the Middle Eastern country since February, demanding an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa family.

Scores of people have been killed and many more arrested and tortured in prisons in a government-sanctioned crackdown on protests since the beginning of the demonstrations.

According to the BCHR, there are currently over 1,000 political detainees inside the country.

Bahrain stages 'Popular Anger' rally

Anti-regime demonstrations in Bahrain (file phot)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/194654.html

Bahrainis have staged yet another demonstration, this time under the banner of 'Popular Anger,' against the Saudi-backed Al Khalifa regime.

Friday's anti-regime demonstration comes despite an intensified onslaught, Press TV reported.

Saudi-backed forces in Bahrain have reportedly become more brutal in their crackdown on protester as the Persian Gulf country witnessed one of its larger anti-regime demonstrations since mid-February. Calls had gone out on various social media websites for a larger gathering.

Reports say that regime forces have fired tear gas at anti-state demonstrators in the capital Manama.

Bahrainis have been waging protest rallies since mid-February, demanding an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty, which has ruled the country for over 40 years.

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds more arrested in a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters in Bahrain, home to a huge American military installation for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf.

In March, a number of Persian Gulf Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, deployed military forces to Bahrain in an attempt to assist the Manama regime's crackdown on peaceful protesters.

Moreover, the regime has also sacked hundreds of public sector employees for supporting the protesters.

The Bahraini regime announced last week that it will terminate 23 medical staff member for providing medical treatment to injured protesters.

Freed ex-Bahraini MPs tortured in prison

Matar Matar, along with a number of anti-regime detainees in Bahrain, was released on August 7, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/192882.html

Two newly-released former Bahraini opposition lawmakers say they have been tortured while in detention by the regime forces.

Jawad Fairouz and Matar Matar were among the prisoners that gained freedom on Sunday. They told British media that they were beaten up several times during more than two months in custody.

Maryam al-Khawaja of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) told Press TV on Monday that around 147 detainees were released by the Al Khalifa regime.

The two lawmakers were arrested in May after resigning from parliament in protest against the regime's Saudi-backed brutal crackdown on demonstrators.

Human rights lawyer Mohammed al-Tajer, detained in April, was also among those just released.

Scores of people have been killed and many more have been arrested and tortured in prisons in a government-sanctioned crackdown on peaceful protests since the beginning of demonstrations in Bahrain in February.

Al-Khawaja also told Press TV that among the protesters that were freed was a 14-year-old boy.

The BCHR has expressed concerns about the condition of young detainees, stating that it has received reports that young boys are being placed in cells holding “drug-related prisoners.”

According to the BCHR, there are currently over 1,000 political detainees inside the country's prisons.

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has apparently accepted a series of 'reforms' prepared by a government-sponsored committee that was established to supposedly “address grievances that emerged during the protests.”

However, anti-government protesters continue to wage mass rallies in troubled Bahrain, demanding the release of female prisoners, and calling on King Hamad to resign.

Saudis recall ambassador from Syria

Saudi King Abdullah

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/192894.html

The Saudi regime has recalled its ambassador from Syria under the pretext of protesting 'intolerable violence' in the country, amid its own brutal military meddling in neighboring Bahrain.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who has deployed armored forces to troubled Bahrain to support a persisting brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters in the Persian Gulf sheikhdom, claimed in a Sunday statement that the violence in Syria was “unacceptable,” state-funded BBC reported Sunday.

King Abdullah also called for “acts of wisdom” by the Syrian government “before it is too late.”

The Syrian opposition accuses security forces of being behind the killings, but the government blames the deadly violence on foreign-backed armed gangs.

The Saudi regime, however, has totally ignored popular demands for a democratic government in Tunisia and Yemen by playing host to deposed Tunisian dictator, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was injured in an attack on his presidential compound in the capital Sana'a on June 3.

Meanwhile, the Al-Saud regime was enthroned in Saudi Arabia with military backing of the British royal government and has emerged as one of the largest and key military bases of the United States in the Persian Gulf region.

On Saturday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem announced that the country will hold free and transparent parliamentary elections by the end of the year.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a decree on Thursday, authorizing a multi-party political system in the Middle Eastern country.

Syria has been experiencing unrest in the past months, with demonstrations held both against and in support of the Assad government.

Hundreds were killed when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes between alleged protesters and state security forces as well as organized attacks by well-armed gangs against the Syrian police force and border guards in north of the country.

Two separate shipments of weapons destined for Syria was confiscated on Sunday by Lebanese forces in apparent efforts by anti-Syrian political factions in Lebanon to destabilize the government in Damascus.

Ex-German minister slams Saudi deal

A German-made Leopard battle tank (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/191864.html

The former German development minister has joined the opposition Green Party, condemning Berlin for a suspected sale of 200 Leopard tanks to Saudi Arabia.

"The tank deal with Saudi Arabia is a catastrophic decision," Deutsche Welle quoted Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul as saying on Monday.

She further called on the foreign minister to explain how the government could openly support the Egyptian people while at the same time secretly conduct an arms deal with the oppressive regime in Saudi Arabia.

This "is the exact opposite of the government's public stance on the democratic uprisings in the Arab World," she said.

Her comment comes a day after the opposition Greens announced that it will take the government to the Constitutional Court over the secret deal.

"A suit brought by the members of parliament Christian Stroebele, Claudia Roth and Katja Keul was filed on Friday" a Green party spokeswoman said.

While the Green Party has called for the report to be made public, the government has claimed that on the basis of national security, it will not comment on the matter.

However, the sale has been publicly known since early July when the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel reported the decision by the Federal Security Council's multi-billion-dollar sale.

The deal came while Germany had imposed a ban on the sale of advanced Leopard 2 tanks to Saudi Arabia in the 1980s, citing fears that they might be used against Israel.

The Saudis are also in talks with American companies to buy nearly USD 60 billion worth of arms, including 84 new F-15 fighter jets and 178 combat helicopters.

The sales come at a time when Riyadh is being roundly censured for its military interventions in neighboring Bahrain and Yemen.

The Saudi army launched an all-out military offensive against Houthi fighters in Yemen's northern province of Sa'ada in 2010. In March 2011, the Saudis deployed troops in Bahrain to help the regime's forces crack down on nationwide protests.

Saudi-backed forces attack Bahrainis

Bahraini forces (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/191803.html

Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have fired tear gas at peaceful anti-regime protesters in the village of Nuwaidrat as the brutal crackdown continues.

The Monday attack comes as protesters have demanded an end to the Al Khalifa regime, complaining about injustice and discrimination.

There is no report on the number of casualties in the attack.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates deployed their first batch of military forces in Bahrain in mid-March.

Late last month, Saudi Arabia increased the number of it forces in Bahrain in an attempt to further help the ruling regime clamp down on anti-regime demonstrators.

Amnesty International has criticized the Al Khalifa regime for its violations of international law by brutally cracking down on peaceful protesters and activists.

Anti-regime protesters have been holding demonstrations across the country since mid-February, calling on the ruling family to relinquish power.

US plans nuclear talks with Saudi Arabia

US President Barack Obama and Saudi Arabia's king Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/191546.html

Senior officials at the White House have said that the Obama administration is planning to resume talks with Saudi Arabia about a potential nuclear cooperation.

A team of US diplomats are expected to visit the Saudi capital of Riyadh to "discuss the possibility of moving forward on a nuclear cooperation agreement," a congressional aide said on the condition of anonymity, AFP reported.

Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a lawmaker from the Republican Party has criticized the move, saying that "its ties to terrorists and terror financing alone should rule it out as a candidate for the US nuclear cooperation."

"I am astonished that the administration is even considering a nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia," she added.

Washington and Riyadh signed a tentative agreement on developing civilian nuclear technologies in 2008.

The Obama administration, like its predecessor, has sought to promote nuclear cooperation with allies.

Washington also signed a nuclear cooperation deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2009. The deal meant that the UAE would renounce their plans to enrich and reprocess uranium in exchange of having the right to purchase the material from international suppliers.

Furthermore, Saudi Arabia has also been pursuing nuclear cooperation agreements with South Korea, Japan, France and Russia.

In February, 2011, France singed a nuclear cooperation deal with Saudi Arabia, offering the kingdom nuclear know-how.

Bahraini forces surround US Embassy

Bahraini women protest in front of the US Embassy in Manama on March 7, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/191402.html

Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have massed around the US Embassy in the capital to prevent a scheduled protest sit-in outside the US diplomatic compound.

Bahrain's February 14 Movement has called for a mass sit-in in front of the US Embassy on Friday to condemn Washington's interference in the country's internal affairs.

Witnesses say, so far, only a number of women have been sighted heading to the site of the embassy and there were no reports of gathering there.

Opposition groups and anti-government activists accuse Washington of supporting the ruling Al Khalifa regime and turning a blind eye to atrocities committed by Bahraini authorities against peaceful protesters.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators took to the streets outside the capital to condemn the results of a National Dialogue, saying it had failed to address people's demands and bring real democratic reforms in the country.

The rally has been organized by the largest opposition group al-Wefaq, which pulled out of regime-led national reform talks in protest.

The leaders of al-Wefaq say they pulled out of the talks after their views and demands were ignored and because the talks were dominated by pro-government representatives.

On Thursday, Bahrain's King Hamad announced that he had approved parliamentary reforms submitted by a state-appointed body called the National Dialogue. But Bahraini opposition slammed the recommendations, saying they do not represent its demands or the will of the people.

"The government thought the results were great. We thought they were nothing. There's no fully elected government, no reforms to the voting system, it's a one-sided deal," Reuters news agency quoted al-Wefaq leader Sayed al-Mousawi as saying.

Al-Wefaq has repeatedly called for an "elected government," an "elected parliament with full legislative powers," and a "fair and independent judicial system" in the kingdom.

Riyadh blocks Amnesty Intl. website

Amnesty International's logo

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/190784.html

The Saudi Arabian authorities have blocked public access to Amnesty International's website in response to the rights group's censure of Riyadh's intolerance toward dissent.

"Access to Amnesty International's website has been blocked in Saudi Arabia… following the organization's criticism of a draft anti-terror law that would stifle peaceful protest in the kingdom," the group said in a statement issued on Monday, AFP reported.

The so-called Draft Penal Law for Terrorism Crimes and Financing Terrorism authorizes the kingdom to detain people 'potentially indefinitely' without charge or trial.

It also allows the Saudi authorities to give a 10-year prison sentence to anyone who questions the integrity of King Abdullah or Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz.

"Instead of attacking those raising concerns and attempting to block debate, the Saudi Arabian government should amend the draft law to ensure that it does not muzzle dissent and deny basic rights," Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa director, said in the statement.

Sporadic protests have been held across the country despite a ban imposed by the Ministry of the Interior on demonstrations and public gatherings.

Saudi citizens have been expressing outrage over the government's imprisonment of people without charge and its suppression of women's rights. The unemployed have been calling for job opportunities and a fair share of the biggest Arab economy's oil income.

In April, the German newspaper Die Welt cited documents showing that 7,000 Saudi princes control the country's oil and business enterprises.