February, 23 2011, 02:38pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
Bahrain and Yemen Regimes: Saudi and U.S. Backing
See uprisings resource page: accuracy.org/uprisings
HUSAIN ABDULLA
Abdulla is director of Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain. He recently wrote the piece "The Revolt in Bahrain."
WASHINGTON
See uprisings resource page: accuracy.org/uprisings
HUSAIN ABDULLA
Abdulla is director of Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain. He recently wrote the piece "The Revolt in Bahrain."
He said today: "King Hamad bis Isa Al Khalifs, the ruler of Bahrain, is in Saudi Arabia today to get assurances from the Saudi regime. The Saudi regime will back the Al Khalifa ruling family in Bahrain if things get worst and out of hand. Some Saudi troops already are in Bahrain monitoring the situation and ready to act if needed. ...
"I am not sure if the ruling family themselves are serious about any serious dialogue because when you watch the Bahrain TV, you see nothing but sectarian attacks on those who are staying in the Lulu roundabout-square. Moreover, the different statements that are coming from different members of the ruling family, like the foreign minister or the prime minister, are building serious doubts among the people and raising the questions and concerns whether there is a serious intention for the dialogue. ...
"I am hearing more people openly calling for the regime to be toppled, through peaceful means, and Bahrain to be ruled by the people of Bahrain. In addition, there is a serious call for complete (not partial which is the case now) civil disobedience in the country to force the ruling family to leave the country in the same manner that took place in Tunisia and Egypt."
SUSANNE DAHLGREN
Dahlgren writes frequently on Yemen. She is Academy of Finland research fellow with the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies and the author of Contesting Realities: The Public Sphere and Morality in Southern Yemen. (Syracuse Univ. Press 2010)
She said today: "As demonstrations in Yemen are getting bigger and more violent day by day, members of the ruling People's General Congress party are starting to resign from high posts as a sign of diminished support around President Salih. In a recent move, Minister of Tourism Nabil Hassan al-Faqih has suggested that presidential elections should be announced immediately to be held in September without Salih as a candidate. The question in the Southern regions of Yemen is whether any suggestion on dialogue with the opposition is enough [given] the demands to break out from the union with North. It is the time U.S. administration starts to reconsider its support to Salih regime in the name of 'fight against terrorism.' The U.S. military aid is now deployed against peaceful protesters, young people who go to streets to voice their legitimate demands. The Salih regime is sending security forces, snipers and thugs against the peaceful demonstrators and casualties are very young people indeed. As the major supporter of Salih regime, the U.S. should start to focus on the real source of terror in Yemen, that of its regime against its youth."
Background: "The Yemeni government covered up U.S. drone strikes against al-Qaeda there and claimed the bombs were its own, according to the WikiLeaks documents" in British Telegraph.
A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
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