24 August 2005
REPRESSION ON THE RISE AMID GROWING DEMANDS FOR REFORM
In Bahrain, citizens are stepping up demands for political and social reform, using public protests, publications and online discussion forums to voice their opinions and concerns, reports the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR). In response, authorities are using increasingly aggressive and violent measures to quell public discontent, according to an EOHR report on free expression in the country.
In the past year, the government has made it harder for Bahraini citizens to criticise those in power, says EOHR. In September 2004, authorities closed the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), claiming it violated the country's laws by "interfering in political affairs" and the affairs of a neighbouring country.
That came after the centre's director, Abdul Hadi Al-Khawaja, delivered a paper at a BCHR-sponsored seminar in the capital, Manama, which highlighted Bahrain's social and economic problems. Al-Khawaja argued that corruption and the unequal distribution of wealth were leading to deteriorating living standards in Bahrain.
More recently, the government has barred citizens from staging rallies and protests at the upcoming US-sponsored "Forum of the Future", which will bring G8 leaders together in Bahrain to discuss reforms in the Middle East in November 2005.
In the media, journalists, newspapers, and bloggers face mounting restrictions, says EOHR. In the past six months, at least three bloggers and Internet users affiliated with the website Bahrain Online http://www.bahrainonline.org)have been detained and released. Bahrain Online allows Internet users to post comments on political, social and religious issues. It regularly posts messages that are very critical of the authorities.
Following the arrests, the Ministry of Information has ordered website and blog moderators to register their sites with the Ministry and assume legal responsibility for materials published on them.
Meanwhile, a press law amended in 2002 encourages a culture of self-censorship, EOHR says. The toughened law introduces harsher penalties on press crimes and prohibits "defamation of the person of the king", which has been used to censor any kind of criticism leveled against King Khamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the royal family.
In interviews with EOHR, journalists also said Ministry of Information officials pressure editors and reporters by telling them what they should or should not publish.
To read EOHR's full report, visit: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/68786/Visit these links:
- EOHR: http://www.eohr.org- Human Rights Watch: http://hrw.org/doc?t=mideast&c=bahrai- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=13380- CPJ Report on Bahrain: http://www.cpj.org/attacks04/mideast04/bahrain.html- Committee to Protect Bloggers: http://committeetoprotectbloggers.civiblog.org/- Bahrain Centre for Human Rights: http://www.bchr.net