2nd September 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain to host panArab human rights court
Bahrain has said it will host a pan-Arab court of human rights in a move condemned by a campaign group as a "PR stunt" by an oppresive state which could be turned on those it should be protecting. The ofcial Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported on Monday that the kingdom wouldhost the permanent headquarters of the Arab Human Rights Court following its approval at an Arab League meeting in Cairo. The BNA reported Bahrain's foreign minister,Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, as saying that the court's creation "keeps pace with the aspirations of the Arab peoples" and was a "a quantum leap forward and major step for human rights in the region and the Arab world". Read More by the government. Hours later, King Hamad had banned protests in the capital city of Manama in preparation for prodemocracy demonstrations planned for the 14th of August- a move described by Amnesty International as an outrageous violation of international law. Over the next few days the Bahraini authorities arrested lawyers, denied human rights activists the right to enter the country and began erecting barbed wire around villages to prevent protests. Read More

Bahrain selected as HQ of Arab Court for Human Rights

Bahrain has been chosen as the permanent headquarters of the Arab Court for Human Rights. Arab foreign ministers approved the selection late Sunday at a meeting of the Arab League in Cairo, Bahrain's state news agency quoted the gathering's nal communique as saying.

The jurisdiction of the planned regional court who would be allowed to bring cases and what alleged crimes it could prosecute - was not specied in the statement. Nor was a date for the court's opening. The foreign minister of Bahrain, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, called the Arab League decision a "positive step in the right direction" towards "promoting and protecting human rights in the Arab world". Read More State for Information Affairs and government spokeswoman Sameera Rajab was quoted as saying in the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication. "All precautions are undertaken and ministries are doing their role as part of such measures for any emergency plan," she said during the weekly Cabinet Press yesterday. Read More it had reliable information that no more staff would be let go in 2013. Union leaders in July called on the management to halt layoffs after it emerged Gulf Air had reduced its losses by 50 per cent through a major cost-cutting programme. Read More Read More

Bahrain draws up crisis plan if Syria hit

Bahrains government bodies are taking all precautionary measures as part of the kingdoms emergency plan amidst a possible military strike against Syria, according to a top ofcial. There is no imminent threat to the country, Minister of

Siding With A Tyrant: British Policy Towards Bahrain And Its People
In early August, David Cameron met with the King of Bahrain in Downing Street for the third time since he took ofce in 2010. The Prime Minister was keen to reiterate the UKs support for ongoing political reform in Bahrain, though according to Human Rights Watch no progress has actually been made so far

Gulf Air puts job cut plans on hold

Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, is not planning any further redundancies this year, according to trade unionists. The airline refused to conrm it had put its redundancy scheme on hold, but the Gulf Air Trade Union (GATU) told the GDN