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Manama ­ Bahrain 28/Janurary/2004. Today, The National Committee for Martyrs & Victims of Torture submitted a letter to the delegates of the USA Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in their residence Sheraton Hotel in Manama, the capital of Bahrain. Another copy was delivered to the Embassy of the United States of America in Bahrain. The letter was signed by the board member, Ms. Iman Shuwaiter (the widow of a martyr who was killed under the torture by Bahraini security police in 80’s). The US FTA delegate is currently in Bahrain discussing and negotiating terms and conditions of the Agreement with authorities in Bahrain. The negotiation will continue for four days, from 26th to 29th January 2004. It is anticipated that the Agreement between the US and Bahrain to be signed on June 2004. The National Committee for Martyrs & Victims of Torture which was established in 2003 is a civil society body representing families of martyrs and victims of torture in Bahrain. Their main demands are: bringing all torturers to the justice, and asking for financial compensation and rehabilitations for families of martyrs and victims of torture in Bahrain. A new Board for the Committee was recently elected by its members on 1.1.2004. The letter is attached and also pasted below in case of any difficulties. US FTA Delegation to Bahrain Embassy of the United States of America P.O. Box 26431 Manama ­ Kingdom of Bahrain Re: ‘Rule of Law’ and ‘Impunity’ in FTA ­ USA & Bahrain The National Committee for Martyrs & Victims of Torture (NCMVT) in Bahrain would like to bring to your kind attention few vital issues before drafting or signing the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with authorities in Bahrain. The NCMVT supports free trade among nations regardless of their religions, races, or cultures as long as the trade leads to dialogue among civilizations with which can help mankind to have peaceful and just life. Throughout the history, commercial trades played an important role in exchanging and transferring noble values and principles among people from different regions and cultural backgrounds. It is anticipated that most free trades in the world produce similar outcome. The NCMVT hopes that the FTA can help ordinary American people as well as Bahrainis to achieve better living standards. From our point of view and in order to ensure popular satisfaction and support, the Agreement should consider some human right issues related to people of Bahrain which include Rule of Law and impunity. Rule of Law: In spite of existence of constitution and law, authorities in Bahrain do not respect nor honour them. Furthermore, the judicial system is not an independent nor separated from the executive branch of the Government since both are appointed by the King. The Constitution does not provide mandates to approve or disapprove any appointed judge. Similarly, if the judge is corrupt, there is no mechanism for impeachment. Judicial courts in Bahrain are subject to the Government influence. (For more details on this, please refer to Country Reports on Human Rights Practices ­ US Dept of State). Impunity: In Bahrain, Government officials who have committed crimes and violated human rights in the past are left with impunity under Royal Decree 56-2002. This Decree does not allow any victim to bring these criminals to justice. In fact, records show that courts have rejected many cases filed against torturers in Bahrain. This decree is against the Constitution of Bahrain and international agreement ratified by Bahrain such as ‘Convention Against Torture’ which states: in article 4: “each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law. The same shall apply to an attempt to commit torture and to an act by any person which constitutes complicity or participation in torture ”, and in Article 13: “Each State Party shall ensure that any individual who alleges he has been subjected to torture in any territory under its jurisdiction has the right to complain to and to have his case promptly and impartially examined its competent authorities.” Bahraini Government does not adhere to its own Constitution and the law, let alone the international treaties. With the comprehension to the importance of effective respect of Bahrainis rights and values, as human beings, in supporting, prolonging and popularity of the FTA, the NCMVT seeks that the US-FTA delegate considers the followings: Denote and discuss the above issues including ‘Rule of Law’ and ‘Impunity’ with the Government of Bahrain on human rights grounds and obtain an official commitment to honour and abide the law and international treaties. The FTA should include a mechanism to materialise such commitment, even if it requires conditional penalty. Nullification of the Royal Decree 56-2002 as it is violation to the constitution and the international treaties ratified by Bahrain. Investigation in all murder and torture cases carried out outside the law by officials during the process of confronting the people of Bahrain in their peaceful and rightful demands for the reinstatement of the constitution and the elected parliament. Such process should involve a national committee consisting of representatives of human rights organisations and civic societies. Bring all those who committed murder or torture to justice in accordance to the international standards. Financial compensation for victims of torture and rehabilitation for those who are still agonized and suffering. With the fulfilment of the above points, FTA can be appreciated and will help the people of Bahrain as well as of America. We are in support of all efforts to bring about mutual benefits and respect to both nations. National Committee for Martyrs & Victims of Torture

27th January 2004

Manama ­ Bahrain 4/Jan/2004. The National Committee for Martyrs & Victims of Torture held its general meeting on 1st January 2004 at AL-Orooba Club. In the meeting, a board member presented the past activities and achievements of the Committee inside and outside Bahrain. Other issues such as the date of ‘The Martyrs Day’ and election policies for the Committee were discussed by the members. There was a general consent (by voting) on holding the election every two years and to have a quota for one ‘female’ member in the board. Seven members were elected for the Committee board, they are: Abdul-Raoof Al Shayeb Majeed Milad Sayed Jaffer Al-Alawi Mohamed Mehdi Al-Ekri Shaikh Ali Saleem Mahmood Ramadhan Iman Showaiter (quota for female member) The above elected members chose posts for the Committee among themselves as the following: Majeed Milad ­ Chairman Sayed Jaffer Al-Alawi ­ Deputy Chairman

Abdul-Raoof Al Shayeb ­ Spoke-man

Manama, Bahrain – 20th January 2004. The authorities in Bahrain has arrested four youth in relation to the riot on 17th December 2003 (The Martyrs Day) that was called by the National Committee for Martyrs & Victims of Torture in Bahrain. It is said that the list of ‘wanted people’ is longer than the four arrested young Bahraini men. One person is not yet arrested as he did not submit himself to police. The police has been searching for him for couple of days. He is still on the run from the police. Among the detainees are: 1. Mahmood Hassan Saleh (from Deh Village – 20 yrs old) 2. Ahmed Abdulla Shaban (from Sanabis – 18 yrs old) 3. Abdul-Monem Sami Saleh (Karraneh village – 17 yrs old ) 4. Mohamed Ali Naser (from Sanabis) 5. Abdul-Ameer Taher Al-Samia (Jid Hafs – 32 yrs old) (on the run). Families of detainees are worried about their children as they could not visit them in the past few days. Human rights activists are also concerned about the arrest of these individuals ‘in isolation’. Today, the head of Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Deputy Chairman of The National Committee for Martyrs .. , and The Head of Human Rights Committee at Al-Wefaq Society visited the police station where the above individuals were held. The visit was to investigate the reason of their arrests and to ensure the treatment that they were receiving. They also visited the Public Prosecutions office in Manama for the same reason. The above activists could not get any answer about the reasons behind the arrest of these young men; however, the names were confirmed by officials. And some assurances were made that they will not face any ill-treatment.

Bahraini newspaper, Al-Wasat, has covered the issue briefly today (20th Jan 2004 page 4).

The grave state of unemployment in Bahrain Unemployment is on the rise in Bahrain. This has been the conclusion of a report prepared by an American consulting firm and released in December 2003 for the account of the Economic Development Board (EDB). The report has disclosed the grave situation facing new entrants to the job market. EDB is a governmental institution mandated to develop economic strategies. As of end-2002, foreign nationals comprise the majority of the workforce in Bahrain. Of the total of 305,000, there were some 198,000 foreign employees, constituting almost 65 percent of the workforce. The balance of 107,000 or 35 percent made up the Bahraini nationals. Thus, local employees are the minority in their own country. The number of unemployed Bahrainis ranges from 16,000 to 20,000. Worse, projected figures put the number of unemployed Bahrainis to reach some 60,000 by 2013 unless officials take corrective measures. True, foreign employees make up around 85 percent of the total workforce in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. However, the comparison in not warranted, as unlike the other regional countries, Bahrain is suffering from unemployment problem. Amongst others, the report has revealed some cracks in Bahrain’s employment system. Some 45,000 jobs for non-locals could not be tracked in the private sector. Apparently, the foreign employees’ category refers to what is known in the country as Free Visa. These are foreign nationals brought to Bahrain for no specific jobs. Influential people including members of al-Khalifa family are arranging for the arrival of these would be employees in order to profiteer from their presence. Accordingly, these foreign employees are required to make monthly or quarterly payments to their sponsors depending on the agreement. Ostensibly, the presence of such a large number of foreign employees applies downward pressure on prevailing wages. Also, they are not entitled for basic benefits; hence this amounts to human rights violation. The utmost majority of the jobless happen to be followers of the Shiite faith. Shiites comprise around 70 percent of the total local population. Possibly, this marks a deliberate policy by the regime to revenge from the Shiites for their insistence on seeing through a comprehensive democratic programme in Bahrain. It is fair to assert that the government of Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa (in office since independence from Britain in August 1971), has failed in a key economic objective, namely avoiding serious unemployment. In short, Sheikh Khalifa has virtually done nothing to address the joblessness problem. However, this recent extraordinary admission about a serious unemployment problem reflects power struggle between the two camps of the regime, that of the ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Salman al-Khalifa and his son Crown prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa versus the other camp led by Sheikh Khalifa. Suffice to say that the EDB, which belongs to Sheikh Salman, commissioned the study. Sheikh Salman personally presided over the meeting in which the consulting firm briefed the audience. Both Sheikh Hamad and Sheikh Salman wanted to suggest that Sheikh Khalifa should be blamed for the unemployment debacle. At the end of the day, the Bahraini nationals are paying the price of the infighting between al-Khalifa factions. Bahrain Freedom Movement

13 January 2004

The Gulf Cultural Club 45 Chalton Street, London NW1 1HY, Tel: 020 7383 2058, Fax: 020 7387 6369 Perspectives on the role of Muslims in Europe and India by M. Iqbal Asaria * 6.30 pm, Thursday 15th January 2004 Refreshments available from 6.00 pm, dinner 8.00 pm

* M Iqbal Asaria is an economist by training. He has worked for a number on NGOs specialising in international financial flows and tradei ssues. For a time in the eighties he edited the Afkar/Inquiry magazine. Mr Asaria is presently director of Webstar – an online information management company. He is also the chair of the Muslim Council of Britain’s business and economics committee.