Bahrain Freedom Movement

Dec. 18, 2006, 9:56AM Bahrain’s leading Shiite cleric dies © 2006 The Associated Press An unidentified Bahraini carries a framed portrait of Sheik Abdul-Ameer al-Jamri outside the late cleric’s Bani Jamra, Bahrain, home on Monday, Dec. 18, 2006. Al-Jamri, who died early Monday, was the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s Shiite opposition and led political reform efforts in the 1990’s. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali) HASAN JAMALI: AP

MANAMA, Bahrain — Sheik Abdul-Ameer al-Jamri, a spiritual leader of Bahrain’s Shiite opposition who was jailed after riots against the country’s Sunni leadership, died Monday of heart and kidney failure. He was 67.

Shiites across the tiny island state went into deep mourning, hanging black flags and banners outside their houses and pasting pictures of al-Jamri on walls and car windows.

Though he was freed from prison in 1999, the government still regarded the cleric as a divisive figure and Bahraini state radio and television ignored his death on their news bulletins. Word of his death quickly got around, however, with many Bahrainis receiving the news in cell phone text messages.”He was a father figure for Shiite Bahrainis,” said his son, Mansour al-Jamri, a leading columnist and editor at the independent Alwasat newspaper. “His legacy will start today. He had great influence during his life.”

A local rights group, HAQ _ the Movement of Liberties and Democracy_ described al-Jamri as “the spiritual father” of Bahrainis and a person “who struggled for real constitutional citizenship where people live in peace without distinction between Sunnis and Shiites.”

Essa Amin, a Bahraini historian, said al-Jamri had played an important role as a lawmaker “representing the Shiites as well as the national opposition in general.”Kuwait’s senior Shiite cleric, Mohammed Baqer al-Mohri, said Bahrainis “will feel a big vacuum after losing a fatherly figure and a great Muslim leader who directed them to demand freedoms and democracy.”

Although his poor health had kept him out of active politics for several years, al-Jamri remained a spiritual mentor to the main opposition party, al-Wefaq, which won 17 of the parliament’s 40 seats in last month’s elections.

He served in Bahrain’s first parliament in 1973-75, which was dissolved by the emir.Twenty years later he became the religious leader of the Shiites’ campaign for the restoration of democracy and equal rights. Shiites form a slight majority of Bahrain’s 700,000 citizens, but the royal family is Sunni Muslim. Shiites have long complained that they suffer discrimination, particularly at the higher levels of government.Their campaign turned violent in 1994 when arsonists set fire to buildings and protesters clashed with security forces in the streets. More than 40 people died.In 1996 the authorities detained al-Jamri for 3 1/2 years on charges of espionage and incitement, keeping him in solitary confinement.

In July 1999, he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. But he was pardoned the next day by the new emir, the current King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who was beginning the program of political reform that led to new parliamentary elections in 2002.

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ABDUL-AMEER AL-JAMRI Spiritual leader in BahrainMANAMA, Bahrain — Sheik Abdul-Ameer al-Jamri, a spiritual leader of Bahrain’s Shiite opposition who was jailed after riots against the country’s Sunni leadership, died Monday of heart and kidney failure. He was 67.Shiites across the tiny island state went into deep mourning, hanging black flags and banners outside their houses and pasting pictures of al-Jamri on walls and car windows.Though he was freed from prison in 1999, the government still regarded the cleric as a divisive figure, and Bahraini state radio and television ignored his death on their news bulletins. Word of his death quickly spread, however, with many Bahrainis receiving the news in cell phone text messages.“He was a father figure for Shiite Bahrainis,” said his son, Mansour al-Jamri, a leading columnist and editor at the independent Alwasat newspaper. “His legacy will start today. He had great influence during his life.”Although his poor health had kept him out of active politics for several years, al-Jamri remained a spiritual mentor to the main opposition party, al-Wefaq, which won 17 of the parliament’s 40 seats in last month’s elections.He served in Bahrain’s first parliament in 1973-75, which was dissolved by the emir.Twenty years later, he became the religious leader of the Shiites’ campaign for the restoration of democracy and equal rights. Shiites form a slight majority of Bahrain’s 700,000 citizens, but the royal family is Sunni Muslim. Shiites have long complained they suffer discrimination, particularly at the higher levels of government.Their campaign turned violent in 1994 when arsonists set fire to buildings and protesters clashed with security forces in the streets. More than 40 people died.In 1996, authorities detained al-Jamri for 3½ years on charges of espionage and incitement, keeping him in solitary confinement.In July 1999, he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. But he was pardoned the next day by the new emir, the current King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who was beginning the program of political reform that led to new parliamentary elections in 2002.From Wire ReportsRESOURCE

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate…l/16270744.htm

Bahraini Shiites march to mourn spiritual and opposition leader dpa German Press AgencyPublished: Monday December 18, 2006 Manama, Bahrain- Thousands of Bahraini Shiites marched on Monday from Manama and the surrounding areas to mourn the passing of spiritual and opposition leader, Sheik Abdul Ameer al- Jamri. Hundreds joined the long procession as the march passed the main Shiite villages to the hometown and final resting place of Sheikh al- Jamri, 69, who died earlier in the day from heart and kidney failure. The marchers carried black flags and pictures of Sheikh al-Jamri, a former opposition MP in the dissolved 1975 parliament and a central figure in the mid-1990s Shiite unrest that swept Bahrain. They also carried symbolic coffins with his turban placed on top and pictures of several Shiites, who the opposition claims were killed by security forces during the unrest. Hundreds of women also took part in the march with many of them weeping and condoling each other, as news of the al-Jamri’s death broke. The main three Shiite political groupings, Al Wefaq Islamic Society, Haq (Right), and the Islamic Enlightenment Society, which he founded, all issued statements mourning the passing of Sheikh al- Jamri. We are deeply saddened by the passing of the great Mojahid (Islamic fighter), the national and Islamic symbol, and the leader of the 1990 Dignity intifada, said a statement from Al Wefaq, for which he was also a spiritual leader. MP and Secretary General of Al Wefaq, Sheikh Ali Salman, was to lead prayers before the body of Sheikh al-Jamri was carried to the burial grounds of the northern Shiite village of bani Jamarah. The Bahraini authorities had relieved Sheikh al-Jamri from his judicial post in 1988 because of his political activities. In 1992, he was one of six co-signees of the petition to Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, which called for reforms. In 1994, he was a co-signer of a popular petition calling for constitutional reforms, release of political prisoners, and the abolition of the state security act. The 1994 petition was one of the underlying causes for the mid- 1990s Shiite unrest in Bahrain, with the authorities placing him under house arrest for five months in 1995. He was rearrested in 1996 and three and half years later was sentenced to 10 years in jail. However, Bahrain’s current king, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, released him and 299 political prisoners the day afterwards, to make way for reforms after his rise to power. Al Wefaq, which won 17 seats in last month’s parliamentary elections and became the largest political bloc in parliament, is currently locked in a dispute with the government. It boycotted Friday’s opening session of the second term of the National Assembly. Al Wefaq’s move came in protest over what they said was an attempt to prevent them from holding the parliamentary chairman post and reappointing controversial figures to the new cabinet and Shura, the upper house of the assembly.© 2006 dpa German Press Agency

http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Bahrai…_12182006.html

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Shia cleric dies in Bahrain

Sheikh al-Jamri was set free one day after being imprisoned for 10 yearsBahraini Shias have gone into mourning after Amir al-Jamri, the ‘father’ of Bahrain’s opposition died, of heart and kidney failure.The Shia cleric who led pro-democracy protests in Bahrain in the 1990s, died on Monday after a long illness, his son said.Many Shias hung black flags outside their houses and pasted pictures of al-Jamri on walls and car windows.”He was a father figure for Shia Bahrainis,” said his son, Mansour al-Jamri, a leading columnist and editor. “His legacy will start today. He had great influence during his life.”A local rights group, The Movement of Liberties and Democracy, described al-Jamri as a person “who struggled for real constitutional citizenship where people live in peace without distinction between Sunnis and Shia.”Call for democracyHis demands in the early 1990s called for a restoration of the elected parliament which was scrapped in 1975 by the government of the Sunni-ruled Gulf state.Al-Jamri, 67, suffered a stroke in April 2002He also demanded a return of political exiles and a fairer distribution of economic resources.At least 38 people died during the anti-government unrest between 1994 and 1999, which saw Jamri jailed twice, from April to September 1995 and again in January 1996, when he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined the equivalent of $40m.He was released after King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa ascended the throne in 1999, but remained under house arrest until early 2001.

Earlier this month Bahrain named a Shia, Jawad bin Salem al-Oraied, as a deputy prime minister for the first time.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exer…1A1925CFD1.htm

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Bahraini Shiites march to mourn spiritual and opposition leaderdpa German Press AgencyPublished: Monday December 18, 2006 Manama, Bahrain- Thousands of Bahraini Shiites marched on Monday from Manama and the surrounding areas to mourn the passing of spiritual and opposition leader, Sheik Abdul Ameer al- Jamri. Hundreds joined the long procession as the march passed the main Shiite villages to the hometown and final resting place of Sheikh al- Jamri, 69, who died earlier in the day from heart and kidney failure. The marchers carried black flags and pictures of Sheikh al-Jamri, a former opposition MP in the dissolved 1975 parliament and a central figure in the mid-1990s Shiite unrest that swept Bahrain. They also carried symbolic coffins with his turban placed on top and pictures of several Shiites, who the opposition claims were killed by security forces during the unrest. Hundreds of women also took part in the march with many of them weeping and condoling each other, as news of the al-Jamri’s death broke. The main three Shiite political groupings, Al Wefaq Islamic Society, Haq (Right), and the Islamic Enlightenment Society, which he founded, all issued statements mourning the passing of Sheikh al- Jamri. We are deeply saddened by the passing of the great Mojahid (Islamic fighter), the national and Islamic symbol, and the leader of the 1990 Dignity intifada, said a statement from Al Wefaq, for which he was also a spiritual leader. MP and Secretary General of Al Wefaq, Sheikh Ali Salman, was to lead prayers before the body of Sheikh al-Jamri was carried to the burial grounds of the northern Shiite village of bani Jamarah. The Bahraini authorities had relieved Sheikh al-Jamri from his judicial post in 1988 because of his political activities. In 1992, he was one of six co-signees of the petition to Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, which called for reforms. In 1994, he was a co-signer of a popular petition calling for constitutional reforms, release of political prisoners, and the abolition of the state security act. The 1994 petition was one of the underlying causes for the mid- 1990s Shiite unrest in Bahrain, with the authorities placing him under house arrest for five months in 1995. He was rearrested in 1996 and three and half years later was sentenced to 10 years in jail. However, Bahrain’s current king, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, released him and 299 political prisoners the day afterwards, to make way for reforms after his rise to power. Al Wefaq, which won 17 seats in last month’s parliamentary elections and became the largest political bloc in parliament, is currently locked in a dispute with the government. It boycotted Friday’s opening session of the second term of the National Assembly. Al Wefaq’s move came in protest over what they said was an attempt to prevent them from holding the parliamentary chairman post and reappointing controversial figures to the new cabinet and Shura, the upper house of the assembly.© 2006 dpa German Press Agency

http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Bahrai…_12182006.html

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OBITUARIES
Sheik Abdul Amir Jamri, 67; Bahrain’s leading Shiite clericFrom the Associated PressDecember 19, 2006MANAMA, BAHRAIN — Sheik Abdul Amir Jamri, a spiritual leader of Bahrain’s Shiite opposition who was jailed after riots against the country’s Sunni leadership, died Monday of heart and kidney failure. He was 67. Shiites across the tiny Persian Gulf island state went into deep mourning, hanging black flags and banners outside their houses, and pasting pictures of Jamri on walls and car windows. Though he was freed from prison in 1999, the government still regarded the cleric as a divisive figure, and Bahraini state radio and television ignored his death on their news bulletins.Word of his death quickly spread, however, with many Bahrainis receiving the news in cellphone text messages. “He was a father figure for Shiite Bahrainis,” said his son, Mansour Jamri, a leading columnist and editor at the independent Alwasat newspaper. “His legacy will start A local rights group, HAQ — the Movement of Liberties and Democracy — described Jamri as “the spiritual father” of Bahrainis and a person “who struggled for real constitutional citizenship where people live in peace without distinction between Sunnis and Shiites.” Although his poor health had kept him out of active politics for several years, Jamri remained a spiritual mentor to the main opposition party, Wefaq, which won 17 of the parliament’s 40 seats in last month’s elections. He served from 1973 to 1975 in Bahrain’s first parliament, which was dissolved by the emir. Twenty years later, he became the religious leader of the Shiites’ campaign for the restoration of democracy and equal rights. Shiites form a slight majority of Bahrain’s 700,000 citizens, but the royal family is Sunni Muslim. Shiites have long complained that they suffer discrimination, particularly at the higher levels of government. Their campaign turned violent in 1994, when arsonists set fire to buildings and protesters clashed with security forces in the streets. More than 40 people died. In 1996, authorities detained Jamri for 3 1/2 years on charges of espionage and incitement, keeping him in solitary confinement. In July 1999, he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. But he was pardoned the next day by the new emir, the current king, Hamed ibn Isa Khalifa, who was beginning the program of political reform that led to new parliamentary elections in 2002. 

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituari…ome-obituaries