Bahrain Feature : How The Regime Is Restoring Peace, The American Way

Last week, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry released a 501-page report detailing the human rights abuses committed by the Bahraini regime at the height of unrest in February and March (See the text and our separate analysis.)

In response, the King and his advisors have decided to shake up their law enforcement. And they have picked an American, with vast experience in handling difficult situations, to help sort things out:

Bahrain's Interior Ministry says a former Miami police chief will lead training programs for the Gulf kingdom's forces as part of reforms after an independent report detailed abuses against pro-reform protesters.

The announcement Thursday says John Timoney will head a team of law enforcement advisers from the U.S. and Britain.

Well, that's good news, right? The Bahraini police force needs some reform, a clean image, and some accountability. Clearly, they also need training, leadership, and restraint, so Timoney's appointment must be the Kingdom's attempt to address the problems raised by the BICI report.

Right?

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Syria, Egypt (and Beyond) Liveblog: A United Front

A protest in Harasta in Syria last night

See Also, Bahrain Feature : How The Regime Is Restoring Peace, The American Way

Syria Opinion: Why There Should --- And Will --- Be a No-Fly Zone

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2111 GMT: The latest news from Yemen is that 3 soldiers and 5 civilians have died in Taiz, as the government shelled the city for yet another day. Earlier, before some of this violence, Mohammed Basindwa, appointed by the opposition to lead the transitional government, said that if the violence continues it could threaten the GCC deal. Well, the violence did continue throughout the day, and the death toll did rise, so we'll soon see whether Basindwa withdraws from the negotiated deal.

2015 GMT: Activists share this video, which reportedly shows anti-Assad protesters chanting in the clear presence of tanks and snipers in Taftanaz, Idlib province, reportedly today. We have no way of verifying the details:

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: "Assad's Problems are Everywhere"

2033 GMT: Following the BICI report on human rights abuses in the wake of unrest in Bahrain, the Bahraini government is scheduled to shake up their law enforcement structure. And they've picked an American, with vast experience in handling difficult situations, to help out.

Bahrain's Interior Ministry says a former Miami police chief will lead training programs for the Gulf kingdom's forces as part of reforms after an independent report detailed abuses against pro-reform protesters.

The announcement Thursday says John Timoney will head a team of law enforcement advisers from the U.S. and Britain.

Good news, right? Clearly, the Bahraini police need training, leadership, and restraint, so Timoney will restore the honor of the police force. The St. Petersburg Times, back in 2003, reported on Timoney's stellar record:

Miami police Chief John Timoney must be mighty proud of the social order he maintained during the Free Trade Area of the Americas summit a couple of weeks ago in Miami - sort of the way Saddam Hussein was proud of quieting dissension in his country.

Timoney has a well-deserved reputation for using paramilitary tactics to turn any city where large protests are planned into a place where the Constitution has taken a holiday. During the FTAA meeting on Nov. 20, Timoney dispatched 2,500 police officers in full riot gear against a crowd estimated at 8,000 people, mostly union members and retirees.

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Protest in the Heart of Damascus

2039 GMT: But for all the reports of violence, we've received 10 reports of protests. This video shows a cute little girl leading an evening protest in the Qarabis district of Homs:

This crowd chants anti-regime protests in Jiza, Daraa:

2024 GMT: It's after 10 pm in Syria, but reports continue to come in that the crackdown continues. The LCCS reports that is Kiswah, outside of Damascus, police have conducted house-to-house raids, arresting many, in response to a student protest earlier in the day. A large explosion rocked the Daraa alBalad neighborhood of Daraa, followed by heavy gunfire. And in Latminah, Hama, a 47-year-old father of 4 was reportedly tortured to death after being arrested.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Sanctions on Damascus

2106 GMT: Another striking claim, a reliable activist tweets that a protest left the Haydariyeh district, near the center of Aleppo.

2056 GMT: The (reliable) claim of the day - this video was reportedly taken tonight in the Old City, the district at the very heart of Damascus:

2034 GMT: Back from a lunch/Iran/fight-with-former-Bush-diplomat break to find that the LCCS has released their latest death toll - 18 killed so far in Syria, and no mention of casualties in Rankus:

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Syria, Bahrain, Egypt (& Beyond) LiveBlog: Back to Square One?

Saturday's tear gas attack by security forces on protesters after a funeral in A'ali in Bahrain

See also Egypt Q&A: Why Is There A "Revolution Reignited"?
Bahrain 1st-Hand: How Activist Zainab Alkhawaja Defied the Police...And Escaped Arrest
Saturday's Syria, Egypt (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Protest Creep

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2024 GMT: Yemen's Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi has named opposition leader Mohammed Basindwa as interim Prime Minister, according to State media.

Basindwa, Foreign Minister from 1993 to 1994, will form a new government under the deal signed in Saudi Arabia last Wednesday by President Saleh, who returned to Yemen last night.

On Saturday, Hadi called Presidential elections for 21 February.

2019 GMT: Claimed footage of a Saudi armoured vehicle trying to run over protesters in Qatif in Eastern Province --- demonstrations by the Shi'a population escalated this week, as four people were killed by security forces:

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Bahrain 1st-Hand: How Activist Zainab Alkhawaja Defied the Police...And Escaped Arrest

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Today in A'ali in Bahrain, security forces --- as is their standard practice --- moved against protesters after a funeral procession for a man killed last week, allegedly after an incident with a police jeep. They used tear gas in an attempt to disperse demonstrators who had blocked roads into the village.

Activist Zainab Alkhawaja (@angryarabiya), despite attempts to dissuade her by fellow demonstrators, went up to the police in a dramatic expression of personal resistance. It was feared for some time that she had been arrested, but she escaped detention. This is her account of what happened:

Hi all, first of all I hope there were no serious injuries after the attack today by riot police on the mourners in Aali.

I have been thinking for awhile about our protests, and tweeting that we should be sitting peacefully in front of police, not running. Today I didn't run, and as police ran towards me, shooting at the protesters, I remained on my knees holding up a Bahraini flag.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: At a Crossroads for Reconciliation?

2220 GMT: While we look for confirmation that defected soldiers have killed 40 in Deir Ez Zor, the Syrian regime is claiming that they killed 16 "terrorists" in al Rastan, Homs:

Syrian security forces bust a "terrorist gang" in the central province of Homs, killing 16 of its members, arresting dozens and seizing large quantities of arms, state television said on Friday.

The operation was carried out in the town of Rastan in Homs, one of the main hubs of protest against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, the report said, without specifying when it was launched.

2211 GMT: Another report from Shakeeb Al-Jabri:

Reports from Tal Kalakh of "3 military martyrs in clashes which erupted after defection;" allegiance of those fallen not given.

2203 GMT: Now the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights is also reporting clashes between security forces and the Syrian Free Army in Deir Ez Zor:

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Conflict Moves Towards the Centre

Two videos of the thousands in the funeral procession in Ala'ali in Bahrain, for a man killed on Wednesday after an incident with a police jeep, before the march was dispersed by security forces:

See also Bahrain Special: The Commission of Inquiry's Report...& 14 Key Points About It
Egypt LiveBlog: The Fighting Resumes
Wednesday's Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Report of the Commission of Inquiry

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2013 GMT: Claimed footage from Ala'ali in Bahrain of stone-throwing youth defying fire from security forces:

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Bahrain Special: The Commission of Inquiry's Report...& 14 Key Points About It

The 501-page report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry deserves to be read in its entirety. This is a meticulous effort to document the events and transgressions of February and March, from the outbreak of pro-reform protests on 14 February to the regime's crackdown of 16 March and beyond.

We post the General Observations and Recommendations and, while noting again that justice to the Commission's work can only be done with an examination of the complete text, we offer the following 14-point guide to the conclusions.

1. Given the stronger tone that follows, the report is surprisingly quiet on the period between 14 February and 15 March, but it does put the onus for the crisis --- and the initial deaths --- on the regime: "Forceful confrontation of demonstrators involving the use of lethal force and resort to a heavy deployment of Public Security Forces led to the death of civilians. This caused a marked increase in the number of persons participating in protests and led to a palpable escalation in their demands. As protests continued into mid-March 2011, the general state of security in Bahrain deteriorated considerably."

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