"The mass trial of 28 Bahraini doctors and nurses who treated injured antigovernment protesters campaigning for greater freedoms in the Gulf kingdom resumed yesterday in a special security court.
The prosecution of the health professionals, who were charged with participating in efforts to topple Bahrain’s monarchy, signals that the kingdom’s Sunni rulers do not intend to end their relentless pursuit of the Shi’ite-led opposition despite appeals for dialogue.
That outreach by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has met a cool reception from Shi’ite leaders who demand that authorities roll back security measures and halt the trials against activists.
Reports of abuse of Bahrain’s leading human rights activist, who has been in custody since April, have eroded the opposition’s appetite for reconciliation talks, set to begin Friday....
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Related: Bahrain Big House
"Saudis to reduce force aiding Bahrain" by Associated Press / June 29, 2011
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A Saudi military official said yesterday that the kingdom plans to pull some units out of the 1,500-strong force sent to Bahrain to help quell a Shi’ite-led uprising for greater rights. But an adviser to Bahrain’s king said there are no plans for a full withdrawal.
The Saudi military official did not say how many troops would remain behind after the pullout next week, announcing the drawdown as the Bahraini government attempts to open a dialogue with the opposition it crushed a few months ago. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media.
Why didn't they do that first?
Nabil al-Hammar, an adviser to Bahrain’s king, made it clear that there were no plans for a full withdrawal of the reinforcements, which include troops from the United Arab Emirates. He said some of the Saudi-led force that came to the aid of Bahrain’s rulers in March will reposition units within the tiny kingdom.
At least 31 people have been killed since February, when Bahrain’s majority Shi’ites — inspired by uprisings elsewhere in the Middle East — started a campaign for greater freedoms and an end to the Sunni hold on power.
Now the most powerful Shi’ite pro-reform bloc, Al Wefaq, is asking supporters whether they are for or against the government-proposed dialogue.
Already, the leaders of Al Wefaq have shown which way they are leaning — questioning how reconciliation efforts, pushed by the United States, can proceed while authorities still impose rigid security measures and hold trials linked to the reform campaign....
The absence of Wefaq would be a severe blow to the credibility of the talks....
The question of whether to participate in the dialogue beginning Saturday is being debated in meetings around the strategic Persian Gulf island nation, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
Washington has taken little action against Bahrain’s monarchy for the harsh crackdown on protesters....
I think the previous sentence tells why.
Time's up.
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Also see: Bahrain: The Open-Ended Occupation
Still is.
