Russia asks UNSC to deal with Bahrain’s revolution
In an unprecedented development, Russian has asked the UN Security Council to debate the case of Bahrain where a popular revolution has been taking place for the past 18 months.
This reflects the new direction of Russian policies in the Middle East following two decades of downward opportunities following the fragmentation of the former Soviet Union. Earlier, the Chinese representative at UNSC had said that its double standards in dealing with the Arab Spring revolutions had damaged its impartiality. This internalisation of the Bahraini revolution will be a blow to the Alkhalifa and Al Saud policies as they attempt to destroy the Bahraini revolution with shear state terrorism. The American and British military and security support of the despotic rulers of Bahrain is causing unease on the international scene especially after the recent flare up of the Syrian situation.
On 7th August The Washington Post published an editorial questioning the wisdom of the Obama administration’s support of Bahrain’s discredited hereditary dictatorship. Under the title “Backing backfires in Bahrain’, it wrote: “Bahrain remains locked in a standoff between a largely intransigent government and a slowly radicalizing opposition — and the regime has failed to fulfill its repeated pledges to end repression of peaceful dissent and undertake meaningful reforms”. It further added: “The country’s best-known human rights activist, Nabeel Rajab, is serving prison time for a tweet that called for the resignation of the hard-line prime minister”. The Editorial went on to say: “Security forces continue to employ harsh tactics to put down demonstrations in Shiite villages, including what a new report by Physicians for Human Rights calls the “indiscriminate use of tear gas as a weapon.” It said police regularly fire tear gas canisters “directly at civilians or into their cars, houses or other closed spaces” in an effort “not just to disperse crowds but to harm, harass, and intimidate the largely Shia neighborhoods that are home to many protesters.” The article concluded by proposing that “Since Bahrain regularly denies visas to critical U.S. journalists and human rights activists, it should have no cause for complaint if those who are sustaining its repression are similarly sanctioned”.
Among the recent deaths by chemical gases is a foetus in his mother’s womb. The family of Atiyya Hassan Jassim Al Nakal of Sitra have confirmed that his wife had suffered a miscarriage following the inhalation by the mother of excessive amounts of chemical gases and tear gas. The family has been devastated. More than fifty citizens have lost their lives as a result of excessive use of chemical gases by the Alkhalifa and Alsaud forces occupying the country.
Another detained human rights activist is Zainab Al Khawja who was arrested last week for protesting at a roundabout. Amnesty International has called for her immediate release. It said: In the past nine months Zainab Al-Khawaja has been arrested and released several times. She has been put on trial several times for “illegal gathering” and “insulting officials”. She is still facing three more trials. The first is an appeal hearing on a charge of “insulting an officer” in a military hospital. She had been acquitted of this charge on 2 May but the prosecution appealed and the appeal hearing is now under way; the next session will be on 16 October.
Meanwhile the revolution has gained momentum in recent weeks following intensification by the regime of its barbaric attacks on civilian areas. There have been on average thirty demonstrations every day and night in almost all neighbourhoods. The routine has become standard. The youth would gather at a place and would march followed by women procession. Few minutes later they would be attacked by overwhelming forces using chemical gases and tear gas canisters. A fracas would often ensue, and confrontations would continue for hours. While the troops would fire large amounts of lethal gases, shotguns and rubber bullets the youth would try to stop the attackers using petrol bottles to defend their own homes. It is now clear that no settlement is possible between the people and the ruling family and the only way out is for the Alkhalifa to go.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
10th August 2012
