Bahrain: Revolution continues, regime squeezed into last repressive stand
With four most prominent human rights activists languishing behind bars in torture dungeons, the Alkhalifa rulers have shot themselves in the foot. Many voices have been raised against the invitation of the self-styled king, Hamad Alkhalifa to the Diamond Jubilee in London later this mon
Bahrain: Alkhalifa maintain iron curtain to continue its religious cleansing
Bahrain Freedom Movement – 04/05/2012 – 5:57 p | Hitss: 782
On Thursday the people reacted angrily with disgust at the dictator’s constitutional changes that failed to address the real issues in the country. The 14th February Youth Alliance viewed these “changes” as “confirmation that the Alkhalifa regime is incapable of reforming itself or being reformed, therefore, it has to go”.
The dictator has exaggerated the value of this step and ordered the gathering of his stooges to listen to his “historic” reform programme. He delivered a set of hollow statements that indicated political and human bankruptcy of a tyrant who lost the battle and is making last ditch to save his rule and honor.
The superficial changes dealt with technical matters but avoided the core issues at stake; How should the country be ruled? And who has the legitimacy to rule? And how? These changes were imposed after the failure of the “dialogue” he had called for and for which he had appointed 300 of his stooges and 25 from the political societies. When Al Wefaq realized the pity state of the “dialogue” it withdrew from it but presented its views on reforms, none of which have been implemented.
The dictator decided on those changes that reflected his arrogance and his out-of-touch state of affairs. While the political societies have ridiculed these changes, the revolutionaries have called for the intensification of the struggle to remove the Alkhalifa hereditary dictatorship from power.
Today Reporters Without Borders issued a statement condemning the Alkhalifa family’s last-minute withdrawal of the permission it had previously given for a visit by a delegation of NGOs that defend freedom of expression. Spurious grounds were used to prevent the visit, which had been scheduled to take place from 5 to 10 May.
The Bahraini authorities often reiterate their “respect for the principles of human rights and freedoms within the framework of law and order and justice,” but clearly do not include freedom of information.
“The withdrawal of permission just a few days before World Press Freedom Day is indicative of the Bahraini government’s desire to maintain a news blackout on the continuing crackdown and its limitless hypocrisy towards the international community,” Reporters Without Borders said.
The delegation was to have consisted of representatives of various free speech NGOs affiliated to the London-based International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), including Reporters Without Borders, Freedom House, the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, Index on Censorship, PEN International and the Committee to Protect Journalists. Freelance journalist Clare Morgana Gillis was also to have accompanied the delegation.
In a separate case, Ana Gomes, a Portuguese member of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs and human rights committees, said she was held at Manama airport for over seven hours on 29th April when she tried to enter the Gulf Arab state during a stopover on the way to Libya. “I’ve been … waiting to get a visa on arrival and that was denied to me, in spite of having a diplomatic passport and I identified myself as an MEP,” Gomes told Reuters by telephone from Manama airport.
The Bahraini Interior Ministry and information affairs authority did not respond to several requests by phone and text message for a comment on the incident.
Gomes said that when asked for a contact for her stay in the country she gave the name of Zainab al-Khawaja, the daughter of jailed protest leader Abdulhadi al-Khawaja who has been on hunger strike for more than two months. His daughter is also in detention after a protest in Manama last week.
The situation has remained tense as the people continued their protest day and night. The 14th February Alliance has spearheaded the revolution and would not relent on its pledge to take the struggle forward until people’s demands are achieved.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
4th May 2012
