Bahrain: “Arrows of Dignity” pierce the body of dictatorship and occupation
The brutal end meted on Colonel Gaddafi of Libya has sent shock waves to Bahrain’s dictator and his regime. Bahrainis were encouraged by the downfall off the dictator as they acted firmly during the week they had termed “Arrows of dignity” during which they demonstrated in many parts of the country.
They chanted the main slogans of the revolution: “People wants regime change” and “Down with Hamad”. The situation has now reached a point of no return with no chance of accepting to deal with the Al Khalifa hereditary dictatorship. From the town of Dair in the North to Karzakkan and Sitra roads were closed by the revolutionary youth who used burnt tyres to disrupt traffic. Most of the main roads were closed bringing traffic to a halt.
The main highways, including the one that links Bahrain to Saudi Arabia, were closed. The regime’s Death Squads went into action, firing live bullets at demonstrators in Samaheej, Dair, Nowaidrat, Duraz and the “triangle of resistance”. Women were out in strength especially in Duraz and faced the notorious riot police which were heavily armed and vicious. Many arrests were made in various parts of the country.
The Shia of Muharraq now live in constant fear after the regime’s militias issued warning and threats that they would be wiped out in retaliation for the revolution that had exposed the brutality of the Al Khalifa. These threats have made more serious by the presence of the Saudi army which had invaded the country and kept it under occupation since mid-March.
The death of Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the Saudi defence minister, has highlighted the possibility of more radical and vicious elements in the “Big neighbor”. Bahrainis were indifferent to the demise of Sultan, knowing that whoever replaces him would not be less brutal or dictatorial. Bahrainis have appealed to the world to stand up to the challenge of the Saudi occupation and take a stand to end it sooner than later. They are confident that occupation cannot win, and that the revolution has survived its brutality and viciousness. The next phase in the struggle will highlight the illegality of the occupation and alert the world community to its evils and that the Bahraini people expected the UN Security Council to address this unprovoked aggression. The US and its allies are creating a monster that will continue the policies of extremism and terrorism and undertake terrorism as a means to intimidate others, on the scales of 9/11, committed by 19 young men, 15 of whom were Saudi nationals.
Efforts are being made by friends of Bahraini people to urge the organizers of the International Bahrain Air Show, scheduled to take place in January, to cancel the show in protest at the brutality of the Al Khalifa dictatorship. The Show is held once every two years and organized by the Farnborough Air Show organizers. Human rights and pro-democracy activists have raised their total objection to the show on the basis that it will only strengthen the resolve of dictatorship and condone aggression and brutality.
During this year, Formula1, the international car race organizers, cancelled two scheduled races planned in Bahrain after international human rights and pro-democracy bodies urged them to do so. Their stands were praised especially by the families of more than 50 martyrs and thousands injured. As the revolution continues, the situation will become more volatile and the safety of the international delegations could be jeopardized. Bahrain Air Show 2012 must be cancelled. That is the message of the revolutionaries to the world today.
Meanwhile, concerns for the life of Mr Hassan Mushaima, the most prominent leaders of the pro-democracy movement have been raised by many quarters including his family. He has been denied proper treatment for his cancer ailment. His family has sustained ferocious attacks by the Death Squads operated by the dictator’s office. In the early hours of Wednesday 19th October, his son, Mohammad, 24, who was released from jail last month was kidnapped from his bed, together with his brother-in-law and taken to one of the secret locations used for ill-treatment of prisoners. They were both severely tortured before being dumped near the family’s home. Images of their mutilated bodies were distributed on websites that shocked the world. How could human beings are driven to this extent of brutality and how such policies could save a dictatorship.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
23rd October 2011
