Statement: Barhain’s revolution will continue despite attempts to crush it
As we meet here today, there are hundreds of our citizens languishing in torture chambers, some of whom having been sentenced in kangaroo military courts, more than two thousand Bahrainis sacked form their jobs for taking part in peaceful demonstrations, and scores of doctors and nurses on trial for treating the injured. Moreover, repression has continued unabated; with members of the Death Squads roaming the streets, blandishing their guns to prevent any sign of protest.
After decades of abuse, torture and dictatorship, time has come for a fundamental change of the regime. Experience has shown that it is wrong to expect dictators becoming democrats, oppressors administering justice or hereditary dictatorship relinquishing power to the masses. Without such transformation democratic change is not expected in our region.
Six months into the Arab Spring and the situation has been brought into a stalemate, with Western powers clearly taking firm stands against real change, on the premise that stability is more important than democracy and that change could not guarantee stability. However, these attitudes can only delay the solution and will only cause more misery to the people.
As for Bahrain, the following points are relevant;
1- It is wrong to expect that the Al Khalifa clan could become a democratic regime. Decades of repression have made it impossible for the people to co-habit with this hereditary dictatorship. The 14th February revolution has declared: The people want a regime change. That will remain the principal slogan until real change has occurred. This means new constitution, free elections based on “One man one vote” system, a government formed by people’s freely elected representatives, transformation of the army, security forces, judiciary and media into national bodies outside the control of a clan or a faction. The regime had forfeited its right to rule when it invited foreign forces to invade the country, kill Bahrainis and destroy their mosques. The Saudi occupation is a crime; it must be condemned and ended immediately and unconditionally.
2- The Al Khalifa clan has refused to engage in real and meaningful dialogue in the past and continues to do so. The recent attempt at deception falls short of the dialogue called for by their allies. One of their faithful lieutenants is presiding over a public meeting of more than 300 people who are presenting ludicrous ideas including one that there is a need to curtail the freedoms arguing that they are responsible for the revolution. The crisis is between the people and the ruling Al Khalifa clan; yet they chose not to engage in a dialogue that may discuss their position. This general meeting is doomed from the start. While the leadership of the revolution are outside this public meeting, only 10 percent of the participants are part of the opposition that had worked within the regime, the rest are loyalists. This process of hypnotism takes place as the entire leadership of the real opposition (ie those operating outside the regime) are behind bars and are being subjected to horrific treatment. What a dialogue!
3- When Navi Pillay, the UN Human Rights Commissioner threatened to send a fact-finding mission to Bahrain, Bahrain’s dictator dissuaded her from this idea and proposed to form his own committee. It has been formed by him under the chairmanship of Mr Mohammad Bissiouni and includes five other international figures. However, it has several serious shortcomings; it is formed by the dictator himself thus its independence is questionable; it will be financed by the regime; its findings will be submitted to him first and that several of its employees are supplied by the royal court. Some disturbing indications have emerged from Mr Bissiouni himself who repeated the allegation that the dictator has been unaware of most of the crimes committed against the Bahrainis. Therefore we repeat our call for an international fact-finding mission that operates outside the Al Khalifa jurisdiction. The proposed committee is doomed and its findings will thus be null and void.
4- The revolution, meanwhile, will continue unabated. The 14th February youth are adamant on seeing through the movement for change at any cost. Police repression has continued until yesterday when several protests were staged in several areas at the end of the commemoration of the latest victim of the regime’s brutality, Majeed Mohammad Ahmad who died of his wounds last Friday. His body revealed extensive torture and abuse. The support of the independent-minded, freedom-loving people of the world is needed to ensure that the Al Khalifa hereditary dictatorship be brought to a prompt end.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
5th July 2011