Bahrain’s crisis will intensify unless reforms are introduced

The ongoing political crisis in Bahrain is not new. It has been there for decades for one simple reason. The ruling Al Khalifa family has never become part of the Bahraini fabric since it occupied the land in 1783. The major obstacle against mutual reconciliation between the Al Khalifa and the people of Bahrain is the lack of mutual recognition of each other.

 The people are ready to recognise the dynastical rule only within the framework of a contractual constitution drawn up by the two sides. Such a constitution had existed after the British withdrawal in 1971 but he present ruler, Sheikh Hamad unilaterally abrogated it in 2002. Since then, his political programme has come to an abrupt end.

Bahrain today lives in a state of emergency; the jails are becoming gradually overcrowded as more pro-democracy activists are held for expressing their views peacefully. Mr Hassan Mushaime and Sheikh Mohammad Habib Al Miqdad have been held for three months for opposing the regime’s increasing repression and dictatorial rule. While there are elections without democracy, there is an increasing tide of arrests with torture. This is in addition to the political naturalisation programme that at changing the native Bahrainis (Shia and Sunni) with new naturalised foreigners imported from various places, some of whom have never seen the country. International Human Rights bodies have confirmed the use of torture at an astronomical scale. Last week, Mr Maitham Badr Al Sheikh was released from the torture chambers 15 months after he had been detained. His release came only as his deteriorating health became hopeless. His chances of recovery are slim, according to the doctors who have since examined him.

We, as the pro-democracy opposition, like to state the following:

1- There will be no solution to the ongoing crisis without reverting either to the 1973 constitution or a new one written by Bahrainis. We DO NOT recognise the Al Khalifa constitution of 2002, as it only institutionalises hereditary dictatorship and offers partial elections without democracy.

2- The political prisoners, the most senior of whom are Mr Hassan Mushaime, who had regularly addressed such gatherings in the past and Sheikh Mohammad Habib Al Miqdad, are held for their peaceful expression of opinion, and are thus considered Prisoners of Conscience, and their detention is arbitrary.

3- We call for the immediate and unconditional release of the political prisoners as demanded by the international human rights bodies such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Front Line, the International Federation for Human Rights, the Islamic Human Rights Commission and others.

4- We consider the continued detention of the pro-democracy activists with intermittent trials that are repeatedly adjourned for months, an institutionalised punishment outside the due process of law. Their guilt can never be established in a normal court of law. The regime thus aims to inflict maximum penalty outside the process of Law.

5- The opposition has always been ready for dialogue. The ruling family has never held a meaningful dialogue with the opposition in the past. Their form of dialogue is: “We speak, you listen”. Without this, the country will slide further into chaos, instability and oblivion.

Bahrain Freedom Movement
8th April 2009