New History in the making as “enemies of the state” claim victory
The scene had been set for a “show trial” on 24th March of 35 alleged “plotters” against the state. Who are those “plotters”? And which is the “State”? And was the court room equipped to deal with what should have been a stage for protracted .
prosecution/defence wrangling about a case that (if it had an element of truth) should have sent shivers to the core of the establishment? For two centuries the people of Bahrain had been victims of an occupation by warlords that had found it impossible to abandon their rudimental views of modern society and state. They have hitherto refused to adapt to modern concepts of governance and insisted on clinging to the roots of the predecessors whose “sword” saw heads rolling along the path of the master who was there to be obeyed. These pre-historic concepts and visions are still present in the hearts and minds of those ruling Bahrain today.
Last month, the son of the ruling sheikh wrote a poem which sought to remind people that the Al Khalifa’s existence depended on chopping the heads of their adversaries. No protest was made by those pseudo-intellectuals who have sanctioned the torture of teenagers with their finger nails pulled, their bodies mutilated and their genitals subjected to horrific electric shocks.
Mr Hassan Mushaime, Sheikh Mohammad Habib Al Miqdad and 30 others were brought from their torture cells to face a kangaroo court presided over by one of the Al Khalifa figures. As in previous settings, mothers, fathers and relatives gathered outside to gain a glimpse of their beloved ones who had been snatched by the Death Squads weeks, months and years ago. They were offered little sympathy or respect by the Al Khalifa killers who attacked them with batons, tear gas and rubber bullets. Old women fell to the ground while youth started hurling stones on the foreign-staffed riot police. Inside the courtroom the heroes of Bahrain who had stood against aggression, repression and occupation were herded in batches, their bodies visibly in pain but their spirits sky high. The presence of foreign observers invited by the opposition had, this time, forced the Al Khalifa to change their tactics. They presented a more “civilized” face by allowing Mr Mushaime to speak. However, they also ensured that none of the victims of tortured detainees mentioned the torture he had endured during three months of incarceration.
To achieve this, s senior torturer (Badr Ghaith (Abu Ibrahim) was dispatched to the court room to act as “the Big Brother” watching every movement or indication by any of the victims. His presence guaranteed that none of them spoke. The most damning episode had thus been averted. It is known that the verdicts against the detainees had already been decided by the ruling family, but the foreign presence was a factor in delaying its announcement. The “judge” hurried to bring the court to an abrupt end after adjourning it until 28th April.
Mr Mushaime and the rest are condemned for opposing the hereditary dictatorship and criticizing the policies of occupation, authoritarianism and human rights abuses. They had to remain behind bars for the foreseeable future whether as a result of stiff sentences to be announced in due course or by languishing in their incommunicado detention while their trials are repeatedly adjourned. They are serving arbitrary jail terms due to these adjournments. Opponents of the Al Khalifa are destined to spend good part of their lives in dungeons not fit even for animal habitation. Mr Mushaime had spent six years behind bars in the nineties and other periods in the eighties. His repeated detention has not undermined his determination to struggle against injustice in Bahrain. He has witnessed institutionalized repression practiced by forces of occupation.
These occupiers have failed to adapt to modern standards of decency, respect of human rights or political correctness. They have held Bahrain hostage for the past two centuries, adopting blackmail to silence the opposition, contain outspoken elements or co-opt those willing to take their side in the attack against the natives of these troubled islands. The international observers have experienced first hand the suffering of the people of Bahrain as they aspire to achieve a degree of independence, civility and the rule of law. They are keen to achieve the independence of their land and have opposed the evil designs of their occupiers who are undertaking a fundamental change in the demographic composition of the land.
The struggle for freedom, independence, democracy and human rights will continue, as it had for the past eight decades. The Al Khalifa occupiers have banked on the possibility that they would break the will of Bahrainis. They have, so far, failed and are unlikely to succeed in the near future. With a changing world in which alliances shift in a similar way to the sands of the Arabian desert, the political situation in the Gulf region is also destined for change. The hope has always been that the change would come in an evolutionary way, but it looks more likely that it will be wide-ranging and, possibly, bloody. Change is a necessity in a region known for its stagnation and absence of legal mechanisms to introduce gradual change. The Al Khalifa had enough change to adapt their political system to modern standards. They have failed in a drastic way. The ruler had missed several opportunities that would have enabled him to lead the country to peaceful waters.
He had chosen to resort to violence, human rights violations and upholding the rule of law. The next few months will be crucial for one of two possibilities; an evolutionary process that would enhance the political realities in today’s Bahrain the adoption of a revolutionary pattern of change that could cost the Al Khalifa, not only the rule of that country, but their own lives. It is a struggle of wills that the people cannot afford to lose. The hope is that the peaceful struggle of the people of Bahrain would, in time, lead to a fundamental change, and eliminate the hereditary dictatorship that would leave behind a bleak history in this troubled region.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
26 March 2009
