Criminal acts by the Al Khalifa against demonstrators

As the political crisis in Bahrain deepens, demonstrations have become a recurrent event on daily basis. On Friday, the Al Khalifa rulers prevented a peaceful demonstration in protest against their criminal acts against the people of Bahrain.

 The people, however, challenged this ban and went out to the streets in several parts of the country. Clashes were reported in several places, starting from Ras Rumman, where the demonstration was due to start. As the youth faced the Al Khalifa death squads, the foreign-staffed riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets causing injuries to the youth. Three women in their forties were taken to  hospital after being exposed to intensive chemical gases used by the Al Khalifa thugs.

Passers by were hit as they failed to contain the situation. Their plan was to prevent the demonstration which had been planned to convey a message to the outside world about the crimes being committed by Sheikh Hamad’s illegal regime, including the policy of ethnic cleansing against the natives, the sheltering of torturers and killers and the plundering of the country’s oil wealth and land. The opposition have succeeded in attracting good coverage from the press core which came to the country to cover the formula 1 races due to start tomorrow.

As riot police laid cordons to the whole area of Ras Rumman, the youth spread to other parts of the country and staged peaceful demonstration against the criminal regime, including Sanabis, Daih, Malikiyah and Karzakkan. A police car was set on fire near the Dana Mall in Manama as its foreign occupants used suffocating gases against the protesters. Another group started fires in the streets near Al Na’aim district of Manama to stop the foreign-staffed riot police from reaching their positions. Near the Pearl Roundabout, more fires were seen in the middle of the road. At Tashan village protesters burnt tyres in the road and smoke was seen billowing above the houses.

The demonstrators were shouting against the ethnic cleansing policies of the Al Khalifa and calling on the world to intervene to save the people of Bahrain from the Al Khalifa criminal regime. They were also protesting against the races that are costing the country hundreds of millions of dollars while the people are suffering from hunger, lack of housing or proper medical care. The town of Sanabis was showered with large amounts of tear gas and other chemical gases to the extent that its inhabitants made frantic efforts to convince government agents to stop this onslaught.

Earlier, a leading religious scholar was hit by a rubber bullet but was unhurt. Sheikh Mohammad Habib Al Miqdad was targeted personally (apparently on orders from Sheikh Hamad’s palace) but the bullet hit his turban. He continued his protest and urged the people to continue their peaceful struggle against the Al Khalifa hereditary dictatorship.

These latest protests came one day after a large demonstration had been held to call for an independent inquiry into the murder of Abbas Al Shakhouri who was martyred on Tuesday. He had been hit ten days ago while on duty at a hotel. It is believed that he had been killed by the death squads which are under the direct orders from Sheikh Hamad’s palace. The Al Khalifa have failed to investigate any of the murders committed by these murderous groups. Starting with the killing of Nooh Khalil Al Nooh in 1998, these criminals have killed Mohammad Jum’a Al Shakhouri in 2001, Mahdi Abdul Rahman in 2006 and now Abbas Al Shakhouri.

Bahrain Freedom Movement
14th April 2007