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<a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/amiri02182011.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.counterpunch.org/amiri02182011.html<br><br>
</a></font><font size=2 color="#990000">February 18 - 20, 2011<br><br>
</font><h1><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4><b>Days of Rage;
Decades of Oppression<br><br>
<br>
</i></font><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=5 color="#990000">
Blood on the Streets of
Bahrain</b></font></h1><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4>By
RANNIE AMIRI<br><br>
</font>
<dl>
<dd><font size=3>Bahrain has one of the most advanced medical systems in
the Middle East, the best ICT sector in the region and the fastest
growing economy in the Arab world.<br><br>
<dd>But despite all these accomplishments, the country seems to be
missing just one little thing: a doctor who can identify signs of
torture.<br><br>
<dd>– Benjamin Joffe-Walt writing for
<a href="http://news.change.org/stories/severe-bruising-and-burns-signs-of-torture-guess-again">
Change.org</a>, 12 November 2010<br><br>
</dl>February 14th was Bahrain’s turn for its “day of rage” against the
striking social, political and economic inequities found in the tiny
island kingdom. For those familiar with its modern history, however, they
know there was no need to dub it such; Bahrainis have long raged against
policies of exclusion, marginalization and sectarianism embodied in
al-Khalifa family rule.<br><br>
To fully appreciate Bahrain’s inherent volatility, it is important to
understand both its demographics and political structure. These have been
<a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/amiri09032010.html">detailed</a> in
past essays which new readers can
<a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/amiri09242010.html">review</a>.
Briefly, of 1.2 million people in the Persian Gulf nation, only about
530,000 are Bahraini nationals. Of these, at least 70 percent are Shia
Muslims. The king, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, and the al-Khalifa
dynasty that has ruled Bahrain for two centuries, are Sunni Muslims.
<br><br>
If meaningful, representative, democratic institutions were present in
the country, the sectarian incongruity would be a mere footnote.
Unfortunately, that is far from the case. The civil, political and human
rights of Shia citizens have been trampled on for decades by the
monarchy. This wholly belies the claim that Bahrain is a beacon of
democracy and reform among Persian Gulf nations (a notion likewise
promulgated by its stalwart ally, the United States). <br><br>
The notorious citizenship lawsgiving non-Bahraini Sunnis expedited
citizenship and voting rights in a backdoor attempt to alter the state’s
confessional makeupis one of many examples of how the monarchy has long
bred resentment and anger among the majority population.<br><br>
The disenfranchised, poverty-stricken Shia hold no significant positions
in government. Although they comprise 80 percent of the labor force, they
are absent from the public sector. They are completely unrepresented in
the security services: of the 1,000 employed in the National Security
Apparatus, more than two-thirds are non-Bahraini (Jordanians, Egyptians,
Pakistanis etc.) and overwhelmingly Sunni. Bahraini Shias constitute less
than five percent of the NSA and occupy only low-level positions or act
as paid informants. <br><br>
The paramilitary Special Security Forces operates under the supervision
of the NSA and numbers 20,00090 percent of whom are non-Bahraini. The
SSF does not include a single Bahraini Shia officer.<br><br>
These security forces, housed in Manama’s upscale neighborhoods of
course, are routinely unleashed on Bahraini Shia protesting their
lotimported henchmen serving to oppress the king’s subjects. <br><br>
Last summer, the government rounded up dozens of human rights workers,
religious leaders and opposition figures who demanded an end to the
regime’s habitual use of torture. Twenty-five were charged with
“contacting foreign organizations and providing them with false and
misleading information about the kingdom.” Half were charged with
attempting to stage a coup. . In total, 450 have been arrested, including
the well-known pro-democracy blogger Ali Abdulemam.<br><br>
Claiming they were tortured by security forces before being put on trial,
the government’s expert medical examiner concluded the bruises, wounds,
cuts and burns found on detainees’ bodied were not</i> the result of
torture.<br><br>
Indeed, its specter looms over all those who oppose al-Khalifa
rule.<br><br>
In February 2010, Human Rights Watch released a landmark report titled
“<a href="http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/02/08/torture-redux-0">
Torture Redux</a>: The Revival of Physical Coercion during Interrogations
in Bahrain.” It chronicles the routine use of torture and degrading
treatment for the purpose of extracting confessions from political
opponents. The organization’s
<a href="http://www.hrw.org/en/world-report-2011/world-report-2011-bahrain">
2011 World Report</a> reaffirms the practice continues. Even more
disturbing, Bahraini
<a href="http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/3719">children</a> have not
been spared physical and sexual abuse at the hands of the secret
police.<br><br>
But choosing Feb. 14 as Bahrain’s day of rage was not done randomly. It
marked the tenth anniversary of the referendum on the National Action
Charter, which Sheikh Hamad promised would transform the Kingdom into a
constitutional monarchy, and the ninth anniversary of the 2002
constitution purportedly enacting it. <br><br>
It was all for show. Despite Bahrain’s elected parliament, real power
lies with the upper house Shura Council. The Shura Council has the
authority to approve or rescind any legislation passed by the lower house
Council of Representatives. Shura members, unsurprisingly, are directly
appointed by the king.<br><br>
Monday’s protestors, who acted peacefully by all
<a href="http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/15/bahrain-stop-attacks-peaceful-protesters">
accounts</a>, were met by riot police using live ammunition. Scores were
injured. The uprising’s first martyr, 27-year-old Ali Abdul Hadi
Mushaima, was killed by a gunshot wound to the back. At his funeral
procession Tuesday, security forces fatally shot Fadel Salman al-Matrouk,
31, a mourner who had gathered with others in front of the hospital where
Mushaima died. <br><br>
Sensing the potential for unrest, the king granted each Bahraini family
$2,650 in cash before protests even began. After Mushaima and
al-Matrook’s deaths, he went on television to express his regret and
promise an investigation into their deaths. As in Egypt, the regime’s
actions woefully lagged behind events on the ground.<br><br>
Thousands of Bahrainis occupied Manama’s Pearl Roundabout Tuesday and
Wednesday, with the youth at the helm. They chanted, “No Shiites, no
Sunnis, only Bahrainis.” Tents were set up and preparations were
made for a long peaceful encampment.<br><br>
Early Thursday morning, while protestors slept, the situation took an
ugly, violent turn. Riot police
<a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hm4-UsJZW15taF3FqXQHmqLXPkdQ?docId=CNG.527c915435c26814aef6a943e8f70089.641">
stormed</a> through the camp, killing four and injuring 100. Sixty people
are reported missing (numbers at the time of this writing, all likely to
increase). Tanks were out in full force as hundreds flooded into
hospitals. Manama is now in lock-down. <br><br>
Statements of those present come from an
<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110217/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_bahrain_protests">
AP</a> report:<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>“They were beating me so hard I could no longer see. There was so
much blood running from my head … I was yelling, ‘I'm a doctor. I'm a
doctor.’ But they didn't stop.”<br><br>
<dd>“We yelled, ‘We are peaceful! Peaceful!’ The women and children were
attacked just like the rest of us … They moved in as soon as the media
left us. They knew what they're doing.”<br><br>
<dd>“Then all of a sudden the square was filled with tear gas clouds. Our
women were screaming. ... What kind of ruler does this to his people?
There were women and children with us!”<br><br>
</dl>Bahrainis’ demands are clear: the resignation of Prime Minister
Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifawho has governed since 1971to be replaced
by an elected</i> premier, the release of all political prisoners, a new
constitution, an end to the systematic discrimination against Shias and
all forms of sectarianism, repeal of the citizenship laws, fairness in
distribution of jobs and housing, freedom of the press and religion, and
an end to torture.<br><br>
The al-Khalifa monarchy and its imported mercenaries are at a crossroads.
The protestors’ demands are reasonable and legitimate. The king would be
wise to accede to them before overthrow of the entire regime becomes
their only acceptable alternative. After Thursday’s violent crackdown
against unarmed civilians, there may now be no other option.<br><br>
Rannie Amiri</b> is an independent Middle East commentator. <br><br>
<br><br>
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