Bahrain: Violent crackdown on protesters on Budaiya Street

20 Dec 11 | Middle East and North Africa, Uncategorized

The fifteenth of December marked the start of #OccupyBudaiya. Bahrainis have taken to Budaiya Street in Manama, the capital city, to express discontent with the government’s actions following the reading of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report. For four days, protesters clashed with riot police and security officials. Bahraini activist Asma Darwish, 21, who has been actively protesting since the start of protests in February, told Index that the demonstrations have all been “peaceful.” According to Darwish, when she was at Budaiya Street on 15 December, police began firing tear gas at herself and a few other individuals, including the now detained activist Zainab Al-Khawaja (@angryarabiya) , and journalists Lauren Bohn and Adam Ellick. She said that they were merely “taking photos” outside of a Costa coffee shop known as a meeting point for opposition members, when police opened fire on the café, filling it with tear gas and making it “very difficult to breathe”. On the same day, protester Ali Al-Ghassab was run over during protests, and the Ministry of Interior has denied responsibility for his death. On the same day, Al-Khawaja was also arrested while peacefully protesting.

In honour of Bahrain’s National Day on 16 December, King Hamad delivered a speech, in which he spoke about the BICI report, and emphasised the government’s “commitment to implementing its recommendations”. He also said that the BICI also “generated popular satisfaction.”  On the same day, many gathered for the funeral of Al-Ghassab, and to protest on Budaiya Street again. According to an eyewitness account, the protests were “peaceful,” and did not even involve road blocks, which has been a major criticism of opposition tactics in the past. While protesters peacefully gathered, security forces began breaking up the crowds through the use of force — using batons to beat protesters, and firing “tear gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets and bird shotgun pellets” on the crowd. The brutal crackdown on protesters since the start of the latest round of demonstrations has resulted in countless injuries, and many have posted images and videos of clouds of tear gas, injuries, and protests on Twitter. Bahrain is now approaching 10 months of unrest; protests began in February of this year.

Meanwhile, Al-Khawaja, who was scheduled to stand trial today, could face up to two years in prison, according to her lawyer. The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights is reporting that Al-Khawaja is currently being held in a cell with 40 other women and one shared bathroom, and has also been “verbally harassed” and threatened by officials, who have told her that she would only be able to see her two-year-old daughter once a week. Al-Khawaja is the daughter of prominent activist Abdulhady Al-Khawaja, who was arrested in April and is currently serving a life sentence. In  an open letter to the international human rights community, Darwish appealed to organisations to assist in releasing her fellow activist, and condemned the physical assault of Al-Khawaja during her arrest, and said that her ill-treatment in public was “worrisome”. Her arrest, as well as the crackdown on protesters has been met with outrage from the international community, as continued brutality and the arrest of peaceful protesters does not seem to line up with the government’s promises of a renewed future, and many organisations have called for her release, as well as that of other peaceful protesters.

The Bahraini government has called for the fast-tracking of the recommendations of the commission, but hundreds remain in prison for exercising their right to express their political views. One of the commissioners, Sir Nigel Rodley, former UN special rapporteur on torture, told Human Rights Watch that those arrested for peacefully expressed their right to “freedom of expression and assembly,” and called for the government to review convictions, commute the sentences of those merely exercising their “basic political rights,” and that commissioners intended that they be released, and their criminal records be expunged of charges.

 

“Angry Arabiya” arrest belies Bahrain government commitment to reform

15 Dec 11 | Middle East and North Africa

A few weeks ago, I traveled as a part of a delegation to Bahrain to investigate the state of free expression and attend the presentation of the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, which was commissioned to investigate what occurred in February and March. During my time in Bahrain, I met Zainab Al-Khawaja (@angryarabiya).

In my time with her, I grew to respect and admire her world view and strength. We had many conversations about Bahrain, her experiences as an activist, and I learned a great deal about her perspective. While perhaps at times uncertain about the future of Bahrain, Al-Khawaja was always clear on one thing: she believes in peaceful protests, and she was not alone in this.

As with her past interactions with security forces, Al-Khawaja used peaceful tactics today to express her views, just like she always has. To be arrested for demonstrating peacefully does not signal turning over a new leaf, as the Bahraini government says that it aims to do.

Many are quick to cite the examples of oil spills, molotov cocktails or road blocks as reasons to discredit protesters or members of the opposition. While I was in Bahrain, I attended a demonstration prior to security forces arriving, and it was peaceful. However, at a separate demonstration in Sitra, I did see molotov cocktails being thrown at security forces, much like New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof did this past week. While such tactics are worrisome, and human rights organisations in Bahrain have been quick to condemn their usage, I believe that unfortunately, they are merely a reaction to the situation at hand. Focusing on such tactics seems to only serve as a distraction from a much greater problem.

Many Bahraini officials, including King Hamad, have been vocal about about moving forward, reconciliation, and accepting the results of the report, which confirmed  human rights abuses during February and March. Following the reading of the report, King Hamad said, “The government welcomes the findings of the Independent Commission, and acknowledges its criticisms,” an official Bahraini statement said. “We took the initiative in asking for this thorough and detailed inquiry to seek the truth and we accept it.”

Bahrain’s government has publicised steps to create change, including the hiring of two new overseas police officers (including former Miami police chief John Timoney, well-known for his ability to crush protests) and forming a committee to explore the implementation of the commission’s findings. Even so, such goals are more long-term, and do not address the current situation. If the government expects to move forward, and gain trust from those who do not believe that the commission was nothing more than a exercise to repair the international reputation of Bahrain, then it is important to allow protesters to demonstrate, and to change the crackdown on protesters on the ground.