Bahrain: the political turmoil continues and calls to boycott the regime’s institutions

As the political turmoil takes ground, more Bahrainis are detained, tortured and jailed. Habib Ahmad Habib, from Karzakkan, was arrested by the Death Squads on 16^th May. His arrest is a revenge to the testimonies given by the victims of torture to Human Rights Watch. All the members of the Karzakkan group who had been tortured are being re-arrested despite being “pardoned” by the ruler. As the turmoil continued in various parts of the countries, the ruling family resorted to the use of more cruel means of repression. In a demonstration yesterday, one of the Karzakkan’s youth was hit by a shotgun and was severely injured in his head and back. He lost consciousness and was arrested and transferred to the hospital. The youth was targeted although he was not present at the theatre of the protests.

As the protests continued, a human chain protest was organized near the Bahrain Mall and was attended by hundreds of Bahrainis. The protesters raised banners calling for an immediate end to the political naturalization process and revoke the steps taken to impose a demographic change in the country. It was called for by prominent personalities who are worried that the ruling family is taking serous steps not only to continue the occupation of the country but to fundamentally alter its demographic composition. Activists are planning more protests to highlight the plight of their country and attract the world’s attention to the plight of the native Baharna who are being targeted for extermination. Khalid bin Ahmad, the notorious head of the royal court has been given the task of the demographic change, aided by Ahmad Atiyyat Allah Al Khalifa, who is the main villain in the Al Bandar report.

On 14^th May, the brave people of Karbabad marched on their street to challenge the authoritarian regime. They burnt tyres on the main road, The youth were pursued by riot police in heavy gear. More than 25 police cars attacked the town. The burning tyres sent columns of smoke into the air as the police struggled to put them down.

Meanwhile, the ruling family issued a judgment against a human rights activist whose work has been an embarrassment to the authorities. Mohammad Al Makait, president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) was fined US$1325 for operating nongovernmental organization without authorization from the ruling Al Khalifa family. Human Rights Watch condemned this barbaric decision and said: “Bahrain's criminal court judgment against Mohammad al-Maskati, leader of a human rights group, clearly violates the right to freedom of association and should be revoked immediately.” "Bahrain's claim that it respects and promotes human rights is incompatible with this kind of arbitrary restriction against a group that may be critical of official policies," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Mohammad al-Maskati tried to comply with the law, and the authorities responded by punishing him with a large fine." At the same time tyres were burnt on the Sheikh Jaber Al Sabah near Al Ma’amir and close to the Sitra traffic lights. The Highway near Al Rafa’ was closed as more fires erupted there. The youth at Al Ma’amir went out on 13^th May, burnt their tyres and closed the main road near the town of Al Ma’amir. The protests also continued against the attack on Karzakkan over the past two weeks as the Al Khalifa agents continued their efforts to arrest the Bahrainis who had refused to hand themselves over to the torturers. The Karzakkan Town was encircled and its subjected to ransacking and abuse.

On another level, the main opposition movements issued a statement calling for the boycott of the elections of the Shura councils later in the year. Al Wafaa, Haq and BFM have taken a decision to boycott the Al Khalifa regime and its various bodies, including the Shura councils which have proven to be marginal, ineffective and rubber stamps to pass the Al Khalifa decisions as laws. The call will be yet another nail in the coffins of the doomed political programme imposed by the Al Khalifa on the people of Bahrain. Participation in the pseudo-elections is expected to fall dramatically as more Bahrainis become disillusioned and take more effective role with the opposition.

Bahrain Freedom Movement

18^th May 2010