Casual reporting of Bahrain's uprising tends to give the impression that the events of February 14 and the year-long aftermath sprang out of nowhere; that Bahrain's Shi'a had finally "had enough" and used the window afforded by the Arab Spring to make their displeasure known, to spectacular effect.
There is no need to devote much time to debunking this storyline, deliberate or not, as any serious study of Bahraini politics would point to a long history of political conflict, whether between Shi'a and state, Sunna and state, or Sunna and Shi'a.
What was surprising about the scenes of February and March, then, was not that such an opposition would mobilize, but that it was able to mobilize on such an unprecedented scale.
Clouds of tear gas cover Dar Kulaib village last night
Yesterday began as just another day in Bahrain, from cool to mild. By night, however, things had gone cloudy across the country --- clouds which signalled tear gas rather than impending rain. On the latest occasion in two months, Bahrain's protesters found themselves beaten back and collectively punished, not just on the streets but also inside their homes. Despite the regime's proclamations of "reform" and "national dialogue", since December, the situation has gone from bad to worse.
I don't believe violence is a policy of the opposition or that it is systematic. Lately we have seen some isolated cases of violence. We as human rights groups and the opposition in Bahrain disagree with violence and don't think it could be the means for change for the better. However, we understand the frustration of the people. They are being arrested, tortured and their loved ones are being killed.
The other side [the regime] is offering no solutions. Due to political considerations and economic interests, the international community is ignoring these abuses as well. That is adding to the feeling of frustration. Then we see people getting killed because of tear gas to which the international community replies with more silence. Foreigners come to Bahrain, they demolish mosques, they rob houses, they destroy property. An indigenous opposition in this country exists that is now being crushed by foreign mercenaries.
I think that we are entering a new phase of activism. We are entering a phase in which we have to escalate our activism work as individuals, organizations, activists and human rights defenders. The regime has undoubtedly gotten used to the current rhythm of protests, just like a body that gets used to certain drugs. The regime got used to these gatherings and to the small village protests that it ends and disperses using tear gas. At the same time it tries to mislead the world public opinion in saying that Bahrain does not have any problems except for some small protests inside the villages and these gatherings.
We have to be clear in our speech. Our problem is not with the Prime Minister, nor with the government of the Prime Minister, whom are all merely employees. Our problem is with the King of Bahrain.
2155 GMT: At this moment, several EA source are reporting that the Syrian army is still besieging the city of Zabadani. The LCCS is also posting these reports:
Zabadani has been under shelling since 6 AM this morning by all kinds of light and heavy weaponry, which caused 5 houses to be totally destroyed and more than 13 injuries.
There are areas which were shelled and are inaccessible due to heavy shooting, today Jisr cafe, houses in the western ally and some main streets were targeted.
The city is witnessing a strong movement of displaced people to the nearby areas and the number of displaced families reached about 250 family.
Also, state security forces liquidated 15 soldiers today for refusing to shoot at civilians.
Military reinforcements arrived to the city: about 25 tanks and large number of troops carriers (of Zil brand), 20 tanks from brigade 62 in Jdaidet Yaboos have moved towards the city.
Regime’s military forces shelled the town of Madaya using the armored vehicles positioned in Francis area in Zabadany landscape.
According to sources, electricity is cut, and food and medical supplies are thin.
LCCS also reports defections in the area, including a whole unit, about 25 soldiers, that defected all at once.
EA sources have been able to confirm the presence of Free Syrian Army soldiers in the area, though it is unclear whether the siege started before they arrived, or whether they traveled to the area in order to defend the city.
Lockheed Martin Radar System, Supplied to Bahrain from 2004A top executive at Lockheed Martin recently worked with lobbyists for Bahrain to place an Op-Ed defending the nation’s embattled regime in the Washington Times — but the newspaper did not reveal the role of the regime’s lobbyists to its readers. Hence they did not know that the pro-Bahrain opinion column they were reading was published at the behest of … Bahrain, an oil-rich kingdom of 1.2 million people that has been rocked by popular protests since early 2011.
The episode is a glimpse into the usually hidden world of how Washington’s Op-Ed pages, which are prized real estate for those with interests before the U.S. government, are shaped. It also shows how Lockheed gave an assist to a major client — Bahrain has bought hundreds of millions of dollars of weapons from the company over the years – as it faces widespread criticism for human rights abuses against pro-democracy protesters.
More protests were reported from Bahrain today, mainly concentrated in several villages around the capital Manama and in Sitra, to the southeast. In almost all cases, protesters were suppressed by security forces.
Sitra:
In Sitra, several hundred protesters gathered tonight to demand the freedom of detained protesters and to call for the downfall of King Hamad bin Isa AlKhalifa. The protest, with the significant participation of women, carried banners and Bahraini flags. Eyewitnesses from the scene reported that protesters were chanting, "Peaceful, Peaceful" and "We want freedom".
This morning the regime's Bahrain News Agency runs the banner, "Happy National Day", with the headline, "Wise Leadership Congratulated", citing the "cables of congratulations from leaders of Arab, Islamic and friendly countries marking the National and Accession Days".
No doubt there will be the perfunctory statements today --- perhaps we will even see them from Washington and London, who are dedicated to a strategy of "regime adjustment" to ensure that vital links with Bahrain are not strained --- but when National Day formally opened in Bahrain at 12:01 a.m., it did so to continuing protests and clashes in the kingdom's villages.
Zainab Alkhawaja is still in prison, along with many other political detainees, and Ali Alqassab will join the list of "martyrs" as he is buried. And the smell of tear gas --- which, according to an EA correspondent was "over most of Bahrain, except Rafa' and parts of Moharraq" --- lingers.
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 7:31
Casual reporting of Bahrain's uprising tends to give the impression that the events of February 14 and the year-long aftermath sprang out of nowhere; that Bahrain's Shi'a had finally "had enough" and used the window afforded by the Arab Spring to make their displeasure known, to spectacular effect.
