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October 1997: Second Anniversary of the Historic Ten-Day Strike Commemorated

1 October: The Gulf News Agency distributed a press release saying that the Official Gazette published on 1 October the names of eight citizens wanted for trial on 7 November 1997. The eight are Dr. Mansoor Al-Jamri, Dr. Saeed Al-Shehabi (both members of the BFM), together with the three religious scholars who were forcibly exiled by the regime on 15 January 1995: Sheikh Ali Salman, Sheikh Hamza Al-Deiri, and Seyyed Haider Al-Setri. Three other names were lumped in the list: Sheikh Adel Al-Shu’la, Sheikh Khalil Sultan, and Sheikh Mohammed Habib Mansoor, all of whom had been forcibly exiled in the past 2-4 years.

Dr. Al-Jamri commented: “This statement reflects the state of despair within the ranks of the unconstitutional political system. The publishing of names lumped together in a haphazard way is intended for deflecting attention from the international condemnation of human rights abuses in Bahrain. The opposition advises these authorities to restore their senses by reinstating the rule of constitutional law. This is because the constitution is the only source of legitimacy for the political system. The opposition challenges the government to allow international observers to attend any trial that would abide by the constitution of Bahrain. Any law issued after the dissolution of the parliament in 1975 is unconstitutional”.

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Trial’s date explains it all!

Sources close to the unconstitutional regime have revealed the panic and hysteria circulating amongst the officials in the various ministries. The interior ministry has failed to settle matters by force while the international community has become aware of the outdated nature of the uncivilized governing institution. The Official Gazette of 1 October was changed in the last minutes to include a statement by the general prosecutor for a trial on Saturday 7th of November.

The latter date is a “Friday” and is a “Public Holiday”. The officials seem to have lost the count in the same way as they lost their sanity. The opposition is challenging the unconstitutional government and its agents in allpolitical circles. The despair of the government in announcing a trial will be one such landmark for trying those officials who continue to terrorize our nation. The opposition is also calling on international institutions to stand with the people of Bahrain in the same way as they supported the people of South Africa who had suffered from a regime possessing similar mentality. The Khalifa regime must be reminded that feudal-traiblism does not belong to the 21st century.

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1 October: To commemorate the 40th Day of the death of the national figure Aziza Al-Bassam, the opposition has called for one-minute stoppage on 1 October, at 11.00 am. The interior ministry had banned all ceremonies on this accession.

Lawyers were at the forefront in the commemoration. Court cases stopped for one minute. People in other places joined in the commemoration in a clear challenge to the unconstitutional and authoritarian regime. Abdul Salam Al-Ansari, a notorious torturer, summoned the leading members of An-Nahda Women Association and threatened them of grave consequences if they were to hold any commemoration service for Aziza.

1 October: The prime minister announced the start of the so-called Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. The council was established earlier in the year and is aimed at confiscating the religious rights of the Shia Community. The religious leaders of the Shia Community inside and outside the country have declared their total rejectionof this body. The people have vowed to resist this council and all its orders.Prior to this announcement, the principal mosques of Sadiq in Qafool (Manama) and other grand mosques have been closed, besieged or attacked for the past 7 weeks.

1 October: The Paris-based Committee for Defence of Democracy in the Arabian Peninsula issued a statement on 1 October calling on the French MPs to condemn the autocratic rule of Al-Khalifa. The Committee also called on the French officials to reveal the nature of the recently announced a “Defence Agreement”. It pointed out that the Al-Khalifa crown prince was in London for the same purposes but had seemingly been rebuffed. The Committee referred to the recent European Parliament Resolution recalling that the Euro MPs had called for a ban on export of military and security equipment and expertise, unless the Bahraini authorities restore the dissolved parliament.

1 October: The Economist Intelligence Unit published its quarterly report on Bahrain this month. The report is damning evidence of the deepening crisis with the outlook for 1997-98 stating “the risk of domestic political instability over the next 18 months is strong” with little signs that the government is willing to negotiate a political solution.

3 October: More than a 100 houses in Duraz are still without power for the third day. Thsecurity forces conducted collective punishmagainst the residents of Duraz in the past 2 week. Some of those injured are still being treated. They include a 3-year old Ali Mohammed Saleh, and elderly women (the mother of Ali Seyed Ahmad, anotheThsecurity forces conducted collective punishmagainst the residents of Duraz in the past 2 week. Some of those injured are still being treated. They include a 3-year old Ali Mohammed Saleh, and elderly women

4 October: A big fire gutted several stores, believed to be owned by the Kazerooni, one of the important Bahraini businessmen on 4 October. The fire near Daih and Sanabis was sighted at around 8.00 pm local time. Fire engines were very slow in responding despite the enormity of the fire. They waited for one hour before attempting to extinguish the fire. A British intelligence officer was directing the various personnel belonging to the interior ministry. The fire reached the residential area and at least one house (belonging to Abdul Karim Al-Ekri) was gutted. The cause of the fire is not yet known. It is however widely believed that the security forces were behind several arsonists attacks against successful businessmen. The opposition denounces all arsonist attacks.

4 October: Sources closes to the government have revealed that an order has been issued for expelling thousands of people from the country. These are people who had been denied their right to citizenship. The policy has already started. For example, Abbas Yousif and his wife had lived in Bahrain for more than 50 years is now detained in Bahrain Airport. Two months ago he and his wife traveled to Iran and on 4 October they headed back. Upon their arrival, the husband was told that he is not a Bahraini anymore. He is now jailed in the Airport. His wife and family were left to agonize about the fate of their guardian.

6 October: The Kuwaiti interior minister arrived in Bahrain for inviting the Amir to attend the next GCC Summit. Ian Henderson was shown on the TV welcoming the Kuwaiti visitor. The Al-Khalifa government is attempting to come out in the open about the role of Ian Henderson who has been leading a campaign of terror against the peaceful people of Bahrain. The Al-Khalifa regime depends on the services of mercenaries imported from all over the world. Henderson was imported in 1966. Since then may people were tortured to death and many others had been shot dead during peaceful demonstartions.

6 October: A Bahraini professor was driven to resign from the University of Bahrain. He had been subjected to many restrictions reflecting the racist policy. Dr. Saeed Abdulla submitted his resignation. Al-Ghatam has been implementing an ethnic cleansing policy in the University of Bahrain. Dr. Abdulla is the last person from the Shia community who occupied a position of “Dean of College”. Al-Ghatam appointed Dr. Waheeb Al-Nasser in his place.

7 October: Amnesty International issued an urgent appeal calling on the interior ministry to end the torturing of a Bahraini citizen, Muhammad Ahmad Juma’s Shafi’i. Mr. Shafi’i had been arrested on 3 September from his home in Hamad Town, and nothing has been heard about him since then.

8 October: The London-based Al-Quds newspapers published on 8 October a special report from Bahrain. The article detailed how the rulers had converted Bahrain to a prostitution centre by importing and abusing women from the countries that used to be called the Soviet Union. These batches of women are imported for two weeks to serve as “call-girls” during these periods. Al-Quds also revealed that this trade is well connected to the rulers and those who are in-charge.

10 October: A group of youths that were camping in a farm in Bani Jamra were attacked at the early hours of 10 October. The youths were beaten with electronic batons while sleeping. The foreign forces then dragged several youths to the swimming pool and tortured them by immersing their heads inside water until exhaustion. After these sessions of torture, the foreigners started laughing and left out.

11 October: The unconstitutional State Security Court, which is headed by a member of the Al-Khalifa family, sentenced on 11 October three young men and two girls as a punishment for demanding the restoration of the dissolved parliament. Mohammed Yousif Abdul Wahab was unfairly sentenced to four years imprisonment. Hashim Taj Hashim and Mahmood Ahmad Dhaif were sentenced for two and on year consequently. Similarly, the Al-Khalifa judge sentenced two Bahaini girls to three months suspended jail and a fine of 50 dinars ($133) each as punishment for participation in a pro-democracy demonstration. The two girls are Zahra Ali Saleh Al-Shehabi and Amal Omran Ali Omran.

11 October: Sheikh Isa Qassim, the senior religious figure and member of both the Constituent and National Assemblies issued a statement declaring that the newly established “High Council for Islamic Affairs” is a tool for confiscating religious rights. He re-affirmed his call for all those concerned to boycott and resist this illegal apparatus which represents the most dangerous attack on religion in Bahrain.

11 October: The security forces raided at least fifteen houses in Eker and arresed scores of people including: Raed Ali Jawad, Yousif Ali Jawad, Hussain Ali Hassan, Jamil Isa Al-Delki, Jaber Hussain Yousif, Hamza Ahmad Sharaf, Jassim Hassan Khamis, Jabir Abdul Redha, Hussain Ali Al-Mahoozi, Abbas Mansoor Jassim, and others.

11 October: The main Sehla Highway (stretching from Abdul-Karim Roundabout) was sealed off following skirmishes between the foreign security forces and the citizens. In Karbabad, the citizens pained the “Wall of Freedom” with pro-democracy slogans. The “Wall of Freedom” is guarded round the clock because of its strategic position.

12 october: “Al-Mushahid Al-Seyasi”, 12-18 October, the news magazine of the BBC Arabic Service featured extensive interviews with four opposition figures, Sheikh Ali Salman, Dr. Mansoor Al-Jamri, Mr. Abdul Rahman Al-Nuami, and Seyf Bin-Ali. The Middle East Mirror (14 October) also covered the 8-page feature with commentary and analysis.

15 October: The security forces attacked several mosques and congregation halls. Seyed Hashim Al-Toblani Mosque and Matam Shahid al-Islam (in Toble) were attacked and ransacked on 15 October. Two congregation halls in Sanabis were also attacked. Matam Abdul-Hay and Matam Bin-Khamis were attacked after midnight and had their contents damaged.

15 October: The regime continued its policy of forcible exile. Abd Ali Sarhan, 35 years old, returned from Kuwait to Bahrain on 15 October. This is his fourth return to his county. Just like all other time, he was forcibly returned to Kuwait. On 30 September, Haji Abdul Hassan Al-Saro, 77 years old, returned to Bahrain from Iran together with his family (three sons and one daughter). The family was detained and then forcibly exiled to Sharjah in the UAE.

17 October: At 3.30 pm local time: Residential areas stretching from the streets near Mani (off Sanabis) to Qafool (Mo’yyad Trafic Lights) witnessed an upserge in the byrning of tyres and closure of main roads. Sanabis, Daih, Southern Sehla, Bilad al-Qadim, Zarare’a, Jablat Habshi and several other places, had simultaneously decided to prove to the tribal dictatorship and its mercenary forces that Bahrainis are not anything less than human. The roads were closed and the demands of the nation were raised again to those in the ivory tower who had not been able to hear the voices of the nation.

21 October: In Manama, the security forces surrounded key mosques, like Khawajah Mosque, and threatened those attempting to pray with arrest. On 20 October, the residents of Abo-Quwwa woke-up to see an assembly hall (Matam Imam Ali) stormed with its contents damaged and destroyed. The security forces demolished the main gates and damaged loud speakers, the kitchen, toilets and other facilities. Copies of Quran and other books were torn and scattered on the floor. The security forces also attacked a mosque in the nearby Hajar village and damaged its contents. A similar attack was also reported in Demestan where a mosque had been stormed and damaged.

22 October: The government intervened in the elections of the Chamber of Commerce and this has caused the low turnout of 38%. Out of 3600 members, only 1384 participated. The Commerce Minister summoned several candidates and demanded that they withdraw their nominations as per government’s instructions. Two of the nominees who had been forced to stand down were Taqi Al-Zeera and Dr. Nizar Al-Bahranah. Six candidates were forced to stand down and this intervention has caused the low turn out.

23 October: People around the country switched-off the lighting on 23 October starting from 7.00 pm local time for commemorating the second anniversary of the 10-day hunger strike staged by Sheikh Al-Jamri and his colleagues in 1995. Shops closed down in most areas and residents emerged in groups of cars, sounding horns and challenging the autocratic tribal dictatorship.

It was two years when Sheikh Al-Jamri and his colleagues agreed with the government to calm down the situation in return for the initiation of political dialogue. The security forces back-slid on the understanding and started attacking schools mosques and gathering, thus re-igniting clashes with the population. Two years ago, the crisis was about to end. Two years ago, the unconstitutional government decided to resort to the use of violence against the citizens. Two years on and Bahrain sees no end to the political crisis.

24 October: Dozens of teenagers were dismissed from schools (names available wit the BFM). These children are denied their rights for basic education and the ministry of education is attempting to destroy their future. This move can only radicalise the situation where youths are driven to revenge against this hate-based policy.

25 October: Seyed Mohammed Abdulla Shams, 30 years old, from Jabalat Habshi, died in ajil. He was not a political prisoner. However, the ill-treatment he suffered was evident on his body. He had been in jail for the past one and half years.

25 October: The prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa was admitted to hospital. He was believed to be in comma.

26 October: A Bahraini citizen working in Kuwait was prevented (together with his family) from re-entering Kuwait on 26 October. Ali Al-Jareesh was stopped at the Saudi-Kuwaiti border (Nowaiseeb checkpoint). Six months ago, the Kuwaiti intelligence department interrogated him, but was later cleared. He was returning from a holiday with his family in Bahrain. The Kuwaiti authorities are still holding four Bahrainis for unspecified periods and without a judicial review.

26- 28 October: In Karranah, the security forces attacked the residents on 25 and 26 October and arrested Saeed Al-Subaihi, 16, Fadhil Isa Nasser, 16, Qassim Mohammed Makki, 15, Saleh Juma Kadhem, 15, his brother Jalal, 14, Jaffer Ahmad Al-Bori, 17, Jaffer Ahmad Fadhil, 15, Abdul Rasool Ibrahim, 15, Khalil Ibrahim Mesha’al, Khalil Ibrahim Jaffer, 20. The latter was not at home, and hence the security forces destroyed many elongings and contents of the house, took a member of the family as a hostage (Seyed Noor), until the person handed himself to the torturers.

On 28 October, the security forces attacked Tashan and arrested Jalal Abdulla Al-Alwani, 24, Hussain Ali Al-Tashani, 23, and his two brothers Hasan, 20, and Abbas, 18. On 26 October, the forces attacked Matam Ansar-al-Hussain (a religious community centre in Bilad al-Qadim) and ransacked its contents. They also arrested Abd Ali Marhoon for one day.

Mohammed Jawad Al-Mesbah, 14, from Qadam was arrested on 27 October. On 26 October, the forces attacked Bani Jamra and arrested Hussain Ibrahim Al-Najjar, 18, and his brother Ahmad, 16, Ahmad Ali Al-Ghanmi, 17. Others arrested include: Hussain Saeed Al-Masqati, 25, from Bani Jamra; Shakir

Ma’atooq Ibrahim, Seyyed Hussain Salman Hussain, 18, both are from Sar. From Karbabad, the following were arrested on 26 October: Nasser Mohammed Al-Sahjjar, 23, and Mahmood Abdulla Kadhem, 20.

29 October: The security forces have committed several atrocities in the residential areas. The people have painted the walls with slogans calling for an end to dictatorship and for release of jailed leaders. On 29 October, the security forces attacked several houses. They stormed the house of Mirza Ahmad Mushaima’a, took their 15-year old son, Monir, and beaten him severely in front of his parent. The child was then taken to hospital for emergency treatment.

29 October: The “Big Issue in Scotland” published a two-page report on the victims of torture in Bahrain. The Scottish magazine said “the enemies and victims of the 70-year old Scot, who heads Bahrain’s intelligence service (Ian Henderson), claim he is responsible for directing systematic torture and even murder”. The magazine also said “following our expose of his role in the autocratic state’s brutal system of repression, calls were made in Parliament for his extradition to Britain and prosecution for human rights abuses”.

30 October: About half the shops in Manama’s town centre closed following skirmishes between the security forces and youths of the uprising. Burnt tyres caused the blocking of several main streets. Similarly, the main roads near Jabalat Habshi, Daih, Sanabis, Sehla, Qadam, Duraz, Bani Jamra, Sitra, Karzakkan, Ma’amir and other places witnessed intensive activities with burnt tyres blocking the main the roads.

30 October: A fire on 30 October gutted a multi-storey building (UNISYS) belonging to the distinguished business family, Al-Zayyani. Several new cars were burnt in the show room of the building. A spokesperson for the BFM said, “the opposition condemns arson and sabotage. It is believed that the security forces have been targeting successful business families in a desperate attempt to pave the way for other parasitic business activities”.

30 October: On 30 October, about half the shops in Manama’s town centre closed following skirmishes between the security forces and youths of the uprising. Burnt tyres caused the blocking of several main streets. Similarly, the main roads near Jabalat Habshi, Daih, Sanabis, Sehla, Qadam, Duraz, Bani Jamra, Sitra, Karzakkan, Ma’amir and other places witnessed intensive activities with burnt tyres blocking the main the roads.

31 Ocober: The security forces attacked Ma’amir and arrested several people including a 13-year old child, Ibrahim Jaffer Mohammed Ali. From Bilad al-Qadim, the following were arrested: A TEN-year old boy by the name Mohammed Abdulla Al-Shajjar together with his older brother Hussain, 18, Ismail Abdulla Ahmad, 18, Hassan Abdulla Al-Dafari, 18. Yaser Hasan Al-Sammak, 28, Mohammed Ramadan Ahmad Al-Saffar, 28, Adel Ali Al-Sodani, 28. From Qadam: ELEVEN-year old boy Mahdi Jawad Ahmad Abdulla and another ELEVEN-year old Abdulla Ibrahim Al-Jaziri. From Bani Jamra: Ahmad Ali Ahmad Al-Ghanmi, Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Najjar and his brother Borair.

31 October: Reuters reported from Bahrain that a bomb, planted under a car, went off on Friday (31 October) Friday near the International Exhibition Centre outside the Bahraini capital Manama. The explosion occurred at around 7.00 pm local time. A government official said that the explosion damaged the car and shrapnel from the blast injured a passenger who was in another car. Bahrain had been suffering from a vicious cycle of violence caused by the atrocities of the security forces. The opposition has called for ending this deplorable state of violence and urged the government to respect the country’s constitution.

31 October: The security forces attacked Ma’amir on 31 October and arrested several people including a 13-year old child, Ibrahim Jaffer Mohammed Ali. From Bilad al-Qadim, the following were arrested: A TEN-year old boy by the name Mohammed Abdulla Al-Shajjar together with his older brother Hussain, 18, Ismail Abdulla Ahmad, 18, Hassan Abdulla Al-Dafari, 18. Yaser Hasan Al-Sammak, 28, Mohammed Ramadan Ahmad Al-Saffar, 28, Adel Ali Al-Sodani, 28. From Qadam: ELEVEN-year old boy Mahdi Jawad Ahmad Abdulla and another ELEVEN-year old Abdulla Ibrahim Al-Jaziri. From BJamra: Ahmad Ali Ahmad Al-Ghanmi, Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Najjar and his brother Borair.

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Private Eye: “Manamarama” 

“Private Eye” published a commentary on 15 October criticism two Labour PPSs (Private Parliamentary Secretaries). The magazine said:

“Two parliamentary private secretaries to cabinet ministers have spent four days in Bahrain at the expense of an organisation, which supports the Bahraini dictatorship and has regularly made undeclared payment to an MP. Dennis Turner MP, PPS to Clare Short, secretary of state for international development, and Ken Purchase MP, PPS to Robin Cook, foreign secretary, flew to Bahrain as guests of the Gulf Centre for Strategic Studies. The third member of the “delegation” was David Wilshire, Tory MP for Spelthorne. Eye readers (No 918) will recall the photographs of the generous five hundred Pounds cheques paid each month by the GCSS to William Powell, then (now no longer) Tory MP for Corby, who did not declare them. Mr. Powell then took on GCSS’s Omar Al Hassan as researcher, thus ensuring for the first time in the history of the House that a researcher paid for his employer/MP. Omar Al Hassan was later thrown out of the Pugin room of the House by Emma Nicholson, who had to call two orderlies before the cigar-puffing sycophant agreed to leave. The GCSS’s chief purpose is to suck up to the dictators of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia

Interviewed on Bahraini TV, Dennis Turner praised the Shura council, a clique of toadies appointed by the Amir of Bahrain to replace the partly elected parliament he dissolved in 1975. Without mentioning the recent resolution of the European Union (denouncing torture, imprisonment without trial, etc in Bahrain), Turner was quoted as saying that on the MPs’ return they would alert the British government to the “false information which finds its way into the British press as a result of the activities of hostile groups”. Perhaps he means the Bahraini opposition in exile; many of whose distinguished leaders support the Labour party and are about to be tried in their absence for treason in Manama”.

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Abdul-Ghaffar reveals his racism on TV

The Bahraini Ambassador to the US said in an interview with the Arabic TV Channel (ANN) on 26 October that the opposition has “Bateni” feature (meaning those who hide their true beliefs). This specific term (Bateni) is an old abusive word specifically used for insulting the Shia Muslims. The Ambassador was challenged by political commentators to provide any rationale for dissolving the National Assembly in 1975. He was the only one reading from a pre-prepared text and had to repeat several sentences in “broken” Arabic. The representative of Khalifa government in the US has been repeating his racist remarks in many places and in front of a lot of people. His lack of knowledge about the Bahraini people is evident in his deliberations. He thinks the only way to woo the Americans is by emphasising such terms as “Hizbollah”,”Iran” and “Shia”. The opposition has made its demands and concepts clear enough for decent human beings to appreciate realities.

Two political commentators, Farid Al-Khatib and Saleh Jaowdeh challenged the Bahraini government to initiate dialogue with the opposition for agreeing on an agenda to restore democracy. Mr. Jaowdeh said that “the Kuwaitis have restored their parliament, the Qataris are promising elections, the Omanis have developed their experiment to include women through one form of election”, and this leaves Bahrain the odd one out.

Mr. Jaowdeh also said “the Shia of Bahrain are Arabs and citizens, and they should not be forcibly exiled, banned from returning home”. The racist Ambassador attacked the pro-democracy opposition saying that ‘the majlis (courts) of his highnesses are open for all people”. These open courts (majlis) have failed to solve a single important issue for Bahrainis and are not recognized as any thing more than an occasion for drinking coffee with their highnesses. Hafed Al-Merazi, the interviewer, asked the racist Ambassador “when would the Parliament be restored?” The Ambassador searched for an answer in his pre-prepared text but could not find any sentence. So he continued in his “broken” Arabic without explaining what he meant and without responding to the question.

On 23 October, the Middle East Institute organized a seminar on Bahrain in the US capital, Washington DC. The seminar was addressed by Mr. Joe Stork of Human Rights Watch, David Ransum, the ex-US Ambassador to Bahrain and the racist Ambassador in Washington, Mr. Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar. Mr. Stork, the author of a 109-page report on human rights abuses in Bahrain, described the abuses of civil liberties and lack of justice in arresting, trying and sentencing Bahrainis. Mr. Stork set-out the main concerns of human rights activists in Bahrain where people are denied the right to express their views and where the security forces are given free hand in abusing the basic rights of citizens. The Bahraini Ambassador failed to defend his government while the ex-US Ambassador attempted to maneuver the debate. Mr. Stork challenged the Bahraini Ambassador to allow the publication of the full text of the seminar in the Bahraini press, if he insists that people are free to read and express their views.

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Bahrain: Human Rights are universal and inalienable

The Al-Khalifa family has not yet recovered from the international condemnations it received from the UN Human Rights Sub-Commission and the European Parliament. Having failed to gain a single independent person to back their dictatorship, the Al-Khalifa are using their talk shop, the so-called Shura Council, for launching fresh attacks. The Al-Khalifa foreign minister claimed that the Euro Parliament took “just ten minutes” to pass the resolution. In fact the Euro Parliament had been discussing the situation in Bahrain since 1994. It passed its first resolution on 15 February 1995 and the second resolution was passed on 18 September 1997. Both resolutions had called for ending the abuse of human rights, the torturing and exiling of citizens and the restoration of parliament and rule of constitutional law.

The Al-Khalifa attempted to personalize the situation by attacking one of the co-sponsors, Mr. Stanley Newens. Mr. Newens protested to the Amir and the editors of the local newspapers. He demanded that he is given a chance to air his views and to stop the dirty campaign. This dirty campaign also targeted the United Kingdom. Sources inside the country revealed that the British Ambassador wrote a letter of reply for publication, but the information minister banned its publication.

The Al-Khalifa seems to misunderstand that human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent. Bahrain had signed the Vienna Declaration in 1993 and by virtue of this it is bound to respect human rights of all people without any discriminations. The UN Human Rights Sub-Commission resolution is as critical as the Euro Resolution, and it was passed after nearly eight years of vigorous deliberations. During these years, the Al-Khalifa government had lied and lied. They pledged in writing that they would behave themselves, only to return to their bad habits. Hence the condemnation.

The Bahraini people are highly educated and fully aware of their rights which the Al-Khalifa are denying them. The Al-Khalifa have no future in Bahrain if they continue to live outside the constitution of the country, which is the only source of legitimacy for their rule.

Bahrain Freedom Movement 23 October 1997

Fax: (44) 171 278 9089

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Bahrain: While the people move ahead, the rulers march backward

Over a year ago the “Jordan Times of 21 May 96” called on “Arabs and others around the world to speak honestly to the people of Bahrain, in order to encourage leaders and people to build on their strengths, correct their mistakes, and check their weaknesses. Bahrain is merely a microcosm of the same challenges that confront the other states in the Gulf”. The leading article also said “political inclusion should be more meaningful than ruler-appointed consultative assemblies”. Many political observers are wondering what the ruling elite in Bahrain is up to and why do they insist on marching backward at a historical conjecture that is deciding the future of the Al-Khalifa dynasty.

The behaviour of the Al-Khalifa rulers testifies that they have gained nothing from modern education.Indeed they are ruling Bahrain as warlords rather than statesmen. The Al-Khalifa rulers have a golden opportunity for legitimizing their rule through the constitution of Bahrain. Yet, they decided to abandon the constitutional framework and impose an illegitimate state-structure. The opening of the powerless talk-shop (Shura Council) on 7 October together with the delivered speeches widened the gap between the civilized nation and those who are yet to understand the ABC of modern governance.

It is interesting to note that the hopeless government never stopped showing the pictures of three British MPs with quotations attributed to them glorifying dictatorship. The people of Bahrain are aware that civilized people can not utter such statements. It is worth noting that the government had in the past weeks abused the presence of any British personality. Several personalities who were on their way to Pakistan had been dragged for photographing and quoting on anything that can be re-twisted in support of dictatorship.

Bahrain Freedom Movement 9 Occtober 1997

Fax: (44) 171 278 9089

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