Bahrain Protests
Discussion
Puggit said:
I'm-a-dinnerjacket on TV again stating how wrong it is to attack your own people... With a straight face too.
Stunning hypocrisy.
Define "your own people". I'm sure Mr Dinnerjacket has not killed anybody he considers to be "his own people". He might have "cleansed" a few "other people" though.Stunning hypocrisy.
PintOfKittens said:
Puggit said:
I'm-a-dinnerjacket on TV again stating how wrong it is to attack your own people... With a straight face too.
Stunning hypocrisy.
Have you seen both sides of what the green party have done?Stunning hypocrisy.
What news sources do you look at?
Ohhh, the Green Movement, you mean...?
An update from the murdering, democratic suppressing regime we turn a blind eye to.
"The U.S. government on Friday said it was deeply troubled by the arrests of Bahraini opposition leaders and called on the country's government to ensure legal proceedings for those arrested were fair and transparent.
Sunni-ruled Bahrain has arrested seven opposition leaders and driven pro-democracy demonstrators from the streets after weeks of protests that prompted the king to declare martial law and drew in troops from fellow Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia."
"The U.S. government on Friday said it was deeply troubled by the arrests of Bahraini opposition leaders and called on the country's government to ensure legal proceedings for those arrested were fair and transparent.
Sunni-ruled Bahrain has arrested seven opposition leaders and driven pro-democracy demonstrators from the streets after weeks of protests that prompted the king to declare martial law and drew in troops from fellow Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia."
Fittster said:
An update from the murdering, democratic suppressing regime we turn a blind eye to.
"The U.S. government on Friday said it was deeply troubled by the arrests of Bahraini opposition leaders and called on the country's government to ensure legal proceedings for those arrested were fair and transparent.
Sunni-ruled Bahrain has arrested seven opposition leaders and driven pro-democracy demonstrators from the streets after weeks of protests that prompted the king to declare martial law and drew in troops from fellow Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia."
As someone mentioned before, can you imagine the reaction if say Iraq 'invite' Iranian troops in to help deal with opposition protesters."The U.S. government on Friday said it was deeply troubled by the arrests of Bahraini opposition leaders and called on the country's government to ensure legal proceedings for those arrested were fair and transparent.
Sunni-ruled Bahrain has arrested seven opposition leaders and driven pro-democracy demonstrators from the streets after weeks of protests that prompted the king to declare martial law and drew in troops from fellow Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia."
allnighter said:
The situation in Bahrain is much more complicated where a majority Shiite is ruled by a minority sunni.The shiite are not divided as such and very much united for their fight for democtratic reforms + a fair share of the riches that are enjoyed by the Sunni ruling elite.Who could blame them? Unemployment is rife amongst the indegenous Shiites.The ruling Khalifa family seem to exclusively look after their own and their Saudi cousins.There are even reports that there are Saudi Sunni elements in the military and security forces who were given a fast track nationality just to keep everything Sunni.
The sectarian divide is very deep indeed, 70 percent Shiite Muslim, and the other 30 percent.There has been a persistent feeling among Bahraini Shiites that they don't get their fair share of their country's wealth, jobs, and political power.
The problem lies not in a simplistic notion of uneducated idiots not capable of knowing who they are voting for as stated by yourself and Muntu.The problem lies in the shift of power from a small Saudi backed Sunni ruling elite to a majority indeginous Shiite majority.
This will be seen as a victory for Iran who have historical ties and claims to the island (renounced by the Shah back along).
Should any "true" democratic reforms take place in the Island, this shift of powers will alarm the Saudis, Americans, and Israel too.The Khlaifa family will find it hard to hold to their cabinet positions.
The use of violence against the majority demanding reforms has accentuated their resolve, and now they are demanding the removal of the ruling family.
My opinion is the sectarian divide was made worse by the neglect and contempt the ruling family has shown towards the the Shiite majority.Now it's payback time I guess.This scenario is very much different to Egypt and Tunisia where the army sees protesters as their own.The army/security forces in Bahrain look at the protesters in term of "Them and Us", if we let them win we're finished.
Allnighter pretty much sums it up.The sectarian divide is very deep indeed, 70 percent Shiite Muslim, and the other 30 percent.There has been a persistent feeling among Bahraini Shiites that they don't get their fair share of their country's wealth, jobs, and political power.
The problem lies not in a simplistic notion of uneducated idiots not capable of knowing who they are voting for as stated by yourself and Muntu.The problem lies in the shift of power from a small Saudi backed Sunni ruling elite to a majority indeginous Shiite majority.
This will be seen as a victory for Iran who have historical ties and claims to the island (renounced by the Shah back along).
Should any "true" democratic reforms take place in the Island, this shift of powers will alarm the Saudis, Americans, and Israel too.The Khlaifa family will find it hard to hold to their cabinet positions.
The use of violence against the majority demanding reforms has accentuated their resolve, and now they are demanding the removal of the ruling family.
My opinion is the sectarian divide was made worse by the neglect and contempt the ruling family has shown towards the the Shiite majority.Now it's payback time I guess.This scenario is very much different to Egypt and Tunisia where the army sees protesters as their own.The army/security forces in Bahrain look at the protesters in term of "Them and Us", if we let them win we're finished.
I believe that the internal problems in Bahrain could have been dealt with had either UN (unlikely) or the EU (unlikely) explained to the Al Khalifa family that the responsibility for the current problems (which has gone on for yeaars) lies directly in their actions of excluding the Shiites from any real political positions.
I realy did think that there would be a mutual agreement and the island would move forward in a more democratic (well as democratic as possible) direction.
Now the Saudis have driven over the causeway (the longest drive to buy a drink in the world) it seems very unlikely that the bloodshed will stop anytime soon.
I lived in Bahrain for most of the 80s and enjoyed the island and people, but the ruling family caused the problems all by themselves and now things must change.
This is not the same as libya or Egypt, but with the US Navy on the island there has to be some sort of "help" for both the government and protestors to resolve this. The Saudis need to keep out of it or we could see Bahrain being a part of SA and the Al Khalifa family moved away.
Edited for my spelling......
(CNN) -- Three top editors of Al-Wasat, a Bahraini newspaper critical of the government's crackdown on the protest movement in that country, have been fired, according to state-run media reports.
Bahrain News Agency reported Sunday that the state Information Affairs Authority had "instigated legal proceedings" against the daily newspaper Al-Wasat following the firings of editor-in-chief Mansour Al-Jamri, managing editor Walid Nouwaihidh and local news department head Aqeel Mirza.
Al-Jamri is a CNN contributor.
"The flagrant press irregularities committed by Bahrain daily Al-Wasat will be referred to the International Federation of Journalists and the Arab Journalists Union," BNA reported Sunday.
Can we start bombing them?
Bahrain News Agency reported Sunday that the state Information Affairs Authority had "instigated legal proceedings" against the daily newspaper Al-Wasat following the firings of editor-in-chief Mansour Al-Jamri, managing editor Walid Nouwaihidh and local news department head Aqeel Mirza.
Al-Jamri is a CNN contributor.
"The flagrant press irregularities committed by Bahrain daily Al-Wasat will be referred to the International Federation of Journalists and the Arab Journalists Union," BNA reported Sunday.
Can we start bombing them?
Well it appears the protests have died out - the government and Saudi troops did their job. Some shocking (or maybe not) reports in recent days of how injured protesters and medical staff were treated.
independent said:
Bahrain’s security forces stole ambulances and posed as medics to round up injured protesters during a ferocious crackdown on unarmed demonstrators calling for reform of the monarchy, an investigation by a rights group reveals today.
The first major report on repression of the medical profession during the country’s crisis details how a doctor was abducted during an operation and injured patients lying in hospital were tortured and threatened with rape.
The investigation by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) followed a report by The Independent yesterday detailing threats faced by medical staff who treated victims of the repression. More than 30 medics have been taken away by security forces and have had little or no contact with their families.
The report said it found that security forces targeted Shia doctors in particular. The crackdown has created such a climate of fear that wounded people were too frightened to go to hospital to seek treatment.
Bahrain security forces tortured patientsThe first major report on repression of the medical profession during the country’s crisis details how a doctor was abducted during an operation and injured patients lying in hospital were tortured and threatened with rape.
The investigation by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) followed a report by The Independent yesterday detailing threats faced by medical staff who treated victims of the repression. More than 30 medics have been taken away by security forces and have had little or no contact with their families.
The report said it found that security forces targeted Shia doctors in particular. The crackdown has created such a climate of fear that wounded people were too frightened to go to hospital to seek treatment.
independent said:
The intimidation and detention of doctors treating dying and injured pro-democracy protesters in Bahrain is revealed today in a series of chilling emails obtained by The Independent.
At least 32 doctors, including surgeons, physicians, paediatricians and obstetricians, have been arrested and detained by Bahrain's police in the last month in a campaign of intimidation that runs directly counter to the Geneva Convention guaranteeing medical care to people wounded in conflict. Doctors around the world have expressed their shock and outrage.
One doctor, an intensive care specialist, was held after she was photographed weeping over a dead protester. Another was arrested in the theatre room while operating on a patient.
Many of the doctors, aged from 33 to 65, have been "disappeared" – held incommunicado or at undisclosed locations. Their families do not know where they are. Nurses, paramedics and ambulance staff have also been detained.
Emails between a Bahraini surgeon and a British colleague, seen by The Independent, describe in vivid detail the threat facing medical staff as they struggle to treat victims of the violence. They provide a glimpse of the terror and exhaustion suffered by the doctors and medical staff.
Bahrain's secret terrorAt least 32 doctors, including surgeons, physicians, paediatricians and obstetricians, have been arrested and detained by Bahrain's police in the last month in a campaign of intimidation that runs directly counter to the Geneva Convention guaranteeing medical care to people wounded in conflict. Doctors around the world have expressed their shock and outrage.
One doctor, an intensive care specialist, was held after she was photographed weeping over a dead protester. Another was arrested in the theatre room while operating on a patient.
Many of the doctors, aged from 33 to 65, have been "disappeared" – held incommunicado or at undisclosed locations. Their families do not know where they are. Nurses, paramedics and ambulance staff have also been detained.
Emails between a Bahraini surgeon and a British colleague, seen by The Independent, describe in vivid detail the threat facing medical staff as they struggle to treat victims of the violence. They provide a glimpse of the terror and exhaustion suffered by the doctors and medical staff.
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