AhlulBayt News Agency

source : Press TV
Wednesday

4 May 2011

7:30:00 PM
240131

Interview with Nabeel Rajab, of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights in Manama

Wahabi influence in Bahraini regime

Since the Saudi government's involvement in Bahrain crackdowns, the gap the between the Bahraini “ruling elite” and “the people” has widened, a political analyst says.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Saudi Arabia has reportedly sent more troops to Bahrain to help the Manama regime quash upcoming protests in the small Persian Gulf kingdom.

The latest development comes as Bahraini demonstrators plan to hold mass anti-regime protests on Friday, which they have dubbed "the Day of Sacred Defense."

Nabeel Rajab of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights in Manama regarding the Bahraini people's view concerning the Saudi government's deployment of troops in order to assist in the upcoming crackdown in the Persian Gulf nation.

Q: Mr. Rajab tell us what you know about the reports of yet more Saudi troops entering Bahrain?

Rajab: Well, I might have not witnessed that [but] since people have seen it, I could say it is true, especially the Saudi forces are backing the Bahraini government in the crackdown. Especially, we [are] seeing the new culture that has been imposed.

Q: Mr. Rajab, speaking of the Saudi involvement in Bahrain, you're on the ground there, you've been seeing what has been happening there, you've been hearing the reports. How is Saudi Arabia involved currently in Bahrain, and what are the public's sentiments? Are the Bahraini people viewing this, as Mr. [Saeed] al-Shahabi was saying, “a long term occupation?”

Rajab: Well, first of all, you cannot make out if they are Saudis or Bahraini troops, because they are wearing the same dress, using the same tanks and same cars, the same Bahraini plate number, but you don't see Saudi plate number on any tank and so you don't see them, you cannot differentiate between the Saudis and Bahrainis. But you can see the culture of the Saudi army when you see a new happening here, which has never happened in the history of the country, which is demolishing mosques and demolishing worshiping places.

This is the part of the Saudi Wahhabism culture which does not exist in Bahrain, but it has been used rapidly in the past days. And we think that is because of the Saudi influence and the Wahhabi influence in our regime and in our army, and also by the participation here. Yes they look like they are planning to stay for a long time, bringing more troops to Bahrain in a situation where they don't need to have troops and any armed men, because all the protestors since the month, they protested very peacefully, holding flowers, giving flowers to the police and army.

There is no justification for any army to be involved or for troops to be deployed in here. The people of Bahrain don't welcome that, they are upset about it; it's an interference in our internal affairs and issues, which we don't accept. We think it is an internal problem that has to be sorted out internally. Since the Saudis have come the problem has become more complicated, the crisis has become bigger, and the gap between the ruling elite and the people of Bahrain has become wider and wider. So now, month or a month and a half later than their invasion, the situation could be seen very clearly, it has deepened; the problem is becoming bigger and we don't see, in the nearest future, any solution if they continue the same process.

Q: Mr. Rajab, I wonder if that is the view you would share or the human rights groups in Bahrain, or rather the public sentiment in Bahrain would agree with. Do they view, apart from Saudi Arabia that has gotten itself involved militarily here directly, that there is the support coming from the West as well, the United States and the UK particularly? and do they hold these countries culpable, responsible for what is happening in Bahrain?

Rajab: I mean, although we don't have things that we could see, that show that they support, but there are indications and signals when you see the reaction of the Unites States and you see the reaction of Western countries in regard to what is happening in Libya, in regard to what is happening in Syria. While what is happening in Bahrain is completely worse. Its worse than Libya, because in Libya the dictator is killing his own people with his own army, but our dictators are not killing their people with their own army only, but they invited other armies from other oppressive regimes to share with them their bloody crackdown to kill their own people.

And when we witness that complete silence for [the] Unites States and from England and from other Western countries, what will people believe? what will people think? It is a double standard. It shows that there is sort of a green signal otherwise they wouldn't have the guts to go ahead with this bloody crackdown and kill the people. Where are they? The percentage of people who died in Bahrain till this moment are more than those people [who] died in Syria and Libya, and in terms of the number of the people in the country. The number of people in prison now as political prisoners is the highest maybe around the world at the moment. The number of people wounded, compared to all revolutions, is much more than that.

And why those countries have to justify their silence? It is very questionable why they are silenced. So that's why a lot of people among our Bahrainis and in the Persian Gulf they believe that, yes, they have the green signal. And this is what will make Western countries, including the Unites States, lose the mind and heart of people. And I think how people view the United States and Muslim countries before February 14 is different than how we look at them after February 14.

Q: Well , Mr. Rajab, I would like to use this time if I may to ask you for some updates, if you have any, of the latest news we have been getting from the humanitarian situation in Bahrain. The death of a former law maker we have been hearing about by the name of Jawad Firouz. Well, he was detained by the police. If you know anything of the circumstances surrounding his death and the torture allegations, of course, against Mr. Abdul-Hadi al-Khawaja?

We know that his daughter went on hunger strike, there was later a call for a general hunger strike, but it looks like that didn't help his release.

Rajab: Well, first of all I can't confirm the story about Jawad Firouz unless I know directly from him, [and] this is what I'm am going to do right now.

Abdul-Hadi al-Khawaja was seen in a military medical hospital. He had a crack in his skull. He had a crack in the jaws, he had stitches on his face. He had stitches in his head. All his hands and feet were black because he was hanged for a long time. The people who have seen him in the military hospital, they could not recognize his face, because of the marks and bruises all around his face.

The doctors in the hospital has ordered Abdul-Hadi to stay for at least 21 days in the military hospital, but the security people have removed him after six days of his admission. His life, his health is in a very critical condition. The whole world has to hear that. This is a human right defender who has trained thousand of human rights defenders around the Arab region. And he is being treated like that in this time. He has been almost killed, revenged by the security institution for his position, for his critical language to the regime, for his exposing human rights violation happening in Bahrain. They are revenging from him at this moment.

All the people are being tortured; all the doctors are being tortured. One doctor came out and spoke yesterday on Al-Jazeera TV. She said how they forced here to dance in front of the security interrogator. They say they are forcing the female doctors to dance in front of the interrogators. This is the way they are treating and humiliating the respected academics and doctors in our prisons here. It a very dangerous situation, it's very bad.

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