(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) -
An esteemed political leader says the Saudi-backed Bahraini regime carries out human rights violations in its brutal crackdown of civilians during their peaceful protests.
There is an interview with Saeed al-Shahabi, Bahraini opposition leader, from London, to further discuss the issue. The following is a transcript of the interview.
Q: The situation in Bahrain seems to be deteriorating even with now some opposition leaders, some of the human rights activists like Nabeel Rajab being attacked and being hurt. What will it take?
First of all, to get the international community, the officials - I'm talking about Washington, I'm talking about London - to react and to respond to the situation and to put more pressure on the regime in Bahrain?
Al-Shahabi: Thank you very much. It's clear from the past few days that they even have been escalating and that the people have still got the resolve to continue the revolution. But at the same time, it's clear that Washington and London are not going to understand the grievances of the people or their demands.
However, the continuation of the people will one day, sooner rather than later, force the international community to address what is happening in Bahrain, and to accept the fact that the Al-Khalifa regime has to go, especially after what has happened in the past few days, and especially last night when they attacked the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Mr. Nabeel Rajab.
It is a flagrant violation of human rights: someone who was standing with a group of people in a peaceful protest, surrounded by police. There was absolutely no need to attack him. However, it is only an indication of how brutal the regime has come to.
What do you attribute this to? -Because it seem like though the Saudi-backed regime was violent from the beginning, it seems that we've been witnessing in the last few days even more, or higher intensity of the crackdown. Why do you think that's the case?
Al-Shahabi: Let us not forget that the Saudis have entered Bahrain and occupied our country under the pretext that there was a threat to the internal security of Bahrain by, presumably, Iran at the time.
Then we had the report by the officially sanctioned commission which has stated that there was no threat, no Iranian involvement in the revolution.
Now, what could the Saudis do? They had to go; of course, this is the noble course of action. But they didn't do so. At the same time, they found that they could not crush the people's resolve and they felt defeated.
They fear that their regime could be the next one in the line of the Arab Revolution, and they could not silence their people forever. So they are taking their revenge from the Bahrainis for keeping the name of the revolution in the region plain. And that is simply not acceptable to the Saudis who have been trying to overthrow the revolution.
Look at Yemen. The people are there every day.
Bahrain has created protests every night at 3:30, at places they have demonstrations. Yesterday, this morning, tonight they have already started.
I think the revolution is there and the Saudis have no option but to leave Bahrain and to contemplate their own future because they cannot continue this sort of military dictatorship.
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There is an interview with Saeed al-Shahabi, Bahraini opposition leader, from London, to further discuss the issue. The following is a transcript of the interview.
Q: The situation in Bahrain seems to be deteriorating even with now some opposition leaders, some of the human rights activists like Nabeel Rajab being attacked and being hurt. What will it take?
First of all, to get the international community, the officials - I'm talking about Washington, I'm talking about London - to react and to respond to the situation and to put more pressure on the regime in Bahrain?
Al-Shahabi: Thank you very much. It's clear from the past few days that they even have been escalating and that the people have still got the resolve to continue the revolution. But at the same time, it's clear that Washington and London are not going to understand the grievances of the people or their demands.
However, the continuation of the people will one day, sooner rather than later, force the international community to address what is happening in Bahrain, and to accept the fact that the Al-Khalifa regime has to go, especially after what has happened in the past few days, and especially last night when they attacked the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Mr. Nabeel Rajab.
It is a flagrant violation of human rights: someone who was standing with a group of people in a peaceful protest, surrounded by police. There was absolutely no need to attack him. However, it is only an indication of how brutal the regime has come to.
What do you attribute this to? -Because it seem like though the Saudi-backed regime was violent from the beginning, it seems that we've been witnessing in the last few days even more, or higher intensity of the crackdown. Why do you think that's the case?
Al-Shahabi: Let us not forget that the Saudis have entered Bahrain and occupied our country under the pretext that there was a threat to the internal security of Bahrain by, presumably, Iran at the time.
Then we had the report by the officially sanctioned commission which has stated that there was no threat, no Iranian involvement in the revolution.
Now, what could the Saudis do? They had to go; of course, this is the noble course of action. But they didn't do so. At the same time, they found that they could not crush the people's resolve and they felt defeated.
They fear that their regime could be the next one in the line of the Arab Revolution, and they could not silence their people forever. So they are taking their revenge from the Bahrainis for keeping the name of the revolution in the region plain. And that is simply not acceptable to the Saudis who have been trying to overthrow the revolution.
Look at Yemen. The people are there every day.
Bahrain has created protests every night at 3:30, at places they have demonstrations. Yesterday, this morning, tonight they have already started.
I think the revolution is there and the Saudis have no option but to leave Bahrain and to contemplate their own future because they cannot continue this sort of military dictatorship.
/129