Bahrain bans journalists, brutal force on protesters feared

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - There is an interviewe with Sara Marusek, a political analyst in Beirut about the propping up of the brutal al-Khalifa regime and the banning of all journalists from entering the country on the anniversary of the revolution. The discussion highlights the hypocrisy of the international community’s support for oppression in Bahrain. What follows is an approximate transcript of the interview.Q: There have obviously been consequences because of this movement, but can we name anything as an achievement for the popular movement. Our guest Mr. Shahabi says that for one, the people on the streets of Bahrain have proven to the international community that the regime is committing crimes and now the regime has grown as well.Do you think the regime has been successful in suppressing the movement because basically we’re not seeing the kinds of consequences we saw in other revolutionary movements in region?Marusek: I definitely think the regime has been somewhat successful in at least, apparently, making law and order in their authoritarian and draconian and very violent way. So they have definitely suppressed protests. They have, like your other guest has said, destroyed mosques.I find it increasingly ironic how much the regime sounds like the state of Israel in its behavior and its excuses to say things like oh these mosques were illegally built - that’s exactly what the Israelis say when they destroy Palestinian homes. I think more and more everyday we actually see the Bahraini government behaving like Israel.I do agree with your other guests that the protesters are more united and they’re more determined and they will eventually succeed; however, I do have to as an American lament the international community’s response and really question why the media has not been able to convey what’s been going on, on the ground.I know that more recently a lot of journalists have been trying to get into Bahrain for the one year anniversary of the beginning of the revolution tomorrow, but they haven’t been able to get in. Even al-Jazeera English ridiculously cannot get in, I’m not sure about the Arabic networks… the New York Times cannot get in.It’s absolutely ridiculous right now that there’s no media coverage because the Bahraini government refuses to let in any journalists, which just shows that they’re not honest and they’re not really going to deliver on any of the reforms that the independent report demanded that they must live up to; they must make changes.Right now the Shiites in Bahrain are terribly oppressed and it’s not something that’s just political it’s also economical, it’s also social and if the regime will not let in journalists to see what goes on for the next few days then it’s obvious that they have no intention but to do anything but violence against the peaceful protesters.Q: When we are speaking of the Saudi interest and the US interest - the US has its naval Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and how important that is; we’re seeing weapons being provided even, for the Bahraini regime that’s being used against these protesters.The question is, how far is the US or Saudi Arabia willing to go in its support and do you think there will be a time when the US and Saudi Arabia will try to force the Bahraini rulers to forgo some of their authority or to give some kind of concession to end or to quiet down these protests?Marusek: I think as your other guest pointed out that the Saudis have learned very well from the Americans how to be the ultimate hypocrites in their behaviors and their actions when it comes to the Middle East. I can’t imagine that they would ever willingly pressure the Bahraini regime to open up and to reform in a realistic and appropriate way that’s required by the protesters because that would basically mean that they would be giving up power.They’re not popular, they’re oppressive and they’re not representative. The majority of the population is currently so marginalized and like I said it’s not just political it’s also economic and it’s also social. So I don’t see the US or Saudi Arabia really thinking that this would be a good path to go down, I see them supporting the oppression because there’s no way, once the genie’s out of the bottle, there is no way the Bahraini government can exist in its current form.And of course Saudi Arabia would be so fearful to have a country right there with a popular democratic government because Saudi Arabia like your other guest says is one of the most authoritarian if not the most authoritarian regime in the entire world and so why in the world would it promote democracy on its borders when it’s scared of that in its own country.That’s why the irony of what’s going on Syria is just overwhelming. It’s outrageous that the Saudi regime could be taking such a vocal stand on the issue of Syria when its regime is far worse than anything that goes on in Syria, it’s laughable.The problem is that the institutions in the Persian Gulf have now become so contaminated with this hypocrisy, this American sort of Western hegemony, this way of thinking that all of these institutions are failing the Arab people and they are not coming in to stabilize these populations that are being oppressed and you see that in Bahrain today./129