Bahrain: Preparations for Martyrs Day continue

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - As the countdown to the Martyrs Day begins both the people and the forces of occupation are embracing themselves for a showdown.Both have axes to grind and scores to settle. For the people, 17th December has agonising memories going back 18 years when on that day in 1994 two young men were shot and killed by Alkhalifa police using live ammunition. Hani Khamis and Hani Al Wasti both in their early twenties were killed at two different protests demanding the re-instatement of the 1973 Constitution and the release of political prisoners. Since then Bahrainis have commemorated that day with demonstrations. On 17th December 2007 a young Bahraini, Ali Jassim, 22, was brutally killed by the regime’s forces for taking part in a protest on the Martyrs Day. This year the tension is heightened and the people have more reasons to protest. More than 120 Bahrainis have been killed by the Alkhalifa regime in cruel ways; live, rubber bullets or shoguns, torture, pursued and hit by police vehicles or inhalation of excessive amounts of chemical and tear gases. While it is a known fact that the orders to kill Bahrainis have always come from the royal court, no member of the ruling family has even been brought to justiceThe regime is also grinding its axes for more killing, detentions and torture. On 12th December its Death Squad  kidnapped Mohammab Abdul Nabi, 16, from his town of Sfalah, in Sitra. His whereabouts are not known and fears are growing for his safety. Several other young Bahrainis have been snatched from their homes in the past week. This coincides with a new form of collective punishment meted out by the regime’s forces against civilian areas of the natives. After the ransacking of Al Ekr and Mhazza, both the towns of Duraz and Aali are now subjected to nightly raids that are bound by no ethics or morals. At least eight homes were raided in Aali including that of Martyr Abdul Nabi Al Aaqil. The notorious Turki Al Majid has now become the main culprit in these crimes. Unconfirmed rumours said that these forces are under the command of the police trained and directed by Sir Daniel Bethlehem and Sir Jeffrey Jowell. The two British senior lawyers have been dispatched to Bahrain to help the regime crush Bahrainis without leaving behind incriminating evidence. In recent months London has joined forces with the Alkhalifa killers and torturers to protect the hereditary dictatorship and defeat the pro-democracy movement.Unlike the irresponsible and immoral statements of Alistair Burt, UK’s FCO minister, Michael Posner, the US Under-Secretary of State has been more forthcoming recently. After attending the “Manama Dialogue” last week, he uttered remarks that infuriated both the Alkhalifa and their British backers; He said:  “To create a climate where dialogue and reconciliation is possible, the government needs to prosecute those officials responsible for the human rights violations that occurred in early 2011. It also should drop charges against all persons accused of offenses involving non-violent political expression and freedom of assembly.   Many of these convictions appear to be based, at least in part, on the defendants’ criticisms of government actions and policies.  We urge a comprehensive review of all of the medics’ cases in the interest of turning the page on the events of last year and repairing the social fabric of Bahrain. The government also should continue work to professionalize and diversify Bahrain’s security forces so that the police better reflect the communities which they serve.  We also are concerned about the recent revocations of citizenship.”Meanwhile international human rights bodies such as Amnesty International, IFEX, International Federation for Human Rights, the US Human Rights First and Human Rights Watch have all condemned the confirmation of the two year imprisonment imposed by the ruling family on Nabeel Rajab for peaceful expression of his opinion. Zainab Al Khawaja has also been arrested after one month jail sentence had been imposed against her for demonstrating against the hereditary dictatorship. Calls have been made by the world community to release Bahrainis from the torture chambers run by police trained by John Yates and the other two British “experts”./129