Bahrain regime waging war on own people

Bahrain regime waging war on own people
By Finian Cunningham – 26 October, 2013 – PressTV

The US-backed Bahraini regime is mounting an undeclared, merciless war on the majority Shia population of the tiny Persian Gulf island.

Yet, this systematic crime against humanity is proceeding with impunity and barely a murmur of international protest. The regime may be the ones holding the gun, but it is the tacit support of Washington and London that allows these despots to pull the trigger on civilians.

And the murderous repression by the unelected Sunni monarchy is going into overdrive. This week, regime forces killed a 17-year-old boy when they shot him at close range in the head. The regime immediately smeared the victim by labeling him “a terrorist” and it was dutifully reported in this slanderous way.

Meanwhile, four youths were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on the basis of confessions obtained by torture – the latest in hundreds of other such cases. They were accused of being “terrorists” and attempting to kill police officers with petrol bombs.

A senior political opposition figure, Khalil Marzooq, was earlier detained on charges of “inciting terrorism”. He is currently facing prosecution. If convicted, which is almost a certainty because the courts are appointed by the Khalifa monarchy, Marzooq will join dozens of other Bahraini opposition leaders behind bars also accused of “terrorism”.

Journalists, bloggers, photographers, poets, lawyers, teachers, human rights defenders have also been jailed, accused of “terrorism”. President of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, Mohammed al Maskati, was this week hauled in for interrogation, accused of “inciting terrorism”.

Al Maskati was targeted because a few weeks ago he gave testimony to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on the regime’s escalating violations. His colleagues, Naji Fateel, Nabeel Rajab and Abdulhadi Al Khawaja – all internationally respected human rights defenders – are already facing years behind bars on trumped up charges of sedition and terrorism.

In other words, every man, woman and child in Bahrain who opposes the illegitimate rule of the Khalifa dictatorship is deemed to be “a terrorist”.

The regime always had carte blanche to use whatever violence and repression it liked for crushing peaceful protests. But now, under the tutelage of its political patrons in Washington and London, the Khalifa regime has cloaked its despotism with pseudo-legal powers and propaganda that allow for the complete criminalization of any dissent or demand for democracy.

To assist in this barbarism, the Bahraini rulers have enlisted top American and British “public relations” media firms. Bell Pottinger and Hill & Knowlton are among the Western disinformation agents who earn million-dollar contracts to launder the bloodstained image of the regime.

The Bahraini regime’s war on the civilian population is being stepped up with the import of 1.8 million poisonous gas canisters – euphemistically called “tear gas”. With an indigenous population of only 600,000 – 70 per cent of which is Shia – that equates to nearly three toxic weapons for every person. This gas has already been used to deadly effect by indiscriminate, saturation firing into villages across Bahrain. Dozens of people, including elderly and infants, have been killed by asphyxiation over the past two years from regime forces firing these weapons into homes.

Don’t be fooled by some media reports that these toxic weapons are being sourced from firms in South Korea and South Africa. Previously, American and British companies supplied the Bahraini regime directly with government-approved export contracts. Now in a sleight of hand, American and British suppliers are routing their deadly cargoes through overseas intermediaries.  ...more