Silencing them softly – oppression methods of a mad man

Bahrain Silences Student Voices
June 20th, 2011 at 7:33 pm

University of Bahrain students — who now face expulsion if they don’t sign a loyalty pledge to the embattled regime of King Hamed ibn Isa Khalif — are appealing to human rights groups to take up their cause.

Not only does the university require students to sign the pledge — which states “I acknowledge that not signing this document means I do not wish to continue my education in the University of Bahrain” — but the kingdom’s Education Ministry has also adopted a “zero-tolerance policy” to any sort of political discussion or activism at the school.

The crackdowns on freedom of expression and freedom of assembly on the campus come on the heels of ongoing anti-government protests in Bahrain as well as escalating tensions between the Gulf state’s Sunni and Shiite Muslim populations.

Described by Human Rights Watch in 2005 as “a poster child for political reform in the Middle East”, Bahrain has grown increasingly intolerant of dissent since the civil unrest began earlier this year. Newspapers and the Internet are now being routinely censored by the regime and since February more than 60 journalists have been arrested, threatened or fired because of their work.

The loyalty pledges and the ban on student activism were introduced following a violent campus altercation between Shiite protestors and Sunnis in March.

“Many friends of mine had to drop the school because they could not sign this pledge,” said a source familiar with the University of Bahrain who spoke with FrumForum on condition of anonymity.

One student said his family wants him to sign the pledge because “’there are no other universities who will accept me if they kick me out.”

He went on to describe the consequences for refusing to sign the pledge: “If we decide to not sign it, they call us to go to the police station and we can’t get out from there except if we sign it. That has happened to some other students — they were at the police station seven hours until they signed.” ..more