Laila Dashti, a member of the Bahrain Human Rights Center, uses her cell phone to take pictures of bruises on the back of another member of the group, Abbas Abdel-Aziz, on Sunday, June 19, 2005, outside a police station in Riffa, Bahrain. An unidentified man who also claims police beat him, is seen at center. The activists say they were beaten on coming to the police station to demand the release of about 50 unemployed Bahrainis who were arrested earlier Sunday at a demostration demanding jobs. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)
That’s because they protested in front of the Royal Court.
I guess democracy does not extend to that area, so be warned. If you want to demonstrate, do it in Manama, Hamad Town, Sitra, Jid Haffs, Sanabis, Malkiya but don’t you bloody well dare do it in Riffa.
Comments
Bahraini Protestors Beaten
Reminds me of the intifatha in the mid 90’s, looks like Bahrain still hasn’t moved forward. Such a sad and shocking sight.
Bahraini Protestors Beaten
very worrying what happened today,
if you can read arabic [url=http://bahrainonline.org/showthread.php?t=124614] read the latest here [/url]
BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4108990.stm
Re: BBC
What a blow to Bahrain’s international image, the truth will out I guess, and that’s what seems to be happening now. Maybe the world will start to take notice and Bahrain will be forced to enforce some much needed reforms.
Bahraini Protestors Beaten
hmmmm…
u know
comming to think of it
maybe the goverment had enough of people blocking the road ways.
What happened to democracey there? I believe i have the right to move in the road, demonstrate else where.
IN the road u block my freedome now. Plus I believe these people were asked to leave nicely but they didn’t,and i do not think they had a licens for it.
but so what
its the “Demonstration” carnival in bahrain. People demonstrate on anything now.I am just waiting to see when demonstrations about “the goverment having to wipe the ass of every citizent after taking a shit” start!
that should be exciting to see
Re: Bahraini Protestors Beaten
I agree with you.
If the protest path or venue does impinge on others freedoms, then it should move to another location. Unless that is it has been given the official go-ahead by the authorities who should do their part in diverting traffic, keep the peace and do the various administrative jobs to ensure the minimum of disruption to people’s daily lives.
Demonstrations however, no matter how many they become, is a necessary part of democracy as the demonstrators clearly feel that it is the only way to get their messages acrosss to people in power, and as most if not all of these demonstators do not believe in the effectiveness of the parliament nor public officials, they mount peaceful demonstrations.
Having police attack and forcibly remove demonstrators from any location is wrong, demonstrators clearly hell bent on confrontation rather than seeking solutions to their problems is also wrong. In this particular case, it quite clearly showed that all sides are wrong and their leaders (both sides) should have found a middle ground.
The authorities should almost NEVER use violence to contain a situation. Having them threaten an MP (Mohammed Al-Shaikh) with a “good beating” once he arrived at the police station to try to calm things down is certainly not a civilised way to conduct a peaceful negotiation.
Democracy can only be solved with even more democracy. It cannot be solved with people labeling demonstrators as “traitors” or denying their right to demonstrate whenever and whereever they like within the law, it most certainly cannot and will not be solved by weilding batons and cracking skulls.
My personal opinion is that this particular demonstration should have happened in front of the Chairman of the House of Representatives’ The Right Honourable Mr. Khalifa BIN Ahmed Al-Dhahrani’s house, rather than the royal court.
Re: Bahraini Protestors Beaten
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Bahraini Protestors Beaten
it seems to me that you all overestimate the pros of a democrasy. Level of freedom allowed is a very sharp edge. After you liberate the laws, there will appear other forces which would dictate people what to do and how to think about it. The main is, of cource, money. As an example recent situation with a presidential elections in Ukrain. People there had to make choise between two scums (and it’s hard to say, who of those is worse), but proper financing made of one democrat and of another – tyrant. Under democratic coverage, subject to proper financing, all kinds of antihuman and antisocial things easy to cover. Remember, how agression against Iraq was justified.
So, IMHO the main problem is not a level of freedom allowed, but ethics, or, more correct, its abscence.
Bahraini Protestors Beaten
ill like that idea too…you can say whatever u want in the “say what ever you want” area in bahrain…like the park
but dont go walking and standing in the sun, and screaming int he middle of towns and cities..its not civilized. Violence should be last resource but some times it is the only way to go, and i guess the goverment saw that is the only way to go with these protestors..which came before and no body did anything to them…then they told them kindly do not protest around that area…then they came to protest again, as in being stubborn, then they were asked to leave nicely, and then they stayed as in being stubborn,so i guess violence was the last thing to go buy…but i guess the park idea is good…at least we will have only meaningful demonstrations in the roads by then…
Bahraini Protestors Beaten
If you ask me i do not believe in democracey, I believe in freedome, democracey IS NOT freedome I can say that.
and about those people protesting…
I hate violence, but lets say there are those 1000 people standing outside your house
they are causing a lot of noise. You ask them to leave but they do not, you said violence shouldnt be used. How can I make them leave with out using it after I ask them to leave and they refuse? I will call the police and if they refuse the police will have to get down to violence. In the end violence will be the solution
if u have another way i really would like to hear it because some times when people start to bother me, I have no way to make them go except violence and i do not want to use it
Re: Bahraini Protestors Beaten
Your perspective is not without merit, but consider this: if everyone used violence to reach solutions, we will just descend into chaos and the rule of the jungle. If however inexcessive violence is used BY THE AUTHORITIES USING LEGAL MEANS to resolve the situation, then that’s fine legally, even if it’s not fine morally.
The thing is that everyone should exercise constraint and utilise their brain to resolve situations before they ever get to the violent stage. This is diplomacy.
After all, wars are really the result of the failure of diplomacy. Is this what actually happened with these demonstrators? I think it is. Diplomatically the government warned them the last time they gathered outside the Royal Court. They chose not to listen and did it once again. The government had enough and thought that one warning was enough, so let’s have at them!
Mansour Al-Jamri in his column today in Al-Wasat is suggesting – based on a thought said jokingly by one of the newspaper editors during their meeting yesterday with the minister of the interior – that Bahrain should construct a “Hyde Park” and assign a “Speakers’ Corner” within that park where everyone can just go and mouth off, respecting red lines of course, without the need for prior permission. However if the demonstration or speaches are to be done outside of that corner permission must be sought and obtained first.
This is a quaint idea and it too has much merit. I wonder if it’ll be taken up?
Bahraini Protestors Beaten
Although I am pro-democracy, I think that demonstrations in Bahrain have become excessive. We have one at least every weekend for any type of cause. We have had enough of these demonstrations, where the protesters are the ones pushing the limits. Have we forgotten the protests that turned violent outside Nancy Ajram’s concert? Remember democracy means allowing everyone to live as they choose, so long as they abide by certain rules that protect society.