Bahrainis Demand Al-Khalifa Regime to End Suppression

Thousands of the Bahraini people in a peaceful protest rally in the capital Manama on Saturday demanded an end to the Al-Khalifa regime’s cruelty and suppressive acts.

The peaceful protest took place in Barbar district in Western Manama today, the Lebanese television al-Manar reported.

The protesters, holding Bahrain’s flags, reiterated that punishment of those who have committed crimes against the Bahraini citizens and freedom of all political prisoners are their prerequisite for holding dialogue with the Al-Khalifa regime.

The protest gathering was then addressed by several Bahraini opposition leaders and families of the martyrs killed in the security forces’ brutal crackdowns on the people.

On Friday, Bahraini security forces attacked demonstrators protesting the Al- Khalifa regime’s ongoing crackdown on peaceful protests.

The Saudi-backed forces also fired teargas canisters and rubber bullets at rallying crowd in the village of Mugaba near Manama.

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty’s over-40-year rule.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13, 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

So far, tens of protesters have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured.

Police clampdown on protesters continues daily. Authorities have tried to stop organized protests by opposition parties over the past month by refusing to license them and using tear gas on those who turn up.

The opposition coalition wants full powers for the elected parliament and a cabinet fully answerable to parliament.

Amnesty International has announced that more than 200 people, arrested as part of the clampdown against Shiite political opposition in Bahrain, are at the risk of being tortured. Around 250 individuals in Bahrain, who are believed to have been detained, are at risk of torture, the group said. Human Rights Watch also accused Bahrain of restricting the travel of rights activists to prevent them from talking about the arrest of opposition members.

M.D