Well, here goes another shot to understanding what exactly is going on in Bahrain. The government claims they broke up a "terrorist cell," arresting 8 Bahrainis. Stating that they were supported by Iran, Iraq and Lebanon. The Interior Minister, Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa reported that the they underwent such an arrest with "the help of a brotherly country." They did not state who that country was but I'm guessing the brotherly country of Saudi Arabia. Not only was this a significant event because well, it was the breaking up of a "terrorist cell" but also because of the circumstances in which it occurred. Only hours before had the government been accused of human rights violations after hundreds of protestors were attacked with tear gas and stun guns following attempts that preceded a funeral to go to "Pearl Square" (the equivalent of "Tahrir Square to Bahrainis." Another significant fact, the funeral was for a 16 year old boy, Hussein Al-Jazari, who died after being shot by security forces during an earlier protest. Protests have re-sparked since Thursday leaving many to question the stability of Bahrain and how far the government will go to repress the Shia led movements.
If you want to be really cynical, as some are, this "terrorist block" arrests could be perceived as a way to get others off the back of the Bahraini government for the violent oppression of these protests, or even just another way to scare the opposition into conceding due to fear. Or, it could really be a "terrorist block." It will be interesting however to find out if these 8 Bahraini's were Shia...but that is just the conspiracists in me talking.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/02/20132177290497676.html
Governments obviously don't want any tangible proof floating around in case they did falsely accuse these people, but doing something like this isn't all that uncommon. There's nothing like "suddenly" having a step in the right direction when you are facing criticism.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't want to outright say the government of Bahrain is lying (mostly because I know little to nothing about it), but I think it is a very real possibility, and it should definitely be considered. I would get tired of other countries constantly being on my case too.