Nabil Rajab to as-Safir: Bahraini Opposition United, Regime Commits HR Violations

While the Bahraini "Pearl Revolution" has entered its second year; protests are becoming stronger as the crackdown against anti-regime demonstrators continues.
On this level, President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), activist Nabeel Rajab stated that "the situation was not as the Bahraini people expected would be, because the international community did not stand by the Bahraini revolution."

In an interview with as-Safir Lebanese daily, Rajab indicated that so far, around 70 Bahrainis died, most due to toxic tear gas inhalations, and despite all that, the streets today witness an increasing popular movement.
"The suppression and increase of martyrs encouraged people to continue their protest. We have the ability to continue on this path. We will not bow for this regime, and the people are patient despite the crackdown, torture, and imprisonment," Rajab added.

Regarding the escalating detentions of peaceful protesters, Rajab told as-Safir, "More than 500 Bahrainis have been detained since the beginning of the uprising, and this is not strange, especially that Bahrain was listed among the world's 10 worst autocratic countries, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report. There have been many human rights violations by the regime, for example, most of the detainees, including political figures, were sexually assaulted."

As for the Saudi role in the Bahraini crisis, the Bahraini activist asserted that "Saudi Arabia played a negative, doubtful and scary role in all the changes", further indicating that Saudi Arabia plays on two "parallel lines", i.e. fighting the revolutions and containing the results of these uprisings.
"Saudi Arabia entered Bahrain to support the unjust regime, and it believes that democracy in our country is actually "dangerous". The Saudi role is to balk the [Bahraini] popular movement, and so is Qatar's role, and witness to that stands al-Jazeera Channel, which covered the happenings in all Arab counties except for Bahrain," the BCHR President went on to say.

As for the accusations that Tehran is meddling in Manama's affairs, Nabil Rajab affirmed that this is an "old" claim exploited by the regime to relate the Shiites of Bahrain to those of Iran, asserting that "this is completely untrue."
"The Bahraini opposition, which consists of five major political parties, is today more united than ever, and there will not be any disputes within the lines of the opposition. On the other hand, I don't see any regime bids to end the current crisis," he iterated.

Social networks had an important role in the revolution, especially in light of the crackdown.
On this note, Rajab said twitter and facebook are considered to be two major tools for the human rights activists in Bahrain. "Our fear lies in that the regime might be able to control these only two doors out," he clarified.


Source: as-Safir Newspaper, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org