Saudi Arab aiding Bahraini Masacare : Worst State Terrorism on Peaceful Protesting Shia Majority

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JNN 18 Feb 2011 Manama : Bahraini security forces have opened fire on anti-government protesters, witnesses and opposition activists say.

Several thousand mourners turned out on Friday to bury those killed in what Bahrain’s top Shi’ite cleric called a “massacre” ordered by the island’s Sunni ruling family to crush protests.

Friday’s shooting occurred on a day of mourning when Shi’ites buried four people killed a day earlier in the police raid on the Pearl Square traffic circle.

“We think it was the army,” former lawmaker Sayed Hadi said of Friday’s shooting. He is a member of Wefaq, the main Shi’ite bloc, which resigned from parliament on Thursday.

Witnesses said the army fired live rounds and tear gas, and officials said at least 120 people had been hurt.

On Thursday, security forces raided the protesters camped out in Pearl Square in central Manama and fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the people to disperse them, Reuters reported.

Four people were killed in the incident, raising the number of the deaths to seven since Monday.

At least 2,000 protesters were occupying the Pearl Square on Wednesday, calling for a new constitution and an elected prime minister.

According to informed source amid rising tensions and resignation of health minister, four other  Bahraini Minister resigned

The Shia members of Bahrain parliament (Al-Wefaq fraction), that two days ago in a statement had suspended their membership in reaction to the government discrimination policies against the majority shia population, have announced their total withdrawal from the parliament due to today’s bloodshed and cruelty posed against people.

These ex-members of parliament along with expressing their anger released a statement, in which they emphasized that the regime is not repairable in any ways and there must be a transition into constitutional monarchy

In an attempt to defuse the crisis, King Hamad promised a national dialogue “with all parties”.

An official statement said that Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa had been given “all the powers to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of all gracious citizens from all sections”.

The prince, who is also deputy supreme commander of the army, earlier called for everyone to withdraw from the streets.

Many of the protesters in Manama are calling for the overthrow of the royal family.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama said he was deeply concerned about reports of violence in Bahrain, Libya and Yemen.

“The United States condemns the use of violence by governments against peaceful protesters in those countries and wherever else it may occur,” he said.

In a separate development, the United Kingdom said it had decided to revoke some of its arms export licences to Bahrain in light of the current situation there.

The BBC’s Caroline Hawley, in Manama, says the funeral procession of one of the dead protesters turned into another anti-government demonstration.

The mourners were trying to make their way to the Salmaniya Hospital, where their injured colleagues are being treated.

But they came under fire as they passed close to Pearl Square, which has been sealed off by the army for the past day to prevent further large-scale demonstrations.

An eyewitness told al-Jazeera TV that the authorities gave no warning.

“They just started shooting us. Now there is more than 20 injured in the hospital. One guy has already passed away because he got shot in his head,” said the witness.

One protester, 27-year-old bank clerk Ali al-Haji, told AP news agency that live ammunition was used.

“People started running in all directions and bullets were flying, I saw people getting shot in the legs, chest and one man was bleeding from his head,” he said.

AP earlier reported that soldiers had fired anti-aircraft guns over the heads of the protesters.

Medical officials told the BBC that more than 120 people had been admitted to hospital after the clashes, many suffering the effects of tear gas, some with broken bones and one person who had been shot in the leg.

Bahrain is ruled by a royal Sunni family and , while the Population has a Shia majority who make up the bulk of the protesters, who are not given the benefits of the equal citizen in the government Jobs and other economic chores.

Earlier, the country’s most senior Shia cleric Sheikh Issa Qassem described attacks on protesters as a “massacre” and said the government had shut the door to dialogue

As he spoke at emotionally charged Friday prayers in the Duraz neighbourhood, supporters shouted “victory for Islam”, “death for Al Khalifa [the ruling family]” and “we are your soldiers”.

Western countries have urged Bahrain to show restraint in dealing with protesters and called for meaningful reform in the small Gulf state kingdom.

The UN’s rights chief Navi Pillay condemned the use of force by governments across the region, and singled out the Bahraini authorities for targeting medical workers while they were treating protesters.

“The nature and scope of the human rights violations taking place in several countries in the region in response to those who are largely demonstrating peacefully for their fundamental human rights and freedoms is alarming,” she said.

Since independence from the UK in 1971, tensions between the Sunni elite and the less affluent Shia have frequently caused civil unrest. Shia groups say they are marginalised, subject to unfair laws and repressed.

Washington is watching with growing concern as unrest and violence spread across the Middle East, threatening its regional interests, correspondents say.

While Bahrain is tiny, with a population of less than one million, it is home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and is near another key US ally in the region, Saudi Arabia.

According to informed sources Shia organizations invited more than a million people to participate the biggest anti government protests in the country.

Afew second ago by uprising the protests in the country, Saudi Arabia intervene the Bahrain affairs by sending 150 Tanks and 100 Armoured personnel carriers from Qatar to crack down Shia protesters.

Tanks in the Bahraini capital, Manama, prevent ambulances from taking the victims of clashes to hospitals, as the pro-democracy uprising in the country has entered its fourth day, a report says.

The report also added that Bahraini security forces attack and beat medical workers who are helping the victims on Thursday.

King Hamad, 61, has been in power since 1999

Population 800,000; land area 717 sq km, or 100 times smaller than Irish Republic

A population with a median age of 30.4 years, and a literacy rate of 91%

Youth unemployment at 19.6%

Gross national income per head: $25,420 (World Bank 2009)

 

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