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Bahrain Bans All Protests in New Crackdown Citing Violence, Bahrain Bans All Protests in New Crackdown
(about 5 hours later)
Bahrain, the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom that is home to the United States Fifth Fleet, has banned all rallies and demonstrations after months of protests by antigovernment demonstrators who have been pressing for a greater political voice there since the Arab Spring revolts began in early 2011. CAIRO — Citing recent episodes of violence, the government of Bahrain on Tuesday banned all public rallies and demonstrations, a move that drew swift condemnation from human rights groups and opposition activists who said it was intended solely to stifle criticism of the ruling monarchy in the tiny Persian Gulf nation.
In an announcement promulgated late Monday by the official Bahrain News Agency, Lt. Gen. Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, who is the interior minister, said political opposition activists had abused what he called the government’s tolerance for freedom of expression by allowing protests to turn violent repeatedly. In a statement, Bahrain’s interior minister said protests were banned after “repeated violations” by rally organizers, including riots, attacks on property and calls for the overthrow of “leading national figures.” Legal action would be taken against anyone attempting to organize a rally, the statement said.
“It was decided to stop all rallies and gatherings until ensuring that security is maintained through achieving the targeted security to protect national unity and social fabric to fight extremism,” the news agency said. It quoted the interior minister as saying “any illegal rally or gathering would be tackled through legal actions against those calling for it and participants.” A government spokesman, Fahad al-Binali, said in an interview that the ban would be temporary and was intended to “calm things down” after the recent deaths of protesters and police officers.
Bahrain, ruled by a Sunni-led monarchy, has been roiled by protests and violence because of tensions with the Shiite majority, who have been seeking more power, drawing inspiration from the Arab Spring revolts that felled authoritarian governments, including in Tunisia and Egypt. Instead, though, the move seemed likely to inflame the already dangerous standoff between a protest movement that has been unable to wrest freedoms from a government that opposition activists say is methodically blocking all avenues for dissent. In recent weeks, activists have been prosecuted for postings on social media, and doctors, charged with illegal gathering and other crimes after treating protesters, have been sent to jail.
The Bahraini authorities have been singled out for criticism by international rights activists for their previous crackdowns on opposition activists, the prosecution of medical workers who have aided wounded activists, and the heavy and indiscriminate use of tear gas and other weapons, including birdshot, to dispel protesters. “They don’t want people to express their opinions, their anger,” said Sayed Hadi al-Mosawi, a member of Al-Wefaq, the largest opposition group. “This will not take the country to stability.”
More than 50 people have died, including some police officers, in nearly 21 months of intermittent clashes in Bahrain. The protests intensified last month after riot police officers clashed with mourners at a funeral procession for a 17-year-old killed in an earlier bout of street violence. Since the beginning of the Arab uprisings almost two years ago, Bahrain’s government has struggled to contain the protests, which are focused on the ruling Sunni monarchy’s chokehold on political power and fed by persistent complaints by the island nation’s majority Shiite population of systematic, apartheidlike discrimination.
The political tensions have put the United States in the uncomfortable position of supporting Bahrain’s government because of its strategic value as a bulwark against neighboring Iran. Critics have called such American backing an act of hypocrisy. Backed by powerful allies, including Saudi Arabia and the United States, Bahrain’s government, its critics charge, has faced little pressure to change. The Fifth Fleet of the United States Navy is anchored in Bahrain.
As the crisis has stalled, the standoff has devolved into ever more violent, sometimes deadly confrontations. In the last two months, two teenagers have been killed by the security services, and a 19-year-old police officer was killed in what the authorities said was an attack on one of their patrols. Last week, another police officer died of injuries he sustained in April in what the government called a “domestic terrorist attack,” a term frequently used for protests.
In the statement, the interior minister, Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah al-Khalifa, said that rallies would be stopped until the authorities could ensure that “security is maintained.” It was unclear how the ban would change the response by the authorities, since many of the protests are considered illegal by the government and are already met with force.
On Tuesday, Amnesty International said in a statement that the ban violated the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and “must be lifted immediately.”
“Even in the event of sporadic or isolated violence once an assembly is under way, the authorities cannot simply declare a blanket prohibition on all protests,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, the group’s Middle East and North Africa deputy director.