Undertrykkelse i Bahrain

Hærdede læger bryder grædende sammen over den rå politivold, og bøllerne går til angreb på frivillige læger og sygeplejersker, der forsøger at hjælpe de sårede. Imens opfordrer Hillary Clinton “begge sider” til at vise tilbageholdenhed.

Og hvad der det da, de væmmelige demonstranter forlanger, siden denne vold kan være berettiget? Mahmood Al-Yousif formulerer det i Bahrain-termer:

1. Bilateral Constitutional amendments which are binding to address the contentious current Constitution of 2002
2. The immediate release of political prisoners, some 450 are incarcerated many of whom are children under 18 years of age
3. Release and increase press freedoms, repeal Law 47/2002
4. Guard and increase personal freedoms and freedoms of expression
5. Investigate corruption and return stolen wealth into the state coffers
6. Repeal Law 56/2002 and bring torturers to justice

Kort fortalt – ytringsfrihed, forfatningsgaranterede menneskerettigheder, løsladelse af politiske fanger, stop for tortur, stop for korruption. Indtil videre har de ikke krævet kongens afgang. Men hvor længe varer det?

Filmklip via 3arabawy.

Update: Nicholas Kristof fra New York Times skriver, meget passende og som supplement både til Al Jazeeras dækning og Mahmoods opsummering af demonstranternes krav:

Bahrain’s leaders may whisper to American officials that the democracy protesters are fundamentalists inspired by Iran. That’s ridiculous. There’s no anti-Americanism in the protests — and if we favor “people power” in Iran, we should favor it in Bahrain as well.

Walk with protesters here, and their grievances seem eminently reasonable. One woman, Howra, beseeched me to write about her brother, Yasser Khalil, who she said was arrested in September at the age of 15 for vague political offenses. She showed me photos of Yasser injured by what she described as beatings by police.

Another woman, Hayat, said that she had been shot with rubber bullets twice this week. After hospitalization (which others confirmed), she painfully returned to the streets to continue to demand more democracy. “I will sacrifice my life if necessary so my children can have a better life,” she said.

America has important interests at stake in Bahrain — and important values.

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