Monday | April 2nd, 2012
+20 hours into the first day of hunger strike that came as
an effort to bring attention to the cases of Human Rights Defenders and
political prisoners in Bahrain. HRD Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, both Danish &
Bahraini, was arrested a year ago and was sentenced to life due to his career
of calling for regime reform, accountability and justice in the small kingdom.
HE has been exiled as youth from the small country and sought refuge in Denmark where he continued to work on the issues
in Bahrain .
After the royal pardon of 2001, the Alkhawaja family moved back to Bahrain and continued
actively advocating for better human rights and political justice in Bahrain.
Abdulhadi is one of hundreds, if not thousands, of exiled
voices who have returned to the country seeking a better Bahrain, most of which
are silenced today. Due to the February 14 youth uprising that broke out from
the capital in the early months of last year, many human rights defenders,
politicians, activists, medics, teachers, union members, students and even
first-timer activists have fallen victims to the government’s excessive
crackdown in fear of a spreading voice that mirrored the aspiration of the
entire nation. The outcome is thousands sacked, misplaced, injured, targeted,
jailed, tortured, attacked and even driven to exile.
The leftover today are a few “attempts to reform” by the
Bahraini government including: One, a weakened opposition; two, an
unconditional pro-government; three, somewhat violently sectarian movement; and
four, an enraged youth movement that has been put aside.
The king commissioned the BICI to investigate and recommend
solutions to address the outcomes of this uprising, which the civil society
nongovernmental organizations had been doing all year long, yet we do not see
reform taking place. Some of the BICI’s recommendation deals with the
investigation process, detention facilities and better prison documentation and
surveillance, especially in interrogation rooms. However, there are reported
cases of people being taken off to unknown locations sometimes outside the
prison facility with no recording devices or prior to arriving at the detention
facility where they are tortured. In terms of the recommendation that dealt
with torture accusations against governmental officials, only thee low-ranking
officers have been charged with anything and they were still on duty while being
on trial. No high-ranking officials have even been considered for any sort of
investigation. Medics are still on trial and freedom-of-expression convicts are
still imprisoned, some of which are in ongoing trials and others are civilians
who have been convicted after being trialed military courts.
The question that faces the Bahraini government, the
supporting United States government and the highly paid public relations
companies that promote for Bahrain’s image as a fair democratic monarchy is: would
you rather have a civil war and a bloodbath to rectify the excessive use of
violence against unarmed civilians, or do you want to restrict the Saudi troops
from Bahrain and really support democracy for an educated people in Bahrain? Do
you wish to support one of the most peaceful uprising in the Middle East and
secure accountability, justice and freedom for civilians in a nation that no
longer stands for anything? Or, do you want people to fight back?
I think enough has been said about America ’s
double-standards and the progress that the Bahraini regime has showcased along
with the fabricated realities that do not have a merit of truth on ground.
One entire year into a democratic uprising, in a nation that
claims to be one, with the international community watching an unarmed orphan
fight for his life against tankers, armed policemen and foreign troops that undermine
Bahrain’s security and peace by not even speaking the language of the country. If
we wait longer, there is no telling what path this movement may take.
Today marks fifty-four days since HRD Abdulhadi Alkhawaja
started his hunger strike for the Freedom of Martyrdom in prison. No one
expected him to make it past day 20, not to mention how his condition was
worsened and undermined on impact of the torture he’s received since his arrest
in April, 2011. By the end of this week, he will have spent an entire year in
prison where he’s claimed to have undergone mental, physical as well as sexual
abuse and torture.
It appears to me that the Bahraini government does not
understand the value of this individual in terms of the Bahrain
uprising and the ability to move ahead post our current situation. And the
sheer truth is, If Abdulhadi Alkhawaja passes away this week, there is no
turning back. The uprising has remained nonviolent for its most part during
this past year, but with this figure on nonviolence passing away, the ceiling for
demands will be the only solution for Bahrain.
A word of advice in this situation must be delivered to the
Bahraini king Hamad. The loss of any political prisoner, especially leaders, will
prove to cause even larger waves of unrest, nonviolent or not.
