You are on page 1of 3

Bahrain People and Feb 14th

Nevertheless, the Charter have not


guaranteed the freedom and rights
necessary for living to the Bahraini
citizens due to failure in keeping
covenants; in addition to preventing
the freedom of the press and the media. The people
were ignited by the spark of the revolution that
brought down the corrupt regimes in Tunisia and
Egypt. They marched peaceful demonstrations which
have been called The Revolution of the 14th of
February. People joined the protests from most areas
of Bahrain, which were predominantly Shiite and
extended to other cities calling for political reforms in
the country.

The marches were purely peaceful where demonstrators do not use other than
their unprotected chests and their loud throats. However, the brutal forces acted
against them with sound bombs, tear gas, and shotgun bullets, which is a weapon
prohibited for use internationally. This resulted in the death of the first martyr in
the evening of February 14th, Ali Abd Al-Hadi Mushaima, 21 years old Bahraini
man from Aldaih village. The next morning, when the big crowds moved toward
the funeral of the first martyr, they were shocked that were attacked again by
the same weapons. Consequently, the attack led to the fall of another martyr,
Fadhel Almatrook from Almahooz.

The fall of two martyrs in two days of peaceful


protests sparked rage among the people in
Bahrain, who were demanding their most basic
rights. That elevated the level of their
demands from reforms to the fall of the
regime, and drove the demonstrators to start a
strike at the Pearl roundabout, one of the most
important and vital squares in Bahrain. Meanwhile, the King, Sheikh Hamad Bin
Salman Al Khalifa expressed his deep regret for the casualties, stressed upon the
constitutional right of the citizens in peaceful protests, and promised to form an
investigating committee headed by the deputy to the Prime Minister Jawad
Salem Aloraied.

The people continued their strike at the


Pearl roundabout, committing to the
slogan of peacefulness of their protests.
They rejected the usual plays for the
acquittal of the aggressors and using the
justification of preserving the security, or
accusing the people of attacking the riot-
control police.

The numbers of protesters were increasing as many men, women and, even,
children were determined to stay in the square of the Pearl roundabout and not
return to their homes. They asked the king and the government to carry out a
dialogue and to listen to them, but no one responded.

From here, the disaster begun when the government betrayed the people. At
3:00 in the morning, while many of the protestors were asleep, the police and the
riot-control forces surrounded them from all sides, and began heavily firing tear
gas, sound bombs and shooting bullets. The sudden attack led to killing four,
wounding more than 400, and causing others to be missing.

Sadness prevailed over the streets of Bahrain,


entered the houses, leaked to the hearts of the
children, and deprived the people eyelids from
sleep. While the majority of the people were
suffering the pain and sorrow of the loss and death,
another demonstration was arranged in support of
the king and the ruling regime, in which a large part
of the participants were those who recently got the
Bahraini nationality.
The tragedy did not stop at this point, the government confronted the people
who came out for the funeral of the martyrs with another massacre which was
not less than the previous one. This time, using the army and snipers who left the
streets filled with blood and pain, and now they, ironically, calling for dialogue!
No dialogue after the bloodshed! People want to overthrow the regime!

Kingdom of Bahrain is a small island with friendly, peaceful and civilized people
who long for freedom. They have witnessed several uprisings over the years
against the Al khalifa rulership since 1782 AD. However, in 2002, the situation
began to tranquilize after the accession of King Hamad Bin Salman Al Khalifa. The
people uprisings yielded its results by their attainment of the charter on Monday
the 14th of February 2002. 98.4% of voters voted in favour of the charter.

You might also like