4 Killed as Bahrain Police Storm Makeshift Protesters’ Camp
- Posted on February 17, 2011 at 8:00am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Army patrols and tanks locked down the capital of this tiny Gulf kingdom after riot police swinging clubs and firing tear gas smashed into demonstrators, many of them sleeping, in a pre-dawn assault Thursday that uprooted their protest camp demanding political change. Medical officials said four people were killed.
Hours after the attack on Manama’s main Pearl Square, the military announced on state TV that it had “key parts” of the capital under its control and that gatherings were banned.
The developments marked a major crackdown by the island nation‘s rulers to put an end to days of protests inspired by Egypt’s revolt against Hosni Mubarak. Tiny Bahrain is a pillar of Washington’s military framework in the region. It hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, which is a critical counterbalance to Iran’s efforts to expand its clout in the region.
The capital Manama was effectively shut down Thursday. For the first time, tanks and military checkpoints were deployed in the streets and army patrols circulated. The Interior Ministry warned Bahrainis to stay off the streets. Banks and other key institutions did not open, and workers stayed home, unable or to afraid to pass through checkpoints to get to their jobs.
Barbed wire and police cars with flashing blue lights encircled Pearl Square, the site of anti-government rallies since Monday. Police cleaned up flattened protest tents and trampled banners inside the square, littered with broken glass, tear gas canisters and debris. A body covered in a white sheet lay in a pool of blood on the side of a road about 20 yards (meters) from the landmark square.
Demonstrators had been camping out for days around the square’s 300-foot (90-meter) monument featuring a giant pearl, making it the nerve center of the first anti-government protests to reach the Arab Gulf since the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.
The protesters’ demands have two main objectives: force the ruling Sunni monarchy to give up its control over top government posts and all critical decisions, and address deep grievances held by the country’s majority Shiites who claim they face systematic discrimination and are effectively blocked from key roles in public service and the military.
But among Bahrain’s rulers, the prospect of a prolonged crisis raised fears of a potential flashpoint between Iran and its Arab rivals in the Gulf. Bahrain’s ruling Sunni dynasty is closely allied to Saudi Arabia and the other Arab regimes in the Gulf. Shiite hard-liners in Iran have often expressed kinship and support for Bahrain’s Shiite majority, which accounts for 70 percent of the island’s 500,000 citizens.
The police assault came early Thursday with little warning. Mahmoud Mansouri, a protester, said police surrounded the camp and then quickly moved in.
“We yelled, ‘We are peaceful! Peaceful!’ The women and children were attacked just like the rest of us,” he said. “They moved in as soon as the media left us. They knew what they’re doing.”
Dr. Sadek Al-Ikri, 44, said he was tending to sick protesters at a makeshift medical tent in the square when the police stormed in. He said he was tied up and severely beaten, then thrown on a bus with others.
“They were beating me so hard I could no longer see. There was so much blood running from my head,” he said. “I was yelling, ‘I’m a doctor. I’m a doctor.‘ But they didn’t stop.”
He said the police beating him spoke Urdu, the main language of Pakistan. A pillar of the protest demands is to end the Sunni regime’s practice of giving citizenship to other Sunnis from around the region to try to offset the demographic strength of Shiites. Many of the new Bahrainis are given security posts.
Al-Ikri said he and others on the bus were left on a highway overpass, but the beatings didn’t stop. Eventually, the doctor said he fainted but could hear another police official say in Arabic: “Stop beating him. He’s dead. We should just leave him here.”
Bahrain’s parliament – minus opposition lawmakers who are staging a boycott – met in emergency session. One pro-government member, Jamila Salman, broke into tears.
A leader of the Shiite opposition Abdul Jalil Khalil said 18 parliament members also have resigned to protest the killings.
As the crackdown began, demonstrators in the square described police swarming in through a cloud of eye-stinging tear gas.
“They attacked our tents, beating us with batons,” said Jafar Jafar, 17. “The police were lined up at the bridge overhead. They were shooting tear gas from the bridge.”
Many families were separated in the chaos. An Associated Press photographer saw police rounding up lost children and taking them into vehicles.
Hussein Abbas, 22, was awakened by a missed call on his cell phone from his wife, presumably trying to warn him about reports that police were preparing to move in.
“Then all of a sudden the square was filled with tear gas clouds. Our women were screaming. … What kind of ruler does this to his people? There were women and children with us!”
ABC News said its correspondent, Miguel Marquez, was caught in the crowd and beaten by men with billy clubs, although he was not badly injured.
Hospital officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said four people were killed early Thursday. Wounded streamed by the dozens into Salmaniya medical center, the main state-run hospital in Manama, with serious gaping wounds, broken bones and respiratory problems from the tear gas.
Outside the medical complex, dozens of protesters chanted: “The regime must go.”
Tanks and armored personnel carriers were seen on some streets – the first sign of military involvement in the crisis – and authorities send a text message to cell phones that said: “The Ministry of the Interior warns all citizens and residents not to leave the house due to potential conflict in all areas of Bahrain.”
Hours before police moved in, the mood in the makeshift tent city was festive and confident.
People sipped tea, ate donated food and smoked apple- and grape-flavored tobacco from water pipes. The men and women mainly sat separately – the women a sea of black in their traditional dress. Some youths wore the red-and-white Bahraini flag as a cape.
While the protests began as a cry for the country’s Sunni monarchy to loosen its grip, the uprising’s demands have steadily grown bolder. Many protesters called for the government to provide more jobs and better housing, free all political detainees and abolish the system that offers Bahraini citizenship to Sunnis from around the Middle East.
Increasingly, protesters also chanted slogans to wipe away the entire ruling dynasty that has led Bahrain for more than 200 years and is firmly backed by the Sunni sheiks and monarchs across the Gulf.
Although Bahrain is sandwiched between OPEC heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Qatar, it has limited oil resources and depends heavily on its role as a regional financial hub and playground for Saudis, who can drive over a causeway to enjoy Bahrain’s Western-style bars, hotels and beaches.
Social networking websites had been abuzz Wednesday with calls to press ahead with the protests. They were matched by insults from presumed government backers who called the demonstrators traitors and agents of Iran.
The protest movement’s next move is unclear, but the island nation has been rocked by street battles as recently as last summer. A wave of arrests of perceived Shiite dissidents touched off weeks of rioting and demonstrations.
Before the attack on the square, protesters had called for major rallies after Friday prayers. The reported deaths, however, could become a fresh rallying point. Thousands of mourners had turned out for the funeral processions of two other people killed in the protests earlier in the week.
After prayers Wednesday evening, a Shiite imam in the square had urged Bahrain’s youth not to back down.
“This square is a trust in your hands and so will you whittle away this trust or keep fast?” the imam said. “So be careful and be concerned for your country and remember that the regime will try to rip this country from your hand but if we must leave it in coffins then so be it!”
Across the city, government supporters in a caravan of cars waved national flags and displayed portraits of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
“Come join us!” they yelled into markets and along busy streets. “Show your loyalty.”
Thousands of mourners turned out Wednesday for the funeral procession of 31-year-old Fadhel al-Matrook, one of two people killed Monday in the protests. Later, in Pearl Square, his father Salman pleaded with protesters not to give up.
“He is not only my son. He is the son of Bahrain, the son of this nation,” he yelled. “His blood shouldn’t be wasted.”
Monday’s bloodshed brought embarrassing rebukes from allies such as Britain and the United States. A statement from Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said suspects have been “placed in custody” in connection with the two deaths but gave no further details.
—
Brian Murphy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
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Comments (53)
Scorchem
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 3:04pmWhere is Obama on this one? Like a political drunk he’s consumed with abusing the American family. Mr President get out of Wisconsin’s state business. They need a balanced budget. To get it they need to control spending. That means the unions should suffer cuts also. I know unions are one of your favorite special interests, however, you need to Butt out and allow Wisconsin to take care of Wisconsin. The govenor was elected to do exactly what he is doing-balance the budget. Take a lesson and apply it to the federal government!
Report Post »sjohn70037
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 2:33pmYeaaaaa!!!! More shots of muslims killing muslims. Go baby go! Let me know if you need some more ammo.
This is great.
Report Post »mike_trivisonno
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 2:19pmWow. Do none of yoy comprehend what is occurring in the Middle East?
This has nothing to do with “revolution”, “peace”, “protestors”, “money”, “shady business”, “democracy”, or any of the other western-style labels we place on it.
This is naked Jihad. It is a complete rejection of the West and everything our civilization stand for. Watch as the region collapses. Then witness with uncomprehending eyes as an even more violent islamic superstate arises from the corpses of the dead.
You are all seriously deluded and completely deceived.
Report Post »Khthulhu
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 12:44pmCheck out this report by an ABC correspondent who was beaten by what he called “thugs” (inferring that the thugs were not part of the peaceful protestors) while defending the protesters being beaten by riot police:
Report Post »http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/20110217/bs_yblog_thecutline/abc-reporter-beaten-during-bahrain-crackdown
aragona
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 12:08pmHey, did that Crazy, Fear Mongering, Glenn Beck have a fire icon on his loony toons map covering this country? I bet he did ….
Report Post »timej31
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 12:02pmFrom here on I believe they will be taking a hard line with protesters. Just a hunch I have. But I believe the bullets will fly. They understand that complainers can be silenced when they are not breathing any more.
Report Post »EqualJustice
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 11:56amEven as the Hillster is so pleased with the progress there? HAHAHA and Crazy Becksters… RIGHT AGAIN? YES.
Report Post »Denae
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 11:37amam I crazy? If this were another President in office, would we not be involved in some of these WORLD CONFLICTS that are going on where innocent people are being murdered by radical regime police forces? Why are we so silent about it all? Why isn’t our government publicly speaking out? Are we just going to bow down to the Muslims and let them have us?
Report Post »Nigel2
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 11:13amSo on one hand if these countries fall there is a chance of theocracies taking over, but they can be repressed by brutal tactics where people are getting killed, thus bringing the status quo of stability.
I think I will let someone else make that call.
Report Post »sizzlinsexybeckster
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 10:28amI’m sure there were LOADS more people killed, murdered, tortured that we don’t know about. They thought that doctor was dead after beating him and just left him there. They took all those wandering lost children away on a bus to WHO KNOWS WHERE? They used barbed wire and treated people worse than animals. The world is horrific……these are vomiting times…..pray, stock up on food and water, keep your children safe, stock up on bullets for your guns because your home (if you still have a home…) is your sanctuary where you must protect whenever dumbass Obama lets his idiotic Revolutionary Organizers and Union people take over the streets……….. unfortunately not everyone wants America to flourish but to be crumpled up like a dirty old tissue. I feel horrible for these people in these other countries…. I could go on forever but feel sick… just stay strong and pray for them.
Report Post »ChiefGeorge
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 10:23amBahrain…a former British commonwealth. People there are very western oriented and I have been in an out of that country for many years. Our 5th fleet there enjoys what little there is to do there and this is done from behind barbed wire fences in a compound area that has grown to a few acres since the 80s when it was barely an acre plot with a handful of small buildings for administrative purposes to help process our military members in and out of the area since our growth in the region was ever expanding in the 80/90′s esp after Desert Storm.
This has become a major beach head in the area and we also use a section of the Manama airport for our logistics for the ships and Carriers in the region. I spent my time during Desert Storm at this airfield! Its very important to have this as a stop over place. Our servicemen and women rotate in and out of the region through this airport, get a helo of airplane ride to the Carrier from the field. Cargo and replacement parts also flow through here as well.
I am not surprised that they are going after this location as it is very critical. Down the Gulf coast and around the horn of the straights of Hormuz is Al Jafairah, UAE another beach head/airport and transit area. But its about 500 miles from Bahrain and not to central to the action as Bahrain. Theres also Camp Doha at Kuwait! 5th fleet will have to find some other more peaceful stop over points.
Report Post »Katayno
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 10:15amIsn’t that where Micheal Jackson was living for a while…..thought it was so civilized.
Report Post »Its Gonna Getcha
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 9:58amNot only is this going to be another worst case scenario for this admistration, but since they have chosen to continue being shady, there are a lot of people who are not going to continue to wait around much longer. Some people may be getting ready to group into peace coalitions here in the USA, . A lot of Americans see what is happening in the Middle East as good change. Some are concerned it may be moving too quickly. But they support peaceful transitions towards true freedom. Peaceful.
Report Post »Tony
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 9:48amThese protesters may “appear” peaceful now but photos of looting in the upscale malls reveal something “different”. I suspect some citizens remember riots not too distant in the past.
In the general time frame of the Kobar Tower bombings in Saudi Arabia that resulted in nearly a hundred American military killed, Bahrain experienced some very violent protests (violence initiated by “protesters”). A supposed group of “fundamental Islamists’ attempted to overthrow the tiny pro western government and force it to become more “Islamic”. Protesters used a different “protest sign” then, they used burning tires placed over non protesters. I suspect the government hasn’t forgotten although the “youth” used by the organizers never heard of the “riots”.
In Bahrain, citizens and visitors alike have far more freedom than any of the surrounding countries. Heck, even women can drive and don’t have to cover up. Bahrain is where Eastern and western a like go for a short holiday. Even things like beer, a real beer, and wine are available….completely taboo just 25 miles away in Saudi. There is even a Texas style Country and Western club that features line dancing with Brit patrons dressed just like cow pokes of New Mexico…bit of manure on boots and all.
And it is precisely the freedoms Bahrain offers citizens and visitors alike that permit the “youth” in such great numbers to be on the tiny island. If the protesters really wanted to work for “freedom”, they should get Al Sharpton to lead them on a “Freedom” march across the 25 mile causeway over to Dhahran and demand “womens’ rights for Saudis.
Report Post »Deutscher
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 10:05amTrue. It’s funny how most religions have a safety valve for “sin”.
Thanks to the 4 pearls Bahrain is shielded from view. What happens in Bahrain stays in Bahrain.
Report Post »Tony
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 12:16pmDeutscher,
So right. What happens in Bahrain stays in Bahrain whether wearing a gutra or a cowboy hat.
Report Post »jack
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 9:45amnice camera phone the lady is holding top of the line 12 meg pix cost me over $ 500.00
Report Post »how can they afford it
Deutscher
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 9:49amThere is quite a lot of money floating around Bahrain. It’s not Afganistan.
Report Post »YellowFin
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 12:15pmShe has “man hands”.
Report Post »AmeriCat
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 9:40amIn Egypt, 365 street protesters killed.
That Google CEO who so proudly brags how he organized that revolt
Report Post »….has blood on his hands!
And his activism has ignited other countries, with more deaths.
mike_trivisonno
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 9:05amThe Middle East is not in “revolution”, or “on fire”.
The Middle East is rejecting the West and collapsing further into Islam. Our foolish doctrine of appeasing Islam instead of opposing it has lead us to where we are now. Unless our goal was to expand Islamic culture and champion Sharia law, the Western powers have failed utterly, completely, and with as much shameful cowardice as as ever been displayed.
The West, and especially America, must stop this now. Western Civilization is superior in every respect to Islamic culture. We must now stop championing the causes of Islam and instead fight for our culture and it’s dominance.
Or, we can pretend this has something to do with whatever.
Report Post »Deutscher
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 9:15amWhat would you recommend we do? It’s easy to complain. We have a strategic interest in the region. I am very curious what it is you think we should do.
Report Post »mike_trivisonno
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 11:36amWhat I suggest will shock many. Most people, still laboring under the deception of Islam, will not understand or agree with my solution. it is brutal, unrelenting, and will leave no land for Islam to claim or any muslims to pray to Allah.
The destruction of Mecca is priority one.
Report Post »Texas_Tip
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 8:59amWhere’s that strong foreign policy language from our Commander in Chief along with CPAC front runner Paul.
The 5th Fleet Wonders.
Cheers,
Report Post »Tip
JohnnyJT South Philly
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 8:54amThe only thing protester had to defend themselves with was SPIT.
Report Post »AzDebi
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 9:00am@JohnnyJT South Philly
“The only thing protester had to defend themselves with was SPIT.”
Report Post »___________________
That’s where Obama wants to take US!?
SilentReader
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 8:40amThose Google people and our State Department and all the other Communist and Socialist groups like AYM and Maajid Nawaj, April 6th Movement, CBS, MSNBC, Glassman and Jared Cohen of Google and all those at the Caliphate Conference in Illinois in November 2008, who orchestrated the overthrow of the Egyptian government, an ally, should be proud.
This is what a “revolution” looks like. It’s not pretty. Ordinary people get killed.
There are no good outcomes of revolutions because what they are intended to do never comes to pass. It only forces the powers that be to clamp down even harder and if the government is overthrown, like in Egypt, it is more than likely to be replaced by something even more sinister and dictatorial.
In other words, revolutions are for those who are seeking even more power and they never work out well for the people.
Learn from history, why don’t you. Just look at the French revolution. It ended up in massive bloodshed and the guillotine.
The Obama minions played with fire and that’s what they got. A Middle East that’s on fire and is about to cause instability throughout the world.
Well done, useful idiots.
Report Post »TERMLIMITSNOW
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 8:14amthey don’t have any oil….who cares?
Report Post »Non-sequitur
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 8:33amModern America in a sentence.
Report Post »Deutscher
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 9:10amThe US 5th Fleet is based in Bahrain. So all Americans should care.
Report Post »aragona
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 12:14pmIf we would be smart enough to drill our own oil, we could wash our hands of the lot of them. We certainly have enough oil to sustain our needs if only we would be allowed to get it.
But the fake global warming hacks won’t allow it because they are getting super rich off of “green technology” that isn’t really all that green. Shhhh…..
Report Post »rabblechat
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 8:10amI wonder which side the administration will root for here; democracy or dictatorship…
http://www.rabblechat.com
Report Post »Republic
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 8:09amIt seems as though the world is getting lit on fire there. Now, where have I heard that before? Mmmmmm
Report Post »PA PATRIOT
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 8:17am“The Coming Insurrection” is read worldwide
Report Post »Psychosis
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 8:08ami find it interesting all these protesters crying out against violence………………..dont they have a stoning or a beheading scheduled for later in the week?
Report Post »Stuck_in_CA
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 8:16amGood point.
Report Post »I’m ready for a “Fortress America”… Let the Sunnis and the Shiites have at each other. They should be allowed to fight it out between themselves.
IMPOTUS
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 8:54amLOL! Exactly!
Report Post »NickDeringer
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 8:06amWell I must say it‘s wonderful that we gave Professor O’Barry his Nobel Peace Prize up front because we all know how well affirmative action works.
Katie Couric “Hey! Let’s have a Muslim Cosby Show.”
Report Post »AzDebi
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 8:18amFYI:
if you want to read a great article on the story Glenn did about Horowitz, CPAC and Khan..We need to keep this “Khan” story alive to expose this traitor!
http://frontpagemag.com/2011/02/16/horowitz-vs-khan/
Also,here‘s a link to an interview on front page describing the Koran and its’ support of rape and slavery…it’s an eyeopener
http://frontpagemag.com/2011/02/17/islam-and-the-brutal-sex-assault-of-lara-logan/
Report Post »ME
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 8:21amyea if the Nobel comity had any shame well we know they don’t so…
Report Post »Cobra Blue
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 8:51amBoy! Another Egyptian Street Party. It’s LQQKs so familar you would almost think it was planned.
Report Post »Xcori8r
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 9:14amI’m voting for more brutal repression everywhere in the region but Iran. Fresh air is good but throwing the door open to unfettered democracy in the mid-east now is like opening the shutters in a hurricane. Iranians know what 30 years of pure Islamic rule gets, so anything is an improvement there.
Report Post »techengineer11
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 9:19amSince GB and many other Neo-Cons urge uprising and unrest in some nations but not others.. They were perfectly happy with the dicatorship in Egypt so now I wonder will the come out and support the uprising in Bahrain? lol I bet no. I bet it‘s ok for the gov’t in Bahrain to slaughter its citizens and you will hardly hear a peep out of the WH or GB and the other War Mongering Neo-Cons.
I’m sure the citizens of Bahrain are probably sick and tired of their Nation being used as a launching pad for the US to slaughter Arabs all over the Middle East.. jmho
Report Post »Jaycen
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 3:25pm@techengineer11
Hey man, Neoconservatives are left-leaning liberals who are opposed to Communism.
If you mean actual “Conservatives”, then as one, I can tell you I didn’t support Mubarek, but I think his people would have been better off with him than under the Muslim Brotherhood. I haven’t supported any uprising in any country recently, so I’m not sure how your criticism regarding selective support holds true.
Good luck gathering your thoughts into coherency, though.
Report Post »techengineer11
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 3:57pmJaycen: If you follow all of the Blaze‘s stories you’ll see the inconsistencies. They support and encourage some uprisings like in Iran or maybe Syria, the two nations which oppose US and Israeli hegemony in the Middle East the loudest while downplaying the protest and even supporting Mubarek in Egypt or this one in the Bahrain which is home to a large US Navy base…
I don‘t know about Egyptians but yes we’d be better off with Mubarek in office vs the Muslim Brotherhood. It‘s just different forms of tyranny but it’s not our place to choose for them.
Bottom line is I believe we should stay out of the affairs of the Middle East and the rest of the World. Maybe if we had some financial reserves we could act as a protectorate of N and S America – Monroe Doctrine anyone?? lol But let’s not wage war in the name of democracry while we are broke please?
You are right in that the Neo-Con is left leaning but I would not go as far as saying that they are anti Communist. I see them more as Zionist and Corporatist or NWO types. The US Constitution doesn’t mean a damn thing to them.. They would subject us to an International body in a nanosec. I like to always put McCain, Lindsey Graham, Lugar, Lieberman, GWB.. Many others and almost all Democrats. There may be 4 or 5 Dem Senators I’d trust with our Sovereignty. Probably 25-30 Republicans.
Report Post »avenger
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 4:07pmwake up people….they do not play games there..screw up and you die !
Report Post »UPSETVET
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 6:04amBahrain ? Yea, I think I’ve heard of that place, somewhere. I think it’s a street in Dearborn Michigan, you know, “Little Islamabad”. Ha I’m just kidding. The ONLY importance of Bahrain to the USA is the US Navy‘s Fifth Fleet that’s based there. Of course it’s also a strategic location in the Gulf where a large percentage of our imported petroleum must pass. Navy and oil, that’s about it.
Report Post »Oh sure, the government of Bahrain is friendly towards the USA since it doesn‘t have any oil reserves and heavily depends upon our military facilities for income and the millions of dollars annually we pour into that country so it’ll remain FRIENDLY to America. With friends like these, who needs enemies ?