Bahrain Bleeds: Royals Shoot Kill (Video)
BAHRAIN is on the brink. The Saudi Arabian military and police from the Emirates have moved in to quell protests. But what is the fighting about? Is it about religion – Sunni v Shia? Or is it about power? What says the media?
I wrote a few weeks ago about a distinguished plastic surgeon, Sadiq al-Ekri, who had been bludgeoned by security forces. At the time, I couldn’t interview Dr. Ekri because he was unconscious. But I later returned and was able to talk to him, and his story offers a glimpse into Bahrain’s tragedy.
Dr. Ekri is a moderate Shiite who said his best friend is a Sunni. Indeed, Dr. Ekri recently took several weeks off work to escort this friend to Houston for medical treatment. When Bahrain’s security forces attacked protesters, Dr. Ekri tried to help the injured. He said he was trying to rescue a baby abandoned in the melee when police handcuffed him. Even after they knew his identity, he said they clubbed him so hard that they broke his nose. Then, he said, they pulled down his pants and threatened to rape him — all while cursing Shiites.
Or as Adrian Hamilton tell Indy readers:
To put the Bahraini demonstrations in Muslim terms is simply a diversion from the real problem, which is that a major part of the population has had it up to the neck with a corrupt and self-serving regime which has garnered the wealth of the island to a small group of royal rich and left the majority excluded. As Ibrahim Shareef, leader of the largest non-religious party in the country, the opposition Waad, put it succinctly this week: “This is not about the Shia versus Sunni; it is about conserving the status quo.”
Whoever is right, the violence cannot be debated:
See this:
And this:
Posted: 17th, March 2011 | In: Reviews Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
