Bahrain's 'Coalition for a Republic' Responds

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Mar 15, 2011 Bahrain
[GCC Peninsula Shield Forces entering Bahrain. Image from aljazeera.net] [GCC Peninsula Shield Forces entering Bahrain. Image from aljazeera.net]

Bahrain's "Coalition for a Republic" Responds

By : Jadaliyya Reports

[The following statement was issued by the Bahraini Coalition for a Republic on March 14, 2011. Both English and Arabic versions of the statement have been circulated together. For more information on the Coalition, see our reports on their formation`s announcement as well as their first statement.]

The position of the "Coalition for a Republic" on recent events in Bahrain

This statement will discuss the Coalition’s Position on:

  • Dialogue with the regime,
  • the invasion Saudi Arabia,
  • armed government militia,
  • the American role,
  • the responsibility of the international community,
  • general labor strikes and acts of civil disobedience

 

In the name of God the most merciful

In recent days, and one month after the start of the revolution, Bahrain has witnessed a series of developments related to the popular revolution which started on the 14th of February 2011. The people, in very large numbers and with great bravery, have responded and taken part in the events called to by the youth groups of Feb14. Despite unprecedented intimidation, threats and obstacles hundreds of thousands of people joined the march to the Royal Court on Friday and to the Safriya palace on Saturday. Both marches shared a very clear and unified demand of bringing down the regime, and both proved to be peaceful despite vicious attacks carried out by the security forces in cooperation with government thugs after the end of the march to the royal court which caused injuries to hundreds of protesters. A call by the Workers Union and the opposition for general strike on Sunday was respected by 80% of students and workers in all parts of Bahrain, which came at the same time as escalated acts of peaceful civil disobedience for example the blocking of some main streets in the capital, Manama. Bahrain has been living, since the beginning of the week, in a state of paralysis in most government and private sectors.

On the other hand, the last few days have seen a serious escalation in the violent attacks by armed government thugs against school and university students in the University of Bahrain who raided the campus alongside security forces, and against peaceful neighborhoods in villages and in the capital Manama, which led to many injuries from sharp objects like swords, knives and sticks.  On Sunday, a big number of security forces and government thugs attacked the peaceful protesters at Bahrain Financial Harbour and then headed towards Martyrs Sqaure (aka Pearl Roundabout), and they surrounded the roundabout from three sides preparing to attack. However, thousands of Bahrainis marched to the square, which led to the retreat of the security forces and government thugs but only after causing hundreds of injuries amongst the peaceful protesters. The protesters succeeded in lifting the siege on Martyrs Square, and they returned to their sit-in protest on martyrs square, Bahrain Financial harbor and the roads leading to it.

The Coalition for a Republic has been following the statements by the regime yesterday on the principles and themes of dialogue which has been called by opposition parties and the popular movement, and also the regimes request for military help from some GCC countries, which started arriving to Bahrain today.

The Coalition reiterates the principles in the statement made on March 7th 2011, in particular the call for the fall of the regime and its replacement with a democratic republic, and that it will cooperate with the popular movement, the youth of Feb14 and all other groups who believe in this justified popular revolutionary goal which is to be reached through peaceful means through the use of civil resistance and civil disobedience.

The alliance announces the following:

1. What the regime has announced so far in the name of dialogue is nothing but empty declarations in a desperate attempt to respond to protract and stall the revolution. Ironically, this attempt coincides with the regimes escalation of suppression and use of armed government thugs against peaceful citizens, including women and children, and the use of foreign military forces to engage governments of neighboring countries in the losing battle to keep their thrones propping oppressive monarchies. Thus, the false call for dialogue using empty rhetoric does not change the reality of the matter and will not tempt any of the people and the opposition parties to abandon the people`s demands for real and complete change.

2. The involvement of military forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries to contribute in the suppression of a peaceful and popular revolution, is an interference in the internal affairs of Bahrain, and has no legal justification, as the military defense agreements for the GCC is to repel external aggression and not to suppress the peoples of these countries who demand freedom and democracy. This contradicts with the philosophy of the Council which is based on cooperation between the peoples of the GCC countries and not on fueling sectarianism, which invites the interference of other forces in the region. Therefore, any presence of GCC military forces in Bahrain is an illegal occupation which aims to suppress the will of the people, and troops should be withdrawn immediately. It is worth noting that experience has shown that the security and military options will not succeed in breaking the will of the people in Bahrain or in ending their peaceful revolution.

3, The government holds complete responsibility of the horrific crimes committed by the armed government thugs rampaging and reigning terror from East to West of Bahrain by using swords, knives, guns and rifles and other sharp objects, and which have resulted in tens of serious injuries. These severe violations of human rights will be among the crimes that this government will be prosecuted for. The use of government thugs has not convinced anyone that there are sectarian clashes as the regime intended to show, it also did not provoke people into abandoning their peaceful movement which has so far made them victorious over military and security forces and will also, god-willing, make them victorious over government thugs. We have seen how the attacks of these thugs has lead to an initiative of forming popular committees and safety patrols in different areas and villages across the country to protect the peaceful population, while being peaceful and civilized, as is now the trademark of this revolution and its revolutionaries, this is an important step towards the collapse of the regime and the transfer of power to the people.

4. These latest developments, from acts of repression in recent days as well as foreign military intervention, coincided with the visit of U.S. Secretary of Defense to Bahrain, Robert Gates. This raises many questions about America’s role in the current situation and makes it a partner in what is going on from violations of human rights to denying the Bahraini people their legitimate right to democracy and freedom. This cannot be in the interest of the American administration and the consolidation of relations and common interests between the peoples of the region and the United States.

5. The Alliance for the Republic demands that the United Nations, the international community and international organizations assume their responsibility in monitoring what is happening in Bahrain, and supporting the peaceful popular movement and its rightful demands. Futhermore, all measures must be taken to record and document the violations of the regime, the intended absence of law and order, and the legality of the Saudi invasion of Bahrain. The international community must condemn in clear language the actions of this regime, and they must send fact-finding missions to investigate what is happening on the ground and the truth.

6. The Coalition supports the popular and open strike by students, workers and professionals. Moreover, the Coalition supports acts of organized and peaceful civil disobedience announced by feb14 youth groups. These strikes and acts of civil disobedience are the way to achieve major demands which the people have sacrificed for.

God bless our martyrs and lead us to a victory against oppressors.

Issued by: The Coalition for a Republic

Date: 14th March 2011


Official Spokesman: Abdulwahab Hussain

Media Spokesman: Hasan Mushaimi 39664088

 


بيان التطورات
موقف "التحالف من أجل الجمهورية" من تطورات الأحداث الاخيرة في البحرين
الموقف من : "الحوار"، والغزو السعودي، وبلطجة النظام، والدور الأميركي، والمسؤولية الدولية، والاضرابات العمالية وأعمال العصيان المدني

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
والصلاة والسلام على سيدنا ونبينا محمد وأهل بيته الطيبين الطاهرين وأصحابه المنتجبي


شهدت البحرين في الايام الاخيرة وبعد مرور شهر كامل على إنطلاقة الثورة المباركة جملة تطورات نوعية تتعلق بمسار الثورة الشعبية التي انطلقت في 14 فبراير 2011م، فقد تجاوب الشعب باعداد هائلة وبشجاعة منقطعة النظير مع دعوة مجموعات شباب 14 فبراير إلى الزحف نحو الديوان الملكي في يوم الجمعة ونحو قصر الصافرية في يوم السبت الماضيين رغم الترويع والتهديدات غير المسبوقة والمعوقات الكثيرة، وكان شعاره موحدا وواضحا وهو المطالبة باسقاط النظام، واثبت مجددا نهجه السلمي برغم الاعتداء الآثم الذي قامت به قوات الامن بالتعاون مع الميليشيات المسلحة (بلطجية النظام الحاكم) بعد انفضاض مسيرة الديوان الملكي مما ادى الى اصابة مئات المواطنين، كما بدأ منذ يوم الاحد الاضراب عن الدراسة والعمل في جميع انحاء البحرين، وتزامن ذلك مع تصعيد اعمال العصيان المدني السلمية ومنها قطع بعض الشوارع الرئيسية في العاصمة المنامة، وتعيش البحرين منذ بداية الاسبوع حالة من الشلل في معظم المرافق الحكومية والخاصة .



في المقابل شهدت الايام الاخيرة تصاعدا خطيرا في الهجمات الآثمة لميلشيات النظام (البلطجية) ضد الطلبة والطالبات في المدارس وجامعة البحرين وضد السكان الآمنين في احياء العاصمة المنامة وبعض القرى، مما ادى الى العشرات من الاصابات بالادوات الحادة ومنها السيوف والسكاكين والعصي . وفي يوم الاحد قامت اعداد ضخمة من قوات الأمن المصحوبة بالمليشيات بمهاجمة المعتصمين بساحة المرفأ المالي ثم اتجهت الى ميدان الشهداء (دوار اللؤلؤة) حيث حاصرته من ثلاث جهات تمهيدا لاقتحامه، الا ان زحف عشرات الآلاف من ابناء الشعب نحو الميدان ادى الى هروب القوات الامنية والميليشيات بعد ان اوقعت المئات من المصابين بين المحتجين المسالمين، ونجح الثوار في فك الحصار عن ميدان الشهداء واعاد ابناء الثورة تواجدهم السلمي في المرفأ المالي والشوارع المؤدي اليه

.

وقد تابع "التحالف من اجل الجمهورية" ما اعلن عنه النظام الحاكم امس الاحد بشأن مبادئ ومواضيع الحوار الذي ما فتأ يدعو اليه اطراف المعارضة والتحرك الشعبي، وكذلك لجوء النظام لطلب المساعدة العسكرية من بعض دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي، والتي بدأت اليوم في الوصول الى البحرين



ان "التحالف من اجل الجمهورية" اذ يؤكد على جميع ما أعلنه في بيانه الأول بتاريخ 7 مارس 2011، وخصوصا بشأن تبنى خيار إسقاط النظام القائم في البحرين وإقامة نظام جمهوري ديمقراطي، وبأنه يعمل مع جماهير أبناء الشعب الأحرار ومجموعات ثورة (14/ فبراير) وكل القوى الاخرى المؤمنة بهذا الخيار الثوري الشعبي المشروع لانجازه بإرادة شعبية وبالأساليب السلمية الثورية ضمن منهج المقاومة المدنية والعصيان المدني، فان التحالف يعلن التالي



أولا : ان ما اعلنه نظام الحكم حتى الآن باسم الحوار لا يعدو اعلانات فارغة وغير جدية ومحاولات يائسة للالتفاف على مطالب الشعب الاساسية، والمثير للسخرية انها تتزامن مع تصعيده للقمع الامني واستخدام المليشيات المسلحة ضد المواطنين الآمنين والنساء والاطفال، والاستعانة بقوات عسكرية خارجية لتوريط حكومات بلدان مجاورة في معركته الخاسرة للاحتفاظ بكرسي الحكم في المملكة الاستبدادية، وبالتالي فان تزويق الدعوة للحوار ببعض العبارات او المطالب لن يغير من واقع الحال شيئا ولن يغري اي من اطراف الشعب والمعارضة للتخلي عن مطالب الشعب في التغيير الحقيقي الشامل



ثانيا : ان تدخل قوات عسكرية من المملكة العربية السعودية ودول مجاورة للمساهمة في قمع الثورة الشعبية السلمية في البحرين، هو تدخل في الشؤون الداخلية للبحرين، وليس له اي مبرر قانوني حيث ان اتفاقيات الدفاع العسكرى لمجلس التعاون هي لصد العدوان الخارجي وليس لقمع شعوب هذه الدول المطالبة بالحرية والديمقراطية، وهذا يخالف فلسفة المجلس القائمة على التعاون بين شعوب دول المجلس وليس اذكاء الفتن الطائفية، وهي دعوة لتدخل قوى اخرى في المنطقة، وبناء على ذلك فان اي تواجد لقوى عسكرية خليجية في البحرين هو بمثابة احتلال غير شرعي يهدف إلى قهر ارادة الشعب، ولابد من سحبه فورا، وقد ثبت بالتجربة مع الثورة في البحرين بأن الخيار الامني والعسكري لن ينجح في كسر ارادة الشعب وتغيير نهجهم السلمي 



ثالثا : ان نظام الحكم يتحمل كامل المسؤلية بشأن الاعمال الشنيعة التي تقوم بها المليشيات المسلحة بالسيوف والسكاكين والادوات الحادة (البلطجية) والتي خلفت حتى الآن العشرات من الاصابات الخطيرة، وان هذه من الخروقات البليغة لحقوق الانسان ستكون من ضمن الجرائم التي سيتم ملاحقة المسؤولين في النظام عليها، علما بان استخدام هذه المليشيات لم يقنع حتى الآن اي احد بوجود صدامات طائفية كما كان يريد ان يوحي النظام، كما انها لن تستفز ابناء الشعب والثورة للتخلي عن سلمية تحركهم التي انتصروا بها حتى الآن على قوات النظام العسكرية والامنية وسوف ينتصرون بها باذن الله على الميليشيات البلطجية، وقد راينا كيف ان استخدام النظام لتلك الميليشيات قد ادى الى مبادرة المناطق والقرى في انحاء البلاد الى تشكيل اللجان الشعبية لحماية السكان الآمنين مع احتفاظهم التام بنهجهم السلمي ومظهرهم الحضاري المشرف للثورة والثوار، وهي خطوة مهمة في طريق انهيار النظام وانتقال السلطة الى الشعب 



رابعا : ان ما حدث من اعمال القمع خلال الايام الاخيرة وكذلك التدخل العسكري الخارجي، جاء متزامنا مع زيارة وزير الدفاع الاميركي الى البحرين يوم الجمعة أو لاحقا لها، مما يطرح العديد من علامات الاستفهام على الدور الاميركي، ويجعله شريكا في ما يحدث من انتهاكات لحقوق الانسان وفي حرمان الشعب البحريني من حقوقه المشروعة في الديمقراطية والحرية، وذلك لا يمكن ان يكون في مصلحة الإدارة الأمريكية وتوطيد العلاقات والمصالح المشتركة بين شعوب المنطقة والولايات المتحدة الاميركية 



خامسا : ان "التحالف من اجل الجمهورية" يطالب الامم المتحدة والمجتمع الدولي والمنظمات الدولية ان تتحمل مسؤوليتها في مراقبة ما حدث ويحدث في البحرين، ومساندة حركة الشعب السلمية ومطالبه العادلة، واتخاذ كافة الاجراءات لكشف وتوثيق ما يجري واتخاذ اجراءات فعالة لوقف الانتهاكات التي يقوم بها النظام، ومن ذلك التحدث بلغة واضحة وصريحة مع نظام الحكم، وارسال بعثات تقصي الحقائق لما يجري على الارض 



سادسا : يساند "التحالف من اجل الجمهورية" الاضراب الشامل والمفتوح الذي يقوم به الطلبة والعمال والموظفين واصحاب المهن، كما يؤيد على الفعاليات واعمال العصيان المدني السلمية المنظمة التي تعلن عنها مجموعات شباب 14 فبراير، باعتبار ان استمرار تلك الاضرابات والفعاليات هي الطريق الى تحقيق المطالب الكبرى وحفظ دماء الشهداء وتضحيات المواطنين . 

اللهم ارحم شهداءنا الابرار، وانعم علينا بالنصر القريب



صادر عن : التحالف من أجل الجمهورية


بتاريخ : 19 / ربيع الأول / 1432هج


الموافق : 14 / مارس ـ آذار / 2011م

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Feb 16, 2011 Lebanon
Jadaliyya Reports By :
Jadaliyya Reports

Past is Present: Settler Colonialism Matters!

On 5-6 March 2011, the Palestine Society at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London will hold its seventh annual conference, "Past is Present: Settler Colonialism in Palestine." This year`s conference aims to understand Zionism as a settler colonial project which has, for more than a century, subjected Palestine and Palestinians to a structural and violent form of destruction, dispossession, land appropriation and erasure in the pursuit of a new Jewish Israeli society. By organizing this conference, we hope to reclaim and revive the settler colonial paradigm and to outline its potential to inform and guide political strategy and mobilization.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is often described as unique and exceptional with little resemblance to other historical or ongoing colonial conflicts. Yet, for Zionism, like other settler colonial projects such as the British colonization of Ireland or European settlement of North America, South Africa or Australia, the imperative is to control the land and its resources -- and to displace the original inhabitants. Indeed, as conference keynote speaker Patrick Wolfe, one of the foremost scholars on settler colonialism and professor at La Trobe University in Victoria, Australia, argues, "the logic of this project, a sustained institutional tendency to eliminate the Indigenous population, informs a range of historical practices that might otherwise appear distinct--invasion is a structure not an event."[i]

Therefore, the classification of the Zionist movement as a settler colonial project, and the Israeli state as its manifestation, is not merely intended as a statement on the historical origins of Israel, nor as a rhetorical or polemical device. Rather, the aim is to highlight Zionism`s structural continuities and the ideology which informs Israeli policies and practices in Palestine and toward Palestinians everywhere. Thus, the Nakba -- whether viewed as a spontaneous, violent episode in war, or the implementation of a preconceived master plan -- should be understood as both the precondition for the creation of Israel and the logical outcome of Zionist settlement in Palestine.

Moreover, it is this same logic that sustains the continuation of the Nakba today. As remarked by Benny Morris, “had he [David Ben Gurion] carried out full expulsion--rather than partial--he would have stabilised the State of Israel for generations.”[ii] Yet, plagued by an “instability”--defined by the very existence of the Palestinian nation--Israel continues its daily state practices in its quest to fulfill Zionism’s logic to maximize the amount of land under its control with the minimum number of Palestinians on it. These practices take a painful array of manifestations: aerial and maritime bombardment, massacre and invasion, house demolitions, land theft, identity card confiscation, racist laws and loyalty tests, the wall, the siege on Gaza, cultural appropriation, and the dependence on willing (or unwilling) native collaboration and security arrangements, all with the continued support and backing of imperial power. 

Despite these enduring practices however, the settler colonial paradigm has largely fallen into disuse. As a paradigm, it once served as a primary ideological and political framework for all Palestinian political factions and trends, and informed the intellectual work of committed academics and revolutionary scholars, both Palestinians and Jews.

The conference thus asks where and why the settler colonial paradigm was lost, both in scholarship on Palestine and in politics; how do current analyses and theoretical trends that have arisen in its place address present and historical realities? While acknowledging the creativity of these new interpretations, we must nonetheless ask: when exactly did Palestinian natives find themselves in a "post-colonial" condition? When did the ongoing struggle over land become a "post-conflict" situation? When did Israel become a "post-Zionist" society? And when did the fortification of Palestinian ghettos and reservations become "state-building"?

In outlining settler colonialism as a central paradigm from which to understand Palestine, this conference re-invigorates it as a tool by which to analyze the present situation. In doing so, it contests solutions which accommodate Zionism, and more significantly, builds settler colonialism as a political analysis that can embolden and inform a strategy of active, mutual, and principled Palestinian alignment with the Arab struggle for self-determination, and indigenous struggles in the US, Latin America, Oceania, and elsewhere.

Such an alignment would expand the tools available to Palestinians and their solidarity movement, and reconnect the struggle to its own history of anti-colonial internationalism. At its core, this internationalism asserts that the Palestinian struggle against Zionist settler colonialism can only be won when it is embedded within, and empowered by, the broader Arab movement for emancipation and the indigenous, anti-racist and anti-colonial movement--from Arizona to Auckland.

SOAS Palestine Society invites everyone to join us at what promises to be a significant intervention in Palestine activism and scholarship.

For over 30 years, SOAS Palestine Society has heightened awareness and understanding of the Palestinian people, their rights, culture, and struggle for self-determination, amongst students, faculty, staff, and the broader public. SOAS Palestine society aims to continuously push the frontiers of discourse in an effort to make provocative arguments and to stimulate debate and organizing for justice in Palestine through relevant conferences, and events ranging from the intellectual and political impact of Edward Said`s life and work (2004), international law and the Palestine question (2005), the economy of Palestine and its occupation (2006), the one state (2007), 60 Years of Nakba, 60 Years of Resistance (2009), and most recently, the Left in Palestine (2010).

For more information on the SOAS Palestine Society 7th annual conference, Past is Present: Settler Colonialism in Palestine: www.soaspalsoc.org

SOAS Palestine Society Organizing Collective is a group of committed students that has undertaken to organize annual academic conferences on Palestine since 2003.

 

[i] Patrick Wolfe, Settler Colonialism and the Transformation of Anthropology: The Politics and Poetics of an Ethnographic Event, Cassell, London, p. 163

[ii] Interview with Benny Morris, Survival of the Fittest, Haaretz, 9. January 2004, http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/art.php?aid=5412