By John Ballard
Breaking story this morning is from Bahrain. Overnight protesters there were savagely attacked by government forces and this morning's reports are an unbelievable expression of stupidity on the part of yet another autocratic regime failing to smell the coffee. And yes, it's also an American ally.
As I went to bed last night the last link I watched for a while was a webcam shot of the Pearl Roundabout in Bahrain where that country's anti-government protests were focused. The audio, what there was of it, was in another language and the camera panned back and forth at what seemed to be a 180 degree sweep. The link is now down, of course, but last night through Internet magic I felt like I was there. The scene was remarkably peaceful, the place was free of trash and I was struck by the lack of signs and animated movement. Tents were in place and people were standing around talking and some seemed to be lying down sleeping as though they were camping. It looked like tables were set up at one location with reading materials, and one tweet said donated food was being delivered to the crowd. Compared with scenes from Egypt and Tunisia this looked more like an arts festival or community fair than a political protest. I've seen crowds more animated at outdoor concerts.
Theis morning story is brutally different. We will have to wait for more details, but Al Jazeera is starting to report more than most people can stand. The reports and images are shocking. Apparently Nicholas Kristoff is there. Here are his Twitter messages from Tuesday and yesterday. The last is from twenty hours ago at this writing.
#Bahrain police kill a man this morning at a funeral for someone killed yesterday. Looking wobbly? http://bit.ly/flWezS
I just arrived Bahrain. Big protests, 2 dead, roads closed (had to walk to my hotel), internet turned v slow.
I'm on Pearl Square in Bahrain. Thousands here, demanding democracy. Many want the king out.
#Bahrain 's Pearl Sq looks like Tahrir Square all over again. Police gathered in force but standing back for now.
Here in #Bahrain, newspaper lede headline is: "His Majesty's Speech Hailed." Dictators always overdo it.
At hospital in #Bahrain: funeral beginning for protester killed yesterday. Large, angry crowd. Police holding back.
Large numbers of women protesting here in #Bahrain. They're chanting things like: Down with the regime!
Amazing that a banking ctr like #Bahrain blocks Internet to suppress protests. Never thought I'd use a sat phone here.
I'm tweeting on a satellite phone. Some Bahrainis have very slow access to Inernet. My hotel has none at all.
Some people here in #Bahrain have Internet, albeit slow. The Sheraton has none. Govt denies it has slowed it down. I'm on sat phone.
Just interviewed the foreign minister here in #Bahrain. He acknowledges that killing protesters was catastrophic.
But he notes that police have pulled back. He says reform will continue, and says Bahrain shld be judged by standards of neighborhood.
I asked him if he isn't foreign minister because he's a Khalifa. He said future foreign ministers won't always be Khalifas.
Meanwhile, my taxi driver over to foreign ministry said: We are slaves! People no longer want a paternalistic system.
@awa9999 [Bahrain News tag] Clashes right now?
Bahrain is in some ways a wonderful oasis in the Gulf of moderation. But it's no democracy--and that's what people want.
@awa9999 I'm in sanad. Where are clashes?
Rushed to village here in Bahrain where clashes taking place; wore my tear-gas-quick-escape running shoes. But all quiet.
People singing, chanting, dancing around Pearl Roundabout in #Bahrain well into the night. Trucks delivering donated food
There's even installation art: a fake dead person impaled by the government. But #Bahrain feels celebratory, not macabre
A troubling note: Protesters in #Bahrain are overwhelmingly Shia.There are unhappy Sunnis, but they're not on the street.
NYT Video - @NickKristof at the scene of a protest in Bahrain - http://nyti.ms/dY2qN2
A member of #Bahrain royal family is tweeting warnings of "the dark side of full democracies." Shades of King George III.
#Bahrain Sheraton still has no Internet at all. Zilch. Hotel blames the government. Funny way to run a banking center.
[Retweet] Screen shot of an Internet speed test in Bahrain. via @JTheIslander http://post.ly/1dAtE #bahrain #feb14 #internet
Why slow the Internet? The #Bahrain govt view seems to be that if it isn't uploaded on YouTube, it hasn't happened.
It's unbelievable that House Republicans are pushing a vote to eliminate family planning $. They're a great investment.
Love that last tweet. He's catching upon news from Washington as he gets ready for a bit of sleep. That string of tweets ended 14 hours ago. But these messages beginning 8 hours ago tell a very different story.
Huge huge huge pro-democracy crowd here at Pearl Roundabout in #Bahrain. Reminds me so much of Tahrir 3 weeks ago.
#Bahrain Govt attacks thousands of peaceful protesters with lethal violence, clears Pearl Roundabout. Simple brutality.
King Hamad of #Bahrain claimed he regretted violence, then unleashed it on sleeping protesters. He disgraced himself.
King Hamad of #Bahrain will never regain credibility after attacking peaceful protesters as they slept. Blood is forever on his hands.
[Retweet ] This regime is using its military against it's own people, does the world hear our cries? #bahrain #feb14 #lulu
[Retweet]seen the image of the martyr who was EXECUTED with a shot direct to the head. it shocked me to the core. #lulu #Bahrain #Feb14
[Retweet] Journalist Nazeeha Saeed : I have seen a protester being shot to the head in front of me. #bahrain #feb14
#Bahrain barring journalists from entry at airport. King Hamad doesn't want witnesses to his brutality.
But those of us journalists already in #Bahrain WILL bear witness!
Many in #Bahrain outraged that the king used mercenaries--Pakistani, Indian, Syrian riot police--to attack Bahrainis.
At hospital in #Bahrain. 600 brought here w/ injuries as of 8 am, more since. Beatings, shotgun pellets, rubber bullets.
Nurse told me she saw handcuffed prisoner beaten by police, then executed with gun.
Abt 10 ambulance paramedics attacked by #Bahrain police. I interviewed them, saw their injuries.
#Bahrain govt has ordered ambulances to stop going out, hospital says.
Hospital blood supplies holding up because volunteer doors pouring in.
1 #Bahrain ambulance driver told me #Saudi army officer held gun to his head, said wld kill him if helped injured.
Witnesses say #Bahrain police cursed Shia as they attacked peaceful demonstrators. I haven't found 1 Sunni victim.
Crowd growing at main #Bahrain hospital, chanting slogans against royal family. Will govt attack them here?
n morgue, I spoke to brother of 22 year old killed by police shotgun blast. He says King Hamad must step down.
That last message was sent twenty minutes ago. I will now leave blogging and return to Twitter. Here are two links with shocking images from Bahrain which I chose not to capture for this blog.
?SHOCKING IMAGE of a little girl who was causing traffic issues #Bahrain #feb14 http://yfrog.com/h2lcbpfj rest in peace my baby @moi_bahrain
?GabyVerdier Gabrielle Verdier RT @danmike1: be warned ... graphic! RT @Nabeelrajab: picture from today http://goo.gl/BivvW #bahrain #feb14
?Be warned. This is even worse... Same subject, different picture and angle.
When you hear reporters and talking heads discussing the importance of
Bahrain to US "interests" remember this post and these images.
?You Tube video link. JapaneseTwitter source. The world is watching.
?Kristof comment....As a reporter, some things just break your heart. Like watching the govt of moderate, tolerant #Bahrain kill its people.
?Vali Nasr comment...#Bahrain protest is ultimately existential threat to Sunni monarchy and minority rule. Regime will react much more harshly than Mubarak.
?Impressions are more powerful than facts. "I doubt that Bahrini regime did this without USA Green light #Feb14 #lulu #Bahrain" [Lulu is the name of a square in Bahrain. Hashtag #lulu is another tag for events in Bahrain.}
Reality is of no consequence.
Q. What is the best predictor of past behavior?
A. Past behavior.
?Missing persons...60 persons are missing and no one knows where they are at the present moment #lulu #Bahrain #Feb17 Frightening thought...Still No news on missing protestors!dont want to even think of the possibility of... reports of refrigerated trucks @ #Lulu #Bahrain #Feb14
Reading last night�s reports from Bahrain, what was striking was how incredibly polite and civil the whole protest scene was � reports said that while the initial demands were simply reforms, the mood was shifting to ousting the king after the deaths on the 14th.
ReplyDeleteThis news is so sad � from one of the twitter feeds I follow: