26th Nov, 2013 –
At around 600 pages, few people can claim to have read the whole report by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, overseen by international judge Cherif Bassiouni and issued on 23 November 2011. Below, we highlight a few of the interesting passages and themes which may have been missed, amidst all the political grandstanding from both sides and the gross oversimplifications of Bassiouni’s conclusions.
Roundabout clearance
The report documents the efforts to clear the Pearl Roundabout area during mid-February; and records that although this was arguably the most confrontational event, three of the four people who died were killed by police acting in “self defence”. A useful parallel can be drawn with Egypt where hundreds of protesters were killed by police clearing public areas, following the removal of President Morsi.
Thursday, 17 February 2011: “The operation began with instructions broadcasted for a period of five minutes on a megaphone ordering the demonstrators to leave… Some protesters refused to leave and began resisting and assaulting the police, using stones, rocks, metal rods, swords, and other sharp objects. Reports also indicate that a number of protestors attempted to run over police officers with their cars. The police responded by firing tear gas, rubber bullets and shotgun rounds. The operation lasted 20-30 minutes, after which all protesters had been evacuated…
“It was subsequently discovered that police had fatally shot the following three individuals: Mr Mahmood Maki Ahmed Abutaki; Mr Ali Mansoor Ahmed Ahmed Khudair; and Mr Ali Ahmed Abdulla Ahmed. They had all sustained fatal wounds caused by shotgun pellets fired at close range. According to MoI reports and investigations, these three victims had been among those who refused to evacuate the GCC Roundabout and participated, in conjunction with others, in assaulting police who were then compelled to fire shotgun rounds at them in self-defence… 47 police were wounded, some severely.
“Post-operation searches of the roundabout found four pistols and bullets as well as large quantities of knives, daggers, swords and other sharp objects in the area. While there were no reports of police sustaining gunshot wounds, many were injured by sharp objects similar to those found at the roundabout. Some police officers sustained wounds when protestors attempted to run them over with their vehicles.”
A Bahraini republic?
The report documents how, from a very early stage, the more radical wings of the opposition were already agitating to use “civil disobedience” to forcibly remove the monarchy:
7 March: “The most important development of the day, however, was the announcement by a group of opposition political groups of the establishment of a coalition for the founding of a republic in Bahrain. The leader of the Haq movement, Mr. Hassan Meshaima, announced the establishment of this coalition in a speech at the GCC Roundabout, during which he highlighted the following points:
“The Haq, Wafa’a and Free Bahraini Movements have established “The Coalition for the Republic”, which endeavors to topple the monarchy in Bahrain and establish a republic. This has become necessary in light of the “oppressive and corrupt” rule of the Al Khalifa family…”
Collapse of law and order during March 2011
Few people outside Bahrain appreciate the rapid and sharp decline in security around March 14 and how close Bahrain came to complete civil disorder and sectarian war. In the days after, the state of National Safety was declared, order was rapidly restored. We cite a few examples below from the BICI report to give a flavor of how terrifying the situation appeared to ordinary citizens:
13 March: “Groups of vandals and gangs of individuals armed with knives, swords and other weapons were reported in many of Bahrain’s cities and villages. A number of assaults against expatriate workers were also recorded, as well as several attacks against police officers. Fearing for their lives and property, more citizens organised checkpoints to monitor activity and traffic in their neighbourhoods. Groups of unidentified individuals carrying light weapons of various types, such as knives, swords, metal rods and wooden planks, were reported… A large gathering of persons near Roundabout 5 set up a checkpoint and reportedly attacked and assaulted passers-by who they thought were Sunni… gangs of armed individuals prevented government and private sector employees from entering their workplaces…”
“A number of cases of assault against unarmed police were recorded. Among these was an attack at 10:00 by approximately 10 individuals on a police officer in Motanaby Street in the vicinity of the NSA headquarters. A similar incident was reported at the same time when unidentified individuals attacked a police officer on patrol in the Salmaniya district. The victims of both these attacks were hospitalised. At 16:28, a police patrol reported being attacked in Sahla by a group of individuals armed with knives and swords… a number of police officers and employees of security agencies reported that their homes had been the target of attacks and incidents of vandalism..”.
14 March: “The crippling of traffic in Manama due to the blocking of the King Faisal Highway, the presence of gangs of armed vandals throughout Bahrain, the inability and, according to some claims, the unwillingness of the police to impose order and confront these armed groups, and the targeting of expatriate workers, inevitably led to a sense of complete loss of security in the country. Residents in many neighbourhoods, including those of mixed composition and those having either Shia or Sunni majorities, were compelled to fend for themselves and organise committees to maintain security. This led Bahrainis and foreign residents to feel that the Government of Bahrain was no longer capable of ensuring their safety and that Bahrain was on the verge of a total breakdown of law and order…”
Clashes at Bahrain University
Numerous accounts exist concerning what occurred during violent events at Bahrain University, making the BICI’s account particularly interesting:
13 March: “…demonstrators entered a number of colleges… where they called for the removal of the King… At this point, clashes began to occur between pro-government and pro-opposition students at a number of colleges and at the central library. Knives, swords, wooden planks, rocks and other objects were used during these confrontations…
“According to pro-government reports, unidentified individuals were transported from various parts of Bahrain, including the GCC Roundabout, to assist the pro-opposition students. It was claimed that those persons stormed the eastern entrance of the university and attacked university security personnel. As clashes continued, a number of pro-government students and staff members gathered in the English Language Centre (Building S-20) to seek refuge. It was alleged that pro-opposition demonstrators then surrounded the building and began to break its windows and doors. This compelled the students to move to the second floor of the building to avoid injury. Thereafter, reports indicated that the demonstrating students set fire to a classroom on the ground floor to compel the students on the second floor to leave the building…”
Incidents at Salmaniya Hospital
Bahrain faced criticism for a long running legal case against certain medical staff, who were eventually acquitted. However, the BICI severely criticized the involvement of medical personnel in political activity:
Some medical staff “had political ties with the opposition and pursued a political agenda. Among them were some who were seen leading demonstrations and chants against the regime both outside and inside SMC. These persons moved in and out of their roles as political activists and medical personnel.”
“The Commission received video footage showing a Shia cleric calling on young men to control the entrance and exit of SMC (Salmaniya Medical Complex).”
“The occupation and control of the area by protesters hampered general access to the hospital and created a perception of an unsecure environment for those requiring medical care. Some Sunni patients seeking to gain access to SMC for medical treatment were turned away. The involvement of some doctors and medical personnel in various political activities on and around the SMC premises was difficult to reconcile with the full exercise of their medical responsibilities and highly disruptive to the optimum operation of an important medical facility.”
“Medical staff did not attempt to prevent the media from filming inside the Emergency Section and on the ground floor of SMC in general, thus contravening the Code of Ethics in terms of patient confidentiality…The Deputy Chief of Medical Staff stated that “one of the accused doctors was not making any effort to assist victims but was instead running around with an Al Jazeera crew… The next day, this doctor gave a statement that there were countless casualties lying all over the floor at SMC, despite the fact that the total number of people at SMC was actually less than the day before.”
Attacks by protesters against expat workers
A rarely discussed subject, documented in detail by the BICI report, are the attacks against mainly Asian expatriate workers:
“The Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that during the February/March 2011 crises a “group of radicals” brutally attacked expatriate workers, while law and order in Bahrain deteriorated within days. It added that, in fear for their life, around 2,000 Pakistanis living in sensitive areas left their houses… An angry mob locked approximately 40 Pakistanis in Alkuthoot Restaurant and tried to set it on fire.”
“The Commission also received information about a number of incidents in which attacks against expatriates took place in their homes. Late in the evening of 13 March 2001, a group of individuals entered a residential building in Manama that was inhabited mostly by Asian workers. The group began attacking residents, among whom was a Pakistani citizen named Mr. Abdul Malik Gholam Rasul, who was beaten to death. Later Mr. Farid Maqbul was attacked and sustained severe injuries from which he subsequently died. As the night proceeded, more cases of attacks against Asian expatriates were recorded. A Pakistani construction worker and Muezzin suffered serious brain injuries after he was brutally assaulted and had his tongue severely lacerated…
“…One individual stated that on 13 March 2011 protestors broke into his house in Manama and demanded that he show his identification. He alleges that they beat him with a baseball bat, fracturing his arm, and that whilst beating him they told him that Bahrain was only for Bahrainis and not for Asians.
“Al Arabiya news channel aired a video of paramedics, who appeared to join the protesters in hitting injured Indian workers who had been hospitalised. According to Al Arabiya, foreign workers were being assaulted by protesters in order to undermine the national economy.
“The Commission found sufficient evidence to establish that some expatriates, in particular South Asian workers, were the targets of attacks during the events of February/March 2011. The Commission finds that four expatriates were killed by mob attacks during the events and many were injured…”
The role of GCC forces in Bahrain
Counter to popular allegations from the opposition and international observers, Saudi and Peninsula Shield forces were not involved in any skirmishes with the opposition and there is no evidence of human rights violations by GCC forces.
“On 14 March 2011, His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa requested the deployment of GCC Jazeera Shield Forces (GCC-JSF) to assist the Bahraini armed services in the defence of the Kingdom of Bahrain against foreign threats and in securing vital locations in the country
…the missions and tasks assigned to these forces were limited to preparing to assist the BDF in confronting any foreign armed intervention and assisting in protecting and securing certain vital locations, most of which were situated in central and southern Bahrain. The GCC-JSF units were based in BDF facilities that had been vacated by BDF units deployed in the field…
Numerous allegations have been made in the news media and on Internet social media platforms of human rights violations committed by the GCC-JSF units deployed in Bahrain. Some sources claimed that GCC-JSF units participated in the second clearing operation at the GCC Roundabout on 16 March 2011, while other accounts alleged that these forces confronted demonstrators in various areas of Bahrain… The Commission has not found any evidence of human rights violations committed by the GCC-JSF units deployed in Bahrain”.
Iranian interference in Bahrain
Bassiouni’s conclusions about Iranian involvement are rather more nuanced than is often portrayed. For example, less than a month after the report was issued, Bassiouni commented to Al-Hayat newspaper that Iranian interference in Bahrain was “an established fact. Iran is exploiting conditions in Bahrain and the region to its advantage.” http://www.sauress.com/en/alhayaten/334807
“The evidence presented to the Commission by the GoB on the involvement by the Islamic Republic of Iran in the internal affairs of Bahrain does not establish a discernible link between specific incidents that occurred in Bahrain during February and March 2011 and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Given that most of the claims made by the GoB related to allegations of intelligence operations undertaken by Iranian operatives, sources of which, by their nature, are not publicly available, the Commission has not been able to investigate or independently verify these allegations of Iranian involvement in the events of February and March 2011.
“The GoB has indicated to the Commission that it has further information in its possession that demonstrates involvement by the Islamic Republic of Iran in the internal affairs of Bahrain. Due to security and confidentiality considerations, however, the GoB has declined to share this information with the Commission.”