Ban on protests, a response to rising violence, says Bahrain
3 November CNN
Bahrain defended its decision to impose a ban on all public protests,
following calls from rights group Amnesty International to lift it
immediately as a breach of people's right to free speech.Bahrain's
Information Affairs Authority said in a statement that the ban was
needed because "increasing violence has resulted in death and serious
injury to many."
Most recently, two police officers died as a result of attacks with
petrol bombs and a homemade bomb, the IAA said.Since the start of the
year, there have on average been two or more licensed protests a week,
the authority said, many of which expressed views critical of the
government.
"However, all too often these demonstrations devolved into violence
and lawlessness as demonstrators dispersed and youths armed with petrol
bombs and other weapons took their place, launching assaults on public
security officers and civilians," the statement said.
From May to July, there were 91 injuries requiring treatment to
members of the police force, averaging about one a day, it added."The
reality is that one would be hard pressed to find a protest that both
begins and ends peacefully," IAA spokesman Fahad Albinali said. "The
fact of the matter is that there has been an escalation of violence by
some elements of the opposition and those who regularly engage in
riotous activity.
"Violent clashes have broken out between security forces and
opposition protesters on numerous occasions since protests began in the
Persian Gulf kingdom in February 2011, spurred by uprisings in Tunisia
and Egypt.
But Amnesty International warned that a ban on all public gatherings
was unwarranted and amounted to a drastic crackdown on people's
freedoms.
Read more: Bahraini police, protesters clash after funeral
"Even in the event of sporadic or isolated violence once an assembly
is under way, the authorities cannot simply declare a blanket
prohibition on all protests," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy
director for Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa program "Such a
sweeping measure amounts to nothing less than nullifying the rights to
freedom of association, expression and assembly. Law enforcement
officials must act to protect peaceful protesters rather than using the
violent acts of a few as a pretext to restrict or impede the rights of
all."
The Interior Ministry's announcement of the ban Tuesday pointed the
finger at opposition political groups, headed by Al Wefaq, as being
behind ongoing protests.
The ministry said the protests were a continuation of those held in
February and March of last year that it said called for the overthrow of
leading figures and the state.The government had sought to protect
freedom of expression, but "that privilege has been abused repeatedly by
organizers' violations" and people's lack of respect for the law,
Interior Minister Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa is quoted as
saying Tuesday by the state-run Bahrain News Agency.The rallies have
been associated with "violence, rioting and attacks on public and
private property," and are a threat to public safety and commerce,
according to the news agency.
The Interior Ministry is now looking for sites around the country to
be used for staging protests "to preserve the right of political
expression while minimizing the risk of injury or disruption to society
at large," the Information Affairs Authority said.
The demonstrations staged in Bahrain early last year failed to gain
the traction of other Arab Spring uprisings after a crackdown by
authorities in the island state.
The crackdown was backed by troops from nearby Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates.Last November, Bahrain's Independent Commission of
Inquiry issued a report critical of authorities' reactions to the
protests.The independent commission, set up by the king, concluded that
police had used excessive force and torture in their response to the
protests in the Sunni-ruled, Shiite-majority country. It recommended
reforms to the country's law and better training of its security forces,
as well as other measures. Bahrain plays a key strategic role in the
Middle East and is home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters.
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