Clashes in Bahrain

Anti government protests which started on last 14th, have affected the whole country. We were warned by many parties about the potential issues prior to the starting date. 24 hour petrol by air and land gave the yellow lights of the upcoming incident. The protests were started on 14th ,the day which marks the anniversary of the Nation Action Charter of the Kingdom. So there was a big rally organized to support the government while there were anti-government protests as well. Finally, 14th February, Valentine’s Day was very warm with full of actions. 

15th was an Islamic holiday. The whole day was very boring since I couldn’t go anywhere due to the protests. After spending the morning and afternoon inside the room, I went to the Andalus Garden for a walk. There were quite a lot people in the garden, doing their regular exercises and sports but the roads were not that busy. Gudeibia police station was crowded. I came back home soon, after getting messages about the problems. Roads in Manama was closed and also all the shopping malls.

Heard about the death of two Bahrainis on 14th and the there was a rumor about the death of the third person on 15th. We don’t have a way of getting proper news as we don’t have cable television as home. Only available one for us at the moment is Channel 55, which shows only the development projects and the government news, again in Arabic. Tried listening to radio, but didn’t work. Only source which I knew was internet. So I started watching and reading Al Jazeera and BBC but I doubt about the accuracy as I know how they acted during the war in Sri Lanka. While GDN and Daily Tribune (Local Papers) were mainly talking about the pro-government rally while the foreign media focus on anti-government activities.

16th was a working day. I went to Sitra in the morning. The roads were peaceful and calm. The centre point of the anti government activities was the Pearl round about. Heard about the peaceful protests at the centre point and in other areas. The environment was warm as there were two deaths. Many people I met were talking about the circumstances which might arise due to these deaths. The helicopters are in 24 hour duty still and the police cars can be seen everywhere.

17th is a shocking day. Heard about the clashes at the Peal round about early in the morning. Almost all the offices and the shopping malls are closed. My meetings got cancelled, and we closed the office at around 12.30pm. Finished the work in the morning while watching Al Jazeera for the updates. According to them, two more are dead due to the army attacks and many people are admitted to Salmania Hospital. But the rumors were saying that it’s more than eight.

The anti-government protests are organized by Shia, the majority with 70% of the total population. They are demanding the Prime minister who is holding the tile for 40 years to resign, Housing and Jobs for all the people and many more. I do not know how far these demands are fair.

The life is becoming very different after the arising of these issues. Internet is extremely slow. Have to go through hell to log in to fb or Google. Last weekend was full of fun and never thought that I will be stuck at home this weekend. Though the protests were expected, honestly I though it won’t drag for days. 

Find Al Jazeera Bahrain blog here