An EA correspondent was at Saturday's mass rally, organised by leading opposition parties, in Al Hajar in Bahrain:
The theme of the protest was the "Arab Spring", with flags of all the countries of the Arab uprisings in the arena. The event started with two short anthemsperformed by a band, the first for the Egyptian Revolution and the second for all the Arab uprisings.
A short recorded speech by the detained opposition leader Ebrahim Sharif --- given on January during a protest in front of the Egyptian embassy in Bahrain --- was broadcast. This was followed by a speech by Sheikh Ali Salman, the Secretary General of the Al Wefaq party, a speech which was stronger than that given to previous gatherings:
We salute the martyrs of the Bahraini revolution and all revolutions are the martyrs. We salute those who are behind prison bars. We have applaud the fighter Ebrahim Sharif, we applaud the teacher Abdul Wahab Hussain, and the other detainees starting from Mr. Hassan Aziz Mushaimaa, Sheikh Mohammad Habib Meqdad, who got the longest declared prison terms, Sheikh Abdul Jalil Miqdad, may God protect him, Sheikh Mohammad Ali Faraj, may Allah save him, and to Mr. Abdulhadi al-Khawaja.
Also greet the detained teacher Mahdi Abudeeb. and in addition, a special greeting to this woman behind bars [pointing at a big poster with a picture of teachers' union leader Jalila Al Salman, seized last week] who brought honor to this country. Those great and honorable men and women have no loyalty except to their nation.
>We have given sacrifice to this country, those who presented themselves and their souls. They sacrificed their comfort at home to be in prison; they sacrificed for dignity, for the nation and the country. This is the true loyalty, not the loyalty to one person or another.
Our hand was and will be always open to whoever want pride and dignity for this nation. But this loyalty has been dropped for slavery in this Arab country.
I would like to thank the audience for this great sober presence. I would also like to thank the people of Al Hajar village and the surrounding villages for hosting this event. I extend my thanks and gratitude to all the people of Muharraq on their participation in these events and our apologies for declining their request to act in their city. [A group of Shi'a Muslims were reportedly attacked in Muharraq on Thursday night.] We decline it to move away from any possible point of friction, any trap intended for us in order to say, "Look, there is a conflict between people." Conflict is not between people, not between Sunnis and Shiites. The conflict is only between dictatorships and those who fight for freedom....
They [the regime[ were betting that what happened on 14 February was just an emotional revolution that will last a day and stop, then they continued betting during the demonstration at Pearl Roundabout that it will take you a week or a month to end it. But you have proven them wrong, neither during the Roundabout nor after. [Pearl Roundabout was overrun by security forces in mid-March.] The movement never stopped. You have proven that the nation has moved, based on awareness and the necessary need for political reform. This was not an emotional blowing upon the fire, and you will continue protesting in these arenas and in all the peaceful movements.
I invite the people to participate in any peaceful programs of yesterday, today or tomorrow until the demands of the people are realised and fulfilled in getting rid of dictatorship and enjoy the Islamic and humanitarian right in activating the Constitution's phrase, “The people are the source of authority”. This phrase means nothing except giving the people the full freedom in choosing their government, electing their representatives, and enjoying equal rights between citizens. Bahrainis will continue fighting for those demands until they are achieved just like the rest of the nations around the world. The French gave their blood for freedom. The Americans sacrificed for their independence and freedom. Nation after nation paid the price for freedom by their blood and wounds. We have started sacrificing in the past; we are doing it now, and we will continue for dignity and freedom.
One of the reasons behind the Arab Spring is the fact that the Arab youth from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf had enough of regimes of tyranny and dictatorship regimes, which have the whole Arab nat controlledion for the past six decades since independence. These regimes failed to bring development, failed in liberating Palestine, and failed in bringing dignity. They have only accomplished building tehirsecurity services. The people of Tunisia, the people of Egypt, and the entire Arab nation as well as the Bahrainis have risen up in the face of those dictatorships to sweep them away.
Those movements were not because of poverty or the lack of some needs in social life, even if the economic situation has contributed in spakring this Spring. The depth of these revolutions is the search for dignity, freedom and democracy. The economic situation in Libya is much better than many countries and money was distributed to silence the people, but still the Libyan people and the Tunisians revolted for dignity. They do not want to find an arrogant leader for 30, 40 or 50 years, as if God has sent him down to rule peopl, and civilians are just slaves to beled by his wished. This is what the Arab people have risen for....
We congratulate the revolutions that have completed their early stages of changing the regimes in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. We would like also to congratulate the success of the Tunisians in achieving the first democratic, free, and fair parliamentary elections and we hope soon to witness the conduct of a free and fair elections in both Egypt and Libya.
We also congratulate the Ennadha Party for winning a majority of votes, wishing for it to take its responsibility in building a democratic Tunisia, building a free and liberty Tunisia for women. We look forward to Tunisia as a model of democracy that Arabs look up to. Congratulation to the Tunisians for their first step towards the consolidation of state institutions and law towards democracy.
In the Arab Spring there are revolutions and popular movements, which have not reached what Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya have achieved. In Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, and Jordan there are continuing losses of blood and economy. We call on those governments in those countries to open a truthful, honest and serious road for their people by organising fair, free, and direct elections to enable people to express their will in the Constitution and the government they want to elect. This is better for you before things reach a similar situation like the other above-mentioned countries.
This is good for you and your people, it will ensure you to continue to live with the people, but if you continued your determination as Muammar Qaddafi insisted and Hosni Mubarak did too, God has provided a lesson. Is there any among you "rulers" who is willing to learn?
We also call on the governments and the non-democratic regimes in the republics and kingdoms that did not witness a popular revolutions or movements to take the initiative to reform and start adopting democracy. Do not be deceived by this stillness....
I say for the kingdoms and the republics, there is only one way that is, you move toward your people, give them their rights make them feel their humanity. Make them decide their fate while you are with them holding hands. Otherwise, what happened in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia will reach to all the republics and monarchies.
People are looking for dignity and there is no exception. There is no civilisation that does not look for dignity. Arab rulers, be aware that all the Arab nation are looking forward and eager for dignity, so listen to them because they are determined in taking the road of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and all the struggling people.
Salman then discussed the recent visit of the Bahraini opposition to Egypt "to give direct blessing to the political forces and the Egyptian people on the success of the revolution of January 25 in its first stage in removing Hosni Mubarak and the symbols of the former regime". He asserted:
We have found out that most of the political and popular powers, research centers, all revolutionaries understand the situation in Bahrain. They have not been fooled by the lies in referring to Bahrain revolution as sectarian and ushering people away from religion and humanity. We have found that the Egyptian media and intelliectuals realise that it is a true revolution and a national movement for reform.
Salman then turned to the current situation in Bahrain:
There is a political crisis whose origins are dictatorship and tyranny and the disaster of human right violations. At the moment there is a committee [the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry] formed by royal order to investigate these violation. Regardless what this committee addresses and reports, I do not need someone to tell me that you have been tortured. I do not need someone to tell me that your house have been violated and your money has been stolen. We have all seen that and felt it by our hands.
This committee is doing its job in identifying those violations. However, despite any results and recommendations of this committee --- if they are not followed by political change --- the human rights crisis that it came to fix will remain and be renewed. The root of the issue, the political problem of dictatorship, is not solved....
We have the rights set out in religion, in the mind, in the international covenants, in the National Action Charter, and in the Constitution. The people are entitled to choose their government in accordance with this and we will continue our right to claim this by peaceful means, before and after the report of the Committee. In order to achieve the legitimate demands of the people, the government' must response today or tomorrow will be forced to respond....Here I renew the invitation to continue the popular peaceful movements for democracy until it responds.
This path will not stop until we reach our goals, even if we have been killed, thrown in jail, kicked out of the country.
The [authorities] attempt to divert attention from the political problem of the dictatorship, with the talk about Iranian interference and the sectarian revolution of Bahrain, and fabrications [of violence]... It is too late for the world to believe this nonsense and it has been exposed....
The truth in Bahrain is clear today, it is a conflict between democracy and freedom against oppression and tyranny, this country is fed up with a vicious cycle of continuous crisis, erupting every five or ten years. The country cannot continue in this way since [the uprising in] 1923....Bahrain will remain in this vicious circle unless we unite for the transition from dictatorship to democracy....
It is time to unite all the homeland forces and by the rights of those children and future generations to enjoy stability. Instead of dictatorship, impaired development, and the disruption of achievement, let's put our hands together to turn to a democracy for Sunnis and Shia, Islamists and secularists....The people of Bahrain deserves better government and a better life as well as dignity, God willing, it will arrive and everyone will join at this font and bless it when we win....