Bahrain Exclusive: Reliving the Clashes and Rallies on the Anniversary of the Regime Crackdown

Police arrest youth in Sitra on Thursday, before clashes and an evening rally for martyrs of the March 2011 crackdown

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This week Bahraini protesters have been commemorating the anniversary of the regime's crackdown, backed by military forces from the Gulf States, on the demonstrations. Attacks across the kingdom would end with the clearing of Pearl Roundabout, the symbolic centre of the protests.

An EA correspondent in Bahrain sends this report of Thursday's events in Sitra:

On 13 March 2011, the assault began on the island of Sitra. A day after the declaration of martial law in Bahrain, regime forces, with  the help of the Saudi army, surrounded the island and started the attack on civilians. Two men were killed --- one of them was Ahmed Farhan, executed by a shotgun blast to the head after he was wounded --- and hundreds were injured, even as the medical center was attacked.

Last Tuesday, the opposition called for a strike in Sitra, asking all shops to close 10 a.m. to 12  noon. The initiative was a success, foreshadowing Thursday's day of protest..

From the early hours, protesters distributed instructions to the residents to chant “Allah Akbar” (God is the Greatest) from the rooftops of their houses at 12:30 p.m. for 15 minutes.

However, events on the ground began about 5 a.m., as revolutionary youth blocked Sitra's main roads to prevent police from entering the island and started fires with tyres, sending black smoke clouds across the island sky.

Police forces stormed the island, but as they put out a fire in a village, another started elsewhere. Insurgents were careful to escape, but police tear-gassed village houses in revenge. This continued until noon until the fires stopped for noon prayers.

The residents of Sitra started chanting Allah Akbar at 12:30 p.m., with the shouts heard across the island. The demonstration continued until 1 p.m. until it was broken by sounds of expulsions. Protesters had set gas cylinders on fire, as in the uprising of the 1990s, as marker of opposition to the regime.

Then it was the calm before the storm. Police forces drove their armed SUVs on re-opened main roads. Another large group of officers stood in front of Sitra police station, with about 20 SUVs parked near the Sitra main entrance.

About 3 p.m. a rumour was spread on social media networks that an attack on the police station is planned. The rumour reached the Ministry of Interior, and most forces on the island relocated in front of the station, leaving the villages almost unwatched.

This diversion meant that the protests could start in all the villages at 4 p.m. Small groups of revolutionary youth held Bahraini flags and banners with the pictures of Ahmed Farhan and other martyrs. Residents were soon out in all seven villages in Sitra, trying to reach to the main road and unite in a mass march. As people joined the rallies, others blocked the roads to prevent police SUVs from storming the processions, as some monitored the situation from rooftops of their houses and giving signals to the protesters.

Police soon discovered the plan, especially when the protesters of the villages of AlKharijia and Wadyan reached the main road. Security forces attacked with tear gas and rubber bullets, forcing demonstrators back inside their villages. The police continuing shooting tear gas at houses, moving around with their SUVs searching for any group of protesters to arrest, as the opposition kept trying to regroup.

This chase continued for two hours, until the news spread of a police raid on a house, arresting a group of teenagers, in Alkharijiya village. Angered protesters started to throw Molotov cocktails, with demonstrators from Markuban village reaching the police station and hurling Molotovs at it.

The situation did not change much after that, police replied with more teargas, they have started using it more extensively, and lots teargas was shot in the houses causing suffocation to elders and kids.

This situation did not calm until the sound of the call for evening prayers. Protesters returned inside the villages and houses, while police officers relocated near the police station and Sitra's main entrance.

Meanwhile, in Mehaza, the home of Ahmed Farhan, the resident were planning a memorial. To prevent a police attack, there was no announcement other than word of mouth. 

To prevent the event from getting attacked by police forces, it was done in secret, no media announcement was done, I got to know through a friend from the village who called me just an hour before it starts and without giving details about what was planned.

As I reached the village at 8 p.m., the roads were already blocked. A group of youth working on setting up a stage, while another used speakers to call for a protest. Young men and women soon marched on the village road, chanting about the martyrs.

When the protest reached its destination, we were surprised to see another march from Sufala heading to the same location. The stage was already prepared, with a large poster of Ahmed Farhan and a Lulu (Pearl Roundabout) replica.

After the crowds gathered, revolutionaries songs and anthems played. Suddenly the music stopped. Two youths wearing army uniforms stood on SUVs, holding toy machine guns and raising the victory sign, reminding the people of the Saudi occupation a year earlier. As the SUVs reached the stage, the crowd gathered around them and started chanting against the Saudi occupation and interference in Bahrain. 

After the "retreat" of the SUVs, a speech by the 14 February Coalition saluted the parents of Ahmed Farhan Family and promised that the sacrifice of their son will never be forgotten and will not be inn vain. The Coalition calls for continuing protests until the victory of deporting the "criminal" Alkhalifa family rulers from Bahrain.

After the speech the mother of Ahmed Farhan came on the stage with her brother to receive a floral bouquet from the Sfala protesters. It was an emotional moment, with the sound of women crying.

Ahmed's mother was supposed to give a short speech also, but she fainted and had to leave the stage. A video tribute to Ahmed Farhan was then shown so people could learn more about his life and death.

A montage of the evening: