Bahrain civil unrest

**desert fox** · March 16th, 2011 04:23 PM

Clashes erupt as Bahrain declares state of emergency

Anti-government protesters demonstrate in Manama on Tuesday. Frenzied clashes swept Bahrain Tuesday, a day after a Saudi-led GCC military force entered the country to help maintain law and order in the troubled Arab country. (AP)
By SIRAJ WAHAB | ARAB NEWS
Published: Mar 16, 2011 01:12 Updated: Mar 16, 2011 01:47
MANAMA/ALKHOBAR: Sporadic clashes broke out in parts of Bahrain on Tuesday as the government declared a three-month state of emergency. Sitra, a village about 12 km to the south of Manama, witnessed ugly scenes on Tuesday evening as anti-government protesters clashed with Bahraini policemen. The area is considered to be an opposition stronghold.
Disturbances shook the kingdom through the day. A hospital source said two men, one Bahraini and the other Bangladeshi, were killed in clashes in the Shiite area of Sitra and more than 200 people were wounded in various incidents.
State television said a Bahraini policeman was also killed, denying media reports that a Saudi soldier had been shot dead.
Journalists reporting from the scene said at least two persons were killed and scores injured during the clashes. Sitra has always been considered a volatile area and clashes there were to be expected, said journalists familiar with local politics.
A Saudi Defense and Aviation Ministry source denied reports that Sgt. Ahmed Salim Al-Radadi, a Saudi military officer who was part of the Joint Peninsula Shield Force in Bahrain, had died. “This is a baseless report. Our men are in Bahrain as part of the Peninsular Shield not for any fighting mission but to safeguard some vital areas of the country,” the source said.
The Bahraini government also refuted the report on Tuesday.
“That is simply not correct,” a Bahraini government source told Arab News. “There is a huge disinformation campaign going on these days,” he said. “A mere Tweet by parties having diabolical interests is taken as credible information and then the news agencies run wild with it.”
The government source confirmed that one person was indeed killed by protesters on Tuesday morning.
“He was, however, a Bahraini police officer, and he was run over by an anti-government protester,” he said. One Arab journalist said the Bahraini officer was of Pakistani origin.
According to Al Jazeera, the emergency order comes amid the influx of wounded protesters and undercover policemen at hospitals.
Manama itself wore a deserted look on Tuesday. “There is no vehicular traffic and people are off the streets,” one Manama resident told Arab News.
“It is not that there are restrictions on the movement of people … it is just that people do not want to be caught up in a bad situation.”
The airport was deserted too. Half of the airport staff could not report to work. Some said they could not make it because the bus drivers had not shown up. Airport staff with cars picked up their colleagues.
The government source clarified that the promulgation of the state of emergency was not akin to martial law. “There are no specific restrictions on the movement of civilians. This state of emergency is meant to protect the life and property of Bahrainis from hooligans who are out to destroy our country,” he said.
In Manila, the Philippine government advised its citizens working in Bahrain to leave amid increasing tensions. Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis said Tuesday that there are 31,000 Filipinos in Bahrain.
One Filipino woman, who works at a stand at the airport selling Formula One items, had tears in her eyes. “We need our jobs,” she told Arab News. “The situation is very confusing, nothing is clear,” she said crying profusely. “This place is running on rumors.”
More troops, this time from Qatar and Kuwait, both Gulf Cooperation Council member states, arrived in Bahrain to bolster the country’s security. “They are here at our invitation and are part of the Joint Peninsula Shield Force — the same force that came to Kuwait’s defense during the Iraqi invasion in the 1990s,” he pointed out.
Iran, however, denounced the GCC move describing it as “intervention.” “The presence of foreign forces and interference in Bahrain's internal affairs is unacceptable and will further complicate the issue,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said at his weekly news conference in Tehran.
A Bahraini Foreign Ministry official called the Iranian remarks a “blatant interference in Bahrain's internal affairs,” the Bahrain News Agency said, adding that Manama had recalled its ambassador to Iran for consultations.
Bahrain’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashed Al-Khalifa called on Bahrainis to cooperate with the security forces. “In order for the situation to return to normal we have to establish order and security and ... stop the violations which have spread disturbances among the people of our dear country,” he said in an address on Bahrain TV.
The White House warned that there was “no military solution” to the political upheaval in Bahrain.
Meanwhile, Bahraini opposition parties have urged the government to give ironclad guarantees that it will carry out political reforms as promised by Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa two days ago.
“He promised all the right things, and we are all happy with all that he has promised, but the opposition point of view is that there is no guarantee that the government will not renege on its promises,” said Muneera Fakhro, a respectable opposition leader.
“It is a classic case of being once bitten twice shy. The opposition saw what happened 10 years ago. Promises were made, but political reforms were never implemented. The opposition fear is that something similar may happen this time too,” she said while articulating opposition reservations. “Let the government give it in writing that it is committed to carrying out the promised changes and hopefully that will end the current impasse.”

**uls** · March 16th, 2011 04:35 PM

Sunni vs Shia na yan

Saudi Arabia nagpadala ng sundalo sa Bahrain para tulungan ang kapwa nila Sunni ruling family

natatakot ang Saudi ruling family pag mapatalsik ng mga Shia protesters ang ruling family ng Bahrain, lalo lalakas ang loob ng mga Shia sa Saudi Arabia

so gagawin ng Saudi ang lahat para di maalis sa pwesto ang ruling family ng Bahrain

**desert fox** · March 16th, 2011 04:56 PM

31,000 Filipinos are going home..

what if, maipit at madamay ang Saudi Arabia vs Iran?

with more than a million Pinoys working here?

the supply of crude oil?

can not imagine whats going to happen in our country....

**Monseratto** · March 16th, 2011 05:01 PM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12755852

Bahrain protests in Manama's Pearl Square overrun

Security forces with tanks have overrun a square in the centre of Bahrain's capital Manama where anti-government protesters have been camped for weeks.

The BBC's Caroline Hawley in Manama says black plumes of smoke are rising over Pearl Square, the centre of the protests, while helicopters are flying overhead. There are riot police stationed in approach roads.

Armoured vehicles moved in shortly after dawn, our correspondent says, and the security forces now appear to have full control of the square.

Hospital surrounded

The crackdown comes a day after King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa declared a three-month state of emergency.

Protesters had set up barricades in the square but they were no match for the military, our correspondent says.

Tyres were burnt to alert people in surrounding villages to the crackdown but they were unable to make it through to the square to join the protests.

The security forces have now moved into Manama's financial district, reopening roads which had been blocked by protesters.

The country's stock market said it had closed until further notice, AFP news agency said.

**oliver1013** · March 16th, 2011 05:03 PM

Magkanbo ba bisikleta ngayon?

**desert fox** · March 16th, 2011 05:08 PM

Originally Posted by uls

Sunni vs Shia na yan

Saudi Arabia nagpadala ng sundalo sa Bahrain para tulungan ang kapwa nila Sunni ruling family

natatakot ang Saudi ruling family pag mapatalsik ng mga Shia protesters ang ruling family sa Bahrain, lalo lalakas ang loob ng mga Shia sa Saudi Arabia

so gagawin ng Saudi ang lahat para di maalis sa pwesto ang Bahrain ruling family

Ang nakakatakot dito, kapag nakialam ang iran....

wag naman po sana....

**uls** · March 16th, 2011 05:08 PM

Originally Posted by desert fox

31,000 Filipinos are going home..

what if, maipit at madamay ang Saudi Arabia vs Iran?

with more than a million Pinoys working here?

the supply of crude oil?

can not imagine whats going to happen in our country....

kaya sabi ko concern ang Bahrain

ngayon di masaya ang Iran sa ginawa ng Saudi

pero tingin ko di naman aabot sa war between Saudi and Iran

**desert fox** · March 16th, 2011 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by uls

Sunni vs Shia na yan

Saudi Arabia nagpadala ng sundalo sa Bahrain para tulungan ang kapwa nila Sunni ruling family

natatakot ang Saudi ruling family pag mapatalsik ng mga Shia protesters ang ruling family ng Bahrain, lalo lalakas ang loob ng mga Shia sa Saudi Arabia

so gagawin ng Saudi ang lahat para di maalis sa pwesto ang ruling family ng Bahrain

Basta wag lang makialam ang Iran, maaayos din ang gulo sa bahrain.

**uls** · March 16th, 2011 05:24 PM

Originally Posted by desert fox

Ang nakakatakot dito, kapag nakialam ang iran....

wag naman po sana....

Iran Denounces Saudi Troop Deployment to Bahrain
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03...#ixzz1GkUsSyC4

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman has denounced the deployment of a Saudi-led military force to Bahrain to prop up the monarchy in the tiny island nation against widening demonstrations by the Shiite-led opposition.

Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday that the "presence of foreign forces in Bahrain is unacceptable" and would only complicate the crisis in the Sunni-led kingdom.

The statement is the strongest reaction from Shiite powerhouse Iran on Monday's deployment of about 1,000 troops from Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Iran summons Saudi Arabian envoy
http://www.isna.ir/ISNA/NewsView.asp...1735827&Lang=E

TEHRAN (ISNA)-Iran summoned Saudi Arabian ambassador following the Arab country's military intervention in Bahrain.

The Director General for Persian Gulf and Middle East Affairs at Iran's Foreign Ministry, Hossein Amir Abdollahian expressed dissatisfaction over Saudi Arabian measure in Bahrain and said, "what is underway in Bahrain is peaceful demands of people from the government and Saudi Arabia was expected to deal with the events tactfully with the sense of responsibility as a neighbor."

"Arrival of Saudi Arabian military forces in Bahrain not only does not help resolve the issue, but also it makes Bahrain's internal matter into a regional crisis which goes against efforts for establishment of peace and security in the entire region and Persian Gulf," he added.

Saudi Arabian ambassador on his part said he would inform officials of his respective government of Islamic Republic of Iran's stances.