(ANSAmed)
- ROME, SEPTEMBER 25 - Bahrain's opposition members who are in Rome
today for a meeting with the Italian Senate's human rights commission
said they are inspired by Gandhi, the late leader of the Indian
independence movement. 'In Bahrain we have learnt very well the lesson
of Mahatma Gandhi', said Jasim Hussein, a former MP in Bahrain who is
visiting with Hadi Almossawi, also a member of the al-Wefaq party.
Al-Wefaq, whose religious orientation is Shiite, is the main opposition
force in the country where a growing front has been asking the royal
al-Khalifa family for democratic reforms since February 2011.
'Our protest is peaceful', said Hussein and Almossawi, who were
invited to talk by Radical Senator Marco Perduca. 'Our movement can be
compared to the non-violent one of Gandhi. But the state has chosen
since the beginning to respond with unprecedented violence'.
In a year and a half of protests, said the two activists, 'dozens of
demonstrators have been killed by our army and by Saudi troops who have
come to help the monarchy. Several thousands of people have been
arrested. Hundreds have been tortured during their detention, including
athletes and journalists who expressed their support for the protest and
have been tortured as a consequence. Dozens of doctors who helped
demonstrators were fired, the same fate of 20 university professors.
Many students were expelled from the university of Manama (the capital).
Not even taxi drivers were spared and had their licences withdrawn'.
Moreover, in an unprecedented case in a Muslim country, ' 35 mosques
were destroyed' said the activists. The mosques were places of worship
for Shiite Muslims, the majority in Bahrain, which is dominated by a
Sunni elite.
After an independent investigative commission confirmed violence and
abuse, the UN Human Rights Council issued 176 recommendations for
Manama, which has mostly accepted them, at least formally. In the next
two months, authorities will need to brief the UN on the measures
undertaken as a consequence.
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