I never imagined a day would come when I would argue with Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch (HRW). I have always supported their work in defense of the right of every human being to life and liberty. When I found that I did not agree with them, I attributed that to the fact that they did not have complete information about a given country. Indeed, neither governments nor the people in our countries can be said to be open, and information is always kept under wraps, in an impenetrable fortress of sorts. Today, I find myself in a dispute with both groups over their stances on Bahrain. I will not say there is a ‘conspiracy' at play or accuse them of deliberately assaulting Bahrain, but will attribute their positions instead to ignorance and misinformation, and naivety in believing what they hear from the opposition and its leaders who cry for democracy when they are only seeking to topple the regime. Before I note my objections, I want the reader to know that I am perhaps the only non-Shia Arab writer who supports an Iranian nuclear weapons program, and wants neighboring Arab countries to implement the same. I also support Hezbollah against Israel, regardless of its mistakes in Lebanon and Syria. I also always said, and I say it again today, that the opposition in Bahrain has legitimate demands. Furthermore, I claim that I know Bahrain better than the majority of its people do, and definitely better than any international organization does. To be sure, I have known the island back in the days when the waves could still reach the Bahrain Gate, and I have seen Sheikh Salman, Rest in Peace, when I was still an adolescent. I know all those in power today, as well as merchants, ordinary people, and even taxi drivers in Bahrain. The Bahraini Grand Prix ended without any security problems to speak of, even though the opposition leadership wanted to sabotage the race. Both Amnesty and HRW had called for the event to be cancelled because of the unrest in Bahrain. HRW stated, and I quote it word for word: The Bahraini authorities regularly imprison peaceful demonstrators and human rights defenders. Is this true? Never; the protesters are not peaceful, and the two organizations did not mention in their many statements about the Formula One race that the protesters carried stones and Molotov cocktails, which they hurled at the police. The two organizations also fail to state that some cowardly dissidents are sending their children and inciting them to throw stones and firebombs, putting their lives at risk. I challenge the two organizations to deny that protesters have thrown stones and Molotov cocktails, and ask them to compare this against their claims that the protesters are peaceful. Yet I do not accuse Amnesty and HRW of more than ignorance and being misled by the lies of some opposition leaders, specifically Issa Qassem, and leader of Al-Wefaq Ali Salman, who studied in Qom and owe their allegiance to the Iranian ayatollahs. Indeed, the two men want to establish a regime based on velayat-e faqih, which would be subservient to an Iran that is under a siege and an embargo, and which incites against the people of Bahrain every day. This month, Amnesty International issued a statement, of which I quote the introduction: The Kingdom of Bahrain has not carried out any capital punishment for the second consecutive year. I hope that the readers will correct me if they have different information than mine, but the government of Bahrain never carried out executions for political reasons. As a reminder to Amnesty International, a sentence was issued in April 2011 condemning four Shia Bahrainis to death for killing policemen, but the sentence was not carried out. What I remember is one execution in 2008 and another in 2010, in homicides and assaults of a criminal nature that have nothing to do with politics. I accuse the leaders of the Bahraini opposition of complicity in Iran's conspiracy against the people of Bahrain, and I accuse international organizations of ignorance and naivety, as I write in defense of the whole people of Bahrain. [email protected]
