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Bahrain's Forgotten Spring

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Now an exclusive report from Bahrain, where the country is

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When I hear that women are being All you have to do to get attacked

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with tear gas in Bahrain is to call for freedom. They are trying to

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Bahrain - the Arab Spring's forgotten uprising. Nightly clashes

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in this tiny kingdom. Majority Shia Muslims are demanding reforms in a

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country ruled by a Sunni king. This is happening almost every

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Growing sectarian tensions here have the potential to plunge the

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country and the regions into Bahrain is the forgotten story of

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the Arab revolutions. I have been covering the kingdom on and off for

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more than five years. Each time I return, the split between Sunni and

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Shia grows wider and more dangerous. This time, we were one of just a

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handful of Western journalists allowed into a country that used to

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be known for its openness. As you drive through the wealthy heart of

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the capital Manama, there are few signs of the unrest threatening to

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One year ago, the Arab Spring reached Bahrain. Activists inspired

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by uprisings across the region took over Pearl Roundabout in the

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capital. Within days, there was a bloody response. Pearl Roundabout

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was cleared but the protesters returned. Under pressure to end the

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occupation, King Hamad invited in Saudi troops and a brutal crackdown

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ensued. The US with his Fifth Fleet stationed in the country, convinced

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the king to end the crackdown. A human rights investigation led by

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Professor Sherif Basyouni issued a report in November that catalogues

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systematic oppression, use of force and the sacking of huge numbers of

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public workers, the majority of This is why the government is keen

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Formula One racing is massive here. Because of the unrest, last year's

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race was cancelled. 29 Shia Formula One workers were arbitrarily fired.

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This man is chairman of the company that runs F1 here. The organisation

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says mistakes were made but it is time for the country to move on.

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The charges against these employees were dropped and His Majesty

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ordered for them to be rehired. We welcomed them back with open arms

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and they are back with us now. cancellation of last year's race

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was because of security concerns. F1 boss Bernie Eccleston has said

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that he sees no reason for the race not to go ahead this year. But what

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is only just emerging are allegations that most of the people

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who were sacked here were subject to sectarian abuse and beatings at

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the time of their arrest. It is a charge that the Bahrain

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International Circuit denies. think what happened one year ago,

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some of it was the mistake of the government and some of it was the

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mistake of the opposition. I think that His Majesty has been very

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courageous and forward-looking by engaging with the investigation and

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graciously accepting this report. I am yet to see a clear declaration

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from the opposition or of the parties who were involved in those

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events to say that they have made any mistakes. The trade union

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movement protested outside the Ministry of Labour. They dispute

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the account given by the Formula One chiefs. They say that five

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sacked workers have not been rehired. More than 3,000 workers in

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the public and private sectors lost their jobs. We still have more than

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1,000 workers dismissed and suspended and sacked. All workers

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in private and public sectors should be reinstated instantly,

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When security forces attacked the occupiers of Pearl Roundabout last

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year, doctors went to help. colleagues and I volunteered to set

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up a medical tent to help protesters and the people in

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general. As the uprising continued, many doctors joined the protest.

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Whoever helped participate or volunteer at the medical tent was

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punished. Brutally punished. Last March when the uprising was crushed,

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the government began to round them up as well, including Dr Nada Dhaif.

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I went to sleep on the 18th. At three o'clock in the morning, the

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door opened and more than two dozen masked men, fully armed men, raided

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my house and they took me directly from my bedroom. She was tortured

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and forced into signing a confession, convicted before a

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military tribunal and given a lengthy jail term. I was beaten

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immediately after the arrest. The abuse started immediately. Verbal

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abuse. They cursed me, my family, my religion. They use every dirty

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word that you could imagine. And the physical abuse... I was beaten

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on my head, shoulders, neck, back. I was kicked. I was spat at several

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times. I was electrocuted in one session in order to get the

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confession. The psychological and mental torment... I was kept in

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solitary confinement for 22 days. She is out on appeal. The report

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documented 60 cases of torture in detention. The government has not

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challenged that figure. Instead, they have promised reform. We are

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willing to bring forward any investigation to find the people

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who not only did these acts of torture but also who tolerated

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these acts of torture. There is no state policy on this. I would like

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to say that nobody in this country would agree with such abhorrent

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acts that were committed. report was a damning indictment of

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the country's security forces but the police were anxious to give us

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their side of the story. We were invited along for a ride with an

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elite unit. Every night, units like this are coming under fire from

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protesters. We warn them three times and after the warning, we

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tell them to go, that this is illegal, it is not allowed. After

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that, they do not listen to us and they start throwing Molotov

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There has been a detailed excessive use of force in the streets. And

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torture in detention. The king accepted the report and promised

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change. However, in the months since it was released, critics say

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police have continued to behave with impunity. Five police officers

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and more than 50 civilians have died since the uprising began.

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Human rights organisations have attributed 12 of those deaths to

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heavy and inappropriate use of tear-gas. How can we beat them? We

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just have our shield. There was the gas. That's it. This is everything

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we have here. For this woman, she tells a

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different story. All the house was full of gas.

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She says her mother died after police used tear-gas.

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She was here. She was lying here. We tried to cover this area and

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this area so that no other smoke came inside. But no use. She had

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already passed away. The police told me if it happened

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it was an accident. They would not deliberately fire tear gas into a

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house. But incidents like this have scarred relationships between

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police and the people. I've been brought here by the

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government to advice. There are many areas for police reform.

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In a surprise career move, the former chief of Scotland Yard moved

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to Bahrain in January. They have made excellent progress

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in things like the removal of certain officers, but other things

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will take time. You cannot expect massive reform in a matter of weeks.

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Human rights training for thousands of police officers is an immense

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undertaking. I have spoken to people who have

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told me that they were taken. This has happened in the last couple of

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the weeks. They were picked up and taken to unofficial sites or areas

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that have not been officially recognised as police stations,

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beaten, tortured they say, and I can tell you the areas. There is a

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youth hostel, a racing track. This is happening. These are issues now.

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You are bringing up these things now. They have happened. There is a

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proper procedure where people need to make their complaints. It will

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be addressed and investigated. There is, however, an awful lot of

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mischief on these social media websites. There is talk of reform.

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But is it too late? Are sectarian divisions in danger of escalating,

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destabilising the entire region? A holiday to mark the birth of the

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Prophet Muhammad. The Shia are celebrating, and mark it on a

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different day from the Sunnis. Differences like these used to not

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matter in Bahrain but they do now. These implications go well beyond

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this tiny group of islands. Across the Gulf, Shia Iran. To the

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west, Saudi Arabia, where the rulers have their own sectarian

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problems. Fearful of Iran, the Saudis exert a strong influence

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over the Bahrain royal family and they have made it clear they will

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not tolerate any concessions to the Shia in Bahrain.

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Freedom Square, a plot of ground where anti-government protesters

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gather. They are calling for the king to step down. As this conflict

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deepens, the young Shia are growing more radical. The leaders of the

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largest Shia opposition party urge restraint but many wonder if they

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can contain the anger. We are ready to go to die at any

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time. Any time. We will not find a real solution for this country

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where there is this political situation. We need to solve this.

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Are you not calling for a regime change?

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No. We are calling for a constitution. A real constitutional

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monarchy. We can keep the royal family but we want a system where

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the Prime Minister is elected. This is what we believe is good for

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Bahrain. To really understand the depth of

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Shia anger, you need to leave the towers of the capital behind and

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head into the villages along the main highways that run from the

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capital. Communities like this one. It is known amongst activists as

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the Isle of Martyrs. Many people have died since the uprising last

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February and many have come here. To understand the divisions that

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exist in this country, you come to a place like this. It is a poor

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Shia community where the streets are covered in rubbish and the

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walls are plastered with anti- government slogans. This one says,

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'Down, down with King Hamad'. Impoverished Shia communities sit

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next to factories. Some of the harshest crackdowns in the uprising

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happened here. One of the things I have notice is

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that they are targeting children more.

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This woman's father was jailed for life for allegedly plotting to

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overthrow the government. She is a leading human rights campaigner and

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rejects the idea that the opposition is responsible for

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sectarian tension. The government is trying to divide

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and conquer. The revolution is not a sectarian one. It is demanding

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democracy and freedom for everybody. The government is saying, talk with

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us. Why not? We have done that before. In 2001,

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we had a dialogue. But with these dictators, every time they make

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promises they break them. During Friday prayers the most

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senior Shia cleric calls for peaceful protest, but his sermons

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are ratcheting up the tensions. With our souls and blood, they

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chant, we will sacrifice for you. Outside the mosque, I asked about

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the thin line between defence and aggression.

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This is our universal right, that when somebody has not got the

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protection from anywhere, including the state, and this is not just in

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our religion, this is a human principle that if you are attacked

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and you have nobody to defend you, you defend yourself.

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At a pro-government rally in Manama, Bahraini Shia are seen as the enemy.

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In an increasingly bitter conflict, they have condemned this party as

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one that would hand over the country to Iran. We are pure

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Bahrainis. We are not with Iran. We want all of us to come together

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and we just want peace. As you can see, there is a lot of violence on

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the roads. There are Molotov cocktails being thrown at policemen

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and there are roads which are being blocked. That is not what we want.

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America is anxious. Bahrain is a strategic defence partner and

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instability here represents a serious threat to American

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interests in the region. The US has considered Bahrain a

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strategic ally for 60 years. We have our Fifth Fleet here. This is

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a region where we have security concerns. That relationship needs

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to go forward in a constructive and positive way. We also want a stable

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society here, where people can function freely.

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As night falls, the daily ritual of protest and violence in the

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villages starts up all over again. In the beginning it used to be just

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the younger people but now you see all kinds of people. I just saw two

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sisters with their mother. Sometimes you see grandfathers with

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their grandchildren. Everybody is so upset and frustrated at what is

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happening. A few hundred metres away, a police

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line begins to advance towards a makeshift barricade. It does not

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take long before the tear-gas canisters arc through the air

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towards the protesters. A cat and mouse game has been going on for

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months and it continues. On the streets of the Shia villages,

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