:00:07. > :00:17.Coming up next on BBC News it's HARDtalk. Zeinab Badawi speaks to
:00:17. > :00:20.
:00:20. > :00:23.Parliament in Bahrain, Jalal Fairooz.
:00:23. > :00:25.Have the authorities in Bahrain learned any lessons from their
:00:25. > :00:27.suppression last year's anti- government protests which sparked
:00:27. > :00:30.widespread condemnation or are they still clamping down on the
:00:30. > :00:32.opposition? A few weeks ago the government banned all rallies and
:00:32. > :00:37.gatherings saying they were associated with violence and
:00:37. > :00:45.rioting. They also revoked the Bahraini nationality of 31
:00:45. > :00:50.individuals, allegedly for threatening national security. My
:00:50. > :01:00.guest today on HARDtalk is one of main opposition Shia political
:01:00. > :01:17.
:01:17. > :01:23.group Al-Wefaq. Jalal Fairooz, welcome to HARDtalk.
:01:23. > :01:29.Thank you. You have been stripped of your Bahraini nationality, what
:01:29. > :01:34.do you think the authorities have on you? They failed to say. I have
:01:34. > :01:39.neverhave never been called to go to the
:01:39. > :01:47.police. I have been a prominent figure of Bahrain, I served Bahrain
:01:47. > :01:51.for so many for so many have been the deputy chair of the major
:01:51. > :01:59.committees in the parliament, I have been at an international
:01:59. > :02:07.representative of Bahrain, I was elected as vice-chair of human
:02:07. > :02:12.rights and democracy by the IPU. I have never had any problem. Because
:02:12. > :02:19.of my outsp of my outspman rights in Bahrain, they were not
:02:19. > :02:26.happy about that. Fahad al-Binali told the BBC after your nationality
:02:26. > :02:33.was revoked that they had done this as a matter of national security,
:02:33. > :02:38.he said the decision was not taken lightly. They have done things for
:02:38. > :02:48.no reason. There have been some people accused of jeopardising
:02:48. > :02:49.
:02:49. > :02:56.national security. If they want to do it, they need to go to court. As
:02:57. > :03:01.the 1963 law says, it has to be proven that I have done anything.
:03:01. > :03:07.The Human Rights Declaration, article 15, it is very clear that
:03:07. > :03:13.you cannot make anyone status. were teaching business and were an
:03:13. > :03:20.instructor in the USA when you got this news? Yes. They should have at
:03:20. > :03:28.least called me in. I have only received threats over the telephone
:03:28. > :03:38.talking to the international media. You can I do that. Fahad al-Binali
:03:38. > :03:39.
:03:39. > :03:46.the decision. This is a joke. One of the 30 is a lawyer, he tried to
:03:46. > :03:55.appeal. Are you going to appeal? spoke to a lawyer, they say, let's
:03:56. > :04:01.try. Another person tried, you cannot even issue a letter of
:04:01. > :04:05.delegation to that lawyer. There is no way you can do the appeal. What
:04:05. > :04:13.do you appealed to? There is no independent judiciary system in
:04:13. > :04:20.Bahrain. What are you going to do? You are stateless, your three
:04:20. > :04:25.children between 16-21, they might have their nationality revoked, you
:04:25. > :04:30.are seeking asylum in the UK? the only country around the world
:04:30. > :04:34.where they revoke nationalities. You do not understand why they
:04:34. > :04:40.would do that. If they have anything against me they can take
:04:40. > :04:47.me to court. Let me try and defend myself. They have not done that. I
:04:47. > :04:56.do not know what to do. Had he sought asylum in the UK? Yes, I did.
:04:56. > :05:01.But actually, I like my country. My parents, and sisters are Bahraini.
:05:01. > :05:11.I have never been in any country for several weeks. How does this
:05:11. > :05:12.
:05:12. > :05:18.make you feel? I am proud of Bahrain, I'm proud of my country. I
:05:18. > :05:25.did work for the progressive three forces in Bahrain. The problem is
:05:25. > :05:32.that there is no actual reform. The dictatorship is predominant. People
:05:32. > :05:39.are seen in Bahrain, the government is saying, they have to be quite
:05:39. > :05:49.tough on dissidents because of the spate of bombings in November, we
:05:49. > :05:54.
:05:54. > :06:04.also had a anti-government protests that end violence in November. --
:06:04. > :06:06.
:06:06. > :06:13.than 14 months there has not been any violence at all. Is that really
:06:13. > :06:21.the case? There was a village in Akar, outside Manama, anti-
:06:21. > :06:25.government protests. One policeman died as a result of a bomb. There
:06:25. > :06:31.have been other examples of violence in villages outside the
:06:31. > :06:41.capital. That particular case, the government said there was a bombing.
:06:41. > :06:42.
:06:42. > :06:52.The UK, the US, they can dent that. After 24 hours there was a
:06:52. > :06:52.
:06:52. > :07:02.statement, we are sorry, it was not a bomb. -- condemned. There have
:07:02. > :07:02.
:07:02. > :07:07.been other clashes, Molotov cocktails used against the police.
:07:07. > :07:16.Actually, in the parliament just three months ago, since the
:07:16. > :07:21.beginning of the uprising, just after that first week, until that
:07:21. > :07:27.time, we are talking about 15 months, there had not been a single
:07:27. > :07:35.police casualty. Whatever is being called bombing is just like booby-
:07:35. > :07:41.traps. Two migrant workers were killed. That was on 5th November.
:07:41. > :07:51.Of course. The government is not necessarily over-reacting. ily over-reacting.
:07:51. > :08:00.something that any government would look upon as serious. Al-Wefaq
:08:00. > :08:04.lot of ambiguity around it. Some intelligence sources in the West
:08:04. > :08:14.have said we do not believe the people are behind it. That has not
:08:14. > :08:17.
:08:18. > :08:23.been corroborated. The rallies were not be tolerated because people's
:08:23. > :08:33.lives are being threatened. The government has the responsibility
:08:33. > :08:37.
:08:37. > :08:44.to bring in peace. The opposition parties, until the prohibition of
:08:44. > :08:54.the demonstrations, every week, one or two demonstrations. There was no
:08:54. > :08:58.
:08:58. > :09:03.violence. What they are calling violence, you attack the wives and
:09:03. > :09:09.the mothers. Teenagers, what do you expect from them? We have been
:09:09. > :09:19.trying to stop the people from going to violence. There is a
:09:19. > :09:20.
:09:20. > :09:29.document which was signed As the Foreign Secretary, William
:09:29. > :09:34.Hague, said, it was very good that you did that. He said he urges
:09:34. > :09:40.other opposition to do that. But put it to you that the February
:09:40. > :09:50.14th Movement, made up of youths, are resorting to violence. Do you
:09:50. > :09:51.
:09:51. > :10:00.perpetrating acts of violence. You littlee a
:10:00. > :10:04.little bit impatient. That is a that in Northern Ireland. People
:10:04. > :10:14.are so frustrated because they do not see a light at the end of the
:10:14. > :10:15.
:10:15. > :10:22.single Molotov cocktail that has been thrown out, the person who
:10:22. > :10:28.threw it, h threw it, hail. What happened to the violence, you can
:10:28. > :10:33.see it on YouTube. Molotov cocktails a cocktails athrown on
:10:33. > :10:39.people by police. All the violence is being perpetrated by the police.
:10:39. > :10:47.How many police are behind bars because of violations of human
:10:47. > :10:51.authorities say that after the protests started last year, we set
:10:51. > :10:59.up an independent commission of inquiry, we are learning the
:10:59. > :11:09.lessons from that repression. Some people say 35 people died, others
:11:09. > :11:11.
:11:11. > :11:19.say 80. You mean things will not recur. The problem is, twice as
:11:19. > :11:29.many people have been killed by the violence. That happened after
:11:29. > :11:29.
:11:29. > :11:39.Bassiouni. Yes, he chaired the commission. 17 of them married
:11:39. > :11:41.
:11:42. > :11:47.teenagers. 23 of them are about 60 years-old. They have been killed
:11:47. > :11:50.arbitrarily by police. Since the government introduced the
:11:50. > :11:55.recommendations of the independent commission? That is not what the
:11:55. > :11:59.government spokesman is saying. He says there is 122 cases under
:11:59. > :12:09.investigation to deal with complaints. 12 cases have been
:12:09. > :12:12.
:12:12. > :12:20.referred to court. The BICI Has recorded hundreds of cases of
:12:20. > :12:27.torture. There are around 70 types of violations. The government say
:12:27. > :12:31.they accept 122 cases. They have referred to referred to Out
:12:31. > :12:37.of these, how many of these have been put to trial? We cannot look
:12:37. > :12:47.at individual cases. The point I'm making to you, it is not just the
:12:47. > :12:49.
:12:49. > :12:53.Bahraini authorities saying they have brought in these reforms.
:12:53. > :12:57.Legal and law-enforcement systems have been overhauled so you do not
:12:57. > :13:03.have military tribunals anymore. It is not just them saying we have
:13:03. > :13:10.done this, the bridge government is saying that of the 176
:13:10. > :13:15.recommendations 143 have been taken up. -- British Government. It does
:13:15. > :13:19.not say that they have applied them. In the House of Lords the minister
:13:19. > :13:25.said that the Bahraini authorities are trying to make progress on
:13:25. > :13:32.these matters and we are supporting them in doing that. The problem is,
:13:32. > :13:42.they need to stop torture. Up until today there is torture. Just two
:13:42. > :13:45.
:13:45. > :13:50.weeks ago they said reforms, torture is going on daily,
:13:50. > :13:58.repression continues. Yesterday one person died. The repression is
:13:59. > :14:08.continuing. We have not had a Amnesty International. I can say
:14:08. > :14:12.that an independent analyst like Michael Stevens who says security
:14:12. > :14:17.reforms have been comprehensive. Hillary Clinton said it is easy to
:14:17. > :14:27.see the glass as half empty, I see it as half full. Do you give the
:14:27. > :14:28.
:14:28. > :14:38.They have not refrained from violating human rights. They have
:14:38. > :14:42.
:14:42. > :14:49.demolished over 40 mosques. Five have been rebuilt. To backwoods ago,
:14:49. > :14:59.-- two weeks ago he could see them. They are not stopping the killing
:14:59. > :15:05.
:15:05. > :15:09.of Human Rights said Derry's -- said there is no serious are
:15:10. > :15:19.playing of the recommendations. You're making serious allegations.
:15:20. > :15:22.
:15:22. > :15:25.They say they are trying to make would have lasted, but I am
:15:25. > :15:29.bewildered by the level of criticism by a nation that has a
:15:29. > :15:37.knowledge mistakes and has plans in place to put things right. Give
:15:37. > :15:42.them a chance. We want to see them stopping the way a measure of human
:15:42. > :15:49.rights. They have revoked nationalities. There has been the
:15:49. > :15:59.demolition of mosques. They have killed people and raided houses. I
:15:59. > :15:59.
:15:59. > :16:06.am a saying that, I am referring to Human Rights Watch. It is all being
:16:06. > :16:13.so that they ran no serious measures. They write what is its
:16:13. > :16:21.recommendations -- and there are 26 recommendations. Only are three of
:16:21. > :16:31.them have been... As his us what the British government has said.
:16:31. > :16:34.
:16:34. > :16:38.This is the Geneva Convention. fact of the matter is that the Shia
:16:38. > :16:44.populations, the discontent among the population goes back many years.
:16:44. > :16:54.Your party was set up in 2001. What is it that you want? Was changed
:16:54. > :16:56.
:16:56. > :17:02.you want? We are seeing what the American government has been saying.
:17:02. > :17:12.We need to integrate what the people. The divorce a single shares
:17:12. > :17:13.
:17:13. > :17:15.in the army. In the police force you will see a relief 2% Shia. In
:17:15. > :17:25.the cavernous Darrell Lea a few. Today they have been new
:17:25. > :17:29.
:17:29. > :17:35.been a few appointments. You just quoted the US deputy of state.
:17:35. > :17:39.President Obama said last year that the patriotism that binds the
:17:39. > :17:49.country together must be more powerful than the six areas and
:17:49. > :17:52.
:17:52. > :18:00.that tears them apart. -- the sectarianism. What is it you want?
:18:00. > :18:07.We want dignity, human-rights. We are grateful for the constitution.
:18:07. > :18:11.We want to stop corruption. want the King to have no power. At
:18:11. > :18:15.the moment he has the power to appoint the upper chamber in
:18:15. > :18:23.Parliament and nominates the Cabinet ministers. In a third are
:18:23. > :18:28.wary this year -- in February this year he said we have made political
:18:28. > :18:33.dismiss the government. All ministerial appointments Bahrain
:18:33. > :18:42.approved by Parliament. The lower house of parliament is totally
:18:42. > :18:47.elected. You were a member of this Parliament. Given credits. You are
:18:47. > :18:56.saying that the lower house is being elected. It is dominated by
:18:56. > :19:06.the upper house which has been appointed by pro-government groups.
:19:06. > :19:13.
:19:13. > :19:23.You were elected. Al-Wefaq have 62.5 % of the vote. We have run the
:19:23. > :19:27.
:19:27. > :19:33.reason misusing of districts. I was voted for. Other districts are a
:19:33. > :19:43.quarter of this size and population of mind. In 2010 you had an
:19:43. > :19:51.election. Y election. Yw saying that actually you have your finger on
:19:51. > :20:01.the pulse of the vast majority of the populat the populats not really
:20:01. > :20:08.
:20:08. > :20:18.the shears. -- Shia. It is just the opposition vote. They are all
:20:18. > :20:23.
:20:23. > :20:30.together. Your mother is Iranian. The spokesperson on the government,
:20:30. > :20:40.her mother her mother n. One-third of the population of Bahrain is
:20:40. > :20:41.
:20:41. > :20:49.originally from Iran. Who has done the hatred? The government
:20:49. > :20:59.institutions. Every day they are promoting hatred. You have the
:20:59. > :21:00.
:21:00. > :21:10.prince of the Sony, I met Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain. He is
:21:10. > :21:13.
:21:13. > :21:19.reaching out to everybody. Wade and Sue engage in a dialogue? -- Why
:21:19. > :21:26.don't you. If you look at the Minister of Information, she says
:21:26. > :21:34.the party is seen as a Trojan horse for Iranian interests. It is not
:21:34. > :21:42.says She says the group is sectarian him
:21:42. > :21:49.nature and fulfils the aspirations of Iran. That is a nasty claim we
:21:49. > :21:59.will have to take her to court about it. She is a seat to shake
:21:59. > :22:02.
:22:02. > :22:12.A lot of prominent opposition members are in jail. The government
:22:12. > :22:13.
:22:13. > :22:23.has made al has made altarian hatred. In Bahrain, 7% of the higher ranks
:22:23. > :22:24.
:22:24. > :22:34.in the Government's arts sheer force of -- are Shia. One anonymous
:22:34. > :22:42.
:22:42. > :22:47.certain that the dynasty will fall. Is he right? Probably. This
:22:47. > :22:56.government is not looking at the best interests of the people. They
:22:56. > :23:01.need to come to way common ground. We once a legitimate dialogue.
:23:01. > :23:11.want to be citizens, not prevented from joining certain sectors of
:23:11. > :23:12.
:23:12. > :23:20.society? The race bad discrimination. -- and there is bad
:23:20. > :23:30.discrimination. We want to see people altogether. There has to be
:23:30. > :23:31.
:23:31. > :23:41.accountability. People have all the right. We h right. We hd.
:23:41. > :23:43.
:23:43. > :23:53.The government says they do not refer
:23:53. > :23:54.
:23:54. > :24:03.refer to the State Department. Look have the equally for a legitimate