'Bahrain government about to collapse'

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/166074.html

A call by the Bahraini king for national dialog has faced rejection by the main opposition bloc, al-Wefaq, which says the government must resign and troops must withdraw from the streets first.

The deal to talk with people is reneged as Bahrain's military continues to clash with demonstrators, killing several and wounding hundreds.

Saeed al-Shahabi, a Bahraini opposition leader from London, tells Press TV about the US military support of Bahrain and other issues.

Press TV: Al-Shahabi, a Bahraini opposition leader, is joining us from London. Many thanks for joining us here on Press TV, sir. The crown prince of Bahrain has just said, “Today is the time to sit down and hold a dialog, not to fight.” What do you say to that?

Al-Shahabi: I think this is misleading and part of the deception of this brutal regime. We have been calling for reforms for the past 10 years. For the past few months, at least, we have been calling for a “day of rage” in order to get some reforms. But he and his regime, his father, his uncle, refuse to heed the call for any reform. Yet, they have arrested the best of our people in Bahrain including scholars, academics, professionals, and tortured them beyond any belief.

Now, at the eleventh hour, when the regime is about to collapse, he is coming on the street, after killing our youth, after stabbing us for the tenth time in the back, and talking about dialog. I have personally sat with his father, twice, in 2001 and 2008, and have urged him to enter into dialogs. He has always refused any sort of dialog.

The only dialog he knows has been to use force against protesters and innocent people, and to use the mind of our state to crack down against the opposition, against unarmed civilians. These people do not believe in dialog. They never know except the language of force and power.

And, of course, our Bahraini people have always been peaceful, civilized in their actions and their demands; but, unfortunately we are faced by a regime that is both antiquated, old, and tyrannical, a [hysterical] dictatorship, and is [awful] in dealing with its people. I don't think [the crown prince] was serious to say that. It was just another ploy in order to follow the life of a different regime.

Press TV: How do you assess the international responses coming out regarding this uprising in Bahrain, especially from Bahrain's close ally the United States?

Al-Shahabi: There are two sides to this reaction, a positive and a negative side. The positive side is the international condemnation, even in the western media, of the barbarianism that is being waged against our people. We have seen in the press in the west, generally very favorably, today and yesterday, page after page, talking about the “furiosity” and the barbarianism of this regime. This is the positive side, which represents mostly the aspirations and the dealings of the ordinary people.

However, on the official side, it is disconcerting to see that both London and Washington have almost kept quiet apart from some statements that mean nothing, for example, when [British foreign secretary] Mr. Hague said yesterday morning that he wants and he urges the government of Bahrain to observe the law and [US Secretary of State] Hilary Clinton and [US] President Obama say that there should be reforms -- these are just words.

In reality it seems to me that they are supplying this regime with lethal weapons. The tanks that we saw rolling in the streets over the past two days; the teargas canisters, the rubber bullets (and live rounds) and other means and tools of death have been supplied by both the US and Britain.

We know that today and tomorrow in the newspapers there will be many articles about the names and professions of those who have been supplying these lethal weapons to be used not against outside enemies, but against the people themselves.

These arms, these tanks, these armored vehicles are meant to be used against outside threats, not to be rolled in the streets of Manama to face unarmed civilians, who are sitting on the ground very peaceful and civilized just asking for certain moderate demands, and having military and tanks attacking them in the middle of the night when everybody is asleep.

This is the most vicious regime; worse than Mubarak, worse than Tunisia. And what we saw today: people going to a procession to bury their dead being suddenly attacked by vicious forces, who are mostly foreigners with no mercy.