Beirut Solidarity, AlKhawaja, Freedom, Justice

Protest in Beirut in solidarity with ‘Bahrain uprising,’ Khawaja
Dana Khraiche – 13 April, 2012 – The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Around 100 men and women protested Friday in Downtown Beirut in support of the “uprising in Bahrain” and for the release of imprisoned Bahraini activist Abdul-Hadi al-Khawaja who has been on hunger strike for 64 days.

A line of women in black held large signs with Khawaja’ picture as tens of army soldiers and riot police surrounded the protesters at Riad Solh square in the capital.

Bahraini activists and religious figures flew in to Lebanon to help organize the demonstration in collaboration with the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, which was founded by Khawaja.

“Bahraini people complain of the weak coverage from Arab media of their case, which is based on oppressed people who have been ruled by a backward family for decades and now they have reached the tipping point,” Sheikh Jaafar al-Alawi, a leading figure in a Muslim movement in Bahrain, told The Daily Star.

He added that the problem with the uprising against the government in Manama was being misrepresented as a sectarian, Shiite-led movement.

He stressed that the movement was a purely secular and national one.

“We are grateful for the Lebanese people who embrace Arab opposition members and particularly the Bahraini ones,” he added.

In February of last year, protests by Bahrainis calling for reform were crushed by the government. Bahrain accused Iran of fueling the protests. Tehran denied the allegations.

Recent weeks have seen a renewal of large-scale protests. Last month, thousands of Bahrainis demonstrated near Manama to demand democratic reform.

Describing Lebanon as an oasis of freedom in the “Arabian desert,” Alawi expressed hope that the Lebanese would stand against oppressors everywhere and that Lebanon remains a place where people can express their views freely.

A brief scuffle disrupted the protest when a young group of youths carrying posters slamming President Bashar Assad and Bahraini king Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa tried to join in, but the anti-Manama protesters tore their signs and asked the young men to leave. …more