Rally for Bahrain

by Yusur Al-Bahrani

With the weekly protests in Bahrain and the Bahraini riot forces’ harsh response towards them, a number of people demonstrated in Toronto at the US Consulate on July 17.

Demonstrators rallied to break the ongoing code of silence towards human rights violations in Bahrain.
The demonstration was organized by Concerned Canadians for Bahrain, a committee that works in solidarity with pro-democracy protesters in Bahrain.

Demonstrators carried banners that condemn the crackdown on innocent protesters; calling on an end to the Saudi occupation; and the immediate and unconditional release of all political detainees.
They also criticized the United States’ double standards towards human rights violations practiced by its Bahraini and Saudi allies.

The size of the demonstration was smaller than expected. The Bahraini government propagandists played a role in convincing the public there is a dialogue between the monarchy and the Wefaq opposition party that would supposedly end the crackdown on peaceful protesters.

On the other hand, Wefaq opposition party quit talks on July 17, as the government did not deal with its demands positively.

The Bahraini global solidarity movement also failed to attract other Arab solidarity movements, for now.

Pro-Bahraini government campaigns viewed peaceful protesters in Bahrain as Shiites, demanding to rule instead of the Sunni minority. Bahraini protesters’ demands are only to end the ongoing discrimination practiced on them since more than 200 years ago when Al-Khalifa ruling family came to power.