DUBAI: Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary since Bahrain citizens took to the streets in mass protests against the monarchy in the small Gulf kingdom. But, 12 months on the state-sponsored violence persists in the country, having left at least 35 people dead and hundreds others jailed for speaking out for change. Bahraini police dispersed protesters with tear gas Monday, activists told Bikyamasr.com. Officers dispersed thousands of protesters who tried to march towards to Pearl Square, a flashpoint of last year's protests against the kingdom's Sunni Muslim rulers. Bahraini state television said the demonstration had been authorized, but when the protesters started hurling petrol bombs at security personnel, the police intervened and dispersed the crowd. The Coalition of the Youth of February 14th Revolution have been calling on their followers to mark the first anniversary of the uprising – which began on February 13, 2011 – that was quelled by the Bahraini forces. The official state Bahraini News Agency (BNA) quoted public security chief Major General Tarik al-Hassan as warning Bahrainis “not to respond to the calls on social networks to protest.” “The security forces will stop anyone who takes advantage to carry out unlawful acts,” al-Hassan said. Amnesty International called Monday on the Bahraini authorities “to allow peaceful demonstrations” marking the anniversary. Bahrain security forces on Sunday arrested a prominent female activist and deported two American citizens as clashes between police and pro-reform protesters continued ahead of the first anniversary of the February 14 revolution. Clashes intensified as residents in areas supporting the protests conducted sit-ins in-front of their homes to show their defiance, with police moving in to disperse them. The protesters have vowed to attempt to return to Lulu Roundabout in Manama, which had been the scene of large-scale protests but had been closed and under security forces' control since March. Activist and blogger Zainab al-Khawaja, known by her Twitter handle AngryArabia, the daughter of jailed human-rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, was arrested as she approached the roundabout with other activists. Al-Khawaja was detained for about a week in December for taking part in a protest north of the capital, with police handcuffing her before she was dragged and beaten for refusing to disperse. Her father, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, was sentenced in June with eight other opposition leaders by a military court to life in prison on charges of attempting to overthrow the regime. Thirteen other opposition and religious leaders standing trial on the same charges received harsh sentences of up to 15 years. Huwaida Arraf, a co-founder of the nonviolence group International Solidarity Movement and an American citizen, and Radhika Sainath, an Indian-American activist, were detained on Sunday by police as they attempted to make their way to Pearl Roundabout. The two have been deported from the country by the government, which accused them of fraud. “Huwaida Arraf and Radhika Sainath arrived in Bahrain in the last few days and obtained tourist visas upon arrival at the airport,” the government said in a statement. “However, once in Bahrain, they declared their intentions to join demonstrations in order to report on them. Arraf and Sainath were picked up at an illegal demonstration in Manama this afternoon.” A website that the activists had set up under the name witnessbahrain.org to report their observations was also blocked by the authorities. During Saturday's demonstrations, police fired tear-gas and sound-grenades in an attempt to clear the protesters from the market area. According to the opposition, more then 60 people have been killed since the protests broke out last year. The death toll includes at least four people who have died in police custody. Arraf, who chairs the Free Gaza Movement, and Sainath, had both arrived in Bahrain in recent days along with other western activists to express their support for pro-reform protesters on the first anniversary of the start of the Bahrain uprising, on February 14, 2011. ** with dpa BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/y6WyI Tags: featured, Protests, Tear-gas, Violence Section: Bahrain, Features, Human Rights, Latest News
