World must pressure Bahrain to stop crackdown: Author

Press TV has conducted an interview with Colin Cavell, author and lecturer from West Virginia, about crackdown and incarceration of opponents and even children protesters in Bahrain.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: These numbers are extremely staggering and worrying, how do you interpret them?

Cavell: It is a devastating indictment of the unelected regime in the kingdom of Bahrain. It is an atrocious condemnation on the arbitrary arrest, detention, torture not only of people, individuals but also over 120 children. This regime is out of control.

Press TV: Right now when you look at this report, 120 children were detained by Bahraini authorities and let’s not even forget the life sentences that have been handed down to various prisoners of conscience there in Bahrain and yet 2015 been such a brutal year for the people of Bahrain at the hands of Bahraini authorities not much international uproar there now, has there been?

Cavell: Not much in the United States at least, here the media is completely censored not only on what goes on in Bahrain but in much of the Middle East, there’s almost absolute silence.

Press TV: Well, it seems as though that things are getting worse obviously. What needs to happen for the situation to change for the better, for the people of Bahrain to get the rights that they’ve been fighting for and campaigning for and facing all this suppression for?

Cavell: Well, I believe number one is media reports as the world, at least the rest of the world, gets to understand exactly the type of illegal regime that is empowered in Bahrain, this brings pressure on international bodies and other organizations not to do business with Bahrain, not to hold sports or other conventions in Bahrain and to restrict any type of financial or other economic activity with this rogue regime, number one.

Number two, people have to be outspoken in their condemnation of the arrest of children, the arrest of over 1,700 adults, the total ban on any type of political activity. And this is an interesting aspect, because despite this total ban, last year there were over 6,000 protests in Bahrain and yet 365 days in a year and if you have 6,500 protests that just indicates the level of opposition to this regime. So, you’ve got people that need to speak out and condemn the political situation in Bahrain.

And thirdly, I believe international bodies, the United Nations need to be a little bit clear about the rogue element that is the government of Bahrain. This regime has no legitimacy, it is unelected and over 230 years it has ruled this island nation as its own private family fiefdom. And people are tired of that. This is the 21st century.

People want democracy. People want a say in the running of the government and in Bahrain they’re treated as non-citizens. Since 2012 this government has revoked the nationality of over 260 people. Now in an island nation if your citizenship is revoked where are you going to go? What that means as the government is making a slight of hand for the international community simply to justify locking people up. And they have locked up the entire opposition in Bahrain.

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