Bahrain tightens measures to suppress protests against government

Bahraini forces have tightened anti-protest measures in a number of towns and villages as anti-government protesters prepare for rallies in the capital, Manama.

Reports say security checkpoints, surrounded by barbed wire, strictly control roads leading to the capital and people are forced to pass through police checkpoints to enter and leave their towns and villages.

Also, security forces have reportedly used concrete barriers in major streets in the capital.

“Based on what we are following in the field, the government violence against protesters is inevitable,” said Hussain Yousif, a spokesman for Bahrain’s Tamarod Movement, the group organizing the rallies.

“But we need to go ahead and show the world and the government that the Bahraini people have the right to express their political demands,” he added.

On Monday, Bahrain’s Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa warned that the anti-regime protesters would be punished if they went ahead with their plans.

“The government will forcefully confront the suspicious calls to violate law and order and those who stand behind them through decisive measures,” he said.

The warning came in reaction to a plan by the opposition to hold a major demonstration on August 14, when the country will hold celebrations of independence from the UK.

On August 7, Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa banned protests in the capital, Manama. Bahrain’s loyalist-dominated parliament has also approved a bill banning all protests in Manama.

The uprising in Bahrain began in mid-February 2011.

The Al Khalifa regime launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests, calling in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring states for help.