Al Khalifah has no legitimacy to rule Bahrain: Commentator

Press TV has conducted an interview with Calin Cavell, an author and lecturer from West Virginia, to discuss the death of a Bahraini protester, Ali Abdulghani, who died of the injuries he sustained last week during an anti-government demonstration.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.  

Press TV: Looking at this condemnation coming out of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, it seems that according to what they are saying there have been multiple incidents like that of Ali Abdulghani, which have not come in the mainstream media, which have not created the uproar in the international community, yet these atrocities are happening on a very frequent basis in Bahrain; we have no accountability for those who perpetrate the crimes.

Cavell: This is true. In fact, the official count of killings right now in Bahrain is only 97 because two years ago they started quick counting [of] the number of people killed and tortured to death in Bahrain because it is so many. It is probably the number of around 990 currently. So, right now there are so many people being killed in Bahrain for speaking out, for opposing this dictatorial monarchy government that people can even keep track of all the people being killed.

Press TV:  Does the Bahraini regime really think that it can get away with this by not giving the people their rights, by using might, force [and] repression?

Cavell: Absolutely. In fact with the killing of 17-year-old Ali Abdulghani last week or last Thursday he was arrested and died supposedly his family was told on Monday that he had died, tough they didn’t say when he had died, you have a situation where everyone in Bahrain knows there are no rights. There is no freedom of speech in Bahrain, no freedom of association and so when the police raided Ali’s aunt’s house in the village of Shahrakkan last Thursday he admittedly ran because he knows that if the police take you into the custody, they are going to torture you and they would likely kill you. So, he ran and the police had already prepared for that, so they ran him over twice before they tortured him and because of the head injuries and the blood on the ground, the excessive bleeding from his head, it apparently leaves like they have dropped him from a building head first. But everybody knows in Bahrain there are no rights, there is no freedom of speech, there is no freedom of association. This dictatorial monarchical regime which is in violation of international law, the civil and political covenant on human rights, the international covenant human rights, this dictatorial regime has absolutely no legitimacy and the people will continue to fight it until their fall.

Press TV:  Are you at all surprised that the US does continue to support this regime? Not just the US but other Western powers as well including the UK and of course the US’s naval fleet which continues to be housed by Bahrain.

Cavell: Well the human side of me says this is appalling, this is abhorrent and I shed tear for all of the fighters in Bahrain who are fighting for freedom and democracy. But the political scientist in me looks at the situation and I see that the US, Britain and the Western powers are trying to maintain their hegemonic control over the Middle East, over its all natural gas resources and so they really do not care how many people they have to kill to do so. And that is why they are trying to reclaim control over Iran and all of its natural gas and oil resources because all they are interested in is having fuel for the hegemonic empire of the United States and Western imperialism.