Bahrainis Keep Insisting on Regime Change, Opposition Leader Says
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Head of Bahrain’s Islamic Action Movement highlighted the public call for the Al Khalifa’s ouster, saying slogans demanding the overthrow of the ruling regime have become a fixed part of all anti-regime demonstrations across the Persian Gulf country.
The majority of Bahrainis are quite confident that they will not stop short of calling for a regime change, Jaafar al-Alawi said in an interview with Tasnim.
Highlighting the “unique, widespread insistence” on pursuing public rights in Bahrain, leader of the Islamic Action Society said temporary demands or request for reforms have no place in the anti-regime rallies anymore, but the regime’s downfall has become a main slogan in the protests.
Alawi then pointed to the Al Khalifa’s new tactics to mount pressure on the citizens, saying the regime creates traffic jams deliberately to punish people or imposes unannounced tax to exert financial pressure on the nation.
Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has been witnessing almost daily protests against the Al Khalifa dynasty since early 2011, with Manama using harsh measures in an attempt to crush the demonstrations.
Scores of Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the ongoing crackdown on the peaceful demonstrations.