Earlier this week a Bahraini policeman, Majid Asghar Ali, 27, was killed after a patrol car was attacked and set on fire near a village called Karzakan. Bahrain's bloggers have been quick to comment.
SoulSearch is in shock:
What happened last night? What provoked a gang of 30 to 40 hooligans to do what they did last night? What's happening to Bahrain? When folks just want to get a good night's sleep to be able to go to work the next day and earn an honest living?
Does violence solve anything?
Majid Asghar Ali from the Police Force is dead. And for what? Does this help Bahrain in any way? Does this violence serve any cause?
It was a total shock to read the papers this morning. I almost choked on my coffee and sandwich!
God help us. Where are we going?
Peace people. You don't want to turn into another Lebanon. Trust me.
Peace for Bahrain.
So is Naz:
I am angry. Angry, shocked, Stunned that any kind of person find this kind of behaviour acceptable, or even worse, justifiable!
What is wrong with people?
Now I consider myself quite politically illiterate, and I’m happy to admit it, but surely there are better ways to make a point than throwing tantrums like 6 year olds? ways other than burning, hurting, sabotaging? better than violence?
Is it just me that wants home to remain home? To be able to see a happy future for my country and countrymen (and women)?
Butterfly remembers the death of a demonstrator, Ali Jassim Makki, in December, and blames both deaths on sectarianism:
وكل ما يعني البعض هو اختلاق الذرائع وتوزيع الاتهامات .. اما بالنسبة لهم فلم يعد مهما من يدين من ومن يلصق التهمة بمن .. لم يعد مهما ان يشحذ بعضهم الهمم لإثبات ان كان الضحية خائن أم شهيد آخر من شهداء الوطن.
فهؤلاء من فقدوا ابنائهم بين ليلة وضحاها بسبب ذنب لم يقترفوه ولم يقترفه صغارهم هم من أصبحوا ثكلى وأرامل ويتامى .. هؤلاء من سيحتفظون بسرادق العزاء في ذاكرتهم لا لثلاثة أيام ولا لأسبوع بل الدهر كله .. هؤلاء هم من يدفعون ثمن جرائمكم .. طائفيتكم واحقادكم .. طائفية عنصرية تفرق حتى في الموت بين نفس ونفس وفقا لجنسيتها وعقيدتها!
Manama Republic compares the lives of the demonstrators in Karzakan to the policeman, who came originally from Balochistan:
However, not all Bahrainis are convinced by the official story of Majid Asghar Ali's death. Ebtihal Salman has her doubts:
Haythoo, a political activist, also expresses his disbelief at the government's story:
And in another post he says:
But Mahmood is fed up of the conspiracy theorists:
Who benefits from violence? … And the thing that beggars belief is that we find people condoning this activity or are in complete and utter denial. Putting “their side” on a pedestal and who can do no wrong whatsoever; while on the other hand, they blame the government for all ills without recognising a single positive aspect of its creation. Yes, we do have problems, but the line must be drawn in our own psyche to ensure that we actually do recognise wrong when we see it, regardless of who perpetrates it. And we should also drop those continuous conspiracy theories which some use to justify wrongs. In this particular instance; can anyone come up with a valid scenario in which we see elements in our government would actually sponsor people to throw Molotov cocktails on their own occupied police vehicles and sacrifice a human life while putting others in jeopardy simply to score a point? What insanity is this? […] Enough is enough. On both sides. We want to live with a semblance of harmony for goodness’ sake. These vandalism and criminal acts are not helping one little bit. Everybody, even who are called the opposition should come out and unambiguously condemn these criminal acts.
4 comments
majid was my soul he was my world no one knows abt me as im his mirror i believe wat is shown and said abt him in the paper is fake….majid was right he always said no one knows him and dats wat hapnd???majid is alive he is der with me…and he is mine and only mine he has been brutally murdered for no reason.but allah has given him the best place in the heaven alhumdullillah…and i loved him n will always love himmmm till he calls me…love u majid…love u alot…
if i can be in his place and let then beat me kill burn me and he his family stop suffering lets do somthing for him so tat everybody remmber him he suffered in his last time on earth who can bear 19 ppl beat u attack u one its courd act
…
Aaand.. you are?
these people did what they did by plan and full tention diviedied by two group and one attack the petrol car other burn beat kill the people in it and there video is in youtube still aforigner comes here for better life drem but u guys dont want any1 accept urself ,drama there photos of his body i was in the funreal he use to provied 14 sister 1 brother he was oldest beaten and mark of cuts burn on his body this isnt human act
itsnot first time they do this they killed anthor pakistani guy u protester kill beat burn then say we r peacefull govt do that even u guys put checking point on roads see id card beat foringers cant LIVE SAFE OR BY PEACE in bahrain any more ur freedom is stined with innocents blood