by MARC BOTENGA
Protests against the Formula One Grand Prix held in Manama on 22 April could have reminded the world that repression in Bahrain is still ongoing. But once more the so-called international community by and large turned a blind eye: no diplomatic pressure, certainly no “crippling” international sanctions. The Grand Prix went ahead as planned. A firebomb thrown by Bahraini protesters, however, caused US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland to ask for “demonstrators’ restraint in ensuring that they are peaceful.” The contrast with Syria, where Western politicians systematically downplay violence by the Syrian opposition, and some even talk of offering military support to the Free Syrian Army, could hardly be larger.
Maryam al-Khawaja has consistently raised her voice against these double standards. At twenty-four years of age, she heads the foreign relations office of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR). She has testified on human rights violations in Bahrain before the UN, the US Congress, and the European Parliament. Her sister Zainab has been arrested over and over by the Bahraini regime, once reportedly just for trying to see her father. Maryam’s father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, is an illegally-detained human rights activist who has been on hunger strike for over two months now.
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