Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): The Bahraini Minister of Interior participated in an event held by the American D.A.R.E. organization, an organization that provides training for security officers. They had an anti-addiction program called "Together" which then turned into a program for combating violence and addiction.

"Extremist views aim to spread violence and incitement internationally and we have seen this happening, and we expect it to happen again and again, if this threat is not eradicated," the interior minister said in his speech.

"Through our experiences, we have seen individuals with more extreme mindsets seeking to impose their beliefs on the whole society, or attempting to eliminate those who disagree with them. Unfortunately, the consequences extend beyond violence and can significantly affect economic stability and hinder development and innovation in the society."

However, the minister is speaking fiercely and clearly about opinions, not about armed organizations. The minister means here, of course, opinions that he does not like, and do not agree with the policy of governance in Bahrain, and believes that the solution is to "eradicate this threat". This is a dangerous public statement, as the minister talks about "opinions" and nothing else.

The minister was targeting the opposition in all his speeches, and everyone participating in the celebration know that Rashid bin Abdullah was talking about the dissidents in Bahrain and that he was bringing charges against them.

These threats are raised by Rashid bin Abdullah just days after the crisis of his ministry's arrest of scholar Sheikh Mohammad Sanqour came to an end. The Imam of Friday prayers in Diraz who was apprehended for no reason, which led to marches condemning the arrest, which ended in just three days.

Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa and his ministry have always been a known for causing aggravation and poisoning of the country's atmosphere. As soon as there is a cautious calm, the Ministry of Interior comes out with a new crisis that ignites the scene again.

In his speech that he delivered in the US, the minister speaks about the normal and standard political action of any opposition in the world yet deems it dangerous extremism. He says that extremism, according to his opinion, "begins with motivating a large part of society to adopt extremist views that may lead to local, regional and international escalation. With such views, it is impossible for people to maintain friendly relations and even agree to disagree on issues." He then finished with the alarming conclusion that "this threat must be eradicated."

The ideas presented by the minister to the Americans through his speech were a summary of his personal experience of repressive acts that he has practiced for nearly 20 years, summarizing his vision that there is no room for coexistence except for those who have similar views. This confirms and establishes the adopted approach of force in dealing with opponents of the government. He mixes up peaceful political work with "terrorism".

Meanwhile, the obvious truth is that Bahrain has not witnessed organized terrorism similar to what he is talking about, there have been no violent reactions to this man's repression of thousands of citizens and the killing of dozens as well.

The eradication carried out by this minister happened to senior and influential political leaders in Bahrain whose approach was peaceful, whereas the coexistence he is demanding is in fact not one of his concerns, and his first task for the benefit of his family is brutal repression and sectarian persecution.

In February, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain launched a campaign seeking to punish Bahrain's interior minister under the US Magnitsky Act. The US imposes sanctions on those involved in crimes that violate human rights.

Sanctions were imposed on 19 Saudis in 2018 and 2021 for their involvement in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, however, this law has not affected anyone responsible for torture and repression in Bahrain.

The Minister of Interior is a real beneficiary of the ongoing crisis in Bahrain since 2011, as this crisis has given him a semi-open budget, and wide influence through which he was able to make a number of his sons reach advanced positions. Therefore, he is fully aware that any real internal reconciliation will greatly lessen his position, so the minister turned into a "crisis" figure, joining Al-Khawalid and the sons of Atiyatullah.

This is Rashid bin Abdullah and these are his dangerous statements, will Bahrain witness repercussions soon? Keeping such a man in any government formation means that: repression, killings, imprisonment and torture are the method of governance and nothing else.

Arabic Version