Angry Arab chief Bahrain correspondent: "This is a very interesting interview by Cherief Bassiouni, head of the
Bahrain "Independent" Commission of Inquiry. Bassiouni had stated that he would
stop giving interviews before the report is submitted but I guess it was
difficult for him to stay out of the limelight. What is disturbing about the
interview is that it made clear - though we all knew this already - that the
commission is operating under the premise that the King is innocent. Of course
there is a possibility that the King indeed had nothing to do with what happened
(which of course is another disaster all together because that means that no one
is in control of the country) but why did the so called independent commission
begin on this presumption? Bassiouni goes as far to say that the King is a
reformer. How does he know this? Does he have a deep understanding of the
problems that Bahrain faces and its history? Does he know the inner working of
the royal family and what happens between closed doors? What worries me more
though is the accusations that he levels against the doctors and the fact that
he states that some of them seized the hospital. I have already explained to
you in my previous email on Dr. Al Ekri about what happened in the hospital.
What Bassiouni is saying is absolutely ridiculous. Another problem is that he
seems to take as fact that the protestor given the death penalty did indeed run
over and kill a police officer. The only evidence provided was a you tube
video. This protestor may have killed the police officer (I do not know what
happened) but how will we know if he was given a sham trial?
Since Bassiouni decided to reveal the results of the commission before the
report is submitted, I can sum up the report for you: The government made
mistakes. The protestors made mistakes. No high level government officials
were responsible for the mistakes. Nothing was systemic."
