The below is a petition to UNESCO to express brutal repression and ethnic cleansing imposed by the vicious and illegitimate Regime on the peaceful people of this small country.
To: H.E Mr. Kishore Rao
Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee
Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee
Dear Sir,
It is not unknown to you that the events of 14th of February revolution in Bahrain have revealed to the world the extent of brutal repression and ethnic cleansing imposed by the vicious and illegitimate Regime on the peaceful people of this small country.
It is therefore a matter of serious concern to us that the 35th meeting of the World Heritage committee may be chaired by a representative of this vile Regime, who seeks to distort and falsify everything relating to the genuine people and civilization of Bahrain. There are many examples of the Regime's negligence and destruction of the Bahraini heritage, including:
- Aali burial mounds: considered the world's largest historical burial ground; they are more than 2500 years old and have been a site of archeological excavations since 1879. The graves are characterized by a variety of architectural designs and contain a wealth of objects and belongings that used to be buried with the dead. Hence it contained many archeological and cultural treasures belonging to ancient Bahraini and Iraqi civilizations. Nonetheless, the Ruling family sent tractors to destroy and level to the ground these burial mounds, the land was then seized and shared among influential figures of the Regime, against the public will, the outcry of the district's population and the many objecting reports published in the local press.
- Demolition of the ruins of historic villages: The Al Khalifa ruling family's efforts to annihilate the genuine people of Bahrain have been going on for more than two centuries. This latent genocide has led to the complete desertion of nearly 150 villages according to some historical documents, due to the brutality of Al Khalifa thugs, who acted like present day militias. Many people were either killed or fled to more secure neighboring countries. The ruling family sought since then to completely eliminate the ruins and build new settlements on the grounds of ancient village like Abu Jarjoora, Barboora, Farsiya, Gazgaz, Samman, Garrah, Braighi and Sabsab, among others.
- Destruction of Historical buildings: the demolition of mosques that are hundreds of years old in the current protests was not a novelty of the Regime. In the late sixties, the palace known as "Bakhana" in Jidhafs municipality, which contained an ancient temple, was grounded by the Regime. The Sheikh Ibrahim mosque in Askar, which dates to the 1st Hejri century, was a sanctuary to the people of that area before they were evicted in 1811. The neighboring areas population kept visiting the mosque and taking care of it until 1978, when the ruling family decided to ban any visit to the mosque. Many archeological ruins all over Bahrain have met the same fate.
- Changing historical names and characteristics of Bahraini areas: the people's memory still records many names of great men of Bahrain whose books bear testimony to the cruelty and injustice of the ruling family. The Regime seeks to erase it's bloody history today by systematically changing the names of Bahraini villages and localities. Thus the old Barboora became "Horat Sanad", whereas the above-mentioned Aali burial mounds have been transformed to a suburb of Riffa area.
- Destruction of the local environment: The ruling family has carelessly and irrevocably destructed the local environment through the archaic reclamation and confiscation of sea lands. one example is the Gulf of Tubli which had the asset of consisting of shallow waters and therefore fertile sea environment rich with mangrove trees and coral reefs and sea life. Even though the first document on the protection of the Gulf of Tubli was issued in 1941, the total surface of the gulf was reduced from more than 24 square kilometers in 1956 to less than 10 square kilometers in 2000. The Gulf of Tubli is of course only one of many similar examples on the destruction of coasts and natural environment of Bahrain.
- Prohibiting Bahraini scholars from writing or narrating history: In the context of it’s policies repressing freedom of expression, the Bahraini Regime censured a long list of historical resources of the genuine Bahraini people, going beyond literature on their political struggle against colonization or to assert their right to self-determination, to abduct nearly all their cultural heritage. On the other hand, the imposturous Regime continues implementing an evil plan, under the direct supervision of Mai Al Khalifa and Abdalla Khalid Al Khalifa and Al., bringing in mercenaries to produce a forged historical content.
- Aali burial mounds: considered the world's largest historical burial ground; they are more than 2500 years old and have been a site of archeological excavations since 1879. The graves are characterized by a variety of architectural designs and contain a wealth of objects and belongings that used to be buried with the dead. Hence it contained many archeological and cultural treasures belonging to ancient Bahraini and Iraqi civilizations. Nonetheless, the Ruling family sent tractors to destroy and level to the ground these burial mounds, the land was then seized and shared among influential figures of the Regime, against the public will, the outcry of the district's population and the many objecting reports published in the local press.
- Demolition of the ruins of historic villages: The Al Khalifa ruling family's efforts to annihilate the genuine people of Bahrain have been going on for more than two centuries. This latent genocide has led to the complete desertion of nearly 150 villages according to some historical documents, due to the brutality of Al Khalifa thugs, who acted like present day militias. Many people were either killed or fled to more secure neighboring countries. The ruling family sought since then to completely eliminate the ruins and build new settlements on the grounds of ancient village like Abu Jarjoora, Barboora, Farsiya, Gazgaz, Samman, Garrah, Braighi and Sabsab, among others.
- Destruction of Historical buildings: the demolition of mosques that are hundreds of years old in the current protests was not a novelty of the Regime. In the late sixties, the palace known as "Bakhana" in Jidhafs municipality, which contained an ancient temple, was grounded by the Regime. The Sheikh Ibrahim mosque in Askar, which dates to the 1st Hejri century, was a sanctuary to the people of that area before they were evicted in 1811. The neighboring areas population kept visiting the mosque and taking care of it until 1978, when the ruling family decided to ban any visit to the mosque. Many archeological ruins all over Bahrain have met the same fate.
- Changing historical names and characteristics of Bahraini areas: the people's memory still records many names of great men of Bahrain whose books bear testimony to the cruelty and injustice of the ruling family. The Regime seeks to erase it's bloody history today by systematically changing the names of Bahraini villages and localities. Thus the old Barboora became "Horat Sanad", whereas the above-mentioned Aali burial mounds have been transformed to a suburb of Riffa area.
- Destruction of the local environment: The ruling family has carelessly and irrevocably destructed the local environment through the archaic reclamation and confiscation of sea lands. one example is the Gulf of Tubli which had the asset of consisting of shallow waters and therefore fertile sea environment rich with mangrove trees and coral reefs and sea life. Even though the first document on the protection of the Gulf of Tubli was issued in 1941, the total surface of the gulf was reduced from more than 24 square kilometers in 1956 to less than 10 square kilometers in 2000. The Gulf of Tubli is of course only one of many similar examples on the destruction of coasts and natural environment of Bahrain.
- Prohibiting Bahraini scholars from writing or narrating history: In the context of it’s policies repressing freedom of expression, the Bahraini Regime censured a long list of historical resources of the genuine Bahraini people, going beyond literature on their political struggle against colonization or to assert their right to self-determination, to abduct nearly all their cultural heritage. On the other hand, the imposturous Regime continues implementing an evil plan, under the direct supervision of Mai Al Khalifa and Abdalla Khalid Al Khalifa and Al., bringing in mercenaries to produce a forged historical content.
All the above-mentioned examples are but a representative sample of the Regime’s vile actions against the culture and people of Bahrain, annihilating the very existence and memory of a great and centuries old civilization of the land of eternity (Dilmun; on of Bahrain’s ancient names). The accession of Bahrain to the convention on the protection of world heritage is a mere deceitful attempt to mislead the international community and conceal it’s despicable actions on the ground. Therefore, we call upon the UNESCO to:
- Send a fact-finding commission to Bahrain, and we hold ourselves ready to meet it’s members and provide them with all the documents available to us on the matter in question;
- classify the historical ruins in Bahrain under the “endangered world heritage”, not only because the conditions set under paragraph 4 of Article 11 of the Convention apply to them, but also because they are subjected to an intentional and systematic danger of destruction;
- Cooperate with the nongovernmental national organizations in their efforts to preserve the Bahraini heritage, according to paragraph 7 of Article 13 of the Convention.
- classify the historical ruins in Bahrain under the “endangered world heritage”, not only because the conditions set under paragraph 4 of Article 11 of the Convention apply to them, but also because they are subjected to an intentional and systematic danger of destruction;
- Cooperate with the nongovernmental national organizations in their efforts to preserve the Bahraini heritage, according to paragraph 7 of Article 13 of the Convention.
Finally, we are confident that the infamous apartheid Regime in South Africa had not brought in mercenaries in a diabolic plan to replace and annihilate the original population, as is happening in Bahrain; It had not destroyed the heritage of it’s people and distort it’s history, as is happening in Bahrain. Therefore, we urge everyone who receives this appeal to fulfill their responsibility towards preserving the human heritage in Bahrain. We also reiterate our deep concern about the possibility that a falsifier of truth and a forger of history should chair the 35th meeting of the world heritage committee, and we heartily hope that UNESCO will keep it’s history and heritage clean of such grave mistake.
S.Muhammad Al-Musawy
Musa Abdul-Ali
Musa Abdul-Ali
Copy to:
UNESCO staff
UNESCO member States
Relevant international organizations
Media
UNESCO staff
UNESCO member States
Relevant international organizations
Media
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