BICI report expected to herald new era for Bahrain

The much awaited BICI Report was presented on November 23, and just like logic dictated, it took a central path. The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry was set up, through a Royal Order by the King to determine exactly what went on during the time of crisis starting from February 14th.

Headed by Prof. Cherif Bassiouni and having many imminent members from different fields, the team set out to get to the bottom of it. They received thousands of emails and interviewed hundreds of people, including government bodies, opposition members, victims, and even expatriates.

There is not an ounce of doubt that the report indeed was independent and objective, maybe the fact that both loyalists and anti-government supporters don’t like the report in its entirety proves that.

Some of the important points that need to be highlighted, from the 500+ page report is that there was indeed torture meted out by security forces and that is in no way acceptable and needs to be condemned vehemently. It also stated that a total of 35 people, including civilians and security forces had died during the crisis.

The report also lists out quite a few of the errors on the part of GoB, including the untimely destruction of Shiite religious places, even though only 5 of the 30 destroyed had legal permits and the excessive use of force.

But unlike any other report to come out of Bahrain, the BICI report also shed light on the activities of the protesters, including how they attacked and endangered civilians and expats and how Salmaniya was taken over and misused by some medical professionals.

For me personally, the highlight and moment of pride was how His Majesty the King listened calmly with his head held high even when a list of mistakes committed by his government was being read out to him. He was brave enough to stand up and humbly accept the mistakes of his government and to vow that changes would be made and that those responsible will be dealt with, that justice will be served. He promised to ensure that the laws of Bahrain are at par with international standards. And he proved that he is indeed a true leader.

But ofcourse, this is just the beginning of the reconciliation process. We need to see the action come through. And we need to start bridging that gap between the people, that’s the biggest hurdle, to bridge the divide in civil society and to rebuild trust among the people.

But I am confident, as I know many others are, that the most difficult part is over and that if we set ourselves to it, we will be able to rebuild this beautiful country, and by imbibing lessons learnt over the past 10 months, become a country that is completely developed, where every citizen and resident have all their rights and freedoms valued. Long live Bahrain