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When the news broke that the Americans had been using poison gas = their war against the people of South Vietnam there was an immediate an tremendous outcry. However, British-controlled forces have been using various types of gases against civilian. populations for some years NOWe This news has scarcely caused a ripple of protest. Just now, in a tiny island in the Persian Gulf a struggle is being fought out which has all the pernicious characteristics of the Vietnam war - including the use of gas. It is to the detriment of the British Labour and peace movement that it has done virtually nothing about the shocking events now taking place in Bahrain.
Bahrain is an oil-rich archipelago and sheikWiom under British control, The workers of the Bahrain Petroleum Company, an American syndicate consist-= ing of Standard Oil of California and Texas Oil Corporation, downed tools on March 11, and since then have been demonstrating in protest against mass sackings. The company sacked the Bahraini workers on the pretext of redundancy but the Beahrainis claim that the move was taken to make room for workers of European origin.
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Despite ruthless repression/the Sheik's armed forces and British forces, who have used helicopters to drop tear gas, the protest action has gone on unabated. Students joined the demonstrations as it became clear that the struggle was assuming an anti-imperialist character. Later the merchants closed their shops in solidarity with the strikers, The struggle has caused a rift in the Government; Ahmed El Umrani, Minister of Education, sided with the workers and students and resigned his post.
The demands put forward by the workers include the right to form trade unions (British trade unionists, please note), the reinstatement of the workers dismissed, the release of all political detainees, the reinstatement of students who have been thrown out of their schools, and for the right to form organisations, It is a fact that under the medigsval regime of the Sheik, backed by British bayonets and helicopters, political parties and newspapers are virtually forbidden,
There has been a clamp down on news ‘from Bahrain. ‘The latest we have is that the workers were still out on strike on April 12th and that there had been daily demonstrations. In one of these, in the city of Manemah, British-controlled forces went into action against the crowds. According to the Iraqi News Agency’ they used tear gas and opened fire, killing and injuring dozens of people. A similar attack took place when the workers of the Bahrain Petroleum Comprany demonstrated outside that company's headquarters at Alawali,
Complete figures of the number dead and wounded are not available. Radio Baghdad quotes Bahraini's trade unionists as putting the figure of dead, after four weeks of struggle, at over 100. The Bahraini authorities admit over 20, Baghdad Radio also puts the number arrested at over 2,000 and the number tried and sentenced at over 1,000, -And this out of population of less than 180,000! What we have here is, for intents and purposes, British forces acting as policemen for American oil interests, propping up a completely undemocratic regime in the interests of higher profits for Texas oil millionaires. Unless we do something about it the blood of these Bahraini workers will be on our hands. Everyone must. speak out Now!