“The actions of the Al Khalifah regime and the unwavering support of the Saudi military [for the regime] cannot undermine the determination of the Bahraini people,” Sheikh Qassim said during a ceremony on Saturday on the tenth anniversary of Bahraini uprising.
He said the popular movement was launched in Bahrain to protest the suffering of the people under the Al Khalifah regime and to call for radical reforms in the government.
The popular uprising in Bahrain began in mid-February 2011, as recurring demonstrations throughout the years demanded that the ruling Al Khalifah family relinquish power.
However, the regime has brutally suppressed dissent, and has arrested, injured and killed thousands of people in the Persian Gulf country. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also helped the Manama regime in its ruthless crackdown.
“The stance of all opposition groups is to achieve victory,” Sheikh Qassim stressed, denouncing the “reactionary” and “cruel” rule of the Bahraini regime as incompatible with the will of the Bahraini people.
He also said the regime’s intense violence, as well as its use of foreign forces and various methods of torture, cannot silence the voice of the Bahraini people.