Bahrain Violence Quiet for Now, Deadly Weekend in Libya

Bahrain Violence: Protesters spent the weekend in a tent village they set up in the capital Manama. Bahrain violence is quiet for now.

BAHRAIN VIOLENCE: Anti-government protesters wave flags and demonstrate at the Pearl roundabout on Feb. 20 in Manama, Bahrain. Protesters filled the square for another day, as the government and opposition leaders engaged in talks to resolve the week-long John Moore/Getty Images

In Bahrain, protesters spent the weekend in a tent village they set up in Pearl Square in the capital Manama. According to Anna Neistat, associate director for Program and the Emergencies division for HRW, who is in Pearl Square, about 1,000 people are camped there. Some people are setting up food stands and a media center. There is no presence of security guards in the square and the present mood, she reports, is cheerful and optimistic.

Last Thursday authorities used a heavy hand in dealing with protesters, sending in security forces to raid their encampment. Several people were killed, but the protesters have now regained the streets and the situation is relatively calm.

Commenting on the situation in Bahrain, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in an interview with ABC’s “This Week” that the United States supports the call for reform and would like to see the kingdom get back on that track as soon as possible.

“We’ve been very clear from the beginning that we do not want to see any violence,” said Clinton. “We think it is absolutely unacceptable. We very much want to see the human rights of the people protected, including right to assemble, right to express themselves, and we want to see reform. And so Bahrain has started on some reform, and we want to see them get back to that as quickly as possible.”

Libya

Reports coming out of Libya tell a story of a weekend of bloodshed. The death toll of protesters rose to at least 173 over the past four days, according to Human Rights Watch. Numbers continue to climb as more information leaks out through the tightening information blockade.