On October 2, the whole world celebrates the International Day of Non-violence with the United Nations’ General Assembly Resolution 61/271 issued on June 15, 2007, which decided to revive this day by raising the slogan “No to violence” for a better world. Hence, we would like to mention that this day coincides with the date of birth of Mahatma Gandhi, the pioneer of the philosophy of non-violence, and we will recall his famous phrase: ” Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man”.
On this day, we cannot help but recall all the freedom fighters in Bahrain who followed the principle of non-violence and who struggled and raised their voices demanding their human rights in peaceful marches and sit-ins and ended up being behind prison bars from nearly ten years to the present day.
Today, given its symbolism, and in every day, we urge the Bahraini government to release prisoners of opinion and conscience in Bahrain, to activate a comprehensive and serious dialogue between all the active forces, to sit at the dialogue table, and to start the reconciliation and reform process.
If the human being is the only being who has the ability to communicate and understand a language and take part in an equal dialogue, then why not the International Day of Saying “No to Violence” becomes the starting point on which an initiative for reconciliation between all spectrums of the Bahraini people? Why not take advantage of this day to base and consecrate awareness and embrace the doctrine of peace as a weapon of the powerful in building a sophisticated humane society.