On Wednesday, the Institute for Gulf Affairs hosted a conference titled, “U.S. Foreign Policy and the Future of Bahrain” at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The conference featured speeches by Bahraini political activists on the violations against human rights and a panel of experts that spoke on the current political situation in Bahrain. The conference began with opening remarks by Ali al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs and was followed by a speech by Ahmed Abdulhussain, a Bahraini political activist and poet. Dr. Qasim Omran, MD, gave a personal account as a doctor in Bahrain during the conference luncheon.
On Wednesday, the Institute for Gulf Affairs hosted a conference titled, “U.S. Foreign Policy and the Future of Bahrain” at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The conference featured speeches by Bahraini political activists on the violations against human rights and a panel of experts that spoke on the current political situation in Bahrain. The conference began with opening remarks by Ali al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs and was followed by a speech by Ahmed Abdulhussain, a Bahraini political activist and poet. Dr. Qasim Omran, MD, gave a personal account as a doctor in Bahrain during the conference luncheon. The conference was concluded by a panel moderated by Ali al-Ahmed and focused on the current political attitudes. The panel featured Justin Gengler, PhD candidate at the University of Michigan and Nabil Mikhail from George Washington University.
Qasim Omran presented “Personal Account of a Doctor who survived the Crackdown in Manama” where he discussed the increasing violence against medics in Bahrain. Omran is a Bahraini physician and worked at Salmaniya Medical Complex during the crackdown of the Bahraini regime. He left Bahrain five days after the military crackdown on Salmaniya Hospital. According to Omran, 20 doctors have been charged with felonies for allegedly “overthrowing the regime, taking control of hospitals, possession of arms, confiscation of medical equipment,” as well as numerous other charges. In addition, 28 doctors and nurses have been charged with misdemeanors for various false charges, including “broadcasting wrong information on Bahrain.” Omran said, this was an effort to hide the truth because doctors were revealing facts about how security forces are occupying hospitals, confiscating ambulances and forcing medics to deny treatment to protesters. “Patients fear going to the hospital. The security forces are turning hospitals into a torture chamber,” Omran said.
Read full notes of the conference on pomed.org
