BAHRAIN: Students required to sign pledge of allegiance to government

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights released a statement Sunday saying it was “deeply concerned” the country’s leading university had started requiring students to sign a pledge to support the embattled government of King Hamed ibn Isa Khalifa.

The state-run University of Bahrain in Sakhir distributed the pledges when students returned to class Sunday, and they were soon posted on Facebook and Twitter.

Students who refuse to sign the pledge might have to withdraw, the group says.

The pledge specifies:" I acknowledge that not signing this document means I do not wish to continue my education in the University of Bahrain."

Students said they were required to sign and that the university had “turned into a big prison." University officials added metal detectors, surveillance cameras and stationed security guards at each of the school’s colleges this week, according to the leading opposition newspaper, Al-Wasat.

They also have suspended many students who joined anti-government demonstrations or posted anti-government views on Facebook.

RELATED:

Timeline: Repression in Bahrain

-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske in Cairo

Comments

[meemy ..Bahrain]

thank you for stand with Bahraini people ....

[Dheya]

this the regim of bahrain... you need to to slave to al khalifa familly then you can get some service.

[Adam]

Whats this country is trying to do is immature and ridculas

Its just an ink and that wont prove anything
You should stop this racism and get the rid of your dictatorial regimes instead of punishing everyone who express his ideas and demanded his rights

Dismissing students or forcing them to sign a pledge assure that your are not eligible to run an Educational organization

you better be working As secret dictatorial regimes agents , As you are loyal to the royal family not your country

We all know that police where in the university when pro-government thugs attacked it and thus Admin is responsible for that

[Nasser]

The regime in Bahrain has gone mad. The ongoing raids on girls schools and buses carrying pupils are daily and ordinary practices to impose loyalty by force. what such shame when young students, especially girls, are take from schools to police custody , beaten, insulted,and even threatened to be raped as keep them under continuous fear , just for their concealed hatred towards the autocratic regime of Bahrain. Thus, don't be surprised at adults (university students)!!

[Sarah]

So apparently Bahrain has transported itself back to the Middle Ages. Not really sure where these pro-government comments come from. Do people like this really exist in the 21st century? Never have I felt so blessed to be born in America.

[Tom]

Does that mean if a student is republican he can’t go to universities in democratic states?!

[Khaled Jamal]

Pro-regime will start saying the students only pay 6% of tuition costs and the government pay 94% . From where the government bring this 94%? From their pockets? Forget about that . If the government pay 94% the students should live as slaves and avoid talking in politics? This is what the pro-dictators will never understand . Freedom can’t be silent with money .

[Rami Sulaibi]

The vandalism happened was from pro-govt thugs that attacked the university and nothing to do with the 500 students that were dismissed mainly after joining the peaceful protests. Why hundreds of students and professors would attack their buildings? It was the trick by the government to show the protests as not peaceful.

CNN: Witnesses: King's supporters confront Bahrain students
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/03/13/bahrain.protests/index.html

Students demonstrating for democracy at the University of Bahrain in Sakheer in the south said they were attacked by what appeared to be about 150 pro-government thugs.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-03-13-Bahrain-political-clashes_N.htm

An Arabic BBC report
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/middleeast/2011/03/110313_bahrain_new.shtml

More from human rights organizations :
http://bahraincenter.blogspot.com/2011/05/events-of-university-of-bahrain-and.html

[Mona]

Loyalty Pledge of University of Bahrain – Translated version

Under this document, I the undersigned assure, As a full-time student studying at the University of Bahrain, my complete loyalty to the leadership of the Kingdom of Bahrain, represented by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, governor of this country may God protect him, and to the rational government.

http://thegrumpyowl.com/2011/05/16/loyalty-pledge-of-university-of-bahrain/

Do I need to continue ?

[Bahrain Revolution]

I'm an expelled student from university of Bahrain and my GPA is above 3.1, and I didn't do anything except that I had participate in a peaceful protest inside the university, and this protest was organized by the vice president & security guys of the university before the brutal crackdown in the country, but after the crackdown they punished us because of something the didn't try to stop it as chairmen!

Many of my colleagues got arrested and the policemen forced them by beating & torturing to admit that they ruin the university and beat the Sunni girls students !!

[Omar]

Schools students are arrested and beaten , what they will do with university students ?

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/05/20115118146679800.html

[Nasser]

All schools , universities and works in Bahrain are signing this pledge of allegiance to government

http://www.alayam.com/Articles.aspx?aid=81710
http://www.alayam.com/Articles.aspx?aid=81716

It is the new dictatorships . If you don't support the government just leave the country !

[Dr. Sofia]

We expect everything from dictatorial government, if there are more than 50 doctors in jailed, many teachers were fired, many students from school and Bahrain University were fired too, more than 30 were killed by the Saudi and Bahraini army, 4 were killed under torture in jailed, more than 1000 in jailed for nothing than protesting against government, an armed civil people belong to government moving in street beating and killing peaceful people, they were in university too. some of them carrying the base (Al Qaeda) flag, So do not feel surprised, we expect everything from this government except to be fairly.

[Bahrainlova]

Los Angles Times ... shame on you! get your facts right first from real people. There is no official Bahrain youths society in bahrain !!!!!!!

I don't know if you got paid to post that or what. As news reporters you should have the courtesy to investigate the authenticity of the news before publishing to the public as your credibility depends on your readers who deserve to get genuine news!!!!

To those guys who got dismissed... hard luck you deserve more. You should have thought of the repurcussions before you went on to destroy the country and its economy and undermine all the rights of 80% of Bahrains population!!!

[UOBStudent]

First of all the so called” pledge of allegiance to government” included rules of conduct of the university to make sure that all students know them now after 2 month of closing the university, and to prevent the violent protesting that happened before 2 months inside the university by the protesting students who have destroyed some of the important buildings and facilities of the university from happing again !!

Secondly,the so called ” state-run university” that provide the best university education in bahrain pay 94% of the studying fees for all baharaini students in the university…and that is all because it is a state-run university!!

Third point, the university did not turned to a big prison!!Students can enter and leave the university any time they wish…and the security procedures mentioned are done to assure the safety of the students, those are a normal and temporary procedures after what happened before 2 months and it is done in some of USA high schools !!

Last point, the so called “leading opposition newspaper” is know by posting false and fabricated news about the situation in Bahrain in the last 2 months…it stoled pictures from other news paper for a stolen car..and posted it as a car smashed by the police!!! So how can any one believe anything they mention after they lost their Credibility !!

[Someone]

My brother was a student in university of Bahrain third year with a gpa of 3.69?desmissed from the university and get arrested !!! Is this freedom and dimocracy that Bahrain gov. Pretend to have !!!

[Sarah]

I am a proud UOB graduate and I can tell you the information presented in this article is false. What happened at the university during the protests was pure vandalism and anarchy. Filmed footage of what happened that day was terrorizing and so I don't blame the university for heightened security. One pro-government female student was beaten by protester males that she had to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit for her political views.

The pledge in reference is a document saying that students would protect university property from vandalism as what was witnessed.

Please read the following article for further insight on the tragic events.
http://blog.bahrainindependent.com/2011/04/06/bahrain’s-largest-university-reiterates-zero-tolerance-policy/

[QuiteBahraini]

As my follow friend said before me, few "free" students will be able to sign in leaving their believes for themselves, BUT if will not sign, make sure that they will come to your house between 1am to 5am to arrest you and beat you. and in the prison no one know how much you will eat of torture and humiliation, and you may be sexually harassed.

and Remember that most qualified academics have been dismissed (including the Business Studies DEAN) and only pro-gov are there ... so what is the quality and the message they are sending to their students??!!

do they believe people will be silenced by military for long??!! or are they beieve that the country could live ever normally while more than 75% (opposition votes in 2010) without involving them in the decision making ???!!! Are OBAMA smart man to believe that we will forget or forgive his administration support to the regime in BAHRAIN even over our dead body??!!!

[The Patrriot]

Yes it is true may be some of you think it is a joke because there is no possibility for this thing to be happening at the democratic societies , i think that one day we will need to ask permission for pregnancy and birth cases,we do not know whether laugh or cry with those fascist Bedouin people really it is a miserable life which we live, the bahraini people have reached to a way thinking that they can not co-exist any more with this regime.

[UOB student]

After a call with vise president of University of Bahrain he said who will not sign it can’t continue and should go to other university! GCC students were forced to sign it also. Again it is not a matter of finding a university but threat of being arrest and accused of any things as many students, teachers and professors are arrested until now without knowing their locations and without having access to their lawyers. Is there any university in this world that does like this? If students don’t agree with their government they will be dismissed? Many of these dismissed students have high GPAs and should graduate this semester. Where is the UN and Unesco of all this ?