(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Inspired by popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, tens of thousands of people in Bahrain took to the streets on February 14th 2011 to have their voices heard, in a movement locally known as “The Day of Rage”. They set up camp at Pearl Roundabout, one of the country’s largest landmarks, and called for political reform.
As protests became more urgent and moved to the main financial area in Manama, Saudi Arabia’s Peninsular Shield forces tanks rolled across the causeway to help deal with the situation. While the Bahraini government declared this as an extension of friendship, the opposition saw Saudi interference as a “blatant occupation”.
Soon after protestors set up camp at pearl roundabout, the government launched its first brutal crackdown in the early hours as locals of all ages slept in their tents. The country’s main hospital Salmaniya Medical Complex became a battle ground for political and fundamentally sectarian differences. Security forces stormed the site, and doctors and nurses were arrested and charged with a series of allegations, including inciting hatred against the regime.
Clashes in villages now occur on a daily basis, with tear gas and rubber bullets used by police against local protestors armed with homemade weapons. Scorch marks pattern roads and yellow tear gas clouds hang over certain areas where both sides play games of cat and mouse. Over 40 people have been killed by heavy handed police aggression since February and more than 90 policeman injured.
It is important to understand that neither side are innocent and that the current stalemate shows no sign of relenting.
International media, while coverage has been extensive and delved deep into sectarian issues, tends to put Bahrain’s uprisings in the same category as those of the true Arab Spring.
The uprising in Bahrain is not a revolution. The government believes, or rather has lumped the blame, on Iranian influence on the Shi’ite population; a statement that was rebuffed by the royally-requested Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry committee in November. The problems are internal and deep rooted in a schism of society that has been kept silent for years.
While Tunisian and Egyptian protestors had a central and uniting agenda, Bahrain’s demonstrators are splintered. Seven opposition societies initially called for the release of all political prisoners and an end to court proceedings against them, investigation into the death of protesters, objectivity and neutrality in the official media, the resignation of the government and formation of an interim government, a constitutional monarchy and elected government, an amended fair representative electoral system, and a guarantee that any agreements will be honoured.
When all demands were rejected, 18 members of the main opposition society Al Wefaq withdrew from parliament and dismissed any invitations to take part in the National Dialogue last July.
And the fact that their supporters are resorting to violent tactics such as blocking roads, spilling and setting oil alight on highways during mid-rush hour, and making homemade Molotov cocktails isn’t doing them any favours.
Bahrain cannot be compared to Egypt, Libya, or Syria; it is not a war zone. The situation on the ground in Bahrain is the one I wish to clarify and fundamentally explain how both the international and local media have fuelled incidents.
Internally, Bahrain has become a player in a media war with international media taking the side of protestors, and due to strict censorship laws, local media heavily support the government.
Since the start of protests last February, the government has stepped up on its control and authority over the population, particularly using the media as a method of silencing people. New laws are being proposed which restrict freedom of speech and association.
Such examples include the law that a gathering is classed as illegal if it comprises of more than 5 people. The most recent takes the country back to the Stone Age which sees a new war launched against cyber users; that any person found guilty of inciting hatred against the regime through online sites will be imprisoned and/or a fine of 200,000 Bahraini dinars. Terrified of dissent in the ranks, the government is slowly closing its doors to the outside world by refusing entry to human rights activists such as Physicians for Human Rights president Richard Sollom, and limiting visas for foreign journalists.
And what of the country’s 600,000-strong expatriate community who are living in the midst of all this? For every report that made headlines in the UK, I received three phone calls from home; come home, get on the next plane, we want you out of there. Nearly a year has passed since that Day of Rage, and no doubt both sides will up their game for its anniversary on February 14th 2012.
Residents living close to Budaiya Highway in the north of island have grown accustomed to being bombarded by tear gas, kept awake by shouting mullahs in the mosques and unable to reach home due to road blocks or heavy protest-related traffic.
One group of British expats has reportedly learned how to tell the difference between actual rubber bullet fire and tear gas canister shots. This is not normal life, but this is as normal as life has been for the last 11 months and so it will continue. Yet just 20 minutes drive down the highway to Manama, residents in the bustling suburb of Adliya don’t know the smell of tear gas, nor do they lie in bed listening to the loud blasts of car tyres being blown up. To them normal is the traffic going in and out of the area every rush hour, the US Naval officers pouring out of the popular bars, or the Saudi plated cars whose drivers come seeking illicit alcohol and cheap thrills from across the causeway. Bahrain is a country full of paradoxes. It is still the most liberal of the Middle Eastern states, yet it has tightened its hold on political and civil freedoms and become a melting pot of sectarian issues.
People talk of looking to the future of this country; the future is too late, action has to be taken now. The leadership needs to stop blaming outsiders for problems which are essentially home-grown. The opposition needs to relinquish its hold on supporters and rein in those who spend more time antagonising and running from police. The time for reform and compromise from both sides is now more urgent than ever before, as unlike previous uprisings during the 1970s and 1990s, these demands from a vital segment of society will not simply disappear. For every young ‘martyr’ killed by police fire, another three will be born into the cause.
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