Bahrain or Shine
14 March, 2013 – Annika Lichtenbaum

In discussing the Middle East, media outlets and political pundits alike can’t seem to avoid lame catchphrases, which reduce the complex political developments in the region to a narrative palatable enough for the average Joe. In 2011, it was “Arab Spring” as the world hoped Arabs were actually capable of democracy, in 2012 the “Arab Winter” or “Islamist Winter” as it was proven that no, they weren’t, and the world was going to hell in an Islamist handbasket to boot. While it is early yet in 2013, it appears as though most countries that overthrew their old regimes are finding liberal democracies surprisingly hard to establish and maintain. Egypt, as I discussed last week, is most certainly at a crossroads; attempts at political reform in Tunisia are constantly being blocked; and it goes without saying that Syria, which will “celebrate” the two-year anniversary of the beginning of its revolution/civil war tomorrow, is in trouble. In fact, the doom and gloom that pervade the political news out of the region are less deserving of a seasonal than an atmospheric catchphrase: the Middle East is, at least as far as Western commentators are concerned, under a black raincloud at the moment.

But we have forgotten, as ever, about Bahrain!

After two years of unrest, it would seem that things are starting to look up for the Bahraini protestors, Shiites long oppressed by the country’s Sunni monarchy. Earlier this week, the King appointed his son, Crown Prince Salman al-Khalifa, to the post of first deputy prime minister. The Crown Prince is seen as a moderate figure in the Bahraini government apparatus (especially relative to his great-uncle, the Prime Minister) and has received praise in the past month for pushing a new round of dialogue between the regime and the opposition. And the good news doesn’t stop there: prominent political activist Sayed Yousif al-Muhafda was recently acquitted of charges of false propaganda, a surprising development considering that the regime has always jumped at the chance to throw annoying protestors into prison.

And to what (or whom) can we attribute these recent developments? One can assume, right off the bat, that they are due to some foreign influence. After all, Bahrain is not only stuck between a rock and a hard place Saudi Arabia and Iran, but it is home to the US Fifth Fleet naval base. With so many interests at stake in this tiny country’s stability, it goes without question that the outcome of its uprising will largely be determined by forces outside the archipelago itself. But other than Saudi Arabia’s military intervention on behalf of the Bahraini regime, there have been no state efforts to halt the conflict – and certainly nothing that would swing it in favor of the protestors. But if not national governments – then whom?

The answer to this question, it would seem, is Western-based NGOs. Unshackled by the national interests of their host governments, organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have been persistent in their pursuit of human dignity for the Bahraini people. Earlier this year, Amnesty visited a major Manama prison and met with political prisoners to report on their living conditions and the circumstances of their detainment. The representatives later met with regime officials to push for the release of the protestors, whom they said were “prisoners of conscience” who had committed no punishable offense. And although those particular political figures remain in custody, several signs indicate that NGO work in Bahrain has been somewhat effective. It is promising that Amnesty was allowed to meet with government representatives and especially that it was able to conduct its prison study in the first place. Furthermore, the aforementioned acquittal of activist Sayed Yousif al-Muhafda is less surprising when considered in conjunction with this pro-activist NGO narrative. And even the Crown Prince may owe his cabinet appointment in part to human rights organizations’ advocacy for peaceful, respectful negotiation over repression.

Essentially, despite the stubborn refusal of Western governments to intervene on behalf of the Bahraini people, their NGOs have done it for them. All this suggests that NGOs are willing and able to do what their national governments are not. But are they really “able” to the same extent?

Though the presence of NGOs is having some positive effects in Bahrain, there are still deep structural problems in the country that can only be effectively addressed by the manpower, firepower and bargaining power of an actual foreign power. The national dialogue pushed for by the Crown Prince has stagnated, with government officials repeatedly denying the opposition the presence of both a royal delegate and a foreign mediator at the talks. And if that were not enough to demonstrate the regime’s staunch opposition to a mutually agreeable political solution, Amnesty’s latest Bahrain report claims, “…the lack of real political will on the part of the authorities to tackle human rights violations is enshrining a culture of impunity, and engulfing the country in entrenched unrest and fueling instability.” So what, then, is the solution – US intervention on behalf of the Bahraini people in the name of liberal values and democracy?

But despite what this may look like, I do not point out the inadequacy of non-governmental aid in order to make another call for a direct US intervention in Bahrain. To do so would be wholly unrealistic; as Obama’s upcoming first visit to Israel demonstrates, his administration persists in tiptoeing around its regional allies. Rather, I am commending the efforts of these NGOs, which (feebly successful results notwithstanding) I find preferable to full-scale US military involvement. Rain or shine, governmental or non-governmental, the West will always play a role in the Middle East (and particularly in countries as strategically important as Bahrain). But perhaps it is better in the long run for the Bahraini people to struggle with marginal gains with the help of NGOs than it is for them to achieve definitive initial success with the help of national governments. Though I may change my tune in the future if this conflict grows more violent, at this point I believe Bahrain would benefit even less from foreign intervention than it is from its current political stagnation, and that maybe NGO assistance is the only kind of foreign interference they should be getting. …source

A growing divide in Saudi Arabia between rulers, ruled
By Karen Elliott House – 14 March, 2012 – WSJ

Karen Elliott House, a former publisher of the Wall Street Journal, is most recently the author of “On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines — and Future.”

The 10-year prison sentences a Saudi court handed down last weekend are more significant than the sad fate of two moderate political activists who persisted in calling for a constitutional monarchy and respect for human rights. The saga is a microcosm of the political dilemma facing the House of Saud and, by extension, a challenge to U.S. policy, which from one administration to the next supports the regime while remaining silent about Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses.

The two dissidents, Mohammad Fahad al-Qahtani and Abdullah al-Hamid, were accused of, among other things, sedition, providing inaccurate information to the foreign media and founding an unlicensed human rights organization, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (known as ACPRA). Saudi Arabia permits no civil society or political organizations. But Qahtani, a chubby, cherub-faced man in his mid-40s, determined long ago that he would seek to change the kingdom. In 2009 he told me that he would “challenge and change the system legally,” so that his young children would live in a freer society.

Qahtani is no bomb-thrower. During our interview, he recalled arriving at Philadelphia’s Temple University (where he earned his master’s in economics in 1993) so eager to avoid pork, which is forbidden to Muslims, that he asked a waitress whether each item on an unfamiliar American menu, including Coca-Cola, contained the offensive meat. While in the United States, he managed to avoid pork but picked up a penchant for freedom.

Qahtani and Saudi authorities have been playing cat and mouse almost since his return to Riyadh in 2003 to teach economics at the Saudi Foreign Ministry. The regime long has preferred to bribe or buy wayward citizens than to beat them. When its preferred methods fail, however, the Sauds, like most Arab autocrats, can be ruthless. In 2008, Qahtani hosted a current-affairs show on government television. But after he helped found ACPRA in 2009, his show was canceled. Such harassment is intended to alter behavior or at least ensure that opposition is limited to words, never actions.

Yet Qahtani and his colleagues persisted. In 2010 they wrote an open letter to King Abdullah asking for judicial reform and calling on the nation to “engage in a peaceful struggle to resist tyranny.”

Because most Saudis depend on government jobs, or outright largess, open defiance is rare. The regime may toy with and torment citizens, like a cat with a timid mouse, but it tries to avoid arousing ire. After the Arab Spring took hold, however, even in docile Saudi Arabia some citizens have become more assertive.

Qahtani and ACPRA finally crossed a red line in January 2012 by asking the king to remove his heir, Crown Prince Nayef, who during four decades overseeing internal security was responsible for imprisoning any number of Saudi citizens without charges or trials. This request defied an explicit ban (established after the Arab Spring began) on criticizing the royal family, or its compliant religious establishment. Nayef died soon after but his son quickly replaced him, and small-scale Saudi protests multiplied. …more

Clashes and teargas in Bahrain as thousands remember Gulf forces intervention
15 March, 2013 – RT

Thousands of protesters have clashed with tear gas firing police near Bahrain’s capital Manama. The anti-government riots mark the second anniversary of the Saudi-led intervention that quelled the 2011 Shia uprising in Bahrain.

The protests have brought traffic in the capital to a standstill. Thousands have taken to the streets in several villages surrounding the city. Sounds of stun grenades can be heard across the city, and most roads leading into Manama are closed, AP said.

Protesters have set up road barricades, burned tires and thrown Molotov cocktails and stones at the riot police. The police tried to disperse the rioters by firing tear gas and throwing percussion grenades into the crowds.

“No, no Saudi Occupier,” “Down with [King] Hamad,” the protesters chanted according to Press TV.

The slogans denounced the crackdown of the 2011 Bahraini uprising, which was quelled two years ago after Saudi forces and other Gulf troops were deployed in the country.

The ‘Arab Spring’-inspired uprising was led by the country’s Shia majority, with protesters demanding reforms, political freedom and equality from the country’s Western-backed Sunni rulers.

After a month of clashes that started with violent police raids on peaceful protesters, Bahrain’s Al-Khalifa royal family requested help from neighboring countries. On March 14, 2011, some 1500 troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed in Bahrain to “secure” the situation.

More than 80 people have been killed in Bahrain in connection with the uprising since February 14, 2011, according to human rights groups. Thousands have been arrested with reports of violence and torture used by the Bahraini police.

No progress has been made in talks between the Bahraini opposition and the government, and protests are still frequent in the country that is home to the US Fifth Fleet.

Amnesty International has criticized the US and the UK for refusing to condemn human rights violations committed by their ally, and choosing instead to “satisfy themselves with the narrative of reform while ignoring the reality of repression.”