Upon Sober Reflection, Bahrain Reconsiders the Wages of Sin: Island Reliant Upon Debauched Visits From Thirsty Saudis Looks to Clean Up
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: MANAMA, Bahrain -- Every weekend, bumper-to-bumper traffic blocks the causeway into this small island nation as visitors from nearby Saudi Arabia flock to delights unavailable at home: movie theaters, bars and, for some, commercial sex.

With few other attractions, Bahrain's booming tourism industry thrives on the island's reputation as a freewheeling oasis just a short drive from major Saudi cities. Bahrain has little oil of its own; tourism, mostly by the four million Saudis who cross the causeway each year, accounts for a tenth of its economy.

All of this is endangered, as Bahraini legislators press to scrap the country's drinking laws -- currently the most liberal in the Persian Gulf -- and to impose near-total prohibition.

"I'm sorry to say, but Bahrain has become the brothel of the Gulf, and our people are very upset about it," says parliamentarian Adel Maawdah, one of the promoters of the new legislation. "It's not only the drinking that we oppose, but also what it drags with it: prostitution, corruption, drugs and people-trafficking."

The Parliament's elected lower chamber unanimously approved a motion last month to prohibit alcohol in hotels, restaurants, duty-free shops and aboard Gulf Air, the national airline. Lawmakers acted amid outrage over a widely circulated men's Web-site article placing Bahraini capital Manama in the world's "top 10 cities to pursue vice and debauchery." The prohibition proposal must now go to the upper chamber, appointed by King Hamad, and to the government for endorsement.

Not even Mr. Maawdah expects that Bahrain will enact a complete Saudi-style ban in the immediate future. The government, however, is likely to respond to parliamentary pressure with fresh curbs. "Nobody is talking about banning alcohol completely," says Sheik Mohammed bin Essa al Khalifa, chief executive of Bahrain's Economic Development Board and a prominent member of the royal family. Still, "we all want to put restrictions on sleaze, and this will be for the good of Bahrain."

Already, just before last month's Parliament vote, the government forbade alcohol and live entertainment in dozens of one-star and two-star hotels popular with weekenders from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the two Gulf countries that outlaw booze. It also clamped down on prostitution, which is illegal but widely tolerated, rounding up and deporting hundreds of women. In earlier restrictions, Bahrain has begun to enforce legislation that prohibits alcohol consumption during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and has closed popular wine shops in residential areas.

"Step by step, they're tightening up," a Western diplomat says. "In the medium term, it may well come to a complete prohibition."

This drive contrasts with other Gulf monarchies, such as Qatar and Abu Dhabi, where harsh drinking laws have been relaxed lately. "When everyone else is opening up, we're going in the opposite direction," complains Ebrahim Sharif Alsayed, leader of Bahrain's secularist Waad movement. Bahrain's ruling family, he adds, "is allowing the Islamists to gradually Islamize the society." >>> By Yaroslav Trofimov | Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Bahrain in Epicenter of a Cold War between Saudi Arabia and Iran
VOICE OF RUSSIA: Interview with Guido Steinberg , expert with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

In the case of the US, the main interest is stability of oil and gas, not from Bahrain, I do not think it is exporting at all any more, but from Saudi Arabia, from the region in general, and that is why Bahrain is crucial. Secondly the US is interested in the NATO base in Bahrain which is important for them. Saudi Arabia sees Bahrain as kind of protectorate, and its interest is mainly defensive I would argue, it wants to keep Bahrain from falling under Shiite control, because it considers that the Shiite majority in Bahrain has been kind of the fifth column, and the fifth column of the Iranians. I do not think that this is necessarily correct, but if they keep on suppressing, discriminating against the Shia in Saudi Arabia and in Bahrain in the way they have been doing it in recent years, I think they might become Iranian fifth column. Bahrain itself is mainly interested in survival, it is a Sunni family, the royal family is the Sunni family, it is extremely corrupt, like all these ruling families in the Gulf, the state is a dictatorship, and of course the Shiites in the country want a different kind of government. And then Iran: and Iran is I think the most problematic question, they aim at building an Iranian hegemony in the region, in the region meaning in the Gulf region, but at the same time they have not been terribly active in recent years. I would argue that for the time being they are very much preoccupied with the domestic situation in Iran, but they keep an eye on what is going on in the Gulf, and as soon as they will have stabilized the situation in the country, as soon as the Americans have left Iraq, they will react to what is going on in Bahrain right now, because it is a Saudi step with the aim of deterring the Iranians to a certain extent. (+ audio) » | Kudashkina Ekaterina | Thursday, March 17, 2011

Why Has Bahrain Decided to Call in the Troops?
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Bahrain monarchy's reflexive fear of Iran drove its decision to call out Saudi Arabian troops

"That programme must be stopped," thundered Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, Bahrain's King, in 2009. "The danger of letting it go on is greater than the danger of stopping it."

King Hammad's deep fears about Iran's nuclear programme, contained in a leaked diplomatic cable recording his conversation with a US military commander, help explain his decision call in Saudi Arabian troops to help quell the protests now sweeping the tiny Gulf emirate.

The protests are modest by standards of the protests sweeping the Middle East: there has been no violence, like in Libya, nor a giant, regime-threatening mass mobilisation, like in Egypt. Last month, seven protesters were shot dead by police – but most experts agree the violence was caused by the excessive use of force by authorities, not uncontrollably-large protests.

Bahrain, though, sees the protests through the prism of its relationship with its militarily-powerful neighbour – which it fears could use the religious affiliations of the majority of the emirate's population to sweep the monarchy aside.

The central issue is this: Bahrain's rulers are Sunnis, the descendants of the central Arabian Bani Utbah clan who seized power in 1783. Four in five people they rule, though, are Shi'a, linked by faith and politics to Iran. For decades, Bahrain's rulers allowed raiders from central Arabia to pillage Shi'a villages – and Bahrain's democratic movement isn't, its leadership has been pointing out, exclusively Shi'a: the two sects haven't had significant problems coexisting, and share concerns ranging from unemployment to housing.

The Shi'a do, however, have a unique problem with the monarchy. Even though four in five of Bahrain's citizens are Shia, for example, they make up just 60 per cent of the military, a consequence of fears that the community had been radicalised by the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran.

Bahrain's Shi'a are also under-represented in the bureaucracy, which is increasingly staffed by puritanical Salafists hostile to Bahrain's majority on theological grounds. » | Praveen Swami, Diplomatic Editor | Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Saudi-backed Crackdown in Bahrain Exposes US Hypocrisy
THE SUNDAY TIMES (SRI LANKA): Although U.S. officials condemned Bahrain's use of deadly force against unarmed protestors on Wednesday, experts say the Obama administration is reticent to support the people because the Bahraini monarchy best serves U.S. regional interests. Critics accuse the U.S. of employing a double-standard - reluctant to oust the monarchy in Bahrain but more than willing to encourage Libyans to topple Moammar Gaddafi.

The U.S. is also hesitant to criticize Sunni ally Saudi Arabia, which invaded Bahrain on Tuesday at the request of Bahrain's Sunni royal family to quell Shiite protests. Mideast expert Pepe Escobar of the Asia Times can kick a door open in one's mind with his perspectives on these events, as he did on Thursday:

Let's imagine that neo-Napoleonic French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio "Bunga Bunga" Berlusconi decided to send North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops to help not the Libyan rebels but Muammar "King of Kings" Gaddafi to protect his "sensitive installations". After all, as Gaddafi assured the world, these rebels are "terrorists".

That's exactly what happened with the House of Saud sending armored carriers, tanks and 1,000 troops - part of "Peninsula Shield" forces - to Bahrain to repress an unarmed, civilian, domestic opposition (al-Qaeda or Iran "terrorists", take your pick) demanding political reform.

John Kerry said about the Libyan crisis that, "The US and world community must show they will not stand by while this thug Gaddafi uses air power to murder fellow Libyans." But why are Kerry and the world community willing to stand by as Bahrain's al-Khalifa family and the Saudis do the same? Escobar provides another mind-bending analogy: Imagine the outrage in the "international community" - and the calls to start carpet-bombing right away - if this was Iran invading Lebanon.

The U.S. fears it will lose its naval base in Bahrain should the government come under the control of Shiites - who, despite making up 70% of Bahrain's population, have lived under the thumb of Sunni royals for over 200 years. And such a move would tip the regional balance of power towards the Shiite Iranians. » | Michael Hughes | © Clarity Digital Group LLC | Sunday, March 20, 2011

Prince Andrew Praises Bahrain, Island of Torture

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: World View: Kingdom that represses its Shia majority is to receive seal of approval from the Duke of York

The Duke of York will be the keynote speaker at a conference in London this Friday celebrating Bahrain as a place of religious freedom and tolerance of divergent opinions. Speaking during a visit to Bahrain last month, he said: "I believe that what's happening in Bahrain is a source of hope for many people in the world and a source of pride for Bahrainis."

This is very strange, as the island kingdom of Bahrain has a proven record of jailing and torturing protesters demanding democratic rights for the Shia majority, an estimated 60 per cent of Bahraini citizens, from the Sunni al-Khalifa monarchy. In its annual report on human rights, the US State Department identifies many abuses, the most serious of which include "citizens' inability to change their government peacefully; arrest and detention of protesters on vague charges, in some cases leading to their torture in detention". It draws attention to the fact that "discrimination [has] continued against the Shia population".

None of this should be too surprising. In March 2011, the government in Bahrain crushed the Bahraini version of the Arab Spring, treating protesters and anybody associated with them, such as doctors who treated injured demonstrators, with extreme brutality. The Bahrain independent commission of inquiry, set up by the Bahraini government itself, described at least 18 different techniques used to mistreat or torture detainees including electric shocks, beating on the soles of the feet with rubber hoses, sleep deprivation and threats of rape. More than 30 Shia mosques, religious meeting places and holy sites were bulldozed on the pretext that they had no planning permission.

Prince Andrew has long and controversial experience of Bahrain which he used to visit frequently as special representative for trade and investment. In 2010, an excoriating account of Prince Andrew's behaviour was published in the Daily Mail by Simon Wilson, British embassy deputy chief of mission in Bahrain from 2001 to 2005, who wrote that the prince was known to the British diplomatic community as HBH: His Buffoon Highness. Read on and comment » | Patrick Cockburn | Sunday, May 11, 2014

Bahrain Unions to Extend Strike
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: MANAMA—Bahrain's largest trade union Sunday called for nationwide strikes to be prolonged until foreign troops are withdrawn from the kingdom and pro-government militias are disbanded, posing another threat to Bahrain's fragile economy.

Speaking after a meeting of the General Federation for Bahrain Trade Unions, which represents more than 60 trade unions across Bahrain, general secretary Sayed Salman said that unions wanted to avoid causing lasting damage to the economy, but were left with no choice but to extend the general strike. He said foreign troop intervention and mounting attacks on Bahraini workers by armed government loyalists are "unacceptable."

"As of now 70% of Bahraini workers are on strike and in this situation we cannot call our people back to duty. We hope that it won't be a long time as our workers are also suffering, but we want all the militias and foreign forces to be taken off the streets...The situation here is unacceptable," Mr. Salman said in an interview.

The trade union group represents workers from across Bahrain's services and construction sectors, including Gulf Air, the national carrier, and Bapco, the island's largest oil company.

An official from the Bapco trade union said that the refinery, which has the capacity to produce more than 250,000 barrels a day of crude, has partially shut down production owing to staff shortages.

"Only 10% is working properly at BAPCO…80-85% of production and distribution is now affected," the union official said.

Bahrain's government has urged employees to return to work after days of closures and shortened hours. But the announcement of persistent large-scale strikes could aggravate the problems facing Bahrain's economy. Over a month of antigovernment protests has seen hotels and restaurants report a collapse in bookings, and fed fears about Bahrain's status as a financial center. » | Joe Parkinson | Sunday, March 20, 2011

Bahrain: David Cameron Under Fire for No 10 Crown Prince Photocall

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron risked criticism after he was pictured shaking hands with the Crown Prince of Bahrain on the steps of Downing Street.

The Prime Minister met Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa for talks at No 10 amid concern of the Gulf state’s human rights record.

The pair met in private for discussions on the uprisings across the Middle East and north Africa, including a bloody crackdown by Bahraini authorities on demonstrators.

But critics said officials should not be “rolling out the red carpet for Bahrain's torturer-in-chief”, insisting the meeting sent out the wrong signal.

It came as President Barack Obama gave a major speech last night throwing American weight behind the Arab Spring protests, which have been shaking the autocracies of the Middle East.

Mr Cameron was said to have urged Bahrain to embrace ''reform rather than repression'' in response to pro-democracy protests in the Gulf state.

Hundreds of anti-government protesters have been arrested and put on trial in special courts[.]

The Crown Prince’s London visit also follows a row about his invitation to last month’s Royal Wedding of the Duke of Duchess of Cambridge.

He later declined the invitation amid fears his presence might act as a distraction and attract widespread demonstrations. » | Andrew Hough | Friday, May 20, 2011

Bahrain Visit: Cameron Embraces Tyranny

THE INDEPENDENT: In Bahrain, it was another day of violence and repression as the Saudi-backed Al-Khalifa dynasty continued to clamp down on protesters demanding a better life for the repressed Shia majority.

But in Downing Street, David Cameron exchanged a warm handshake with Bahrain's Crown Prince, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa. While other Arab tyrants feel the full force of British disapproval, Sheikh Salman is here on a mission to repair the damaged reputation of his dynasty. His visit prompted an outcry from politicians and civil rights campaigners. It came on the day when President Obama delivered his first major speech on the Arab Spring, which he said would open a "new chapter in American diplomacy". "It will be the policy of the US to promote reform, and to support transitions to democracy," he promised.

The Labour MP Denis MacShane, a former Foreign Office minister, said: "It's unbelievable, at a time when Bahrain is becoming the torture chamber of the Gulf, with terrible reports of killings and beatings, that David Cameron has even allowed the torturer-in-chief into Britain, let alone into Downing Street." Amnesty International UK's director, Kate Allen, said: "The Prime Minister ought to make it clear to Sheikh Salman that Bahrain's relations with the UK will suffer if the Bahraini authorities refuse to allow peaceful protests or conduct proper investigations into numerous allegations that detained protesters have been tortured." Continue reading and comment » | Andy McSmith | Friday, May 20, 2011

West Condemns Bahrain’s Deadly Crackdown
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Bahrain's western allies reacted furiously on Thursday night to the Gulf kingdom's use of force to clear sleeping protesters off a square in the capital Manama, killing at least three protesters.

William Hague, the foreign secretary, told the House of Commons: "We are greatly concerned about the deaths that have occurred." The government said it was reviewing export licences for Bahrain in light of the fact that recent ones covered the sale of tear gas canisters and other riot control equipment.

"We closely consider allegations of human rights abuses," said the foreign minister responsible for the Middle East, Alistair Burt. "We will not authorise any exports which, we assess, might provoke or prolong regional or internal conflicts, (or) which might be used to facilitate internal repression."

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, called the Bahraini foreign minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa to express Washington's "deep concern about the action of the security forces" and urged that funerals coinciding with Friday prayers today were not marred by further violence. Bahrain's deadly crack down condemned by West >>> Adrian Blomfield, Manama and Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Thursday, February 17, 2011

THE GUARDIAN: Bahrain uses UK-supplied weapons in protest crackdown: MoD to review arms export licences after Bahrain clears protesters with UK-made crowd-controls weapons such as teargas and stun grenades >>> Peter Beaumont and Robert Booth | Thursday, February 17, 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: WikiLeaks: US wanted 'derogatory' information on Bahrain king's sons: The US State Department secretly asked its diplomats in Bahrain to report any "derogatory" information about two of the King's sons and evidence of "rivalry" with senior members of the ruling royal family, leaked documents show. >>> Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter | Thursday, February 17, 2011

Bahrain Crackdown Can Trigger War: Iraq
PRESS TV: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has warned that the deployment of troops from Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf littoral states to protest-hit Bahrain could spark a sectarian war.

Maliki's warning came after Saudi Arabia and the UAE sent hundreds of troops to the tiny Persian Gulf state to help the Kingdom's brutal crackdown on Bahrain's anti-government protesters.

"The situation in Bahrain is different from those in Libya and Egypt. In Libya and Egypt the issue is not sectarian while in Bahrain it has become between Sunnis and Shias," Maliki said in an interview with the state-funded BBC Arabic television service aired on Friday.

His comments come in the wake of Bahrain's heavy-handed crackdown on anti-government protesters that have been seeking political reforms and an end to the two-century long rule of al-Khalifa dynasty.

"We did not move to support the Shias in Bahrain but we called for interference in Bahraini affairs to be stopped and don't want to make it a sectarian issue. Because if it happens, it will be like a snowball, it will get bigger if it is ignored ... The region may be drawn into a sectarian war," the Iraqi premier noted.

Maliki has previously criticized the military intervention in Bahrain by Persian Gulf Arab states. » | DB/HRF/MGH | Saturday, March 26, 2011

Saudi Arabian Forces Prepare to Enter Bahrain after Day of Clashes
THE GUARDIAN: Crown Prince of Bahrain expected to invite Saudi support following anti-government demonstrations in capital

Saudi forces are preparing to intervene in neighbouring Bahrain, after a day of clashes between police and protesters who mounted the most serious challenge to the island's royal family since demonstrations began a month ago.

The Crown Prince of Bahrain is expected to formally invite security forces from Saudi Arabia into his country today, as part of a request for support from other members of the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council.

Thousands of demonstrators on Sunday cut off Bahrain's financial centre and drove back police trying to eject them from the capital's central square, while protesters also clashed with government supporters on the campus of the main university.

Amid the revolt Bahrain also faces a potential sectarian conflict between the ruling minority of Sunnis Muslims and a majority of Shia Muslims, around 70% of the kingdom's 525,000 residents.

The crown prince, Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, said in a televised statement that Bahrain had "witnessed tragic events" during a month of unprecedented political unrest.

Warning that "the right to security and safety is above all else", he added: "Any legitimate claims must not be made at the expanse of security and stability."

The crown prince has also promised that national dialogue would look at increasing the power of Bahrain's parliament, and that any deal could be put to nationwide referendum.

However, some protesters have pressed their demands further to call for the toppling of the Sunni dynasty. >>> Ben Quinn | Monday, March 14, 2011

Human Rights Groups Criticise Queen's Historic Lunch of Monarchs

THE GUARDIAN: King of Bahrain, accused of brutally suppressing pro-democracy protests, among those included on controversial guest list

The king of Bahrain, whose regime has been accused of brutally suppressing pro-democracy demonstrations, has been revealed as one of the guests at a historic lunch of sovereign monarchs hosted by the Queen at Windsor Castle on Friday.

Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa appeared on a guest list released early on Friday ahead of the unprecedented gathering to celebrate the diamond jubilee.

Other guests include Swaziland's King Mswati III, as well as Sheikh Nasser Mohamed Aal Jaber Aal-Sabah of Kuwait and Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz Aal Saud of Saudi Arabia.

One definite no-show will be Queen Sofía of Spain, ordered by her government to turn down the invitation in response to a planned trip next month by the Earl of Wessex to Gibraltar, the UK overseas territory Spain wants returned to its sovereignty.

Human rights demonstrators are expected to stage a protest outside Bahrain's embassy in London later on Friday over the inclusion of the country's ruler.

The former Foreign Office minister Denis MacShane accused the FCO on Thursday of placing the Queen in an impossible position. The Labour MP said: "Many in Britain will regret that the foreign secretary, who approves all invitations sent in the Queen's name as head of state, has decided to include a representative of the Bahraini regime which has done such terrible things to its own people since the Arab awakening a year ago."

The Foreign Office said it had advised on "logistics", adding that the invitations would have been issued by the Queen in a private capacity.

It said that "all world sovereigns" were invited to the event, which was "organised by the royal household, with assistance and co-ordination by the FCO". The UK was a "long-standing friend and ally" of Bahrain, and the "strong relationship" allowed "full and frank discussion" on issues of concern, including human rights. » | Caroline Davies | Friday, May 18, 2012

BBC: Diamond Jubilee: The world's monarchs – Kings, queens, sheikhs and sultans are among those joining the Queen for lunch at Windsor Castle as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations. But which countries still have a monarchy and what is the role of the sovereign monarch? » | Friday, May 18, 2012

BBC: Queen's lunch for monarchs attracts controversy: The King of Bahrain and Swaziland's King Mswati III are among controversial monarchs expected at a Windsor Castle lunch being hosted by the Queen. » | Friday, May 18, 2012

FRANCE 24: Tensions over regal jubilee lunch of Queen Elizabeth II » | AFP | Friday, May 18, 2012

ABC NEWS: Tensions over Queen's regal jubilee lunch » | AFP | Friday, May 18, 2012

AFP: Bahrain king will attend Diamond Jubilee lunch: WINDSOR, United Kingdom — The king of Bahrain, whose regime has been accused of rights abuses, was among nearly 50 foreign royals at a lunch Friday to mark the diamond jubilee of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. ¶ King Hamad, whose Gulf island country is in a state of civil unrest following a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, would attend the event at Windsor Castle, British officials confirmed. ¶ The invitations for the biggest gathering of foreign royalty in Britain since last year's wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton have thrown up several diplomatic headaches. » | AFP | Friday, May 18, 2012

THE PERISCOPE POST: Who’s coming to Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee Lunch for Monarchs? : The Queen’s hosting a Jubilee lunch for monarchs, reigning and not. But what will they talk about? Carl-Gustav’s sex scandals? Fish with the Emperor of Japan? Will they bring up human rights issues with the King of Bahrain? Or maybe they’ll just have a jolly good time saying “Off with their heads!” » | Periscope Writer | Friday, May 18, 2012 Related »

Bahrain Mourners Call for Toppling of Monarchy
FOX NEWS: MANAMA, BAHRAIN – Thousands of funeral mourners called for the downfall of Bahrain's ruling monarchy as burials began Friday after a deadly assault on pro-reform protesters that has brought army tanks into the streets of the most strategic Western ally in the Gulf.

The cries against Bahrain's king and his inner circle reflect an escalation of the demands from a political uprising that began by only asking for a weakening of the Sunni monarchy's hold on top government posts and addressing discrimination by the Shiite majority in the tiny island nation.

The mood, however, appears to have turned toward defiance of the entire ruling system after the brutal attack Thursday on a protest encampment in Bahrain's capital Manama, which left at least five dead, more than 230 injured and put the nation under emergency-style footing with military forces in key areas and checkpoints on main roadways.

"The regime has broken something inside of me ... All of these people gathered today have had something broken in them," said Ahmed Makki Abu Taki, whose 27-year-old brother Mahmoud was killed in the pre-dawn sweep through the protest camp in Manama's Pearl Square. "We used to demand for the prime minister to step down, but now our demand is for the ruling family to get out." >>> Associated Press | Wednesday, February 16, [sic?] 2011

THE GUARDIAN: Bahrain mourners call for end to monarchy: Mood of defiance against entire ruling system after brutal attack on Pearl Square protest camp that left at least five dead >>> Associated Press | Friday, February 18, 2011

Bahrain Mourners Protest Over Deadly Crackdown
Thousands mourn on the streets and the main opposition party quits parliament after the death of protesters in a police crackdown

Shiites in Iraq Support Bahrain’s Protesters
THE NEW YORK TIMES: BAGHDAD — The violent suppression of the uprising in Bahrain has become a Shiite rallying cry in Iraq, where the American war overturned a Sunni-dominated power structure much like the one in place in Bahrain.

Ahmad Chalabi, an erstwhile American partner in the period before the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and a Shiite member of Parliament, on Friday denounced what he called a double standard in the Western powers’ response to the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East — particularly in Bahrain, where a Sunni minority dominates a vast and restive underclass made up of his Shiite brethren.

“They called for international action in Libya,” Mr. Chalabi said in a meeting hall on the grounds of his farm outside Baghdad. “But they kept their mouths shut with what is happening in Bahrain.”

The Iraqi Parliament briefly suspended its work to protest Bahrain’s crackdown on largely peaceful protesters, and the prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, also a Shiite, recently said in an interview with the BBC that the events in Bahrain could unleash a regional sectarian war like the one that menaced Iraq just a few years ago. » | Tim Arango | Friday, April 01, 2011

Bahrain Protests Will Go Nowhere While the US Supports Its Government
THE OBSERVER: The Al-Khalifa family, who control Bahrain, has cracked down on dissent with little condemnation from the west

History and geography explain why Bahrain's peaceful uprising was the early exception to the "Arab spring", which began with high hopes in Tunisia and Egypt but now faces bloody uncertainties in Libya and Syria.

Sitting astride the faultline between the Shia and Sunni worlds, the small Gulf island state lies at the heart of a strategically sensitive region that is dominated by bitter rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia – both very tough neighbours.

Bahrain was always going to be a prime candidate if unrest erupted in the Arabian peninsula. But it was not easy to predict that the Al-Khalifa dynasty, Sunnis who rule over a restive 70% Shia majority, would react so brutally when protests mushroomed in February. Still, the activists who streamed to Manama's Pearl roundabout in a deliberate echo of Cairo's Tahrir Square were demanding reform, not the overthrow of the regime.

By regional standards, King Hamad was not the most repressive of rulers. Bahrain, unlike Saudi Arabia, has a parliament and a legal opposition. Bahrain's press operated within "red lines" but had a margin for manoeuvre. Expensive western PR companies were employed to promote the country's image.

Prospects for political change looked reasonable until last summer when a sudden security crackdown began. The government was alarmed by joint Shia-Sunni demands to investigate the acquisition of prime real estate by the royals: Google Earth showed just how much of the island – where public beaches are rare – was already owned by the Al-Khalifa family.

Last October the mildly Islamist Shia opposition party al-Wefaq won a plurality of seats in the lower house of parliament – despite being smeared by the government as Hezbollah-type extremists. But progressives in Bahrain emphasise nationality, not religious sect – thus the catchy slogan "not Shias, not Sunnis, we are all Bahrainis". » | Ian Black, Middle East editor | Saturday, April 16, 2011

Bahrain in the Shadow of Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States
CNN: There are disturbing accounts from major human rights organizations about abuses in Bahrain and the systematic state violence that has been unleashed on the opposition movement against the monarchy of the Al-Khalifa family.

And yet Bahrain has not become the story because the movement for social justice, government accountability and independence is being violently suppressed, but because of wider strategic calculations that bind the fate of the island to the future of regional politics.

There are at least three strategic issues at stake when it comes to the political present and future of the country. First, Bahrain hosts a major naval base for the U.S. fifth fleet, and the ruling Al-Khalifa family has been a trusted ally of the United States for several decades.

Yet Bahrain's rulers have not taken advantage of the security guarantees provided by successive U.S. governments in order to open up the political system or to sponsor a rather more equitable social and economic order.

According to the constitution of Bahrain the king appoints all members of the upper house of the parliament, while the lower house was voted into office in 2010.

But this has not lead to real political representation of the majority Shia population or to a system of wealth distribution that is equitable. In fact, Bahrain continues to be one of the few hereditary monarchies of the world.

In the absence of a strong legitimacy of the state, systematic violence has functioned as a short cut to safeguard the regime. Hence, the current crackdown, which has not drawn much criticism from the United States and the European Union, who were/are by far louder about the situation in Libya (and indeed about anything that happens in Iran). » | Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, Special to CNN | Monday, April 25, 2011

Editor's note: Arshin Adib-Moghaddam is University Lecturer in Comparative and International Politics at SOAS, University of London. He is the author of "Iran in World Politics: the Question of the Islamic Republic," and his most recent book, "A metahistory of the clash of civilizations: Us and them beyond Orientalism" has just been published by Columbia University Press and Hurst.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Arshin Adib-Moghaddam.

Unrest Spreads as Bahrain Cracks Down on Protesters
REUTERS: Bahrain police stormed a Manama square on Thursday to clear activists camped out there as anti-government protests in the Middle East and North Africa, inspired by revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, gathered pace.

Clashes were reported in tightly controlled oil producer Libya, sandwiched between Egypt and Tunisia, as people there prepared to take to the streets for a "day of rage" after new protests erupted in Yemen, Iran and Iraq.

The demonstrations against old rulers came after U.S. President Barack Obama commenting on the overthrow of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, said: "The world is changing ... If you are governing these countries, you've got to get ahead of the change, you can't be behind the curve.

Authoritarian governments have reason to fear contagion with young people able to watch pro-democracy uprisings on satellite television or the Internet and to communicate on social networks hard for secret police to control.

In Bahrain, police firing tear gas and rubber bullets cleared hundreds of people from the central Pearl Square in the early hours as they tried to end three days of protests. >>> Cynthia Johnston, Manama | Thursday, February 17, 2011

Police Teargas Bahrain Protesters
Feb 17 - Deaths as Bahrain police teargas protest camp in a central Manama square. Marie-Claire Fennessy reports


Bahrain: Riot Police Fire on Protest Camp
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Riot police have stormed a protest camp in Bahrain's capital, killing at least three people, as the government tried to quell three days of protest.


Hundreds of security forces used batons, rubber bullets and tear gas on demonstrators who had been camped out in Pearl Square calling for political reform.

In the clashes that followed, an estimated 100 people were injured.
After the police had cleared the square in the capital Manama, 50 tanks were deployed to patrol the city's streets in a show of force by the authorities.

"Police are coming, they are shooting teargas at us," one protestor said amid the chaos. Another said: "I am wounded, I am bleeding. They are killing us."

Demonstrators had gathered in Pearl Square in the hope of emulating the protest in Cairo that led to the fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. >>> | Thursday, February 17, 2011

Saudi Shi'ite Protests Simmer as Bahrain Conflict Rages
REUTERS: Hundreds of young Shi'ite men marched down a commercial street in the Saudi city of Qatif, near the heart of the kingdom's oil industry, pounding their fists in anger over their country's military intervention in Bahrain.

"With our blood and soul we sacrifice for you, Bahrain," they chanted as they walked, according to videos of a recent protest posted on the internet. Some wore scarves to conceal their faces. Others waved Bahraini flags.

"People are boiling," one Shi'ite activist in Qatif told Reuters by phone, asking not to be named for fear of arrest. "People are talking about strikes, demonstration and prayer to help the Bahrainis."

The protests were in response to Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter and most powerful Gulf Arab state, sending troops to Bahrain last week to help quell weeks of protests by majority Shi'ites in the Sunni-led monarchy. Bahrain's opposition called it a declaration of war.

Riyadh, facing Shi'ite protests of its own, fears a sustained revolt in neighboring Bahrain could embolden its own Shi'ite minority, which has long grumbled about sectarian discrimination, charges Riyadh denies.

The military intervention, however, appears to have only deepened Shi'ite resentment in the kingdom, where between 10 and 15 percent of the 18 million Saudi nationals are Shi'ites.

Leading Saudi Shi'ite cleric Sheikh Hassan al-Saffar has called for Gulf leaders to find a political solution.

Saudi Shi'ites, inspired by pro-democracy protests across the Arab world that toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia, have held sporadic protests in a handful of eastern towns over the past three weeks.

"Before the start of revolution in Tunis, people felt rather incapable of making a difference," activist Tawfiq al-Seif said. "They (now) feel they can make a difference." » | Cynthia Johnston | QATIF, Saudi Arabia | Monday, March 21, 2011

Countess of Wessex Criticised for Accepting Jewels from Bahrain

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Countess of Wessex has been criticised for accepting two sets of jewels from the royal family of Bahrain.

The countess, 46, was given the gifts during a recent official visit to the country.

She was given one set by Bahrain’s king and a second set by the country’s prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa.

Her husband, the earl, received a pen and a watch.

Critics said the countess should sell the gems and give the proceeds to political protesters in Bahrain.

Denis MacShane, a former Foreign Office minister, said: “Given the appalling suffering and repression of the Bahraini people, it would be a fitting gesture for the Countess of Wessex to auction these trinkets and distribute the proceeds to the victims of the regime.” » | Andy Bloxham | Friday, January 06, 2012

THE GUARDIAN: Countess of Wessex 'should return bloodstained' gems to Bahrain: Labour MP Denis MacShane and activist Peter Tatchell call on Sophie to return jewels after crackdown on democracy protests ¶ Gems accepted by the Countess of Wessex from Bahrain's royal family should be sold to benefit victims of the regime's crackdown on pro-democracy campaigners, according to a former foreign office minister. ¶ The countess received two suites of jewels as presents during a day-long visit to the Arab state in December, while her husband Prince Edward received a pen, a watch and a silk rug. » | Damien Pearse | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Arabische Truppen in Bahrain: Internationale Kritik an Militärintervention
FAZ.NET: Amerika und Iran haben den Einmarsch saudi-arabischer Truppen in Bahrain scharf kritisiert. Ein Sprecher des Weißen Hauses rief die Staaten des Golfkooperationsrates zur Zurückhaltung auf.

Die Stationierung arabischer Truppen in Bahrain ist international auf Kritik gestoßen. Sowohl die Vereinigten Staaten als auch der Iran und UN-Generalsekretär Ban Ki-moon warnten vor einer weiteren Eskalation der Auseinandersetzung zwischen den vorwiegend schiitischen Demonstranten und der sunnitischen Herrscherfamilie um König Hamad bin Issa al-Chalifa. „Wir glauben, dass die Forderungen des Volkes in Bahrain legitim sind“, sagte der Sprecher des iranischen Außenministeriums, Ramin Mehmanparast, am Dienstag in Teheran.

Jede Einmischung von außen mache die Situation nur noch komplizierter. Viele Beobachter am Golf sind der Meinung, dass die iranische Führung Schiiten in Bahrain und Saudi-Arabien gegen die sunnitischen Herrscher dieser Staaten aufwiegelt. Das iranische Außenministerium wies die Frage jedoch als „irrelevant“ zurück, ob Iran selbst möglicherweise Truppen nach Bahrain schicken könnte. Washington ruft zu Zurückhaltung auf » | FAZ.NET mit dpa/Reuters | Dienstag, 15. Marz 2011

Saudi Arabia Contagion Triggers Gulf Rout
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Fears of sectarian uprisings in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have set off the first serious wave of investor flight from the Gulf, compounding market turmoil as civil war in Libya pushes Brent crude over $116 a barrel.

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul stock index has tumbled 11pc in wild trading over the past two days, led by banks and insurers. Dubai’s bourse has hit a 7-year low.

The latest sell-off was triggered by the arrest of a Shi’ite cleric in the Kingdom’s Eastern Province after he called for democratic reforms and a constitutional monarchy. The province is home to Saudi Arabia’s aggrieved Shi’ite minority and also holds the country’s vast Ghawar oilfield, placing it at the epicentre of global crude supply.

“Unrest in this region can have fatal consequences for the world,” said JBC Energy. “The plunge on the Saudi stock exchange can be interpreted as a sign of waning trust.”

In Bahrain, the island nation’s Sunni elite holds sway over a Shi’ite majority that is denied key jobs and has a token political voice, making it a trial run for Saudi Arabia’s near-identical tensions in the Eastern Province.

Bahraini dissidents have so far been much bolder, prompting a bloody crackdown last month when at least seven people were shot by the military. The ruling family – under intense pressure from Washington to stop the killings – has since held out an olive branch to protesters and let the radical Haq leader Hassan Mushaima return from exile, yet the crisis is far from contained.

My Mushaima said on Wednesday that protesters have “the right to appeal for help from Iran” if Saudi military units interfere in the struggle. Tanks were seen crossing the 17-mile causeway from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain on Tuesday.

“These were supposed to be Bahrain’s tanks returning from Kuwait: that is not a credible story,” said Siras Abi Ali, a Gulf expert at the risk group Exclusive Analysis.

He said the outcome in Bahrain will set the template for events across the border. “There is no good outcome from this for Saudi Arabia. If Bahrain offers concessions, the Saudi Shia will demand similar concessions. If they crack down, they risk an uprising. These people do not want to live under the House of Saud,” he said. >>> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor | Wednesday, March 02, 2011