Over
the last year, as protests and isolated uprisings in Syria have grown into a
full-scale civil war, Western nations have been foremost among those calling
for Pres. Bashar al-Asad to step down. The United States has been no exception,
likening his regime to the fallen governments of Hosni Mubarak, Moammar
Qaddafi, and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Yet absent from the calls for democracy
is another small Arab state that, like Syria, has been caught in the grips of a
sustained uprising since spring 2011. Bahrain, a small state on the eastern
border of Saudi Arabia, has not experienced the same degree of violent repression
as Syria, yet human rights abuses are just as widespread and flagrant as many
of the nations where the U.S. has demanded and actively sought regime change.
Bahrain’s
essential problem is sectarian discrimination and disenfranchisement. The
majority Shi’a population of Bahrain is noticeably marginalized in a country
where they make up approximately 70 percent of the citizenry, while Bahraini Sunnis
enjoy places of privilege and power in both the private and public sectors. The
Sunni royal family, the Al Khalifas, have ruled the country since 1783 and the
current ruler, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, has not fulfilled his initial promises
of reform since taking power in 1999. Following a brief hopeful period at the
beginning of his reign, the country has since slid back into its past habits of
practicing systematic torture, repressing of activists, and importing Sunnis from
other Arab nations to staff the army and police and tip the demographic balance
in favor of the ruling class.
The Bahraini
uprising began last year in February in the wake of the Arab Awakening protests
that swept through the region. On February 14, the designated “Day of Rage,”
protesters took to the streets for what was supposed to be a peaceful march and
were met by police in full riot gear firing live rounds, tear gas, and rubber
bullets. For a month, the movement was centered on Pearl Roundabout in Manama,
a monument to Bahrain’s pearl farming past, where protesters set up an
“occupation.” The protesters’ initial demands largely centered on pro-democracy
reforms rather than an all-out appeal to topple the government, but criticism
of the monarchy grew as the death toll mounted.
The Roundabout following Bloody Thursday.
February
17 put an end to the protesters’ hopes that their movement would be allowed to
continue occupying the Roundabout. On what became known as “Bloody Thursday,”
police raided the camp and used live ammunition to disperse protesters.
Following the raid, hospital staff reported being prevented from treating the
injured and witnesses described police attacks taking place within hospital
grounds on wounded protesters. After an urgent appeal was launched by the
Bahraini monarchy to the Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC troops, mostly Saudis,
arrived in March to help put down the protests.
Since
the arrival of the GCC troops, the uprising has only continued to gather
strength, while the monarchy has only persisted in its brutal repression the
opposition movement. Shi’a mosques have been demolished in scores, arbitrary
arrests and disappearances of opposition figures are widespread, and Bahrain’s
ugly tradition of systematic and widespread torture has mounted in the prisons
and jails. Social networking sites have been blocked in an attempt to interrupt
the organization of protests, which have occurred on a small scale almost
daily. In one of the largest recent demonstrations, between 100,000-250,000
took to the streets to demand reforms and regime change on 9 March 2012.
Bahraini protesters take to the streets. Photo by Lewa'a Alnasr.
Despite
the deteriorating situation in Bahrain, the international community has done
little to put an end to the violations of fundamental human rights. U.S.
officials have expressed dismay at the use of tear gas, birdshot, and other
violent means to repress the protests, yet resumed arms sales to Bahrain in May
and approved a $53 million dollar transfer of military equipment to the country.
In a move that undermines its criticism of Russia for arming the Asad regime in
Syria, the U.S. simultaneously demonstrated that it would not step in to help
the protesters, and that indeed it would contribute to their dire situation by
arming their oppressors.
Bahrain’s
ruling family has long enjoyed the comforts of being a close U.S. ally and a
virtual protectorate of Saudi Arabia. America relies on Bahrain as its base for
the U.S. Fifth Fleet and as a security bulwark against Iranian encroachment in
the Gulf. Saudi Arabia shudders at the thought of a Shi’ite-led Bahrain
operating on its eastern border, coincidentally next to its Eastern Provinces,
where the majority of its oil as well as the restive Saudi Shi’ite population
are located. Toppling the Al Khalifas could result in an Iranian satellite, a
base for arming a Shi’ite uprising in Saudi Arabia, and a discontinuation of
the U.S.’s access to the region’s oil and its own naval bases. As Doug Bandow
of Forbes magazine wrote in a recent article,
“the U.S. doesn’t want a little thing like some state-sponsored human rights
violations to get in the way of an otherwise beautiful friendship.”
Bandow
and other observers have been quick to note the painfully obvious hypocrisy of
the United States’ stance on dictatorial regimes that happen to be in control
of their allies’ governments. While a country like Syria is an easy target
given its unfriendly stance towards the West, countries with persistent records
of human rights violations like Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are more difficult to
confront. U.S. relations with Bahrain illustrate a larger American dilemma when
it comes to human rights and democracy: how far are we willing to go to protect
the citizens of the world from their own governments, especially if those
governments have traditionally been our friends?
Moreover,
how will inaction damage America’s image abroad and undermine any efforts the
U.S. does make to end the excesses of authoritarian regimes? Until America
confronts tough questions such as these, it will face detractors like Russia
and China who use the U.S. position to justify their support of dictators and
human rights violators. In the meantime, it is the citizens of Bahrain, Syria,
and others who will suffer the consequences of American inaction in the face of
tyranny.
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