Must be election season
by Toby Jones, Swarthmore College.
While Bandargate rages on, Bahrain’s government has sought other means to manipulate sectarianism. As they did in 2002, the government continues to unapologetically extend citizenship and voting rights to Sunnis from around the region (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen, Pakistan) in order to tip the demographic balance of the country in their favor.
Where such manipulation falls short, Bahraini authorities also turn to outright thuggery and police brutality to intimidate its critics. Clashes between the Special Security Forces and Bahraini demonstrators have become a regular occurrence since the summer of 2005. On September 22, 2006 — with a police helicopter orbiting overhead — the SSF attacked a public seminar organized by the predominantly Shi‘a opposition society Haqq (Justice) in the village of Bilad al-Qadim with tear gas and rubber bullets. On September 29 a group opposed to the government’s policies of naturalizing thousands of foreigners cancelled a demonstration near the Seef Mall in order to avoid a similarly violent response.
There is little reason to believe that sectarian and political tensions will ameliorate any time soon. There is also little reason to believe that investigations into Bandargate will yield an honest accounting or lead to any systematic changes. What is certain is that frustration will continue to simmer, distrust will remain, and the Bahraini government will continue to exploit the country’s deep sectarian divides – hardly an island of tolerance, hope, and peace.
Read the full post here, on Qahwa Sada.