A stagnant political regime in changing times
The international community has taken the right decision by denying the Al Khalifa ruling family membership of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The Govrnment of Bahrain failed to achieve support from any other country when it sought to renew its membership of the Council. It was good news for human rights activists who have repeatedly campaigned against transforming the Council into an ineffective body whose members are those who commit more human rights violations than non-members.
It was a political fiasco for the ruling family which had attempted to achieve international support for its repressive internal policies. For the past twelve months it has exploited its membership of the Council in its media campaign for recognition of its internal policies. It has attempted to convince the world of its “democracy” which it claims “has no parallel except in the well-established constitutional democracies”. It sought to confine the notions of democracy within mechanical processes such as “constitution”, “elections” and “parliament” despite the fact that non of these mechanisms contained the spirit of freedom of choice, pluralism, ability to change the government, accountability or freedom of legislation.
The downturn in the fortunes of the ruling family came shortly after the last pseudo-elections last November. Some factions of the opposition which had boycotted the process in the past changed their minds and participated in those elections hoping to make a change. The ruling family presented this as the final victory over the opposition and thought it would be long-lasting. However, the steadfast opposition felt relieved that it would no longer be bogged down in trivial debates over participation and boycott.
Then came the near-fatal decision by Sheikh Hamad to put the most senior political and human rights activists on trial. On 16th February Mr Hassan Mushaime, the Secretary of Haq Movement and Mr Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja, the President of the Bahrain Centre of Human Rights and Shakir Mohammad, a young activist, were summoned by the regime’s security service. The country erupted in protests against the ruling family, forcing their immediate release. Intermittent clashes between Bahraini youth, riot police and death squads resulted in more injuries and deaths. In April, Abbas Al Shakhouri, a young Bahraini employee at one of the Manama hotels was shot dead by Death Squads. More protests ensued, and more Bahrainis were arrested and tortured. The scene was set for more showdowns between the two sides.
Then came the decision by Sheikh Hamad to resume the trial of the three activists. They were summoned to appear at a court run by the Al Khalifa on 21st May. Once again, the country erupted in protests against the Al Khalifa dictatorship. The three decided not to appear at the court. It was a courageous and historical step that shook the regime to its core. Sheikh Hamad had no alternative but to order the cancellation of the whole show. It was a clear defeat of the ruling family.
What has made the situation more polarised is several developments. First the trial, the people’s reaction and the subsequent cancellation of the show. It gave the people the confidence they needed to be able to stand up to the challenges of the regime and pursue their civil resistance campaign. Then came the admission by those who had ended their boycott of Sheikh Hamad’s pseudo-democratic show and participated in the last “elections”. Al Wefaq members said that the achievement of the Shura Council had been nil. It was the straw that was needed to break the back of the “participating camel”. Third came the onslaught by the Death Squads and riot police on demonstrators. The past few months have seen a sharp rise in torture acts, extra-judicial killings and intimidation. In particular, death squads have been active on the streets and they inflicted enormous injuries on innocent demonstrators. The aim is to break the public will to fight against dictatorship, corruption and the mentality of occupation.
Several people have sustained serious injuries including Ali Saeed Al Khabaz, Hussain Abbas Ali and Sayyed Abbas Sayyed Mahdi. It is a sign of despair on the part of Sheikh Hamad and his clique that they should resort to extreme forms of violence against Bahraini people in such vicious ways. If they believe these practices will lead to peace and tranquillity, they are far from reality.
There is now a spreading consensus among opposition figures and factions that it is becoming more difficult for the people of Bahrain to coexist with the ruling family, especially in light of the experience of the past six years. First the Al Khalifa ruling family has abandoned the legally-binding document in the form of the 1973 constitution. This is a confirmation by them that they do not believe in bi-partisan companionship. Second; it is difficult to imagine coexistence between mutually-exclusive entities. Sheikh Hamad was the first to assume this exclusivity when he resorted to importing new breeds of people from outside the country, offer them Bahraini nationality and build settlements for them. Third; The “political programme” of Sheikh Hamad has achieved negative rating among the citizens.
Even those who swallowed the poison of participation with a repressive regime have now admitted the futility of this participation. It is not based on equality, mutual respect or recognition, but on one-sided power base that allows no room of manoeuvre for or participation from others. Forth; the existence of a secret agenda with ruling family, the implementation of which had been allocated to Ahmad Atiyyat Allah Al Khalifa, has seriously affected the relations between the people of Bahrain and the ruling family. What made the episode more painful is the total silence of Sheikh Hamad and his clique on the contents of the plan as presented by the Al Bandar report. Instead of addressing the main issue; ie, the secret plan, Sheikh Hamad ordered the trial of Dr Salah Al Bandar for exposing government secrets. That action did not go well with the people. It is now becoming a new culture among them to look forward to a total divorce with the ruling family which has failed to adapt the realities of modern world. It may not be long before public calls for their removal are repeated in all corners of Bahrain. They have failed their people and it may be time for them to go.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
1st June 2007