By Tyler Yates
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
MANAMA, Bahrain – Bahrain’s ‘Arab Spring’ appears to be ready to become an Arab Summer as protests have resumed in the small Middle Eastern gulf country. The renewed fervor comes just a week after Bahrain lifted martial law, which it began imposing in March after initial protests in February.
The passage of martial law came just days after Saudi and United Arab Emirates forces moved into Bahrain to quash the pro-democracy movement, resulting in at least 30 deaths. In the months following the law’s passage hundreds of members of the opposition, as well as many doctors and nurses, who treated injured protesters, have been arrested.
In recent weeks, the government has been targeting women for arrest. For Gulf Arab culture, there are few things more humiliating to a family than having a female family member detained. Analysts in the region say this is the first time a government has targeted the opposition by arresting women.
Nabeel Rajab, the vice president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, sees the lifting of martial law as an insincere gesture. “The lifting [of the] state of emergency…was more to attract the Formula One…which was going to act as an indicator if Bahrain has come to normal or not,” he said.
The 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix, one of the Formula One Championship races, was scheduled to be held on 13 March, but was canceled due to the protests. The race has been rescheduled for 30 October.
Bahrain’s hopes for normalcy appear to be premature, as hours after martial law was lifted, protesters again took to the streets. Bahraini troops have responded aggressively. There are reports of the usage of tear gas, rubber bullets, and sound guns against the protesters.
Bahrain has a majority Shi’ite population, but is ruled by a Sunni family headed by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. The protests come from the disenfranchised Shi’ite population who want democratic reforms leading to more rights.
The protest organizers are calling for the protests to continue until their demands are met. One Facebook post urges people to gather in main streets and squares to show the imminence and importance of the movement.
Tensions between the Sunni and Shi’ite have been especially heated lately, and repercussions of the Bahrain protests have reverberated in Iran and Saudi Arabia. With Iran supporting the Shi’ite majority and the Saudi’s supporting the Sunni leadership, the situation in Bahrain is on its way to becoming a proxy war between the two Middle Eastern powers.
For more information, please see:
Jerusalem Post — Gulf becomes fault line for Sunni-Shi’ite Tensions — 7 June 2011
NPR — Women The Latest Target of Bahrain’s Crackdown — 7 June 2011
Al Jazeera — Bahrain police target ‘Shia processions’ — 6 June 2011
BBC News — Bahrain protests: Trial opens for 47 doctors and nurses — 6 June 2011
Al Jazeera — Security forces attack Bahraini protesters — 2 June 2011
Washington Post — Bahrain lifts emergency law — 1 June 2011
