Skip to main content

No hope for Bahrain (at least for now)

Well, it sees I was too fast to assume there may be hope for reconciliation in the Gulf Island. In one of the various demonstrations that were held within the framework of the second anniversary of the 14th February revolution, one teenager was killed by the security forces, and violence is escalating to dangerous levels, despite the condolences offered by the Government, and many activist denounce the use of excessive force, torture, kidnappings and extrajudicial imprisonments. Most opposition figures are accusing the Government of setting up the dialogue for failure, whilst keeping on with the daily repression.

Bahrain holds the rare honor of being the country where the longest Arab Spring-related uprising is still taking place. Almost none of the authorities' concessions have in reality met the protesters' demands for democracy and freedom, above all the Shiite minority's calls for the granting of further rights eventually leading to equality and justice amongst the entire population.



Comments

  1. Regarde ça, c'est un bon article sur le cas du Bahreïn dans les printemps arabes : http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2013/02/PELLAS/48721.
    Bises
    Marie

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Migrating

Aunque el título pueda referirse a uns de las varias mudanzas a los que me conocéis personalmente estáis acostumbrados, se refiere simplemente a este humilde blog, que tantas alegrias me ha dado. A partir de ahora podréis encontrar todos mis artículos en la página https://discoveringmena.blog Although the title could well refer to one of the rushed and unpredictable decisions those amongst you who know me are by now you used to, 'migrating' refers here to the new site this humble blog - which has given me so much joy - is moving to. From now on you can find all of my articles on the page https://discoveringmena.blog

What about Lebanon?

I would never dare to think I have enough knowledge so as to freely talk about this issue and produce a meaningful article, but I will try to write down what I have understood so far (I already had to edit as I misunderstood some facts, thanks Louis!). Lebanon and Syria have always been deeply interconnected. Both countries were part of the Ottoman Empire, both countries were under the dominance of France's colonization, both countries share an extremely complicated ethnic/religious division, and both countries political scenes still depend on the other's. More recently, Syria was a key player in the brokering of the 1989 Taif Accords putting an end to Lebanon's civil war, and its troops (and many authorities) stayed in the country (allegedly guaranteeing the non resumption of violence) until 2005, when the country's population unanimously demanded their retreat. It all started in Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city, next to the country's northern borde...

Why Brahimi is a much better fit for Syria

Visiting Scholar for the Carnegie Middle East Center´s Sami Moubayed has got it all right. His magnificent article Brahimi won´t risk his reputation in vain  highlights the poignant truth about of one of the most serious mistakes the international community (and particularly both the UN and the League of Arab States) has made since the breaking out of the conflict: choosing the wrong mediator. And taking into account the many many (many) things at stake, it really shocks me why nearly nobody stressed that fact earlier. Appointing an special envoy to show unity/consensus and be able to speak to Assad? Great idea. Not bearing in mind what was exactly needed? Failure. Even though he will have to face several setbacks, let´s only hope Brahimi´s appointment somehow clears the path of the Syrian mess... His advantages, as presented by Moubayed: He is "the man who helped end Lebanon’s civil war, who managed Iraq’s troubled post-Saddam elections, and propped up Hamid Karza...