Discovering MENA and other thoughts

On Nov. 22, Bahrain held a first round of legislative and local elections. Similar to what has happened with the majority of events that have taken place in the country throughout the last few years, few in the media refer to both the vote itself and the circumstances surrounding it. Bahrain sets itself as a privileged stage in the cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and the support Gulf states have provided to the discredited monarchy just reminds us of how overlapping junctures are in this part of the world. The Bahrain vote will be the first to be held since the 2011 uprising, already discussed in  Discovering MENA . At first, the uprising did not call for the overthrow of the king, but to democratic reforms promised for years by the king himself. Reconciliation talks between the royal family –  Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa  continues to be hugely popular amongst his subjects – and the opposition were actually revived earlier this year before ...

Tamarrud (rebel yourself in Arabic), Egypt's most famous protest movement , the one that sparked the 30 June huge demonstrations that ultimately ousted Mohammed Morsi, has inspired several copycats in brethren countries. Which ones? The ones who already went through their (successful or not) "Arab Springs".

We have already talked about Bahrain , and the situation seems not to have changed in the least. In spite of the authorities' continuous statements about their efforts to reach consensus and achieve enduring peace and stability, protests have not abated, and they even have escalated throughout the last weeks under the threat of what activists have called "volcanic flames". Why is that? Because the tiny island is hosting a key F1 event many enthusiasts and sportsmen cherish, and Shia Baharainis are aware this could be the only means to attract attention over their ongoing struggle for freedom and recognition of their rights. Bahrain's Shiite majority feels its plight has been outrageously forgotten by the rest of the world, once the "Arab Spring trend" has apparently faded away.

When it comes to analyzing the so-called "Arab Spring" (a term most pundits increasingly warn against, but that nowadays holds a significant meaning and won't stop being of widespread use anytime soon), a question that comes to many people's minds hinges on the extension of the movement. Has it spread to all Arab countries? What about the Gulf monarchies? Have they been really spared of the unrest or will it eventually increase reaching their neighbour's dimension or, worse still, consequences? Notable cases in point are the United Arab Emirates and Oman. In the United Arab Emirates , 94 people have gone on trial on charges of trying to overthrow their Government, in a process that many human rights watchdogs have shown concern towards, stressing irregularities, arbitrariness and lack of transparency. Coincidentally, the suspects include human rights lawyers, doctors, academics and student leaders, all of them arrested throughout last year, after having advoc...

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 ...

Apparently, and according to the BBC , Bahrain's Justice Minister has invited a string of opposition representatives to enter into "peace talks", that is, negotiations with the aim of  putting an end to the impasse that has plunged the tiny country into instability and frustration. Nonetheless, I highly doubt talks may one day lead to the authorities' making the kind of concessions the opposition (and notably, the Shia community) have been demanding for years within the framework of their own characteristic " Bahraini Spring ", moreover if we take into account politically motivated arrests go on (and several activists remain in jail), public gatherings are still banned, torture is widespread and freedom of expression has never been granted to the island inhabitants. 

Weeks ago, my friend Maria informed us on Scoop Empire  about the banning from entering Egypt imposed on a renowned Bahrani activist, human rights lawyer and  and vice president for the Bahrain Center for Human Rights ,  Maryam al-Khawaja.  I then linked this news to Daily News Egypt's article  (in September, the country witnessed the first authorised opposition protest since the lastest protest ban) and inevitably started thinking about what I personally like to call the "Bahrani exception". It all started when protests against the King Hamad bin Eissa al-Khalifa's regime broke out in mid-February 2011 (the main opposition group is thus called 14th February Movement) in the tiny 1 million inhabitants Gulf island of Bahrain (well known as a  banking hub and base for the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet ), following the example of their fellow Arab brethren Tunisia and Egypt. The demonstrations were mainly held in the now renowned Pearl ...