Bahrain? Never Heard of It
Bahrain? Never Heard of It
by Kelley B. Vlahos – 11 September, 2012 -AntiWar
News that a civilian appeals court in Bahrain upheld the harsh prison terms —including several life sentences — of 13 “Arab Spring” activists last week, drew rapid fire from the human rights community. Their “crimes” — organizing largely peaceful protests to demand social and economic reforms from the ruling monarchy in 2011 — had branded them convicted traitors and terrorists, the kind of appalling injustice that American patriots had fought against more than 200 years ago.
Bahraini security forces during the 2011 uprising.
“Today’s court decision is yet another blow to justice and shows once more that the Bahraini authorities are not on the path of reform but seem rather driven by vindictiveness,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Program.
Bahrain’s Shia population took to the streets in February 2011 amid the wave of social and political uprisings across the Arab World. Unlike Egypt, Tunisia or even Libya, however, the Sunni Al Khalifa royal family — which has ruled the oil rich country (and the Shia majority) for two centuries — has managed to emerge unscathed. Instead, Bahrain has thwarted and suppressed its popular movement without fully engaging in the reforms it’s promised. Making it worse, the major mainstream coverage of the Bahraini story — including the brutal crackdown against protesters, their arrests, alleged torture in prison, the “disappearing” of activists and even doctors who have helped the wounded, the nighttime raids in Shiite neighborhoods — has been sporadic at best to non-existent.
You’ve got to wonder why. This week, a pair of stories by Glenn Greenwald (here and here) have re-engaged a debate about how western financial interests coupled with so-called “smart power” strategy in the region, has left the reform movement in Bahrain far behind. This only reinforces the longstanding accusation of American hypocrisy — preaching the goals of liberty for all humans, but only when it suits.
Feeble American Response
In his acceptance speech before the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, President Obama had very little to say about foreign policy, and even less to say about global human rights. He did make one sweeping nod to the people-driven freedom movements that have marked the last two years of his presidency:
“The historic change sweeping across the Arab World must be defined not by the iron fist of a dictator or the hate of extremists, but by the hopes and aspirations of ordinary people who are reaching for the same rights that we celebrate today.”
It’s no surprise he didn’t say more about the Arab Spring — his administration has not taken a clear approach to any of it. Rather it has offered a patchwork of official responses, ranging from full-on military assistance for anti-government forces in Libya, to a more tolerant, wait-and-see position with others, particularly in Egypt. There, U.S. officials condemned the violence against the protesters in Tahrir Square, and supported reforms in spirit, but were forced to contemplate a future relationship without their reliable dictator-friend, Hosni Mubarak, and with an Islamist party that says it won’t kowtow to U.S. influence. …more
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