al Khalifa, Saud brutal response to call for Democracy, wrecks Bahrain’s Economy

Bahrain Use of Force May Hit Economy as Shiites Opposed to Ruler Protest
By Glen Carey – Mar 25, 2011 11:46 AM MT – Bloomberg

Bahrain Turn to Violence May Hit Economy Shiite Lines Harden

March 24 (Bloomberg) — James Rickards, senior managing director for Omnis Inc., talks about the political unrest in Libya, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Rickards speaks with Margaret Brennan on Bloomberg Television’s “InBusiness.” (Source: Bloomberg)

“Death, death to Al Khalifa!” Shiite Muslim mourners chanted as they followed the coffin of Bahia al-Aradi through Manama’s narrow streets. “Down, down with Hamad!”

Rage at Bahrain’s Sunni ruler, King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, permeated the March 22 funeral of the first woman killed after his crackdown against the opposition a week earlier. The slogans show how protesters have been radicalized by the violence against them: When Shiites started rallying in February they were asking King Hamad for rights, jobs and Cabinet changes, not demanding his overthrow.

The Al Khalifa family’s decision to quell the protests, arrest their leaders and invite a Saudi-led force to help restore order may backfire on the island nation’s economy. Lacking the oil wealth of its Gulf Cooperation Council neighbors, the Al Khalifas have promoted their country as a corporate hub — “Business-Friendly Bahrain” — an image under threat after mass protests around the financial district and the prospect of more violence.

“The crackdown and the use of GCC forces are both very polarizing,” Jane Kinninmont, a senior research fellow on the Middle East and Africa at London-based Chatham House, said in an e-mail. “It will take the country years to recover from this.”

Activists defied the state of emergency and held demonstrations in Manama and villages around the country today to protest government violence, eliciting more attacks and arrests, the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights said.
Tear Gas, Gunfire

Mohammed al-Maskati, president of the society, said warplanes flew low over the Shiite villages and security forces used tear gas to disperse protesters and in at least two villages, Karzakan and Dumistan, fired live ammunition. He said one man in his 70s died as a result of inhaling tear gas, while many people wounded in the clashes were unable to reach medical facilities because of checkpoints set up by the police.

There was no one immediately available from the Interior Ministry late today to comment on the unrest, according to the ministry’s media office.

Instead of “stabilizing what is a highly charged political situation,” the government’s actions may have entrenched sectarian divisions, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said March 18, explaining why it cut Bahrain’s credit rating by two levels. S&P forecast “damage to Bahrain as a tourist destination and, more importantly, as an offshore financial center in relation to other competing cities in the Gulf.” …more