The trouble with Normal is it only gets worse

Special Reports
Violence mars end of Bahrain’s emergency
Published: June 2, 2011 at 1:48 PM
Mass Arrests in Bahrain Government Crackdown
Al Jazeera English

MANAMA, Bahrain, June 2 (UPI) — Security forces were reported on the streets of Bahrain a day after the United Nations said the end of a state of emergency was a sign for hope.

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa lifted a state of emergency in place since March 15 though unrest continued throughout the country. The minority Sunni monarchy is struggling to quiet an uprising by the Shiite majority.

Government troops descended on anti-government protesters using tear gas near the capital Manama after the king issued his orders, al-Jazeera reports.

Nabeel Rajab, the vice president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, told the Arab broadcaster that king’s orders were an effort to display a sense of normalcy in the country.

“The Bahraini government is desperately trying to send out the message that everything is back to normal but it is not,” he said.

Nevertheless, the international community welcomed the lifting of the state of emergency as a sign the monarchy was embracing reform. …more