Deflecting the resistence and posponing the revolution for another day – lots said about happenings in Bahrain as daily protests simmer to boil over another day

Six Months On: How Bahrain’s Street Was Silenced
Brussels correspondent for TIME magazine – By Leo Cendrowicz – 15/8/11

Six months ago, Bahrain seemed to be swept along with the Arab Spring. Today, however, hopes for real change seem dim.

It was perhaps an unorthodox romantic gesture, but it could still qualify as a Valentine: on February 14 this year, as the Arab Spring was surging, a group of pro-democracy demonstrators in Bahrain began what they thought would be a message of brotherly love for their country. Trust us, they said, give us our voice and together we can build a new era of respect and civil rights. That was exactly six months ago, but the message seems to have gotten lost in the post.

For the outside world, the drama reached its climax in mid-March, when the jittery Bahraini establishment decided the protests had to be met with extreme prejudice: it invited Saudi and other Gulf ally troops to help crush the demonstrations. They rumbled over the 25 km King Fahd Causeway that connects Bahrain with the Saudi mainland and brutally ended the protest in an operation that left around 30 people dead.

But the story is far from over. Bahrain is still tingling with tension, the air poisoned with suspicion, sectarianism more pointed than ever as the country slowly reverts to normal after its messy turn on the Arab Spring carousel. The establishment’s efforts at reconciliation have been dismissed by the opposition as mere window dressing for its oppressive policies. The passions unleashed in the short burst of protest against the soft authoritarianism are still coursing through the tiny Gulf island of just 1.2 million. …more