Bahraini Anti-Royal Graffiti Speaks of Unhealed Rift With al Khalifa regime

Bahraini Shiites’ Anti-Royal Graffiti Speaks of Unhealed Rift With Sunnis
By Donna Abu-Nasr – Aug 17, 2011 3:00 PM MT

The defaced walls of the Bahraini village of Burhama reflect the mounting tension between Muslims from the Shiite community and the Sunni-led royal family.

Every day, the village’s Shiites spray anti-monarchy graffiti on the facades of its buildings. And every day, the offensive language is concealed by police under a strip of white paint, until it reappears atop another white layer the next day.

The graffiti is just one indication that steps taken by the Sunni-led government have yet to heal rifts stemming from a crackdown this year on mostly Shiite pro-democracy protesters. Shiite villages have held rallies almost every night since the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan began Aug. 1, while al-Wefaq, the Shiites’ largest party, has announced it won’t participate in next month’s special elections to fill the parliamentary seats of its members who resigned to protest the crackdown.

“Those in power should be in harmony with the will of the people,” said Hadi al-Mousawi, one of 18 al-Wefaq members who quit the parliament. “But they just turn their backs to what the opposition wants.”

The grievances that sparked the demonstrations in February and March have intensified because the government has ignored core Shiite demands for higher living standards and equal representation, Mousawi said in a telephone interview Aug. 14.

Government measures to try to calm the situation weren’t enough, he said. The steps included releasing political detainees, reinstating many employees suspended from work on suspicion of participation in the protests, and hosting reconciliation talks. …more