Bahrain tensions grow as protests persist, King Hamad and his regime, days numbered

Bahrain tensions grow as protests persist
September 02, 2011 02:06 AM

DUBAI: It’s become a nightly duel in Bahrain; security forces and anti-government protesters waging hit-and-run clashes in one of the simmering conflicts of the Arab Spring.

So far, the skirmishes have failed to gel into another serious challenge to the Gulf nation’s Western-backed monarchy after crushing a reform rebellion months ago. But there are sudden signs that Shiite-led demonstrators could be poised to raise the stakes again on the strategic island, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Hundreds of demonstrators Wednesday made their boldest attempt in months to reclaim control of a central square in the capital Manama, which was the symbolic hub of the protest movement after it began in February. Riot police used buses to block roads and flooded streets with tear gas to drive back the marchers before dawn.

Hours later, mourners gathered in a Shiite village in another part of Bahrain for a 14-year-old boy, Ali Jawad Ahmad, they claim was killed by security forces.

Clashes flared until early Thursday across the oil hub area of Sitra before the boy’s burial, where about 10,000 Bahrainis chanted slogans against the Gulf state’s king.

“Down with the regime,” chanted some of hundreds of people in the funeral procession. “More protests.”

Some of them waved the flag of the Libyan rebels, who are closing in on the remnants of Colonel Moammar Gadhafi’s government.

Bahrain remains the outlier of the Arab revolts.

Its Sunni rulers have managed to hold their ground – and even tighten their grip with military help from neighboring Saudi Arabia – against majority Shiites demanding a greater political voice. Washington and Western allies have denounced the punishing crackdowns, but been mild when it comes to Bahrain’s ruling dynasty. The possible risks from a harder line appear too great. They include jeopardizing key Arab military relationships on Iran’s doorstep.

Washington’s Gulf Arab allies argue that any gains for Bahrain’s Shiites could open the door for influence by Iran’s Shiite regime.

Bahrain’s Shiite leaders strongly deny any links to Iran. They note that their fight for greater rights goes back decades – and is now re-energized by the pro-democracy wave across the Arab world.
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